Month of November begins writing marathon

A few years back I actually entered the NANOWRIMO writing exercise which means putting in writing so many words per day to achieve at the end of the month 50,000 words for a story created by yourself. I used it to begin the draft for a novel about Alexander the Great and as I had wanted to make the Iliad the back drop for the story, I actually paraphrased much of the material that I wanted to use in that book.  Since that time, I have changed the idea totally, and revised my entire perspective towards writing the novel.  One was a linear, chronological approach, and another was a look back from a given point in time to a task at hand.

Why on earth would I ever write about Alexander the Great when I am not a history student, or even interested in military figures of the past?  I often wonder why I would do this except for one simple fact and that is that his life became known to me in a way that made me know more about him than the historians who read, copy, and paraphrase all the statements that others have written about him.

Why do I know so much about him?  Because a spiritual guide revealed and exposed him to me after I asked a set question during a soul searching hypnotic trance.

Were I to just read all the tired old texts about him, I would forget him in a minute. He is that easy to dismiss as just another historical figure whose life has been over exploited and magnified to make one question all the tales that are told about him.  History is littered with names of men who have led armies, defeated enemies, and who live in the chapters of imaginative novels, movies, tv shows, etc. but who are really reduced to being just another stone statue, or minted coin.  None of those things mean much to anyone today.  Even coins of our leaders mean little to us but a face to recognize the value of the piece.  We forget who or what they actually did but care only that so many dollars and cents will pay my bills.  They become jokes after awhile.

I decided to write my version of Alexander in my recollection of the experiences that I had had when I went back in time.  I actually came to like him far better than I had thought I would. I had hated reading some of the deeds that he had done but I learned to accept that a different time than this one required far different responses than we are taught today.  Very few of us admire any leader today who wants to make a name for himself through conquering other nations.   We see one now who has declared himself the caliphate of the Islamic State and we are all so opposed to his lifestyle, his way, and his leadership that hopefully, one day he will be eliminated and killed to stop this terrorist group from destroying Iraq and Syria.  He is a modern day terrorist who makes one think of Hitler's march.

Alexander waged war against his enemies and won, traveled far and wide, and imposed his rule upon the conquered nations but one thing that people tend to forget, he allowed the nations he conquered to continue to practice their own beliefs and lifestyles without change except for acknowledging his rule and kingmanship.  He did introduce the Greek culture into the lives of the conquered nations but he did not abolish their religious beliefs, but allowed them to practice them as they saw fit.

I have read so many different author's interpretations and imposed thinking upon his life that it is sometimes amusing and sometimes annoying.  One really has to read the sources to get the real feel of what the ancients thought about it.  Modern day thinking is a bit biased and prejudiced either for or against him, and such biases are truly wrong in evaluating history from a distance.

So when I went into recollections I found myself in his skin and thinking capacity and that is what endeared him to me.  His thinking, his intellect, his emotional feelings, and his appearance even had a real impact on me.  I wanted to share it, but then after time I began to think better of it.  There is no way that I want some of what I have learned and know about him to become known to the lovers and haters who truly will not understand it anyway.

At first, I was very proud of it. I was excited. I was enamored of it.  It is a great thing to relive a past lifetime, and especially of someone so unknown as Alexander.  Sure, there are many books about his feats but basically, he is an unknown quantity.

So I am still contemplating the do's and don'ts of telling all.  I just read a bit about Diane von Furstenberg's memoirs.   People only want to know the salacious.  So she has a lot to say which was truly surprising.

Alexander has a lot of romance in his life too, but he is basically a sincerely ideal driven man.  He is above reproach in many areas and I know that for a fact, but he has enemies who would like to make him appear otherwise.  Sadly, they would be disappointed to learn that he is so mentally sound that he makes decisions rationally rather than emotionally.  On rare occasions, he becomes angry, cold, and merciless.  Usually, he is mentally contemplating each and every aspect of his military tasks, and the administration of his settlements.  Fortunately for him, he had the vision and the materials to make his vision work and come true.  Whether I will share this knowledge that I have of him is still up in the air.  I am working on it all the time.   What is the best book to write for the right audience?   What should I include? What should I exclude?  It must be readable, salable, and unforgettable1