The Grand Aural Library

I came up with this interesting (at least I think) idea for a location and concept in Aethtea:

In the great city of Archester in the Royal Vale, there is a library unlike any other. Instead of being filled with room after room and shelf after shelf of books, The Grand Aural Library has only one room, no shelves and no books. This one room is a huge, cavernous chamber, painted with ancient pictures that some say are the remains of a long dead language, others say it is merely for decoration. Within the walls, there is a wealth of knowledge within The Grand Aural Library that cannot be seen by a human eye. The knowledge is made accessible purely by listening. If one can train the mind, using Magick, to become as accurate as the finest archer, one can tune into the individual thoughts, speeches and utterances stored here from all across time.

There is no story in my mind as of yet that this could fit into, but I thought it was worth sharing.

'The Shadows Dance' First Draft Completed

So I did it. I finished the first draft of my fantasy novel 'The Shadows Dance'. And boy, am I excited. It's the first time I have completed anything of this size, and though it is far from done, it feels good. Stay tuned folks. Exciting times are afoot.

The Thing About World Building

I have seen a lot of people on various fantasy writing and world building forums get worked up about whether or not a world is sound in its creation according to the real world. In other words, whether or not a mountain range would geographically and geologically work in a certain location, or certain biomes make sense to be where they are. This is not an incorrect approach to world building, but it is certainly not how I do it.

When creating the world of Aethtea, I focused on three things:
1. Make the world interesting
2. Make the world real within itself
3. Make the world feel alive

Number one is easy. I would much prefer to see mountains that stretch upside down into the sky, starting with the point in the ground, than a geologically correct range of hills. You want an evergreen forest under the sea? You put that there. Go crazy, be creative.

Number two, is the trickier part. However, it is different to my earlier statement of making the world work according to real world physics, geography etc. It is to make the world consistent. I believe it is cheating to create a rule and then disobey it when the plot needs. If you say the flying elephants explode when they fly under a half moon, flying elephants have to explode when they fly under a half moon. This makes no sense in the real world, but in your created world it does.

Finally, number three is making the world feel alive. In other words, when reading a fantasy novel, I want to believe that world would continue to exist if the story was not happening. Novel series that do this well are, of course, A Song of Ice and Fire by G.R.R. Martin and all of Robin Hobb's work (but especially Liveship Traders). The people that populate your world need to have lives outside of the page, routines, jobs, loves, friends, relationships, everything real people would have. Events need to have happened before the story begins. Have people talk about tax problems, complain about their husbands, joke and swear and sing old songs. My interest is quite often in relations between towns, especially in terms of trade, so I spend hours planning trade routes from place to place that may not even make it into my novels, but having them there makes the world alive beyond the story.

So that's my thoughts on world building. I know it's been two posts today, but they were relatively linked and I wanted to get down my thoughts.

Forktown

Welcome to Forktown.

With my debut fantasy novel fast approaching, I thought I would give a little detail on the town on which the plot is primarily set.

Forktown, a moderately sized market settlement in the north east of Dunneland, is famous for two things: the clock tower in the market square and its location on the exact point where a northbound road splits in two, hence why the town got its name. It began as a single watchtower that observed the many comings and goings along the road. Soon an inn was built to facilitate travellers, offering them a warmth hearth, a cheap drink and a bed for the night. The years passed and houses, churches and shops were built, and that original watchtower was rebuilt to become the now famous clock tower. It was not long before what used to be a single watchtower became a bustling town in its own right.

It is this maze of twisting alleys and winding streets, market squares and rich noble halls, that Erryn Shieldlaw calls home. No one knows Forktown better than she does.

'The Shadows Dance' Prologue Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek of the Prologue from 'The Shadows Dance':

Prologue

Shadows dance. Throats slit. Blood flows like wine. The moon gazes down upon on the chaos. He does not help, he only watches.

“Intruders in the hall!”

“They must be stopped!”

“Intruders in the- ”

Shouts are cut short, echoing into the black. Silence replies. The music of lost souls.

Footsteps down an empty corridor. He sleeps, unknowing, uncaring. The door swings slowly open. Silhouettes creep across the room, ever closer. Yet still he sleeps. Insidious words shared unspoken. Prayers to the deity known only as Death. 

He is awake, sweating from a nightmare now forgotten. Eyes wide open now. Bed empty beside him. He stares out into the dusk. His bedroom, which once felt so safe, now feels desolate and filled with malice. Light glint on steel. He cries out, but no one comes. No one will come. The blankets tangle around his legs. He panics. Hands press on his shoulders, pinning him to the pillow. He pleads with the Gods to save his mortal self, but their backs are turned and their ears are long closed to him.

“For the good of the Guild.”

The four assailants speak as one. A quartet of retribution come together. They lift their knives and plunge.

A cold crawls into his flesh. Final breaths. Clinging to life, but the pull of the abyss is too strong. It is too late for him. His lips move, speaking words that no one will ever hear.

Bells toll their mournful hymns. Crows call. The shadows dance away into the night.

First Fantasy Novel Nearing Completion

So, my first proper fantasy novel, set in the world of Aethtea, is nearing completion. It is entitled 'The Shadows Dance', and should be finished, with any luck, by the end of the summer.
A quick plot summary to see if it interests you: Erryn Shieldlaw, is a young girl who is part of an underground society known as the Beggar's Guild. They live in the abandoned sewer systems of Forktown, from which they rise to steal from and spy on the citizens above. But after a close friend is arrested by the Town Guard, Erryn is thrown into a world of danger, deception and death.

Greetings

Greetings 

Greetings all who are reading this, and welcome to my blog. If you don't know me already, my name is Patch Middleton, and I am an aspiring writer primarily of fantasy fiction (but also of other genres as well). On this blog I aim to post semi-regularly about my ideas I have, stuff about my work and much more. So, if this sounds interesting to you in the slightest, lets adventure together.