Recent content by Alex97

EDIT:Post title should read: Two-HANDED Weapons and Unit Formation I'm wondering how exactly soldiers with two handed weapons (e.g. an English long axe) would be integrated into units of their more common spear and shield wielding counterparts. For example, was it feasible that in an...

Cheers for all the answers guys. This WIP in is in its early stages so the WMD isn't definite, but I thought it would raise the stakes and bring about some interesting moral decisions. At the moment all the different civilizations are very detailed, but I'm unsure about magic. However, it will...

I'm thinking of including some sort of weapon of mass destruction in my current WIP. Its set in an iron/bronze age type setting, so dropping bombs would be a bit out of place to say the least. Magic is fairly minimal and rare in this story, but I think the weapon will probably have to be magic...

I know that feeling. I have a ton of different civilizations in my WIP, but bringing them all together in one story is a huge challenge. Due to my lack of writing experience I didn't really want to dive into a challenge that big so instead I've opted to write shorter stories based in one place...

Thanks for the reply. For the Ellasians I'll probably stick with the the traditional Greek style armours anyway, since historically various Celts had access to chainmail armours as far as I'm aware. Some of the Ellasians might use lamellar armour like the Byzantines for a bit more variety and...

In my WIP there is a civilization that resembles the ancient Greek city states (the Ellasians) which will probably clash with another civilization that resembles the Vikings/Norse and Saxons (Halandish). The main issue is that the two civilizations that these two are based on were in power at...

You've probably heard this a million times over, but you want to start with a hook to draw the reader in. The most important thing is that you pose the reader a question (hypercritically speaking) - What will happen next? why is Fred in the cave? etc As long as your opening makes the reader...

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I think I'm going to write the story as it is without the obvious fantasy elements and then try and work them in. I have a few ideas about a covert war going on simultaneously with the more obvious warfare over some artifact or power. Not quite sure what...

A lot, perhaps even the vast majority of stories have a predictable ending - "the hero wins the day." As long as the journey towards that ending remains engaging and isn't predictable I don't mind so much. I think it's far more important for a book to avoid predictability than in other genres...

That's what I was thinking. However, that would constrict me to a certain plot which I don't really want. Plus I'd rather spend time world building which has a creative element as opposed to pure research. I'm thinking of writing historical fiction based on the Saxons but that's a different...

Time period resembles ancient antiquity so definitely fantasy as opposed to sci fi. Would you find the lack of above elements off putting since it's fantasy. I'm not worried about the plot itself, but I have to admit it feels like something is missing.

In my WIP, I'm also going to write from the antagonist's POV (though not primarily). As I've said in another recent post, he's going to start out as a character the reader roots for, but then betrays the other main characters. I'm hoping to balance some degree of empathy for the character but...

Let's say you pick up a book off of the fantasy shelf. It's set in a different world with it's own unique civilizations, cultures, customs... However, aside from that it lacks many of the fantasy elements that you commonly see like dragons or elves - it just has humans in an alternate world...

I think it's an interesting alternative if done well. I think a change from the normal PoV is always welcome. I believe the Broken Empire series is from an "evil" point of view, but I haven't got round to reading it yet.

Slow parts aren't boring so long as they advance the plot and have purpose. It can also be a great time to show off some world building so long as it' done through the story (in moderation) and doesn't become a massive info-dump. In a lot of fantasy works the slowest parts seem to consist of...