From my fantasy writing desk:
What have I been up to this week? The blurred fog in my brain indicates I spent it writing and burned up all the fuel. That’s a good sign. Although coherent thought on a Friday might be useful.
At one point I was juggling three scenes from the earlier draft and blending them into one much more action-packed scene. Since the three scenes didn’t take place in the same setting or with the same characters this took some serious slight of hand (or is that slight of fingers on the keyboard?). I also had to create some magic–literally, not as in the “magic of spellbinding prose.”
Tesha is branching out in her magic these days and I had to create a new rite. Which for me means thinking about actual Hittite magical rites and coming up with something that follows the same rhythms and rules. So there’s some fresh analogical magic going on in the pages of this draft. It involves pitchers of water, some dirty and some clean in order for the clean/the true to win out, which suits Tesha’s mildly OCD temperament and thus tosses in some character development along the way.
With any luck my efforts will still sound good to me when I look them over. In the meantime, I’m content with the week’s progress.
Archaeology and History Posts I enjoyed:
Finds from the renewed Pompeii excavation
In the top 10 2018 archaeological discoveries count the newest frescoes from Pompeii.
Why new revelations from Pompeii? Pompeii’s been excavated for 250 years or so, but, nonetheless, about 1/3 of the city remained under the mud, ash and lava. That volcanic debris was destructively washing into the excavated parts, hence defensive excavations have been undertaken.
In the process some amazing frescoes, buildings and objects of daily life mundane and unusual have come to light. And all these discoveries are the first to be excavated using up-to-date techniques. In an earlier post I discussed the Leda and the lecherous swan fresco, that is one of these great new finds.
Watch for more excitement from this venerable “frozen moment in Roman life.” Click here for Archaeology Magazine “Return to Pompeii”
And a sadder find at Pompeii: horses
The new Pompeii discoveries keep coming. This one is sad. Remarkably preserved horses, saddled and ready to flee, but buried in volcanic ash instead.
Also uncovered were the stables of the Villa of Mysteries, whose frescoes you may have seen if you’ve visited Pompeii. A whole street of grand houses with big balconies has been found also, so I’m sure as they excavate the houses, there will be great revelations ahead. Click here for The Washington Post “Scientists release photos of new Pompeii find: Horses remarkably preserved in volcanic ash”