Fortifications

Hello world!

Long time, no see! Apparently this is a direct translation from Chinese. I have a thing for litteral translations these days.

Anwyay, I was in France on holiday so I didn’t have an internet connection to post with. I also haven’t written much in spite of that, just over 1000 words. And if you’re thinking of asking about that sewing project, go see somewhere else if I’m there (direct translation from French. I think you can figure it out.)

I did have a lovely time, though, and I did a lot of thinking about my story, which is what holidays are particularly good for. I also visited places, which is also good for thinking.

Bayonne

One place I visited is Bayonne, which has ramparts running around it. Then I saw this programme on telly about Carcassonne’s fort, and it hit me that none of the cities in my world are fortified. That’s not a problem in itself, but after discussing how the way wars are the impact the kind of town that people build, I realized that is my problem. There isn’t a reason for my towns to not be fortified. I just haven’t thought about it.

Carcassonne

My conclusion was that I need to work a bit more of the history of my world, so that I know if I need to revamp my towns. Except my world is 12000 years old, of which I have written about 1500. Which is stupid because, if nothing else, my characters are going to refer to the recent history of their country. I have also, for some reason, focused on the other countries (it’s because it’s where my ‘evil immortal sorcerer’ comes from).

How to remedy this grave oversight on my part? If I start writing 12000 years of history, it won't be tomorrow the day before that I’ll be finished (read: any time soon – gosh, I’m really on fire with those French idioms, I should start my own version of Sky! Mortimer!.

I have an idea of how to get around it (that doesn’t involve making my world much younger, which is another option). In a nutshell: be vague. But I thought it would be a good occasion to share some of this history with you, since it won’t spoil the plot. Yep, just like that. No strings attached. Cadeau.

I also have some big plans to share more of my world, probably around the one year birthday of the blog. But shhhhhh! It’s top secret. Unless you’re one of the few I have already told. In which case… shhhhhhh!