October Novel Prep Challenge

Just don't go around describing women's bodies as "hot" like SOME AUTHORS! *cough* Ken Follett!

Sorry...that problem took what is a really, really awesomely researched book and RUINED it. Forever.

The easiest way to keep your language *seeming* period is to write more formally. Avoid contractions (except in dialogue), idioms, modern colloquialisms, etc. If you wouldn't put it in a paper for school, don't put it in a story set in the past. Idioms and colloquialisms from the time, however, are spot on and will flavor your piece.

In the Ireland of this time, the Catholic Church is heavily involved, though of course the Irish were almost excommunicated (the whole island) for holding on to their own beliefs. The Celtic cross, St. Brigit, holy wells, etc. But yeah...knowing that these people literally believed God was responsible for EVERYTHING (unless Satan was) is important. That will have infused their language. But, they also continued their belief in faeries. To this day, they will divert major highways around a faery tree. (I love them so much. I keep pushing my father to get his citizenship and buy property that he can pass to me so I can gain citizenship, but no....)

Also, the 1200s had a couple Crusades. So fighting in the Holy Land should be mentioned a couple times. The English had already arrived, of course, and were trying to force people to give up their Gaelic. (Succeeding for the most part, too. It's rising, but, as of about a decade ago, only about 10% of Ireland spoke primarily Gaelic.)

Oh Lord, my Historian has awoken. British and Irish History are kind of my thing. I have a degree in American, but that's only because I got sucked up in the preponderance of primary source documents and my inner Archaeologist was too terribly happy to abandon it. So...many...primary sources...*drool*

I'll just see myself out.
-Quaddy

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