Here’s one thing I didn’t expect as a result of the 2016 Writer’s Digest Conference: Be a guest blogger for one of this year’s presenters! I connected with Ben Sobieck after his fantastic presentation on writing weapons in fiction, then told him how I had taken archery lessons as research for my WIP. And as the saying goes, the rest is history. 😉 Check out my guest post “One Fantasy Writer’s Secret Weapon: Archery Lessons” now at Ben’s site, The Writer’s Guide to Weapons.
NOTE: If you read my 5 on the 5th earlier this year about five things I learned from archery lessons, much of the content will look familiar. This guest post is a “re-purposing” of that original article for Ben’s audience, done with my permission.
The best way to write about weapons in fiction is to get your hands on some. If you can swing it, one-on-one instruction in a controlled environment is best. (Jamie Woods image via sxc.hu) Today’s guest post comes from fantasy writer SaraLetourneau, someone I came in touch with via the 2016 Writer’s Digest Conference. When she mentioned she took a 10-week archery lesson to better understand the weapons in her stories, I couldn’t help but ask for a post for this site. Be sure to check out her website here for more of her terrific work. Enjoy!
-Ben
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Sara Letourneau 
That’s so cool to be one of his guest bloggers, Sara! I wish I could have listened to his presentation on writing weapons. What were some of his most helpful tips that you’ll be using?
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I’m still stunned that he asked me, to be honest. In a really good way, too. It just goes to show that you never know what can happen when you connect with other writers at conferences!
I’ll talk a little bit about Ben’s session in my WDC 2016 post (scheduled for next Thursday). But the main takeaways from it were to a) make sure you read up on weapons from reputable sources so you know how they work and feel confident with writing about them, and b) be careful with how much detail you share about how those weapons work for accuracy and pacing reasons. He made other valid points, too, but I want to refrain from sharing too much in case he makes the same presentation at other conferences in the future (and so I don’t spoil it for other writers, too). 😉
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Thank you for sharing! It does make good sense to be careful about too much detail with how a weapon works; I will keep that in mind. I look forward to your post Thursday. 🙂
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How exciting! I’ll go check out your guest post! I still think it’s impressive how you chose to learn archery to help your research. It inspired me to decide to pick up the fiddle for Heritage. 😉
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I just saw your comment there. Thank you! 🙂
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