Author: Ariel Paiement

Flash Fiction Fridays: Claiming Rhubhian

Ariel Paiement

In Bane of Ashkarith, readers are introduced to Dhiabhan and Rhubhian, an air captain and a slave from Aleshtain. This short piece shows how Dhiabhan met Rhubhian. Their story will be told in my upcoming novella, Traitor Prince of Aleshtain. So, if you enjoyed these two in Bane of Ashkarith and are hoping for more, keep an eye out for that. For now, I hope you enjoy this Flash Fiction Friday.

~~~

Eras tried not to toy with the hem of his tunic while he waited for the day’s events to begin. Why had he come to court today, again? Right. His father had insisted. He shot his father a hard glare from where he stood behind the throne. Didn’t even have the decency to have a chair, let alone a proper throne, erected for his heir. His scowl deepened, and his gut clenched. Worse still, he was here just so he could watch the slave masters parade their newest wares about for his father. Anything for Rabhor Thilain.

His stomach flipped. Which unlucky girl would end up in his father’s harem this afternoon? He closed his eyes, swallowing back bile. He just hoped it would be over soon. The five minutes they’d been waiting stretched out until it felt like twenty. How much longer until he could be done with this? Sweat trickled down his back, and he glanced at his father.

The doors finally swung open just as he couldn’t take any more. The page strode in and bowed stiffly. Eras eyed the man’s ballooning pants and striped shoes. The newest fashion in court? Ridiculous as usual.

“My liege, the merchants have brought their wares for your examination.” The page stepped to the side and nodded to the men waiting a few feet down the hall.

They made it sound so benign. As if they weren’t trafficking humans. They used nice, pretty words to hide the ugly, vicious truth. Typical. His attention fixed on the slaves being prodded into the room. He let his gaze wander over the row of women. His eyes snagged on the last woman in line. Two guards flanked her, holding her arms and dragging her in. The others before her had walked in placidly, their heads down and shoulders slumped.

But not this one. Each step, she took was controlled and tightly contained as if she would burst into flight at any moment. She walked between her captors with her head held high, a glower on her pretty features. It was as if she was born a goddess and was disgusted by the banality of the humans beneath her. That made him snicker. Maybe he should take up poetry.

His father glared at him, and he sobered, returning his focus to the line of slaves. He shifted from one foot to the other. Where was she from? Not from any of the mainland kingdoms. Perhaps from one of the colonies Argos had established on the Rithweald? No, not with that complexion. Her blue-black hair reminded him more of the ambassadors from Faelkish held. Strange. How had they captured her?

She met his gaze with her smoldering brown eyes. Swallowing, he glanced over at his father. The man’s gaze had also settled on the girl with defiance in her eyes. Rith curse him! He’d ruin the girl. Eras gritted his teeth and clenched his fists at his sides. Yes, his father would destroy her. But what was he to do about it? Forcing his fists to relax, he stared at the polished wooden doors behind the traders. He couldn’t intervene here.

The slave traders’ ring leader stepped forward, his head still bowed in respect. “Your Eminence, do you see anything you like?”

His father’s gaze raked over the line of slaves. “You brought me a rather dull lot this time.”

Dull? Eras raised a brow. None of them appeared dull to him. Unless, by dull his father meant they had no will. That, at least, was true.

“Surely there is something that can interest you? We have, for instance, this lovely young woman from Brithos. She was taken on a recent raid.” The trader gestured to a green-eyed slip of a girl.

Barely fifteen, he guessed.

“Or perhaps you prefer a bit more exotic option.” The slaver turned to the woman who’d been last in line. “We have this one from Faelkish. She’s a bit of a hellion, but I’m sure your Grace could tame her.”

Did he really have to be so smug? Eras clenched his fists at his side. No one should tame her at all. How dare they speak this way about human beings?

“Let the Crown Prince choose first.” His father waved a hand at him.

He froze. Let him pick? His father knew he wouldn’t take a slave. The defiant girl’s gaze fixed on his again. He swallowed and broke eye contact. Had he imagined the hope in her eyes? “I see nothing of interest.” He peeked at the girl from beneath lowered lashes.

Her shoulders slumped, and her eyes darted to his father.

“Well, I see only one that I like. I’ll take the Faelkish—”

Eras’s heart wrenched, and his chest tightened. He could stop this. He could keep at least one safe from his father. Maybe. He stepped forward, holding up a hand. “Wait!”

His father shifted on his throne and raised a brow with a huff. “What is it?”

“I—” Eras met her now-blank stare. “I’ve changed my mind. Maybe it’s time I took on a slave or two after all.”

“And?” Rubhor drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair.

“I’m heir to the throne…” He stared at the girl. She’d probably hate him for what he was about to say, but it was the only way to save her from his Rabhor’s clutches. “It’s about time I built my harem. The future God-king incarnate shouldn’t be without wives and concubines.” He hoped there was a suitable amount of contempt in his voice. Hoped his father would know that even in this, Eras was mocking him.

The answering frown told him that last comment had done its job. He bit his lip and glanced at the girl in green. Her expression went from hopeful to vacant. But a spark of anger still simmered in her empty stare. His gut clenched, and he tried not to think about how she must view him now. A necessary evil.

He offered his father a saccharine smile. “As such, I’d like the Faelkishian girl.”

His father’s frown deepened. “I—”

“You said I could pick.” Eras lowered his voice. “Do you really want to make a scene in front of everyone?”

That gained him a narrow-eyed stare. But his father finally nodded and lifted a hand toward the trader. “It seems my son has chosen.” His lips curved into a sly smirk. “I’m glad to see he isn’t as touched in the head as I thought. He still appreciates a beautiful woman.”

The traders laughed, but the atmosphere felt heavy now. Their attention remained fixed on him and his father like hawks watching prey. Waiting for the showdown to begin, no doubt. Too bad. He wasn’t planning on a fight. Not if his father would give him his way. He’d ignore the insults and jibes about his romantic inclinations if it meant saving her from his father.

“Well, you heard him, Rhubhian.” The head trader glared at the sullen girl. “Go to him.”

She didn’t budge. Instead, she just shot the man a venomous look and planted her feet on the marble floor. Eras raised a brow. Didn’t she know she’d end up getting into trouble behaving that way? He sighed. “Father, perhaps I might be dismissed? I should settle my newly acquired asset somewhere secure.”

His father huffed but nodded. “Go on, then. Take her and get out of my sight.”

Eras shot him a cold glare. Was that really any way to deal with the Crown Prince? For someone who constantly insisted Eras behave befitting his station, the man seemed awfully determined to undermine him. He stalked down the steps of the dais and stopped in front of Rhubhian. Now that he was closer, he could see how tightly the guards were holding her upper arms. They’d leave bruises that way. His jaw clenched. “Release her. Now.”

The guards eyed him, but they did as asked, backing away to leave the two of them standing face-to-face alone. Eras resisted the urge to reach out, to tell her that everything would be alright now. He couldn’t let his father see that this girl mattered at all. He could still lose her if his father changed his mind. Leaning closer, he murmured, “Go along with what I say, and you might avoid a place in my father’s harem.” He grabbed the chain attached to her collar and turned to walk off. “Well, get a move on. I don’t have all day.” He glanced over his shoulder and raised a brow.

She stared back at him with a sneer but did what she was told, falling into step a few feet behind him. He held his head high and thrust his shoulders back, hoping his father wouldn’t see the relief coursing through him. He’d done it. He’d saved her from his father.

There was just one big question hovering in his mind now. What was he to do with a slave?

~~~

That’s all for this Friday! If you enjoyed this, as mentioned before, there will be a novella dedicated to Dhiabhan’s story. I’ll be announcing more about that at a later date and will update everyone on when it starts going up on my writing profiles.

Until next Friday, everyone! Have a great weekend.

Work-In-Progress Wednesdays #12

Ariel Paiement

This week, I’ve got a little snippet from In Darkness Lost. I’ve been doing a ton of editing and revision work on this to get the revised edition of the Kindle ready and a paperback out for the first time. In this particular scene, one of the two main characters, a mage known as Crypt, is doing his best to help save as many of his countrymen’s lives on the battlefield as he can, but he’s conflicted because he hasn’t been on the up-and-up in prior chapters and feels he’s taking quite a large risk in helping them.

~~~

HE stood on the wall, watched the forces below as they prepared and kept a wary eye on each other in unease. Then the first of the battles began with a crash as the first wave of soldiers began their attack on Argent’s lines. He grimaced as their line buckled and swayed, struggled to hold the tide of green uniformed soldiers back. Still, their silver uniformed soldiers fought fiercely, and gradually the two armies came to a standstill. Their line did not break, but neither did it advance. 

Cyril’s line backed off a few feet to regroup. 

A few minutes later, their cavalry charged Argent’s line, the horses ramming their unprepared soldiers. Most military forces contained only a small cavalry unit since horses were in short supply and easily injured or killed in battle. But Cyril had the money for it, and they were determined to use it. The line broke in a few places, and he held back the groan. He had known what would happen when their forces clashed with Cyril’s of course, but he hadn’t expected to feel as awful as he did. 

But inside the grief and guilt, a fire burned within him. He wanted to help their lines. He needed to help his countrymen to hold back the overwhelming tide of invaders. Then he shook his head imperceptibly. No. He couldn’t do that. If he did, Cyril would think something was wrong. Or would they? If he just gave a little help here and there, he could help without being noticed. Couldn’t he? After all, Dairdra did have their other mages helping to form barriers and keep the rush of invaders from completely overwhelming the weakest points. In some places, the invaders even hit force-fields that kept them from reaching Argent’s soldiers. 

He could help. He could. 

He smiled slightly, felt reckless and dauntless. It was crazy to help when he should be doing everything he could to help Cyril win so his sister and Dairdra would live, but at this point, he didn’t care. Even if he only saved a few lives, it would be a few deaths he didn’t have on his conscience. A little bit of atonement for his heinous actions.

A surge of anger flowed through his veins as he watched their lines continuing to buckle as Cyril forced them inexorably back. Gritting his teeth, he began spinning the fields around the weakest points, strengthening the existing forcefields as much as possible while still disguising his own magic so that no one would know it was him helping. He might be feeling particularly powerful and unbeatable, but he wasn’t that stupid. He wouldn’t risk being caught. 

This was completely irrational, he knew. What did he think he was doing? The chances of being caught were high even if he disguised his magic. And if he got caught, that was the end of his sister, at the very least. But he refused to let anyone else die when he could prevent it. So he’d do whatever he could, even if it meant taking a risk. Besides, it was a battle field. It would be difficult to trace him through his magic with so many other mages on the field too.

Still, he kept his smile hidden so that no one on the parapet—more importantly and specifically, Dairdra—would know what he was up to. He didn’t want anyone to know he was helping in case there was a spy among them. He had no real reason to believe there was, but one never knew, and Cyril seemed to know a lot more than what he was telling them.

Who knew what they did to get their information. Magic opened up more sources than he could possibly check. No sense in doing anything stupider than what he was already doing now. But inside, he was laughing at Cyril because he’d finally found a way to snub them without getting caught. Even if it was too late for his country, he still felt better knowing that he was doing something, anything, to help his countrymen and avoid as much slaughter as possible. He turned away from his thoughts, focused everything he had on the magic he was using and disguising the fact that it was his. If he was going to get Dairdra out of this alive along with his sister, he needed to focus with everything he had. And focus he would. Everything depended on that now.

~~~

That’s it for this week, everyone! You all know the drill. Leave snippets of your own work or feedback on any of the WIP pieces in the comments below!

Sunday Sub-genres: Fantasy of Manners

Ariel Paiement

This week, we’re taking a look at a unique sub-genre of fantasy: fantasy of manners. This genre can be a lot of fun to write, particularly if you’re looking for a niche to write in. So let’s take a look!

Defining Fantasy of Manners

This genre is a combination of fantasy and comedy of errors. The fantasy isn’t necessarily comedic, though it can be at times. The one major thing it always contains is a witty, wry tone. This and the fact that the enemy isn’t some bigger-than-life figure or villain makes this genre significantly different than most.

This is one of the more unusual fantasy sub-genres because it downplays magic, fantastical races, and legendary creatures in favor of a focus on the intricate societal structures, wit, and intrigue of the novel. Usually, these novels also contain a strong romance storyline that all of this goes with.

Some of the influences on the genre were Jane Austen’s social novels, the drawing room comedies written by P.G. Wodehouse, and Charles Dickens. Others have also influenced the sub-genre, but these are some of the major names that had a part in influencing the sub-genre.

Writing Fantasy of Manners

Setting

The first important thing about writing fantasy of manners is the setting. These usually tend to be elaborate, intricate societal settings since the story’s antagonist often comes from internal conflict within a society or from one’s own neighbors. More on that in a moment.

Because the focus is on the tensions between people, and not on facing some enormous outside threat that may appear in other fantasy sub-genres, the setting becomes very important. Since the genre often downplays magic, fantastical beasts, and extraordinary races or even gets rid of them all together, the setting is not what you’d find in high fantasy.

Instead, it tends to be urban and strongly hierarchical. How this hierarchy works depends on the person writing the novel, but it has been said that, if not for the entirely fictional characters and settings, the fantasy of manners sub-genre might be considered historical fiction. Undeniably, authors often draw from history to create these societies rife with intrigue. The Victorian society is a popular place to start.

The last note about setting is that fantasy of manners usually doesn’t have advanced technology of any sort. That stays fairly primitive, but the society itself is extremely sophisticated, allowing for all the intrigue it contains.

The Antagonist

When it comes to an antagonist in fantasy of manners, it won’t be fantastical beasts, an evil warlock from the outside, or pillaging armies. Instead, it will be the neighbors and peers of characters that present the problem. It will be society itself that poses a problem for the character, though sometimes this takes the form of a specific character or characters within that society.

Plot Complexity

This is extremely high in fantasy of manners. The plot complexity may be the most difficult part of the genre because the writer must sustain that wry, witty tone all while creating twists and turns at every point where the reader might have become comfortable. Usually, writers employ a large cast of characters in order to accomplish this difficult task.

Characterization

Characterization in fantasy of manners isn’t necessarily the most unique. However, the characters, despite their lack of originality in some cases, have a high level of engagement to them. They’re not going to bore or tire the reader.

One key note about characterization in fantasy of manners is that the society itself becomes like a character. It is central to the novel in every way and affects the characters as tangibly as another person might.

Conclusion

While writing fantasy of manners is extremely complex and requires a person with wit and dedication, it isn’t impossible. The sub-genre may have started out being something derided by the writing community, but it has established for itself a firm platform and has taken a life of its own even in the name that was initially meant to scorn it. If you’re interested in writing this genre, do some reading from the writers in the genre and then go for it.

Be prepared for a difficult, work-filled genre, but don’t let that scare you. If you’re the kind of person who enjoys writing with a witty, wry tone and complex plot-lines, this may be just the genre of fantasy for you.

Further Reading

Same ranking system as usual

One asterisk = Not appropriate for children and teens under 17

Two asterisks = Haven’t read, unsure of level

*Neil Gaiman’s Stardust (I recommend the movie version for kids that are old enough for PG rated stuff. It’s still fantasy of manners, I feel, but it leaves out the stuff that makes the book entirely inappropriate for children.)

**E.R Eddison’s Mistress of Mistresses

**Paula Volsky’s Illusion (This one has slightly more tech involved than would normally be scene in fantasy of manners, but it is still considered in that genre. I’ve heard the theme and book can get quite dark, so I’m not sure it’s good for children. Use caution with this.)

Flash Fiction Friday – Training Bane

Ariel Paiement

For this Flash Fiction Friday, I have a piece that focuses on Banach and Rith. This one shares the first training session he had with her in magic.

~~~

Banach closed her eyes and drew in a long, slow breath. She placed her palms in Rith’s large hands and crossed her legs. “I’m ready.”

“You remember what we discussed?”

She nodded.

“Repeat it back to me. I want you to run through the steps one more time.”

His baritone voice trickled through her, left heat behind everywhere it touched. She shivered and brought her mind back to the task at hand. Repeat the steps. She reached out to his mind. He’d want her to practice every aspect of her ability, so she might as well start now. She might be too tired for it later. You want me to reach out with my mind to touch yours.

Good. I see you got a head start. His thoughts eddied through her mind, left an impression of a smile as they moved on. The next step?

Then I should try to plant a suggestion. Try to encourage you to do something that you weren’t previously thinking about.

He chuckled. Yes. That’s good enough for today. Let’s try.

She ran her thumb in circles along the pulse point of his right arm. His long fingers clasped her wrists, tightened.

Focus, Bane.

Her cheeks heated. He should’ve known his touch would cause this. But he’d insisted that she needed to start learning by grounding herself to someone she knew and loved. That left only him. If she wanted to learn, she’d learn his way.

She frowned and focused on the sensation of her forehead wrinkling to distract herself from his fingers. Rith had never been pushy with her, but on this point, he refused to budge. If she wanted to train, she’d train with him on his terms. Still, what was there to complain about? She had him all to herself during these moments, something she didn’t get often. And he was supportive.

His fingers tensed against her wrists. Had she forgotten to bar him from her mind at the beginning of the exercise? Suddenly, she couldn’t remember if she had. Fine. If he wanted her to focus, she would. She’d focus on the one thing she couldn’t seem to get out of her head. A smile turned up the corners of her lips.

She reached inside to the ashtra. Would it like the idea too?

The ball of energy tinkled with laughter. Do I like it? Of course, child. He’s earned it.

The smile widened.

“You know, I can feel the smugness just radiating off you.” Rith chuckled. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”

“Telling you that would ruin the point of the exercise.”

His thumb brushed over the pulse point of her wrist again. She shivered, and he laughed. “I think I can guess. You’re supposed to be concentrating on the exercise, though.”

Oh, she was. She took hold of the ashtra, shaping the energy into a single thought and easing it into Rith’s mind. It was similar to the way she spoke to him mind-to-mind, but at the same time, it was completely different.

He sucked in a shaky breath, and she smiled. It had settled in.

She opened her eyes just as he did the same. His normally warm gaze seemed to sear into her now, and she shivered. Maybe she’d gone overboard? He looked like he wanted more than a simple kiss, which was all she’d meant to suggest. His gaze raked over her, settled back on her face.

His lips curved up into a wicked smile. “You’re playing with fire today, aren’t you?”

Her lips parted, and she shook her head.

“I think you are.”

“I—” She cleared her throat. “Of course not.”

He leaned closer until their chests brushed. “Really?”

She lowered her gaze and watched him from beneath her lashes. No, not really. She’d clearly messed something up. He wasn’t supposed to tease her like this. He was supposed to kiss her. Just one chaste kiss. But based on the fire burning in his gaze, she’d get a lot more than that.

“You want me to kiss you?” He slid his fingers under her chin and tipped her face up.

She fought for breath, closed her eyes. “Did I say that?”

“Yes.” The terse answer rumbled through his chest and vibrated into hers.

“When?”

“The minute you planted that thought in my head.” His lips brushed hers. “Like I said, you’re playing with fire.”

She was. And she hoped it would consume her. Because at this point, the slow burn his touch ignited wasn’t enough. Heat sparked through her and blossomed in her cheeks.

“Nothing to say, Bane?”

“I didn’t mean for this to happen?”

He chuckled, tugged her into his lap. His head dipped, and his lips pressed to her neck. “You expect me to believe that?”

She straddled him and pressed her hands to his chest. “Yes. You’re supposed to be training me, and I don’t know what I’m doing. Obviously, I’ll make mistakes.”

He hummed and moved his hands down to her hips. “I suppose. But when you make mistakes, it’s my job to show you the consequences. Here, in a controlled environment where you won’t be hurt if it goes wrong.”

Even now he retained control. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? Right now, his control made her heart sink and her body burn. Definitely a bad thing if he didn’t plan on relieving the ache. Banach sighed.

Rith lifted his head and smiled. “Something wrong?”

Her cheeks warmed, and she stared at the bushes hedging the clearing’s edge. Would it kill him to quench the fire he’d started? Or had she started it? Probably. She’d been the one to plant the suggestion to kiss her, after all. But she hadn’t meant for this to happen.

Rith’s rough palm cupped her cheek. “I’ll give you what you meant to ask for. No more.”

The warmth in her cheeks traveled to her ears. She met his frank stare and bit her lower lip. “No more?”

“No more.” His gaze darkened. “Otherwise, I might not be able to control myself.”

She smiled and reached out to run her fingertips over his furrowed brow. “Somehow, I doubt that. You’re the most controlled person I know.”

He dipped his head and brushed his mouth over hers. “Maybe. But I’d rather not tempt fate. Let’s just say this training session was a mixed success.”

Was it though? A success, that was. It didn’t feel like it. His quick, chaste kiss wasn’t at all what she wanted. She lowered her head to his shoulder. True, it was what she’d initially wanted. But after the looks he’d given her, his kiss disappointed. It was all she was going to get, though. So, she’d take it.

Besides, she knew there would be other times when he would go further. When he’d give her what she wanted and more. In lots of ways, he already did. The disappointment faded. He’d give more when he felt it was appropriate, when he felt she was ready. Because whatever he did, he was always trying to ensure her safety and happiness. He loved her. That was enough for now. Maybe the training session had been a success after all.

~~~

That’s it for this week, everyone! I’d love to know what you think! Feel free to leave a comment below if you have anything you’d like to say or if you have suggestions for more things you’d like to read on Flash Fiction Fridays.

Launch Celebration Wrap Up

Ariel Paiement

Well, everyone, the launch for Bane of Ashkarith has gone well! Thanks to a great team of helping hands and some really amazing authors, I had a good blog tour and a successful launch party on Facebook.

If you’re curious about the book, you can find out more about it here on the blog or on Facebook and Amazon. The book is now live on Kobo and Amazon as either a paperback or ebook. The paperback is exclusively available on Amazon for now. In the future, I may also have the book available on other sites, but for now, it’s just available through Kobo and Amazon.

Be on the lookout for reviews from those who had ARC copies or acquired copies after the launch as those will be coming out in the days to come.

To everyone who celebrated with me, thank you! You guys made this lots of fun, and I know all the others authors who joined me had a blast too. I hope that you’ll pick up your copy of Bane of Ashkarith on Amazon or Kobo. If you do, consider leaving a review! It would really help me to know what you enjoyed and what you didn’t. I’m not perfect, and there’s always something I can improve!

Have a question about the book or want to know something particular about the launch and my journey? Feel free to drop me a comment below, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!

Work-In-Progress Wednesdays #11

Ariel Paiement

For this week’s work-in-progress Wednesday, I have an excerpt from Pathway of the Moon. In this excerpt, Alrian is once again butting heads with our favorite assassin, and she strikes a little too close to home for comfort.

~~~

THE cell door slammed open. Leo bolted upright, instinct kicking. He reached for his obsidian blades, but his fingers only brushed against the loops of his pants where they should’ve hung.

“Relax. It’s just me.” A familiar voice snapped him out of his sleep-fogged state.

Leo slumped back against the wall. “Next time, knock or something.”

“I didn’t realize that was standard procedure with prisoners.” Alrian crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

He eyed the open door then dropped his head back against the wall and shut his eyes. Escaping was pointless. Even if he hadn’t been literally shackled by the collar, he was just as shackled by those who would suffer if he left. Honor-bound to remain for their sake, he forced himself to ignore the instinct to fight free of the cell.

“Glad to see you aren’t going to run first chance you get.” Alrian kicked the door shut and went to sit on the windowsill. “If you had, you wouldn’t be going anywhere until we left.”

Leo refused to let her see that her words had grabbed his attention. He remained still and silent.

“Aren’t you the least bit curious about what I came to offer?” Her voice held an edge now.

Good. He’d gotten under her skin. A small victory, all things considered, but it was a measure of control in an out-of-control situation. He still didn’t respond.

She shifted, her uniform rustling. “Fine. Be that way.” The door opened again.

He opened his eyes, her question nagging at him. She’d come to offer something? That was outside the normal way things went around here. Normally, she was in here to demand something. He sighed. “Wait.”

Alrian turned back to face him, arms crossed. “So, you are interested. You’re just too much of a Rith-cursed jerk to let me have the satisfaction of knowing right away.” Her jaw clenched.

She’d pegged him. His cheeks heated, and he looked away. “Can you blame me for trying to find some control in this situation?”

She heaved a sigh and slammed the door shut again. Striding over to him, she settled cross-legged on the floor. Just out of reach, he noted. “Are you going to live your entire life trying to be in control? That’s a miserable existence.”

He raised a brow.

“If you’re always trying to control things, you’re constantly going to be frustrated when things invariably end up out of your control.” She shrugged. “It’s one of the few useful things I learned from my worthless father.”

Leo cleared his throat. “I don’t have to control everything.”

“Really?” She snorted. “You absolutely do. Even if it means losing your life, you refuse to cooperate with others unless it fits with what you’ve already chosen to do.”

He stared down at the floor. She was right again. Though, lately, nothing had seemed under control. Since he’d gone off script and rescued Deira, everything had been a jumbled mess. “Not anymore.”

“Then what was with the childish behavior earlier?”

He wished she’d quit making good points. Maybe then he could argue with it. “Things haven’t been under my control for quite some time, Lord Alrian.”

She crossed her arms. “And that means you have to behave like a mule?”

“No.” He ground his teeth. “I suppose it doesn’t.”

~~~

That’s it for this week’s Work-In-Progress Wednesday. Have a piece you’re working on and want to share? Feel free to leave it in the comments below. And as always, keep any feedback you choose to give respectful and constructive!

Saturday Setup: Local Mapping – City Layouts

Ariel Paiement

We’re finally to the local mapping! I know this is all a lot of groundwork and information, but I promise it does help to think about these things. But there’s only one more post on mapping before we turn our attention to other aspects of world-building and setting up the story elements.

So, let’s dive right in!

This post won’t be as long, but I’ll go over locations for cities and some ways they might be arranged.

Location

Cities are usually located near a large river or port of some sort. This makes sense if you think about it because cities are hubs of commerce, and this means they need a way to transport goods. Doing so via water makes this much easier than it is for land-locked places, especially if the infrastructure of your world is more medieval or hasn’t developed tech like trains or planes.

More importantly still, cities need a water supply. They have a lot of people who need that water too, so they have to have a large source nearby. And it can’t be saltwater, so having water from a large river, mountain streams, or unpolluted ground water means the difference between survival and extinction.

Other places cities might be located are in places along established trade routes, mineral-deposit rich land, places with lots of natural resources, or mines for precious stones and commodities. Water might be the most important resource a city’s founders look for, but they’re looking for the ways they’ll make money in the future too.

A final point to consider is defendability. Particularly for cities where warfare was or still is a major threat to their livelihoods, locating on the high ground or in a place that’s difficult to attack is a must. This includes building on top of high hills, building with two rivers or large bodies of water surrounding one or more sides of the city, and building in places where mountain ranges provide a solid defense against invasion.

Layout

Besides location, the city’s layout is also important. The way a city is organized determines a lot about the city. If you have it built with narrow streets and alleys, you may have people crowded in on top of each other, meaning more people can live there, but no one will be getting carts through those streets. But if you build it with larger spaces between houses and shops, you’ll have fewer people living in the city in exchange for more room to maneuver.

Beyond that, cities usually have some sort of divide between rich and poor. Every city, particular in a fantasy setting where it’s more medieval in nature, has its slums or poor districts and its rich districts. And when they’re all packed in on top of each other, the divide is that much clearer.

Then you have the castle, assuming the city is the capital or houses a major noble. Depending on the political structure, nobility might not live in a castle, but if it’s some sort of fief or a smaller city structure, perhaps they do. The castle would be the city-dwellers’ last line of defense if invaders broke through the outer and inner walls. So it would be located at a central point in many cases so that fleeing there would be equally convenient for everyone.

Besides building structure, you also have to consider how the city gets its water and the areas that might be weak points. These provide ways to get into the city during an attack, and if you plan on having the city under siege or assaulted, knowing these points will be important. You don’t have to know every hole in the wall and missing brick, but at least consider where the weakest points of defense are if you’re laying the city out. Things shouldn’t be easy for either side in a siege, right?

Conclusion

As promised, this is a short post. There isn’t as much to think about when mapping out a city as there is when mapping out a whole world. But the details here are just as vital because they’re going to alter and impact life just as much for characters living there.

So give it some careful thought if you know you’re going to have characters spending any significant amount of time there. It may be important to know these details later on. Solidifying them now gives you a headstart when you have to use the details later in the book.

What other things do you think about if you’re building cities for your world? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Blog Tour – An Inside Look at My Writing Process

Ariel Paiement

A few people have asked either in interviews or privately about my writing process. They’ve wanted to know about how I handled planning and writing Bane of Ashkarith. Some people were surprised by what I shared, and I thought it might be interesting to give my readers a behind-the-scenes on what I do when I’m working on a book. So let’s get started!

Setup

I’m a bit of a neat freak and have strong OCD tendencies when it comes to getting ready to write. I can’t stand working in a messy space. Things have to be organized. I can’t write until they are. I’ll just stare at the screen and the mess around me without writing anything at all.

So my first step is usually to tidy up wherever I’m writing. I need to clear at least enough space to work. So if I’m sitting on my bed, I have to have the covers straightened out even if I’m huddling under them on a cold day. If I’m at my desk, things are more cramped and cluttered because I don’t have much space for things, but stuff still has to be ordered and neat. It’s even more important at the desk because there’s more to distract me.

The last thing I always do when I’m getting ready to write is pull up the spreadsheet where I keep track of the times I’m writing and how many words I got in a session. Yes, I do this. It helps me understand what my best writing hours are and, on average, how long a writing session should be to really start rolling out word count. Besides, it’s a nice feeling to be able to look back at what I’ve accomplished in a given week.

This was the log from a few weeks ago.

Writing Log

The empty slots, by the way, are days where I wasn’t able to do any writing on my current fiction projects.

Maybe now it won’t surprise everyone as much that I was an accounting major.

Planning

So, if the writing log and weird requirements for my writing space weren’t enough to tip everyone off, I’m big on organization and planning. My books are no different. I’m a plotter all the way.

I used to be a seat-of-the-pants type of writer. I just winged it with no plan at all and hoped it worked out well. (It never did.) The method just stressed me out because I never knew anything before I started, and it sucked up so much time to edit it that I quickly realized I enjoyed the process more if I planned first. It’s not for everyone, but it is absolutely for me.

If you haven’t tried plotting before, I would highly recommend you do. I’ll explain in a second what I did for Bane of Ashkarith and what I do now for every book I write, but let me say that plotting doesn’t have to suck all the joy out of everything. There’s room for breathing. You can plot just the bare bones if that’s all you need, or you can go all out.

But not plotting leads to a lot more revisions, rough drafts, and plot holes. So if you haven’t already done so, at least give it a try.

Anyway, for Bane of Ashkarith, I employed a method I hadn’t really used much before. Like I mentioned earlier, I’m big on plotting. But I’d never really bothered plotting past a general idea of the content for each chapter. I knew the big events, but none of the details were really solid in between the events. Writing took a lot longer because I had to think about all of that as I wrote.

With Bane of Ashkarith, I chose to plot out the basic highlights of each chapter and then, in the revision stage, I took it a step further and plotted out the individual scenes in each chapter. The result was that I wrote more words in the same amount of time because I didn’t have to hem and haw about what would happen.

I did all of this on pieces of line paper while in different classes when professors weren’t looking at what I was doing (don’t follow my example, by the way. Paying attention in class is usually a good idea.). As a result, I don’t have the scenes from Bane of Ashkarith. But I’ve done it with other novels, so I’ll share the ones I did for On Anarchy’s Wings, my current work-in-progress.

Scene Planning

I apologize for the low quality of the image. I wasn’t able to get a better picture because I wrote with pencil here. I did enhance it so the text would be darker though. The basics of each scene include: listing the viewpoint character, numbering the scenes, and listing down what happens in the scene.

This might sound like a ton of work. I guess it is a little bit overwhelming if you try to do a bunch at once. But I found that I could spend maybe ten or fifteen minutes sitting down before a writing session and jotting down the highlights of every scene in the chapter or two chapters I was going to write without a problem. It didn’t take that much time, and my writing was much more focused.

Writing

Now the part most people would say is the fun part. I think all the parts of writing are fun, but I recognize that I’m not the norm. Regardless, my writing process is pretty simple. I usually pick either an amount of time or a certain length in the novel to write. With Bane of Ashkarith, I usually opted for sitting down and writing until I had finished a chapter, however long that was. But if I’m limited on time or need to work on other projects too, I’ll pick a specific time frame to write, and I’ll work until that time is up.

I’m pretty easily distracted by my phone at the beginning of a writing period or when the scenes are a struggle to write for one reason or another, so I have to keep it away from me while I write so I don’t waste time on YouTube or Facebook. Yeah, I procrastinate just like most other authors I know. I’m normal that way, if nothing else. It’s not really a point I’m proud of since it involves wasting time, but it is what it is.

Editing

With the last part of the writing process, I usually write and re-write for a set time period. Otherwise, I have a tendency to lose track of time and just keep going so I can finish just one more chapter.

Editing is something that I really love. I know… It’s weird. But, nonetheless, I do love it. I can’t decide if I like writing or editing better. When it comes to my editing habits, I go through the work once looking for places where the characters’ voices need to come through more clearly for deep point of view and places where things just seem to drag. If it doesn’t interest me, it’s a safe bet it probably isn’t going to interest the readers. After all, I should be the one most invested in my own work. So if I’m not, why would anyone else be?

After I finish cutting and tightening, adding and re-writing, then cutting and tightening again, I move on to editing for consistency, grammar, and all those little parts of a novel that slip through the cracks sometimes on us when we’re writing. If I didn’t catch it before, my goal is to catch it at this point.

Once I’ve done all that, the last thing I check for is readability and flow. I just go through and make sure everything is said in the best way possible to get the point across. Preferably without being wordy.

Conclusion

This was a bit of a lengthy post, but I hope that it’s been interesting and, even more importantly, helpful to you guys. Writers are always learning, growing, and adapting. I’m no different, and my writing process now has definitely matured from where it was even a year ago. But I’ve found a method that works well for me, so I stick with it and just tweak it to improve the process where it might still be bumpy.

So what about you guys? Do you have anything you have to do before you’re able to focus on writing? What about your writing process? Anything you do that you think others might benefit from? If so, leave a comment and tell the rest of us about it! We’d love to hear about how other writers handle the writing process.