Well, here we are, planning to start The Bastard's Conquest in two weeks and we realize we haven't done any thinking about our main character.
We know he becomes one of the Bastard's troubleshooters and have a vague idea what he does from the years 1066-1069. Lot's of action there.
He's a Norman but other than that we know little about him. Did he get along with his folks? Does he like William the Bastard? For that matter what kind of knight is he? Are we talking about a man escaping his past? Maybe a rogue in the tradition of Harry Flashman? A man trying to do right?
We have no idea.
As noted before the way we usually get our novels mapped out is to sit around and think about them. One can almost feel the fire brewing, the burst of energy. We usually refer to the process as percolation.
Whatever one calls it we better get going.
William Stroock (as in Stroock's Books)
Showing posts with label The Bastard's Conquest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Bastard's Conquest. Show all posts
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Tuesday Tally
The Bastard's Conquest Research Edition
We've published half a dozen magazine articles about the Normans, the Norman Conquest of Britain, and William the Bastard.
So when it comes to researching The Bastard's Conquest we are prepared.
To that end, here's a list of our best sources on the Norman Conquest.
The Bayeux Tapestry, the Monks of Bayeux: This was commissioned in Normandy in the 1080s and is a visual retelling of the evens of 1066. It is a highly accurate visual depiction showing arms, mail, the tactics of the Battle of Hastings and so on. The Tapestry is a wonderful primary source. Alert reader(s) will notice we have a reproduction of the Tapestry in the background of our guitar videos.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: the chronicle is an illuminated manuscript, a record kept by monks for the marking of time and holidays. It reads thusly,'In this year the great Heathen Army raided Lindesfarne' or 'In this year a great star was spotted in the sky'. Gradually the entries became more detailed until the monks were writing actual history amounting to multiple paragraphs. Several dozen such passages chronicle the events of 1066 and William's reign over England.
Harold, the Last Anglo Saxon King, Ian W. Walker: A pithy and fun biography of Harold and his times which can be read over a weekend.
William the Conqueror, David C. Douglas: A long and in-depth biography of William the Bastard. It's all here from William's life, to his times, to his wars for Normandy, the conquest, his administration of England and his dealings with the Church.
The Battle of Hastings, Jim Bradbury: Another pithy history by a classic medieval historian. Interestingly Bradbury argues that they may not have the location of the battle right. He makes a compelling case.
We've published half a dozen magazine articles about the Normans, the Norman Conquest of Britain, and William the Bastard.
So when it comes to researching The Bastard's Conquest we are prepared.
To that end, here's a list of our best sources on the Norman Conquest.
The Bayeux Tapestry, the Monks of Bayeux: This was commissioned in Normandy in the 1080s and is a visual retelling of the evens of 1066. It is a highly accurate visual depiction showing arms, mail, the tactics of the Battle of Hastings and so on. The Tapestry is a wonderful primary source. Alert reader(s) will notice we have a reproduction of the Tapestry in the background of our guitar videos.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: the chronicle is an illuminated manuscript, a record kept by monks for the marking of time and holidays. It reads thusly,'In this year the great Heathen Army raided Lindesfarne' or 'In this year a great star was spotted in the sky'. Gradually the entries became more detailed until the monks were writing actual history amounting to multiple paragraphs. Several dozen such passages chronicle the events of 1066 and William's reign over England.
Harold, the Last Anglo Saxon King, Ian W. Walker: A pithy and fun biography of Harold and his times which can be read over a weekend.
William the Conqueror, David C. Douglas: A long and in-depth biography of William the Bastard. It's all here from William's life, to his times, to his wars for Normandy, the conquest, his administration of England and his dealings with the Church.
The Battle of Hastings, Jim Bradbury: Another pithy history by a classic medieval historian. Interestingly Bradbury argues that they may not have the location of the battle right. He makes a compelling case.
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Will's Good Idea for the Week of 11-19-17
We have decided that our next project will be The Bastard's Conquest.
Here the reader will follow the exploits of a minor knight in William the Bastard's Norman army.
The novel begins on the night of the battle of Hastings and each chapter will focus on one particular year of William's reign. These will be 1066 (obviously) 1069, 1085, and so on and so forth.
We just gotta do something different.
Also, there's great fodder for a sequel which covers a subject we had always wanted to write about.
Start time will be January 1.
Here the reader will follow the exploits of a minor knight in William the Bastard's Norman army.
The novel begins on the night of the battle of Hastings and each chapter will focus on one particular year of William's reign. These will be 1066 (obviously) 1069, 1085, and so on and so forth.
We just gotta do something different.
Also, there's great fodder for a sequel which covers a subject we had always wanted to write about.
Start time will be January 1.
Sunday, November 5, 2017
Will's Good Idea for the week of 11-5-17
The Bastard's Conquest
So the other night we were watching Becket about the travails of Henry II and Thomas Becket starting Richard O'Toole, Richard Burton and a wonderful John Gielgud as the King of France.
This reminded us that we wanted to do a novel about the Norman Conquest.
The Bastard''s Conquest would follow a young knight from just after the Battle of Hasting through the death of William the Bastard in 1087. We see our young knight, a minor aide to the Bastard, march to London, track down Harold's brothers, maybe fight off a Viking raid or two. Along the way he does horrible things to the Saxons all while fighting for his soul and spirit, finds a nice manor house, probably on the Welsh marches, and settles down. We see the birth of his son who one day goes on crusade if there's ever a sequel.
Might be fun. And quick too.
We'll see.
So the other night we were watching Becket about the travails of Henry II and Thomas Becket starting Richard O'Toole, Richard Burton and a wonderful John Gielgud as the King of France.
This reminded us that we wanted to do a novel about the Norman Conquest.
The Bastard''s Conquest would follow a young knight from just after the Battle of Hasting through the death of William the Bastard in 1087. We see our young knight, a minor aide to the Bastard, march to London, track down Harold's brothers, maybe fight off a Viking raid or two. Along the way he does horrible things to the Saxons all while fighting for his soul and spirit, finds a nice manor house, probably on the Welsh marches, and settles down. We see the birth of his son who one day goes on crusade if there's ever a sequel.
Might be fun. And quick too.
We'll see.
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