paul-webb

[paul-webb]

The MelanCollie

At the end of any romantic adventure

The happiest moments become the saddest

The moonlight dinners, the sunset beaches, the quiet of a still morning

Are enough to drive one to madness

Why does ending have such perverting power?

Why can teardrops wilt a once-blooming flower?

If they didn't, we would be forever trapped in that moment, unable to move on.

So the MelanCollie comes, no one knows where from.

She snuggles you while you sleep

She licks your eyes and digs deep

Within your mind and colors those memories with sadness, neatly

So you can only think of them bitter-sweetly

[paul-webb]

Darling (I Miss You)

I miss you darling

And all that you are

No matter where I am

You seem so very far

I miss you darling

And the good times we've had

All the great stuff we did

And all of the bad

We were so great

But we had to tempt fate

And realized too late

Where it all went wrong

I miss you darling

I'll always love you

But, through all that happens

Will you love me too?

[paul-webb]

Forgotten Spirits

When the sun goes down

and the world is a shade darker

a shade smoother

without its harsh rays

The moonlight paints it's silv'r picture

across a deserted stage

and the forgotten wonder back

to dance once more between

the moonbeams

They stumble through once wooded lanes

They wade through fields of lamp-posts

toward their now imagined homes.

[paul-webb]

Forever

The air is cold and sharp

My drives long and lonely

But though my Red and I are miles apart

She's still my one and only

And someday, under the tall oal tree

On top of a friendly mountain

We'll be joined in a way none,

Not even Death, can seperate

[paul-webb]

I Fall Asleep

I fall asleep in a bed that's too large

Too big for the want of one to help fill it

To help fill its vast expanse

of sheets

and quilts

and pillows

This bed, too large, makes me lonely for you

I fall asleep in a bed that's too cold

Too cold for the want of a body to warm it

To help warm its icy regions

of folds

and creases

and wrinkles

This bed, too cold, makes me lonely for your warmth

I fall asleep in a bed that's too simple

Too simple in the shape of its occupant

Of its occupant's still slumbering

of dreamless

of loveless

and solitude

This bed, too simple, makes me lonely for your shape

I wake up to a life that's the same

The same as yesterday, as the bed

And the same it will always be

Tomorrow and

Tomorrow and

all Tomorrows

This life, too similar, makes me lonely for your change

[paul-webb]

Worldbuilding Tips: FOOD

Food! The greatest part of being alive!

I find that developing a culture’s cuisine can be incredibly helpful for several reasons. For one, you are elaborating on the physical experiences of your world  and culture. Like all sensory descriptions, this can immerse you and your reader. For another, you can learn a lot about a culture by what they eat, including geography, economics, social status, even religious laws. And lastly, because it’s a lot of fun!

1. Geography: one of the greatest contributors to food culture. If your people dwell in the desert, it’s unlikely they’ll have seaweed salad on the menu. Start researching foods from similar geographical landscapes from our world. For example, following a desert theme, look into food from Saharan tribes, or, depending on the kind of desert, foods from the tribes of the American southwest. Consider farming and agriculture in your particular landscape. What can be grown and raised there?

2. Trading: does your culture have extensive trade with a nearby culture? Say your desert culture has a lengthy trade route that extends far into the jungles, and they can trade for exotic dried spices they can’t grow at home. 

3. Social Status: what can your people afford? What is the difference between what a beggar, a middle class merchant, and a noble or royal would eat? Can they afford more imported goods? Can they afford more spices? Are vegetable and grain dishes more common, as in Ancient Rome, among lower classes, and meat more common among upper classes?

4. Religious and social laws: what foods are off-limits? Why are they off-limits? Is anyone of a particular social or religious class allowed to partake, and laymen are never allowed? 

5. Drinks!: don’t forget, many cultures’ drinks are as important in regional cuisine as the food itself. What is the treatment for alcohol? Does one have to be a certain age to drink? Is alcohol illegal, or heavily monitored? Are there drinking rituals or games common to this culture? 

6. Special cuisine: are there some traditional foods eaten only on special occasions? In the West, many have cakes for their weddings, and in the United States, on Thanksgiving, many eat turkey. What festivals, holidays, and other miscellaneous special occasions are there? For example, if there is a public feast day, what can be adequately served to large amounts of people and be prepared beforehand? If there are foods or spices that are especially expensive, do people splurge on these for special occasions? 

7. Cooking techniques: are there any food preparation methods not seen in other cultures? Are these techniques integral to the culture’s cuisine? For example, say a race of gremlins chooses to cook their food not with fire, but with fumes from acid? What would these techniques do to flavour, texture? Can other cultures stomach food prepare with these techniques?

8. Dessert: the best part, in my opinion. What are some guilty pleasure foods? Remember, dessert does NOT have to be sweet. Desserts can just be palate-cleansers or small snacks served at the end of the main meal. Are desserts only for the wealthy, or for everyone?

9. Street food: what are the most common staples in the culture? Is there a tradition of serving these staples in unique ways? Are there restaurants, pubs, inns, etc.? 

10. Why is Food Important?: food, like any other worldbuilding detail, must be interpreted with its effects on characters and plot. Plot points can be created out of food-related issues. For example:

Prohibition: a once widely-loved drink or food has been outlawed. How does the populace respond? Does a black market form? Is the Prohibition a success, or a big mistake?

Supremacy: is a food, drink, or spice extremely expensive, and several groups are fighting for control of trade? 

Famine: are food or clean water incredibly scarce? How do the people survive?

Extinction: a valuable plant or animal, after being overfarmed or overhunted, is going extinct. If this valuable plant or animal is central to the cultural economy, how does the culture respond?

Those are just a few questions you can ask yourself while creating food culture for your worlds! Personally, I’ve always enjoyed exploring food culture. I like to try to make my fantasy recipes in the real world too, and through research and experimentation, you might come up with something totally unique. 

Hope this helps, and hope you have fun! 

[paul-webb]

Religion is a massive part of your World Building. Like Religion in our own world, Religion in fictional worlds are controversial, varied and are a huge part of our society. Put simply; your world is dependent on the complexity of your Religion to indicate how your people act, what their morals are and basically how they live. Interconnectivity is a big part of World Building, and Religion is connected to everything in this case. So when crafting a religion, you have to take into account the territory you beliefs hold, the amount of time it has been around, the economy, political influences and geography of your land. From those small building blocks, you can craft a religion which is complex and something that could be unique to your world.

The Basics of Crafting a Religion

To start yourself off in building your Religion you need to ask yourself the following questions, and your Religion must answer them:

   - Where do we go when we die?

   - How was life created?

   - What morals should your people live by?

These questions are the basics of crafting your Religion and by answering these provide your world with a basic feeling of spirituality that is important for civilizations. However, no all these questions have to be answered for you to form a religion. Maybe only one or two questions are answered. This gives your religion unique qualities and if you have many religions in your world a variety.

Variation on Religion

In order for your Religion to seem realistic in your world, you must provide a variation in beliefs and reasons behind such an occurrence. If your Religion is the most dominant one on a continent, you have to consider how it became that way. One way a particular belief becomes popular is through absorbing other smaller religions. They take their gods or moral rules and change them to fit their narrative. This would definitely create different beliefs and interpretations inside your Religion.

The way your Religion can also become popular is that it should have gain and loss element to it. How much does a worshiper gain from following that Religion and how much do they lose. By deciding that your then can determine how realistic the popularity our Religion would be.

There are other factors that must be considered when creating a religion which how much territory or land your Religion dominates or is in, the number of followers and the age of it. If your Religion has more territory, followers and is quite an old variation and different interpretation will be inevitable. However, if your Religion is young and has a small following, they would be more agreement.

Interconnectivity

Like every element of world building religion is connected and effects everything in your fictional world. The complexity and uniqueness of your fictional Religion depends on how much it links to the different aspects of your society. If your Religion is very intertwined in the society from the economy to culture, you will then make a world that feels realistic in its depth and complexity. The way to do this is to consider a few different aspects in your society and ask yourself how your Religion would affect this societal structure.

To show the culture your Religion promotes is to show how the beliefs would affect people in day to day life. How does your Religion change their weekly routine? What kind of relationship do they have with the gods? Is it a sibling or a parental-like relationship?

You will also have to ask yourself how it would affect the economy. If your Religion has a heavy influence on the military, the most popular job would be a soldier, a lot of money would put into that industry. Which leads nicely into the effects Religion has on politics. This depends on the type of Religion as there are different influences they would have. If your Religion is monotheistic, you would have more centralized power. With a more united front, your monotheistic Religion would have a lot of influences over politics often deciding your leaders. However, if your Religion is polytheistic, it would definitely would not have centralized power as you would different factions for each aspect of your Religion therefore not having a united front. This concept would cause less power of the political landscape.

Another aspect you would have to consider is the geography of your world. For example, if your civilization rely on a large river to survive you people would naturally worship the river and may even have a river god!

Extra Notes

Hey everyone! Hope this was helpful. Send me any suggestions for Friday!

[paul-webb]

memeception

[paul-webb]

Remember

Don't forget that your heroes had heroes

Giants whose shoulders they stood upon

Helping them in stories to conquer foes

Fighting what mightn't've been won

Don't forget that your villains have demons

Against which they, too, fight

And though, to you, they're villains

They also only seek the light

Don't forget that people are people

Though sometimes you do forget

That each one's a heart, a soul

And every person you've ever met

Walks along a unique road

Not one of them should be slowed

[paul-webb]

Smoke

A scrap of paper made to roll

A famous plant which takes its toll

And those who know it whole

Smoke it still, and think it droll

It takes its hold when they are young

And many songs of it are sung

By those 'tween whose lips it's hung

It colors teeth the shade of dung

To beat it: the gum, the patch

Or keep away from flame or match

Its love is a sickness you can catch

Until in a box they you do latch

The name of this villain don't forget

Big, though small, the cigarette

[paul-webb]

Home (Sonnet #5)

When the stars no longer shine

Then I'll take your hand in mine

And through the moon light's threads

Guide you 'round the trail's bends

Until we reach home, safe and sound,

Our feet no more are homeward bound

And down we'll firmly sit

When there we fin'ly get

Looking lovingly on it all

Everything, great and small,

That round us spreads in fading light,

On what we protect with all our might

And contented we will be

This place no more to ever leave

[paul-webb]

Bros before Hoes

Contented content kindly catered

Found for friends, greatly gathered,

Enjoy it now, leaving later

Buzzed on brotherhood, partly plastered

Then enters a stunning beauty

Cousing conflict there

Making to suffer most unduly

That party's happy air

Up rose then a champion,

Standing, strong, and brave

Though she droned, on and on

To list he was not a slave

But rebuffed with chant that 'ho'e

That, before her kind, there come bros

[paul-webb]

Hope + Love

How quiet the night seems

Only the scratching and scraping

Of my pen do I hear and

The gentle breaths escaping

On quiet nights I sit alone

In the inky black of darkness

And write with no candle

my deepest thoughts to harness

When the writing stops at last

And all my thoughts recorded

I shut my eyes against a world I cannot see

And with dreams I am rewarded

A woman in white approaches

But hidden is her facefrom me

Arom heaven down to earth she flew

But yet her face I cannot see

She closer grows and steps beside me

then I realize how mistaken

Not, as I thought, into a dream,

But from one I've awakened

[paul-webb]

My Heart

You're my heart

If I lost you, I'd die;

It's hard to go on

When you say goodbye

I know you'll be back

By the end of each day

So in bed, alone,

I gently lay

And wait for you

To come through

The door, a happy veiw,

And when you finally do,

Never do you disappoint me

When your face each night I see

[paul-webb]

The Lord's Love

The Lord's love fills my homeland

You'll find it all around

It dons the spring in flowers

Clothes the grass upon the ground

It feeds the birds of the sky

Who reapeth not, nor sow,

Nor do they gather into barns

What He sees fit to grow

The lilies of the field

Which are so richly robed

He's made them more handsome

Than the kings of old

So don't worry about tomorrow

Or be anxious, friends

You're much more precious than they

And also in His hands

From when no one can send you

Since a deed which none can undo

Matthew 6:25-34

[paul-webb]

(If You Woukd Only) Be Mine

If you would only be mine

I would always be yours

Baby, we'd be so fine

You I'd always adore

If you would only be mine

I would always be true

Baby it'd be so fine

I would always love you

I can see a future for us

When we meet I hear a chorus

From a sweet, old song of love

If you'd accept this band of gold

I know your hand I'd always hold

'Til we meet again above

If you would always be mine

I would love you forever

Darling, please be mine

Let's always be together

[paul-webb]

Sonnet for a Lover

My heart does softly flutter

When you do lovely mutter

And mean, I hope you do

Those words:"I love you,"

And When you speak them so

More love in me they sew,

And reap their own repeat

In tones both low and sweet

That the love May die or pass

Or someday cease to last

Wethink not, nor contemplate

For that thought we both do hate

And so consider it never more,

But now we love forevermore.