Read it here: https://www.wattpad.com/627441254-the-mechanical-crown-new-alliances This is a dialogue-heavy chapter in which characters meet up who have not been in the same scenes previously. That’s always a fun opportunity, whereby you can use the juxtaposition to shine a new light on those personalities and see how they react to each other. […]
As a side note, I’m going to be getting back to posting about writing matters outside of these chapter notes very soon, as the long UK school summer holidays are nearly at an end. Next up will be something about the importance of logic even in fantastical settings, using Kieron […]
Read it here: https://www.wattpad.com/621492901-the-mechanical-crown-beware-of-old-gods In this chapter we dig into the question of “what’s going on?” in greater detail. However, rather than it be Exposition Chapter Part 2, this does something slightly different – and hopefully more interesting. For starters, it’s called ‘Beware of old gods’, which immediately sets the tone. […]
Read it here: https://www.wattpad.com/618199032-the-mechanical-crown-a-new-truth This chapter was always going to be a tricky one. There’s a lot of information to share, and I do what I can to lessen the weight of it by a) presenting it in the form of a museum and b) having the characters explore the information […]
Read it here: https://www.wattpad.com/615242352-the-mechanical-crown-blue-skies At last, some relief. We’ve essentially had 14 chapters of increasing grimness as the story descended into its worst moments so far. This arc was always going to be like this, taking some of the youthful exuberance and optimism of the earlier parts of the book and […]
Read it here: https://www.wattpad.com/611775234-the-mechanical-crown-fantasia Well, lots going on in this one, then. Where to start? 1. The flying disc thing. Thus far, The Mechanical Crown has been a low-fantasy story, with magic being hinted at but almost always being far away in the background, or in the distant past (if […]
Read it here: https://www.wattpad.com/608543276-the-mechanical-crown-the-purge Arc 5 has been about a gradual, creeping sense of dread. It began with Fenris’ gang taking their first steps into the mountains, a place clearly touched by some kind of unnatural force. Then back in Treydolain we see the corruption and disintegration of rationality. Returning […]
Read it here: https://www.wattpad.com/605029196-the-mechanical-crown-matters-of-trust Things go from bad to worse, as if that’s even possible, though you do have to be paying some attention to realise. This chapter, in large part, is about seeing glimpse of what Pienya could have been, given better role models. We catch a glimpse of […]
I was asked to give a talk comparing storytelling in games and literature by Access Creative College. This article is based on that talk.
It’s easy to think that interactivity is the key difference between games and literature. Video games are interactive, which makes them unique. It’s an easy statement but misses the point that all forms of storytelling are interactive.
