Creative Writing – Ideas & Characters

Here’s some more creativity and inspiration videos. Today’s post is focused squarely on writing and writers.

Both of these podcasts are by Keith Gray and are part of a series. The rest of the series can be watched on YouTube, courtesy of the Scottish Book Trust.

Worldbuilding Resources: Arthur and Other Knightly Things

The names alone are enough to conjure up epic stories and adventures of a lost time – Arthur, Gawain, Lancelot, Guinevere, the Round Table, Avalon…
This week’s online Worldbuilding Resources are all about Arthur, knights and heraldry. You can find the fairy tale resources here and Germanic mythology and legends here.


Knights of the Round Table

The Death of King Arthur by James Archer

The Camelot Project
“The Camelot Project is designed to make available in electronic format a database of Arthurian texts, images, bibliographies, and basic information. The project, begun in 1995, is sponsored by the University of Rochester and prepared in The Robbins Library, a branch of Rush Rhees Library. The Camelot Project has been created by Alan Lupack, Director of the Robbins Library, and Barbara Tepa Lupack.”
The site is quite plain, but easy to navigate and contains a treasury of texts and artwork.


King Arthur's Knights
“Was Arthur a true, historical figure or only a hero of legend… Arthur represents a man who was the epitome of good against evil, light against darkness, and that eternal, never-ending struggle between what is right and that which is wrong.”
This is a beautiful site and also easy to navigate with a trove of information.

"Achieving the Sangreal" by Aubrey Beardsley

Online Texts and Books 
Bulfinch and Le Morte d’Arthur
This classic text is also available online, available from Project Gutenberg or here from the University of Adelaide. Another classic text is Le Morte d’Arthur, which can also be downloaded here.
University of Adelaide, online text
Project Gutenberg online text

Coats of Arms and the Meaning of Heraldry

International Heraldry
“The emergence of heraldry as we know it today was linked to the need to distinguish participants quickly and easily in combat. Distinguishing devices were used on surcoats ("coats of arms"), shields, and caparisoned horses, and it would have been natural for knights to use the same devices as those already used on their banners and seals. A formal system of rules developed into ever more complex forms of heraldry to ensure that each knight's arms were unique (at least within the same jurisdiction).”

To find out everything you need to know about heraldry and heraldry sites around the world, visit International Heraldry. Maybe you’ll even find your own family crest – or become inspired to get one!

Die wonderwerker

Katinka Heyns se nuwe film, Die wonderwerker, begin later vanjaar draai. Die film handel oor ’n gedeelte van Eugène Marais se lewe.

Leon Rousseau het ’n bekende biografie oor Marais geskryf, genaamd Die groot verlange: Die verhaal van Eugène N. Marais. Hierdie biografie is ook in Engels beskikbaar. Die boek skets die lewensverhaal van ’n groot gees in ’n snel-veranderende tyd. Tog, is hy slegs ’n sterfling en vol gebreke soos alle mense. Maar tog sien ’n mens in hierdie werk “Marais in al sy veelsydigheid... as stydlustige jong koerantman in die Kruger-jare; as taalstryder, digter, prosaïs wat Afrikaans as taal help vestig het; as natuurwetenskaplike, hipnotiseur, geneesheer, sielkundige, advokaat, wêreldburger, towenaar, kindervriend, wewenaar, minnaar en morfinis...”. Nadat ek die voorprent gekyk het en dié boek weer van my boekrak gehaal het, is ek weer lus om dit te lees – saam met die toonaangewende Afrikaanse werke wat uit Marais se pen gevloei het.

Leon Rousseau. Die groot verlange: Die verhaal van Eugène N. Marais. 2005. Protea Boekhuis, Pretoria. 

Writing Experiments, Finish Year and Other News

New Technology, new experiments
No, I’m not referring to the Higgs Boson announcement, but to my own experiments with Pinterest. I have started using the boards not only for “pretty things”, but also for pictures which inspire stories (or may in the future) and now also things or people which reminds me of a WIP or finished work.
The first one for which I’ve tried making a separate board is the WIP called “Spilling Beans”. You can see the board here. Started after finishing the drafts, I find that these pictures, textures and people help me to get a firmer “hold” of the picture in my head.


Maps, maps and more maps!
I’ve been drawing some more Airthai maps – one for the Argavér and one of the southeastern part of the Southern and Eastern Lands of the Continent. This shows a closer look at the countries which are featured in some of the earliest worldbuilding I did for Airthai – and which are also being posted on Kammastories bit by bit before I translate these for Hersenskim (these were originally written in Afrikaans).

Map of Battle of the Shadow Plain and Argavér

Map of the Eastern Lands 

All the Airthai maps can be looked at over here. 

Finish Year
I’ve started on a new short story, known at the moment to me as “the clock story”. I’m writing the first draft before completing all of the research about the inner workings of clocks simply so I can get the story down without being side-tracked. However, some inspiration may just follow over here when I get the chance. I’m also submitting the short story “Spilling Beans” in the coming week for publication. I hope I have good news about it soon.

On the study front I am still busy with the paper I’m to give at the beginning of September. As this will only be twenty minutes long, I am a lot more focused on length than I usually am. I am enjoying myself thoroughly though. I guess that’s proof that I’m still on the right track!

"Library" by Louchiere

A tough decision
However, to place more focus on writing and studying, means that I have to scale down my blogging in order to be able to deliver proper posts, especially as I am also working on Kammastories. I have made the following decision: I will still do worldbuilding posts every Wednesdy, and then alternate Mondays and Fridays. This means that I will have sixteen posts per month (both blogs together), instead of twenty four. I think all bloggers can respect the time that this will open up for me. Thanks for all the readers who remain so supportive while I’m finding my blogging and writing feet.

"Library" courtesy of Stock Exchange. 

Sprokies en inspirasie

Hier is twee bobaas verwysingswebwerwe vir sprokies. Die eerste, Sur La Lune, het ek opgespoor tydens navorsing wat ek op universiteit gedoen het en dié bly ‘n gunsteling.

Sur La Lune Fairy Tales

“SurLaLune Fairy Tales features 49 annotated fairy tales, including their histories, similar tales across cultures, modern interpretations and over 1,500 illustrations. Also discover over 1,600 folktales & fairy tales from around the world in more than 40 full-text eBooks.” Kan ek meer byvoeg? 

Online Books Page: Fairy Tales 

deur  John Mark Ockerbloom van die Universiteit van Pennsylvania bestaan uit ‘n verskeidenheid elektroniese tekste, is maklik om te navigeer en haal ook verskeie tersiêre instellings aan – wat waltyd ’n goeie teken is. 

Aspoestertjie deur Eleanor Abbott

Laas week het ek bronne gegee vir Germaanse mitologie en legendes. Lees dit hier. 

"Firebird" deur I. Bibilin

Die pragtige illustrasies, asook die aangehaalde gedeelte is vanaf Sur La Lune Fairy Tales se webwerf.

Inspiration from Fairy Tales

Here are two great reference webpages for Fairy Tales. The first, Sur La Lune, I found while doing research during my first year at varsity and it has remained a favourite since.

Sur La Lune Fairy Tales

“SurLaLune Fairy Tales features 49 annotated fairy tales, including their histories, similar tales across cultures, modern interpretations and over 1,500 illustrations. Also discover over 1,600 folktales & fairy tales from around the world in more than 40 full-text eBooks.” Need I say more?

Online Books Page: Fairy Tales 

by John Mark Ockerbloom of the University of Pennsylvania consists of many electronic texts, is easy to navigate and also references other tertiary institutions – which is always a good sign. 

Cinderella by Eleanor Abbott

Last week I looked at mythology and legends, focusing on Germanic myth and tales. Find it here.

Firebird by I. Bibilin

The beautiful illustrations and the quoted paragraph are from Sur La Lune Fairy Tales. 

Tree-hugging is good for the soul

There is something awe-inspiring about trees and forests. Something calming and eternal in their majesty as they reach out towards heaven. This isn’t so apparent when the trees are still young, but standing in front of a tree which is old or even ancient and yet is alive takes your breath away.

There is a well-known tree in the Knysna Forest, the King Edward VII tree, which is older than 650 years. To put that into perspective… the year is 1362…

In Europe it is the time of the High Middle Ages. In February of that year, King Magnus Eriksson’s son Haakon proclaims himself king of Sweden. On April 6 is the Battle of Brignais. Pope Urban V succeeds Pope Innocent VI as the 200th pope. Muhammed V, Sultan of Granada, returns to the throne after the murder of Muhammed VI. Under Edward III, English begins to replace French as England’s official language. The Ottomans capture Philippopolis and Adrianople from the Byzantine Empire, reducing it to the city of Constantinople. And in the Knysna Forest a seed of the Kalander tree starts growing.

It would be over a hundred years before Columbus would sail to America or the Cape of Storms – later to become the Cape of Good Hope – would be rounded by Portuguese sailors. It would be nearly three centuries before a halfway station would be started in the Cape of Good Hope, starting a settlement which would in a few more centuries become the Republic of South Africa.

It would be over six and a half centuries later when, armed with a digital camera; a tree-lover would visit it in the forest to first stand in awe… and then give it a hug. Well, do you blame me? I just couldn’t resist!