Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi → The Colorless Dragon Thread
Seems like this project is going to be on hold for a bit. I've been writing little scenes here and there, but I think my current skills as a writer don't quite match up to the scope of the story that I want to cover. I'm going to try working on smaller projects for a while and see how that goes. 
Well, you know best. Since I'm pretty centered on my own story, I'm letting hard bits idle while I work on other parts. Regardless, I'll be eager to read your story as it comes.
Thank you! I really appreciate all the feedback you've given, NJC. It's helped to improve my writing. Hopefully I can get back to this project here soon.
If we can help you with those, well, don't forget we're here.
I won't. In fact, I might post some of my side projects here in the meantime. I've been having difficulties with story structure/plot, so I'm going to try writing a simpler story and see how that goes. I've also been reading The Secrets of Story and random articles on outlines, etc., which has also been helping.
Just keep writing, Elisha. Put random thoughts into text and you can come back to it later. I initially started with a lot of disparate elements hanging from the plot like sausages. In the middle, I mentally wrote, "And something happens here." Later, I filled in the spaces, and then just kept writing in continuity.
But don't use the break to stop writing. Otherwise, you might not start again. So tell us short stories about your characters and make them vignettes. They don't have to work into the plot. Just do character work.
You could also use the time to build your backstory/history. Write some Tolkeinesque appendices, Don't worry if you need to revise them later.
(I've just found a use in my current chapter for writing three or four levels above my abilities. I'll give it a try anyway. It's one of a number of things to get right. I need to work out some geography, and I'll have to make some little edits to the chapter recently posted.)
Is it too coincidental to have all three royally-descended siblings develop magical gifts? I recently came up with a mechanic to the magic that fits some of my characters absolutely perfectly and makes sense of the villain's intentions. It makes sense of a good portion of the plot, too. Problem is, if I implement this mechanic in the way that I'm thinking, then all three Rosenward children who just happen to survive the massacre of their family, also happen to develop arcane gifts. Not just any arcane gifts, either, but rare gifts in all three cases. I could pull the "magic runs in royal blood" card, but it doesn't feel like enough. My OCD is exploding with the coincidences here.
FYI, to battle the coincidence of all three siblings surviving the massacre, I did have 2-3 brothers in mind that did not survive. Also, some rather distant members of the family survived, as well.
Add some backstory, maybe a royal gift tthat appears with a certain comfiguration of siblings ... and write a legend about it. Then the separated children slowly come to understand ... and maybe there is an epiphany in there ... and maybe even a prophecy.
I magical gifts run in the family, then it isn't odd that they would develop gifts at all. However, this requires that the parents have these gifts as well, so breeding true makes sense.
I would have the massacre be obscured by one of the parents blowing up or destroying the scene. If the kids were present when the family got cornered, then you have one parent hold the line while the other parent arranges their escape. So when the dad (for example) self-destructs, there is no evidence that the kids survived.
Is it too coincidental to have all three royally-descended siblings develop magical gifts? I recently came up with a mechanic to the magic that fits some of my characters absolutely perfectly and makes sense of the villain's intentions. It makes sense of a good portion of the plot, too. Problem is, if I implement this mechanic in the way that I'm thinking, then all three Rosenward children who just happen to survive the massacre of their family, also happen to develop arcane gifts. Not just any arcane gifts, either, but rare gifts in all three cases. I could pull the "magic runs in royal blood" card, but it doesn't feel like enough. My OCD is exploding with the coincidences here.
FYI, to battle the coincidence of all three siblings surviving the massacre, I did have 2-3 brothers in mind that did not survive. Also, some rather distant members of the family survived, as well.
Very good points, thanks! NJC, I originally had a legend/prophecy going for these three characters (that's actually how the story got started), but I could never manage to write it down in any way that I even remotely liked. If I don't have enough reason at the end of my first draft, though, that seems like an easy thing to slip in.
Amy, that's a good idea, though it would require a slight rewrite of Rylan's castle-escape scene (currently Ch. 99). I say "slight" since the Dragons' association with Arcane energy was not known at the time and Dragons can amplify Arcanist powers significantly. (like having a trickling waterfall of energy vs. Niagara Falls) So, parents wouldn't be as powerful as their children or the villain.
Thanks for wrinkling out these kinks. See what happens when I put a project on hold? I get a cold splash if ideas straight to the face. I should do this more often.
Anyone know a good reference for medieval-esque thievery? I only have two similar examples in my collection, but one is more of a con-artist, and the other is a magical assassin. Neither option is quite what I'm looking for. One of the chapters I got stuck on was a complete rewrite of Maya's intro-scene, but from Vierra's PoV. This way, the action starts much earlier with stealing an item from the Empress rather than randomly going through Maya's boring day. Still ends with Maya's arrest, though.
Of course the violent and premature deaths of the parents might play a part in it (Lily Potter).
Thieving books or thieving movies? Personally, I like the series Leverage. Everyone there is a crook, just with different specialties. Oceans 11. The Original. The Italian Job (original version)
Thieving books or thieving movies? Personally, I like the series Leverage. Everyone there is a crook, just with different specialties. Oceans 11. The Original. The Italian Job (original version)
I love Leverage. That's more of a con, but what crazy-blondie does is exactly what I'm aiming for. Straight stealing. I suppose a very simple con would work, but even still, I have no clue how to write it. I feel like I need to write every step the character takes, but I also feel like that's the wrong way to go about it. Maybe I'm thinking too hard (like usual).
To explain, Vierra and Merrin need to steal an item from a merchant or trader's home\shop with well-trained guards nearby. Vierra is a messenger, so I kind of want to use her uniform, and Merrin has silent steps (Elf thing, explained later) so that's great, but these two characters are still just teenagers and I don't want them to feel like experts at the craft. Of course, they are seen on the way out, but I still have to get them in the home\building and steal the item.
So they are scared and we see they've never done anything like this?
They need to come up with a plan.
Some part of the plan needs to change. A door is locked that shouldn't be. A guard is present who should be. The characters must adapt.
The girls enter into the danger zone, where they are committed.
The secure the item.
One more thing goes wrong. They must adapt again or be caught. Something must be sacrificed. A glove left behind...a shoe...a fingerprint...an irresistable need to leave a calling card? The clue left behind will later come back to haunt them since this is the first time they've used their abilities and therefore can't think of everything.
They succeed.
It's kinda formulaic, but you get the idea. It gives you a launching pad and then the story can happen around the structure.
I wouldn't say they are scared. It's not the first time they've done it, but it is the first time they've done it with such high stakes and for such an important item.
Good point, Amy. I think I've got the structure of it sorted out, it's just the implementation that's going to be difficult. Oh, well. I'll write it out and see what happens. Maybe I'll even finish it enough to post it here.
Why shouldn't they be scared? What are the consequences of failure? When things go wrong, or seem to, do they learn new fear and new courage?
The consequences if they are caught would be imprisonment, slavery, and/or the loss of a few fingers. So, yes, I suppose they would be scared, but the way I pictured it in my head when you first said the word didn't feel right. To clarify, they are scared, but they also believe in what they're doing and neither of them is a timid character by any means. Vierra and Merrin are probably the least timid of all my characters, excluding the dragons.
The fear that drives the mountaineer, then? And when things go wronger than usual?
Adventure without risk loses the reader. They can be tense, or stressed, but those are reactions to fear. Be careful not to make your characters too powerful. This is the biggest robbery they've done so far? The stakes are high. Recognize the fact.
You might also do something that shapes or foreshadows the future plot.
I saw Marvel's Dr. Strange last night. There is a lot of symbolism built into the Dr.'s wristwatches. Don't pay more than three bucks, but go see it to see what I mean.
Imcidentally, the display with the rotating watched should be set vertically. It's purpose is to keep 'self-winding' watches wound. Rotation in the horizontal plane will not move the internal winding pendulums.
Thanks for all the advice, guys. Sorry for being so inactive lately. Hopefully I'll get some writing and reviews done this week.
In other news, looks like I'm going to be working on a project in Germany in a few weeks. Not sure if this will help or hinder my writing goals, but we'll see how it goes. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll have a day or so to actually explore something other than the harbor I'm working at.
Guten Morgen aus Deutschland! I've been working on a few side projects, but managed to poke TCD a bit here and there, as well. Since I got book one all outlined, I'm half-tempted to expand my outline and make bare-bones chapters from it. How do you guys go from outline to first draft? Do you expand on what's already there, or write the chapter from scratch with the outline as a guide?
half-tempted to expand my outline and make bare-bones chapters from it
Do it!
Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi → The Colorless Dragon Thread
