Assembling the Pieces...

I often say, when asked, that writing a good book is easy. All you need are great characters, compelling settings, and engaging plots. Those, well, those are the hard parts. With the story I am working on here, of course, I have a significant advantage in that the name ‘Spartacus’ is already a part of the collective memory; even if you’ve never watched the movie, you know the phrase ‘I am Spartacus’, and there is that element of name recognition. This also represents something of a problem, though, in that everyone already knows the ending. This is a potential concern with any historical fiction, save the alt-hist genre, but you can often assume that your reader might not know the ins and outs of a minor skirmish on the Germanic frontier, that they might yet be surprised. Not so with Spartacus. Anyone – at least, anyone likely to read the book – knows that a gladiator called Spartacus rose up, led a revolt, and was defeated, he and the bulk of his followers crucified. (Though to be fair – Spartacus was never actually found, and I suppose it might be possible that he escaped. Or that he never existed at all, and was simply a name ascribed by the Romans to a collection of leaders…but now we’re beginning to cheat a little!)

The reader needs, deserves a satisfactory ending to the story, and one which can be interpreted logically from the preceding events with the benefits of the knowledge already possessed. What this means is that my first decision was the easiest one at all; my series will subscribe to the generally-held narrative of the Third Servile War. Which means that – Spoiler Alert – Spartacus is going to die. Now, there is little enough detail that I can put a wide variety of interpretations upon that narrative, and I intend to do just that, but I’ve got to commit to following the historical reality as best I can. That has some repercussions that directly lead into the nature of the story that I intend to tell, the main one being that Spartacus cannot be a point-of-view character. We already know how his personal story ends – there’s no surprise, no shock there, and while I could cheat my way out of that, I do not choose to do so.

One of the major arguments I have heard in relation to the writing of historical fiction is just how closely the author must stick to reality. My concept of this is that the author has a responsibility to make the most accurate account possible, based on the information available, and that any additions that are made should not violate the known facts. Adding a blacksmith named Gaius, for example, changes nothing. Putting in a villa somewhere outside Capua changes nothing – so much has been lost to history, and such additions, while perhaps vital for the story I am working on, have no impact on history. Were I to suggest that the Emperor Nero ordered Spartacus’ death, however, I would be on somewhat shakier ground!

There is also the responsibility of the author to look for inconsistencies. These are legion in the sources available on the Third Servile War, and in many cases mean that I have to make decisions about which source to follow, based on all the data and my own judgment. In addition – you have to work out what the writers of the sources might not have wanted posterity to remember, in this case my belief that part of the Third Servile War is in a sense dealing with the aftermath of the Social War. While the vast majority of ‘enemy’ combatants became Roman citizens, I find it impossible to believe that resentments would not run high, and that there would be many groups – such as the Samnites, for example – interested in getting some sort of revenge for past wrongs.

All of this is part of the fun, and one of the key reasons I am interested in writing historical fiction. Digging into the motivations and reasons behind the decisions taken by all of the major players is a fascinating study, rather like putting together an intensely complicated puzzle, trying to make each piece fit. And hoping there aren’t too many left over at the end, of course!

And So It Begins...

It is always extremely strange writing the first post on a new blog, strange because the vast majority of those reading it – assuming, of course, that anyone is reading it at all – will be trawling through the archives, going back through older posts on a blog they now follow, many of which could be far from relevant after the months or, God help me, years that might have passed since they were written. It is probably impossible to make a post of this type truly timeless, so I will settle for instead discussing the purpose of this blog, the very reason for its creation, and what manner of content I am intending to provide.

For a long time, I have been planning to write a series set in the days of Ancient Rome. It is a field that has always fascinated me, and one that I would enjoy exploring further in any case, but I am of the mentality that requires myself to have some sort of a goal before seriously delving into a topic. It is with that in mind that I sought one out, and that was the objective of chronicling the Third Servile War, the rebellion led by the gladiator named Spartacus, in a truly epic context, in a four-part series of books that, all being well, will approach four hundred thousand words between them, spanning the Italian peninsula and beyond.

An ambitious goal, I know, but I am making it more so by the restrictions I am forced to set upon myself. I am fortunate enough to make a living as a writer, though principally of military science-fiction at present. I cannot afford to interrupt my schedule of releases in that genre, meaning that, much as I would wish to, I am unable to simply break from everything for months and work solely on this series. Another consideration is commercial; I want to have all four books in this series completed and essentially ready for release before I launch the first, and that means I need to get a move on! Luckily, I work far better with a deadline in any case, and I have more than fifty novels behind me, so I can say with some assurance that I am to have this series completed in approximately twenty weeks from today. A hundred and forty days, which takes us well into September.

In all honesty, I think the approach I am taking has considerable merit, in that it forces me to write the books as one, albeit with each having a satisfactory ending that leads into the next volume in the saga. I strongly dislike having to wait years in between a book release, not least because it forces one to go back through all the previous books before reading the new one, losing your thread; it seems fair enough for me to put my money where my mouth is, and indicate that my intention is to release each book at eight-week intervals. (Strange to be thinking about a book that I will not write for three months, to be released some time in the middle of next year, but sometimes it is necessary to plan ahead to that extent.)

As for this blog, it is titled ‘Making of an Epic’ for a reason, as one of the primary foci will be a discussion of the writing of the books, on the history behind it, and reviews of both the non-fiction sources I have utilised and will use in the writing process, as well as Roman-era fiction that has inspired me – or that I have simply enjoyed! A discussion of the legend of Spartacus in other contexts is inevitable as well, and you can expect to see the films and the series covered in some depth; after all, I must admit to my influences if I am to make proper use of them!

At this point, I am far from certain what manner of posting schedule I will manage, though I am hoping for a fairly regular one, possibly even daily, if I can manage it, though I may well falter in that ambition. Certainly while I am writing, I will provide frequent updates of my progress and discussion of anything that comes up during the course of my work. I’ve already got several planned essays, but the nature of writing is that the unexpected will often arise to trip you up while you attempt to progress.

Of course, as I said at the beginning of this post, if you are reading this, then in all probability, it is because you found this website listed in the back of one of the books I have yet to write, in which case, I hope you enjoyed the book as much as I expect to enjoy writing it!