Coat of Arms for your Fictional Worlds

Building up the world of Tiaera has become a bit of a hobby for me. When Jack and I were working on Realmwalkers, it provided a great creative outlet that helped us with our story. I didn't know about the term "Worldbuilding" years ago, but now I do and I have discovered some great sites and tools for developing the world of Tiaera. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, here is the Wikipedia definition: Worldbuilding or conworlding is the process of constructing an imaginary world, sometimes associated with a whole fictional universe. The resulting world may be called a constructed world. The term "worldbuilding" was popularized at science fiction writers' workshops in the 1970s.

If you have a fictional world to base your stories on, have you ever thought about adding some flags or coat of arms to the various guilds, countries, families or cities? If your stories include graphics or illustrations, think about adding a flag or coat of arms. As a graphic artist, I was able to research the rules about heraldry, crests and coat of arms.  It took me some time to design something with my Photoshop program for the Order of the Royal Mystics, but I was very pleased with the result. Here is the grey-scaled version I used for the book Realmwalkers.

Now that I have started working on my third book -- 117 pages rough draft so far -- I have decided to add a few more such regal decorations to enhance the imagery of the medieval fantasy world of Tiaera. And while I was doing this, I thought I should share with you a few of the many links I have discovered for free coat of arms and crest online generators to made the job easier.

I have tested out a couple that I hope might inspire you to use for your own world:

Uplink RPG Site Generator  This was the best I have found so far. It gives a lot of options and colors for you to pick from. It certainly sped my work up for making several coat of arms for my world. I didn't like the font for the banner so I left it blank. I will import these into Photoshop and use another font and perhaps do some tweaking to complete these shields. It only took a couple of hours to learn how to use the tool and come up with appropriate designs.

Naelos Coat of Arms

Vawdrey Coat of Arms

Sangrey Coat of Arms

Coat of Arms/Family Crest Generator  This site was more informative about what the symbols and colors mean and the rules about how to create a realistic design. I found it very interesting, but rather limiting and so I couldn't make a design I was happy with. I still think it a good place to research and learn about heraldry in a fun and artistic way. Give this place a try. 

Make Your Coat of Arms: This was another site that is fun and easy to use. In just seven steps you can design a very attractive coat of arms. You don't have to be an artist and it's also free to use. I started a couple of shield designs and stopped so that I can complete these using another program. I'll post these when I get them finished.

My Blazon.com: This site looks fun and easy to use. I haven't tried it yet, but I think it's worth listing here. I may try this out in the future.

My Tribe 101: Another site that's free, simple and fun. I haven't tried them either, but I may check them out soon for other crest designs.

Once I have the coat of arms done, I will look into the prospect of creating flags for the various nations of Tiaera. If you know of any good free online flag generator sites, let me know. I'm sure there are a number of them out there, but I would prefer some recommendations from you who have tried them. Leave a comment here or email me.

Archaic Words and Phrases

Hello all!

Summer is so ending and I eagerly await cooler temperatures as days begin to grow shorter. I find I have more time to be at my laptop and it's been a while since I did some archaic words and phrases, so let's see what I have here. As in the past, I chose words that are archaic and originated before the 16th century. The English language is ever changing but as a writer, I am still interested in these old terms from long ago. I hope you can use some of these in your writing!

Askance - Origin Unknown - First Known Use: 1530
adverb

: in a way that shows a lack of trust or approval

:  with a side-glance :  obliquely

:  with disapproval or distrust :  scornfully <they eyed the stranger askance>

Troth - Middle English - First Known Use: 12th century
noun

Loyal or pledged faithfulness :  fidelity <pledged my troth>

One's pledged word <I don't remember the details or, by my troth, even the gist — Stanley Elkin>; also :  betrothal

Dingle - Middle English, deep hollow - First Known Use: 13th century
noun

A small wooded valley :  dell
A deep hollow, usually shaded with trees

 

Fraught - Middle English - First Known Use: 14th century

archaic

a :  laden

b :  well supplied or provided

Full of or accompanied by something specified —used with with <a situation fraught with danger>

Causing or characterized by emotional distress or tension :  uneasy <a fraught relationship>

Damsel - Middle English - First Known Use: 13th century
noun

A girl or young woman who is not married

archaic :  a young unmarried woman of noble birth

Wist - alteration of wis - First Known Use: 1500
verb

transitive verb

archaic : to know

  

"Wist you not that I be about my father's business?"

________________________________________________________

There is not overmuch to do here.  (too much)

She showed pluck in getting up on stage.   (courage & determination)

My Memories Software Freebie Winner!

Congratulations to Kelley! She is going to get the FREE My Memories Suite 5.0 program (a $40 value) along with all its extra freebie graphics and tools that every member enjoys. I'm amazed by all the wonderful designs and embellishments that one can download once they become registered users. I hope Kelley has a lot of fun with this program and finds it just as useful to use with her writing projects as I have. Check your email, Kelley, for the special link and instructions on how to get your program.

For the rest of you who did not win, don't forget you can still buy this program using my code to get $10 off. Just click the link banner below. You get everything in the My Memories Suite as I mentioned in my previous blog post.

Use the code STMMMS34133 to get $10 off instantly! 

Thanks to all who participated in this software giveaway!

Happy writing and scrapping!

My Memories Free Digital Software Contest

 

As much as I enjoy writing on my books and blogs, sometimes I just have to take a break and craft. That being said, I've discovered the fun and convenience of digital scrapbooking! I have tried a few online programs this summer and I am delighted with this one. This is a winner! I like that I can use it both offline and online. And it's always growing with new graphics and improvements. Yep! The owners of My Memories have come up with a great Digital Scrapbooking Software that is easy to learn and loaded with lots of tools to make beautiful albums, books and journals!

Not into scrapbooking? Why should you be interested in this software? Well, I thought the same at first, but once I thought about it, I realized I can use this for my novel writing and to organize my research materials. And any book I design with this software can be printed into a real book that you can carry and reference while you are writing. The software is so good the wonderful people at My Memories have decided to offer one Software Download for FREE to one of my readers here at my blog!

To enter, simply do one of the following:

-Visit My Memories Website and choose a favorite layout from their gallery, then tell me what you chose with comment on this post.

-Like My Memories and Realmwalkers on facebook and tell me you did in a comment on this post.

-Follow the My Memories Blog and leave a comment on this post saying you did!

Winner will be drawn Thursday July 31, 2014.

If you don't win or just can't wait, then how about a special discount just being one of my readers? Use the code STMMMS34133 to automatically receive $10 off your purchase of this software!
 Just go to My Memories.com and enter the number for your discount and start downloading this popular scrapbooking program. 
 

Here are a few layouts that I just created with My Memories!

Put your notes, mind maps, research information, charts, etc...

Add all your character sheets and sketches.

Add all your maps so that they are in one place for quick reference.

And don't forget, you can have all these professionally printed into a one of several size hard-cover books or just keep them as ebooks on your computer. Other ways you can use this software is for your blogs, world-building, book signing flyers and invites, book event ads, ebook samples and other promotional materials. The list goes on! Still not sure you can figure out how to use this creative program? No problem. Check out this link for a series of My Memories Suite tutorials.

Still want to learn more? Then check out these links. You have till July 31st
to get your very own FREE My Memories digital scrap booking program.
 
My Memories Blog- http://blog.mymemories.com/
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/pages/MyMemories/140359372717593
Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite



Use the code STMMMS34133 to get $10 off instantly! 

Crossbones and Tiaera

http://www.nbc.com/crossbones

I'm looking forward to the next episode of "Crossbones." I'm eager to enjoy and learn what I can about the pirates as they brawl, pillage and cavort, and to relish the way they speak in this weekly series. The writers have won my heart for their colorful terminology as a means to depict a bygone era where words such as succeedingly generous, bastard thwarting, supplicate, recount, transpires and my favorite so far: discommoding are used. As a writer, I am impressed with the way they did not do as "Black Sails" did on Starz, mixing old English with vulgar profanity by both men and women. I suppose that pirates curse and use such words and so the actors use them, but for viewers like me, I find it very offensive and distracting. Yes, of course, I don't have to listen to them as they portray uneducated criminals who can only express themselves with four letter words and the like. Yes, many a pirate may not have been fortunate to learn how to read and write, but "Crossbones" doesn't feature only pirate characters. Some of the characters are well-educated and high ranking. And John Malkovich? Well, I better check my history book about how educated and eloquent the real Blackbeard was. John does a wonderful job so far. I was so impressed and eager to learn some of these words I sought and found a place online with scripts for TV shows. Here is the link should you wish to study the scripts for your own studies.

Crossbones - Episode Scripts

What does this pirate series have to do with Tiaera? Simple. Anyone who has read my stories here, as well as Realmwalkers and The Priestess and the Ravenknight, will know I have an affinity for using archaic words. They will also know I have pirates in my medieval fantasy world. Thus I am inspired by the dialogs in "Crossbones" as I am in many historical dramas on BBC America and PBS.  I've sat with pen and notebook while watching "Mutiny on the Bounty" and "Sense and Sensibility," jotting down phrases and words that are clearly archaic or seldom used these days. I still take the trouble to look up words I'm not familiar with and check when they were first used so that I may incorporate them in my future stories about Tiaera. My aim is to make the language used in Tiaera somewhere between the 15th - 17th centuries and still try to make the stories understandable by modern readers whenever possible.

"The Musketeers" have just premiered on BBC America and I didn't get the chance to see the pilot yet, but I did record it so I can see it later today. I hope the script there is also entertaining and enlightening for this medieval fantasy writer.  No, I don't have musketeers on Tiaera, but pirates are often known as swashbucklers as are the knights, rogues, guards, etc... Tiaera has them all. If they carry a sword, let it be so. Better get my pen and notebook ready!

Puppy Imposed Hiatus

Yes, I got one on April 2nd and my life has changed so much. The impact has been so great that my writing has all but totally stopped. Today is the first day I've had a chance to write a post. And it's gonna have to be a short one because I need to tend to the little creature that has wormed her way into our hearts and home, Lobita. She's a breed-mix of Chihuahua/Pug aka Chug. She looks like a tiny rottweiler but she is tiny and is an XS size in pup clothes. We doubt she will be getting much bigger than this.

I was totally ignorant about how much time puppies require.  Since bringing her home from the Animal Shelter in Parker, she needs CONSTANT.... repeat CONSTANT supervision. I have had a few "meltdowns" too, but she is still here and is three months old now.  As a writer, I have had to put aside my book and all marketing and blogging. I can't even do my gaming like I used to. My gaming partners have to tolerate me suddenly going AFK at any moment because Lobita needs to go outside to relieve herself - and that's if I catch her on time.

As a writer, she hasn't been all bad news. Yes, I have to stop working on my third book for now, but she is learning and growing and in just a matter of a few months, she will be allowed more freedom around the house.  The book can wait till then. And I have lost almost 5 pounds walking her twice a day.  My doctor is very happy and thinks she is more of an asset to this writer. I think she is right. I am not chained to my computers all day long now. I feel healthier and stronger. I enjoy the walks and I hope to continue them even when I get back to working on my book.  So I guess, I'll keep her and try to resume my writing once she is better trained and housebroken.

For now, it's a life of constant supervision, potty pads, near-misses, pet shopping, training, walkies, blessed naps, and bonding with our little pup, Lobita.

Here is my album I am making about Lobita on Flickr if you want to see more of her.
 Lobita's Flickr Album

Book Signing Tomorrow at Hastings Bookstore!

It's time again for another Hastings Book Signing!  

If you live in Lake Havasu City, AZ come on over to the

Hastings Bookstore 

321 Lake Havasu Ave.

(928) 680-7272 

12:00 - 4:00PM

Saturday, March 22nd.

I 'll be there to promote my two books and to talk about the third

 I'm working on: "Guardians of the Fayre Sea."  I hope to see you!