Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Themistocles: Fact Over Fiction.

Kalimera!

Once again sorry for neglecting my poor little blog, but I promise you I haven't given up on the fight to tell a really cool story starring Themistocles. I'm just SUPER PICKY about how I want it to go. Without a proper theme/plot/motivation, the story won't make sense. So I want to make sure I'm 100% on board with any ideas that I come up with before piecing the story together. (I'm also going to go back and look at older chapters and stuff with fresh eyes. Perhaps I have more plot/theme/motivation for Themistocles than I think!)

Still, all this struggling makes me wonder if it wouldn't be easier to just write a modern biography on Themistocles. With over 100 books on Ancient Greece and Persia, I certainly have a good starting point! Of course, I'm not a historian, but it would be fun to try. Yet then my imagination would be shackled to cold, hard facts, and when it comes to Themistocles, they are very few facts out there. Maybe it's safer to go with my imagination--which if I can manage to finally dedicate myself to one overall theme for my book will serve as a way to get Themistocles' name out there. And better yet, I'd be in a good company!

Speaking of which, for those who are interested in reading about Themistocles right now, I highly recommend Gary Corby's Ionia Sanction and Scott Oden's upcoming Serpent of Hellas! I also highly recommend their other books on Ancient Greece, especially Memnon, Men of Bronze and The Pericles Commission. Lovers of Ancient Greece won't be disappointed!

2 comments:

Vicky Alvear Shecter said...

Those are all great books. It sounds like your heart says, "Fiction. Tell a story!"

Meghan said...

You're right. I think fiction is what I love and want to do. Thanks for the advice!