One of the big things in fantasy books happens to be oddly controversial too. The use of magical items is common, but many people disagree with how they should be used. Some people don’t want them at all in the stories unless they’re an ancient item of great power that is essential to the plot. Others think they should be forbidden items and only villains have them even if there is a heroic spellcaster. On the other end of the spectrum, you have worlds where magic items are commonplace such as Harry Potter. I could keep going with the list of beliefs on magic items, but I’m sure people will voice some more in the comments.
Personally, I think it depends on the world and characters. If it is a low magic world then items of power shouldn’t be common. Of course, the exception would be if the only sources of magic are these items, so they’ve been mass produced. Now a world with magic everywhere like Windemere makes it believable that such items are easy to find. There would be stores for magic rings with high prices and not every magic item will have the power to change the world. For example, there is a class of item called Durable Gear, which means they’re stronger than normal items. As the Lich says ‘everyone and their dog seems to have one of these items’. Nobody said a crafting caster couldn’t be in it for the money.
There is also a question of who can wield magic items, which is another world-dependent entity. I’ve never understood the idea that only spellcasters can use magic items with the exception of scrolls and wands. A magic sword is something that sounds like it can be used by anyone who can swing it. If the system states that one needs to study magic to awaken an item’s power then that’s how the world works and I’ll go along with it. I might question a spellcaster wielding a magical great axe, so I think the items have to be crafted accordingly. I’ve gone for magic items that everyone can use if they are in the proper situation. Luke’s new ring requires a catalyst as do a few later items.
So, what do people think of magical items in stories? Do you want them to be around, limited, or absent?
I have a confession: I’m not a big fan of gore. I get squeamish easily, so this is topic that comes from a person who has a low tolerance. I’ve gotten better in my old age, but I couldn’t even make it through a Yahoo Image Search for ‘Gore’. So, you get the above picture in order for me to handle this post. I’m sure some people find that scarier than the bloodiest horror movie, but let’s avoid politics here.
A few weeks ago I found that there were more Youtube videos of an Anime Music Video mash-up called AMV Hell. I watched the latest one and saw one clip that had monsters devouring people with a lot of blood. Now, I’m an anime fan and I remember the spurting of Ninja Scroll and the gore of Elfien Lied. I made it through that, but something was odd about it. Apparently, this was a series called Blood-C and it had a habit of upping the gore with every episode. In fact, some people said it was all gore and no plot until the last two episodes. I’m not here for a review, but I did check out episode 9 . . . I don’t have it in me to post it:
Basically, the main character is a girl with a sword and can go super powered to kill these monsters. In the episode I found, a monster is at her school where her class is the only one there. The first half of the episode is the butchering of every character, except the main one. Blood, screams, and body parts are everywhere, which was really gross and so over the top. Yet, it wasn’t funny over the top. It was disturbing over the top because I saw no reason for it to happen and the main character simply wouldn’t use her powers to put a quick end to it. Not until everyone was dead, so you add bad character usage in here to make me sick to my stomach.
This made me realize that many people use or see gore as a powerful tool when it comes to storytelling. It shocks the audience when it occurs, but there is a limit. Eventually, a person can become desensitized to it. For a reader, it means they get bored with the death and start seeing it more as a joke. For a writer, it can lead to upping the gore and methods of demise until it’s so far over the top that it hurts the story. One has to remember that you can’t keep pushing the same button on a person without it wearing out.
So here are some quick rules about gore that I just thought up:
Do NOT use it every other scene.
Do use it sparingly to get the proper shock value.
Unless you’re making an anime or a comedy, try to remember that blood is not a highly pressurized liquid in the human body.
There is not enough blood in the human body to spurt fifty feet for an hour. At least I don’t think there is.
Try to stay with only one beheading, one loss of limb, and/or one evisceration per story. Exception is if beheading is the only way to kill characters like in Highlander or Supernatural’s vampires.
Never replace plot and character development with massive amounts of bloodshed.
Months ago, I read that there are fish who can’t swim. I found this very interesting since most people assume swimming is required to be a fish. Then again, not all birds fly and not all mammals give birth to live young. Now, these fish with walk or hop along the seafloor or drift with the tides. There are some that can swim, but either aren’t very good at it (seahorses) or prefer to walk instead of glide (sea robins). Added them even though I’m not sure if they count. Without further ado:
The title really does cover it all. This was the first week of summer school, so I went back to getting up early and heading off to work. The days are shorter, but that also means they’re more compact. Some hours go faster than others. I’m glad the heatwave wasn’t around to give us trouble, but Monday had a big rainstorm. Still, I made it through everything in one piece and have an idea about my general schedule. It’s definitely where some days will be better than others.
As far as writing goes, I did my best with Darwin & the Deadland Queen. I only finished the first section of chapter 2 and got about halfway through the second section. I ended up having a bunch to do to prepare myself for summer school and the horrible heat on Saturday was a pain. Others things kept turning up to draw me away from writing both physically and mentally. I made an attempt during the week to get a little bit further, but I only made a paragraph before exhaustion took over. Next week should be better because I’ll have more time in the evenings.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle was Pokemon Go-Fest. To explain, this is the biggest event in the game for the entire year. Special Pokemon are around and every evening has something going on. I promised my son that I would take him out for everything, especially since one of his friends got back into the game. I wasn’t going to disappoint him, so that was how my week went. Busting my butt at school, rushing back for dinner, and going out for Pokemon. Hard to fit writing into such a schedule, but I really don’t feel bad about it. This was a great father/son week and I’m not going to have too many of those left as he’s almost seventeen. That means 18 is around the corner and he might not have much time for me. Enjoy these events while they last.
I did try to tinker with Coven of the Gray a bit. I’m having some doubts. I like how the characters are coming out, but I’m now worried about the method of storytelling that I set up. I have a chapter book outline, but I found that some coven members are getting more chapters than others. I can’t have them all converge on the hero because he isn’t that kind of warrior. They’d crush him, so he needs to encounter them either individually or in pairs along the road to the fortress. So, I’m not at about chapter 11 of 15 in the outline and still have 6 coven members left. This feels off since I still planned on there being 3-4 sections per chapter like in Bedlam. Maybe I should switch to each ‘chapter’ being a short story where a single coven member (or 2) are encountered and defeated. There are pros and cons to both methods, but the way I’m going now is starting to be a problem.
Another change coming up next week is that I’m going to be cooking dinners on Monday since I get home earlier from work. With Go-Fest over, I’ll be able to get home, take my son out for a bit, and get home to cook. This can also give me some leftovers for school and I’m trying to avoid buying as often as I can. Trying to eat less too, so it’s been yogurt, protein drink, and Nutella sandwich most days. Tuesday and Thursday are turning out to be the cheat days only due to the situations. Either way, I’m going to try to eat better and get back into cooking. So far, penne with vodka sauce, chicken cheese enchiladas, and restaurant style chicken lo mien are on the list.
Not much else I can talk about in public. The other situation is still on-going and I don’t know how long it will take to settle. It’s definitely taking up a good portion of my attention and adding to my stress. That’s probably another reason it now takes me a day to write a single book section. My stress is already high, so writing in my current mental style makes me exhausted fairly quickly. I find that my brain is now trying to edit as I go, so it’ll stop if I overuse a word or subconsciously sense I did something wrong. Not sure if this is a more mature way of writing than when I just went with it and cranked out chapter sections that I would edit later. It does cut down the editing, especially since my fear of messing up continuity forces me to stop for research at various moments.
Anyway, I’m currently rolling out of bed to make lunches and pack supplies for Go-Fest by the time this post goes live. The event goes from 10 am to 7 pm today and tomorrow. My son is determined to complete his list of catches. So, it’ll be eating on the road, lots of hydration, praying for no rain, and having a late dinner. Glad I taught him to do the laundry, which he got done yesterday. That would have been an added headache to the chaos.
Now for the goals:
Enjoy Go-Fest with my son.
Catch a shiny MewTwo.
Stay hydrated and sunscreened.
Eat less and better.
Sleep when needed.
Work on Darwin & the Deadland Queen. Low on list because 1-5 is all the weekend.
Tinker with Coven of the Gray. At least decide on chapters or 10-13 short stories.
Yahoo Image Search (Two versions of Sherlock Holmes)
I recently watched the first season of BBC’s Sherlock, I love Elementary, and I loved the Sherlock movies. I also used to watch Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century when I was a kid. Oddly enough, I still haven’t gotten around to reading the original stories even though I own an anthology.
Now, I know people are already skipping to the comments to declare who the greatest Sherlock Holmes is. That’s not the point of this post. My question is about how some characters jump from literature to other mediums and take on multiple incarnations. I am not talking about characters who change form in their series, but the character is the same and the actor/voice/depiction is different. Sherlock Holmes, Jack Ryan, James Bond, Conan, Batman, and so many other characters have been taken on by more than one person. Sometimes it’s even another book where the stories continue under a new author like all the people who contributed to Oz. I think I’m right on that one.
James Bond is probably the most infamous here because there’s a joke about how the villains never realize his face has changed. Still, I’m seeing a lot of Sherlock Holmes these days, so I’ll focus more on him. There are personality quirks that one sees in all of his incarnations. Sharp mind, kind of blunt, obsessive, and nearly self-destructive come to mind. There’s also the standard of him being terrible at social situations and Watson (with or without boobs) being the only person willing to deal with him. Though, I’m not always sure why he does this beyond assuming he’s a masochist. Now, everyone does bring in their own take on this. The movie version is a very selfish, yet loyal character whose mind goes on borderline precognition. The BBC version is a very quick mind who seems to be on the edge of snapping and no idea why people have a problem with him for most of the season. The Elementary version is rude, blunt, and borderline psychotic with a much bigger focus on obsession than the other two. I do love how the Elementary and BBC versions develop empathy and get rattled in certain situations. It shows great growth for a character that has been around for so long. This all personal opinion and I’ve only seen the first season of the BBC version, so I might be missing something that the real fans know.
Personally, I love seeing new takes on established characters as long as they’re respectful to the original source. There has to be something similar between the characters for me to acknowledge that they’re the same. Every character has a spark that makes them worth putting into another medium, so that should be held through all versions. The attitude of James Bond, the aggressiveness of Conan, and the sharp mind of Sherlock Holmes need to be there for me to believe the characters are worth comparing.
So, what do people think of characters with multiple incarnations? By the way, this is not a call to convince me one Holmes is better than another. And for anyone wondering about the animated one I mentioned, watch this intro that DOESN’T stand the test of time:
(Originally posted on September 20, 2014. Looks like this was the very first ‘Ye Olde Shoppe’ skit.)
Thief from Yahoo Image Search
So, you’re about to set out for a life of fantasy thief crime. Well, you’re going to need a lot of gear. Unlike warriors, you can’t get away with armor, sword, and shield. It’s a long list of items you’re going to need. Do you have a specialty? Thief isn’t a specialty, kid. This is going to take a while. Let’s give you the starter package:
Melee Weapon– I have shortswords, rapiers, daggers, saps, clubs, and other lightweight . . . put the battle-axe down, kid! You’re a thief. This means stealth and speed. If you want a heavy weapon then become a warrior or a barbarian. Take a few daggers and a shortsword before you hurt yourself.
Range Weapon– I recommend a small crossbow, but you have to be careful. Stick to the shadows and time your shots. No firing away like you’re a crazy cowboy. What’s a cowboy? You really have to get out of your genre, kid.
Light Armor– You can wear normal clothes or lightweight armor. I may sound like a broken record here, but you have to focus on stealth and speed. Leather armor is the best I would go because the metal armors make noise. What do you mean are pants optional for female thieves? That’s a stupid question . . . they are, but I don’t recommend it. Customer is always right though.
Lock Picks– Whether you’re going to be a burglar or not, every thief should have a set of lock picks. You never know when they’ll come in handy. Locked in the dungeon? Have these babies hidden on you and you’ll be out in no time. I remember buying a few locks and practicing. Make sure you keep them hidden on your personage and not in a place that is hard to reach. Nobody will check your codpiece for lock picks, but you’re not going to get to them very easily. Not to mention the pinching.
Grappling Hook– You never know when climbing will be necessary. I could sit here all day naming situations. Don’t forget to buy the rope too, kid.
Specialty Kit– I know you said you didn’t have a specialty, but I highly recommend choosing something. We have disguises for spies and manipulators. We have blowguns, poisons, and caltrops for assassins. You can also use the poisons if you aim to be a conniving royal advisor. Seriously, the classics never die. Let’s see. I have forgery kits and . . . I have a pirate beginner set. Be warned that the ship is not included in that. Just the hat, parrot, two treasure maps of questionable authenticity and a trainee license to get you started.
Optional Holding Item– You can laugh about this one, but you’re going to be carrying around a lot of gear and, hopefully, loot. This bag or pocket or whatever you want is a small dimension to hold everything and you can pull it out quickly. Now, you can go the route of not explaining how you carry everything and pray nobody asks. Though, you run the risk of people assuming you have all your stuff in an unsavory place. Just ask Solid Snake from Metal Gear how much fun that accusation is.
Those are the basics and you can look around the shop to see if anything else catches your eye, kid. What was that? How are you going to pay for this? You’re planning to pay me instead of attempting to rob me. Oh, kid, you’re so in the wrong profession.
Good time to show off a little bit of the action in War of Nytefall: Savagery. With there being so many puzzles for Clyde to solve, it’s really tough to find a non-spoiler part to share. So, have fun this intro to one the more maddening challenges. At least for Clyde because the rest of us will enjoy the fun.
