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Tuesday 26 April 2011

Dark Ages on the Dark Side of the Woods

I've discovered, much to my chargrin, that I'm miserable at organising myself. My poor blog (Tessa-induced or not) is neglected time and again, left to languish all by itself in the endless ether of 0s and 1s.

(cue creepy music)

And it isn't just my blog. My WIP has been relegated to the back burner, too, condemned to third place behind day job and family. But I'm still determined. I steal what minutes I can.

Like they said, Rome wasn't built in a day, either.

Another reason for my slow WIP-ly progress is a hitch in my plotline. My story takes place in a fantasy world, a make-belief universe filled with magic and swords. Two kingdoms are at war, one ruled by the bastard son of a murdered king, the other by a warlock emperor who has shown no mercy, no humanity, for longer than anyone can remember. Inbetween the two stands Alethaien, who should have been king, who knows nothing of magic but is marked by power not seen in centuries.

Only, I'm stuck doing research. There's a siege involved, you see, and I want to be as realistic as possible. So I'm looking into siege warfare in medieval times.

*sigh*

Does anyone know any good books on the subject? Wikipedia is brilliant, of course, but limited. I want to KNOW, not just know.

Tuesday 12 April 2011

Time runs differently on the Dark Side of the Woods

A recurring theme on the blogs I've been browsing lately is time. Where do we find it? Why does it always run away from us? What on earth happened to all that time we thought we had?

The clock is always ticking away.

How does one stop always being in a hurry?

Not a clue. We live in a right-now sort of time. Taking one's own sweet time is a skill that needs to be practiced, and is often maligned.

I'm still doing it, though. I don't have much time to write (no, that's not an excuse, it's a fact - I only have so much mental energy at a time), and what time I do have, I'm going to enjoy. I will not rush it, I will not bite my nails thinking OMG I'll never finish. I will write, and I will have fun.

That's how time runs on the Dark Side.