Disjecta Membra

Broadswords Chapter Thirty The Rescue Elsior and Deke had vanished before Daegon was able to put together what was happening. Birten had escaped? While it was good news, he couldn't help but still be concerned. If Birten was anywhere near as disoriented as he was, there was no telling what he'd go through trying to get out of wherever he was. And while he'd barely managed to avoid being burnt alive, he was still shackled to the wall of the cave. If nothing else, the inevitable was

Broadswords Chapter Twenty-Nine The Recovery When Elan came to, he was instantly aware of the pounding in his head and the absolute dryness in his mouth. He couldn't be sure which was worse. He'd never had a headache as excruciating, but he'd also never experienced such a feeling of dehydration. He made to say something, but what came out was indecipherable. His ears were in fine working order, and even he didn't know what he'd attempted to utter. His tongue stuck to the roof of h

That was super cute, with a nice little positive twist on the end. You did the character justice; it’s always heartwarming to see a prickly character show that they have a heart.

Thanks so much! I’m glad you liked the characters. I got lucky with both of them - they were easy to write and their personalities came naturally to me. We all know it doesn’t always work that way, so I was thankful for them. Happy Halloween indeed!

A bit of a “curiousity killed the cat” combined with just downright irony! You never know with Halloween.... 😈 Thanks for reading!

Thank you very much! I’m glad it felt realistic in the cultural sense, and that the twists kept it enticing throughout. I had a lot of fun writing it! ¡Viva la casa del brujería!

Lol! Thank you. Unfinished basements are already creepy enough without having to fear what Ramón faced! I apologize in advance if you have to go into your basement on a regular basis. 😬

Smart advice. There’s always room for growth, that’s for sure!

Thanks so much! Creepy isn’t my forte so I’m glad it met the challenge!

Thank you very much! This was definitely one of those stories where I had something else in mind when I started, but as it progressed it became something else and I was really happy with the outcome. I would love to hear your thoughts on my other work. Since I’m newer to the site, I don’t have too much up yet but so far everything is pretty different from each other. I hope you enjoy!

Brujo The wallpaper was old and faded. It appeared to be a Victorian design, but it was hard to tell. In many places there were chunks missing altogether, the black and red pattern biting the yellowed walls underneath. It was very indicative of how long the house had been unoccupied. It made the ambiance of the dim room even creepier. It was excellent. “What do you think?” came Griff’s deep voice from behind me. Griff was a well-known party planner in town, and I knew I had to get hi

Known for his obsession with Halloween, it isn't surprising when teacher Ramón "Mr. October" Chavez goes all out in throwing the faculty party for the holiday. However, the venue he's chosen is rumored to have a past steeped in dark history. As the night goes on, he learns that the tales of the place's past may very well be true and that he may be in for one intense Halloween.

Broadswords Chapter Twenty-Eight The Reformer The Dark Collective was coming closer to executing a plan of attack on a kingdom than they ever had. It wasn't that they hadn't had the capacity to do so; no, the power that they shared between all of their members could have caused devastation for quite some time. But the Dark Collective was an intelligent group. They knew that if they launched an attack on a single kingdom or region, the rest of the world would be able to prepare. And th

Most of it was planned for sure, but some of it has presented itself to me as golden opportunities as I’ve gone along. I’m glad you’re enjoying it and that you find it thrilling, your comments are truly inspirational and your reactions are exactly what I hope to envoke. Thank you so much for your dedication to the story! Next chapter will hopefully be ready soon. It’s gonna be slightly different, so I hope it keeps the energy alive!

I thought it would be an interesting concept to have all the expected heroes (slayers and squires) unable to do much, while the unexpected gents (barkeeps and princes) are making headway in fighting back.

Kep is definitely coming into his own. While he started off more of a timid character, he’s getting much more involved and proving that he’s integral in the things that are afoot!

It was a crowbar. Who’d left that in the road? But as the headlights of his truck switched to the brights, he realized that he’d fallen for the trap.

Using the name generator as a starting point is a good idea. I agree with you on the prefixes and suffixes, too. Sometimes even that seemingly minor of a decision makes a big difference.

That’s smart. I have used baby-naming websites before as a starting point for character names, especially if I decide that I want the name to have a specific meaning to it.

Exactly the kind of answer I’m looking for. An actual place name, but sounds fantastical. And probably had a specific meaning in that story. Thanks, @BHopper2! I have to say, I like the way your mind works!

How about for the names of locations? Do you use the same logic, or is there a different pattern when it comes to the naming of cities, establishments, and the like?

Here's something I've always been interested in hearing from other fantasy authors: how do you come up with your character names when it comes to fantasy stories/novels? I think it's safe to say that the majority of us want to come up with unique names; it doesn't really fit into a fantasy world if ALL the major characters are named Tom, Dick, and Harry. For me personally, I like to give my primary characters slightly unique names to give it that fantasy feel. But in the same sense, if every character has a bizarrely unique name, it can get confusing for the reader. When I add a secondary character, I try to give them an easier name. Perhaps something like Vic or Cal; something short and standard in our own world, but something that could also easily fit into the world I've created. Or just something short in general, to give it a simple pronunciation. And something that doesn't seem like it would be out of place. If you've already got predominant characters with unusual names, why confuse the reader more? One name that I distinctly remember causing confusion to me as a reader was Hermione from Harry Potter. When I read the books (before the movies came out), I pronounced the name "Hermy-own." It wasn't until the fourth book, when a character within the storyline also didn't know how to pronounce it, that a phonetic pronunciation was provided. It was a cheap trick; it was obvious what J.K. Rowling was doing in that moment, giving the reader an accurate way to say the name. However, it was somewhat necessary considering there were several people that had been saying the name incorrectly for many years. Which brings me to another point. Where do you draw the line with unusual names? You could call a character Lled, for example. In your own mind, it's pronounced Lead. But maybe someone else reading your story says it like "Yed," because of the double L. As a writer, what insights, tips, and general comments do you have regarding fantasy names?

I find that OneNote is an extremely handy tool to keep tabs on everything from characters to cities to ideas you want to incorporate into later chapters. I think it's especially helpful when keeping track of characteristics and physical appearances of my characters, especially when describing minor characters. (Oh, I initially referred to this character as a redhead but now I've written that they brushed a strand of black hair behind their ear - edit time!) It lets you have separate tabs for each subject, along with subcategories so you can ultimately create an encyclopedia of everything in your world. That being said, I too am guilty of falling behind with keeping it up to date. Sometimes, though, when I find a lull in my writing, I go back through some of my work to update my OneNote file - not only does it keep everything updated, but it also sometimes helps trigger some motivation for new things to add. I also try to create a world map when writing my fantasy stories, as it helps keep the world itself accurate. I sometimes throw a few towns/cities in there at random, to give it a more realistic feel and so it doesn't have that sense that I created each place specifically for a part in the story. It also helps when you decide you need to reference a random place, or compare distances to other locales you've mentioned. I think for me personally, it also keeps me more in tune with my world. For instance, in an early chapter of one story I referenced a kingdom "far to the east, along the coastline." However, on my map, there weren't any kingdoms to the east of where my characters were stationed. So I added one. The reader wouldn't have known, of course, since they hadn't seen the map. But it made me feel like I had corrected a personal mistake. It also opened up an additional tidbit of backstory for one of the characters. I find that having a map actually speaks to me in letting the story unfold just as much as having all of my details organized.

Broadswords Chapter Twenty-Seven The Draining He found Elan's house with ease. It wasn't hard; though all of the houses on the inner streets were large and lavish, only one was flanked with ornate dragons. Kep stopped before the house, looking up at the tall white pillars that bordered the entrance. Its entirety was made of stone, ensuring far more stability than the buildings in his own neighborhood, which were a hodgepodge of wood, stone, metal, and other various materials. The vast

Finished! Cutting it close, but it's done!