Fantastic research and history lesson. I'm quite surprised and interested by how consistent world mythology is. While the names and faces change, the underlying mythos is quite similar the world over.
And then there is the question of how much fiction is actually fictionalised ancestral memory. I once set an entire fantasy novel in a desert kingdom around a city I called Samarkand that was rich from trade. and it was moorish in nature. Only to discover that a moorish city called Samarkand exists on the silk road. I had never had any interest in Eastern culture before then so it's unlikely I picked this up in earlier years. Weird. This happens to me so often now that after I write something I go and research the details to see if it's popping up in history somewhere and if so I tweak things a bit to make it consistent with that historical context. But I am in no way a historian, more an enthusiast for various time periods.
Thank you! I'm often surprised by how universal so many archetypes seem to be across mythologies around the world. I don't know if there is something innate in humans that makes these things appealing, or if these stories are so ancient they go back to a single source, but it is striking when you step back and view them as a whole. And I'm sure there is an aspect of ancestral memory that goes into many of the myths and legends we've received.
As far as the Indo-European family of myths, they do seem to derive from a common source, which I find fascinating, not just in the vast territory they've spread to, but in the local variations they've assumed. It's fun to compare and contrast :-)
I have a rescued Arabian horse called Samarkand (Sami), and the city itself is so interesting. Your story sounds interesting as well! I've found something similar to what you describe when I'm writing. I'll put details into my story intuitively, assuming they're fiction, and find out later during my research that they were correct. I'm no historian either, but it's nice to have my historical instincts confirmed once in a while!
Incredible. I'm humbled by your character research. I've always been afraid of historical fiction because I know it requires this herculean research regimen. Regarding character names, Tolkien was one of the best, I think. His names were always so fitting and filled with personal history for the character. I often do times writing about my characters, sometimes around their favorite or most cherished objects, etc., just to help me discover them. Niece piece. Thanks!
thanks! full disclosure, part of writing this book/series was having an excuse to research a topic that fascinated me already, so some of this is just me nerding out about stuff i think is interesting. and i completely agree about tolkien! his synthesis of languages, names, histories, mythologies was so thoughtful and meticulous. interesting also that you use objects to help you discover your characters. much as we don't want to be defined by our things, we do choose and hold onto them for a reason...
I’ve found that if you take any object at all and draw a circle around it and contemplate it for a time, it almost becomes sacred. I usually ask myself about my character the old cliche of what one thing would they save if their home caught fire. That’s the thing to write about.
Fantastic research and history lesson. I'm quite surprised and interested by how consistent world mythology is. While the names and faces change, the underlying mythos is quite similar the world over.
And then there is the question of how much fiction is actually fictionalised ancestral memory. I once set an entire fantasy novel in a desert kingdom around a city I called Samarkand that was rich from trade. and it was moorish in nature. Only to discover that a moorish city called Samarkand exists on the silk road. I had never had any interest in Eastern culture before then so it's unlikely I picked this up in earlier years. Weird. This happens to me so often now that after I write something I go and research the details to see if it's popping up in history somewhere and if so I tweak things a bit to make it consistent with that historical context. But I am in no way a historian, more an enthusiast for various time periods.
Thank you! I'm often surprised by how universal so many archetypes seem to be across mythologies around the world. I don't know if there is something innate in humans that makes these things appealing, or if these stories are so ancient they go back to a single source, but it is striking when you step back and view them as a whole. And I'm sure there is an aspect of ancestral memory that goes into many of the myths and legends we've received.
As far as the Indo-European family of myths, they do seem to derive from a common source, which I find fascinating, not just in the vast territory they've spread to, but in the local variations they've assumed. It's fun to compare and contrast :-)
I have a rescued Arabian horse called Samarkand (Sami), and the city itself is so interesting. Your story sounds interesting as well! I've found something similar to what you describe when I'm writing. I'll put details into my story intuitively, assuming they're fiction, and find out later during my research that they were correct. I'm no historian either, but it's nice to have my historical instincts confirmed once in a while!
Please don't tell me your arabian is a grey.
No, he's a little bay :-)
Incredible. I'm humbled by your character research. I've always been afraid of historical fiction because I know it requires this herculean research regimen. Regarding character names, Tolkien was one of the best, I think. His names were always so fitting and filled with personal history for the character. I often do times writing about my characters, sometimes around their favorite or most cherished objects, etc., just to help me discover them. Niece piece. Thanks!
thanks! full disclosure, part of writing this book/series was having an excuse to research a topic that fascinated me already, so some of this is just me nerding out about stuff i think is interesting. and i completely agree about tolkien! his synthesis of languages, names, histories, mythologies was so thoughtful and meticulous. interesting also that you use objects to help you discover your characters. much as we don't want to be defined by our things, we do choose and hold onto them for a reason...
I’ve found that if you take any object at all and draw a circle around it and contemplate it for a time, it almost becomes sacred. I usually ask myself about my character the old cliche of what one thing would they save if their home caught fire. That’s the thing to write about.
that's a really great insight. i'm going to have to remember that!