Spec Tech – A Warship for Fantasy or Steampunk: the Trireme

When we looked at designing a ship for a fantasy novel, I chose a 15th century carrack.  It was a good choice. It has the right look, has all the DNA of more modern sailing ships and could be used for trading or warfare.  It has occurred to me, however, that there is another ancient craft that would work……

Spec Tech: Alive Upon the Sea

Alive upon the Sea – Living ships: Thoughts on Anthropomorphism and Sentience This may be a bit unusual for Spec-Tech, having almost as much to do with psychology as technology.  Nevertheless, it seems worthwhile to take a moment to consider why sailors have always anthropomorphized their ships, how science fiction writers have taken that several……

Spec Tech: Learning to Sail

In previous Spec Techs we have designed a sailing ship suitable for a fantasy novel and then considered the sort of crew necessary to sail  her.  In this post we will take the last important step; we will discuss how to sail her. One of the most effective ways  as writer to turn off a……

SpecTech: Signing on a Crew for a Fantasy Ship

In my last Spec Tech I wrote about choosing a ship for a fantasy novel. This time, we will sign on a crew to sail the ship. While we chose a carrack as a useful model of a fantasy ship, the crew we choose would work for almost any sailing ship. The skills required and……

Spec Tech: Designing a Ship for a Fantasy Novel

Mishell Baker asked me to write a post that would “walk … through the various parts of a ship. You could even do an example of an older type ship that might appear in fantasy…” So, I have endeavored  to look back in history to find the sort of ship that would fit well into high……