Recent content by Northern

On that note, I guess it depends on who 'deserves' a surname. For example, a character who is born into a noble family for certain would have a last name, while a character who is the child of say, a pig farmer, would probably not. But then that leaves the 'grey area' for like minor knights...

So I've been plotting out a novel that takes place in sword & board / magical times and I'm at the always fun stage of trying to come up with fitting names for all my characters. First names are a given, but I'm struggling with coming up with last names. I kind of feel that they should be...

Also consider writing in 1st person first then altering what you wrote into third person on the second draft. 1st to 3rd is not a direct conversion but it helps tighten up what your view point character sees and feels which naturally shifts your sentence structure more towards showing.

One of the main advantages of a one-and-done story is that you don't have to really worry about world building as much since you should be only including information that is relevant to the characters so as to cut out unnecessary fluff. For a series where continuity is important then like the...

Good to know. Also, even though this is a thread about swords, I'm curious to know if shields made completely of iron or steel were real things or if that is just a fantasy invention and shields were just made of mainly wood in order to keep the weight down.

Haha, I kind of feel bad now for bringing up the subject due to all the effort you guys put in trying to answer it. I was just plotting my story and I wasn't sure if my main character buying a sword from a wagon full of scrap weapons for cheap since he couldn't afford a custom made one was...

Yeah, it is just something I was curious about when I started thinking about it, but there's not really much information on it out there, at least that I could find. The only record I found was of the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 where is said something along the lines that after a battle push...

I assume that after a battle all the swords and other weapons left on the field (from the dead soldiers) would be gathered up and taken to smiths to get the nicks and dents taken out of them so they could be used again. Would that be something that blacksmiths could pay for? For example...

Thanks a lot for the link. That is a good resource to have. Something like this is what I was picturing in my head: LATE GOTHIC ITALIAN BROADSWORD C.1500-10

Whenever I think I'm not being original enough I think back to the Wheel of Time series where the first book rips off Lord of the Rings so hard that I'm surprised there was never a lawsuit involved. Yet it soon became its own unique thing. I guess the best way to think of it is that there are...

I'm trying to come up with a description for a sword that would be considered functional, but also ornamental. Mainly in regards to the material it would be made of. It will be used by a wealthy, but minor noble, and carried mostly for show. The best I can come up with would be a regular steel...

Thanks for responses. I'll give it a shot with how I currently have it planned out and hope for the best.

I know this is kind of a downer of a topic, but it is something I have been struggling with for awhile. So in my current WIP I have my main POV character's first chapter plotted to take place at his child's deathbed as they succumb to a plague that is sweeping through the land. Every writing...

Maybe consider having whatever event that kills the mentor also affect the pupil in some seemingly permanent way that also makes him a victim. For example if it was an "accidental" magical lab explosion maybe it leaves the pupil blinded. Or if it was a staged assassination, maybe the pupil...

Point of view is another thing that I struggle with at times . Pretty much every writing resource agrees to either stick with first person or third person limited. Harry Potter as you mentioned is an oddball since it is written in omniscient view point which is why so many publishers originally...