March 2023 Update #5

 I'm still working on chapter 20 ("The Largest Stones") which I started a week ago. Progress has been interrupted by various things, e.g. the Zoom workshops I ran over the weekend, video and print research as to what Gwernin and friends would see at Avebury, and my virus software's desire to change some things yesterday (which involved spending half an hour or so on a call with tech support and totally blew my creative concentration for the rest of the day). However, I hope to finish #20 today or tomorrow. Then on to the last third of the book, during which Gwernin will stand in bardic competitions in hopes of finally becoming a Master Bard. As they say on Time Team, join me after the break. :)

Main references this last week:

Avebury (English Heritage) by Caroline Malone

 'Beyond the Stones' : 35th Anniversary of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site,

wessexarchaeology, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqTvFw-ggnk&ab_channel=wessexarchaeology.

March 2023 Update #4

Well, the weather is back to spring, and I actually have some crocuses and violets blooming. Chives are coming up all over, and so is the catnip. I'm ready for spring!

 I finally finished chapter 19 ("Rough Justice") yesterday. Part of this involved moving the last section of chapter 18 into 19, as 18 was really too long. That essentially bumped part of the planned material for chapter 19 into chapter 20 ("The Largest Stones"), which I started this morning. These things happen!

When I write a chapter, or indeed a scene in one, I try to write it without trying to get everything right (no pun intended). Then I go back over it once or twice to make adjustments where needed and polish the wording, adding more descriptions where needed. This of course will be repeated for the whole manuscript after I finish the first draft, and may be more necessary than usual because of the several interruptions in writing it.

Main references this last week: 

First Steps in Old English by Stephen Pollington

An Introduction to Early English Law by Bill Griffiths  

Beowulf: A Dual-Language Edition by Howell D. Chickering

Time Team S17-E07 Cunetio

March 2023 - Update #3

 Despite a few interruptions, I finished chapter 18 ("The Singer of Tales") this morning. Despite some exciting bits, Gwernin & friends have solved their Saxon problems and will be heading north again in the next chapter. This one was a bit long, and required some thought about early Anglo-Saxon law courts, as well as some praise poetry. 

We also had a little snow yesterday, but it's mostly gone now. Spring in Colorado! :)

Important references for the last week: 

An Introduction to Early English Law by Bill Griffiths 

Wordcraft: New English to Old English Dictionary and Thesaurus by Stephen Pollington

First Steps in Old English by Stephen Pollington

 

 

March 2023 - Update #2

 The last week has been very productive. I spent a lot of time over the weekend plot sorting - deciding what should be in the rest of the book - and have things pretty well nailed down now. It's not a detailed outline - that would be boring for me - just a list of things that need to happen in each chapter, which is rather the way I did The King's Druid. After that I went on to finish chapter 16 - "An Old Enemy", and should finish chapter 17 ("The Saxon King") and start chapter 18 ("The Singer of Tales") today. That second one needs to get Gwernin et al out of their current problems. Taliesin will probably figure it out!

In other news, no measurable snow so far this month, but there's a lot of March - and April - left.

Most important references for the last week (aside, as usual, from the ordinance survey maps):

The towns of Roman Britain by John Wacher

Cloth And Clothing in Early Anglo-Saxon England, AD 450-700 (CBA Research Reports) (CBA Research Reports) by Penelope Walton Rogers

Anglo-Saxon food and drink : production, processing, distribution and consumption by Ann Hagen

An Introduction to Early English Law by Bill Griffiths 

 

 

March 2023 Update #1

 After finishing two chapters last week, I came down with some sort of crud over the weekend, and haven't written anything so far this week. I'm hoping to get going again today, if slowly. After watching the midsummer sunrise at Stonehenge in chapter 15, they're about to meet some unfriendly Saxons... one of whom Gwernin has met before.

Most important reference for last week: Stonehenge: The Story of a Sacred Landscape by Francis Pryor

February 2023 update #5

 

A lot of writing progress in the last week - I should finish chapter 14 today! This takes Gwernin & company to Stonehenge, where they plan to watch the midsummer sunrise in the next chapter. This was not really a good decision on their part; Stonehenge (and Avebury, their next target) being in Anglo-Saxon territory, in the expanding kingdom of Wessex. Complications may ensure.

Pertinent reference for this chapter:

Wessex in the early Middle Ages by Barbara Yorke, London : Leicester University Press, 1995.

February 2023 update #4

 Since the last update, I've really got going on the writing. Finished chapter 11 (The Two Wells) on Friday; chapter 12 (Camlann Field) on Sunday, subject to a little tinkering; and I've got the larger part of chapter 13 (In Arthur's Hall) done already. After that I'll have to see what goes in chapter 14, which will be transitional to the next set of linked chapters. Those will involve some people Gwernin has met before. :)

Februry 2023 #3

 After spending several days on the Taliesin project, I'm finally back to The Old Gods Endure. I spent a lot of time proof reading the manuscript to date, fixing a number of minor issues, and redoing the chapter formatting, then managed 285 words on chapter 11. I hope to finish that chapter by this time next week, hopefully sooner.

I've also changed the header on this blog to match my business cards. The ogam letters on the branch spell out "tre gwernin", which means "Gwernin's home".

February #2 - An unexpected detour

 I have been putting in a lot of writing time the last few days, but not on The Old Gods Endure. Instead I've  been combing back through the Storyteller books to date and The King's Druid for snippets about Taliesin. I was beginning to have the feeling of potentially painting myself into a corner which led to my writing The Druid's Son in order to get Mac Criomthann's background straight. I don't plan (lol) to stop working on Old Gods in order to hare off and write Taliesin's story, but I've sorted out pertinent snippets into an timeline, and have only found a couple of minor contradictions to date. Now onward w/ Gwernin. :)

February 2023 #1

 Only 80 words so far on Chapter 11, but I hope to write more today. The last week was dedicated to research, plus coping with some very cold weather (highs in the teens F). The next week should be better. Currently useful references have included Geoffrey Ashe's Arthurian Britain, and the next three chapters will deal partly with Taliesin's experiences before and after Camlann.