Read These Writers!

@Cinilla

 What can I say about @Cinilla? She is a writer who is fantastically serious about her craft, her current chosen genre and her research. Her devotion to historical accuracy is self-evident when reading her work. Little passages of her descriptive writing stand out like scattered jewels. This can take the form of a thumbnail sketch of a character, their speech impediments or recently, a standout description of a Roman legion's camp.

All this is done to commemorate the adventures of a dissolute, opportunistic and shifty Roman nobleman – Publius Clodius Pulcher. The story she is weaving is a scream from start to its current position. No dignity is spared along the way. Her Roman world is dirty, sweaty, drunken and just a little bit sordid. Clodius has an affable sidekick, Rufus, who performs the role of the "innocent" fool with aplomb, raising the need for caution in their adventures but happily ignoring it under Clodius' guidance. Rufus has the charm that makes Clodius' selfishness acceptable.

Not only that, these young Romans have an arch-enemy in the form of their contemporary, Cato. @Cinilla has depicted a nascent Roman hero as a weasel of the worst kind. Anyone who knows Cato's story can only smile at how he is shown here. The champion of the Roman Republic is frequently humiliated by Clodius' machinations.

My only criticism is that the Clodius' story simply is not being updated frequently enough. Damn real life for getting in the way!

In my introduction, I suggested that writers will read anything. I know I will. I suspect that @Cinilla does too, seeing her comments pop up on my newsfeed from time to time. Romance sci-fi, fantasy She is also one of the most giving readers. Anyone lucky enough to hook her attention will find themselves in receipt of kindly worded, well intentioned and thoughtful critiques of their chapters. Her suggestions are humbly given but gratefully received.

In return, @Cinilla is always gracious receiving a critique. She is a writer who serious about developing her craft and is keen to engage in a dialogue with anyone who has anything sensible to say, forensically dismantling suggestions so that she gets a clear sense of what is being said. Frequently she acts upon it too, really underscoring the importance of the reader in everything we do on Wattpad. How serious she is about this can be seen in some of her recent updates when she acted on reader advice and inserted whole new chapters of thousands of words of "missing" story. The story was good before – it was outstanding after.

One final comment. Anyone who has not read historical fiction is missing out. @Cinilla represents HF when done well. There are no long, boring lectures on Roman history here. Her Roman world is vibrant with contemporary speech and great characters who you quickly want to know more about. The historical details are incidental to the story, they merely provide a rich backdrop before which the characters play. HF at its best informs as well as entertains. Clodius' story is doing just that. Since @Cinilla is only on Chapter 9 (at the time of writing) I can safely say that it will be a while before I curse Clodius' passing.

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