I’ve talked about this-world breeds and types of horses in previous posts, and gone into some detail about equine form for various functions. This week I’d like to revisit the topic, but with a more speculative bent: creating breeds and … Continue reading
Tag Archives: the craft of writing
In any setting that relies on horses for transport, the ability to keep the transport healthy and functional is vital. Raising, feeding, and training contribute strongly to that, of course, but entropy being what it is, sooner or later you … Continue reading
The “horse whisperer” thing was very big a few years ago. All the pony people were doing it or learning how to do it, and then there was that movie with Robert Redford being all craggy and sensitive. Then inevitably … Continue reading
At last I’m getting to a question asked in the first blog or two: What about logistics of mounted expeditions? This matters a great deal to the author writing any kind of quest or preindustrialized battle, not to mention the … Continue reading
This past week was rather interesting from the writer-rider-teacher point of view. I had opportunity to watch a beginning rider discover an entire new world of kinesthesia, and there just happened to be a discussion of the “Beginner’s Mind” in … Continue reading
Last week we talked about why the Giant Fantasy Horse(tm) is not the best idea for your questing Fellowship or your knight errant. This week we’ll look at another aspect of equine form and function: Speed. You won’t always be … Continue reading
This is a post about aliens. It’s also a post about writing the Other–human, animal, or otherwise. Horses are sentient. There’s some debate as to how intelligent they actually are, but as with other animals, the more scientists study them, … Continue reading
Just this morning I was reading a book I loved in my Sensawunda(tm) years. I still love it, but now I’m older and have published a few books of my own, the things I notice are different. In the context … Continue reading
One of the most common comment I write on student manuscripts is, “How does the character feel about this event?” or “What is her reaction?” It’s easy to narrate events, much harder to show internal reactions. But as a writer, … Continue reading
All too often when writers tackle the arcana of the equine in their novels and stories, they miss the nuances of the terminology. Then the reader is treated to a female gelding, a male mare, or a rider moving a … Continue reading