Genres and Writing

I mentioned somewhere previously that I had started “work’ on my next novel. After all, you can’t really call yourself an author unless you have about half a dozen trilogies to your name so … anyway I began. Scribbling away in my new notepad as well as in MS Word – actually I like a notebook and pen. Oh don’t let me go down that path the endless discussion between writing with paper and pen as opposed to on a keyboard. People come to blows over things like that, I understand. Anyway, I will just say let me get on with my vapid scribblings on my hand-scuffed vellum, bleached ox-hide covered notebook. Anyway the point is that I was going through notes and points of views and characters and settings – and all the various possibilities of beginning a novel or a story (there are apparently something like 10,000,000,00, 000 moving possibilities within the first ten moves in a chess game. Actually, there are one hundred and sixty-nine million, five hundred and eighteen thousand, eight hundred and twenty-nine followed by twenty-one ciphers and no, I haven’t counted them myself. In fact I don’t even know how to play chess – Oh, Gawd, another learning curve?).

Anyway, I am discovering it is the same with a book beginning. I can start anywhere I like and in whatever genre suits my purpose. Reading the translations of the early Irish documents from the 8th century and is preserved in The Book of the Dun Cow (c. 1100) I found myself bursting out laughing at various points at the machinations of the characters and the tongue in cheek descriptions given by some unknown clerics back centuries ago. Maybe I’ll make a new genre, or at least add to the corpus of humour historical. I bow down to the past master – The Flashman creator, what a ripper. I love him, but I am not attempting to make my characters in any way the same as Harry Flashman but …

Anyway, the point is – a new genre – Historical Humour / Humorous Hisorica?

Do I have it in me to be a funny man?

Author: serkeen

I am Irish, currently living in West Australia. I have a degree in Old & Middle English, Lang & Lit and, despite having worked in Kuwait, Italy, Malaysia, USA, Brunei, Australia and Hong Kong over the last 40 years, I have a strong interest in Ireland’s ancient pre-history and the heroes of its Celtic past as recorded in the 12th and late 14th century collection of manuscripts, collectively known as The Ulster Cycle. I enjoy writing historical novels, firmly grounded in a well-researched background, providing a fresh and exciting look into times long gone. I have an empathy with the historical period and I draw upon my experiences of that area and the original documents. I hope, by providing enough historical “realia” to hook you into a hitherto unknown – or barely glimpsed - historical period. View all posts by serkeen