Tutorial Writers' Wretreat or Crytics' Crypt? (love needed)

*Continues talking and questioning one's self incessantly*

How would you write magic? I'm primarily concerned with how a character casts spells and what their bodies/minds go through. Would some spells exhilarate their senses and provide them with newfound zeal (fire spells and other spells that augment combat ability)? Would the fire spells, in a self-explanatory way, increase the internal body temperature of the caster?

What about heavens magic? What does the caster feel when he/she casts harmonic convergence, and what about those on the receiving end? I'm guessing that the rest of the spells from this lore would probably drain the caster's physical energy as if they're placing strain on their bodies, and perhaps even mentally as well.

What would the caster even go through when trying to cast a shadow construct (lustriapedia)? Would he/she utilize their imagination, and/or would it take both skill and experience to reliably utilize shadow magic to create constructs all the while placing massive strain on their minds? Death magic is also interesting to question too.

Just asking these, because it isn't made clear as to what the caster goes through when casting spells. Or at least i don't know.

 

Very useful tool.

I do like this guys' channel, lots of good ideas.

 

I'd love to see a story about lizardmen convincing another culture to embrace the dedication to order and the great plan.

 

I've been imagining a saurus warrior gradually fearing his death with every battle fought. Sort of the direct opposite of that idea. More so disillusionment with the great plan

 

Pretty kewl article on how to write a story without conflict or at least one of many ways of doing so.

The structure that's talked about is Kishōtenketsu - a method of structuring stories with a twist of logic in mind rather than conflict. I'm pondering how this structure can be superior to the one we've been ingrained with since childhood. Not completely superior in the sense that one or the other should be completely forgone, but more so their strengths and weaknesses over the other in conveying feelings and messages an author would like to convey in specific circumstances.

 

I usually write 1000-2000 word outlines for short stories, and only brief paragraphs or bullet points for chapters for my other story. I find that since you cannot go over 2,400 words for every short story in these contests, knowing how to pace the piece is pretty pertinent if you don't want to go over the word limit imo. And outlines can help with this by meticulously planning what details or elements within the story should be explicitly expressed or prioritized more than others.

For longer forms of writing such as chapters in a novel or a novella, I go for brief outlines since there's no limits or pressures to consider.

I don't think you can over outline something. Or rather, I think that you can trust an outline too much. At least with me, there's always a new idea or a new approach to a problem that usually props up in my head that I haven't considered beforehand when writing an outline. If I think it's better than something i wrote in the outline, i'll usually just ignore whatever I wrote in the outline and use the new idea instead.

 

That is good to know, I definitely use them in the past. Sometimes powerpoint to make a flow chart too.

I can also see how it stifles creativity a bit too. Now that the outline is made, I find it really hard to fill in all the words that flesh out the story!

 

The issue for me when writing (particularly longer stories) is in over-planning. As I plan, I become increasingly familiar with characters, setting and plot, which means I'll have thousands of words of notes/plans/descriptions, character design sketches, maps, etc. and then I get to writing and I forget that the reader knows none of this.

Sometimes it makes me think I should just hand over my ideas to someone who actually has the time and motivation to write stuff, but then I'm afraid that the characters and setting that I know so well would be butchered.

Particularly in fantasy writing, plans are essential. Often there are so many interconnected points that a good story could be ruined by poor planning and seeds that were planted in book/movie/episode one will never be nurtured and resolved.

One of my favourite book series is a young-adult fantasy (so I'll let you draw your own prejudices) and there were so many carefully laid plot points that made the series come together in an interesting, exciting and satisfying way. However, this author had made each character unique, relatable and likeable and in the final showdown it became evident that the author had no idea who to kill off. In the end it seemed to be a bit of a hat draw, but in a way that prioritised the survival of people with love interests (because YA fiction). I don't think it was a particularly bad ending by any means, but it was very obvious to me it hadn't been planned out.
(Throne of Glass, Sarah J. Maas)

In contrast to this, one of my favourite TV/web-series managed to nail the planning in a couple of different ways. In the final showdown/conflict of the third season, there was an absolutely devastating character death, and yet it wasn't in any way unsatisfying. The reason for this is that the guy who created the show had planned out everything seasons in advance and knew exactly what needed to happen to alter the paths of characters and for emotional growth as well as moving the plot forwards. This character had done what they needed to to complete their arc and their death needed to inspire others into action.

Sadly the shows creator has passed away, and the continuation of the series though controversial, is quite well done. The show has begun to stray away from the initial vision for the path ahead and I believe the team is running out of the original notes, ideas and arcs left behind, and ultimately the newer material is less rich. Now that the plan is less rigid, the arcs of characters is no longer clear and they often exist without purpose.
(RWBY, created by Monty Oum)


I think from these examples and countless others, it is important - not just in books - for authors to have at least some idea of where they want to go or they risk losing their own relationship and knowledge of the material, but over planning can also reduce any reader-character connection that must be developed for a story to be enjoyable.

If the MCU hadn't been planned the way it was, then my goodness would Infinity War/Endgame be a hot mess.