I’m sure there are plenty of books about it and several AIs are standing by ready to answer the question, but that’s not helpful for internalizing it. Somewhere in all these writing posts, I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I realized something years ago: All my favorite TV shows are layered. There’s a showContinue reading “What is Plot?”
Tag Archives: fantasy
Feeding the Dungeon
I need to toss some people into the dungeon to feed it. The dungeon doesn’t care who but our intrepid heroes do. That means I need a couple/few bad guys. There are plenty of places around to find them. An obvious possibility: People in jail (for something serious, of course). There are problems with that.Continue reading “Feeding the Dungeon”
Balance of Power
LitRPG universes generally survive due to Mutually Assured Destruction. When you’ve got people – and “not that many” is literally billions in a multiverse of any size – who can sterilize planets and blow up stars, something needs to keep them in check. The answer is usually “a coalition will gang up on you andContinue reading “Balance of Power”
Agency
One of my pet peeves with humans is that they deny each other agency. The “I’m not going to tell her to protect her” trope is ridiculously common in fiction and it’s not uncommon in real life. Everyone has agency. They should be allowed to make their own decisions, even (or perhaps “especially”) if IContinue reading “Agency”
No Plot
I wondered if it would come up. It did. There is no plot in the first half of the book. This is not exactly by-design, but it’s not accidental, either. There is a “theme”, but that’s not the same thing. Our intrepid heroes don’t have a goal. They’re not intrepid heroes, yet. They’re just twoContinue reading “No Plot”
Chapter 18 Shall Submit
That’s the weekend goal. It need four scenes. Updated with what actually happened. And some back-edits to put in things I forgot. I’m tired of being stuck on this chapter. 19, 20, and 21 are done. 22 is getting there. 23 is building up. 18 shall fall before me! Why, yes, this post is entirelyContinue reading “Chapter 18 Shall Submit”
Introspection
I swear that I have some sort of sleep disorder. I was tired last night, so I went to bed an hour early. I’m now awake; two and a half hours early. Anyway, this is not about my introspection. It’s about character introspection. Our intrepid squad (although they’re not known as that, yet) has beenContinue reading “Introspection”
Whew! They’re Young!
I’ve been having all sorts of debates with myself about political things, criminal justice, etc… All the things that go horribly sideways after an apocalypse. I just noticed something about my characters’ backstories: They’re all young. This is by-design. It’s also the case in almost all action stories for the same reason I chose it:Continue reading “Whew! They’re Young!”
Who Are These People?
My ensemble cast is growing. I swear I outlined backstories for our four intrepid high school age werewolves (nee football players – an idea stolen from Fire From the Sky and every Army recruiter in the last century). I couldn’t remember who came from where and had what. “Open that backstory file,” I thought toContinue reading “Who Are These People?”
So That’s Why: Economics
I just smashed into a barrier far worse than the magic one, which I could smash with handwavium. I now realize that this is why so many LitRPG books either ditch Earth or rebuild it. I’m writing it as post-apocalypse. The same people are still around in the same places – except the dead ones,Continue reading “So That’s Why: Economics”
Marked Up 