Day Twelve: The Speculative Element

Every day this grows to require more time. Also, I’m coming up with stuff I don’t want to share, as it will ruin the story when you read it (as I certainly hope you will.) So I’m going to stop posting this after today. I’ll continue with the world-building eventually, but for right now…it’s time to stop.

Also, starting Saturday I’ll be going through His Faithful Squire for a final AAHHH!! edit before the manuscript goes to approvers for the August publication date. So if you’re one of my betas and you haven’t got Rafe back to me, get on it, will you? 😉

Right, so. Here is the PDF in case you didn’t grab it yet.

Write down the snippets and images that you already know you want in your story. Someof these might be things you have already decided on as convenience items– a faster-than-light drive, maybe, or telepathy; things you want in there to help drive the plot forward and eliminate certain inconveniences as a storyteller. Just remember that these convenience items are always available; it’s implausible to have the space-time drive fail just when the hero needs it, and these things ought to be available to the villain, too, just so your heroes are playing on a level field.

Next, ask yourself the hard questions. “What if?” What if my society could talk to each other instantaneously? What would that do to them? Would that change my plot? What if you could make yourself invisible? Would that require magic, or technology, or both– and how would you do it with either?

Let me just say I think that “when the hero needs it” is a great time to have the space-time drive fail. And that a level playing field is a bad idea–things should be weighted heavily against your protagonist for maximum fun.

But that’s just my opinion. Onward!

So…we have magic. Humans work in quick magic. You’ll never see a Vral cast a spell! And dwarves make magic items? Yeah, the purpose of dwarves is to make things, but using magic was forbidden. So a dwarf can be a mage-smith in good conscience. And they will.

Pixies can work small magics–annoyances. Can charm animals. Stuff like that. They’re entertainment.

Gremlins fade into the background. May have a bit of magic in that, but it’s mostly chameleon-like skin. Very quick–don’t live long. They were meant to be servants–unobtrusive.

Vral work long magics. They are fixing things from the Devastation, where fixing = what they want. They don’t much care if humans are trying to live on those mountains they are dealing with to bring rain to that desert where nomadic peoples do just fine.

Hmm…seems like I need a farmer/herder type race. Did I have notes for that?

Oh! Tolor is a priest-mage. His magic doesn’t come from his god; it’s an ability he had, trained in his student days. It makes him a more-desired acolyte, but it’s not part of his priesthood.

Every magic item was made for someone. Every last one has a history. This will make things more ~interesting.

I say again…bwahahahahaaa.