(Yay! This is my 60th post. We’re also on the threshold of 5,000 hits. What a milestone on both counts. Thanks, all! ^_^)

Before I get too much further with writing scenes, I’d like to talk a little bit more about plot structure.

The plot is an unruly beast. There are many theories as to why a story works, or how to combine various elements to make the “ultimate plot combination”. The number of possible plot types is hotly debated, but it’s a growing list. We’re not talking about some sacred list that only adds a new plot once every 1000 years; Something like sixteen more have been added just within the last 100 years. So don’t listen to those old codgers that claim ‘everything under the sun has been done’, just like how inventors in the past always managed to invent new things, despite their stuffy compatriots claiming everything under the sun had already been invented. You CAN write something new.

Anyway, I feel lucky to have stumbled upon what I feel is a cool trick to writing good plots. (If it’s widely known info, forgive me. It’s definitely not widely known at my on-line stomping grounds, nor is it mentioned in any of my ‘how-to’ reading materials.)

But before I talk about that, I want to reiterate something->
I’m sure you’ve all seen Syd Field’s three-act plot structure. But just in case you haven’t, here they are (in my own words): Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, I’m aware of the bad grammar of the title ^_^;

“At the beginning of next month, I’ll see if I can’t get this sucker published in a real magazine.”

Well, it’s the beginning of next month, and indeed, we shall see.

As you may recall, I’ve tried to get a few things published in the past but they all were met with failure. My first attempt was entering my first short story, ‘An Escape from Reality’, in a contest at my college back in late March.

When submitting something, I guess you have to follow the directions exactly or your work’ll end up somewhere far worse than a slush-pile.

Rules were: Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, I’m aware of the bad grammar of the title ^_^;

“At the beginning of next month, I’ll see if I can’t get this sucker published in a real magazine.”

Well, it’s the beginning of next month, and indeed, we shall see.

As you may recall, I’ve tried to get a few things published in the past but they all were met with failure. My first attempt was entering my first short story, ‘An Escape from Reality’, in a contest at my college back in late March.

When submitting something, I guess you have to follow the directions exactly or your work’ll end up somewhere far worse than a slush-pile.

Rules were: Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, I’m aware of the bad grammar of the title ^_^;

“At the beginning of next month, I’ll see if I can’t get this sucker published in a real magazine.”

Well, it’s the beginning of next month, and indeed, we shall see.

As you may recall, I’ve tried to get a few things published in the past but they all were met with failure. My first attempt was entering my first short story, ‘An Escape from Reality’, in a contest at my college back in late March.

When submitting something, I guess you have to follow the directions exactly or your work’ll end up somewhere far worse than a slush-pile.

Rules were: Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, I’m aware of the bad grammar of the title ^_^;

“At the beginning of next month, I’ll see if I can’t get this sucker published in a real magazine.”

Well, it’s the beginning of next month, and indeed, we shall see.

As you may recall, I’ve tried to get a few things published in the past but they all were met with failure. My first attempt was entering my first short story, ‘An Escape from Reality’, in a contest at my college back in late March.

When submitting something, I guess you have to follow the directions exactly or your work’ll end up somewhere far worse than a slush-pile.

Rules were: Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, I’m aware of the bad grammar of the title ^_^;

“At the beginning of next month, I’ll see if I can’t get this sucker published in a real magazine.”

Well, it’s the beginning of next month, and indeed, we shall see.

As you may recall, I’ve tried to get a few things published in the past but they all were met with failure. My first attempt was entering my first short story, ‘An Escape from Reality’, in a contest at my college back in late March.

When submitting something, I guess you have to follow the directions exactly or your work’ll end up somewhere far worse than a slush-pile.

Rules were: Read the rest of this entry »

If it wasn’t obvious enough from my previous post, I decided to go with a third-person perspective for my novel. Third-person seems to fit the high fantasy genre almost too well, allowing the writer to write from varying points of view, and even allowing usage of an omniscient voice if the need should ever arise. Plus, it allows the writer to portray scenarios from varying distances and degrees of emotional pitch. It is not illegal to switch into second or first-person, either (But it’s usually a bad idea to do that unless it is intrinsic to the story).

I’m sure you’ve read that audiences typically identify with the characters that populate your world on a much more intimate level than they ever could with the scenarios you create for them, but that doesn’t mean you should short-change great characters with a mediocre plot. I decided I wanted to try and create a story worthy of my characters – one that would plunge each character into the sheer heights and morbid depths of their emotions.
Masashi Kishimoto, the (then) 19 year-old creator of Naruto said in an interview that, in order to make a plot more engaging, each event must follow its own specific set of rules. If that’s the case, the characters end up having to work within those limitations coupled with their own built-in flaws, and the plot itself becomes more identifiable.

The world also has to follow such rules.
As far as I can tell, creating a world is just a declaration of different rules. The more your list grows, the more your world transforms into something tangible and organic.

When people say world building is like ‘playing God’, they aren’t kidding. If you want your people to eat flowers around a waterfall cascading from a mysterious magical pot, suspended in midair, down a gaping hole in the center of your planet, then it becomes so. For me, weilding the power of pure unbridled creation felt like unsure footing; it was hard to just declare things about my world with any certainty. But I think the trick is, you should try to make all of your rules have a sort of synergy. Each new rule must cooperate with what you’ve already declared to reinforce the atmosphere of the world you are trying to build.

Here’s a few for my world: Read the rest of this entry »