This is not a writing blog.

Sometimes a noble family would’ve eaten together but as you said it relies on the people themselves.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/inky-duchess.tumblr.com/post/188520337528/fantasy-guide-to-feasts-food-and-drink/amp

So I had a good think about this, based off of what I have written lately. As I go further into my novel, do even more research into different types of sign, and start on the arc that is written solely from the POV of my deaf character, I’ve begun to realize some other differences between signed and spoken dialogue.

For one thing, punctuation doesn’t apply in the same way. There is punctuation in sign language, but as I’ve talked about before, it is mostly facial; therefore, you describe it as a part of the dialogue tags. So then, what do about the commas, colons and semi-colons? In this case, the n-dash is your friend! The aforementioned punctuation marks indicate changes in tone, alterations of pace and pauses. Therefore, they can be replaced with an  n-dash, like so

“You and I – I don’t think we can continue.”

And fingerspelled words would be written as single letters, hyphenated into a word:

”You and I - going to L-O-N-D-O-N.”

For another, the syntax of your translated signed dialogue is subtly different. One sign can ususally mean several different words and filler words are absent. If someone were to say “really big.” in sign, they might just make the sign for “big” and super over-exaggerate.

So, verbal dialogue version:

“It was really, really big!” Lottie jumped and down in excitement, her eyes shining. 

And the signed dialogue version:

“The dog was huge!” Lottie flung out her hands into the word, making it larger than it needed to be, bouncing on her heels.

Keeping in mind that large, big, huge, bountiful (and other connected synonyms) are all the same sign.

I don’t like to write signed language in the syntax that it would be signed in (Name, yours, what instead of “what is your name”). Not only is this confusing for non-signing readers, but it also reads as childish or overly-simplistic for readers who don’t understand sign, which reinforces the harmful stereotype of deaf people being stupid/infantilisation of deaf people. It is impossible to truly do signed language justice in writing, because it’s a language made for hands, bodies and faces.

This all comes together to mean that the sentence structure of dialogue in sign will be different. You would use less contractions (isn’t, you’re, might’ve etc), fewer modifiers and shorter chunks of dialogue with the description of the sign in between.

If it reads differently or feels strange, that’s okay: signed language is different to verbal language and so they won’t sound the same as one another in writing. They’re more like cousins or step-siblings than part of the same direct family group. You’re utilizing different descriptors and tools.

The Closer Look: While this channel is primarily dedicated to the story telling in movies that doesn’t mean you can’t translate a lot of these story telling mechanics into writing. The video in the link covers how to make a compelling villain with one of my favorite villains of the DC Universe, so give them a look.

Extra Credits: Just like the last entry, this one doesn’t have much to do with writing novels or fiction. Rather, Extra Credits covers game design a lot of the time. But they also cover how to write the stories for those games and offer some interesting insight. Couple this with their other segments Extra Sci Fi and Extra History, and you have the makings of an amazing tool kit for writers of any medium.

Overly Sarcastic Productions: There is not enough praise I can throw at this channel. Anything from Trope Talk to Miscellaneous Myths and even Classics Summarized is able offer something to even the most seasoned writer. Just like Extra Credits too, they also cover a bunch of historical stuff too. Which, as a history buff myself, is always a plus.

Tale Foundry: By now, i’m sure you’ve gotten the theme. All of these channels are amazing, but this one is more writing focused then the rest thus far. The channel dedicates itself to taking a closer look at genera and sub-genera and the big players therein. It gives the audience a chance to take a look at these things under the microscope for an easier means of dissection for their own work.

Hello Future Me: I found this channel when I was scrolling through YouTube randomly and found their video on Writing a Hard Magic System and it gave me plenty of food for thought on the fantasy novel I was working on. They go on to cover a Soft Magic System which was able to really draw the line in black and white as to the difference between the two. From there, the channel has been able to offer a few good videos on matters of writing fiction and one that comes with a recommendation for me.

PlagueOfGripes: This one, you’ll need to take with a grain of salt as the host is a little rough around the edges. While he primarily covers art streams and other shenanigans like that, he did a three part video essay on writing that had quite a bit to teach. I personally found his cynical nature to be charming and funny, but if that isn’t your thing, maybe pass him by just this once.

The army has assembled. You have gathered all your knights and conscripts in the camp. Now we must make them an army.

Factions

Armies are not just sizeable groups of men with weapons trying to kill the other side. Well technically they are but they aren't just a mass of people. A commander can be the Monarch, a member of the royal family or anybody of rank. Under the commander are the Constables and Marshals. The troops were divided into companies of 20 men, grouped in masses of a hundred, then into thousands. Like every group project there will be factions, all using different methods to achieve a victory. Let's look at each rank of fighters.

Knight: The knight, in basic terms, is a mounted soldier. Most knights are noble or even royal yet some could be common men rewarded for bravery or leal service. The cost of maintaining a knight would be large. They would bring their own armour, horses and servants but may be provided replacements if these are lost. The knights fell into two categories- the banneret and the bachelor. The first was entitled to a banner on the field.

Light Cavalry: The light cavalry is made of mounted men who wore light armour and wielded lighter weapons such as lances or bows. The light cavalry was usually made up of wealthy commoners. Some officers in the light cavalry would be knights or have been trained the same way. Light cavalry could be used as scouts, skirmishers or outflankers.

Archers: The archers were assets to any army. The rank always included skilled and trained soldiers. To train a bowman you start with the grandfather, it was said.

Infantry: The infantry were made up of mostly unskilled fighters recruited from the common class. Some of the infantry may be skilled from old campaigns and such. This is the largest portion in may mediaeval armies. They would be armed with spears, pikes, axes, swords and perhaps shields.

Marching

An army will have to move from one place to the next. Here is a helpful table I found (credit where credit is due).

However, one must consider the army's size, health, load and the terrain they travel over. An army on the march must travel in certain formations to keep them safe and keep the army intact. An army will always be vulnerable on the road. Here is a rough doodle of what an army on the move should be laid out like.

An army are like that goldfish you had as a kid to teach you responsibility. They need to eat. You need to feed them. And just like that goldfish, it can be a daunting task. An army will always need:

Weapons: Which can be bought, forged and pillaged from the dead enemies/allies.

Supplies

Food: Food can be bought and foraged from the land about the army. Low food will lead to starving and weakened soldiers who may desert or turn to banditry.

Water: Can be sourced from any river, stream, pool. Bad water can lead to dysentery and death.

Fodder: An army will need something to feed their pack animals with. The oxen, horses and mules of any force need fodder to survive any march.

Morale: Your army will not fight without belief. It can be belief in a righteous cause, a god, a vow, victory or financial gain. A confident army will be fearless. An army with no spirit will not fight as fiercely.

An army is a city on the move. Every city has laws and rules. The Romans were very strict with their laws.

For dereliction of duty or even desertion a the soldier would be stoned in punishment for all the lives he could have put in harm's way.

Camp Rules

Stoning and public whippings and beating were inflicted on thieves, perjurers and anybody getting caught three times for a minor infraction

For treason, the guilty would be sewn in a sack and thrown into a nearby river or lake

(There are plenty more examples but these are the most interesting)

Sverd i fjell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyFl_SNmRi0

We love our banners and flags. They make a battle field bright, they light up a hall, they look great piled on a courtyard after being pulled down by one victorious lady and dashing bastard. Ah, the good old days.

These are my coats of arms, which technically I cannot have because I too am a bastard. But hey, I can dream. So lets get to it.

Major Divisions of the Field

These are the ways that different parts of the arms can be divided off from each other. Some banners and arms can contain multiple divisions depending on how many titles the person owns.

Chequy : Checker squares

Fess: horizontal stripe across the shield Pale: vertical stripe down the shield

Bend: diagonal stripe

Chevron: like a house gable, pointing upwards

Cross: a plain cross

Saltire: a ‘St. Andrew’s cross’

Chief: bar across top edge of shield

Bordure: border round edges of shield

Pile: downward-pointing triangle

Engrailed: with semi-circular bites taken out of the charge

Embattled: shaped like battlements.

Dancetty: larger zig-zags

Wavy: undulations

Nebuly: more pronounced waves

Rayonné, rayonny: shaped the rays of the sun, sort of like the Karstark sunburst.

Bevilled: with a single offset or bevel.

Quartered: A section of the shield is a different colour to the others.

Gyron: A triangular charge, half a canton.

Flaunches or flanches: These are curved “bites” taken out of the sides of the shield.

Canton: Like the quarter, it sections off some of the banner. But only one-ninth of the shield.

Tincture

Or colours. In many fantasy novels, we have banners of different colours or thousands of shades. But in heraldry, there are certain colours and each have their own fancy French name.

Silver / White : Or the proper name, Argent. Means truth, sincerity, peace, innocence and purity.

Gold: Called Or. Stands for wisdom, generosity, glory, constancy and faith.

Black: Called Sable. Means wisdom, grief, constancy and prudence.

Green: called Vert. Means abundance, joy, hope and loyalty in love.

Blue: Strangely not called bleu but rather Azure. Stands for loyalty, chastity, truth, strength and faith.

Red: Another strange one. Referred to as Gules. Means magnanimity, military strength, warrior and martyr.

Purple: Called Purpure and it means temperance, regal, justice, royal majesty, and sovereignty.

Orange: is called Tenne / Tawny. Means ambition.

Ermine: Black and white.

The one rule of Tincture is that you never even put two metal colours together. So no silver banners with gold.

Positions of the Heraldic Beasts

If your banners and arms feature a critter, than your creatures have to learn how to stand. There are many positions within the arms that the beast can take.

Statant: all four feet on the ground

Salient: The forelegs off the ground and the backlegs on the ground

Rampant: Rearing with a single leg on the ground

Passant: Standing with one foot raised

Sejant Erect: Stop chuckling. The beast is sitting but has its forelegs raised

Couchant: Lying down and head raised.

Dormant: Lying down, asleep.

Lodged : Lying, with the legs tucked under the body

Trippant: Walking, with one foreleg slightly raised

Courant: Running

Springing: Leaping or jumping, with the hind legs on the ground (the term for a herbivore animal)

For the Birds

Displayed: facing out from the shield, the wings fully extended

Close: standing on the ground with the wings folded.

Perched: perched on an object like a branch.

Rousant: about to take wing.

Soaring: Flying upwards.

Volant: Flying more or less horizontally

Non-Beastly Charges

You don’t need to have animals on your banners. Sometimes a good old shape will do.

Bordure or border: runs round the edge of the shield; often it is used to difference arms, for instance for separate branches of the same family.

Orle: is narrower than the bordure.

Lozenge: Diamond shaped.

Fusil: A narrower lozenge

Tressure: A double orle treated as a single charge.

Roundles: These are discs which can be of different colours, which each bring different terms.

Byzantine: gold

Argent/ Plate: silver

sable: pellet

Pomme: apple

Annulets: are roundles with a hollow centre like rings.

Fret: an interwoven design of six pieces.

The Laws of Heraldry

Sometimes when the arms can change depending on who in the family is using the banner. They might add a certain symbol or even the shape of the banner to denote who that person is in the family. This is called cadency.

Bastards and illegitimate children are not permitted to carry their parents arms. However they can have similar arms if the colours are reversed and there might even be a bend sinister on the shield.

The main charge should cover its field

A crew of enchanters maintaining the perpetual flames that run the turbines that generate electricity, covered in ash and grime and stinking of hot chilies and rare mushrooms used for the enchantments

A wizard specializing in construction, casting feather fall on every worker, and enchanting every hammer to drive nails in straight, animating the living clay that makes up the core of the crane

An elderly wizard and her apprentice who transmute fragile broken objects. From furniture, to rotten wood beams, to delicate jewelry

A battle magician, trained with only a few rudimentary spells to solve a shortage of trained wizards on the front who uses his healing spells to help folks around town

Wizarding shops where cheery little mages enchant wooden blocks to be hammered into the sides of homes. Hammer this into the attic and it will scare off termites, toss this in the fire and clean your chimney, throw this in the air and all dust in the room gets sucked up

Wizard loggers who transmute cut trees into solid, square beams, reducing waste, and casting spells to speed up regrowth. The forest, they know, will not be too harsh on them if the lost tree’s children may grow in its place

Wizard farmers who grow their crops in arcane sigils to increase yield, or produce healthier fruit

Factory wizards who control a dozen little constructs that keep machines cleaned and operational, who cast armor to protect the hands of workers, and who, when the factory strikes for better wages, freeze the machines in place to ensure their bosses can’t bring anyone new in.

A wizard tailors who transmutes cloth into fully made clothes without seems and leaving behind no scraps

A wizard who works in public transit, timing out teleports with detailed schedules, time magic, and enchanted communications, sending dozens of people to far away cities for a day or work or leisure

A team of wizard gardeners tend to trees grown far outside their native range, and ideal climate, encircled with runes and fed potions to grow none the less

A wizard sits in their office in the aqueduct, re-casting the spells that allow its precious water to flow to the city uphill

A wizard fisher casts water repelling spells on the sailors and the stairs, keeps the hoist on the anchor from rusting, casts balls of heat that keep everyone warm below decks. Their real job is to herd fish together so they can be caught in single huge nets, and keep them cold as the boat returns to land.

Ahhh you’re not wrong. I have pulled up contemporary Indian wedding catalogues and just gazed at the grooms’ clothing until my eyes melted. Good silhouettes, good colors, good patterns, just… good.

Know Your Shit, Know Your Ship

There are a lot of reasons to put your party on a ship: adventure, exploration, raiding, saucy pirates, running into cyclopean ruins in which elder gods sleep, and just plain getting from Point A to B. Plus, the only thing stupider/more amazing than mixing boating and alcohol is mixing PCs, boating, and alcohol.

Obviously there are lots of books like Stormwrack that can give you all the mechanics you’d need, but I thought I’d outline the kinds of fundamentals that give you access to all the most exciting parts of shipboard adventuring. I want you guys to be able to have thrilling sea chases, cunning deceptions, perilous storms, sneaky attacks, and some of the goddam sexiest ships afloat. I haven’t really found a book that gives good examples of this stuff, so here I go!

(Nota Bene: the basic rule of thumb for the difference between a “boat” and a “ship” is that you can put a boat onto a ship, but not the other way around.)

There are two very important things to know about ships:

1. They make leeway. When the wind blows on a ship, it will push the ship sideways in the direction the wind is going. The deeper and sharper the bottom of your ship, the less leeway it will make. The shallower and smaller the bottom of your ship – or, rather, the less draught (UK/CA)/ draft (US) she has, the more leeway she’ll make.

2. They can’t go directly into the wind. If you try sail a ship directly into the wind, she’ll eventually just stop and begin to drift backwards. This is called being “in irons”. If a sailing ship is trying to go in the direction that the wind is blowing from, she has to zig-zag back and forth across the wind. Depending on the type of sails she has, the ship makes broader or more acute-angled zig-zags. The bigger the zig-zag, the less actual progress the ship is making towards her goal (especially with leeway in operation!). 

Got it?

Bitchin’.

Holding fast to your sparkly, new-found knowledge, prepare for the next thing you need to know: 

There are two(-ish) types of sails.

1. Fore-and-aft sails: These are what you usually see on the average sailboat these days. They run from front to back of a ship, and their design lets a ship point closer towards the wind (i.e. where the wind is blowing from). These sails are attached to supporting poles called “booms”. If you pull in your fore-and-aft sails close to the centre line of your ship, it’s called sailing “close-hauled” or “full and by the wind”.

2. Square sails: Think Pirates of the Caribbean and Treasure Island. These sails sit roughly athwartships a.k.a. at right angles to the centre line of the ship. These sails are attached to horizontal poles known as “yards”. They are extremely effective at sailing generally downwind-ish, which is known as “sailing large”.

(3. Jibs: technically run fore-and-aft, but they don’t go on masts or booms, but rather the “stays”, which are ropes that hold masts in place so they don’t fall out. )

Fun fact: if a ship is good with both styles, you’d say that “she sails well, both by and large”.  And that, shipmates, is where the expression “by and large” came from. 🌟NOW YOU KNOW.

With most tall ships (by which I mean wooden ships from the Age of Sail), you get a mix of these sails:

Also: note that, when we’re being technical, a ship in the general sense of “it r a big boat” may not be “ship-rigged. Because nautical jargon is like, 90% things being confusing.

   Now, let’s boil all this down to some broad generalisations:

Big draught/draft/fat-bottomed girls ≈ makes less leeway, but can’t go in shallows.

Smaller draught/draft  ≈ makes more leeway, but can zoom into rivers and shallow waters.

Fore-and-aft sails ≈  sails better going upwind.

Square sails ≈ sails better going downwind.

Big ship ≈  can carry more/bigger guns, which can shoot farther, but goes slower. Hard to row in a calm, if at all.

Little ship ≈ zippy like a bunny on crack, but smaller/fewer guns. Plus, being lower to the water, in heavy seas (storms, big swell/waves), she may not be able to open her gunports without getting her guns soaked so they can’t fire. Easier to row in a calm.

You can add magic sails that go directly into the wind. You can shape wood to change draught/draft. You can have guns that fire underwater, or can get wet. You can give a ship harpoon guns to pull the other guy in. You can make your ship fireproof. You can do anything you want, because magic.

But before you even begin to indulge in fantasy ship fantasies, you need the ship you’re going to modify.

⭐ So you go shopping. ⭐

Because you’re not just limited to the basic, Golden Age of Piracy galleon:

You can get a galleass, and row your way to ramming the other ship when they’re becalmed:

You can have a party-sized crew, and cross oceans in a Polynesian proa (feat. outrigger):

Forget putting your junk in the trunk, put your trunk in a junk (Zheng He’s junk!):

And much, much more!

_________________________

But let’s talk pretty simple shopping, and what you can do with it:

Say you have Big Ship, which is a larger, heavy draughted/drafted mostly square-rigged ship. Playing the role of Big Ship today is a smallish frigate:

Big Ship is chasing Little Ship, a sharp-hulled but shallow-draughted/drafted, mostly fore-and-aft ship. Meet the sexy, sexy xebec [pronounced: /ˈziːbɛk/ or /zᵻˈbɛk/], feat. lateen sails, which are the hottest kind of fore-and-aft sail, IMHO, if not always practical:

There are so many ways this encounter can go, even if you don’t drop a kraken, mutinies, fires, and/or huge storms on them:

If Little Ship wants to escape and is upwind of Big Ship, she can point herself as close to the wind as possible, and her zippy fore-and-aft rig will help her escape the lumbering foe, and she can show the Big Ship her ass with a cheeky wink and a wave.

Or, if Little Ship knows there are underwater obstacles around like reefs or sandbanks, or a shallow channel between islands, Little Ship can lure Big Ship towards those obstacles and cause Big Ship to run aground. Then Little Ship can zoom around and rake Big Ship with cannonfire at her leisure until Big Ship surrenders.

However, Big Ship will be able to carry heavier guns that can shoot further away: at any moment, Big Ship could blast away one of Little Ship’s masts, and then Little Ship is seriously boned. Superior gunnery and training in aiming prevail, and the rewards of hard work are repaid with $$$.

And what if Big Ship has Little Ship downwind? What if there are very light winds, which Big Ship’s taller masts allow her to catch, since she can spread more sail? Then Little Ship is in serious fucking trouble, and will need to start throwing her guns, water, food, and possibly even (*sob) treasure! overboard to survive. And if she gets away, she will now find herself without the ability to fight, probably in the middle of the ocean, with nothing to eat or drink. This is usually about when bigass white whales and elder gods can add a little zest to your time afloat.

This is just one scenario, with two ships, no magic, no monsters, and no inclement weather.

Plus, I’ve left out my most favouritest part of sailing ships, like, ever: deception, disguise, and generally outsmarting the other guy.

Next time on Captain Doesn't Shut Up About Boats: 

Rogues, by Daria Rashev

This is only half of the piece, the other being a male rogue, and we definitely recommend you check out this piece on ArtStation. I just wanted to focus on the lady for this post.

I knew immediately upon finding this that we had to feature it on the blog. Besides the fact that she’s got so much attitude, it’s also an impressive show of style and function. She wears so much black, but it doesn’t look tacky or Edgy, and there are hints of color here and there that tie it together. Everything has its own texture. And I love the messy hair.

She is wearing thigh high boots, but these actually look functional; the knee area is loose and probably allows for an actual range of motion, unlike the usual examples we see of these.

This is just a beautiful, functional and sassy design.