creative writing about a castle

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Vanna Heller Banned

How do you describe a castle.

Discussion in ' Setting Development ' started by Vanna Heller , Nov 20, 2020 .

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); So the main setting in my novel takes place in a castle, and I am having trouble describing what each room in the castle would look while showing and not telling... Thoughts?

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); One of the characters in my novel secretly explore each room in the castle, so that's why I am asking.

IasminDragon Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); What kind of castle is it?

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); IasminDragon said: ↑ What kind of castle is it? Click to expand...

Naomasa298 HP: 10/190 Status: Confused Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); Real medieval castles were stone, cold, and pretty dank, if it was a military castle. That's why royal families tended to relocate to palaces. However, try Googling "Windsor Castle interior" for what a "fairy tale castle"'s interior might look like.

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); Naomasa298 said: ↑ Real medieval castles were stone, cold, and pretty dank, if it was a military castle. That's why royal families tended to relocate to palaces. However, try Googling "Windsor Castle interior" for what a "fairy tale castle"'s interior might look like. Click to expand...

Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); Also, who is doing the describing in the story? Just a 3rd omniscient narrator who is free to describe everything and anything, or is it a 3rd limited narrator, or a 1st person narrator? If it's one of the latter two, then we must know who this is and what this castle means in this person's life. The prince who lives within, bored to tears at the tedium and restrictions of courtly life, will give a significantly different description (be it through dialogue or narrative) than the pauper who only just secured a job inside these majestic realms.

MartinM Banned

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); Just an idea... So, take any castle from anywhere. The outside setting and that impression it leaves with the explorer. Dark blue-grey stone walls, high towers with small slit like windows. Now the internal structure will reflect this outside image. It must for continuity. Every room wall facing will have that stone and small window. There will be absolute commonalty throughout its internal structure. Thus, the differences in each room can be extenuated more. From dungeon to King’s bedroom they all have the same stone walls... The reader must feel the common of each room to then reveal its uniqueness. One room with a white tiled floor, sandstone walls and brightly lit through floor to ceiling windows would look and feel out of place. If that makes sense? Look at The Crown S4 when Thatcher goes to Balmoral. The stags head on the wall in the dinning room gives a cold dark feel even with an open fire... MartinM

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); Wreybies said: ↑ Also, who is doing the describing in the story? Just a 3rd omniscient narrator who is free to describe everything and anything, or is it a 3rd limited narrator, or a 1st person narrator? If it's one of the latter two, then we must know who this is and what this castle means in this person's life. The prince who lives within, bored to tears at the tedium and restrictions of courtly life, will give a significantly different description (be it through dialogue or narrative) than the pauper who only just secured a job inside these majestic realms. Click to expand...

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); MartinM said: ↑ Just an idea... So, take any castle from anywhere. The outside setting and that impression it leaves with the explorer. Dark blue-grey stone walls, high towers with small slit like windows. Now the internal structure will reflect this outside image. It must for continuity. Every room wall facing will have that stone and small window. There will be absolute commonalty throughout its internal structure. Thus, the differences in each room can be extenuated more. From dungeon to King’s bedroom they all have the same stone walls... The reader must feel the common of each room to then reveal its uniqueness. One room with a white tiled floor, sandstone walls and brightly lit through floor to ceiling windows would look and feel out of place. If that makes sense? Look at The Crown S4 when Thatcher goes to Balmoral. The stags head on the wall in the dinning room gives a cold dark feel even with an open fire... MartinM Click to expand...

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); Oh, and I forgot to mention that the novel itself is taking place in Romania.

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); Vanna Heller said: ↑ Your castle description would fit, since the royal family is of vampires, but that sounds a lot like a cliche so I'm thinking more of a palace. Click to expand...

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); IasminDragon said: ↑ for a fairytale castle, check out Dunrobin castle: Not a true castle but as others have said, a stately home which is built for comfort and luxury. Still strikes an imposing presence though. And the family that lived there were evil, to boot! Oh, since you said that, this is the castle you want : It had nothing to do with Dracula in reality. It guarded a pass in the Carpathian Mountains and English mercenaries were stationed there during the medieval era. It was renovated in a neo-romanticist style (I think) so it's not gothic dracula, it's more like Romania's answer to the Disneyland castle and is very beautiful. The Royal Family took their summer retreats there - kind of like the Balmoral Castle for Carol I (I THINK!) All your fairytale castles kind of owe their existence to Neuschwanstein Castle, which gets an honourable mention from me. Definitely key to distinguish between a real true medieval castle and a romanticist interpretation of a castle. Click to expand...

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); Vanna Heller said: ↑ Awesome! Thank you so much, This is perfect! Click to expand...

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); Wow, yeah I think I will use this one. Thanks again

Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); I would try to find a movie partially set inside a castle like the one you want to use, or maybe you can find a video tour on YT or something, so you can get a feel for what it's like to move through the rooms and corridors. Also think about similar experiences you've had in large, imposing buildings, maybe a museum or something. But I would be careful with trying to describe each room one by one. They're all going to be the same in many regards, maybe different shape or size and furnishings. But I wouldn't go into a detailed visual description of individual rooms. Personally I like to limit descriptions as far as possible, ultimately to a word or 2 added to several sentences. Example: He set off across the vast expanse of polished marble, keeping to the ornate rugs when possible to muffle the echoing footfalls .This doesn't stop the forward momentum of the story, but gets in a little of the feel of the room-space. I mean, that's a horrible sentence, I used 'the' far too many times. Think of it as a really bad first draft sentence. But my point is to pepper little snippets of description into your writing, rather than stop to do a description.

Kalisto Senior Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); Vanna Heller said: ↑ So the main setting in my novel takes place in a castle, and I am having trouble describing what each room in the castle would look while showing and not telling... Thoughts? Click to expand...

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); Kallisto said: ↑ Castles were actually painted on the interior and quite colorful. Click to expand...

DriedPen Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); Late to the party as always, but when I think of a real medieval castle, I think of Bunratty Castle in Ireland.

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); Xoic said: ↑ Interesting. Like Greek statues, which we're used to seeing colorless and broken. Click to expand...

Oscar Leigh Contributor Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); If it's the setting for most or all of the book and the character is exploring rooms you can do it very much one by one. I would advocate not to be too minimalist, minimalism in descriptions is safe but it's not very interesting. Taking the scenes one by one, or certainly not all at once, you can get in quite a bit of description as long as it seems spaced-out and appropriate. Therein a key part is using description for a reason, to convey atmosphere, themes, aspects of who the designers and inhabitants of a place are and what it means to them. And you can incorporate description into plot; if the character is exploring they can notice things, react to them, touch, feel, smell. They might be given some form of tour or explanation of some features at some point, or learn something about where a certain object came from. There's a lot of things you can use description for and ways description can be added.

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); I am like Oscar in that I think descriptions have their place. There are a couple of ways you can do this. Lets say I am writing my initial story and a character walks into a barn. Instead of stopping right then and trying to figure out what I am going to describe or how. I might type in "Description of Barn" make it a title 2, and then keep going. That way in my navigation pane in Microsoft Word, I can see, in say chapter 3, I have to go back and describe that barn better. In that way I do not stop my writing mo-jo at the time to get the details right. Another thing I might do is give the barn a light, generic explanation, and then later in editing, flesh it out. This works good because not all settings have to be deeply described. Just using the right senses, in the right places, creates the illusion of a reader being right there. But not all settings need that level of involvement for a reader, other wise it bogs down the story.

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); Beginners have a tendency to want to over-describe everything, and they do it by stopping the story dead in its tracks. I do agree with you @Oscar Leigh and @DriedPen that description has its place, but it's important to first learn not to bring the story to a screeching halt, and that there are ways to get across the look or feel of a place or a thing without parking the story on the side of the road and doing a top-to-bottom description.

Aldarion Active Member

newjerseyrunner Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2022

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_82e2ac86458dc12f557c70970e8bbd8c'); }); I would use a lot of brutal terminology. Brutal as in the concrete architecture style, not brutish behavior. Grey, oppressive, rough angles, unfriendly...

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The Best Fantasy Castle, Keep And Fortress Ideas

When we come across a fantasy castle in a story, it sparks our imaginations. We imagine the stonework, the parapets, the swallowtail flags flapping in the breeze, and the soldiers lined up along the walls. And some of the battle scenes involving fantasy castles are quite simply mind-blowing.

These structures are unmistakable—looming, stone fortresses that dominate landscapes, and which dominate so many of our favourite fantasy stories.

But how do we come up with ideas for such castles and keeps? How do we find inspiration for that beautiful fantasy castle that lives long in our memories? And how do we describe a castle in a story that blows readers away?

All will be revealed in this comprehensive guide. Just click through the sections below to start learning.

Choose A Chapter

The fantasy castle, castles in fantasy fiction, a brief history of castles, glossary of castle features and fortifications, early fortifications, castle towers.

Gatehouses, Drawbridges and Moats
Inspiration for Fantasy Castle Designs

Fantasy Castles In Real-Life

How to describe a castle in a story, coming up with ideas for fantasy castles, more guides on fantasy castles.

When we think back to some of our favourite fantasy books, there will undoubtedly be some that feature a castle or two.

For me, the one that springs to mind is Legend by David Gemmell. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, it’s basically about the greatest army of all time besieging the greatest fantasy castle ever built. Well worth checking out, especially given Gemmell’s symbology—he wrote the tale when he was suffering from cancer. The army represents the cancerous cells within him, and the fortress is him, resisting.

Another famous fantasy castle can be found in Lord of the Rings. In fact, two decisive battles in the books are sieges—Helms Deep and Minas Tirith.

Fantasy castles can be as grand and elaborate as you can think of. But many of them take inspiration from history, particularly the fortifications and fortresses that featured heavily in the medieval period. Let’s take a look at this in more depth.

Fantasy is full of dramatic moments involving castles, keeps, and fortified cities. David Gemmell’s Legend tells the story of the siege of a city with the greatest defensive fortifications by the most powerful army in the land. Two of the most iconic battles in The Lord of the Rings series came in The Two Towers with Helms Deep and at Minas Tirith in The Return of the King . Fans of Game of Thrones will recall the Battle of Blackwater Bay and Daenerys’s conquest across the Narrow Sea.

It’s the author’s knowledge of these defensive structures and how they affect the course of battle which makes these moments so memorable. What challenges do the besiegers face? What steps must be taken to overcome those challenges? And what must the defenders do to resist, if anything at all? We’ll learn the answers to this when we consider real castles.

How Do You Build A Medieval Fantasy Castle?

To overcome such challenges, it can help to do some research.

In exploring our past and learning about the foundations of the time periods fantasy draws upon, we can empower our writing with detail readers love. So below, we’ll take a look at medieval castles in fantasy and how they translate into the genre, a range of different fortifications from the middle ages, how they were overcome, and what life was like in a keep.

We’ll also take a look at some fantasy castle art before taking a look at how you can draw your own impressive fortification. There’s also a section on coming up with ideas for your own castle creations.

The subject matter is quite large so this post will be the first in a short series.

Click Here To Learn More About Medieval Fantasy Castles

The Middles Ages lasted about a thousand years, kicking off in or around the 5 th century and lasting until the 15 th . It can be split into two periods: the ‘Dark Ages’, which ran from the 5 th to 10 th century, and the High Middle Ages, from the 10 th to 15 th . (I understand the phrase Dark Ages is no longer accepted by some, but for ease, it’ll serve here).

Castles didn’t exist in the Dark Ages. What did exist were the remains of Roman fortifications, but only in Western Europe. Everywhere else structures were made from wood.

Then the High Middle Ages came about and so too “The Age of Castles.” You couldn’t move for a castle in Europe. There were so many that no historian has been able to comprehensively document them all. Castles were status symbols, a means for the nobility to challenge their king, and incredibly, many continue to exist today.

But as the use of castles grew, so too did methods to try and take them down. With the advancement in weapons like catapults, trebuchets and cannons , castle walls were abandoned and open-field warfare was once more adopted.

One thing that didn’t change over time, however, was the lives of people who lived within those solid, windowless structures. They were often cold and damp, with tapestries hung on walls to keep the chill at bay. And with only arrow loops for windows in many castles, they were very dark. That meant lots of fires burning which wasn’t good for respiratory health .

Click Here To Learn More About Worldbuilding In Fantasy

What Was Life Like In A Castle?

The medieval castle was built for protection and safety, but also for comfort and luxury. The stone walls, the turrets, the moat, and the drawbridge are all there to protect the people inside from invaders.

But they’re also designed to be dense and warm, as well as a visible statement of power and wealth.

Knights and lords lived in these castles as well as their servants and families. These aristocrats would have been trained at a young age to fight wars on behalf of their king. Such training would have involved being taught how to ride horses, use weapons, hunt animals, and manage their estate.

The lord and his family spent most of their time in the Great Hall, which is the largest room of the castle. The rest of the people who lived in the castle, like servants, would have had smaller rooms.

Knowing this structure and what day-to-day life was like here can help you come up with ideas when designing your own fantasy castle. For example, you could create a unique space for your servants to live, maybe one that’s brutal and foul.

Click Here To Learn More About The Life Of A Medieval Lord

What Type Of Servants Did They Have In A Castle?

As we’ve just seen, it wasn’t just lords living in a castle. Depending on the size of the household, there could have been hundreds of support staff working there too. When it comes to writing stories, knowing about these different roles can help you find inspiration for characters, as well as make your worldbuilding more immersive.

So what types of servants did they have in a castle?

Medieval castles had a variety of servants, including butlers, cooks, chambermaids, valets, stable hands, and grooms . There were also guards, sentries, and soldiers who protected the castle and its inhabitants. Many of these servants were lower-class individuals who lived and worked within the castle walls. Some were also skilled craftsmen such as blacksmiths, carpenters, and masons.

The number of household staff depended on the castle and its purpose. Some castles were residences so had a large number of domestic staff, such as cooks, chambermaids, and valets. Others had a larger number of guards and soldiers, particularly if their purpose was for defence.

In general, the larger and more important the castle, the more people would be required to maintain and operate it.

Before we hack our way further into this fantasy writing guide, it’d be useful to have a rundown of some of the different types of fortifications:

Castle : a fortification of the High Middle Ages, characterised by high walls with towers and usually a moat. Served both residential and/or administrative purposes.
Fort : a small strongpoint occupied by military personnel.
Citadel : a word used to refer to either a castle or a fortified section within a city similar to a castle in size.
Fortress : also referred to as a fortified city or town, it has many features in common with a castle, such as high walls, gatehouses, and battlements, though much larger, housing a populace.
Motte and bailey: consisted of a tower standing upon a man-made mound, also known as a motte. This motte was located within a courtyard known as a bailey and encircled by a fence of wooden stakes (also known as a palisade) with a fortified gate.
Donjon : a great tower or innermost keep of a castle. The term donjon was later replaced with keep.
Rampart : a defensive wall of a castle or walled city, having a broad top with a walkway and typically a stone parapet.
Portcullis : a strong, heavy grating that can be lowered into grooves in the ground. Usually found in gatehouses.

In addition to these main types of fortification, there were tower houses , observation posts , and fortified churches and monasteries . These kinds of terms can be of great use when describing your own fantasy castle in your stories.

Castles evolved out of early, cruder fortifications, three in particular: the gród, the bergfried, and the motte and bailey.

The gród was a simple, circular fortification that consisted of an earthen rampart with wooden walls, a fortified gate, and sometimes a moat.

The bergfried was a tower, used as a lookout and later as a residence. Before the 13 th century, they were mostly made of wood. Entrances to bergfrieds were found on the first floor instead of the ground floor. The reason? Bergfrieds and keeps tended to serve as the last point of defence and having it a floor higher made it more difficult for the enemy to take it.

The motte and bailey consisted of a wooden tower standing upon a man-made mound, also known as a motte. The motte was located within a courtyard known as a bailey, which itself was encircled by a fence of wooden stakes (also known as a palisade), with a fortified gate. It was a popular fortification with the Vikings. In the image below, the bailey is the lower level, the motte the upper.

Towers played an integral role in the defence of a fortification. When constructed as part of the wall, they jutted forward to allow for flanking fire. They were also constructed separately. In the early years, they were made from wood, later, stone.

In most instances towers were placed at corners but were also added at intervals, sometimes at set distances, others random. It all depended on the terrain, available resources, and the skill of the builder. These factors also influenced the height of a tower.

A clever feature seen in some towers was an open back. Not only did it allow for supplies to easily be hauled up, but if attackers overran that tower, they couldn’t use it against the defenders. Some towers were cut off from the wall by drawbridges for added defence.

One vulnerability of towers was mining. Early towers were square in shape, but the dead angles made them vulnerable to mining attacks. In the 12 th century, more circular or semi-circular towers were introduced. This was a risk the Romans were already aware of is why many Roman fortifications had D-shaped towers.

When it comes to writing about a fantasy castle, especially one which is involved in combat, towers will likely feature heavily. They’re a target for attackers and a prominent defensive structure for defenders.

Gatehouses, Moats, and Drawbridges

The gatehouse is perhaps the most eye-catching feature of a castle’s defensive fortifications. And many a fantasy castle has featured them.

The gate was perhaps the most important feature of a fortification because, in theory, it was the easiest point of access for attackers. Most gatehouses had battlements that defenders could stand upon to keep attackers at bay. Moats and drawbridges were added later to enhance defence.

Gatehouses consisted of a set of reinforced wooden and/or metal doors and a portcullis made of reinforced wood or iron. An example of a mighty gatehouse can be seen in Harlech Castle in Wales. It had three portcullises, three doors, and four towers. If you managed to get past the first you were trapped at the second, and so on. The walls of the gatehouse were punctuated with arrow slits through which the defenders could fire upon the attackers, and murder holes in the ceiling through which arrows could be fired, rocks dropped or hot liquids poured.

One simple yet effective feature of gates was to place them at an angle instead of facing outwards. The purpose was to prevent battering rams from having a clear charge. Another feature designed with this in mind was the barbican, which was an outcropping of wall in front of the gatehouse.

Drawbridges were basic in construction, raised by chains and winches. They went hand in hand with moats, so if there was no moat, there was no drawbridge. The moat is one of the oldest features of fortifications. Simply put, it was a ditch surrounding the castle or keep. Rivers, lakes, ponds, or swamps were used to fill in moats, others were dry.

A moat had to be deep enough to prevent an attacker from wading through it and wide enough to stop someone from leaping across. Around 3 meters, or 9 feet, was the average depth before the 11 th century. After that, they grew much deeper. The size of the moat, however, depended on the terrain and how easily it could be excavated.

Moats were also reinforced with other obstructions, such as sharp stakes along the bottom or inner wall. A deep moat is also protected against the threat of mining.

One thing about moats to keep in mind is that they tended to be disgusting. Excrement and waste from the fortification were tossed into the water, turning them into cesspools. It was the job of the peasantry to clean it up, on average twice per year. Peasants are always left with the worst jobs, aren’t they?

Inspiration For Fantasy Castle Designs

We’ve spoken much about the medieval castle, but not much about the fantasy castle. So in this section, we’re going to look at some awesome fantasy castle designs which may give you some ideas and inspiration for your own writing.

For even more ideas and inspiration for fantasy castle designs, including images and examples, head over to my Pinterest page .

Examples Of Fantasy Castle Designs

When it comes to inspiration for your own stories, it can help to look at some fantasy castle art. Luckily, there are scores of images that fantastic artists have knocked together. Their levels of imagination are incredible, and they can help you to get into the right mindset.

an example of a fantasy castle, dark and ominous with green clouds behind it

This one here would be very fitting in a dark fantasy story!

fantasy castles in a city with tall stone giants surrounding them

For more fantasy castle art, head to Pinterest. You can also check out Deviantart for more. Deviantart is the world’s largest online social media platform for artists and a hub for amazing sci-fi and fantasy art.

As well as the wonderful concept art above, I’ve also included some great images that capture what the essence of the castle in fantasy is about. And that is, that it should take the breath away. inspire intrigue and curiosity. Make you want to explore, or to fear.

Here are some fantastic examples of a medieval fantasy castle.

a bautiful fantasy castle upon a hill with dragons flying around it

Isn’t this a beautiful fantasy castle?

a fantasy castle standing upon a tall hill next to an ocean

What do you think of this artwork depicting fantasy castles? Pretty damn amazing if you ask me. I particularly like that last one by Jeff Brown.

When we encounter a fantasy castle in fiction, there is undoubtedly some kind of real-world influence. From the shape of parapets to conical towers, many fantasy writers draw their inspiration from fortifications that existed in the past.

In this section, I wanted to show you some real-life examples of fantasy castles to give you an idea of how writers can delve into the past to create their own fictional fortresses.

Petra, Jordan

While not a medieval castle as such, the structures carved into the rocky cliffs of Petra inspired my own fantasy castle in Pariah’s Lament .

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Petra dates back to 312 BC and here it is, still standing in 2021. Its structures include tombs, temples, a treasury and an amphitheatre.

Imagine the ways that you could adapt something like this to your creations.

Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire

Arguably the inspiration for that famous school of witchcraft and wizardry, Hogwarts in Harry Potter is said to have been based on Kenilworth Castle, found in Warwickshire, England.

Like Hogwarts, Kenilworth Castle has a sprawling lake, known as a mere, which provided much-needed defence from attacks. Curiously, this moat was man-made by damming two streams.

Maiden Castle, Dorset

Maiden Castle is said to be part of the inspiration behind the iconic Minas Tirith in JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series, namely featuring in the Return Of The King.

Minas Tirith was known for its layered rings which rose gradually as it climbed the peak of the hillside.

Maiden Castle is of a similar design. First occupied around 6,000 years ago, it was developed heavily in the Iron Age into a vast settlement, heavily fortified with earthwork ramparts and ditches.

Just imagine such a feature for your own fantasy castle. Defenders could fall back in stages if overran, bleeding the attackers out as they progress through the defensive fortifications.

Dover Castle

One of the strangest fantasy castles, and one that often gets queried by fantasy writers and readers, is the Eyrie from Game of Thrones. Seemingly sitting atop a slender mountaintop, with its most iconic feature being the ‘Moon Door’ through which people are hurled to plummet through clouds to their death, it lived long in the memories of many readers and watchers.

But surely it’s not based on a real medieval castle? Well, don’t get too excited. In fact, aspects of The Eyrie are inspired by medieval history.

Features such as the ‘Moon Door’ are no different from murder holes, or machicolations to give them their formal French title. Many a medieval castle has such a feature, but rather than throwing prisoners through them, they were more used for defending the walls from attackers, with burning pitch and skull-crushing stones dropped through.

In terms of the height of the Eyrie, Beeston Castle is an example of a fortification that was built upon a hill. Little remains of this medieval castle, but its location was no doubt selected to be visible to all—a symbol of power. In medieval writings, it was referred to as Castellum de Rupe or the Castle on the Rock.

Castles and Sieges

I wanted to share this fantastic video by Shadiversity. This is a cracking YouTube channel for any fantasy fan and writer. Shad is forever challenging fantasy tropes and stereotypes, uncovering myths and pointing out flaws. He also creates awesome videos on medieval history to help fantasy writers.

Also, see my guide on sieges here. Or check out my guide on battle tactics here.

The Fantasy Fortress

Nothing can explain something better than an example, and I have a fine one for you here.

a fantasy fortress with tall walls and a moat

One of the best examples of a fantasy fortress is Dros Delnoch in David Gemmell’s heroic fantasy, Legend.

Dros Delnoch is a six-walled fortress, the home of the Drenai. And marching toward them is the greatest army the world has ever known—the Nadir.

The tale follows Rek and Druss the Legend as they do all they can to repel the Nadir.

As siege warfare goes, the battle for the great fortress is second to none. You can get an idea of how defences can be used, how they can be overcome, and what it’s like to be on those walls, repelling relentless attacks.

If you’re looking for ways to describe a castle in a story, help is at hand.

There are a few simple approaches you can adopt and each one achieves different things.

First, I like to think of unique ways of describing the castle. Readers will get bored if you go down the “a stone structure with four towers in the corners and walls joining them”. A good technique is to sit and think of the uniqueness of the castle and how you can convey that image to other readers in ways that help them see what you’re seeing.

One of the best ways to do this is to use relatable metaphors and similes. To describe the parapets of a castle wall as “stone teeth”, or the “gate being as solid as a shield made of butter”, helps create imagery in the reader’s mind. The clearer that image the better.

Another effective method of describing a castle in a story is to use the 5 senses .

Let’s take a look at how each sense can liven up your descriptions beyond just visual imagery:

Sound – medieval castles were busy places, with lots going on. There would have been peasants working in the baileys, tending to animals like pigs and horses. There may have been barracks in which soldiers are training, with steel clanging and clashing. Archers may have been practising too, with arrows thudding into targets. Think of industries too, like blacksmiths who may have been forging weapons and armor. This is just a snapshot of the potential sounds of a medieval fantasy castle.
Smell – like the above, smells will also accompany a lot of the sources of noise. So animals will stink, moats (often used for dumping excrement in) were stinky things. Clothmakers and tanners all worked in very smelly places too.
Taste – medieval food included the likes of game, and roasting meat such as pigs and boars.
Touch – with the insulation not as heavily invested in beyond tapestries, rugs and hearths, medieval castles were cold and drafty.

How To Write A Fantasy That Takes Place Only In A Castle

Recently, someone asked for tips on writing a fantasy story that is set only in a castle.

This type of story is tightly linked with world building and requires a focus on character interactions and conflicts. Secrets, interpersonal struggles, and unexpected events can help create tension and drama.

Additionally, there could be a mysterious or spooky aspect to the castle, such as ghosts or demons . Despite the limited setting, it’s essential to describe the castle in detail, including the layout, colors, lighting, and other atmospheric details. Experimenting with narrative structures like flashbacks or multiple perspectives can also help keep the story engaging.

When it comes to coming up with ideas for a castle in our fantasy stories, we tend to gravitate to what we know. Below we’ve seen some castle art and looked at how to draw fantasy castles, both of which can give you ideas.

But in this section, I wanted to give you some specific tips which I hope you may find useful.

One way to make a castle in a fantasy story unique is to think about altering its design. I like to think about the key features of a castle, so the gatehouse, the walls and parapets, to name a few. Parapets in particular can be carved into all different kinds of shapes and styles.
Think about the location of the castle or keep. The fantasy castles in Lord of the Rings , for instance, always had quite eye-catching locations. Rivendell upon the banks of a river, Minas Tirith built into the mountain, and so too Helms Deep.
Another way to approach designing a fantasy castle is to think about how it interacts with your world. For example, does magic exist? If so, what limits does it have and what can it be used for? Raymond E. Feist, for instance, uses magic wielders in his Riftwar Saga to build cities and strongholds, with each different magic user having a unique skill, just like we have bricklayers, electricians, plasterers and so on.
Sticking to the subject of magic, can this influence the design or defences of the castle in your fantasy novel? What if magical forcefields are in place, meaning there’s no need for a wall? You can find a good example in James Barclay’s Chronicles Of The Raven series. One of the main characters finds himself besieged by an army. To protect himself and everyone else within the fort, he creates a magical wall with the help of some demons. Anyone who touches the wall dies, their soul sucked into the demon world. Barclay introduced a clever bit of conflict here. The besieging enemy rounds up innocent citizens and forces them to march into the magic wall. This tests the resolve of our main character and shows what you can do with magic and fantasy castles.

These are just a few ideas to help you when it comes to thinking about ways in which you can create original designs for your fortresses.

Another very useful thing to try is to create a castle floor plan. Let’s take a look.

Castle Floor Plans

If you’re trying to visualize the interior of your fantasy castle, floor plans can come in handy. Firstly, by using them you can ensure that you’ve included all of the essential rooms. You don’t want to spend an age making something and then realise you’ve not included any privies (toilets).

Secondly, in laying out our plan you can properly understand where all of your characters may be positioned at any given time. You’ve probably read a scene in a fantasy book involving a castle under attack. Characters are split up and have to find each other before making their escape. If you’ve laid out your castle using a floor plan, you can follow their every movement and work out which parts could be ripe for problematic obstacles.

To help give you more of an idea of how to approach this, let’s take a look at some fantasy castle floor plans:

Thank you for reading this fantasy writing guide on the fantasy castle. If you’re looking to learn more about writing fantasy or about castles generally, check out this list below. There’s a wealth of information for you to devour:

If you’d like to check out some discussions and opinions on different fantasy castles, check out this thread on r/fantasy on the most iconic fictional castles. This thread on r/worldbuilding is also very useful.
If you need help creating names for your fantasy creations , like castles and forts, head here for a detailed guide with lots of advice. You can also head here to check out my fantasy name generator tool
Something that’s found in castles are weapons, and if you want some help and advice, check out this guide on fantasy weapons here.
Archery also featured a great deal in the defence and attack of castles and you can find a full guide here.
If you want to learn more about the types of armor worn by defenders and attacks you can check out this guide to fantasy armor here, and also this guide on the lives of fantasy knights .
When it comes to bringing your castles to life, it can help to draw a map of the layout, or of the surrounding area. Head here to check out my how-to guide on creating a fantasy map

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to get in touch .

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richiebilling

About author, related posts, everything you need to know about fantasy and its sub genres, unique and cool fantasy weapons for stories and novels, the lives of women during the middle ages, 24 comments.

Pingback: A fantasy writer’s guide to … Castles and Keeps: Part Two – Richie Billing

Very informative.

NOTE: I think, when you were describing the “gród” that you mean “encircling” rather than “circular” wall. “Circular” indicates a round shape, where “encircling” refers to enclosing or surrounding a space.

Excellent article, great to see genuine content we can all learn between all users. I do as make tutorials and videos for others, if you have Instagram I would be happy to have you as follower : https://www.instagram.com/earthbydrones Have a good day! Earth By Drones Com Jeff

Thanks! I’m delighted you found it helpful! I don’t have instagram unfortunately. Are you on Twitter?

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Historical Novels and Epic Fantasy

My love of these two genres, 10 great features of a castle #writing #fantasy #history.

You can’t beat a castle to form a dramatic setting for a novel. If you are writing a story from the past, you can steep it with the historical detail so beloved of the genre. Equally, if you are writing a fantasy novel, you can let your imagination run free as you create a great stronghold. One of my favourite aspects of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones is the number of incredibly expansive and spectacular castles, all uniquely different, that form the seats of power for all the great families.

If you want some pointers where to start, here are 10 to get you going.

Battlements and Machicolations . A few crossbowmen along the battlements go a long way to deter any but the most determined attacker, but if necessary, you can have machicolations – stone boxes that project from the wall and had holes in the floor – ready to pour boiling oil, rocks, or any other nastiness down on the poor unfortunates below.

Arrow slits. Such a simple design disguise what an effective defence these unobtrusive small slits in the curtain wall or towers can be. Built correctly, they will give the archer inside the castle a wide scope for shooting their arrows, whilst the attacker will only have a tiny slit to aim at.

towers and spires_www.chauffeurtourscotland.co.uk

Towers and keeps. Castle builders can really get carried away here. Spires, turrets, and a large combination of flanking towers can surround the curtain wall, whilst the main keep should overshadow them all. The Keep is the last ditch defence of the castle as well as the high lookout point of the castle. Towers were originally square, as that was easier to build. When they realised that the corners represented a weak point, later designs incorporated round towers as they were more difficult to tear down.

Multiple curtain walls. Just as the attackers think they have made it into the fortress, by either climbing over or knocking down the great curtain wall in the way, they find another wall waiting for them – and as this dawns on them, they are trapped in a deadly kill zone or ‘death hole’ as it was called. Beaumaris Castle in North Wales is a great example of multiple walls forming a formidable defence.

murderholes acrossthepond2007.blogspot.com

Murder holes. Just the name says it all, openings in the ceilings near the gate or in the passage directly behind the gate is where they are usually located, used to pour bloody murder down on the poor unfortunately below.

Gargoyles theartisticlifeofsara.weebly.com

Gargoyles . If you have an artistic flair, why not disguise your murder holes with a few gruesome stone gargoyles with suitably grotesque features. Turning an otherwise austere castle into a real gothic nightmare.

Gatehouse and Portcullis. Any castle is only as strong as its gate, the saying goes. Fortunately there are a number of defences that you have on your side. As well as a drawbridge, you can deploy a Portcullis for rapid closure to your stronghold, a few flanking towers to rain arrows down on your attackers, and second inner gates separated by murder holes. Your gatehouse can become the strongest point in your fortress rather than its weak point.

Siege-engines. As castle designs can become so proficient in repelling invaders, the machines that are needed to gain entry become ever more advanced and cunning. You have catapults, mangonels, and giant trebuchets to hurl rocks, pitch and fire at (or over) the walls, and siege towers to pour men over the top of them. Iron shod battering rams with leather clad frames to protect those swinging it can gain you access through the gates or anything but the thickest and strongest walls.

secret passages httphdegitimphoto6.bloguez .com

Secret passages. A hidden maze of corridors and stairways existing behind a castle’s thick walls. A large network of spy holes and listening points can be riddled throughout the great building. Of course, secret passages are only useful if they remain that way, so liquidation of unfortunate builders may prove necessary.

Castle ghost. Every self-respecting castle needs its own ghost. You need someone to haunt the long cold passageways and make noises in the night. A suitably tragic back story, full of betrayal and unrequited love can normally be relied upon to be the reason why they’ve return from the grave.

castle - quotes and descriptions to inspire creative writing

Bow and Arrows
great halls
Medieval Stocks
royal crown
stone staircase

The castle rose upon the hill as if it had woven its stones from the most golden of early sunrays.

In those times of the sword, of armies with their philosophy of plunder, the castle was our safeplace, our cocoon, our fortress. For we lived together. That's how we survived, everyone needing one another. From the fletcher to the baker, we were the castle, we were the heartbeats within the rock.

The evil kings were the ones who lived only in the Money-Nexus, who valued only the treasures of cold metal. The good kings were connected to the Love-Nexus and had the philosophies that saw creation and mankind as the upmost treasures of their kingdom. The ignorant saw castle walls of rock, we saw our method of protecting whom we love. You could say that we came to have different Gods, those lectured to by either good kings or bad, the latter losing the ability to tell the difference between virtue and vice, so easily misled, so barbaric and vile.

The castle was bold on the blue beyond. It stood there as if conjured from the storybook of a child. It was perfect. Amy imagined unicorns in the courtyard, because if those towers could exist, why not? Every stone was even and square, as if those who built were set on perfection, as if they really loved what they made. They were walls made to protect a community, to echo with laughter and be the shelter they needed for the millennia to come.

The castle walls are the strongest thing for miles around, yet when Rose looks carefully she notices the stones. It is built of stones of varying sizes and shapes, each one unique. From a distance it is uniform grey, from up close it is a mosaic of humble rocks, each of them nobody would think anything of were they loose by the roadside. But together they are a castle, the crown of the landscape and protector of ancient peoples.

We stood upon the drawbridge, upon the ancient wood. At one time this was where the horses passed over, where they carried the goods into the citadel within. This was more than a castle; it was a home for everyone in these parts.

In the days of the good king, the castles made peace with one another. We traded goods and inter-marriage was normal. In that we grew stronger and the golden age began, the days of the rise of magic.

If one has a heart to plunder, to be the wrong sort of king, I suppose a castle is what you need. I suppose if you want so much more than any man or woman has a right to, then you need tall walls of stone... for your castle and your mind. I imagine these people are lonely behind such rocky towers, paranoid as they fill their world with weapons, each as deadly as the last sin they inflicted on the less powerful. How they preach, those greedy ones who sit and guzzle, taking whatever and whomever they please. Yes. I can see why they would need to live in a building such as that... grand and empty, dank with small windows and surrounded by their own filth. It's just perfect.

The castle was a tower of rock amid the jolly green, a fine accompaniment to the bonny foliage.

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Have Fun Storming The Castle – Writing Lessons From The Princess Bride

Writing and crafting a good story is hard work. But there is joy in it too. Otherwise what would be the point?

The heroes are off to take on bad guys. The odds are against them and they have a hard, painful and probably futile fight ahead of them. Neverless Miracle Max and his wife Valerie wave them off cheerfully, crying,

“Bye, boys! Have fun storming the castle!”

Writing a story is a lot like storming a castle and there is a lot we writers could learn from Wesley, Inigo, Fezzik, Buttercup and yes, even Vizzini, as we storm the gates of our stories.

Have a good reason to storm the castle

Castles are strong. They were built specifically to withstand a good storming, employing all kinds of tricks to repel attackers. You had to have a damned good reason to want to storm a castle. As we know, Wesley had the most important reason to storm his castle (‘true love’). No lesser cause would have compelled him to overcome the difficulties of overpowering enemy manpower, a locked gate with only one key, and having been mostly dead all day.

You need a good reason to write. Even if you lose faith at times, at one point you believed enough in this story, this character or the lesson you felt you could share, to begin the audacious process of breaking through fear, apathy and laziness and begin writing this story. Hold fast to that reason. Your story is worth fighting for.

Formulate A Plan

It may not seem like the heroes have much going for them, but they take stock of their resources (“If only we had a wheelbarrow”), examine their strengths (“your brains, Fezzik’s strength, my steel”), and come up with a plan, long before they take their first step towards the castle gate.

Don’t assume that, just because you like to write, you can sit down and create a whole story without doing any planning. You don’t have to know what will happen at every step of your plan but you need something to build on. Every story needs a hero, a setting, and some movement (something must happen or change between the beginning and the end). Do you know what must change for your character? (even if you don’t know *how* it will change).

You don’t even have to form a plan before you begin writing (the heroes have left to storm the castle before Wesley even wakes up, never mind begins to form his plan), but perhaps, like Wesley and his friends, you should pause at the edge of the woods to take stock, and plan the next stage of your battle every so often.

Be Flexible

WESLEY: Now, there may be problems once we’re inside. INIGO: I’ll say. How do I find the Count? Once I do, how do I find you again? Once I find you again how do we escape?” FEZZIK: Don’t pester him. He’s had a hard day.

Just because I’m saying you should plan a little, doesn’t mean you need to be rigid. Once you have stormed the gates of your story (the beginning), you still have to find your enemy, rescue the princess and find a way out. You do not need to know how all these things happen before you start to write. You may find that circumstances within your story take you in unexpected directions. You will need to be flexible. But bend too far and your story can break.

To avoid this that each of your characters, and you as the writer, stay true to your goals.

Stay True To Your Goal

When Count Rugen is at the point of Inigo’s sword, he offers Inigo money, power, all that he has and more, anything he asks for. It’s a pretty tempting offer for a drunk with no prospects (“there is not a lot of money in revenge”). Inigo, however, does not hesitate. He knows exactly what he wants, and that is: to avenge his father.

As you are writing, your story and your characters will offer you little side trips, new characters may pop up and tempt you with their fascinating foibles, new elements may demand to be included. Take some advice from Vizzini (“When a job goes wrong, you go back to the beginning”). Take a breath and ask yourself what was your goal for this story?

However much it loves being endlessly written, this story’s fate (like Count Rugen’s) is to be finished off. Stay focused on the main idea, the main theme, the main direction of the action, and ignore all its false promises of goodies if you just keep writing it, if you let it live, forever. You know, as well as Inigo, that the only way to satisfaction is to stick with your goal until the end.

Trust That An Ending Will Present Itself If You Keep Moving Towards It

At the climax of The Princess Bride, things are in a bit of a mess for our heroes. Sure, they have successfully stormed the castle and Inigo has his revenge, but it seems that Buttercup has married the evil prince after all, Fezzik has disappeared and Inigo can’t find Wesley. Buttercup is about to kill herself, Wesley cannot move and is at the point of Prince Humperdink’s sword in a tower room with no apparent exit.

Does Wesley give up? No, he does not. Instead, he vamps.

That’s right, he keeps talking, until something changes, until he finds the strength to take action. And when that moment comes, everything changes for the better: Humperdink surrenders, Inigo reappears and Fezzik turns up with the perfect means of escape.

The “all-is-lost” point is a classic narrative technique. Unfortunately it tends to hit us writers hard, too. The only piece of advice I have ever heard about how to get out of the pit of despair while writing a story, is to keep writing. It’s about as appetizing as that Miracle Pill cooked up by Miracle Max, and ultimately just as effective.

Even if you stumble, like Wesley, or end up editing out some of what you write, keep moving and a solution will spring from your characters, your situation or both. Trust me on this. Just keep writing and an ending will appear. If you start to question this advice, remind yourself of what Buttercup says to Wesley when he first reappears in her life:

“I will never doubt again.”

3 thoughts on “Have Fun Storming The Castle – Writing Lessons From The Princess Bride”

This is just wonderful. And my favorite movie of all time. 🙂 Thank you!

Thanks, Lisa. I had way too much fun writing this.

And clearly, we could be friends 🙂

…And NOW WE ARE!!!!

I love living in the future!

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Creative Writing in the Castle

23 september 2023 @ 10:00 - 17:00.

Due to demand after the sell out of her first creative workshop at Johnstown Castle, Sheila Forsey is back.

This immersive full day creative workshop will focus on vision, language, theme, narrative and meaning. It is suitable for anyone with a love of words and a wish to unearth their authentic voice.

After a tour of the castle you will be guided on exploring their response to their environment to find inspiration.

The tranquility, beauty and splendour of the castle and gardens is the perfect environment to escape into a creative world of words.

This workshop is led by historical fiction novelist Sheila Forsey whose last novel was so inspired by the castle. Sheila is a graduate of Maynooth in creative writing an is an Irish Times best-selling author. Sheila is also a hugely experienced creative writing tutor.

[Tea and coffee will be available and lunch can be purchased in the café where a table will be reserved.] Peacock Café & Shop – Johnstown Castle

**Please note that this area of the castle is not accessible for those with mobility issues**

Check out some of Sheila’s work here: Home | Sheila Forsey – Author

Sheila was born on a farm on the coast of Ireland and was brought up listening to the legends and folklore. This gave her a love of words that became the stepping- stone for her career in writing. An intriguing interest into Ireland’s complex and at times very difficult past led her to write historical fiction. With a love for the theatre and many years treading the boards she turned her love of being on the stage to writing. She is a graduate in creative writing from Maynooth University. Sheila spent 2 years as a curator for Wexford Literary Festival and is the facilitator for creative writing in adult education. She has received a bursary in Literature from Artlinks and is a finalist in Scripts Ireland.

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We are open daily from 9am – 5.30pm. (Café until 5pm).

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Descriptive Writing - Castle

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

1 February 2024

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AQA Explorations in Creative Writing - Descriptive writing practice.

Could be used for KS3 or KS4.

Good for cover work and homework.

A stand alone worksheet to help student plan and write a descriptive piece of writing based on an image.

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teaching & drawing comics

Escape from the Castle

Prince Alexius has been trapped in a castle by his evil nemesis... and he needs to find a way out.

Draw a picture of Alexius. Alexius doesn't have to be a prince - you can decide what gender you want your Alexius to be. You can also change Alexius' hairstyle and clothes.

Alexius has 3 things in his backpack that he can use to help him make his escape. Make a list of these items.

Here's one example:

a magical gem
four doubloons

Your items don't have to be this realistic. Alexius could have all kinds of random stuff in his backpack. He is, after all, a prince... and royalty aren't always known for being the most practical.

Here are some other ideas:

a piece of rope
a pocket mirror
an invisibility cloak
a signed autograph from his favourite pop singer
a half-eaten snack
his math homework
pepper spray
water bottle

The castle that Alexius is imprisoned in has three levels. Copy this map of the castle into your notebook:

A drawing of a castle with three floors. In the bottom left is a gate labelled EXIT. On the top right is a tiny tower with a small figure in it, labelled Alexius.

Prince Alexius is trapped in the tiny tower at the top of the castle.

As you can see, the castle has three floors . Each floor has two obstacles that will threaten to stop Alexius from leaving the castle. On your map of the castle, draw in what booby traps, monsters, enemies, or obstacles that Alexius will have to face as he makes his way down each floor.

Here are some examples:

a hidden trapdoor
a booby-trapped lever
a statue that won't let you pass unless you answer its riddle correctly
a giant spider and its babies
a burning pool of lava
his evil nemesis!

Write your story of how Alexius escapes from the castle! Start your first paragraph with him in the tower on the top floor, and make your way down each level. Your story should have at least 3 paragraphs.

If you're stuck on getting started, you can use this as a starting point:

When Prince Alexius woke up, he was in the top tower of a dark, dingy castle. He had to get out of here as soon as possible! He peeked down to see what was on the third floor. The first thing he noticed was...

When he got to the second floor...

On the first floor...

Remember to have Alexius use the items in his backpack, and explain how he deals with each of the obstacles in the castle to make his way out.

Once Alexius has escaped safely from the castle, you're done!

If you used this writing prompt, I would love to see what you create! Email me your creations or tag me @flutterdoodle on instagram or twitter - it would absolutely make my day.

This resource is free to use for students, school teachers, or self-employed tutors and teaching artists! For commercial use, especially if you are duplicating or re-distributing my images and lesson plan, please contact me to inquire about usage terms and fees.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

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Creative Writing Club – members' area

² navigation, resources to print – castles.

Printable writing frame

Download a writing frame for this activity: castles_storymaker_letter

TIP: There are lots of ways to use Creative Writing Club. You can let the kids loose with it in a lunchtime club, you can get the class into pairs using iPads. One very simple way is to demo the story using the App and then switch over to pen and paper (with one writing frame between two). To make this simple we’ve created a printable version of the activity for you. (Remember to print them out in advance – one between two).

LEVEL: Castles is a purple activity (blue = easiest, purple = medium, green = hardest)

How to use in class (Demo using App followed up by pen and paper).

Log onto Creative Writing Club. Use your Interactive White Board to do a demo of the story writing activity to the whole class. (Get the class to vote on the options as you go. Use the ‘next’ button in the bottom right of the screen if you need to move on).
Get the class into pairs and hand out a printed version of the writing frame.
Tell students to write the story one line each – from the most exciting part.
Tell them to put their hands up if they are going to write the first line. ‘First liners’ should write a line of speaking.
‘Second liners’ should write a line of describing.
After this they can write anything they like: speech, description, action etc.
At the end of the session, choose some pairs to come up and share their work with you.

Tip: If you are working on paper, you can still submit work to our Hall of Fame . Take a picture of the story and email it to us.

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Creative writing - Castle of The Creepers

Dung, dung, dung, the clock tower screamed, the sound it let out was a catching tune, that filled the air for miles around, like the roar of a football stadium- the home team scoring. After the mysterious echo had vanished, a deadly silence loomed, deadly silence had fallen; the storm was just beginning to brew. The rich, silver-lined, 50p like full moon shone through the pitch black night sky, outlining the edges of the elderly castle. A misty, gray fog passed across the sky, twisting around the chilling, ice filled breeze, finally raveling itself like a fishing cord in a crows nest around the clock tower spear, creating an eclipse effect onto the musty, soggy old castle, the moon had then been eliminated. Across boggy dampened marsh and up the mountain side the silhouette of a proudly prince like stood wolf was clearly visible at such a distance, AWOO it cried to attract it’s friends, then scent of humans rode across the winds, the humans had invaded wolf town. The chilling howl made Janice’s, Tom’s and Walt’s neck hair stand on end; the fright of a hundred bats flapping their way out of the crevices in the old derelict castle made it lie back down, then, the school of bats worked their way across the baron land, their home disturbed by un-wanted guests. WOOO an owl hooted from a nearby tree, showing it’s presence as part of the current neighborhood as it searched for it’s meal, ideally a big fat field rat would fill it up, instead the most it could realistically hope for was a few mice. “This place spooks me!” Tom whispers, “Can we go now?”

“Tom, could you please be quiet for a change my dear, all you ever do is whine, this time I’m not buying into it old chap,” Janice explained, her huge brown eyes doubling in size with the rage of Tom’s latest outburst. She still liked Tom as a friend but sometimes he was a bit of a pain. Walt standing seven feet tall said with no thought, “Er Tom’s never whined, he always does things for you!”

“Walt are you completely mad? It was just 2 days ago that Tom wouldn’t come with us to that cave because he’d broke his finger nail!!!”

“Ohh yeah, sorry, I’m not the brightest candle in the holder.”

Walt was never all that smart, once while he was being attacked he let someone trick him into saying their name was no-one and Janice didn’t come to his rescue. The trio had it occasional rows but deep at heart they were all still great friends.

First experiences and impressions of the northern quarter of Russia were not to good, the pale faces of the trio said everything about the place, it was cold, washed out and very board.

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They looked at each other, talking in their minds, vibes doing all of the communicating between the three. They entered the cold damp castle one by one, Janice who was always on the look-out for any danger, then Walt to back her up incase of any such attack; then finally Tom. Tom is brain’s of the team, he logs everything in his mind and can remember ever corridor, passage, locked door, un-locked door or stair case in any building. If they have to get out in a hurry, Tom can always lead the way. The huge ten foot high, rotted, old mahogany door swung open creaking like nails being scratched on a blackboard, the adventure had just began.

The floor in the entrance hall was damp and musty, it smelt as and old attic, filled with woodworm and mice. It was lined with wood, walls, ceiling and the floor. The floorboards were in very bad condition, they had not been painted or sealed to stop them rotting. Some of the floorboards were as strong as a crisp packet, they crumbled with the dust that settled on them. Many of them were not even there anymore. Years of neglect had made them vanish into a small pile of sawdust.

Janice stood proudly in the center of the entrance hall, it seemed that there was nothing mysterious about the place at all, it was just an old derelict castle, only worthy of being used as fire wood, or so they all thought.

Janice did a dance around the hall; her long straggly ginger hair flustering around, being dragged through the air by her short, agile martial arts body.

Walt went back to their small cart to get their back packs, these contained all of the survival tools each of the trio carried with them at any point of an adventure. In their backpacks Janice, Tom and Walt all each carry a small axe for breaking out of places or getting into places such as caves. They each carry their own small sword approximately 1 foot long. They all have a small first aid kit, which consists of mainly pieces of rag and fresh water. One thing that they never leave behind is their own small lanterns. These burn oil and last for long periods of time. They use these to aid their vision in dark places such as cellars and rooms with no windows.

“Janice, I can’t find you lantern, it’s not anywhere. You must have left it back at that old shack we were at a few days ago.” Walt explained as he had his head buried in all of the junk in the back of the cart, “You’ll have to use mine.”

“Are you sure it’s not there?” Janice quizzed,

“I’m positive” Walt replied, “Just use mine!”

Walt stumbled back into the entrance hall, his footsteps shacking the castle like a herd of wild buffalo. “Walt you’ll have to be very careful on this expedition, you are very clumsy and this castle is not very strong,” Tom pointed out, “OK, I understand.” Janice then lead the way up the stairs and then something caught her eye, “Stop!” she said with great intensity, “Go back down.” What she had saw was the glowing embers on the huge sky scraper like fire place in the main living room in the west section of the castle. The light has pocked through a whole in the damp wall which was being held up by only the small nails use to secure the wood paneling. “Whoa, I think this place is definitely haunted, that fire is still glowing!!” Tom explained, “I want to go now please,” he whispered again in Janice’s ear. She turned around and stared him down, thinking how pathetic he looked, she kept her feelings to herself and her eyes, big brown eyes, turned very small with anger, Tom took the hint. “Are we going now?” Walt blurted

“Yes, and remember, watch where you stand,” replied Janice. The adventure had began once again, and they weren’t turning back for anything, almost anything.

They wondered through hundreds of crypt like corridors, they were as dark as the midnight sky. On the journey they found lots of exiting and spooky things lurking in the castle, “This is the Castle of the Creepers,” Tom trembled, Janice just kept on walking. During the adventure the trio found things like picture frames with no pictures, pictures of portraits, eyes seeming to follow their every move. There was always about ten cobwebs wherever they looked, Tom shut his eyes but he could still see them in his mind. In some places they had to go right back around a tower or floor just to get to the other side of a collapsed wall, moving the mushy rotted mess could have had horrible effects. They saw oil lamps on some walls, still glowing after years of not being filled up, and very strangely they saw one bedroom, which was in perfect condition, the floor, walls and ceiling were still in-tact, the carpet had no dust, no cobwebs could be seen. The bed was also made and there was a half packed suitcase lying on the floor, as if someone was in a hurry to get out. In the east tower they found a stair way going down into the cellar, it had an almost infinite numbers of steps, most smashed or rotted, they did not wish to go down.

With all the evidence gathered, Janice tells the to guys to go back, they could continue the search with greater detail the next day. Janice then said proudly, “That search was great, we’ve got bags of evidence and not a single injur…”

Ahhh!!! Tom let out a great shriek behind Walt and Janice, he had fallen through a hole in the floor, they had started to come back a different way. Tom didn’t know where he was; he was knocked out as he fell, smashing his head off a solid brass soldier statue. Two minutes passed and eventually Tom became conscious again, “No, no, my leg , my leg,” he was in great pain. “Walt go to get the first aid, his leg is in a very awful condition,” Janice requested,

“All right, I think I know the way.” Walt replied,

“No, no, don’t leave me, don’t leave me, I’ve fallen down,” Tom said.

Over twenty minutes passed and there was still no sign of the big ape like Walt. Janice feared that he might have got lost.

Crrraasshh!!! A tremendous earthquake like rumble came from the other side of the castle. Within seconds clouds of dust came from both directions of the corridor, which looked like a back street alley. Vision was impossible and Janice held Tom’s hand tight until the two could see each other once again.

The rumble had been Walt, what was left of him was now in a pile thirty feet high of wood and plaster. He had fallen through four floors to the ground floor bellow his fall had came to a staggering halt when he reached the concrete base of the west tower foundation. He would not be coming back and Janice would not get the first aid kit in time to save Tom’s leg. “I have to go, you need the first aid, you’ll lose your leg if I don’t, then you could loose your life!!” Janice explained with extreme sorrow for Tom,

“Don’t leave me, please, don’t leave me!!” Tom pleaded,

“I have to it’s for your own good.”

Janice let go of Tom’s hand and moved out of the way so he couldn’t grab her. She has to rescue Tom, herself, there is no one else to help her. She decides to try to cut away the floor and pull Tom out, his leg is very swollen and he has lost a lot of blood. Her axe is blunt though and Tom’s fell down the whole when he fell down it too. It seems that Tom is stranded like a survivor of a plain crash, waiting to die on an island. She needs a knew axe or something strong enough to help her get Tom out of the floor without causing his leg any more damage.

Janice tells Tom straight, “If you want your life you have to let me go, if you do die I want you to go knowing that I did all I could to help you, and I just sit back and watch you.”

“OK, don’t be long, promise you’ll come back,”

“I promise.”

Ten minutes pass, it seems like hours for Tom, lying wishing his life away, praying that he’d wake up and end the nightmare, but it was all so very, very real.

Janice is about to give up, tired and hungry she decides to head back to Tom. Then she bums into something, it was solid metal, six feet tall, a statue, of a soldier, with a huge silver sword. Janice sees she can use the sword, as a leaver to prize Tom out of the floor. She pulled and pulled, eventually she got it free. Making she sure didn’t fall, Janice raced back to Tom.

“I’ve got it,” she said,

“Got what?” Tom replied

“A sword, I can prize you out!”

“OK give it a go, I’m going to die anyway!”

Janice was shocked at his attitude, she hope it wasn’t for real, a kind of spur of the moment thing. She also hoped she didn’t let him down, could she save him.

She edges the sword down a tiny gap between the floor and Tom’s leg which was now smaller and drained of blood. She gently pushed down on the sword, the floor collapsed, Bang!!! Tom fell to the room below, he did not move. Was he dead? Was he alive? Could Janice save him? It didn’t look good for Tom…

Creative writing - Castle of The Creepers

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Word Count 2175
Page Count 8
Subject English

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Creative Writing

Creative Castle (the world’s greatest writing retreat)

A couple years ago I decided I wanted to buy a castle, to use for creative coworking spaces and writing retreats. I pulled the trigger and rented a French Chateau for Nanowrimo 2016. It was amazing and we got featured on CNN .

We rented two castles in 2017: one in Austria and one in Spain. The experience was unbelievable. We’ll do it again in 2019 (we have our eye on this amazing complex in France… surrounded by tall pine trees and crumbling ruins.)

We’ll be there for 3 weeks, sometime around September 2019.

If you want to come for free, I set up a giveaway page where you can enter by sharing.

Originally I planned to BUY a castle by raising funds on Kickstarter. While that’s still a possibility, I’m more attracted to a writing “camp” in Oregon or Washington. Below are some of my thoughts and notes about the type of creative space I’m hoping to manifest into the world.

Why a castle?

I want a castle because it’s a big, audacious symbol. It represents the creative daring I encourage on Creativindie. It demonstrates that all dreams are possible.

While it isn’t necessary, I only want to do big things that excite people.

Unrealistic things.

Impractical things.

However, I’ve also come to appreciate that what I’m really looking for is to surround myself with fascinating people I can share my knowledge with, in an inspirational setting. Also, for this to work I really need somewhere accessible and easy to get to. That’s why I’m also looking for some property in Oregon I can turn into the world’s greatest writer’s colony. We’d do glamping + writing sprints + book marketing masterminds.

It would look something like this…

That might be a few years out though… in the meantime sign up for your chance to win a free stay at the castle!

7 things I learned living in a castle for Nanowrimo

ORIGINAL CASTLE IDEAS

Here are the original musings I posted about my castle…

Over the past ten years I’ve lived in dozens of countries. In the past four years I’ve been making a pretty good living online and my wife and I love to travel and have adventures. But there are two things I’ve been dissatisfied with.

1. To live a productive, creative lifestyle, you need to be in an inspiring environment. But a spacious, beautiful apartment (that also happens to be in a natural setting) is too expensive.

2. You also need to surrounded by a group of amazing people with similar goals, so you can give each other feedback and support.

That’s why I want to buy a castle. And I want to share it with you.

I’ve learned a lot about writing and publishing books. Here are a few of them:

It’s easier when you focus on only one thing at a time, and have no distractions.
It’s easier when you are in a group of other people also attempting big projects.
It’s easier if you’re in a beautiful, “foreign” environment, so that you feel pampered and special, with new and exciting surroundings.
There should be a lot of nature for long afternoon walks.
Somebody else should take care of cooking, cleaning and chores, so you can focus on what’s important.

Rather than doing something boring like Skype coaching or weekend writing retreats, I want to offer a life-changing experience. To do that, I need something a lot grander than a three-star hotel. Something like this.

It’s gotta be inspirational. Not just pleasant or calming or comfortable: the natural beauty should be so overwhelming you can’t believe it’s real.

It should be historical, with modern furnishings but a classic feel so that you can easily imagine yourself slipping through time; an ageless, timeless experience.

It should be big – big enough to accommodate at least 50 people each month; I’m very interested in the idea of having a glorious “main house” but also building a bunch of micro houses on the property for extra beds and extreme solitude, silence and reflection.

The main castle/chateau will be restored in glory and beauty, but with modern convenience (I don’t want it to be too modern and shiny… I want it to be authentic). There will be fast internet and hot coffee, but depending on the age of the building, we may not have all the comforts you’re used to.

If it gets cold we’ll pile on the blankets or hand out fingerless gloves, light fires and make a batch of hot spiced wine. If it’s too hot we can find a fan or you can talk a cool walk through the woods or a dip in the pool (there will probably be a pool).

It may not be as refined and glamorous as I imagine at first (it depends how much we raise and what I can afford) but even if I buy a fixer-upper, I’ll furnish it lovingly with ancient leather chairs and solid oak tables. It will have an enormous library of the world’s best literature and hundreds of reproductions of the world’s finest paintings. It will be the most inspirational place in the world.

Depending on space I’m keen to throw in some more modern touches, like a rock climbing gym or repelling down the walls, or a zipline. I’ve also always wanted a huge pool of those little plastic playgound balls. A jacuzzi or three wouldn’t hurt.

We’ll throw fancy galas every few weeks and invite live musicians whenever possible.

We’ll have chickens (so we can eat fresh eggs) and a big garden (so we can produce our own vegetables), and maybe swans and peacocks (because they’re pretty).

We’ll also offer some cultural experiences and tours, and perhaps bring in a daily language tutor so you can learn a new language during your stay (always a useful skill). We’ll have plenty of leisure activities and fun, but the priority will be providing the space to do the work. That means mandatory silent areas (or times), accountability and planning sessions, and a very structured but isolated world of creative inspiration and motivation.

If it gets funded successfully I will take feedback on your person dream vacation, and spend several months on a castle tour of Europe, but the final choice will depend on lots of factors including property taxes, ability for foreigners to purchase land, using it as a business, etc.

What I can’t guarantee yet is the space and size of personal rooms – they may have to be small, although I will try to avoid shared rooms. But they will be comfortable, safe, and private. Bathrooms may need to be shared. But the sheer grandeur of the environs should more than make up for it.

How it will work

To make this happen, I’m going to be pre-selling a 3-week author platform building course, with celebrity guests, and we’ll launch the whole thing on Kickstarter in 2015. We need 1000 people who are willing to pay $5000 for an amazing adventure, with the happy side-effect of putting together a finished author platform that will help them sell more books for years to come.

The first 2 years we’ll focus on providing outstanding value and experiences. I’ll will be your personal publishing champion. I’ll help you finish, design and publish your book, market hard and sell a lot of copies.

I’ll also have a referral program, for example anyone who’s responsible for selling 20 slots will get to come for free.

These prices may change, and “all inclusive” will probably mean an open kitchen and a chef, plus meals – but not snacks and alcohol.

Want to come for free?

If you already have a large following in the publishing world, or have sold over 500,000 books, you can drop by anytime – we’ll keep a room open for you.

I’ll probably also take on a few people who’d like to do some cooking, cleaning, or specialized skills like web design, book editing, formatting or marketing. We’ll also need someone to fix things up (a handyman) or run errands.

Spacing and accommodation will depend on the size of the house; and hopefully we’ll get enough supporters to book all the rooms for 2 or 3 years in advance (which means we can buy a bigger and much more awesome castle!)

After the initial obligations are met, I’d like to run the castle as a writing retreat/artist commune so I can invite creative people to stay for free and produce their world-changing work.

Nanowrimo Castle – help me choose!

Conjunctions
Prepositions

230+ Castle Adjectives – How to Describe a Castle?

When adjectives are needed for a castle, one might be at a loss. It’s not like there’s a thesaurus castle category. Perhaps we should start with the basics. A castle is a large and imposing structure, often made of stone or brick. It usually has several towers, turrets, and battlements. There is usually a moat or drawbridge to provide additional defense.

Inside, there are large halls, staircases, and many rooms. So some adjectives that might come to mind are large, imposing, fortified, defended. But those adjectives don’t really capture the feel of a castle, do they?

A castle is more than just big and strong. It’s also fascinating, magical, and romantic. So let’s explore some adjectives that convey those aspects of a castle.

Mysterious, secret-filled, labyrinthine; awe-inspiring, grandiose; beautiful, fairytale-like ; these are the adjectives that will give your reader a sense of what it’s like to stand in front of an ancient castle.

Table of Contents

Adjectives For Castle

A castle is often described as a fortification, stronghold or monument. It may also be called a palace, manor house or estate. adjectives used to describe a castle might include adjectives such as ancient, grand, lavish, opulent, magnificent, imposing or stately.

However, a castle can also be described as drafty, dreary, foreboding or dungeon-like. Whether adjectives used to describe a castle are positive or negative often depends on the perspective of the person using them.

This article on “castle adjectives that start with C” is definitely fascinating! I never would have thought of using words like “ craggy ” or “ creaky ” to describe a castle, but it makes perfect sense. The author does a great job of showing how each word applies to a specific aspect of castle architecture, and it’s clear that they really know their stuff.

I also appreciate the lighthearted tone of the piece – it’s clear that the author is having fun with the subject matter, and that makes it all the more enjoyable to read. Thanks for sharing this interesting article!

Here’s some common adjectives for castle that starts with medieval, majestic, mysterious, massive, monarchical, manorial, military, moated.

When it comes to castles, there’s something undeniably enchanting about these majestic structures that have stood the test of time. From towering turrets to intricate stone carvings, each castle has its own unique charm and character. But how do we capture the essence of these magnificent fortresses in words? That’s where adjectives come in. In this article, I’ll be sharing a list of descriptive words that will help you paint a vivid picture of castles, whether you’re writing a fantasy novel, planning a trip, or simply indulging in your love for history. So, let’s dive in and explore the world of adjectives for castles, complete with examples that will transport you to a world of knights, kings, and fairytale dreams.

Castles have long been symbols of power, grandeur, and mystery. They evoke a sense of awe and wonder, with their imposing architecture and rich history. From the moment you lay eyes on a castle, you can’t help but be captivated by its beauty and strength. In this article, I’ll be sharing a carefully curated selection of adjectives that will help you convey the essence of these magnificent structures. Whether you’re a writer looking to bring a castle to life on the page, or a traveler seeking to describe the castles you’ve visited, these adjectives will serve as the perfect tools to capture the magic and allure of these architectural wonders. So, let’s embark on a journey through the world of castles, one adjective at a time.

How to Describe castle? – Different Scenarios

When it comes to describing a castle, there are numerous adjectives that can be used to capture its grandeur, beauty, and mystique. Whether you’re writing about a castle in a story or describing one to a friend, using the right adjectives can help bring the castle to life in the reader’s imagination. Here are some examples of how to describe a castle in different scenarios:

1. Describing the Exterior:

When describing the exterior of a castle, you can focus on its size, appearance, and architectural features. Here are a few adjectives that can be used:

Imposing : The castle stands tall and commands attention.
Majestic : Its grandeur and magnificence are awe-inspiring.
Fortified : The castle is strong and built for defense.
Picturesque : The castle is visually stunning, almost like a painting.
Elegant : It exudes grace and sophistication.

2. Describing the Interior:

When describing the interior of a castle, you can highlight its opulence, splendor, and historical significance. Here are some adjectives that can be used:

Lavish : The interior is adorned with luxurious decorations and furnishings.
Gothic : The architecture and decor have a dark, mysterious charm.
Regal : The interior reflects the elegance and status of the castle’s inhabitants.
Ornate : Intricate details and embellishments adorn the walls and ceilings.
Timeless : The castle’s interior captures a sense of history and antiquity.

Read: “How to Use Adjectives” – Boost Your Writing Skills

3. Describing the Surroundings:

The setting of a castle can greatly contribute to its overall appeal and atmosphere. When describing the surroundings of a castle, consider these adjectives:

Idyllic : The castle is nestled in a peaceful and picturesque landscape.
Enchanting : The surroundings have a magical quality that adds to the castle’s allure.
Remote : The castle is located in a secluded and secluded area, adding to its sense of mystery.
Breathtaking : The views from the castle are stunning and take one’s breath away.
Serenity : The surroundings offer a sense of tranquility and calmness.

By using these adjectives, you can effectively describe a castle and transport your readers or listeners into the enchanting world of these majestic architectural wonders.

Describing Words for castle in English

When it comes to describing castles, there are plenty of adjectives that can capture their grandeur, beauty, and mystique. Let me share with you some examples of describing words that can transport you to the enchanting world of these majestic architectural wonders:

Majestic : Castles are often seen as symbols of power and grandeur, so “majestic” is a fitting word to describe their impressive presence.
Stunning : With their intricate details and imposing structures, castles can leave you in awe. “Stunning” perfectly captures the visual impact of these magnificent buildings.
Fascinating : Castles have a rich history and fascinating stories hidden within their walls. This word conveys the intrigue and allure that surround these ancient structures.
Elegant : Castles are often designed with a sense of elegance and beauty. The use of ornate decorations and luxurious materials gives them an air of sophistication.
Impenetrable : Historically, castles were built with strong defenses to protect their inhabitants. “Impenetrable” describes the fortress-like quality that these structures possess.
Enchanting : Castles, with their turrets, towers, and sprawling grounds, have an enchanting quality that captivates the imagination. This word evokes a sense of magic and fairy tale charm.
Glorious : Castles have stood the test of time and have witnessed centuries of history. “Glorious” reflects their enduring beauty and the sense of pride they inspire.
Mysterious : Castles often hold secrets and mysteries waiting to be discovered. This word hints at the hidden passages, secret chambers, and untold stories that lie within their walls.
Commanding : Castles, with their elevated positions and commanding views, exude a sense of authority. This word highlights their ability to dominate the landscape and capture attention.
Legendary : Castles are often associated with legendary figures and tales of heroism. This word emphasizes the mythical and legendary aura that surrounds these iconic structures.

So, the next time you find yourself in the presence of a magnificent castle, take a moment to reflect on its majesty, elegance, and enchantment. Let these words transport you to a world where history and fantasy intertwine in these astonishing architectural masterpieces.

Read: Mastering Proper Adjectives from Geographical Locations

Adjectives for castle

When it comes to describing castles, there are a wide range of adjectives that can capture their grandeur, beauty, and mystique. Let’s explore some positive and negative adjectives that can paint a vivid picture of these fascinating structures.

Positive Adjectives for Castle

Majestic – The castle stood tall and majestic, overlooking the valley below.
Stunning – The castle’s architecture was absolutely stunning, with intricate details and elegant spires.
Fascinating – Exploring the castle’s hidden passages and secret rooms was a fascinating experience.
Elegant – The castle’s grand hall was adorned with elegant tapestries and sparkling chandeliers.
Impenetrable – The thick walls and fortified towers made the castle impenetrable, guarding its inhabitants from any threats.
Enchanting – The castle’s beautiful gardens and enchanting atmosphere made it feel like a fairytale come to life.
Glorious – The castle’s golden exterior shone brightly in the sunlight, creating a glorious sight.
Mysterious – The castle had a mysterious aura, with its hidden chambers and tales of ghostly apparitions.
Commanding – The castle’s commanding presence dominated the landscape, asserting its authority.
Legendary – The castle’s rich history and legendary tales captured the imagination of all who heard them.

Example Sentences:

Negative adjectives for castle.

Dilapidated – The castle’s crumbling walls and broken windows showed its dilapidated state.
Dreary – The castle’s gloomy interior and cold stone walls gave it a dreary atmosphere.
Abandoned – The castle stood abandoned, its once bustling halls now empty and lifeless.
Decaying – The castle’s decaying floors and rotting woodwork painted a picture of neglect.
Haunting – The castle had a haunting aura, with its eerie silence and whispering spirits.

By using these adjectives, we can bring castles to life and let our imagination soar as we envision their grandeur or discover their mysteries. Whether they are majestic or dilapidated, castles continue to fascinate and inspire us with their captivating stories.

Read: 2050+ Adjective Words to Describe Nature

Synonyms and Antonyms with Example Sentences

Synonyms for castle.

When it comes to describing castles, there are several synonyms that can be used to capture their grandeur and mystique.

Here are some synonyms for castle, along with example sentences to illustrate their usage:

As you can see, these synonyms highlight the strength, elegance, and historical significance of castles, making them ideal for capturing their essence.

Antonyms for Castle

While castles are often associated with strength and grandeur, there are also antonyms that describe the opposite characteristics.

Here are some antonyms for castle, along with example sentences to demonstrate their usage:

These antonyms capture the contrast between the majestic grandeur of a castle and the simplicity of these smaller dwellings.

By using these synonyms and antonyms, you can paint a vivid picture of castles and their contrasting characteristics. Whether you want to evoke a sense of strength or highlight the disparity between grandeur and simplicity, these words will help you describe castles in a captivating way.

In this article, I’ve provided a comprehensive list of adjectives that can be used to describe castles. These words capture the essence of these magnificent structures, ranging from their grandeur and strength to their mystique and allure. By using synonyms such as “fortress,” “palace,” “citadel,” “stronghold,” and “ch√¢teau,” you can paint a vivid picture of the imposing nature of castles. On the other hand, the antonyms like “shack,” “hut,” “cottage,” “cabin,” and “bungalow” allow you to highlight the contrasting simplicity of certain castles.

With these descriptive words at your disposal, you can bring your writing to life and transport your readers to the enchanting world of castles. Whether you’re writing a historical novel, a travel guide, or simply want to add depth to your storytelling, these adjectives will help you create a captivating narrative. So go ahead and explore the rich vocabulary of castle descriptions, and let your imagination run wild.

Final Verdict

So, in conclusion, “castle adjectives” are a great way to make your writing more interesting and engaging. By using words like “elegant” and “medieval”, you can add a touch of sophistication to your work. And, best of all, they’re free!

So go ahead and add a little bit of flair to your writing today. After all, we all know that castles are way cooler than boring old houses.

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13 Games That Let You Build A Castle

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8 RTS Games With Tower Defense Mechanics

Best historical rts games, ranked, best fantasy rts games, ranked.

Castle-building games like Stronghold offer players a creative outlet to construct impressive fortresses and structures.
Games like Castle Constructor and Valheim provide players with intuitive building tools and a focus on defending their creations from enemies.
While some castle-building games lean more towards creative freedom, others, such as Diplomacy Is Not An Option, focus on strategic construction and defense.

There are plenty of games that let players stretch their creative wings , giving them the tools to create buildings, contraptions, and even entire levels. Creative games like Minecraft , level creators such as Halo's Forge mode, and the construction simulation of games like RimWorld allow players to construct buildings, which has proven to be a strong core gameplay loop.

10 Most Complex Management Games

Certain management games crank the complexity up to eleven. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg.

Although players can build castles in games like Minecraft , these more creative-focused games often lack gameplay loops that center on castle-building. While many of these games contain strong mechanics for building castles in a way that affects the gameplay, some are more focused on creative freedom.

Updated June 7, 2024 by Harry Ted Sprinks: Castle-building games are a relatively underserved market in the world of PC gaming, even though they're relatively popular. The successful release of Stronghold: Definitive Edition shows that there's still a need for good castle-building experiences, so much so that people will still happily purchase a game that's over twenty years old.

While games like Stronghold and the upcoming indie title, Cataclismo, focus almost entirely on building castles, creative sandboxes such as Minecraft also allow players the freedom to build impressive castles.

1 Castle Story

A voxel-based castle builder.

Platform(s): PC
Released: 2017
Developer(s): Sauropod Studio
Genre: Strategy

This voxel-based castle builder has players building and defending castles while managing their denizens. Castle Story combines its castle building with strategic gameplay, tasking players with micro-managing their small colony of workers.

Although Castle Story may not have lived up to its potential, its castle-building mechanics remain competent, revolving heavily around interactions with the user interface. While this system can be tedious at times, it allows for a great deal of freedom.

2 Castle Flipper

A first-person building game with a great sense of scale.

Released: 2021
Developer(s): Pyramid Games
Genre: Building

As its title may suggest, Castle Flipper plays very similarly to games like House Flipper , but with a medieval theme. While castles aren't the only thing players will be building and repairing, Castle Flipper allows players to build large, impressive castles.

The first-person perspective and large 3D environments make Castle Flipper particularly immersive and give the buildings a great sense of scale. While Castle Flipper may be a little rough around the edges, it gives players a great deal of freedom to build impressive fortresses.

3 Castle Constructor

Build castles out of modular pieces.

Released: 2024
Developer(s): Sisyphean Games
Genre: Tower Defense

This 3D indie tower defense game has players building castles out of modular pieces and defending them from a variety of enemies and medieval siege weapons. The modular system makes building castles easy, allowing players to focus on the best strategy without fighting against the user interface.

Castle Constructor features several campaign levels for players to progress through, learning new technology along the way. While this is the main way to play, Castle Constructor also features an endless mode and a creative sandbox, giving it a great deal of replay value.

4 Age Of Empires 2: Definitive Edition

An rts with an emphasis on base-building, age of empires 2: definitive edition.

This classic real-time strategy game has aged tremendously well, thanks in part to its 2019 definitive edition, which helped bring the game to modern audiences. Like many real-time strategy games, Age Of Empires 2 features base-building. However, AoE 2 arguably features more depth in this department than the average RTS.

Age Of Empires 2 focuses on many things other than building castles. However, the game's variety of factions to control and buildings to construct give players a lot of freedom when it comes to base-building.

A Survival-Crafting Game About Building Viking Strongholds

This tough-as-nails multiplayer survival game takes on a Viking theme and focuses its gameplay on exploration, combat, and building. Although still in Early Access at the time of writing, Valheim is one of the highest-rated survival games on Steam.

Valheim's building tools are incredibly intuitive and merge with the survival gameplay perfectly, allowing players to get creative as they explore and gain access to more resources. The potential for complex and large-scale castles in the world of Valheim can be seen in the community. YouTube alone is heavily populated with complex and large-scale castles built by dedicated players. Although Valheim is one of the most well-received castle-building games, its focus on exploration and combat makes its gameplay less centered around castle-building than others.

6 Becastled

Building and defending from fantasy sieges.

This base defense game is all about building and defending a castle from waves of enemies in a fantasy setting. The game features increasingly difficult sieges to defend from, resource management, and light RTS elements that help to add a layer of depth to the game.

Becastled features a cartoon visual style and a large focus on castle-building. At the time of writing, Becastled is still in Early Access on Steam, but the developers are still active, with their last update released in January 2024.

A Survival Game About Building Gothic Castles

This open-world top-down survival game puts players in the role of a vampire attempting to take down a variety of increasingly challenging bosses in fluid, fast-paced combat. Outside of combat, players gather resources and slowly construct a Gothic castle to call home.

V Rising began as an Early Access title and has since lived up to its full potential with its recent 1.0 release. Though V Rising features plenty of combat, the game's customization options when it comes to building a base allow players to easily construct menacing, looming Gothic castles.

8 Diplomacy Is Not An Option

Defend against hordes of physics-simulated enemies, diplomacy is not an option.

Diplomacy Is Not An Option tasks players with building and defending a sprawling castle from waves of enemies. Diplomacy Is Not An Option is arguably one of the best castle-building base defense games thanks to its well-crafted minimalist art style and truly massive hordes of physics-simulated enemies, as well as its intuitive building mechanics.

These fun strategy games combine RTS mechanics with elements of tower defense.

Diplomacy Is Not An Option allows players to build defenses and even armies to control via light RTS mechanics, as well as an entire spell system that can provide powerful advantages to the player in their most dire moments. Diplomacy Is Not An Option constantly throws huge amounts of enemies at the player's castle, making it less focused on creativity and much more focused on strategic construction.

9 Foundation

A gridless medieval city-builder.

This city-builder has a focus on resource management and features a grid-less construction system that allows players a great degree of freedom when building. Although Foundation is still in Early Access, it's already a promising game that still receives regular updates.

Because of Foundation's laid-back nature, players are given more freedom to focus on the city-building aspects of the game, rather than worrying about constant threats looming over their growing city. That's not to say that players won't encounter adversity in Foundation , but growing a medieval city and watching as castles begin to take form is both a relaxing and satisfying experience that's worth trying out.

10 Going Medieval

A medieval colony-sim, going medieval.

This colony-sim plays very similarly to RimWorld but takes place in a medieval setting . The game gives players easy-to-use tools to build a variety of strongholds for their villagers as they defend from raids and attempt to keep their population happy.

Fans of historical RTS games can't pass up these legendary titles.

Going Medieval is very much a colony-sim , but includes heavy elements of base defense as well. Players will spend much of their time worrying about keeping their villagers safe and figuring out the best defense, making Going Medieval more strategic than it is creative.

11 Kingdoms And Castles

A city-builder about building and defending castles, kingdoms and castles.

This medieval-fantasy city-builder tasks players with building and defending a castled town from Viking raids and dragon attacks, each posing their unique threats. Kingdoms And Castles features a cartoon visual style and an intuitive grid-based building system that allows players to build battlements and towers to help defend their villagers.

Kingdoms And Castles is first and foremost a city-builder, so players won't just be building the castle itself, but defenses, too. In Kingdoms And Castles , some defenses are affected by the height of the battlement they're placed on, making castle building in the game a strategic process.

12 Minecraft

A game of creative freedom.

Minecraft is, at its heart, a survival-crafting game with a focus on mining and building. However, the sheer number of tools and materials that Minecraft offers both in and out of its designated Creative Mode allows players an unprecedented amount of freedom.

This freedom allows players to essentially build whatever they can imagine, so long as it can be made out of blocks. Over the years of Minecraft's development, players have honed their skills and mastered the game's tools to such a degree that they're able to build extremely impressive structures. However, even for the average player, building a simple stone castle is still perfectly possible, albeit not the game's focus.

13 Stronghold

A classic castle-builder.

This retro RTS game was released back in 2001 and defines itself as a "castle simulator," allowing players to design and build sprawling castle complexes. It could be argued that building strongholds and defending them from large armies has never managed to live up to the standards Stronghold set all those years ago.

Although Stronghold features a full campaign with some great missions to complete, its economic campaign allows players to relax as they design and build castles in a combat-free environment. The game features a revered HD version on the Steam storefront, and a definitive edition was released on November 7, 2023.

Special Mention: Cataclismo

Developer(s): Digital Sun
Genre: Base Defense

Cataclismo is a combination of real-time strategy, tower defense, and base-building. The game tasks players with building castles piece by piece using a modular system inspired by LEGO. Cataclismo features a somber world and an art style to match, providing an eerie atmosphere as players defend their growing castle from waves of enemies.

This promising base defense game is set to feature a full single-player campaign, an endless survival mode, and even a creative mode. Cataclismo currently has a demo available on Steam and is set for release on July 16, 2024.

Fans of the fantasy genre who also enjoy real-time strategy games are sure to enjoy these engaging RTS titles.

COMMENTS

How Do You Describe A Castle?
The Royal Family took their summer retreats there - kind of like the Balmoral Castle for Carol I (I THINK!) All your fairytale castles kind of owe their existence to Neuschwanstein Castle, which gets an honourable mention from me. Definitely key to distinguish between a real true medieval castle and a romanticist interpretation of a castle.
Fictional And Fantasy Castle Ideas, Designs And Inspiration
The Best Fantasy Castle, Keep And Fortress Ideas. By richiebilling. September 4, 2021. 18 Mins read. When we come across a fantasy castle in a story, it sparks our imaginations. We imagine the stonework, the parapets, the swallowtail flags flapping in the breeze, and the soldiers lined up along the walls. And some of the battle scenes involving ...
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A creative writing prompt for kids ages 7-10. (adventure, fantasy) by. ... February 22, 2021. Prince Alexius has been trapped in a castle by his evil nemesis... and he needs to find a way out. Step 1. Draw a picture of Alexius. Alexius doesn't have to be a prince - you can decide what gender you want your Alexius to be. You can also change ...
Writers Studio
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Resources to print
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The Castle Creative Writing. I walked down the narrow, moonlight lane on my way to the park. I was meeting Summer, Leon and Tiffany. It was really cold and it was beginning to get dark. I felt nervous walking down the lane as there were no lights. Eventually I got to the end of the lane and as I turned the corner I could see the park in the ...
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Creative Castle (the world's greatest writing retreat) 959. A couple years ago I decided I wanted to buy a castle, to use for creative coworking spaces and writing retreats. I pulled the trigger and rented a French Chateau for Nanowrimo 2016. It was amazing and we got featured on CNN. We rented two castles in 2017: one in Austria and one in ...
KS1 Castles- A day in the life of... Writing Frames
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Hawthornden Literary Retreat for Creative Writers
Hawthornden Literary Retreat for Creative Writers. Introducing a new website at www.hawthornden.org. Hawthornden Literary Retreat at Hawthornden Castle in Scotland was founded as a peaceful setting to foster creative writing and creative writers of all kinds.
230+ Castle Adjectives
A castle is often described as a fortification, stronghold or monument. It may also be called a palace, manor house or estate. adjectives used to describe a castle might include adjectives such as ancient, grand, lavish, opulent, magnificent, imposing or stately. However, a castle can also be described as drafty, dreary, foreboding or dungeon-like.
British Academy of Creative Writing
The British Academy of Creative Writing is a leading provider of accredited, industry recognised creative writing qualifications in UK. At the British Academy of Creative Writing, we offer a range of accredited creative writing courses. Our flexible study options mean you can choose to study from home or attend class-based courses.
Best Games That Let You Build A Castle
Castle-building games like Stronghold offer players a creative outlet to construct impressive fortresses and structures. Games like Castle Constructor and Valheim provide players with intuitive ...