A new book in the pipeline

Ancient History revisited, Articles on writing, My Books

First, I want to allay readers of the Servant of the Gods series that Book 3 will be finished by the end of the year (fingers crossed and everything else crossed as well!) More on that in future posts, but I wanted to tell you about a new historical novel I am researching. The idea for the story came to me after watching a movie. The film stayed with me for years following its release at the cinema and about 18 months ago I road-tested the story concept.

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When ideas come to me, I always brainstorm: characters, setting, plot, sub-plots, backstory etc. Then I flesh it out and when I finish, the brainstorm has many webs, much like a spider as they weave their silky traps. Sometimes the idea doesn’t have any legs I put it aside and later re-visit. I have a spiral notebook for my story ideas, its where the Servant of the Gods had its first awakening. My ideas seem to be growing and time is running away, so many stories, very little time to write.

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I then develop the brainstorm into scenes, a writing strategy I learnt at a writers’ workshop here in Perth at the University of Western Australia with John Harman, ghost writer and who writes thriller fiction similar to John Grisham. The scenes I develop are not prescriptive, they are more of a guide so that way it keeps me on track with where the story is going.

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Hypatia Drawn by Jules Maurice Gaspard (1862–1919) Image courtesy of Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3156846

In any case, the story has legs, and I’ve been researching, collecting as much information there is about the unique astronomy and Platonic follower, Hypatia. The first female science researcher and teacher in Alexandria, circa 5th century CE. Over the next few blog posts, I will share what I have researched.

Thank you for your continued support and as always, I look forward to your comments and will respond.

Historical fiction novelist and a secondary teacher, Luciana Cavallaro, burnt out but not done… yet.

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10 comments

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    • cav12

      I found brainstorming a good technique for expanding potential ideas. It gives me scope to explore the storyline and determine whether there is enough for me to create scenes. A few ideas fell short, hence still in my notebook ;D

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  2. G. J. Jolly

    Diversification of genders in the 5th century CE sounds so intriguing. I’m surprised that such thing happened way back then. Of course, knowing the Greeks, it certainly is possible.

    I agree wholeheartedly with Jacqui about your way of developing a story. If my penmanship was better, I’d use a spiral too. Still, I could try the scenes as a guide method myself.

    I look forward to your future posts on this project.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. rosarymcquestion

    Bella,

    I had no idea a subject such as astronomy was taught back then by a woman. Can’t wait to find out more about this brilliant woman and the role she played in shaping our world. I look forward to your upcoming posts!

    Brainstorming scenes is something I do, too. I have several writing tablets filled with ideas. My problem is that I end up with way too many, and this makes my writing stall. I really need to work on this. 😉

    xxx

    Liked by 1 person

    • cav12

      She was amazing and very well regarded by her students. Reading the research, you can see the how the evolution of religion and the despotism of faith had a detrimental impact. More on that later 😉
      I get a lot of traction with brainstorming. Awesome to hear you have lots of story ideas. I do have my other novella series, which is also waiting on the sideline. It’s been to the editor, just needs my attention now.
      xxx

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Linnea Tanner

    Look forward to the third book in the Servant of the Gods Servant. I’m always fascinated with the roles of ancient women. It is fascinating to learn more about your story ideas. I need to write down more ideas of stories before they escape my mind. Sometimes I’ll have a vivid dream and then forget to write down what impacted me about the dream. I look forward to hearing more about storylines that you’ve come up with.

    Liked by 1 person

    • cav12

      It has a been a slow journey with Book 3. I have made a little progress and plan on getting it finished. A lot of good ideas come from dreams, and I keep a note book on my bedside table. Not just for writing ideas but also for some of the vivid dreams I have.
      Thank you, Linnea 😀

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