On Lexember 7, 2019, I present "oplin" as "to change the frequency of magic to match another."
On Lexember 6, 2019, I present "gsach" as "the resonance of magical energies interacting."
On Lexember 5, 2019, I present "gsubi" as "a marriage between two people."
The whole idea of the United Hidanork Tribes started with Elizabeth Moon's The Deeds of Paksenarrion. It was the first time I heard of the term taig to refer to the land itself as a distinct being capable of magic and awareness. I'm not sure about the history of the word (and my Google search isn't good enough to verify) but the idea of the taig had stuck with me ever since I read that scene.
On Lexember 4, 2019, I present "shik" as "a supernatural force that affects the world."
On Lexember 3, 2019, I present "kasi" as "a tract of land."
On Lexember 2, 2019, I present "misa" as "a strong wind."
On Lexember 1, 2019, I present "soli" as "the aggregate of solid mineral formations that makes up bedrock or the earth's crust."
For this week's world-building post, I want to talk about tent poles. In this case, I'm not talking about the ones under a circus tent but ways of exploring the world through fiction and documentation (writing dictionary or encyclopedia entries).
Last week, I wrote a short story called I Will Hurt You Only Once. This is a story about Gichyòbi telling his young daughter about the rite of passage into adulthood such as Rutejìmo's in Sand and Blood. Both of these are about how trauma affects magic in the world of Fedran.
So, with me writing Looking for The Wrong Thing, I realized I need to start working on the constructed language Hissian, the language spoken by the United Hidanork Tribes in the creatively named country of Hidanork.
Two weeks ago, I went to ICON for four days of fun and a lot of panels. Here are my thoughts and a few observations.
One of the first questions asked at world-building panels is "how to get started?". Starting is scary when trying to build a world intended to be used for decades as opposed to a (relatively) smaller world for only a short story or two.
So, I was gently pinged on my Patreon that I don't do a lot of status updates. I appreciate the reminders, so I'm going to try writing up a monthly post of everything I serialize on my fantasy website.
The deadline for submission for the writing workshop at ICON 44 has been extended to October 15.
I will be running a writing workshop at ICON 44. If you are interested, check out the post.
An update on near- and long-term plans for my writing and updates on this site. Also status on my Pride Month challenge stories, various novels, and financial plans.
Over the last few months, I've been berating myself about representation of queer characters in my world. Last year, I made a list on Twitter about some of the queers that I've already introduced. Those haven't changed but I realized that I'm had not made any of those characters obvious that they were queer despite the fact they are and have been from the beginning.
Hours later, Desòchu abandoned wakes up in the middle of the desert and covered in scratches. What is he going to do? How could he survive? He quickly figures out he has only two options.
Days later, Desòchu still struggles with his father's disappearance and the clan's silence. But how far would he go when he finally loses his temper?
When Desòchu wakes up, his father is still missing and now he is fully responsible for his brother. Without anyone to comfort him or allow him to grieve, what could he do?
Despite having a night away from his duties, Desòchu can't get over his guilt about leaving his brother with his father. He decided to head back before something went wrong.
This week I submitted chapters three and four of Raging Alone to the writing group. There were some good points made but one of the ones that the entire table brought up was the names. I figured that I could use the tool I just wrote to find out how bad it was.
With some of the teenagers from another clan leaving in the morning, Desòchu hopes to get a few more hours to enjoy before resuming his duties with his brother. That meant waiting for his father to come back and hope that he wasn't too drunk.
When it comes to projects that I probably will never finish, Author Intrusion is probably right up there. Most of the time, it is because I keep restarting because I learned significant lessons. This last week was one of those cases.
On the thirthieth day of National Poetry Month, I present a poem about battle and fighting for a cause.
For the twenty-ninth day of National Poetry Month, I wrote about poem about my son's first breath.
For the twenty-eight day of National Poetry Month, the theme is forbidden lesbian lovers.
On the twenty-seventh day of National Poetry Month, I wrote a poem about my marriage.
On the twenty-sixth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little poem about losing a child.
For the twenty-fifth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little poem about slavery and racism.
For the twenty-fourth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little spoiler for a novel I'm planning on writing.
On one of the few nights where Desòchu had a break, he spent it with his friends getting drunk. He figured he could get home before anyone noticed. He was wrong.
Content Warning for Suicide and Murder For the twenty-third day of National Poetry Month, I have a poem about the horrors of growing up.
For the twenty-second day of National Poetry Month, I have a poem about steam engines.
For the first and twenty day of National Poetry Month, I wrote a poem about attuning oneself to rock.
For the twentieth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little poem about flying. There is something about fliers I love, both the joy of losing oneself in the clouds but also the freedom to move.
For the nineteenth day of National Poetry Month, I wrote a poem about how telepaths view the world.
About four years ago, I started posting weekly chapters. As of this week, I've been doing that for two hundred consecutive weeks.
For the eighteenth day of National Poetry Month, I present a little poem about being immortal. Remarkably, I'm not fond of immortals as a theme.
For National Poetry Month, I present another poem for day seventeen: I Am Shadows. This is a little piece about assassins using shadow magic.
On his birthday, Desòchu is stilling alone on the edge of the cliff remembering his mother. But what will happen when someone arrives to dredge up the forbidden thoughts?
On the sixteenth day of April, I present another poem for National Poetry Month. Today we have a little piece about high society and telepathy.
There are three parts to the so-called war between the sun and moon clans: Mifúno. Mifúno is the personification of the desert, kind of a combination of bad luck and death combined into one.
On the fourtheenth days of April, I present another poem for National Poetry Month. Today, the poem is about the conflict between Tachìra and Chobìre, the source of most clan's magic. This also ties into the creation myth for the north western part of the desert.
On the thirteenth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little lullaby. I like cadence poetry a lot more than rhyming. In this case, you have 2/3/3/3 syllable pattern. It also fits the pattern I sing to my kids when they are feeling sick.
For a little sweetness, I wrote a little poem about a trans girl finding a boyfriend. I figured it was a good unicorn chaser to yesterday's poem but also because there are parts of my world that is accepting of trans and queers.
I've organized much of my planned ideas for future novels and stories around three phases related to a world war that marks the passage of Fedran from a world of magic to one of industry and steampunk.
For the ninth day of National Poetry Month, I wrote a little poem about racism.
Desòchu's friends try to get him a night away from his brother to relax and have fun, but will his obligations keep him stuck at home, alone with his brother?
For the ninth day of National Poetry Month, I wrote a little poem about racism.
On the eighth day of National Poetry Month, I return to one of my favorite topics: crafting.
For the seventh day of National Poetry Month, I have a little one about body integrity dysphoria or the feeling like a limb doesn't belong to yourself.
So, to contrast yesterday's poem for National Poetry Month, I have a poem about polyamory.
On the fifth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little poem about asexuality.
On the fourth day of National Poetry Month, I write a little poem with my least favorite pattern: rhyming.
