Masyn

Okay, that’s great. I was just curious. I’m attached to the name myself now, having come to know him, after a fashion, but I wondered how it fit. You’re right. A Britisher definitely would not sound well clothed in an Italian name. 🙂
It’s funny, now that I think about it. I don’t think I could write an Italian story either. For some reason I also…[Read more]

Daeus, you said this was a Renaissance era story? Is Edwin, and especially Brook, a name you would expect to find in that era? When I think of the Renaissance, I think of names like Michelangelo Buanerotti, and Botticelli, and Machiavelli, and Savanarola— Italian names. Does this story not take place in Italy? How does the name fit with the era?…[Read more]

Thing is, though, most of the composers you mentioned composed film music, and for me, it’s difficult to listen to music from a film I’ve watched while I’m trying to write, because the music has prior associations and therefore is difficult to match up to the scene I am writing. If that were not the case, I could live for the rest of my life using…[Read more]

Whoops! Sorry about that, Daeus. I guess I knew that. Thanks for correcting my mistake. I believe I was trying to make a distinction between a hand-and-a-half sword and say, a claymore. There is a difference, isn’t there?
Rolena, it’s possible that a sword could shatter if the temper of the blade was bad. Not that the blade had a bad temper……[Read more]

Yeah, probably.

I think the commands to love your enemies apply to ‘agape’ love— not ‘eros’, which is romantic love. Romantic love does differ from agape love. It’s just that it must be built on the same spirit of sacrifice to be worth anything.

Now we’re getting somewhere! How would you carry the medallion with you? In pouch? Sewn into the lining of your cloak? Depending on its size, of course.
You know, a medallion isn’t really a piece of jewelry, and that made me think. Why should it have to be a piece of jewelry? Why couldn’t it just be something as simple as a stone a dragon had…[Read more]

I think I can answer that one. The category of swords commonly and generally labeled ‘broadswords’ is pretty… well… broad. You can have anything from the heavy Scottish claymores to the Roman ‘shortswords’. I think it depends upon who made the sword and for what purpose. Actually, most swords are only made for one purpose— war. But if…[Read more]

Good idea— you can always be less technical. You can always describe a technical term in everyday words, and it generally gives a much stronger image than just the one term that sums everything up.
And I’m sorry Daeus, but I missed your reply to my knife fighting question. I don’t know how I didn’t see it there— but thanks for the tips. I’m…[Read more]

Think of Deborah— she was a leader. She had to step up and lead because Barak was being weak. But that does not mean that women generally should be leaders. Those were far less than ideal circumstances, and may I remind you that she did not actually go into battle. One very practical reason that women shouldn’t ideally lead is because they are…[Read more]

Hm… somehow I don’t think that would go over too well. ‘The Socks of Power’. Nah. Sorry. Just wouldn’t cut it.
A ‘magical sock-knitting factory’ would be cool, though… wonder how they do that?

Well Mark, I would disagree. Not that you have to have a character— obviously, there’s no other reason to write a fight scene than if it is affecting one of your characters— but that you should not describe everything, and that you should use short sentences. Now it sounds like I’m nitpicking, but I have very legitimate reasons for presenting…[Read more]

That’s certainly an interesting opinion, but is love at first sight really even possible? I mean, if you just look up one day and see this guy staring at you across the room, are you automatically just going to think “wow, he is the one! Already I love him so deeply that it cannot be anything but true love!”?
Now don’t get me wrong— I’m…[Read more]

Oh boy, I knew as soon as Daeus saw this post he would be off! I was just waiting for it! So glad we have an expert here to tell us what we don’t know.
Now I have a question.
Isn’t the footwork employed in fighting with a dagger pretty similar to the footwork employed in fighting with a sword? (A broadsword). I have a fantasy hero who is…[Read more]

I have no idea. I know I probably wouldn’t have time for it, though it sounds like terrific fun, because I am so busy helping my little brother with his tomato growing business, helping my family with our log cabin rental business, helping my Dad with his apple growing hobby, canning those apples, helping our cabin guests survive our terror of a…[Read more]

Oh good! I’m glad I was actually helpful.

Necklaces— a good idea, but somehow to me it would seem to be odd for a male hero. Maybe that’s just me.

Daeus… seriously? That’s the best you could come up with?
🙂 Haha.

Oh wow, that would be great! It would be the perfect opportunity to explore the more nitty-gritty aspects of married life— the pork chops that the wife burned, and the way her husband bravely ate them or loudly complained, depending on his temperament; the wife learning to manage a household, raising their first child, learning to economize…[Read more]

I certainly cannot claim to know the ins and outs of sword fighting, but I have found it helpful to look up instructional videos—though I haven’t got around to watching any of them yet :P—and illustrated ‘lectures’ or articles on technique. One thing to keep in mind, though, as you do this, is what kind of sword fighting are your characters…[Read more]

Oh yes, I couldn’t agree more. Some of the challenges I like in writing my own books are making the love stories (every one of my books is a love story to some extent, though not what you would consider a romance) as fresh and original as possible. My first book (The one that I would still acknowledge to be mine, that is) had a pretty ordinary,…[Read more]