Medieval money can be divided into two distinctly different types: the kind that existed and the kind that didn’t. Real money was currency, specifically coins of various qualities and weights. The other kind was called “money of account.” This was purely an accounting unit, used for large-scale transactions and never turned into a physical object. … Read more
Story is complex. It has multiple layers of ingredients working in cohesion to create a believable, enjoyable and emotional experience for the reader. Often our focus as writers is on the more obvious: prose, dialogue, character, setting. But what about the festering, bubbling emotions underneath the surface? The things left unsaid or what is implied? … Read more
This is an exclusive preview from the upcoming issue of Worldbuilding Magazine. It is by Adam Bassett. Worldbuilding has the unique opportunity to be profound even in what are often mundane details, such as eating and drinking. Consider the chocolate frogs from Harry Potter or the Xeno-Iguana from Stargate (which apparently tastes like chicken). Each … Read more
Have I mounted the mountain of poetic titans? Is my skill so vast, that my own mind I frighten? Have I reached the heights of Byron and Shelley? Will wicked awe, make me poetry’s Machiavelli? … No, nope, definitely not and no. My roaming poeming is and shall likely remain rather mediocre, but practising it did … Read more
There’s one thing about the Mythic Scribes writing forums that I appreciate: the thought provoking discussions on the craft of writing. These are my favorite because they not only get me thinking about my process, but I also pick up a few tricks other writers share as well. I learn new terms too, like waypoint … Read more
Life finds a way. That’s a line from the original Jurassic Park. In some ways it speaks to the robustness of life, how it can persevere and thrive in the most unwelcoming environments and push past all the challenges thrown in its direction. I think that’s a good thing. BUT when it comes to writing, … Read more
A few weeks back I wrote about how I went from a vague idea to a finished story (here), and this week I’ll talk about how I turned that story into a published book. It was at the same time both rather complicated, and very easy. If you just want to publish, you can upload … Read more
A common understanding about the Middle Ages goes something like this: people didn’t love their children the way we do today, because so many died in infancy or childhood. Sometimes parents didn’t even name or baptize their children until they were three years old because they didn’t want to become too attached. Childhood was brief, … Read more
It finally happened. I finished writing a book. It’s a strange feeling, and in this article I look back on how I took my story from just another idea to a completed novella. Once upon a time… It began, as these things do, with an idea. A thread here on the Mythic Scribes forums sparked … Read more
One of the more interesting trades in the Middle Ages was that of a barber, sometimes also called a barber-surgeon. You can tell just from the title that we’re dealing with more than just trimming hair. Barbers did cut hair, of course. The word itself comes from the Latin word for beard (barba), and barbers … Read more