The Skellingcorner

[scenetherapy]

x

[uyesurana]

warm neutral colors & geometric shapes

[writersblockbuster]

Travel: Distance/Speed by Type

An infographic about realistic travel was making the rounds, but I wasn’t sure of its source nor could I find a set of citations to back up the numbers, so I did a bit a lot of research.

On Horseback:

The Long Riders Guild Academic Foundation has a lot of information about horses, including a whole page meant for writers. You’ll find a glossary of horse-related terms, their general behavior and dietary needs, and information about different breeds.

Speed: Horses can WALK (slowest), TROT/JOG, CANTER/LOPE, and GALLOP (fastest). Note: very athletic, specially trained horses can GALLOP at record speeds, but all horses gallop only a short distance. Unless your aim is to portray a rider running a horse to death (going more than five miles at a full gallop would do it, less for an old, ill-fed horse), then don’t write a horse maintaining a gallop for more than two to three miles at most.

Endurance: At all gaits, your fictional horse’s speed and endurance depends on weather, road conditions, weight carried or pulled, the rider’s ability, and the age/health/athleticism of the horse. Most sites I visited suggest keeping the horse at a trot (with a few walk breaks) if the aim is to cover long distances. Here are some distances covered by very well-conditioned mounts—some of these have an average of 30mph (48.3 km/h), but in difficult terrain. If your fictional mount and rider are average or worse and traveling in harsh conditions, they will not achieve these distances without risking death or injury to the horse.

Distance: Most sites give 20-30 miles (32-48 km) per day as a good average. Long Riders suggests riding five days and resting two. If your fictional horse is pushed to a whopping 100 miles (160 km) in one day, it will need rest (as in, several days’ rest) before your rider takes it out again.

Not sure where to start with your fictional mount? Try settling on a specific breed. If your setting is a real location, be careful not to choose a non-native breed unless someone would and could have transported it there from its native home. Then decide the horse’s age and training, the weight it’s carrying or pulling, and the weather and road conditions. Once you have those factors decided, you can more easily estimate the speed the horse can maintain and the distance it will cover.

[fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment]

Day 3: People & Races

[worldbuildingjune]

Today’s the day to talk about the different types of people and races that fill your world.

This prompt can also involve digging into a general snapshot of the cultures of these individuals in your world, and while that snapshot wont be able to tell the rich, detailed, and varied lives of the individuals in those races, it can help establish what sorts of preconceptions the world has for them.

Those with human casts can also take this as an opportunity to dig into the backgrounds of the groups in their world, tracing back to where they’ve come from, and their familial ties.

GET BUILDING!

[hassenmarred]

Light Of The Seven - Played During Cersei’s Wildfire Plot/Lancel’s Trial

[sweetlittlevampire]

So. I suppose it´s my birthday. Yay.

[fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment]

Day 2: Geography

[worldbuildingjune]

Second day of worldbuilding June asks you to map out the world or give a general idea of how the land lays across the world.

Cartographers love this day as it gives them a chance to throw macaroni on a piece of paper so they can trace around it to make blobs that will soon turn into continents.

Even if you dislike maps, discussing what makes the geography of your world unique, or describing important landmarks can definitely help create a sense of place within your world.

Now…

GET BUILDING!

[marvellousbee]

[justeunenuitavecmoi]

cancelling sense8 was like destroying art. the show had the stories of:

i) a closeted hispanic gay man coming to terms with being outed and accepting himself as a gay man in the public eyes - doing all this just to ensure that he can continue being with the man of his dreams

ii) a compassionate kenyan man with a dream and hope fighting for the injustices of class disparity (he is also in a relationship with an extremely intelligent bisexual black woman who, despite coming from a different class than him, is attracted by the purity of his heart)

iii) an intelligent trans woman in a relationship with an equally intelligent black woman - the relationship of which is extremely trusting, tolerating, caring, gentle, and beautiful. (plus, the intelligent black woman grew up with three fathers and within an extremely open and accepting LGBT community who would protect the two even if it meant endangering themselves)

iv) an independent indian woman whose eager to find love over the simplicity of a good marriage. on top of that she has an indian father who defies the stereotypical indian man, who has her back no matter what, who is a CHEF rather than a businessman (this is a big fucking deal for us who knows about asian arches)

v) a south korean woman who is petite, adorable – and yet so very dangerous and courageous. who is a master in martial arts, whose storyline is dedicated on fighting the misogyny she faced all of her life. on top of that, her romantic storyline was going to be with a man who worships her for exactly who she is.

vi) there was going to be an epic interracial couple, the relationship of which shows how the right person can open up someone, can make their heart soft, can forgive all the sins that have been weighing them down

vii) it also discussed religion, art, sexuality, science, philosophy, among other topics; in such thought-provoking manner…

this show was an embodiment of art and its destruction is unforgivable… 

[fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment]

Day 1: Introduction

[worldbuildingjune]

Here, at the beginning of all things, its a good time to lay out what your world is about.

For a lot of builders this is a rough step since the concept of their world may seem vivid in their mind, but the words to describe it just don’t come out that easy.

Even if the words don’t quite do your world justice, give a quick pitch as to what sort of world you’re building for both the folks who are watching you get to business to know what to expect, and also so you can turn back to this post when deep in the month you’ve forgotten what sort of concept you’ve dedicated yourself to.

You can talk genres, influences, give a short story that sells your world, do what you think will say to the world of world builders “This is my world!” so you can use that foundation to lay your bricks  upon!

GET BUILDING!

[weneeddiversebooks]

bookexpoamerica.com

We Need Diverse Books™ Following Up After Fouling Up: Real Talk About Real Apologies - Conferences - BookExpo 2017

We Need Diverse Books presents a frank and honest discussion on genuine apologies that acknowledge the impact of our errors and decentralize our fragility. As p...

This Friday at BookExpo:

WE NEED DIVERSE BOOKS™ FOLLOWING UP AFTER FOULING UP: REAL TALK ABOUT REAL APOLOGIES

06/02/2017, 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM

Room 1E16

Language: English

We Need Diverse Books presents a frank and honest discussion on genuine apologies that acknowledge the impact of our errors and decentralize our fragility. As publishing grows more engaged with telling PoC/Native, LGBTQIA+, Disabled, religious minority, and other stories from historically marginalized groups, the potential for errors rises, especially when writers/illustrators and publishers aren’t working from personal experience. Rather than avoid these issues, we must prepare for when we fail. This panel presumes that errors in judgement will occur and asks what our responsibility is for what happens next.

Session Take Aways:

•  Why publishing more diverse books will mean more errors, why it’s important to acknowledge that, and why it’s important to persevere instead of ignoring the need for young people’s literature that reflects our world

·       Components of performative, surface apologies and why they are both ineffective and damaging

·       Components of genuine, effective apologies and why they are critical for true commitment towards a more diverse publishing industry

Moderator:

Laura M. Jiménez, Lecturer at Boston University School of Education, has been published in scholarly journals including The Journal of Lesbian Studies, Teaching and Teacher Education, and the Journal of Literacy Research. Her work focuses on both literature and literacy with a special interest in graphic novels and issues of representation in young adult literature. She is currently working on several research projects including a large-scale critical content analysis that takes an intersectional lens to the ways women and girls are represented in graphic novels. Her blog, https://booktoss.wordpress.com/ features reviews of graphic novels and essays.

Speaker Bios:

Daniel José Older is the New York Times bestselling author of Salsa Nocturna, the Bone Street Rumba urban fantasy series from Penguin’s Roc Books and the Shadowshaper Cypher, including Shadowshaper (Scholastic, 2015), a New York Times Notable Book of 2015, which won the International Latino Book Award and was shortlisted for the Kirkus Prize in Young Readers’ Literature, the Andre Norton Award, the Locus, the Mythopoeic Award, and named one of Esquire’s 80 Books Every Person Should Read. You can find his and hear his music at http://danieljoseolder.net/, on youtube and @djolder on twitter. Shadowhouse Fall comes out in September.

Alex Gino, author of Stonewall-Award winning GEORGE, loves glitter, ice cream, gardening, awe-ful puns, and stories that reflect the diversity and complexity of being alive. They would take a quiet coffee date with a friend over a loud and crowded party any day. Born and raised on Staten Island, NY, Alex has lived in Philadelphia, PA; Brooklyn, NY; Astoria (Queens), NY; Northampton, MA; and Oakland, CA. In April 2016, they put their books and furniture in storage and moved into an RV, and are currently driving around the country, happily watching the landscape change.

Kiera Parrott, reviews director, Library Journal and School Library Journal, began her career as a children’s librarian at the New York Public Library and later Darien (CT) Library, where she developed a lifelong love and respect for children’s and young adult literature. Now she oversees a team of talented editors and several thousand volunteer librarian reviewers who read and evaluate over 12,000 titles each year.