Rachel
asked
Melanie Dickerson:
Hi Melanie, I love your books! I am so excited to read The Princess Spy next! Do you find it hard to make characters fit in medieval times? How do you make sure their speech is right for the era? They fit in so perfectly. My favorite of your books is probably The Merchant's Daughter.
Melanie Dickerson
Hi, Rachel! Thank you so much for your kind words and your questions.
I do try my best to create characters who might have actually existed in Medieval times. Just as there are people today who don't fit the stereotype of what a modern woman or man's attitudes and feelings are, I believe there were people in Medieval times who also didn't exactly fit the stereotypical thought patterns of the time. Still, I do try to keep any modern-day sentiments from creeping into my Medieval characters. That is the hardest part. As far as their speech, I mostly just try to keep any modern words, ideas, and cliches from showing up in their speech and inner dialogue. This is difficult too, but Dictionary.com is my best friend in that area. It gives the original time period when that word or phrase was thought to have been used. I do deliberately cheat just a little sometimes, and I'm sure I've let words slip that I didn't realize weren't used in Medieval times, but that's the beauty of fiction. I'm writing a story, not a textbook, and reminding myself of that keeps me from being too OCD. :-) I hope that answered your questions! Thanks, Rachel!
I do try my best to create characters who might have actually existed in Medieval times. Just as there are people today who don't fit the stereotype of what a modern woman or man's attitudes and feelings are, I believe there were people in Medieval times who also didn't exactly fit the stereotypical thought patterns of the time. Still, I do try to keep any modern-day sentiments from creeping into my Medieval characters. That is the hardest part. As far as their speech, I mostly just try to keep any modern words, ideas, and cliches from showing up in their speech and inner dialogue. This is difficult too, but Dictionary.com is my best friend in that area. It gives the original time period when that word or phrase was thought to have been used. I do deliberately cheat just a little sometimes, and I'm sure I've let words slip that I didn't realize weren't used in Medieval times, but that's the beauty of fiction. I'm writing a story, not a textbook, and reminding myself of that keeps me from being too OCD. :-) I hope that answered your questions! Thanks, Rachel!
More Answered Questions
Kirsti
asked
Melanie Dickerson:
Do you, or will you have your new "The Warrior Maiden" book read as an eBook? I love Jude Mason's reading! I have listened to your Hagenheim books over and over, and am so looking forward to the next one! Is there another source besides Christian Audio! Thanks so much!
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