This is an adapted version of a post I wrote originally for the Random House blog back in February, soon after my novel was published. It will be up on the Dog on November 17.
In it, I talk about being hit on the head over and over at the Society for Creative Anachronism, in the interests of research. My favourite fight arranger is Terry Walsh, who used to do it for Robin of Sherwood. Nasir, the Saracen warrior, seemed to have only a couple of moves, but on the whole, I could believe the fights in that show. I did gape over the scene in one episode where two Saracens are fighting in Sherwood using Japanese katanas...
Anyway, the IAD post is just about me and the SCA and how I used it in my fantasy writing. And my friend Robert, who was bashing a light pole for sword practice, when a watching policeman asked, "Is it dead yet?"
That's some dedication Sue. I like the idea of really immersing yourself in the world you've created for research.
ReplyDeleteIt could be a lot more immersive, Lan! Sean McMullen, who got me to join the SCA, was, at one time, writing a novel for which he wanted to know what it was like to travel through the desert wearing armour, did it, with his wife in the car nearby. His daughter said, "I want you to know I;'m adopted!" ;-) (She wasn't, actually - I remember when she was born...)
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