Recent content by A Pineapple

A picture is worth a thousand words. People won't turn a book around to read the description or see what the critics have said about a book unless the cover tells them that the book will tick off parts of their mental checklist. A book cover should convey what time period/ technology age that...

"The greatest harm can result from the best intentions". This "rule" from a Terry Goodkind book does a great job of summing up a good villain (and conflicted protagonist) to me. This type of villain wants to make things better, they want to be a hero, but they have made a number of "the ends...

Don't have the character go on a quest to throw the box into a volcano. Clichés are only bad if you arent original about them. Many readers do appreciate some predictability when digesting the story, but they dont want a copy paste of another story. Creative, well done writing can coverup most...

My world has two forms of magic, elemental and traditional. Elemental magic is generally used by linking with elementals who grant the ability to draw on the energies of the elements. Traditional magic uses the inate magic in a person. All living things have magic power, but only the Races can...

Seems a bit like a mash up of Xavier's school for gifted children in x men and hogwarts. Why are they all sent to the school and why is the school hidden? May there be some malevolent reason? Teachers that are bad guys are pretty easy. Maybe there is a reason that this exact spot was chosen...

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power" Power isnt evil, in the same way that money is not the root of all evil, it is the love of it -greed- that turns someone down the wrong path. And sometimes great evils can be done with the best of...

Google Image Result for https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/zombie/images/6/6e/SSCollagev2.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/340?cb=20160510011859 there are a few pictured there. In particular i think the hook blade offers unique fighting capabilities. Others include the cicada wing dao...

Thats why i specified that it was banned. In the Catholic church worship of Mary as divine is specifically banned, but that does not prevent people from errecting alters to her or praying for her protection. Muhammed is considered a prophet only in Islamic tradition, but insults or even a...

This reminds me of a youtube vid which i recomend, if only for a laugh - st. Patrick's bad analogies. But in all seriousness, it doesnt take divinity to be worshipped. There are many that worship the virgin mary and and the prophet Mohammed (though both are technically banned). Calling this...

Chapter titles are another oppurtunity to shape a readers perception of your fantasy world. Great chapter titles help to frame the chapter to come and can either provide questions or answers for readers. At a base though, chapter titles can help readers find their place when going back through...

The faintest writing is better than the sharpest memory. A writers journal, in my understanding, is a place to keep those Eureka! moments so you dont kick yourself later. Usually it is short snippits, but it is also on hand if a muse takes you and you can put something in that is more fleshed...

There are two big reasons that I can think of to occupy a non adjacent land. 1. the land has strategic importance. Think all of the pacific island battles of WWII. Ports in particular are great because they let you mount attacks once you have captured them. 2. The land has some inherent...

The precurser to the bow and arrow was the atlatle. It is essentially an arrow that is propelled through the air by a simple notched stick that effectively extended a persons swing. Far more energy would be applied that just throwing the arrow and there was better accuracy too. With the natives...

Does the magic fade? Say for instance you need X energy to animate a skeleton. If you used that same amount of energy on a corpse/zombie, would it have more strength, would it stay animated longer (sitting in catacombs, waiting to ambush) or would it be able to perform more actions in the amount...

The word that first jumps to mind is satchel, but thesaurus.com is always a great friend. How about haversack?