Skeleton Architecture

I love high fantasy books.  I've written a post about my love of fantasy fiction before, so I shan't go over that again here. Today we'll stick with high fantasy. What's high fantasy? You can check out the Wikipedia entry on the topic, but I'd describe it as big stories, set in slightly magical alternative worlds, often peopled with things like elves. The societies are well worked out, with power structures, religion, and rules for any magic. The most famous books in this genre are probable Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series, although George RR Martin is currently vying for that position with his Song of Ice and Fire series and other stories set in the same world. High fantasy is often set in a medieval-esque world, although it doesn't have to be . Similarly, the books often use medieval-esque societal rules, although they don't have to. These rules often result in women, and races other than white human, getting the short end of a rather shitt...

This is my first link up with The Prompt (click on the link pic below to find out more - or have a look here ). I'm finding it hard to work out what to do, so I thought I'd just do it. Eek. Inked Colours written on the body; stories told inside the skin. The ink-ed creature recreates herself. Inchoate markings clothe in colour: carnation blooms within the skin. A crimson kiss comes carmine, but is kept. ©   Cara L McKee, 25th October 2015

Today's exercise is similar to previous exercises I've set out, in that you take six starting points, and use a dice to decide which one to run with. Today though, they are literally (and literary) staring points. The first lines of books you have to hand.  The first line of a story is very important. You need to grab your reader, and make them want to keep going. So using something from a book you've already deemed worth reading has to be handy, right? Here are the six I had to hand (references at the bottom of the post if you're interested, although it might be best if you ignore them just now): 1. They found blood on the trail on the seventh day, five spots, red against the grey of old snow. 2. Even though the temperature had not risen above freezing in nine months, the bear carcass was not frozen. 3. The lady of the castle huddled with her children in the shattered tower. 4. The prophet was drowning men on Great Wyk when they came to tell him that the ki...

Today's writing exercise is all about building up your arsenal of stuff to be used in stories. You'll need to be in a cafe, or other public space (preferably one where people stay for a while). You're going to need a notebook. You can write stuff on your 'phone or some other gadget if you prefer, but personally, for quick jotting, I'm a big fan of a notebook. Choose a person. You're going to write about this person. What they look like, how they move, the cut of their jib. Unusual people may be more interesting, but anyone becomes unusual if you look long enough (try not to get done for stalking). Describe, describe, describe. Get a really good idea of the person as a character. You might want to move on from doing this to making stuff up about them - a name, the roles they play in their life. Their opinions on various topics. It's all good. If you're like me, you'll make that stuff up as you go along. Now you've got an idea about your char...

I've recently heard about 'Shut up and Write' - it's an academia thing. Academics or research students get together somewhere and write in companionable silence for a while, before chatting together over coffee. There's a useful piece on it here . I like this plan, it might be because I like coffee and writing, but hey. It seems like a good enough plan for all of us. If you're going to a 'Shut up and Write' gathering and you're stuck about what to write about, I'm intending on giving you some suggestions to get you started. You'll be able to find a few different ideas right here under the Writing tab. If you've got suggestions for useful prompts then let me know, because different things work for different people at different times. Disembodied words For this exercise you gather words that you hear when you turn on a radio/resume your podcast. You know, just a random sentence from the middle of an interview or news report. I wro...

Sometimes I have ideas rattling around my head and they keep tickling me, but they won't quite come out. So here's one thing I do. I take some brief ideas. The ones set out below came from the sentences I was recording on Vocal ID tonight. As I was recording them I was wondering if people ever said most of those sentences, which made me think about context, so I've taken some to act as prompts (thanks Vocal ID). These ideas are supposed to be pretty general, so they can lead off in many directions, but they were ones that grabbed my fancy while my mind was being tickled by a particular thing so I suspect they may be more amendable to that thing... If that makes sense. Anyway, you take six prompts.  Here are mine: No one else can help me. I should have asked him in. He looked so wistful as he went away. I know a story. I will not grant your wish. Now go and do not seek me again. See what I mean? You're not likely to say most of those are you? Right, ...

I'm afraid I'm well behind the times with this one... so behind in fact that I thought briefly that I shouldn't bother saying anything. However, this book really bugged me. This is a book of short stories with the central theme of 'dangerous women', which is basically cobbled together in order to piggyback some other authors onto the current success of George RR Martin, who has one of his World of Ice and Fire novellas in here.  I got it because of the George RR Martin story, and I did enjoy some of the other authors. I welcome the chance to find new stuff to read (despite the length of my 'to read' list). I don't even mind that I don't like some of the stories, however, some of these stories are just shite. Some of the  women aren't dangerous ; they're barely even characters, and they drag an otherwise good book down. I've been through the stories so you don't have to. Some Desperado by Joe Abercrombie. A great Western s...