JOHN HARRIS

Hello World

Time to expand the footprint a bit! My name is James Kenwood, and I am looking for a place to experiment with self-publishing: flash fiction, novellas, novels, and whatever else tickles my creative fancy. I will be using this blog Grim Acres to share and promote some of my writing. What do I focus on? Very simple: Lovecraftian dread set during World War Two - and sci-fi. Perhaps some sci-fi with tentacles too, since the intersection is already there. Or maybe sci-fi Nazis, although that trope is wearing a bit thin by now (says the one who just made a tentacle joke). Regardless! The Grim Acres will be the place where all this dread and darkness is shared. Feel free to send me a PM if you like what you read here, or have any thoughts to share. PS: you can also find me on Substack, under the same names. I'll post a URL for that once I'm sure tumblr won't shadow-ban me for linking to a "rival"...!

What was his story? Pictures like this always make me wonder.

By Dariusz Kieliszek

Olympus Mons and Phobos captured by Mars Express.

Image Credit: ESA, DLR, FU Berlin, Mars Express; Andrea Luck; h/t: Phil Plait

Hi, I love your blog!

Do you have any ideas for archaic words relating to sailors/ships/voyages/ocean?

Archaic Words: Nautical-Related

Avast - a sea term, meaning stop, hold, enough. It always precedes some orders or conversation. Usually used by sailors.

Banyan day - a sea term for those days on which no meat is allowed to the sailors

Bat swain - a sailor

Breechmen - sailors

Calmewe - a kind of sea bird

Cobkey - a punishment by bastinado inflicted on offenders at sea

Doutremere - from beyond the sea

Fitty - a term applied to lands left by the sea

Landfeather - a bay of the sea

Laveer - to work a ship against the wind. An old sea term.

Loom - to appear larger than in reality, as things often do when at sea

Maryn - the sea coast

Nikir - a sea monster

Osprey - the sea eagle

Reeses - waves of the sea

Shamming Abraham - phrase common among soldiers and sailors, used when they counterfeit sickness or infirmity. It was probably derived from the Abraham men of Shakespeare's time, described in King Lear.

Se-stoerre - sea star

Sea nag - a ship

Shere - to run aground, as a ship does

Ship spy - a telescope used on the coast

Slug - a ship which sails badly

Soger - a sea insect that takes the possession of the shell of another fish

Swashway - a deep swampy place in large sands in the sea

Transfret - to pass over the sea

Viage - a voyage, or journey

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Word Lists ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Hi, thank you so much! Hope this helps with your writing.

Writing Notes: Outline your Plot

THREE ACT STRUCTURE

Act 1: The first act establishes the world and rules of the world in which your story is set, starts the central conflict, and ends with a turning point that leads to the next act.

Act 2: Act two is the middle of your story and includes the rising action that sends the story and characters into crisis. This act raises the stakes of your story, fully immerses your characters into their journey, and ends with a turning point that leaves readers wondering if the characters will succeed.

Act 3: The third act leads to the climax and main confrontation of your story, sees them through this conflict, then de-escalates into resolution.

FREYTAG’S PYRAMID

Exposition: Exposition provides background information and presents the audience with the who, where, and when.

Inciting incident: The inciting incident is the first conflict your characters encounter.

Rising action: Rising action begins with the inciting incident and is when the conflict starts to escalate.

Climax: This is the height of tension in your story. Here the main character is usually forced to face a difficult truth or make an important decision.

Falling action: Falling action occurs due to the character’s reaction or decision during the climax. This section starts the process of tying up loose ends, dissolving the conflict, and leads to the resolution.

Resolution: The resolution finishes tying up loose ends and shows how events have unfolded and characters and their world has changed.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Notes ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Writing Notes: Military Science Fiction

Military science fiction - a subgenre that combines science fiction with military elements.

Also known as sci-fi, science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction that contains imagined elements that don’t exist in the real world.

Science fiction spans a wide range of themes that often explore time travel, space travel, are set in the future, and deal with the consequences of technological and scientific advances.

Military sci-fi novels deal with subjects like space warfare and futuristic weaponry. These books may also explore how war and technology affect human or alien characters.

Characteristics of Military Science Fiction

Novels in this subgenre will often include one or more of these common military sci-fi tropes.

Advanced weaponry and warfare: Military sci-fi often includes detailed descriptions of futuristic weapons. World-building may include discussions of new types of spaceships and ammo for futuristic machine guns. Aside from technology, there may be unique military organizations or world-specific fighting strategies.

Epic battles: In many military sci-fi stories, the climax is a large and exciting battle. These fights can occur on land or in space and pit humans against aliens.

Philosophical discussions of war: Military science fiction can bring up philosophical and ethical issues, like war’s impact on civilians and warriors. Authors may even use sci-fi to critique real-life military operations.

Tips on Writing Military Science Fiction

Writing a great military science-fiction novel can be a long, challenging process. As with any novel, you’ll want to construct a satisfying plot, develop interesting characters, and write polished, vivid prose. That said, writing military science fiction requires many unique considerations. Here are some tips for creating a memorable military science-fiction novel:

Broach complex ideas. A good military science-fiction story depends on a great conceit. Before writing your first book, have some sense of the question your novel is asking. This question can be implicit or explicit in military sci-fi, and many novels make these questions obvious. For example, Ender’s Game asks the question: What if humanity’s survival during an alien invasion depended on highly intelligent children?

Tell a good story. While military science-fiction novels are often thought experiments, they should contain an interesting narrative story. Come up with an intriguing story that brings your questions to life. Ask yourself: What is the change that will occur over the course of your story, either in the world or in the life of the main character?

Create an interesting world. World-building is one of the most important parts of creating a compelling military sci-fi story. The intricately imagined details that make up your world should flow in some way from the idea at the heart of your story. In that way, the world you create in your military sci-fi novel also reveals something about your point of view on the real world. Even the most fantastically imagined story is still a reflection of real-world questions and problems.

Consistently obey the rules of your world. One of the qualities that set sci-fi novels apart from fantasy is that it still obeys consistent logic, no matter the strangeness of the world. For military sci-fi, this might involve rules about how advanced weapons and spaceships work. You may find yourself mapping out intergalactic government agencies and writing laws.

Focus on character development. You may get caught up building your world or focusing on your plot, but remember that well-developed characters are important, too. Your plot may hinge on a major battle, but make sure to create interesting conflicts for your characters.

Examples of Military Science Fiction

It can be helpful to read military science fiction to better understand what the genre has to offer. Consider some of these works by well-known science-fiction writers:

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein (1959): Heinlin wrote this novel in response to real-life nuclear arms policy. Set in the future, it touches on moral and philosophical questions an interstellar government faces.

Childe Cycle by Gordon R. Dickson (1960): This series chronicles the fracture of humanity into space. Dorsai “supersoldiers” attempt to reunite the human civilizations.

Star Wars by George Lucas (1976): Star Wars’s novelization actually predates the iconic film’s release by a few months. Ghostwriter Alan Dean Foster wrote the book based on Lucas’s space opera screenplay.

Battlestar Galactica by Glen A. Larson (1978): This franchise follows the last of humanity as they fight a war against a robot race.

Armor by John Steakley (1984): Armor’s soldiers use exoskeletons in a war against insect-like enemies in this bestseller.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (1985): This novel follows young children with high intellect who help lead a war against an alien race.

Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold (1986): This series of novels and short stories is set in a fictional universe of star systems called the wormhole Nexus.

On Basilisk Station by David Weber (1993): This novel follows a military school graduate named Honor Harrington, whose insubordination gets her exiled to Basilisk Station, a far-off station of smugglers and thieves.

A Hymn Before Battle by John Ringo (2000): This novel is about Earth’s preparation for an alien invasion.

Old Man's War by John Scalzi (2005): The Colonial Defense Force is a military organization with two goals. The first is to defend Earth from alien invasion; the second, to find new planets to colonize. This novel follows John Perry’s journey through the ranks.

The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell (2006): This series is set one hundred years into an interstellar war between two warring factions of humans.

A Confederation of Valor by Tanya Huff (2006): These novels follow Sergeant Torin Kerr as she leads her team of space marines through missions across the galaxy.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

‘Earth Colony’ by Robert McCall (1973)

Something I had to look into when researching possible ground combat on Mars: how do you fight - and survive - on a world where the atmosphere is 1/1000 Earth standard, and the temperature averages around -60 Celsius? How do you survive a suit breach and/or gunshot wound in that? Do you even have a chance to survive?

Writing Notes: Realistic Injuries (pt. 3)

Hostile Environments

It’s not uncommon for your characters to find themselves stranded somewhere with less than ideal conditions.

Cold

There are the obvious risks of hypothermia and frostbite.

The time for these to set in can vary drastically with temperature and windchill.

In both cases, warming should be done slowly or risk blistering of the skin and other complications such as shock.

Like burns, frostbite is classified into degrees of severity:

First degree frostbite – Numbness and whitening of skin.

Second degree – Outer layer of skin frozen, blistering likely when warmed.

Third degree – Skin is white or blue and blotchy. Skin and the tissue beneath it is hard and cold.

Heat

Risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Heat exhaustion is caused by insufficient water and salt intake. It is easy to develop without realising it.

Heat stroke is more severe and often follows untreated heat exhaustion. It is extremely dangerous and can be fatal.

Symptoms of Heat Exhaustion

Headache

Dizziness, faintness

Confusion and irritability

Thirst

Fast and weak pulse and breathing

Clammy skin and cramps

Additional Symptoms of Heatstroke

Hot, dry, flushed skin

Sweating stops altogether

Nausea

Disorientation up to and including hallucinations

Abnormal blood pressure

Elevated temperature

Unconsciousness

Treatment focuses on lowering the body temperature and rehydrating the person as quickly as possible.

Oxygen Deprivation

Apart from the obvious – lack of oxygen is rather bad for you (6-8 minutes for permanent brain damage) – the reason for the lack can have side effects of its own.

For example smoke, chemical or water inhalation can do physical damage to the lungs making breathing difficult even when the person is removed to a safe place.

Exposure to Vacuum

In short, your major problems would be…

Oxygen deprivation

Exposure to extreme cold

Expansion of gases within the body – meaning that holding your breath would be a Big Mistake, but not one you’d live to regret for very long

In a sudden decompression there would also be the risk of decompression sickness (the bends) and of getting hit by flying debris during the decompression itself.

Assuming you survived the initial decompression you’d have about 10 seconds of consciousness to do something about it and about one and a half minutes to live.

Parts of the body exposed would suffer from swelling, frostbite, and interrupted circulation.

Leaky spaceships

50% atmospheric pressure is enough to have people suffering from hypoxia (oxygen deprivation).

15% and you more or less, may as well be in vacuum.

Source: Leia Fee (with additions by Susannah Shepherd) More: Part 1 ⚜ Part 2 ⚜ Word Lists (Sick) (Pain) ⚜ Drunkenness ⚜ Autopsy

Red Skull, as written by Robert E. Howard? Would that then be... Conan Skull...? (this needs to happen, regardless of naming semantics)

By Puppeteer Lee