Starting a book

[DarthTofu]

I dunno... Some fantasy authors choose to create their own religions- Stackpole for one, and will change their fantasy to mythology by inserting these gods in as key players. Heck, if you read the Christopher Paolini book Eldest (Not a bad fantasy novel, but painfully corny) you will come across a brief referance to atheistm which he apparently whole-heartedly supports for some of the reasons I do- so kudos to Paolini, there!

[Aenivae_Ikeda]

How is Eldest corny? The whole cycle is a great fantasy cycle, and Eldest rocks something else!

[DarthTofu]

I never said the over-all story was corny- I'm a huge fan of the books, 'samatter o' fact. Some lines just come out painfully corny, such as Eragon's communication with Saphira and such. In addition there is the whole "Applause continued for ten minutes after he made his statement" line of two in which all that he's done is say, "Hey, my dragon says she can fix the really big gem that got broken... Sorry 'bout that, by the way!" The story itself is awesomely cool- cool enough to put him on the list of people who I'm sueing for keeping me up 'till past 3 AM reading on a school night when I still have homework to do. I'm just saying that he has a few writing-style issues.

[Aenivae_Ikeda]

Okay I can see what you mean there. I find it a little corny in that the civilians join the battle via the warship that isn't really a warship... But yeah. They're good books though, I can't wait for number three to come out.

[DarthTofu]

Okay, finally read it- not bad, a bit odd coming from a first-third person view, though it is unique and somewhat refreshing... I like the famine thing- sort of brings into controversy if he's really that bad or if he just was starving and needed the food.

I would like to see something displaying how one's weight is affected via the magic- IE the amount burned with each spell, say, whether it's the complexity, what is actually happening, the amount of energy release, etc. that determines how much weight you lose... This would work great in America-

 

"I lost twenty pounds in one day with the mage's diet- we're finally kicking those suicide bombers' asses! WOOHOO!"

[Master_Xan]

I'm going to keep religion out of my writings, for several reasons. First off, I don't want to come across as preachy, which means I can't put in my own religion. Second, I don't know that I could write about people believing in a religion that I myself don't agree with (call it a side effect of believing my own religion so much). I could make up a religion, but it would end up having too many similarities to Mormonism, so I might as well make the characters Mormon... bringing me back to reason number one.

 

In other novels though, it does introduce an interesting element. I like the religious issues that come up in the Wheel of Time books (the White Cloaks), as an example.

 

If you wanted to know more about the fat-burning magic system, you'd have to read the book I based that short off of... the link is up there somewhere. If I recall, it wasn't how complicated the spell was that determined the amount of energy required, that only affected who was talented enough to pull the spell off. You burned more fat for more energy-intensive spells (which is why I had my mage use a life-drain spell to supply the energy for fireballs, otherwise he would have had to be more conservative in how many fireballs he cast).

 

The view point is something I've yet to master. I can't seem to figure out exactly how to word things to get the best effect, partially because I don't even know the definitions of various view points well enough to really use them in my own writing. This is actually my biggest fear in writing a book; that I won't get the view point correct and end up with something that's either confusing, keeps switching view points, or just plain weird.

 

(And I agree, if this were real it would make a few billionaires in America as they sell it as a diet... we might even get to be close to normal weight! But then we'd feel fine eating more... hmm, that could be bad.)

[Mad78]

Is the book advancing MX?

[Master_Xan]

Somewhat. I'm still exploring alternative magic systems, something that would free me from the post-apoc world. But I'm running out of ideas I like, so I did set up the timeframe for the book if I went ahead with what it currently is, setting up the plot basics and so forth. All very rough mind you, but enough that I could start writing the actual novel at any time. Although I'm trying to figure out view points before that, so I'm considering writing a few shorts first for practice (or maybe even expanding on the short I posted above).

[DarthTofu]

As far as magic goes, here's an idea- what if there are naturally occuring loocations where magic can be 'harvested'? Sounds a bit like an RPG topic, I know, but follow me through- the more powerful (IE better shape) you are in, the more you can withstand. It is exceedingly painful to stand in the naturally occuring magic, and can kill one if they stay near it for too long. The animals surrounding it are acceptionally hard to kill as only those strong enough to withstand the magic's force survived, and have altered themselves without meaning to do so. Just a thought- that way you have a certain amount of magic that you can release, the only issue is that you will pretty much always have to collect more. Thus you really don't have fat magicians or anyone solely devoted to being a magicer- instead they must be well-rounded in all forms of combat in case they run out of magick, as well as to keep in good shape. Just a thought.

[Master_Xan]

Hmm... I don't like the idea as you propose it, but I do like the spinoffs that are forming in my head... if I use something along those lines in my book, and by a miracle it does get published, am I going to get sued by you?

[Mitth_raw_nuruodo]

He's 15 Xan. By the time he turns 18 he will have forgotten he gave you said idea.

[DarthTofu]

Hmm... I don't like the idea as you propose it, but I do like the spinoffs that are forming in my head... if I use something along those lines in my book, and by a miracle it does get published, am I going to get sued by you?

 

Feel free to use them- I won't sue... But I do have a long memory, Mitth. I've been known to get back at people months after they commited their offense!

[Mitth_raw_nuruodo]

I've been known to get back at people months after they commited their offense!

Months Tofu? You impatient pup. Give them a year, or better yet, two. Then they completely drop their guard. THAT is when you strike.

[DarthTofu]

Ah, but you forget, I change my timing to suit my audiance. With some mere hours shall suffice. With others it will be weeks, others months, others full years...

[Mitth_raw_nuruodo]

I guess that is acceptable then...

 

BTW: Post #625!!!!! I'm a COMMODORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Master_Xan]

:Salute:

 

Ok, I'm just going to go with the post-apoc side of things and see how it turns out. Remember, I'm not really trying to make something publishable, merely something I like. To that end, lets see what you think of the real history (remember I posted previously the commonly believed history; here's what really happened. You might remember parts of it from when I explained the 'magic system'). Yes, its long. It is going to be a book after all

 

Actual History: Isaac Newton predicted the world would end in the year 2060. As the date approached, the world’s political climate was strained with America in decline and China having annexed Japan (on top of their previous annexation of other territories). With tension mounting over the Middle East’s development of nuclear weapons, fear rose that Newton was actually right, and nuclear war would actually end life on Earth. To prevent it, nuclear weapons were used in pinpoint strikes against the Middle East… only to escalate into the nuclear war that they were trying to prevent. A second “Black Plagueâ€

[Mitth_raw_nuruodo]

Sounds great Xan. Keep it coming.