Writing an alternative history / magical realism series set in Colonial America. It's been a blast researching what the world was like back then and it's fun bending the rules a bit ;) Great way to pay homage to the past while also something I think the younger generation might engage with!
@@johncolinhalbig Fantastic. Lots of stuff to work with. I haven't read Mason and Dixon yet, but I think it has a sort of mystical vibe to a colonial American setting. Maybe that can inspire you.
Currently reading Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange, which utilizes a historical event as its background and the generational effect it has. Probably the best book of 2024.
Have you read The book of laughter and forgetting by Milan Kundera? A mix of autobiography, historical, magical realism, short stories and novel in one book. Of the 70 fictions I read in 2024, this is one of the three books that deserve five stars, along with Blood Meridian. One of those small but very dense books, in five pages it has more content than books of a thousand pages.
Yes, I have a WW2 - modern day novel in progress. I will have excerpts on substack and elsewhere, and yes I was reading / studying Gravity’s Rainbow while writing it.
I genuinely believe a lot of people are writing fantasy novels because they can’t be bothered to do the research and work within a historical context. Creativity flourishes when forced to work within limitations.
I don't know if this will help, but I asked AI and this was the response: 1. The Merovingian Dynasty (476-750 AD): This was the period of early medieval Europe, when the Franks ruled over much of the continent. It was a time of political turmoil, religious conflict, and cultural change. 2. The Age of Exploration (15th-17th centuries): This was a time of great discovery and adventure, as Europeans explored the world by sea and land. It was also a time of colonization and conflict, as European powers sought to control new territories.
Here’s an inside about blood meridian you could talk about one day. Blood Meridian feel like the closest thing in the morden world to new a book of jousha that can be written. Both are really alike if you think about. Just took out god and his laws is where you see the comparable to both.
This video came at a perfect time! I’m currently doing the research for my historical fiction novel, and now I just need to start my first rough draft.
Mine is historical fiction :) it’s reassuring to hear this. I’ve been having major imposter syndrome and am questioning everything with my book only 8 chapters in. I’ve had to paise to collect my thoughts
I find that when I read history books, I can find whole potential plots for novels summed up in a single paragraph or chapter of the book. You could probably take that paragraph or a summary of the chapter and run it through something like the snowflake novel writing method to expand the outline and fill in the details about characters and basically shit out passable fiction.
I have to disagree... An enormous part of what makes literature worth it is its entertainment value, even beyond its didactic value. And I frankly don't find most historical fiction entertaining. If you do, then you should write for others like you. But I think it's a mistake to encourage our best minds to veer away from science fiction, which has far more potential but has been done no favors by all the brilliant minds writing historical fiction instead.
Highly recommend Lincoln In The Bardo by George Saunders. It might be my favorite novel I read this year.
Writing an alternative history / magical realism series set in Colonial America. It's been a blast researching what the world was like back then and it's fun bending the rules a bit ;) Great way to pay homage to the past while also something I think the younger generation might engage with!
So basically, Cien Anos de Soledad?
@Eneias-q9m Quite different but still has some similarities! That was a huge influence for me
@@johncolinhalbig Fantastic. Lots of stuff to work with. I haven't read Mason and Dixon yet, but I think it has a sort of mystical vibe to a colonial American setting. Maybe that can inspire you.
Currently reading Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange, which utilizes a historical event as its background and the generational effect it has. Probably the best book of 2024.
Or even historical futurism
Describing possible futures can be transformative too
Yep! Got the idea during a meditation. Love historical fiction.
Have you read The book of laughter and forgetting by Milan Kundera?
A mix of autobiography, historical, magical realism, short stories and novel in one book.
Of the 70 fictions I read in 2024, this is one of the three books that deserve five stars, along with Blood Meridian. One of those small but very dense books, in five pages it has more content than books of a thousand pages.
Yes, I have a WW2 - modern day novel in progress. I will have excerpts on substack and elsewhere, and yes I was reading / studying Gravity’s Rainbow while writing it.
I genuinely believe a lot of people are writing fantasy novels because they can’t be bothered to do the research and work within a historical context.
Creativity flourishes when forced to work within limitations.
On the subject of historical fiction, are there any underrated eras or wars that might be worth writing about?
I don't know if this will help, but I asked AI and this was the response: 1. The Merovingian Dynasty (476-750 AD): This was the period of early medieval Europe, when the Franks ruled over much of the continent. It was a time of political turmoil, religious conflict, and cultural change. 2. The Age of Exploration (15th-17th centuries): This was a time of great discovery and adventure, as Europeans explored the world by sea and land. It was also a time of colonization and conflict, as European powers sought to control new territories.
Maybe the northern crusades in the Baltic or post Viking age but still medieval Scandinavia starting in the 12th century
30 years war perhaps? Depopulated Germany’s population by 40 to 50 percent
Here’s an inside about blood meridian you could talk about one day. Blood Meridian feel like the closest thing in the morden world to new a book of jousha that can be written. Both are really alike if you think about. Just took out god and his laws is where you see the comparable to both.
Like William T. Vollmann? I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts on him :)
This video came at a perfect time! I’m currently doing the research for my historical fiction novel, and now I just need to start my first rough draft.
Does the 90’s count as historical 😏
Layne Staley fan fiction?? 😂
It does. It is the last era that can be considered historical probably, because the world just, started, to, suck after 1998
@TheTimeOfThePlace why 98?
To zoomers it does.
I would say so, yes.
Fine god dammit, fine.
Mine is historical fiction :) it’s reassuring to hear this. I’ve been having major imposter syndrome and am questioning everything with my book only 8 chapters in. I’ve had to paise to collect my thoughts
Can you make a video about Karl Ove Knausgård?
i'm writing my historical fiction draft in this exact moment. Thanks for the conten
Wuthering Heights is a historical novel - or is it?
I find that when I read history books, I can find whole potential plots for novels summed up in a single paragraph or chapter of the book. You could probably take that paragraph or a summary of the chapter and run it through something like the snowflake novel writing method to expand the outline and fill in the details about characters and basically shit out passable fiction.
The Historian!
Is infinite jest worth it?
Why am i not interested at all?
The footnotes.
I have to disagree... An enormous part of what makes literature worth it is its entertainment value, even beyond its didactic value. And I frankly don't find most historical fiction entertaining. If you do, then you should write for others like you. But I think it's a mistake to encourage our best minds to veer away from science fiction, which has far more potential but has been done no favors by all the brilliant minds writing historical fiction instead.
Dune is boring and uninteresting book.