Last week over at Got Medieval, blog owner Carl S. Pyrdum asked readers to describe the medieval period in seven words or less. My seven were as follows: 1) The Church 2) The Nobles 3) The Peasantry 4) The Crusades 5) The Black Death 6) Feudalism 7) Cathedrals (“Gothic” architecture)… Read More »Describing the Middle Ages in Seven Words
At times, you’ve probably been reading a sentence and come across a set of dashes being used to separate out a phrase or a few words from the main part of the sentence. These dashes — also known as em dashes — are often used incorrectly in writing. Many writers… Read More »When to Properly Use a Dash — or Em Dash — in Grammar
Over the weekend, I went back and edited one of my works of short fiction. I’ve submitted it to a couple of critique group sites for review: www.critiquecircle.com and www.writerscafe.org. Critique Circle is a great online group for peer reviewing. The majority of the reviewers really take the time to… Read More »New Short Story Coming Soon
Christian Fantasy is a relatively small genre of fiction, though it is a growing one. According to a Washingon Post article last year, Christian Fantasy is on the rise, sparked by the success of J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series. So what, exactly, constitutes Christian Fantasy? ChristianFantasy.com provides a good in depth… Read More »The Growth of Christian Fantasy
Mail, often referred to as “chain mail” (a term later applied to this type of armor in the Victorian era), was the armor of choice worn by the medieval knight. Constructed of small rings of iron wire linked together, the mail coat formed a flexible metal mesh that was often worn… Read More »The Making of Mail Armor
Two armies face off across an open field. You’ve set the scene; the battle is about to begin, but what do you do now? How do you capture the chaos and frenzy of hand-to-hand combat on paper? Do you try to gather a sweeping panorama of the battle from an… Read More »Writing a Battle Sequence (Novel Excerpt Included)
For up-to-date information on getting your novel published or finding the right literary agent to represent your work, consider the following blogs: Guide to Literary Agents A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing Caren Johnson Literary Agency Agent in the Middle BookEnds, LLC – A Literary Agency Chip MacGregor’s Agent Blog Diana… Read More »A Guide to Publishing and Literary Agents
George Raymond Richard Martin, well-known author of the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, on September 20, 1948. Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. His writing career began at a young age when he would write and sell… Read More »Author Profile: George R.R. Martin
For purposes of this post, I will focus on the medieval sword of Western Europe, namely England and France and Scandinavia, from the 10th to the 13th century. The sword was an instrumental weapon for the knight during the Middle Ages. As most combat was conducted up close hand-to-hand, you… Read More »The Medieval Sword