2006-01-10

Writing (written) musings for a new year

We are in the first of the two months added to make a 12 months year in Roman times that eventually happened to be the firsts when New Year was moved from Spring to Winter. Pretty interesting stuff (and explains why September (the seventh month in latin) is actually the ninth month), search for it, you'll learn a good handful...

Time measurement is on the essence for a Historical Fiction writer, specially if you keep moving back in time, as I seem to be doing more and more (XIII BCE Century (half novel), to III BCE Century (Half short novel), XVI Century (plotbunny) --hey, pretty near to the present!--, to V Century (big plotbunny) --oops!-- to V BCE Century (current novel) --hey!-- to XXVII BCE Century ---WAAAAIT THERE! What'll be next??? Neolithic???).

Accurate measuring of time is very important, and quite a recent feat in Human History... As an example, in my current novel, circa 460 BCE, Athens started the year in August (more or less, it wasn't called that way, of course) and Sparta, with a different name, in September (and IIRC, one by the new Moon and the others by the full Moon, but I may be confusing civilizations, kinda an information soup in my head now, back from holidays and all that)... Funny, isn't it? Even counting years by Olimpic Games was pretty bad, we gotta be thankful to Thukidides who tried to be sistematic with dates...

So, January, time of reflection, of good will, resolutions, and all that...

January also brought me a new writing devicve. Writing devices are a Good Thing, or you would have a hard time to, well, actually write something. This device is a wonderful, as-new, shiny Psion Series 5mx, in Spanish, with Spanish keyboard and all that! Joy, joy! :-)

This is an incredible, now extinct (I mean, you use eBay) machine, and a fascinating writing device. Almost all of my Nano in 2005 was done on my Psion Series 5 (the model before this one), I can vouch for it's promptness and readiness if you, like me, write on the go.

Now, ready to re-take The Libyan, I'm back to Sparta, to finish that part, and then we'll take Memphis, then Prosopitis, and later on, the World, Bhwah-hah-hah! Oops, too much Giffen-De Matteis's Justice League, I'm afraid...

Be gentle to your time, and be gentle to your writing device --and be gentle with your head, and hands, and your whole self in general, yeah--, and 2006 (a.k.a. 2K6, a.k.a. MMVI) will be a great writing year, indeed...

Kallisti!

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