Tag: traditional roles

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Five Reasons I Love Historical Fiction | The Wolfe’s (Writing) Den

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Originally posted on writerchristophfischer:
Source: Five Reasons I Love Historical Fiction | The Wolfe’s (Writing) Den Five Reasons I Love Historical Fiction by J.C. Wolfe | July 27, 2016 | Blog, Creative Writing | 0 comments If you read my recent post about the progress on my 2016 reading goals, you may have noticed I’ve been reading a lot of period fiction this year, and it’s really been inspiring my fascination with history! I love reading stories set in the past for much the same reason I enjoy science fiction and fantasy: they show me a world I could never… Continue reading Five Reasons I Love Historical Fiction | The Wolfe’s (Writing) Den

Hereford & Ireand History2 Comments

Warrior Women of Ireland

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Lot’s of heroic Irish women here. When I was researching for Strongbow’s Wife I could find very little information. As Ali says below, so much was written up or re-written to fit the victor’s and the church’s view of events. I know some believe that, after Strongbow’s death, Aiofe became a warrior woman, fighting his  cause. I prefer to think that, as an Irish woman, she deplored what her father had unleashed on Ireland and chose, instead, to look for ways to achieve a peaceful outcome. Maybe that’s just the pacifist in me. What do you think? Continue reading Warrior Women of Ireland

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The Gender Dillemma

franklparker

I’ve written before about how I feel comfortable writing female characters. I said I thought it might have something to do with having been brought up without significant male role models. In this interesting article the author points out that, if you worry about writing from the point of view of someone of the opposite gender to your own you are mistaking stereotypes for characters. I am pleased that most of those who have read my book Transgression (you can purchase it by clicking the image on the right) have praised the characterization. The Irish author and playwright John MacKenna … Continue reading The Gender Dillemma

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Making the Police Force Count: Past Roles of Garda Siochana.

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On February 1st 2016 the interviews will begin to select enumerators for the census to be undertaken in the Republic of Ireland on April 24th. Ninety years ago this was a task undertaken by the newly created Garda Siochana (trans. ‘Guardians of the Peace’). It was just one of many duties imposed on the force, which worked on behalf of many more ministries than the Ministry of Justice. I am working on a historical fiction suggested by a story told to me by a friend about his aunt. Against family opposition, she married a member of the force in the … Continue reading Making the Police Force Count: Past Roles of Garda Siochana.

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Ornate part 4

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You might suppose that I wrote this story in its entirety before posting it in brief installments. You would be wrong. I come to it fresh each day, except that I do think about it in the hours following each post. Different possibilities are examined but the detail does not appear until I sit down with the laptop after breakfast each day. I write off-line, polishing until I’m satisfied with what I have written before pasting the result here. Those of you who watch James Martin‘s daily program each afternoon on BBC 1 may recognize the influence of the episode … Continue reading Ornate part 4

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Transgression: The Sequel.

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I am not expecting to have the sequel to Transgression ready for publication before the summer of 2016. Those who have read Transgression will, I am sure, be pleased to know that a sequel is underway. Here is a preview of the first page. If you’ve not read Transgression yet, then maybe this will arouse your curiosity. The narrator is the wife of Douglas, the Member of the British Parliament whose transgressions are the subject of the first book. I’d just poured myself a glass of my favourite red when my phone whistled, signalling the arrival of a text. I … Continue reading Transgression: The Sequel.

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Not Asking for It

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In my previous post I talked a lot about Roger, the principle protagonist in my latest novel, Transgression. It is time now to tell you a little about some of the other characters in the book. Douglas is a voyeur. A characteristic I am ashamed to say he shares with me. Unlike me, he has the arrogance to believe that he is entitled to go beyond ogling and make unwelcome advances towards any woman to whom he is attracted. He has no compunction about using his power as a Member of the British Parliament to take advantage of the many … Continue reading Not Asking for It

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Secrets of Success

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In March 2013 I attended a writing workshop with the Irish author John McKenna. John teaches creative writing on the Maynooth campus of the National University of Ireland. For the workshop with my local writers’ group he led us through a series of steps towards creating a story. First, describe a place, perhaps where some significant event in your life happened. Next, imagine a character, think about his/her strengths and weaknesses. Now put the character in the place. What might happen? Who might they meet? Compose a dialogue between them. The character I created during this process was a journalist … Continue reading Secrets of Success

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Cake Walk

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Mary walks. An appointment at the doctor’s? She walks there. It takes 15 minutes. She allows 20. She can’t bear to sit in the waiting room among the coughing and sneezing, having to make conversation or listen in to the conversations of others. “Have you heard about Deirdre O’Malley’s boy Donnachada? Wait till I tell you!” Mary can’t be doing with that. She looks at her watch. She counts the people ahead of her in the room with its notices about heart health and obesity. Calculates that she has at least ten minutes. She walks. Out the door and along … Continue reading Cake Walk

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Opposite Sex

franklparker

All of us who write fiction write in both male and female point of view. Lately I’ve been pondering why I feel so much more comfortable writing in a woman’s voice than in a man’s. My first attempt at a novel length piece, Honest Hearts, started out as the tale of a young man who emigrated from Ireland to North America at the end of the nineteenth century. After spending some time in Brooklyn he joined the Klondike gold rush. I needed to give him a reason to leave Brooklyn so created a young woman for him to fall in, … Continue reading Opposite Sex