History Lessons--and Writing
I'm on vacation this week, but sticking around home. Please. I refuse to use that word.
Anyway, one thing I wanted to do besides work on My writing class was go to the King Tut exhibit that's currently in town. It's here until January I believe, but I didn't want to do my usual thing, which is wait until the last minute to go, or to miss it altogether.
I've always been interested in Egyptian history and art, and I'm a big fan of the Amelia Peabody mysteries so I was excited to go. I went in with nearly 300 shots available on my digital camera, and a nearly fully charged battery. When I left, I had room for one more pic and the camera battery was nearly dead.
I could see a trail of little 'thought' balloons behind me as I trekked back to my car saying "OMG," "OMG," "OMG!"
Something hit me with a big thud not long after I entered the exhibit. It wasn't just the enormous statues of Tut and Akhenaton. It was the culture, the art, the cult of the Pharaohs, and the immediate thought "I want this for my story." I know that world building isn't the be all and end all of a novel, but-
Wow.
Is it telling that I immediately put myself in the story, so to speak? No, not pharaoh. Just a scribe, maybe, with a few stories to tell in my spare time. The danger is that I might want to sit down immediately and change my current WIP. Maybe...
I'll sit with this a bit.
Nothing has to be an exact copy to Ancient Egypt. Rather, it's being able to put it on paper, no matter who it is or was, and making them real. Feeling the potency of their gaze. Knowing they have real needs and wants. Putting them in a specific place that looked like "this." Being able to relate in truth the consequences of their actions and decisions.
The experience made me think about the difference I've found between, say, watching the video of Game of Thrones and then reading the book. Having watched the videos first, the book so far seems a pale comparison. I'm not very far along yet, so I may change my opinion. But I want my book to be just the opposite. Not that I expect to have a dramatization of my writing to appear anytime, sooner or later. :D
If you can get out and do something like this I highly recommend it. I expected to have an enjoyable morning, but the truth is I spent nearly twice as long in the exhibit as I expected to, and I sure didn't expect to be so...blown away by the experience. Talk about kick starting my writing and revising to a higher level.
I see where I want to go.
Now I just have to get going. Now I just have to get there.
(Photos will follow soon; the camera battery is restored but I have to process and upload photos first. I promise not to bore you--too much.) :D
Anyway, one thing I wanted to do besides work on My writing class was go to the King Tut exhibit that's currently in town. It's here until January I believe, but I didn't want to do my usual thing, which is wait until the last minute to go, or to miss it altogether.
I've always been interested in Egyptian history and art, and I'm a big fan of the Amelia Peabody mysteries so I was excited to go. I went in with nearly 300 shots available on my digital camera, and a nearly fully charged battery. When I left, I had room for one more pic and the camera battery was nearly dead.
I could see a trail of little 'thought' balloons behind me as I trekked back to my car saying "OMG," "OMG," "OMG!"
Something hit me with a big thud not long after I entered the exhibit. It wasn't just the enormous statues of Tut and Akhenaton. It was the culture, the art, the cult of the Pharaohs, and the immediate thought "I want this for my story." I know that world building isn't the be all and end all of a novel, but-
Wow.
Is it telling that I immediately put myself in the story, so to speak? No, not pharaoh. Just a scribe, maybe, with a few stories to tell in my spare time. The danger is that I might want to sit down immediately and change my current WIP. Maybe...
I'll sit with this a bit.
Nothing has to be an exact copy to Ancient Egypt. Rather, it's being able to put it on paper, no matter who it is or was, and making them real. Feeling the potency of their gaze. Knowing they have real needs and wants. Putting them in a specific place that looked like "this." Being able to relate in truth the consequences of their actions and decisions.
The experience made me think about the difference I've found between, say, watching the video of Game of Thrones and then reading the book. Having watched the videos first, the book so far seems a pale comparison. I'm not very far along yet, so I may change my opinion. But I want my book to be just the opposite. Not that I expect to have a dramatization of my writing to appear anytime, sooner or later. :D
If you can get out and do something like this I highly recommend it. I expected to have an enjoyable morning, but the truth is I spent nearly twice as long in the exhibit as I expected to, and I sure didn't expect to be so...blown away by the experience. Talk about kick starting my writing and revising to a higher level.
I see where I want to go.
Now I just have to get going. Now I just have to get there.
(Photos will follow soon; the camera battery is restored but I have to process and upload photos first. I promise not to bore you--too much.) :D