How would you even begin to write a novel set in the Roman Republic?
I absolutely adore I, Claudius and its sequel. I love historical novels like Pillars of the Earth, Augustus by John Williams, Sarum and London by Edward Rutherford, and other novels that transport you to a different time and place -- creating characters you can connect with, in a world you've never known, amidst stunning historical events.
I'd love to try to write one of these. There's an aristocratic woman from the Roman Republic whom I find fascinating and who possibly played a role in major events at that time. I have the idea of a novel that follows her as well as an enslaved young woman in her household, in the midst of these events. I've purchased and read a couple books about women and/or slaves in ancient Rome, but they are both highly academic and highly limiting. Very basic questions that I have seem difficult to get an answer on -- such as "What would this character do in the morning? Where and how would they be interacting with other people in their life? Would this character be able to go out into the street alone? How much agency would this character realistically have? What would the historical events that are happening look like on a day-to-day level?" And while I love novels like I, Claudius and Augustus, their focus on upper-class male characters feels rather distant from what I'm working on. Many other historical novels about the Roman Republic appear to be focused on various wars of the time, whereas I'm much more interested in day-to-day life.
I've started writing, and I find what I've written terrible. The feeling that the best historical novels have, of sweeping you into a world, of having a glimpse of all the details of regular life and of characters that feel both timeless and of their time, is totally absent. I am utterly stuck on plot - while I have a loose outline of the big picture of the novel, the day-to-day of these characters seems impossible to grasp for me. If anything, the outline seems to be hurting me, as it's tying my writing too close to the few big-picture historical events that happened, and not allowing life to breathe.
I'm now thoroughly stuck, and I've put the work down. I'm frustrated. To be fair, this is not an easy project I've embarked on, and just because I like reading this type of novel doesn't mean I am the one to write one. Though I have finished other large creative projects, I've never actually written a complete novel - just started a couple and put them down. And because I've chosen two subjects for whom there is very little extant historical information, this may be uniquely hard. But I truly do want to give this a shot. I should probably re-read I, Claudius. I should probably read other novels set in the Roman Republic, even if most of them seem to be about Great Men or Big Wars. I should possibly choose one of my two lead characters and focus on her.
But right now this is feeling overwhelming. Any advice? |
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