Reflections of 2024

Happy New Year!!!

2024 was a helluva ride. In February, decided to take my machinima music videos and turn them into short live-action films. I wrote the screenplays and then converted them into novellas. I like the freedom of the omniscient point of view and immersed myself in the craft of novel writing.

Except it's not that easy for a neurodivergent to just write a story. Everything has to be technically and culturally accurate. To that end, here's what I discovered:

• I transcribed some Icelandic poetry and prayers from 1797, and it gave the history of Dwarfs. Amazing!
  

• There's a substantial difference between wyverns and dragons.
  

• Eastern Romans had grenades. The word comes from Latin "granatus." I wrote that in the book before finding out it was true.
  

• Danish was one of the major influencers on English. While reading the Gender Equality Plan for the Danish National Museum, I noticed many words looked very English, which prompted my research into the origins of English.
  

• My Danish family history cannot be verified as it was told to me. I've been able to piece a bit of it together and it's different than what I was told in my youth.
  

• I thought I made up the word "Hel" about a hot place with dragons. Uh, nope. Hela was the daughter of Loki (the trickster god), and she ruled over Hel with her dragons. Hel was populated by Hel-walkers, those who died of old age or illness, and was believed to be underground. It's funny how my story takes place on a volcanic plain, and the dragon's lair is... underground. I wrote that in the book before finding out it was true.
  

• Writing is easy. Writing a good story is hard. Line editing and copyediting is even harder.
  

• Storytelling has remained largely unchanged for the past 3,000 years. Humans like stories in a certain format, as documented by Aristotle.
  

• Whereas horses were present in Scandinavia in the pre-Viking era, they were smaller than today and generally not used for transportation. They were also expensive, so only the wealthy and elite had them. I wrote that in the book before finding out it was true.
  

• The use of torques (AKA torcs) was a European and Celtic custom for women until the 3rd century BC and men after that until the third century. It was used to identify people of high rank, which was appropriate for Lozen. The discrepancy here is that the stories take place somewhere between the second and fourth centuries, to which I say: There are no genders in Ravnsríki, and I claim artistic license.
  

• Due to the labor involved in making swords, they were not a common weapon. The Norse typically used spears and "bearded axes."
  

• Crests didn't appear until the 12th Century. Again, I claim an artistic license for using one 900 years before they were developed.
  

• Old Norse/Pre-Vikings did not wear metal helmets. Helmets were expensive to make so only the rich and elite could afford them. They may have worn hardened leather helmets. I wrote that in the book before finding out it was true.
  

• The oar locks were cord-wrapped, and the oar blades were wrapped in leather to ensure a ship's approach remained undetected.
  

• Similar to the first book, the Norse would decapitate their enemies, preserve their heads, and display them as a warning to intruders. I wrote that in the book before finding out it was true.
  

• Found out at the end of December there is a place called Nordland in Norway. Several of the peninsulas there have the same general shape as Norðrlönd, but are a small fraction the size of my map. My Norðrlönd is about four times larger than Nordland in Norway. Interesting coincidence.
  

• Another one of those things I wrote into the story and found out later was the only way to stop a Draugr is to burn it (yay dragons!) or decapitate it. I added a step to the beheading by requiring the skull be cleaved so the Draugr couldn't chew at the warrior's ankles. As I researched Norse Mythology, they said the same thing. Things that make you go "Hmmm..."