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Wednesday, September 26, 2018
A Medieval Mistake
I sat in a writers' conference session several years ago and the presenter was trying to get across the idea that writers need to avoid stilted or formal sounding sentences. She made the statement that contractions were used all through history. Well, she was wrong. Contractions, as we know them, didn't come into the vocabulary until the 16th century.
But because of this misinformation, when I started my novel set in the Middle Ages, Roslyn's Rescue, I looked up word after word to make sure it was used during this time period, but it didn't occur to me to look up contractions until I had finished the first draft. I guess I should be thankful that I thought to double check it then. I would have been mortified if I hadn't caught it.
I'm appalled at myself, as it is. I'm a history and English major who should know better. I read the King James version of the Bible all the time, and it doesn't use contractions either, but this never occurred to me. In addition, Tamara Leigh's Age of Faith Series, set during the Middle Ages, is one of my favorites, and I read books set in this time period. I guess this just goes to prove that none of us are perfect, and I don't think we should pretend otherwise. We all make mistakes, but this was a huge one when it comes to writing. Therefore, I've gone back through and corrected around a thousand contractions -- a hard lesson that I guarantee I'll remember.
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Reading books set in the Middle Ages is great, but have you ever considered reading actual Medieval Literature as well?
ReplyDeleteI've found I've learned a lot from reading books actually written during the Medieval period, not just set at that time.
The contractions thing is an interesting question. Some people suggest Shakespeare might have used them. I think he did miss out the odd letter here and there.
What happened about that novel then? Sounds interesting.
Of course I use non-fiction books about the Medieval period. I am a history major and enjoy research. In addition to my initial readings, I have at least three around me at any given time as I write. However, my book is set around the 14th century, before the Early Modern period of Shakespeare. But thanks for your comment. It is a good question and one I enjoyed answering.
ReplyDeleteI have rewritten the first draft and am still working to perfect it. I hope it will be published in the early spring. I will certainly put out information on my blog when that occurs.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I did not mean that comment to sound rude or anything, sorry if it seemed like I did.
ReplyDeleteI just said it because there's such a wealth of great books from the time that have been translated into modern English, but are not widely known.
Oh, I agree with you. I didn't find it offensive at all. It was a good comment since I hadn't mentioned that in my blog.
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