Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders

Author: Susanne Alleyn
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781481299626
Category : Authors
Languages : en
Pages : 238

Book Description
This is not a book on how to write historical fiction. It is a book on how not to write historical fiction. If you love history and you're hard at work writing your first historical novel, but you're wondering if your medieval Irishmen would live on potatoes, if your 17th-century pirate would use a revolver, or if your hero would be able to offer Marie-Antoinette a box of chocolate bonbons . . . (The answer to all these is "Absolutely not!") . . . then Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders is the book for you. Medieval Underpants will guide you through the factual mistakes that writers of historical fiction-both beginners and seasoned professionals-often make, and show you how to avoid them. From fictional characters crossing streets that wouldn't exist for another sixty (or two thousand) years, to 1990s slang in the mouths of 1940s characters, to the pitfalls of the Columbian Exchange (when plants and foods native to the Americas first began to appear in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and vice versa), historical novelist Susanne Alleyn exposes the often hilarious, always painful goofs that turn up most frequently in fiction set in the past. Alleyn stresses the hazards to writers of assuming too much about details of life in past centuries, providing numerous examples of mistakes that could easily have been avoided. She also explores commonly-confused topics such as the important difference between pistols and revolvers, and between the British titles "Lord John Smith" and "John, Lord Smith" and why they're not interchangeable, and provides simple guidelines for getting them right. In a wide assortment of chapters including Food and Plants; Travel; Guns; Money; Names; Hygiene; Dialogue; Attitudes; Research; and, of course, Underpants, she offers tips on how to avoid errors and anachronisms while continually reminding writers of the necessity of meticulous historical research. "I've been writing historical fiction for several decades, and I found this book immediately useful. I wish it had been published long ago. Written with humour, knowledge and common sense. An essential!" Sandra Gulland, author, Mistress of the Sun and The Josephine B. Trilogy

Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders

Author: Susanne Alleyn
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781301379019
Category : Authors
Languages : en
Pages : 233

Book Description
This is not a book on how to write historical fiction. It is a book on how not to write historical fiction.If you love history and you're hard at work on your first historical novel, but you're wondering if your medieval Irishmen would live on potatoes, if your 17th-century pirate would use a revolver, or if your hero would be able to offer Marie-Antoinette a box of chocolate bonbons . . .(The answer to all these is "Absolutely not!"). . . then Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders is the book for you.Medieval Underpants will guide you through the factual mistakes that writers of historical fiction0́4both beginners and professionals0́4most often make, and show you how to avoid them. From fictional characters crossing streets that wouldn't exist for another sixty (or two thousand) years, to the pitfalls of the Columbian Exchange (when plants and foods native to the Americas first began to appear in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and vice versa), to 1990s slang in the mouths of 1940s characters, Susanne Alleyn exposes the often hilarious, always painful goofs that turn up most frequently in fiction set in the past.Alleyn stresses the hazards to writers of assuming too much about details of life in past centuries, providing numerous examples of mistakes that could easily have been avoided. She also explores commonly-confused topics such as the important difference between the British titles "Lord John Smith" and "John, Lord Smith" and why they're not interchangeable, and provides simple guidelines for getting them right. In a wide assortment of chapters including Food and Plants; Travel; Guns; Money; Hygiene; Dialogue; Attitudes; Research; and, of course, Underpants, she offers tips on how to avoid errors and anachronisms while continually reminding writers of the necessity of meticulous historical research.

Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders

Author: Susanne Alleyn
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781490424033
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
This is not a book on how to write historical fiction. It is a book on how not to write historical fiction. If you're hard at work writing your historical novel, but you're wondering if your medieval Irishmen would live on potatoes, if your 17th-century pirate would use a revolver, or if your hero would be able to offer Marie-Antoinette a box of chocolate bonbons . . . (The answer to all these is “Absolutely not!”) . . . then Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders is the book for you. Medieval Underpants will guide you through the factual mistakes that writers of historical fiction—both beginners and seasoned professionals—often make, and show you how to avoid them. From characters crossing streets that wouldn't exist for another sixty (or two thousand) years, to 1990s slang in the mouths of 1940s characters, to South American foods on ancient Roman plates, historical novelist Susanne Alleyn exposes frequent goofs, stresses the hazards of assuming too much about details of life in past eras, and offers tips on how to avoid errors and anachronisms while continually reminding writers of the necessity of meticulous historical research. Second edition, revised and expanded "I've been writing historical fiction for several decades, and I found this book immediately useful. I wish it had been published long ago. Written with humour, knowledge and common sense. An essential!" Sandra Gulland, author, MISTRESS OF THE SUN and The Josephine B. Trilogy

Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders

Author: Susanne Alleyn
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781511996969
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Book Description
This is not a book on how to write historical fiction. It is a book on how not to write historical fiction. If you love history and you're hard at work writing your first historical novel, but you're wondering if your medieval Irishmen would live on potatoes, if your 17th-century pirate would use a revolver, or if your hero would be able to offer Marie-Antoinette a box of chocolate bonbons . . .(The answer to all these is "Absolutely not!"). . . then Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders is the book for you. Medieval Underpants will guide you through the factual mistakes that writers of historical fiction-both beginners and seasoned professionals-often make, and show you how to avoid them. From fictional characters crossing streets that wouldn't exist for another sixty (or two thousand) years, to 1990s slang in the mouths of 1940s characters, to South American foods on ancient Roman tables, acclaimed historical novelist Susanne Alleyn exposes the often hilarious, always painful goofs that turn up most frequently in fiction set in the past. Alleyn stresses the hazards to writers of assuming too much about details of life in past centuries, providing numerous examples of mistakes that could easily have been avoided. She also explores commonly-confused topics and provides simple guidelines for getting them right. In a wide assortment of chapters including Food and Plants; Money; Hygiene; Dialogue; Attitudes; Research; and, of course, Ladies' Underpants (there weren't any), she offers tips on how to avoid errors and anachronisms while continually reminding writers of the necessity of meticulous historical research. Third edition, revised and expanded

The Anachronistic Turn

Author: Stephanie Russo
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1003814344
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 218

Book Description
The Anachronistic Turn: Historical Fiction, Drama, Film and Television is the first study to investigate the ways in which the creative use of anachronism in historical fictions can allow us to rethink the relationship between past and present. Through an examination of literary, cinematic, and popular texts and practices, this book investigates how twenty-first century historical fictions use creative anachronisms as a way of understanding modern issues and anxieties. Drawing together a wide range of texts across all forms of historical fiction - novels, dramas, musicals, films and television - this book re-frames anachronism not as an error, but as a deliberate strategy that emphasises the fictionalising tendencies of all forms of historical writing. The book achieves this by exploring three core themes: the developing trends in the twenty-first century for creators of historical fiction to include deliberate anachronisms, such as contemporary references, music, and language; the ways in which the deliberate use of anachronism in historical fiction can allow us to rethink the relationship between past and present, and; the way that contemporary historical fiction uses anachronism to better understand modern issues and anxieties. This book will appeal to students and scholars of historical fiction, contemporary historical film and television studies, and historical theatre studies.

Historical Fiction Now

Author:
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019887703X
Category : Historical fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Book Description
Historical Fiction Now brings together prominent authors, scholars, and critics of historical fiction to explore the genre's character, fortunes, and potential in the twenty-first century. Gathering together the voices of novelists, critics, academics, and several authors writing across these categories, the volume explores the nature of reading, writing, and writing about historical fiction in the present moment while meditating on some of the myriad contexts of the genre. What inspires writers to choose particular moments, events, and personalities as the subjects of their fictional imaginings, and with what implications for their readers' understanding of the present? How do contemporary scholars approach the making and reception of historical fiction, and how do these approaches resonate with writers' own preoccupations in the process of invention? What might scholars of a genre with a long and complex history learn from its contemporary practitioners? Conversely, how do novelists understand their own historical fictions (if at all) in relation to the theoretical and critical traditions shaping the work of their academic colleagues? The collection features an original essay by Hilary Mantel on the making of the Wolf Hall trilogy as well as contributions from internationally known novelists such as George Saunders, Namwali Serpell, Maaza Mengiste, and Téa Obreht, among others.

Robin Hood, 1192 (The Symbiont Time Travel Adventures Series, Book 7)

Author: T.L.B. Wood
Publisher: ePublishing Works!
ISBN: 1644571862
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Book Description
Petra and Kipp, accompanied by fellow time travelers Peter and Elani, travel to medieval England to answer a nagging question in the time-travel adventure, Robin Hood - 1192, by T.L.B. Wood Was Robin Hood a real man or a myth? The ever-curious time traveler, Kipp, becomes intrigued with this question after reading the novel, Ivanhoe. He convinces his partner, Petra, that a trip to medieval England's dangerous and politically complicated times is necessary to solve the puzzle. Accompanied by fellow travelers, Peter and Elani, the team assumes disguises as humans partnered with their companion dogs. But the class conflicts between the conquering Normans and the native Saxons quickly turns the adventure into the most dangerous feat the four investigators have undertaken. Now the travelers face a new question: Can they find the way back to their own time? THE SYMBIONT TIME TRAVEL ADVENTURES, 1. The Symbiont 2. Tombstone, 1881 3. Whitechapel, 1888 4.The Great Locomotive Chase, 1862 5. Titanic, 1912 6. A Conspiracy to Murder, 1865 7. Robin Hood, 1192

Write a Novel in 10 Minutes a Day

Author: Katharine Grubb
Publisher: Teach Yourself
ISBN: 1529352487
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 277

Book Description
LEARN HOW TO WRITE FICTION BY WRITING EVERY DAY Would you like to write but have no spare time? Do you not know where to begin? Write A Novel In 10 Minutes A Day will help you sculpt a full-length piece of creative writing in just ten minutes a day. Starting with a daily practical exercise, it will help you manage your writing schedule within this time frame and help you bring your novel to life. You will be able to clarify your vision and review your time commitments, as well as understand your own abilities. Learning to observe the world around you, write quickly and tap into your unique voice will help you to create all the elements of your story and, by the time you've finished all the exercises, you'll have created something beautiful. ABOUT THE SERIES The Teach Yourself Creative Writing series helps aspiring authors tell their story. Covering a range of genres from science fiction and romantic novels, to illustrated children's books and comedy, this series is packed with advice, exercises and tips for unlocking creativity and improving your writing. And because we know how daunting the blank page can be, we set up the Just Write online community at tyjustwrite, for budding authors and successful writers to connect and share.

How to Live Like a Lord Without Really Trying

Author: Shepherd Mead
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781851242795
Category : Americans
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Shepherd Mead, bestselling author of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, came to live in England with his family in 1958. Six years later he published a satirical handbook for fellow Americans to guide them through the nuances of British culture and save them from blunders: 'Write down now that pants always mean underpants', he advises. 'What you wear out in the open are trousers. Mistakes in this area can lead to nasty misunderstandings.'Structured around the fictional experience of an American couple Peggy and Buckley Brash and their two children, the book covers such topics as 'How to Dress in England', 'The Dream House and How to Rebuild it', and 'How to Live with the Upper Classes Without Having Any Money'. Through the Brash family's encounters with the British and their bewildered conversations with each other as they attempt to interpret an alien way of life, Mead answers pertinent questions such as 'Do English schools create sex madness?' and 'Is England really a pest hole?' with quirky and affectionate humour.Written with the light touch and incisive wit which brought Mead such success with his earlier book, and deftly illustrated with dynamic cartoons, How to Live Like A Lord without Really Trying is packed with gems on Anglo-American differences and pithy advice which tells us as much about the British of the 1960s as it does about their visitors from across the Pond.

Get Started in Writing Historical Fiction

Author: Emma Darwin
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1473609674
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Book Description
Do you have a compelling vision for a story set in the past? Are you inspired by novelists such as Alan Furst and Philippa Gregory? Get Started in Writing Historical Fiction is designed for anyone who wants to write in this exciting and wide-ranging genre of fiction, whatever your favorite style and era. Designed to build your confidence and help fire up creativity, this book is an essential guide to mastering the practicalities of writing historical fiction, showing you where to start with research, developing your plots, and convincingly and imaginatively capturing the voices of the past. Using Snapshots designed to get you writing quickly, Key Ideas to help crystallize thought, and a wealth of supplementary materials, this indispensable guide will have you telling amazing and rich historical stories in no time. You'll learn to research and plan your story, practice developing characters and settings, perfect your characters' voices, and transport the reader to another era. ABOUT THE SERIES The Teach Yourself Creative Writing series helps aspiring authors tell their stories. Covering a range of genres from science fiction and romantic novels to illustrated children's books and comedy, this series is packed with advice, exercises, and tips for unlocking creativity and improving your writing. And because we know how daunting the blank page can be, we set up the Just Write online community, at tyjustwrite.com, for budding authors and successful writers to connect and share.