More than any other genre, fantasy is a place where people like to build big plots. After all, the world is literally yours to make: everything from the mountains to the countries to the person living in that tiny house on that farm - it's yours, built from scratch. We all want to impress people… Continue reading How to Write Fantasy Heroes
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How Did Medieval Civilians Become Soldiers?
Though it's not as true today, we've traditionally looked to Medieval Europe to inspire our fantasy settings. And our fantasy settings tend to include a lot of war - because otherwise they wouldn't be very interesting, would they? However, we don't put much thought into how war and armies worked in Medieval Europe. So I'm… Continue reading How Did Medieval Civilians Become Soldiers?
YouTube: Is it worth going to uni to study creative writing?
Me! 😮 Another YouTube video is live! This time, I'm telling you about my time studying creative writing at university, and whether or not I found it worthwhile. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/3ZccHKPvIyk
The College Interview
Last year I lived in Portsmouth, a city on England's south coast. The most densely populated urban area in Western Europe, if you believe Google - more dense than Inner London. It didn't really suit a loner like me, but I still came to love the place, and it was great hearing the raucous chant… Continue reading The College Interview
Did England Have A Constitution 100 Years Before America?
The US Constitution is often called the world's first 'modern' constitution. It was the first time a group of people came together and determined how they were going to be governed, rather than relying on centuries of tradition and due precedent. As Alexander Hamilton put it in the Federalist Papers: it was down to "the… Continue reading Did England Have A Constitution 100 Years Before America?
What I Wrote In May 2020
Jeez. It's already the end of May? How did that happen? I told myself I'd take it easy for the first two weeks of the month as a reward for finishing the first draft of my book last month! It was still an awful mess, though, so this month was all about patching it up.… Continue reading What I Wrote In May 2020
Minneapolis Bookstores In Need of Help
The tragedy that's befallen Minneapolis this week is awful. It's hard to watch, even from over here in the UK. I can't even imagine what it's like living through it. I haven't said much on social media because I didn't see how I could add anything to the debate. But it's since emerged that two… Continue reading Minneapolis Bookstores In Need of Help
Fantasy Isn’t Embarrassing Anymore
Sometimes things move fast, sometimes they move slowly. Fantasy's rise to the throne of mainstreamness has happened incredibly quickly. I'm not old, but when I was at school, fantasy was not cool. (Nor were video games for that matter, but now it seems nearly every kid owns a console - which is not a bad… Continue reading Fantasy Isn’t Embarrassing Anymore
The Story of Piers Gaveston
There was once a king of England called Edward II. I've talked about him a lot before, but here are some things you ought to know about him. They thought he'd be a good king. He looked the part and he spoke well. Chroniclers say he was great at persuading people to his side, that… Continue reading The Story of Piers Gaveston
What Did The Anglo-Saxons Think Of The Romans?
The past's not new. For as long as people have been around, they've been thinking about the people who came before them. I find this very interesting. It's not something we really talk about often. I think it's a bit too meta for everyday contemplation. We like to wonder what life was like in the… Continue reading What Did The Anglo-Saxons Think Of The Romans?
Dewi Hargreaves 