Overbury Ink

What is This Thing Called Steampunk Anyway? is the question Matthew Delman asks in his blog: Free the Princess. It’s a question that is shared in this forum as well, as we explore the aesthetic in its myriad of faces.


Matthew answers his own question: “Steampunk, in its most simple definition, is a type of fiction that places contemporary technology in the Victorian Era with Coal (and thus Steam) as the primary power source instead of Gas or Electricity.” With this definition in mind, Matthew deepened the scope of his blog and shares with us the insights he has gained.


“Free the Princess was never meant to be a resource for Steampunk background. The first post — on July 17, 2009 — set out the mission statement of the first 9 months for the blog to be an avenue where I’d share my research and thoughts about writing. I’d seen a few writers use their blogs as vehicles to educate people on the subject matter they used to write their books — Gary Corby’s “A dead man fell from the sky …” is all about Classical Athens, for example — and I loved the idea of doing that so much that I decided to do the same with Steampunk technology.

I had to start with technology because, well, I’m a techno-nut for lack of a better descriptor. Of course, when you grow up as the youngest child of a Mechanical Engineer, you learn how to build things and all sorts of fun technological tricks fairly early. I blame my love of educating people on having a Teacher for a mother, by the way (my mother will tell you she had nothing to do with it, of course).

So there I am, writing more and more about Steampunk and the associated technology. I realized, after a comment from one of my blog readers, that writing the posts about writing were actually becoming harder to do on a regular basis. The tipping point came when one reader suggested I write a non-fiction primer on the background information needed to write a Steampunk story. I’d already done a bunch of research, and I could see how codifying everything would make writers’ and creators’ lives a whole lot easier.

Thus Free the Princess was reborn as a “practical literary guide to Steampunk.” My original focus on Steampunk tech has now expanded to include, well, pretty much every darn scrap of information I can find about the Victorian Age. The whole point of the blog now is to share as much of that with my readers as possible.

I call it a “practical literary guide” because I don’t discuss what does and does not constitute a Steampunk novel. My aim is merely to share what I think you might maybe, sort of, kind of possibly need to know in order to write a historically viable Steampunk story set between 1800 and 1920. If you’re writing a fantasy-world Steampunk tale, then by all means feel free to crib from my notes to flavor your world. That’s what the blog is there for after all.

As to other projects, well there’s also the speaking engagement I have at Upstate Steampunk in Greenville, South Carolina this fall, and Doctor Fantastique’s Show of Wonders, my brand-spanking-new Steampunk literary magazine. Oh yes, and don’t forget the half-dozen Steampunk novels I have kicking around in my skull.

But feel free to give me a shout if you want something covered on Free the Princess; I am always, and I do mean always, looking for ideas of areas to cover.
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Links:

http://www.matthewdelman.com

Free the Princess: http://freetheprincess.blogspot.com

Doctor Fantastique’s Show of Wonders: http://www.doctorfantastiques.com

Are you a Steampunk Artist? Writer? Designer? I want to feature you on SteamTuesday! Leave a comment for me to get back to you.
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This weeks blog tour:
OM Grey’s Caught in the Cogs feature:
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It’s still Canuk Steampunk month at the Steampunk Scholar’s blog. Read up on: Gaslight Dogs
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Mary Sew, from Germany, runs her own Steampunk Sunday blog feature, but we are pleased to include it on SteamTuesday: http://www.mistyillusions.org
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