Resources
For Researchers and Writers
Everything you need to know before writing your article or book
Just starting or looking for detail?
We've got you covered
If you're new to ancient Egypt as a topic we have some links to get your started with the best information on the web. If you're looking for details, for example did the ancient Egyptians have pubs? (the answer is yes BTW, they called them Beer houses - Khenket Iwyt in ancient Egyptian). We are building a library of articles, presentations, artefacts and posts on a range of obscure topics and if you can't find what you're looking for check out our Information Services or drop us an email with your query.
Got a specific time period in mind for your story or game?
We offer two time periods initially with more to come. The ever popular Amarna Period, and the more obscure Predynastic period. Why those two to start? The Amarna Period is the most famous period of Egyptian history, the most written about and one of the most intriguing. More Egyptian novels have been set in the Amarna Period than any other. The Predynastic on the other hand is the most obscure, despite being made famous by the movie the Scorpion King, there is less information available about this period than any other and there is lots of scope for stories of conquest, battle, magic and romance.
What resources are available here that I can't find elsewhere?
Because we're writers, gamers and researchers, we are building resources that support those activities. Timelines, maps and genealogical tables, lists of real people, their titles and relationships, sorted by which king they served. Details of clothing, religious practice and ideas, political structures, cities and architectural styles that are time period specific. Because Egypt did not remain unchanged for 3000 years. Become a member to access these specialised resources
We're passionate about getting the details right
Do your homework
Nefertiti's signature blue crown is unique to her and only her
No one else in all of Egyptian history wore that crown but Nefertiti. Yet time and again it appears on the head of some Priestess character in films. Like Egyptian Kings, Queens had crowns and headdress of particular significance. Check out our article on Queens Crowns and Headdress.
Hollywood always gets it wrong. Stop perpetuating errors!
The Nemes Headdress (you know the stripey thing all the guards wear in Hollywood movies) was ONLY worn by the King. Nobody else. Especially not lowly guards. All the Kings crowns had specific meanings, check out our article on Royal Crowns and Headdress to make sure you put your king in the right crown at the right time in the right place.
The Temple of Karnak is not right next to the Pyramids of Giza
The above faux pas appears in the Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen. Get the locations of your temples and cities right and make sure they exist at the time you're writing about. Many of the famous temples belong to the late period, although earlier incarnations may have existed on the site for millennia.
There's plenty of room for imagination, because the archaeological record is full of holes
There's lots of room to make things up, but do it in the context of what is known and accepted, or deliberately change the truth for story telling purposes, but not from ignorance born of lazy research. Also check how up-to-date your sources are. A lot of information still readily available has been discredited by later research, but has not been updated.
The ancient Egyptians were like us and not like us
Of all the ancient societies, Egypt was one of the most progressive around women's rights and sex before marriage, but their ideas about religion and the afterlife are uniquely bizarre. Take the time to try to understand how important these beliefs are and how much they influence their daily life and magical practice.
Get the time period specifics right
The language, clothing, building techniques, gods worshipped, cities occupied, administrative structures and technology employed was not the same throughout Egypt's 3000 year history. These features and expressions of culture were different in each time period, some were dramatically different others subtly different.
Choose the right tool for the job
Novelist? Script Writer? Non-Fiction? Blogger? We've got you covered!
There are so may apps on the market for writers these days how do you choose the right one(s) for your needs? We have taken the pain out of it for you with our Writers Apps Evaluation Tool. Check out our posts and get the Evaluation Tool to see the full suit of apps available. Novelist? Non-Fiction Writer? Script Writer? Gamer? Blogger? Researcher? What ever your needs we have found the best tools for your requirements, and if you don't like our choices, go through the tool and find the ones that fit your needs best. Or use the tool to do your own evaluations.
Create Characters with Depth
That readers will love
Modern readers demand characters they can empathise with, characters that stir their emotions and help them escape into a fantasy world. The key to a character with depth is a character who changes during the story. A character who grows. Why is this so attractive to us as readers? Because it gives us all hope. If a character can overcome their issues and be successful, perhaps we can too. This change arc for characters never gets old for readers. It's what all readers want and you can give it to them with our proven Character Development Templates.
Structure your book for the right template for your genre
Ever puzzled over how to turn the Hero's Journey Story Structure into a Thriller, Mystery or Romance plot? Ever felt confused about the universal story structure and wondered how to adapt it to the kind of story you want to write? Well we have too and so we set out to solve the problem with the Story Structure Templates. 10 different story structure templates for 10 different types of stories, because one size doesn't fit all. It turns out the structure of a Romance is very different to the structure of a Mystery or Suspense story and oddly it has more in common with a Thriller. And what about Ensemble stories and Saga's? How do those work? Check out our posts and the Story Structure Templates.
