The churchyard grim looks strange in these parts. It appeared before the usual guardian could be buried there, walking on two legs and covered in feathers, its mouth lined with dozens of sharp teeth. Folks thought it was a demon at first, but it never brought harm to anyone and did its job just as well. So they got used to it. These days folks walk through the rows of the dead without fear, for no demon nor evil spirit would dare to oppose this grim.
In English folklore church grim are guardians of the dead and usually appear in the form of a black dog with red eyes. It was said that the first thing buried there would then serve as protector for the churchyard, and it is thought to have been custom for a dog to be the first thing buried in a new churchyard so it would become its guardian.
So what if there was an undiscovered fossil bed under this new churchyard? What fun prehistoric grim could arise from such a scenario?
Journals. Those lovely, empty books so full of potential and that I have far too many of. There are many benefits to keeping a writing journal, and it’s one of the first things I recommend to people when they ask for advice on how to get things rolling with their stories. Here are a few reasons for filling up a journal yourself:
A new perspective
It’s amazing how helpful getting your thoughts down on paper can be. By getting your ideas out of your head you make room for new ones, and being able to read your ideas instead of just thinking them allows you to look at them in a different way.
Writing your ideas down will also help you process them faster and potentially untangle issues you’ve been struggling with.
A look into your creative past
Once you’ve written it down, you won’t have to worry so much about losing it. It’s fun to look back on what you were thinking about in the past, and you never know when an idea might come in handy in the future. You might even find a concept to rework or add to an already-existing project in one of your old journals.
Bringing order to the chaos
If you’re working with a lot of characters and plot threads it’s useful to have a place to write them down to reference later. Same goes for world building elements. A writing journal is your initial dumping ground for ideas which will then be refined and recorded in a more polished state later.
A place to keep your research
Research is important to most writing projects, but sometimes there’s a point where your eyes start to slide off the text without really comprehending what’s been written. Writing down notes on your research can help you commit things to memory and will ensure that you have them stored somewhere to find and use later.
Collecting is fun
It’s fun to collect journals and feels very satisfying to finish filling one and put it on the shelf. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
A few bits of advice
Use sticky notes to mark important pages so you can find them more easily later. I like to link certain colors of sticky note to certain stories that I’m writing, so I can have notes and musings for multiple different stories going without things getting too muddled.
No need to use a physical journal if you don’t want to, there are phone apps that you can use to record things with no matter where you are.
If you’re picking out physical journals, remember that if you want to fill it completely you’ll be stuck with it for at least a few months. Choose carefully and make sure that you like it. Things to check are page count, paper texture, page thickness, and line width.
I’d recommend against really expensive journals, at least to start with, since the price tag might make you police the sorts of things you write in it. The point of the journal is to dump everything in, it’s like an artist’s sketchbook, it’s where you store ideas and thoughts regardless of how silly or tacky you might think they are now! Picking a journal that’s too “special” or valuable may end up hindering that.
Have fun!
Good luck and have fun in your journaling! I think you’ll find the results very helpful and rewarding.
How many blank journals do I have?
…
These are all waiting to be filled…
Too many.
Have fun choosing your journals but maybe don’t hoard them like I do!
If you like what you see, please consider supporting the site on Patreon! I would like to keep things ad-free, so any support is deeply appreciated.
Got anything you’re curious about? Let me know down in the comments or ping me on Twitter or Tumblr!
If you want to add a little magic to a snowy winter scene, fantasy or no, diamond dust might be what you want to go for. Your characters look up to find that diamond dust sparkles in the clear air around them, bringing another element of beauty to the snowy landscape.
How It Works
Diamond dust is, at the most basic level of description, a ground-level cloud of ice crystals. These ice crystals form slowly and are simple in structure, either forming as hexagonal plates or columns. This is what gives diamond dust its reflective properties.
The formation of diamond dust relies on temperature and water vapor. It can form anywhere the temperature is in the range of -10 °C(14 °F) to -39 °C(38 °F), with Antarctica sporting the phenomenon almost year-round. The second element required, water vapor, comes from a warmer moisture-bearing mass of air moving over the cold ground-level air. Ice crystals form as these two masses of air interact and then fall to the ground as diamond dust. Since clouds are not required for the formation of diamond dust, it tends to appear under clear skies. Diamond dust is distinct from ice fog, and doesn’t tend to impede visibility.
The crystal types that make up diamond dust are also associated with optical phenomena such as halos, light pillars, and dun dogs.
Words for Describing It
Neutral
Nouns
Diamond dust
Facets
Flecks
Ice-crystal haze
Ice crystals
Adjectives
Brief
Cold
Fleeting
Minute
Pale
Silver
Thin
Tiny
Verbs
Blink
Drift
Flash
Float
Glint
Reflect
Refract
Shine
Sift
Wink
Interactions
Air currents
Light source
Solid objects
Example
“Diamond dust sifted down from the clear sky above, reflecting the sun with tiny flashes of light.”
Positive
Adjectives
Brilliant
Ephemeral
Magical
Whimsical
Verbs
Dance
Glitter
Shimmer
Sparkle
Swirl
Twinkle
Metaphor
Fairy dust
Glitter
Stars
Stardust
Example
“Diamond dust danced and glittered in the clear air.”
Negative
It’s going to be a little difficult to make this phenomenon directly negative as far as I can see, but focusing on the bitter cold that is required for it or contrasting its beauty with something horrible going on in the scene could do it. An unnatural light source that they’re picking up could also work.
Adjectives
Frigid
Ghostly
Sharp
Steely
Verbs
Mock
Example
“The shadows glinted with the ghostly flashes of diamond dust, its presence revealed by the wretched red glow of eldritch flames.”
Associated Phenomena
Cirrostratus clouds
Halos
Light pillars
Sun dogs
Got anything you’re curious about? Let us know down in the comments!
Recent Comments