
Ciao, SEers! The last time we met, we talked about time. Today, we’re moving on to the next of the four elements of setting: locale. “Locale” is the …
Elements of Setting: Locale
Ciao, SEers! The last time we met, we talked about time. Today, we’re moving on to the next of the four elements of setting: locale. “Locale” is the …
Elements of Setting: Locale
Yahoo Image Search
(This is a fun poem that I made for a future character. I haven’t entirely figured out what to do with her, but a key point is that she is connected to these magical decanters. These are artifacts from the dwarven goddess of drinking, Eporwil. I decided to add a poem to the concept, which hints at what each one can do. Enjoy.)
Eleven brews of the dwarven goddess
Who shall drink until the end of times
Ale for summer and stout for fall
Winter lager and springtime beer
A harsh whiskey that could raise the dead
A wine to calms the meanest soul
A spirit forged of burning flame
A rum with no taste to call its own
A brandy that vanishes on the tongue
A smoky red from the dragon’s veins
A sweet ale for an inner view
A mead of power for the warrior’s charge
A fresh liquor for the seer’s eyes
Each drink shall run until last days
For the master of the decanters
Rill from Black Clover
Two of the anime my son and I have watched are ‘Fairy Tail’ and ‘Black Clover’. We finished the former and are halfway through the latter. He loves these series because they have magic. I enjoy them too. It took me a long time to realize why I find these series fairly unique in terms of magic systems. At least, when I compare them to what I’m used to seeing.
First, I’ll do a brief overview of these two examples:
Fairy Tail– This is a world where a lot of people have magic. Those who do can get trained and become wizards. Once they are skilled enough, they join a guild or go solo. Madcap hijinks ensue. You have standard elemental stuff, but other things like word magic, dance magic, pulling equipment from a pocket dimension, and metal magic. Even types that seem similar and somehow different. So, you never know what’s going to turn up.
Black Clover– This is a world where everyone has magic, except for the main character, but that’s not important here. At age 15, a person will go to a ceremony and gain a grimoire, which gives them a type of magic. There are the basics alongside cooking magic, wool magic, mirror magic, thread magic, ash magic, tree magic, and the list keeps going. As you can see above, paint magic exists too. That character can even change his magic to be the opposite element of whatever he is fighting.
So, what is the point I’m getting to with this post?
When writing fantasy, you don’t have to stick with the traditional magical styles. You can use the elements and other commonly used types as a jumping point, but then you start running in a different direction. This gives you a greater variety of caster types and you can make battles/adventures more interesting. It’s not just a flinging of fireballs and lightning bolts like the old days. The audience won’t know exactly what’s going to be flying around if the casters are so specialized.
The trick here is to think both small and big. You need to take a single aspect of the world or a general concept. Then, you need to expand it without hopping into other areas. For example, taking heat magic instead of fire magic. You can start coming up with different uses for heat without adding fire. Starting off simple with heat bolts and heat barriers will get the ball rolling. Then, you can have the caster creating weapons from pure heat, which bypass armor. Maybe they’ll create a heat golem. You’ve now taking a small portion of one element and made it a bigger school of magic.
Doing this does require a lot of imagination and creative bending of nature. A character may have to get the aspect to function differently that what it normally would. If someone has dust magic, you wouldn’t expect them to be able to do any damage. It’s just dust, so maybe blinding and hiding. This is where an author would have the caster mess with the traits of their aspect. Altering the density of the dust can make it hard enough for armor even if it doesn’t look like it. Maybe it can be turning acidic. You can even have them start conjuring sentient dust bunnies that have actual teeth. Your imagination can still run wild even with the limitation.
That’s really the gist of this whole thing. Can’t even deep dive into it because the concept is simple to explain, but the challenge is putting it into practice. Just sit back and think of a type of magic that you haven’t seen much of before. If you aren’t sure about something then research it to see what its properties are. I know, chemistry is the most hated science of high school. (Don’t get cocky, physics! You come in second only because most people get to opt out of you.) Anyway, the more you learn about something, the newer types of spells that you can figure out. It doesn’t have to be much, but enough to add some versatility to the new school. After that, let the magic fly.
Hey, SE Readers. Joan with you today. Happy first day of February. Today’s post is a bit different, but one all writers can relate to. For me, and …
Why Do You Write?
(This little guy came in first and won so many hearts. Originally posted on April 3rd, 2022.)
Hello again for another animal. This one is the ‘World’s Happiest Animals’ because they always seem to be smiling. They aren’t afraid of people either, so there’s a trend to get a selfie with them. Of course, they live in Australia, so you can’t do it that easily unless you’re a local. What are they?
The Quokka
Now, this is a type of wallaby, which means they’re a marsupial. They are considered vulnerable for the following reasons:
Here’s a site with more info. QUOKKA!
Since they’re a type of wallaby, they’re a subspecies themselves. So I won’t have different types. Means more pictures of them in general. Enjoy. (All images found in Google Image Searc.)
And let’s not forget some videoes. The second one is very informative.
I am happy to be with fellow Michigander Annette Rochelle Aben to discuss The Last Drive. You can visit Annette’s post HERE. Annette can be described…
The Last Drive Tour with Annette Rochelle Aben.
Hi SEers! Denise here to talk about when a story hits some unexpected roadwork and comes grinding to a halt. The ideas and words flow until that one …
WHEN THE WORDS STOP
I’ve been wanting to do a post for this animal for a long time. We have the Malayan Tapir at the Bronx Zoo and they’re relaxing to watch. It’s such a fascinating creature because it looks so unique. So, what are they?
Tapirs look like a combination of a boar and an elephant. Yet, they are more closely related to horses and rhinos. They are a very ancient species, which originated in North America during the Eocene era. These days, they are found in South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. Still, they started here and haven’t changed much over the millennia. This is why they’re called ‘living fossils’.
All four species are currently endangered. This is due to them being hunted for meat and deforestation. This SITE has a lot more information on it. To be honest, I think we all know how this goes at this point.
Let’s check out some facts:
So, let’s get a picture of each species and some fun videos.
Baird’s Tapir
Malayan Tapir
Mountain Tapir
Brazilian tapir
The second quarter of the 2022-2023 school year has ended . . . Time is going by quickly, but it’s also dragging. Not sure how that’s possible.
Anyway, I have to admit that I didn’t get much in the way of writing done after last Saturday. I did hit the 1/3 mark of Darwin & the Demon Game. Wrote chapter 5 in one day and then rested with the intention of tackling chapter 6 on Sunday. I don’t know what went wrong. My brain was foggy and unfocused. I had sinus pain and my anxiety was blipping. All I managed to accomplish was part of a section, which took me all day. I even stopped mid-paragraph because my mind and body just wouldn’t function like it did Saturday. I’m hoping to finish it today while my son draws. Maybe I’ll finish chapter 6 this week and have the ability to finish 7 and 8 next weekend.
Still, I’m kind of confused and worried about what happened. I woke up Saturday after a great night of sleep. Ate well and even got my car into the shop for an oil change. Sunday was supposed to be easier with more sleep and no errands/chores. Instead, I woke up feeling anxious and brutalized. I’m wondering if I still have long covid issues because it felt like one of my bad days during the summer. The weather can be triggering things too and it was pretty nasty out. Oddest part is that writing tends to wear me out more than anything else. I don’t understand why even though a friend suggested that I probably burn more energy writing than doing other low-thinking activities. Doesn’t help that I think I’m a hack right now and hate everything I do.
My week was fairly busy too. My son had late appointments on Monday and Tuesday as well as 3 tests to study for. It wasn’t until Wednesday night that things almost settled, but I’m back on the summer camp hunt. Hoping that one I look at today works out. Again, this added stress and broke my focus. It made it that I couldn’t muster the desire to write, blog, bike, or do more than take a shot of Zzzquil and crawl into bed. So, it wasn’t as productive a week as I’d hoped.
Work was easier though. At least, the students had half-days. I didn’t get to go home early, but it meant a few extra hours to decompress. Next week is back to the usual schedule, which isn’t bad. The students I work with are great and make my day go by quickly. I get home tired and use the last of my energy to help my son with his homework, but the exhaustion is for good causes. He shouldn’t have many tests coming up since the new quarter just started. Still, you never know what’s coming. Best to brace myself for anything.
My anxiety has gotten better. Only had one night of panic attacks and three mornings where I felt like my skeleton was trying to escape through my mouth. Sounds rough, but it’s progress. I still haven’t found the best time to take the calming pills since they make me drowsy. Tried in the morning once and it had me dizzy until noon. Night isn’t worthwhile since the Zzzquil works better. Experimentation will have to do until I find time to get to a doctor. Time is limited and the next big thing is to get something on my car handled. I was going to do that this weekend, but I needed to go somewhere. Next weekend should work out better.
Wish I had more to excite people with. Nothing to talk about as far as sales go and I still haven’t decided on how/when to publish the Darwin series. With my other books not selling at all, it’s hard to justify paying for cover art and taking large chunks of time to edit the books. I remember being told long ago that the best way to keep selling books is to keep publishing, but that was a lie. Once ‘Legends of Windemere’ stopped, the majority of my audience left. Only a handful of people cared to try ‘Ichabod Brooks’, ‘Bedlam’, and ‘War of Nytefall’. That’s why it’s had to muster any confidence for my next series. The whole thing has me questioning my abilities, decisions, past, and . . . Well, everything about myself. Yeah, I know this will earn some optimistic platitudes, but I feel like saying it here.
Television hasn’t been much either. Still slowly working through ‘Fruits Basket’. I didn’t get far because of all the appointments that forced me to eat a late dinner. Then it was get ready for bed and pass out within 30 minutes. That might have been part of the problem since the food didn’t have much time to digest. This coming week doesn’t have any late night appointments, so I should be able to shed a good amount of anxiety. Fingers crossed there.
Goals of the week: