At the beginning of 2015 – two years ago and yet it seems like the blink of an eye – I decided to concentrate on two themes: Inside Historical Fiction and Social Reading. This was the introduction to Inside Historical Fiction:
“January is always a dangerous time. And no, I don’t mean the ice and snow that comes from living in Canada. January is dangerous because it’s my planning time; the time when I think strategically about where I’m heading and how I’m going to get there. The time when I think boldly to conceive outrageous goals. After all, why have a goal if it is easily attainable? … What I plan to do is look under the covers of historical fiction to illuminate those attributes that make it different from contemporary fiction. For writers, I hope the topic will enrich your writing process. For readers, I hope you will find insights to enhance your reading experience.”
And the introduction to social reading:
“It’s time to switch from ‘inside historical fiction‘ to ‘social reading‘, the second of two themes A Writer of History is exploring this year [2015]. Why am I interested? Because I want to be part of the conversation readers have with one another, with writers and with bloggers, and I want to embrace, not resist, the change that’s happening in the world of content creation.”
A few months ago, readers of A Writer of History encouraged me to continue the social reading theme, so that’s one objective for 2017. A second objective is to shift the conversation from ‘inside historical fiction’ to ‘successful historical fiction’. I plan to reach out to bloggers and readers for this second topic, going beyond the surveys I’ve done to deeper conversations. For good measure, I’ll attempt some analysis (perhaps you can help?) based on reading and examining historical novels that are resonating well with readers.
I will also post more WWI letters written by Alexander Henry Tod to honour those who fought.
What other goals do I have for 2017? So glad you asked. Beyond the blog, I will soon submit a second novel to Lake Union Publishing with the hope that they will be as excited about it as I am and then plan this novel’s sequel. And finally, if the moon and the stars align – in other words, if I have enough time – I’ll attempt another reader survey.
Lots of objectives … better get busy. As always, I welcome your input.
PS … a few links on social reading from previous posts
Two Versions of Social Reading
Insights from the Social Reading Landscape
FOR MORE ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION follow A WRITER OF HISTORY (using the widget on the left sidebar)
M.K. Tod writes historical fiction and blogs about all aspects of the genre at A Writer of History. Her latest novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union on August 16, 2016. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.
2 Responses
Great ambitions, Mary! I’ll be following along. Good luck with it all.
I look forward to your posts!