Writing a fantasy novel is always fun, until you realize about halfway through that you have no idea what you’re talking about. When I started Silver Tears last November, I never knew how much I didn’t know about fantasy settings.
These are only a few of many things I don’t know.
Yes. Oh, deer. That spelling is intentional. At one point during my novel, my characters shot a deer. Then they proceeded to gut it.
The only problem? I have no clue how to gut a deer.
Enter Google. I’m pretty sure Google should be on my list of best friends. Into the search engine I typed the words, “how to gut a deer.”
(I’ll spare you the pain and not mention Bambi right now.)
I found an easy-to-follow guide and the information stuck with me. So it is that I know the basic idea of how to gut a deer. This is one of my proudest accomplishments.
...I am completely serious.
One of my weaknesses is that I don’t know much about horses. I think they’re beautiful animals and I love them. But I know virtually nothing about how they walk, eat, and live.
This is rather inconvenient when one is writing a fantasy novel where horses are the main source of transportation. Not only that, but my novel also contained a long journey where... yep, you guessed it, my characters rode horses.
Thank you to Georgie for helping me with many of the issues that stem out of my lack of horse-knowledge. Like when I didn’t know how much dead deer meat a horse could carry. Or when I had to figure out the specifics of getting trampled by a horse. Stuff like that.
I love swords. I love duels. I love battles and climactic fight scenes. Those are what make my favorite movies so awesome. Add in an awesome soundtrack or two, and you bet that’s a movie I’m probably gonna love.
But much like horses, when it comes to writing, ’tis much different.
You see, I don’t know much about swords either, other than my crash course in Lord of the Rings last year. I have stood outside a cutlery shop, where I proceeded to stare at the shiny swords on the wall for a good ten minutes. I also indulged in a fair bit of daydreaming about my characters and their weaponry. And of course I was wishing I could own one of those gleaming blades. For research purposes, obviously.
But when it comes to the technicalities of sword fighting, the different maneuvers and the way it all works, I’m clueless. This became especially clear to me yesterday when I realized I didn’t know how one sharpens a blade.
And yet despite the lack of information, I love to write about swords as much as ever.
I end up drawing on my experience in Nerf sword battles a lot.
In Silver Tears, my character Gavin Gray is a blacksmith. He’s a good one, too. It’s irrevocably woven throughout the plot and plays a pretty big role. It's pretty hard to miss—he is a blacksmith.
I really need to go look up the nuts and bolts of blacksmithing because... yep, you guessed it, I’m pretty clueless. I mean, yes, I know some things, but I basically make it up as I go along. First draft and all that.
Anyone know where I can find Blacksmithing for Dummies?
(I confess that I just looked up “blacksmith” on Wikipedia because I’m awesome. I feel so much richer in knowledge already.)
What’s one thing you don’t know?
These are only a few of many things I don’t know.
1. Oh, deer.
Yes. Oh, deer. That spelling is intentional. At one point during my novel, my characters shot a deer. Then they proceeded to gut it.
The only problem? I have no clue how to gut a deer.
Enter Google. I’m pretty sure Google should be on my list of best friends. Into the search engine I typed the words, “how to gut a deer.”
(I’ll spare you the pain and not mention Bambi right now.)
I found an easy-to-follow guide and the information stuck with me. So it is that I know the basic idea of how to gut a deer. This is one of my proudest accomplishments.
...I am completely serious.
2. Horses
One of my weaknesses is that I don’t know much about horses. I think they’re beautiful animals and I love them. But I know virtually nothing about how they walk, eat, and live.
This is rather inconvenient when one is writing a fantasy novel where horses are the main source of transportation. Not only that, but my novel also contained a long journey where... yep, you guessed it, my characters rode horses.
Thank you to Georgie for helping me with many of the issues that stem out of my lack of horse-knowledge. Like when I didn’t know how much dead deer meat a horse could carry. Or when I had to figure out the specifics of getting trampled by a horse. Stuff like that.
3. Swords
I love swords. I love duels. I love battles and climactic fight scenes. Those are what make my favorite movies so awesome. Add in an awesome soundtrack or two, and you bet that’s a movie I’m probably gonna love.
But much like horses, when it comes to writing, ’tis much different.
You see, I don’t know much about swords either, other than my crash course in Lord of the Rings last year. I have stood outside a cutlery shop, where I proceeded to stare at the shiny swords on the wall for a good ten minutes. I also indulged in a fair bit of daydreaming about my characters and their weaponry. And of course I was wishing I could own one of those gleaming blades. For research purposes, obviously.
But when it comes to the technicalities of sword fighting, the different maneuvers and the way it all works, I’m clueless. This became especially clear to me yesterday when I realized I didn’t know how one sharpens a blade.
And yet despite the lack of information, I love to write about swords as much as ever.
I end up drawing on my experience in Nerf sword battles a lot.
 |
| Here's a cool picture of Aragorn. And his sword. You're welcome. |
4. Blacksmithing
In Silver Tears, my character Gavin Gray is a blacksmith. He’s a good one, too. It’s irrevocably woven throughout the plot and plays a pretty big role. It's pretty hard to miss—he is a blacksmith.
I really need to go look up the nuts and bolts of blacksmithing because... yep, you guessed it, I’m pretty clueless. I mean, yes, I know some things, but I basically make it up as I go along. First draft and all that.
Anyone know where I can find Blacksmithing for Dummies?
(I confess that I just looked up “blacksmith” on Wikipedia because I’m awesome. I feel so much richer in knowledge already.)
What’s one thing you don’t know?
Psst. If you're reading this in an email or a blog reader,
Further Up and Further In has a change of scenery, a new design. Check it.
Further Up and Further In has a change of scenery, a new design. Check it.
