Recent content by Grand Lord BungleFic

Thanks. I suspected that few medieval inns would have had any kind of tub in the rooms. This inn is in a very small town at the edge of a swamp. They get so few visitors that it's mostly a tavern with a couple of rooms added almost as an afterthought. In the first draft I just had him go...

I have a question about medieval inns. Here's the situation: protagonist and female friend are staying in the same room. They have feelings for each other but for several good reasons nothing is happening. That may seem awkward but these particular characters wouldn't see it that way...

Here's my dilemma: my main character is a wizard. In the first draft of my book I had him using fireballs in battle scenes. In one, it's key to the whole scene. In another scene (not a battle scene) it has symbolic importance. Since I wrote the first draft I've come to see fireballs as too...

My approach to that is to ask myself what my heroes want more than anything in the world. I devote a fair amount of energy to making sure the reader knows how important it is --- then I figure out how to take it away from them just as it's within their grasp. Also, I'm fond of having my heroes...

Common scenario when I'm working on my book: "Dang, I just don't know how to word this paragraph. I think I'll play another game of minesweeper. :D

Does anyone know of good software for making maps of my fantasy world? I think it would help me a great deal to make a map that I can look at.

My decision to write a book was the result of a real world issue that I feel very strongly about. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to make an allegorical statement about it. I'm no expert but from what I understand the best ideas often come that way -- find something in the real world...

Thanks for that. It looks like a wonderful resource. In my book I basically made up all of my own races and monsters. Some are just heavily modified versions of old myths (like sirens) but some are really unlike anything I've heard of.

After more than a year of working on my novel I find that I am absolutely terrified of someone taking my ideas or some hacker breaking into my computer and stealing the whole manuscript. Does anyone have suggestions on how to keep the book secure?

I was in a silly mood when I created my handle. "BungleFic" came from "bungling fiction". Combining that with the title of "Grand Lord" struck me as extremely funny. It called to mind a hopelessly pretentious guy writing stories that entertain no one but himself. I truly hope that's not...

I write whenever I have the time -- but I've noticed very consistently that my mind words better early in the morning. For me it's a practical matter more than anything. At 5:00am I'm alone at my computer, the room lights are off. I'm in a tiny island universe populated only by myself and...

What hooks me more than battles is posing a question that I REALLY want to know the answer to. When I first read Wizards' First Rule I absolutely couldn't put it down because Goodkind really made me want to know who this mysterious woman was. He drags that particular little mystery out long...

I've certainly had the experience of coming up with an idea that I thought was completely new and original and then finding that same theme used in someone else's novel or in a movie. I'm just a newbie when it comes to writing fiction but my understanding is that it's all about making it FEEL...

I'm in my second revision now and I know I'm still substantially improving it on my own. It'll be at least six months (probably more) before I reach a point where I can't improve it any more on my own. It does seem to me that there is nothing to be gained from getting someone else to find...

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm not the quitting type so I think I'll keep trying until I get there. This particular book is one that I'm extremely passionate about because the story is one that has a deep relevance to me personally. I spend enormous amounts of time every day just...