Random Questions Thread

That's certainly true. I'm imagining my noble character's reaction if he were told that he has to live on horse-milk and blood...
I might throw that one in just for giggles.
May I ask where you learned all of that? I'm currently assembling a list of research material. If any book comes to mind, particularly regarding strategies, customs and the like...?

I, Clausewitz is a great site for this; it essentially boils down a lot of research into easy-to-access format for aspiring writers. The Other Wiki, of course, is great, especially when you track down the citations and then use those books. Otherwise, some of what I know about the Mongols came from my current hobby of brushing up on Siberian and Central Asian history, and military history in general, which has been a lifelong love of mine.

Funny, I just got a book by the other Clausewitz XD. Thanks.

@Sabre's edge: "For that reason most of the European peasant armies were footsloggers, while the Mongolian armies were predominantly horse-based." Yes, and it's also probably the reason why the Mongols never had much success in western Europe or southern Asia. There wasn't enough fodder for their horses. And forget about naval campaigns. They tried two, both of which were utter failures.

There are some very good recent sources on the Mongol Empire. Jack Weatherford has written some very good, accessible books about Mongol (and Mongolian) history. The only issue with him is he has a huge crush on the Mongols and they weren't always quite as wonderful as his writing suggests. Another good sources (perhaps as a follow up to Weatherford) is the Secret History of the Mongols, which I think has a free English translation floating around. The memoirs of William of Rubruck offer an excellent contemporary view of the Mongol Empire at the height of its power from the perspective of a Flemmish missionary (it tells you something when medieval Europeans are impressed by your bling and disgusted by your hygiene). There's also some mention of Mongols in The Life of Saint Louis.

I guess you can read the Mongoliad, which I think was well researched. I haven't read it though so I don't know if it's any good.

If you're interested in the Mongols, you could also subscribe to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast. He recently did a 5 part series on them.

Thank you guys so much!

I'm actually more interested in the history of warfare at the moment, as there will be a prolonged armed conflict in my story and one of my characters is a military leader. But I'll check it out. There's no such thing as too much knowledge XD.

edited 15th Mar '13 3:15:13 PM by montmorencey

if you are interested in war you will probably like Hardcore History in general

Is 'Anna' an acceptably common way to shorten 'Ariana' (note: one 'n', not two) or would it be unusual? I'm aware that 'Ana' would probably be a more logical way but I don't like the way that name looks for some reason.

edited 16th Mar '13 6:38:09 PM by peasant

not that I've heard of. I don't think anyone would be too aghast if you did it that way though, especially if the character prefers Anna.

I think Anya might be more common

I dunno... Anya has sort of a Russian/East European feel to it. Same as Ana. Which doesn't work since the character is English.

I knew an Ariana who went by Rina.

You could spell the name 'Arianna', it's a legitimate variation, and one of the most common ones, at that.

You might also consider "Ari", I think.

Ariana => Anna isn't any stranger than William => Bill

I have a character who sustained a serious injury to her left shoulder a few years prior to the story. It's a bit of a plot point that she's not a particularly good archer because of it. But I do have her chopping wood and fighting with an ax on a regular basis. Is that plausible? Or should I note that she has similar difficulties doing that?

What sort of injury was it?
I'm no medical professional, but I did a bit of kyudo a while back. Drawing back the string and holding it in place puts a whole different sort of strain on your shoulders than swinging an axe for a brief period.

Large branch through the shoulder. Not all the way through, but it got in there.

Something to consider is that even IF (which is still a big if and has yet to be ascertained) it is medically plausible, odds are that for any general viewer with no medical background, it would be weird and seem unrealistic for a character to receive such a severe trauma that results in significant physical difficulties using that joint and muscles for one activity yet be perfectly fine doing a different but equally strenuous activity using those same joint and muscles.

In my opinion, it might be better to describe your character having some difficulty with chopping wood and the like. If rationale is needed for why she has difficulty with archery in particular, point out how chopping wood doesn't require any particular finesse.

Depends also on which shoulder - she could be using an axe one handed.

If I'm making a works cited page in MLA format, what category would I use for an internet review in the form a movie? The review format? Blog/podcast? Film/online video? Something else?

...the way no one learns to chop wood, because it's both weaker and more inaccurate than using both hands.

What are the logistics of an adult pretending to be a teenager and enrolling themselves in a high school. I'm planning a comedic story with this kind of premise, and while I am able to find examples of it happening, and I'm wondering how exactly they did it.

edited 18th Mar '13 2:52:57 AM by Saturn

But if you can't use one arm, you don't have the choice, and you relearn. Obviously it will be more difficult, and you can only use a small axe.

Is it plausible for someone to call their adoptive parent (that they have a very close relationship with) by their first name? I mean, there are people who aren't adopted, and call their parents by their first names... and have close relationships with them.

edited 18th Mar '13 2:48:45 PM by MorwenEdhelwen

Seems like.