And that’s a wrap for The Back-Folk!
This one has been a lot of fun to create, write, and share. This wasn’t even percolating in my brain until some time in April, when a kernel of an idea crept into my mind during a walk with Scapa in our local woods. From then on, each walk was an opportunity to lose myself in the world of The Back-Folk, tiny observations - a spiderweb here, some knotted tree roots there - growing legs and becoming something more. I would message myself a handful of my ideas as I walked, or dash upstairs to write them down as soon as I got home.
I sketched out a rough plan for the month in terms of daily topics, to make sure I had enough material to work with – not the detail, just the topic headers – but I didn’t start actually writing the posts until the beginning of the month. With the exception of one day, each day’s entry was written on the day it was posted. Once again, I was glad of the self-discipline that Scribbles and Sketches offered me – I never would have managed to prioritise the time I spent each day doing this if I didn’t have a set publication schedule.
I worked to my notes each day, but some ideas grew legs and developed into something much more once I started writing. It was fun making everything fit together, and build on previous posts.
This was my first foray into more fictional waters as part of Scribbles and Sketches, and I love how it turned out. I never once mentioned the village by name, but there are enough clues to figure out which village it is. Those clues are indisputable facts, and I enjoyed revisiting some of them through the prism of The Back-Folk, rewriting history.
There are some characters and ideas that I think I will develop further. I especially enjoyed creating my own primary sources, and quoting them in a way that could be broadly badged as “accessible academic”.
All in all, this, my fourth notebook, has been exciting and interesting to develop. I look forward to revisiting it in some form in the future. When or how, I don’t know – but I feel like there are several untapped opportunities.
I’ll be back on the first day of August with an update on the theme for my next seasonal notebook, which will run throughout September. Until then, have a splendid summer!
Lydia Crow
The Highlands, Scotland