Mithril Wisdom Fantasy Reviews

Maintaining order post apocalypse - what would be your first law?

2012-02-22T19:26:00.003Z

This is something that I normally discuss on my Zombie Fitness Fridays posts, but I've just come from a training session at work where we were tasked with rebuilding society after a cataclysmic event has wiped out all most of the human race and you are the leader of a group of about 100 survivors (I work in an awesome place).

One of the questions that we were given was "what are the first laws that you would impose?". This was the one question that got the most discussion, and the one that had us arguing with each other a lot. What do we focus on? What's most important?

We figured that murder was a complete no-no, but with a population of as little as 100, mere assault can be just as damaging as murder if the victim can't contribute to the group. Even, what punishment would be given out? We agreed that capital punishment was out of the question, and so settled on banishment. It was a really tough set of decisions to make, but we made the best of the situation.

In a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction, attempts to rebuild society are balanced with the presence of cruel and barbaric men who do what they please. The breakdown of society turns these people into monsters. It makes me wonder: if any kind of law had been established, would it have gotten to a state where monsters like that were permitted?

If you were the leader of a group of survivors, what would be your first law, and what punishment would you give to those who broke it?

Some pretty awesome publicity stunts from The Walking Dead and Mass Effect 3

2012-02-20T13:30:00.000Z

I'm always a fan of unusual approaches to marketing and publicity, and these two publicity stunts are the best I've seen in recent months. The first is prior to the release of Mass Effect 3, where publisher Electronic Arts are dropping copies of the Mass Effect 3 from near space. The games can be tracked via GPS so that everyone knows where and when they fall. Those lucky enough to nab a copy will own the game a week before general release. Mmm, space game.

The second is in line with the release of The Walking Dead Season 2, where a packed-out South African cinema was treated to a fake rom-com trailer with a live zombie in the audience. Check out the video below, it's awesome.

What marketing stunts have you enjoyed?

Working with a cast of thousands

2012-02-15T17:41:00.001Z

What happens when you add too many characters

I feel sorry for the producers of Ben-Hur, Cleopatra and the like. Getting a suitably epic feel for the movie meant that a lot of people had to be hired. A LOT. You couldn't have one guy walking in the background and then digitally multiply him a thousand times. These guys did it old-school.

As much of a logistical nightmare as that must have been, I can imagine it being a very similar thing when working with multiple characters and plot threads. George R.R. Martin is a good example of this, where he has several characters traipsing all over Westeros and beyond, each with their own fully formed story. Juggling all of these viewpoints and plots, as well as intertwining them successfully, is no mean feat.

I've read a good number of fantasy novels that attempt very much the same thing, but end up being nothing more than a succession of plot points broken up with someone else's name. Characters begin to merge rather than story threads, and at the end you have little more than a flash fiction anthology set in the same world.

I must confess, I've not read any of the Song of Ice and Fire books, but from what I've seen of the TV adaptation and from reviews, Martin manages his characters very well. I have yet to come across an author who works with so many main characters and still maintains coherency in their plot. Based on that, I can only assume that it's damned tough to do. It seems that it's much ore of a safe bet with multiple characters to keep them together and only have one or two offshoots to the main plot (as in Lord of the Rings split the Fellowship into three groups, and only after the first book had firmly established the characters and the story that they were following).

I imagine that a lot of it has to do with the attention span of readers. Not enough characters and you've got a linear, uneventful plot (and if you don't like the character, there's a high chance you'll stop reading soon after picking it up). Multiple characters shake things up and allow us to alternate perspectives a little, but add too many characters and the whole thing becomes too complicated for your average reader to follow. There has to be a balance.

How many characters is too many? Is there a 'golden number' for a story? And do you prefer multiple plot threads or a single main plot?

Movie trailers: The Amazing Spiderman, The Avengers, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

2012-02-13T06:59:00.003Z

2012 seems to be a good year to be a Marvel fan. Not only do we get the awesome The Avengers (directed by Joss Whedon), we are also getting the rebooted webhead The Amazing Spiderman and sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. I wasn't too keen on the original Ghost Rider (or final installment of Sam Raimi's Spiderman movies) but this trio of superhero goodness does alright by me.

The Avengers

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

The Amazing Spider-Man

In other news, I start my new job today (yay!). This should mean steady hours so I'll be able to get back into some sort of schedule from this week - posting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and commenting on your blogs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (Sundays are for Skyrim ...)

I'm a guest poster over at the A to Z Challenge!

2012-02-09T20:56:00.003Z

Thanks for the advice for my 50 Word Fantasy project from yesterday, everyone, it was awesome. This is just a quick post to let you know that I'm a guest poster over at the Blogging from A to Z Challenge site. Be sure to check out my tips on winging it in style!

A little idea I've been toying with

2012-02-08T07:03:00.000Z

This week has been crazy busy, so my apologies for not visiting many of your blogs. I should be back on form next week.

I've been toying with the idea of a crowdsourced story, similar to a project that Tim Burton ran called Cadavre Exquis. Essentially, I'd start off a story with a couple of sentences (no more than 50 words) and have you carry the story through comments, your own blog posts, Tweets etc. I would compile the entries and give regular updates to the progress of the story (there'd be a page on here with the story available in its entirety as it grows) and a list of contributors linking back to your blogs.

I'd keep it as an open project until I'd felt that the story had run its course and finish it up with a final 50 word conclusion. I think it would be awesome for this community of writers, fantasy or otherwise, to come together and create something collective.

I'd like to create a world and its characters from scratch (or even have cameos from characters in your own stories) and have it slowly expand bit by bit as each person adds in their entry. With enough people on board, I think it could be a great project.

Any thoughts on this would be awesome. This isn't a fully formed idea, so I'm open to suggestions. Does the idea even make sense?

One brick to rule them all - LEGO Lord of the Rings to hit this Summer

2012-02-06T07:28:00.001Z

LEGO have announced that they will be releasing a Lord of the Rings LEGO theme this summer. The timing is well done, as it gives fans time to pick up sets from the original Rings movies before The Hobbit hits the cinemas in December. Well played, LEGO.

Not much official material has surfaced, though there are a few leaked images of Lego Lord of the Rings box art making the rounds. Officially, we've been given some promo shots that LEGO-ify the teaser posters for the movie trilogy (as you can see on the left) and we also get to see what the Fellowship will look like in LEGO form. It's shaping up quite well. The sets to be released this Summer are:

Attack on Weathertop
Battle of Helms-Deep
Gandalf Arrives
The Mines of Moria
Shelob Attacks
Uruk Hai Army

What scene from Lord of the Rings would you most like to see made into LEGO?

Advent winners announcement!

2012-02-03T06:31:00.001Z

The giveaway is now CLOSED! Thanks to everyone who entered. The entries have been counted, calculated, weight, lost, found, tested, lost again and finally buried in soft peat for a few days.

The winner of the hardback copy of Advent by James Treadwell is:

Sarah Pearson

And the winner of the Advent bookmarks, postcard and $5 Amazon.com gift code is:

Vic Caswell

Congratulations to you both! I'll send you an email today and I can get your goodies to you. Thanks again to everyone who entered!

Living a double life - Insecure Writer's Support Group

2012-02-01T21:01:00.001Z

For those amongst you who have been lucky enough to make writing your full time career, you can bask in the knowledge that you've managed to make a living from your passion. Both kudos and envious fist shaking to you all.

For the rest of us, we have to lead a strange double life - making enough of a living to keep a roof over our heads (and a constant internet connection), then donning the mask of the writer and becoming someone else (a bit like Batman, but with less money and more coffee).

It's hard enough to be a writer anyways, but when you factor in this other you that has to be grown up and sensible and think about bills and whatnot, it can be damn difficult.

I'm having some difficulty in giving enough to both sides of the equation. Focusing on the 'dayjob' means there's less writing (that includes blogging) but if I start shifting my focus onto writing, there's always the nagging feeling that I need to be doing other things that are more important (blasphemy, I know).

How do you manage to live your 'double lives'? How do you keep a balance between the writer you and the 'normal' you?

Be sure to check out some of the other participants below, and if you're tweeting about it, use the hashtag #IWSG to let others know.

Book review: Avent by James Treadwell

2012-01-31T19:17:00.002Z

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for Advent by James Treadwell! Giveaway ends February 2nd, so enter now!
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Advent by James Treadwell
Published by Hodder & Stoughton
ARC - 4439 pages
Published February 2012
Review copy received from publisher
Read the official blurb for Advent on Goodreads

It's not often that I think to myself, "What in the hell is going on?" and mean it in a good way, but that is the case with Advent. What starts out as a fairly standard fantasy scenario ('special' young boy, creepy old house filled with strange people, a connection to a powerful ancient wizard) explodes with a whole host of new and even stranger ideas. Treadwell takes inspiration from a number of different sources, from Goethe's Faust and the Arthurian legend, to more ancient and primal folklore in order to populate his world of newly found magic, nestled in the seemingly uneventful woods of Cornwall. His imagination has complete freedom, and this shows in the wonderful oddities that feature in this story, plucked from legend and given a new lease of life.

Gavin's journey from self-conscious, haunted teenager to accepting his role as the hero and his steadfast refusal to give up despite the odds was well executed and flowed well with the plot. Think less 'coming-of-age' and more 'coming-of-awesome'. Gav comes to terms with the strangeness around him quite well, in contrast with Horace, who always seems to be hurtling towards the wrong place at the wrong time. His transformation from the bitter rival to the reluctant hero sets us up nicely for a second helping of Treadwell's unique mind.

Advent was a bit of a slow burner for me. The first half of the book plods along at a slow but steady pace, then it suddenly runs along at the speed of an oncoming avalanche. Though the sudden change of pace was initially jarring, it did well in showing the sudden shift in the mechanics of the world as magic was re-established. My only issue with the sudden change in pace is that many characters never really got their moment to shine; often disappearing for large chunks of the book and reappearing just in time for the climax. I'd liked to have seen a little more on these characters and how their fates intertwined with Gav's own.

Advent is an excellent novel with a brilliantly odd world that is soaked in legend and history. It's the kind of story that makes you want to know more about the little nooks and crannies that are near you, and what supernatural secrets they contain within.

Sign up to the A to Z Blogging Challenge!

2012-01-30T18:59:00.001Z

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for Advent by James Treadwell! Giveaway ends February 2nd, so enter now!

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Some blogging events are so monumental that they need to be heralded and lauded until everyone on the Internet knows of its existence. The A to Z Blogging Challenge is just such an event. Its purpose is simple - blog every day (except Sundays) from April 1st to April 30th, with each day corresponding with a letter of the alphabet.

It's the kind of thing that's easy to do and yet difficult to master. Many bloggers attempt to tackle a particular overall topic or have an underlying theme to their posts. This is where the challenge lies. It's a great opportunity to meet other bloggers from all walks of life. It's an amazing event and one that I highly recommend that everyone participate.

Not convinced yet? I've done the A-Z Challenge for the past two years, and I owe a lot to it for what it's done for the blog in terms of readership. I've made a lot of good friends along the way, so I can't sing its praises enough.

Just pop your link on the Bloghop below and sign yourself up for the blogging event of the year!

Who's participating this year? Do you have a theme in mind already?

Year of the Dragon - the best of our scaly friends

2012-01-23T20:57:00.001Z

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for Advent by James Treadwell! Giveaway ends February 2nd, so enter now!

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新年快乐
Happy Chinese New Year to you all! (The Chinese came from Google Translate - accuracy is completely coincidental).

Since this year marks the start of the Year of the Dragon, it is a perfect time to take a look at one of fantasy's most popular and feared creatures; used in literature, cinema, video games and more. Here is a rundown of my favourite dragons:

Books
Hungarian Horntail, Welsh Green, Swedish Short-Snout, Chinese Fireball
from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

What I admire most about Rowling's dragons is that they are animals first and foremost. There is no real intelligence beyond that of a predator. They can't speak, and they do not hoard gold. They are every bit as dangerous as a wild animal, and rightly so. Extra kudos for creating variations in dragon species that weren't traditional (fire dragon, ice dragon etc.)

Movies
Toothless the Night Fury
from How to Train your Dragon

Look at that face. How adorable is that? The guys who made How to Train your Dragon combined a fire breathing monstrosity with a LOLcat and created quite possibly the cutest fantasy creature ever.

Video Games
Alduin the World Eater
from The Elder Scrolles V: Skyrim

Possibly one of the most terrifying dragons you can have the misfortune of meeting. Alduin is the son of Akatosh, the dragon god of time, and is responsible for resurrecting all dragons in Skyrim. Whenever you see or hear in, there is only one option - run. Run, and keep running. Run and hope he doesn't find you.

Mythology
Y Ddraig Coch
National symbol of Wales

Come on, you didn't think I'd talk about dragons without mentioning this beauty? As one of the only countries in the world that has a dragon as a national symbol, Wales is quite unique. The dragon was said to be the battle standard of King Arthur (though it's more likely to have been a standard for one of the Roman legions that settled in Wales)

Why are dragons so popular in cultures all over the world? What's your favourite dragon?

ZFF - I got eaten

2012-01-21T08:15:00.000Z

It's been a crazy few days - I had a friend's wedding to go to yesterday, and I've another friend's engagement bash this weekend (all in different cities) so my Zombie Fitness Fridays post is a little late this week - I guess that means I got eaten!

Fitness has been pretty much non-existent this week besides walking everywhere (I don't drive; it's the good old Shoelace Express for me). I have a thing where I need to start the week on a good, productive note else I do nothing all week.

So, plan for next week:

# Do an evening jog (roughly 20 mins) every day I'm not in the gym.
# Hit the gym twice (three times ideally) and work on cardio and upper body strength.
# Have another session at Cardiff Castle Garrison's training to improve my combat skills.

Comment of the week this time goes to Talli Roland on last week's topic, "What survival skill could you teach to others?",

"Um... how to guzzle wine? Get us AND the zombies drunk, and I'd bet humans would whoop their butts." (that could actually work. It'd certainly level the playing field a little. Though I don't want to be the first to offer a zombie a beer).

How do you stay motivated with fitness?

RPGs just became a whole lot more interesting

2012-01-17T21:55:00.001Z

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for Advent by James Treadwell!

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Tabletop RPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons and Talisman have had to compete with their modern, digital counterparts - the MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Warhammer Online - for some time now, and to some it spelled the beginning of the end for our traditional RPGs. Now it's time for us to fight back.

ePawn Arena is a large, flat screen that connects to a smartphone, tablet or computer, and allows you to combine physical and digital objects that interact with one another. The result is the ability to play a dungeon-crawler type game by moving physical objects around the game board and have them interact with the digital interface. This is pretty exciting technology, and it has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Take a look at the video below (note: the typeface of the numbers and the skull motif look an awful lot like Warhammer 40K. Can anyone confirm this?). The ePawn Arena should be available at the end of this year.

What kind of applications does this technology have for us fantasy fans?

Discworld hits the theatre! Also giveaways!

2012-01-16T19:33:00.001Z

I've been given a hardback copy of Advent by James Treadwell by publisher Hodder & Stoughton. There are separate giveaways for UK and US readers, so take a look at the details of the giveaway!

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The most awesome thing I've come across this year was the announcement of a live production of Terry Pratchett's Monstrous Regiment not 5 minutes away from where I live. The show is run by Cardiff theatre group Act One Productions and looks to be an amazing show.

Expect a review next month once I've taken a look see. In the meantime, here are some photos of the group in rehearsals. I've not yet read that far into the Discworld series, so it will be interesting to see the show without having read the book first.

If anyone lives near enough to go to the show, you get get tickets/info at The Gate, Cardiff.

What fantasy book would you most like to see made into a live stage show/musical?

Book Review - Miscreation by Stefan Jakubowski (Zygmunt Stanley)

2012-01-15T17:05:00.000Z

Miscreation by Stefan Jakubowski
Published by Zygmuns Stanley
Paperback - 390 pages
Published July 2008
Personal copy of book

Blurb: There's life. There shouldn't be.
Creator Brown has been at it again. But then what can you expect from someone who occasionally ignores the odd zero; especially as he happens to work in billions and trillions. But Brown is the least of the problems for the Chief Creator who has just been handed other disturbing news.
The Anarchist is about to rise; from certain bits of wreckage. Serpens the self deluded self proclaimed tutu wearing Anarchist, banished from the Hall of Creators for certain improprieties and as punishment doomed to travel the Universe for all time in a claustrophobic meteorite with his meathead minions has, as luck would have it, crash-landed on Browns misaligned calamity.
Time for a plan - something he's not very good at - to escape the planet and pursue his doubtful claim to be ruler of the Universe. But it is going to take time; a whole evolution of it. Enter man. To be precise Musca ''the explosion was nothing to do with me'' soot smeared idiot son of the very recently deceased Chieftain. He plans to take the survivors of a certain devastating incident to a mythical land called OHM - there's no place like it.
Trouble is they don't want to go. Not with him anyway. Let the lunacy begin!

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The strength in Jakubowski's humour is in his characters. As a fantasy-comedy, comparisons to Pratchett's Discworld series are to be expected. However, whereas Pratchett utilises satire to offload the funny, Jakubowski has created instantly funny and likeable characters. From the battle-shy idiot chieftain Musca to the deluded yet loyal shepherd Bootes, the inhabitants of the world of Apomas all have a funny spark to them. It is through these characters that Jakubowski pokes fun at both fantasy and science-fiction with a sense of eccentricity that has tones of Douglas Adams within.

The juxtaposition of the protagonists (Musca's band of adventurers) and antagonists (Serpens' small group of intergalactic demons) is done well, as is the contrast between the hapless hero and the malicious (soon to be) Master of the Universe. Again, Jakubowski has injected real personality into the characters, especially the slow-witted ogre Ophiuchus, who's sporadic drone of "Breathe." whenever his master flies off the handle is chuckle-worthy.

The focus on the humour seems to be at the detriment of the overall plot, however. Rather than a strong, cohesive narrative, the novel seems more a string of comical scenarios that have been pieced together. Whilst this doesn't take away from the overall enjoyment of the novel, it sometimes feels like there is too much going on as the reader is hurled between point A and point X and back again. To compare it to a TV show, it has the feel of a sketch show as opposed to a sit-com: still enjoyable, but sometimes lacking a fullness.

Miscreation is an enjoyable romp through what would otherwise be standard fantasy territory were it not for Jakubowski's unique style of humour. Fun and sometimes frantic, Miscreation tickles the funny bones but sometimes gets a bit lost along the way.

Zombie Fitness Friday - Educating the Masses

2012-01-13T08:25:00.001Z

Last night I had a training session with Cardiff Castle Garrison, where we practiced spear attack, defence and counter-attack. It was great fun, but insanely tiring (something to do with lunging with 9 feet of wood and metal). It made me realise that my stamina has taken a bit of a battering over the holidays, so that will be my #1 focus for the time being. My grip isn't that good either, so if anyone has any tips on improving that then please let me know.

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I was looking at a post over at post-acocalyptic survival blog In Case of Survival, where they were discussing putting survival advice in nursery rhymes to educate children right from the start. This got me thinking that education is just as important as being faster than the things trying to eat you.

When the apocalypse hits, how many of us are going to know how to survive? I mean, really? With our sheltered, modern lives, opening a can of baked beans can be a nightmare if we don't have the right do-hickey that does the job for us. How long do we expect to survive with little to no power, water or heating?

With that in mind, designating schools/learning centres within your survival groups is key. Much like Druids were the centres of learning in Celtic tribes, in order to survive you need to get smart, quickly. People need to learn basic survival skills; scavenging for food, making a fire, sleeping downwind, hunting wild animals etc. If your idea of making basic medicine is repeatedly tapping the A button (as in most video game RPGs) then you're going to be one of the first to die.

Comment of the week goes to Alex J. Cavanaugh for last week's topic, "Where do you consider the safest place to be during a zombie outbreak?",

"The safest place? The moon!" (very true, Alex. But there are other nasties up there, like Space Nazis)

What survival skill would you like to learn most? What could you teach to others?

Feast of Fiction - Teaching us how to cook our favourite fantasy meals

2012-01-11T22:56:00.003Z

One thing I like to do when not buried nose-deep in a fantasy book is try my hand at cooking something more complex than "open box, throw in oven, wait until hot", and I've been steadily getting better at cooking over the past few months. Now, I've found something that combines my love of fantasy with cooking into one glorious Elven-made mixing bowl.

Feast of Fiction is the brainchild of Jimmy Wong, brother of Internet celebrity Freddie Wong. Each week he takes a dish from the realms of fantasy, science fiction and video games and recreates them in real life as close to their original intended recipe.

It's pretty new, so there are only three episodes so far. However, it's a brilliant idea that should please us fantasy nuts as well as the culinary-inclined readers. Let me know if you decide to try any of the recipes (the Minecraft cake looks insanely tasty!)

Episode 1: Sunlight Souffle (taken from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim)

Episode 2: Butterbeer (taken from the Harry Potter series)

Episode 3: Minecraft cake (taken from Minecraft)

What fantasy/sci-fi/video game recipe would you like to make or eat in real life?

Book trailer and excerpt - The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

2012-01-09T07:12:00.001Z

This popped up on my Twitter feed this morning and I had to share. In a similar vein to Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch, this debut novel deals with a shadow-sector of the UK government that deals with the supernatural. The Rook seems to take a more tongue-in-cheek approach, but also includes a fair amount of suspense.

“The body you are wearing used to be mine.”
So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.
She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Checquy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.
In her quest to uncover which member of the Checquy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.

A trailer has also been released for the book (see below). I like the demonic receptionist, the supernatural needs a switchboard. Also, you can read the first four chapters of The Rook for free. The Rook is set to be published by HarperCollins Voyager (Australia) and Little Brown (US, thanks Fantasy Nibbles!) in February 2012.

Zombie Fitness Fridays - Goals

2012-01-06T21:41:00.003Z

Zombie Fitness Fridays is back for 2012! Even though I'm going to be joining the Cardiff Castle Garrison for Medieval battle training, I think I could still use a little training with surviving against the undead.

I have a few goals in mind for this year that will put me in good stead for running from and confronting my zombie adversaries, and a few areas that I will be focusing in my training:

~ Last year, I was too hung up over shedding pounds, which was wrong. This is Zombie Fitness Fridays, not Zombie Fatness Fridays. Physical fitness and health is the #1 goal.

~ I've finally watched Zombieland (and it was ace) and so I'm sticking to Rule #1: Cardio. I'll be hitting the treadmill and the cross-trainer for the majority of my training. I need to be able to outrun any zombies that want me as a snack, up to speeds of 28 Days Later zombies.

~ Upper body strength. Eventually I'm going to have to go toe-to-toe with a few shufflers, so I'm going to be working on my strength and doing some resistance training on my shoulders and back (enough to swing a blunt object with enough force to take down a zombie in one hit). The combat training I will get will be a good complement to this, and I'll also be able to convert some of my bulk into muscle.

~ Stamina. I need to be able to walk/jog/run for long distances, covering ground between camps and when food is scarce. Some cross-country type training (likely on the treadmill) will be useful here. I'll use my endurance level to test my fitness improvement.

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You see that graphic up on the top left? Nice, isn't it? There have been a few people who have asked about Zombie Fitness Fridays, so everyone is welcome to join in and unite against the undead. Rules are simple - post on a Friday (not every Friday, but on Fridays) with your fitness progress and how it's helping you to survive the undead onslaught. Use the graphic to show your support, and let me know if you want to join in!

This initial week has seen a single gym session (treadmill and X-trainer for cardio, abdominal and biceps for strength) plus 2 nights of jogging to build up endurance. Let's hope the New Year means a good year for not getting eaten!

Where do you consider the safest place to be during a zombie outbreak?

Goals and resolutions - Insecure Writer's Support Group

2012-01-04T06:52:00.001Z

As the first Insecure Writer's Support Group post of 2012, I felt that it would be fitting to talk about writing goals and resolutions.

Quite a few of you have decided to set yourselves writing goals this year, and that is truly admirable. However, if you're anything like me, goals and resolutions only last about 3 weeks before either laziness or procrastination rears its ugly head and all that hard work and good intention goes out the window.

With that in mind, here are a few things I've learned when setting writing goals:

#1. Be Realistic: Setting yourself a challenging goal is one thing, but make sure that it can actually be achieved. Saying something like "I'm going to write 4 books this year" when you've never written a first draft before is pushing it a little too far. Stick with what you know you can achieve.

#2. Small goals are king: Even if you have an achievable and realistic goal, it looks a little daunting standing tall on December 31st, glaring at you from the end of the year. Make your goal more manageable by splitting it into smaller goals, or create milestones for yourself that you need to accomplish by certain times of the year. For example,

"In 2012, I am going to write the first draft of my novel"
Can become
"I will write the outline by March, I will have 50,000 words written by July, and I will finish it by December"

With smaller goals on the near horizon, it makes things far easier to work towards.

#3. Give yourself time to write: I've seen quite a few people who have set themselves writing goals because they have lacked time to write in the past. In order for you to achieve these goals, it helps to give yourself dedicated 'writing time' every day. That way, you know that you always have time to write, and little by little your goal will get closer to completion. Even half an hour a day is better than not writing at all, which causes a snowball effect and before you know it it's November and you've only written 200 words.

#4. Know that you are not alone: If the IWSG is anything to go by, you have the support if dozens, if not hundreds, of like-minded people who are trying to achieve similar things. We are here for you. So if you are struggling to achieve your writing goals, or you need advice, or even just a pep talk, don't give up. Come to us. It's what friends are for!

What are your writing goals for 2012? How will you go about achieving them?

Be sure to check out some of the other participants below, and if you're tweeting about it, use the hashtag #IWSG to let others know.

Read the free prologue for Seven Princes by John R. Fultz

2012-01-02T20:27:00.000Z

In preparation for the upcoming release of Seven Princes by John R. Fultz, Orbit Books has released the prologue for the new series for free. It's a bloody, action-filled chapter that sets a dark and violent tone for the rest of the novel. If necromancy, bloodshed and tyranny float your boat, then take a read.

Seven Princes by John R. Fultz
Published by Orbit
Published - Jan 2012

An ancient necromancer slaughters the king and his court in front of the unbelieving eyes of crown prince D’zan. From that moment, his life is consumed by one thought – to regain his throne. Others will join him, some will oppose him.
In a world where men and giants fight side by side against ancient monsters and new powers, only one thing is sure – war is coming. Blood will run and princes will clash.
Seven princes. Seven destinies.
All will be legend.

[Read the prologue to Seven Prince at Orbit Books]

Seven Princes looks to be an explosive new series. I'll be keeping my eye on this one.

What books are you looking forward to reading this year?

2012 - the year of blogging!

2012-01-01T15:26:00.000Z

Hello again, everyone! I hope you all had an excellent Christmas and New Year. Now all the holiday jazz is over, it's time to get stuck into sticking with our resolutions. One of mine is to get a little more serious with Mithril Wisdom, and so with that in mind I've gone for a blog redesign and reshuffle to make it a bit more sleek looking. There are still some things that need tweaking, but feel free to take a look around. Also, I've finally got my own URL for the blog! You can now go to www.mithrilwisdom.com and you'll end up here. Whoo-hoo!

To kick off 2012, here's a list of things that I'll be looking at and reviewing in the near future (all Christmas presents).

Books:

The Way of Kings (Part One) by Brandon Sanderson

Miscreation by Stefan Jakubowski

Games:

LEGO: Heroica
Castle Fortaan
Draida Bay

(You can combine these sets together so I'll do a single big Heroica review).

Music:

Under the Grey Banner by Dragonland

It feels great to be back and blogging again. Here's hoping that 2012 will be the year of taking things a little more seriously and making this blog even better!

What was your favourite gift this Christmas?

Under maintenance

2011-12-16T23:37:00.002Z

Mithril Wisdom is undergoing some scheduled maintenance. I'll be back with a new look and some new things in the New Year. Until then, here's a little something to annoy the masses:

Taking a Christmas break

2011-12-15T08:15:00.002Z

I know that I haven't been around the past few weeks, and for that I apologise. It's made me realise that I need to get a little bit more serious with this blog. After 2 years, I think it's time to up the ante a little bit and see what it's capable of. With that in mind, I'll be offline until the New Year, when I hope to return with a new look for the blog, some new features and making some good headway on the TBR pile. 2012 will be that year, I hope.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and an awesome New Year. Stay safe and be happy. Christmas is coming ...