Greek Gifts
THE SMILING MUSE
This has become a day of excellence!
My current Work In Progress, a YA tale involving Bad Fairies and Naked Feet, has just barely, crossed the 40K mark. This means two things:
1) It can now officially be classified as a novel.
and,
2) Since 40K is far too short for a novel these days, my real triumph, is that I have crossed the halfway mark. And while I can't see the finish line yet, I can see the point from which the finish line will be visible. *cough*
OTHER GREEK GIFTS
I'm reading Christian Cameron's various historical fictions set in the time of ancient Greece. Basically, these tend to be the stories of boys and sometimes girls, kicking ass all over the Mediterranean in heavy Bronze armour while quoting extensively to each other from the Illiad.
I know next to nothing about this time period, but what I love about his Worldbuilding here, is just how dynamic his Greek culture is. It's not some static thing, fixed forever in time like Keats' Grecian Urn. Everything in this culture is constantly churning and progressing, with new ideas and innovations making their mark before falling away again.
Nor is the Greek World ever presented as a monolith, but rather, it's a realistic stew of related societies, all of whom have their own dialects as well as religious, dietary, architectural and legal quirks.
I don't always believe the guy's action or his heroes, but this world is beautiful and thoroughly absorbing.
Fantasy writers: please take note.
This has become a day of excellence!
My current Work In Progress, a YA tale involving Bad Fairies and Naked Feet, has just barely, crossed the 40K mark. This means two things:
1) It can now officially be classified as a novel.
and,
2) Since 40K is far too short for a novel these days, my real triumph, is that I have crossed the halfway mark. And while I can't see the finish line yet, I can see the point from which the finish line will be visible. *cough*
OTHER GREEK GIFTS
I'm reading Christian Cameron's various historical fictions set in the time of ancient Greece. Basically, these tend to be the stories of boys and sometimes girls, kicking ass all over the Mediterranean in heavy Bronze armour while quoting extensively to each other from the Illiad.
I know next to nothing about this time period, but what I love about his Worldbuilding here, is just how dynamic his Greek culture is. It's not some static thing, fixed forever in time like Keats' Grecian Urn. Everything in this culture is constantly churning and progressing, with new ideas and innovations making their mark before falling away again.
Nor is the Greek World ever presented as a monolith, but rather, it's a realistic stew of related societies, all of whom have their own dialects as well as religious, dietary, architectural and legal quirks.
I don't always believe the guy's action or his heroes, but this world is beautiful and thoroughly absorbing.
Fantasy writers: please take note.