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Activity for Arcanist Lupus‭

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Answer A: How to eliminate standoff between "Lengthy" vs "Concision"?
> The Comprehensive Rules of Magic is a reference document that holds all of the rules and possible corner cases found in Magic. It is NOT meant to be read beginning to end; instead it's meant to be consulted when specific rules questions come into play. Forward to the Magic: The Gathering Comprehen...
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about 5 years ago
Answer A: To what extent should we fear giving offense?
The problem isn't offense, the problem is harm Words have power. The more people that your words reach, the more power they have. So it becomes important to consider the harm they can do. Perpetuating stereotypes (particularly negative ones), normalizing violent or abusive behaviors, spreading fals...
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about 5 years ago
Answer A: Is it uncompelling to continue the story with lower stakes?
The most important rule is to match the stakes with the promises you've made to the reader You most emphatically do not have to constantly raise the stakes to make a compelling story. As your instincts suggest, switching to more personal stakes can create the same amount of reader investment as high...
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about 5 years ago
Answer A: How can I convince my reader that I will not use a certain trope?
Build on the bones Integrate the body of the evil god into the setting of the story. Its ribs support the pillars of the great church. The crystals formed of its magic are scattered through the world powering steam engines. If a great monster is stabbed through the chest and then falls into the oce...
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over 5 years ago
Answer A: Should I include an appendix for inessential, yet related worldbuilding to my story?
To add a bullet point to Liquid's excellent list: Creating an appendix permanently locks your worldbuilding As long as your worldbuilding only exists in your mind and your notes, you are free to change and adjust it however much you need to. As soon as you publish it it becomes locked in stone, an...
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over 5 years ago
Answer A: What are the components of a legend (in the sense of a tale, not a figure legend)?
Legends are defined by the cultures who created them Legends reflect the values of their culture. Sacred hospitality and the inevitability of fate were popular themes for the Greeks. The Norse Eddas focus on personal sacrifice for power and knowledge several times. Russian fairy tales celebrate kind...
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over 5 years ago
Answer A: How can I make names more distinctive without making them longer?
You're unconsciously limiting yourself within your rules I decided to go to a baby name website and find some real names that fit your restrictions. Anna Amber Amy Audrey Alice Adele Angel Ali April Alma That's just the first first page of A's. And I was skipping anything with th...
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over 5 years ago
Answer A: Should we avoid writing fiction about historical events without extensive research?
Research is vital if you want your story to succeed emotionally Imagine that you're writing a story about a horse race. Your protagonist's horse is in second place, just barely behind their arch-nemesis. Right as they approach the finish line, the protagonist's horse gathers itself for a mighty leap...
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over 5 years ago
Answer A: Problems Blending Sci-fi & Traditional Fantasy?
> Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. - Arthur C Clarke There's a reason that science fiction and fantasy are frequently shelved together - separating the two is usually a fools errand. The Dragonriders of Pern features a preindustrial society where flying, firebre...
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over 5 years ago
Answer A: Character is an expert on something I'm not
Ask an expert. Obviously, research is an important first step. But there's only a finite amount of research you can do, and without intimate knowledge of the subject, you have no way of knowing whether the research you're doing is the right research. So find an expert, and convince them to be a bet...
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almost 6 years ago
Answer A: Should I write my story if I haven't established a plot?
Write first, ask questions later. The best way to understand your story is to write it. This means that sometimes you need to put words on the page before you know where those words will take you. That's okay. The process of telling your story will give you what you need to finish it. The thought o...
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almost 6 years ago
Answer A: How do I draw attention to a girl's chest without making it overly lewd?
Portray the emotions of your viewpoint character. In general, when using a limited viewpoint you should only be describing the details that your viewpoint character notices. And how you describe a detail should depend on how they notice it. Is your viewpoint character jealous? Is she sympathetic? A...
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almost 6 years ago
Answer A: Can dream reveals make good climaxes for a POV’s internal struggle?
My two favorite depictions of nightmares in fiction are the Nightmare Song in Iolanthe and Harry's nightmare in Sorcerer's Stone: > Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell’s turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he had t...
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about 6 years ago
Answer A: What should I do if I can't properly formulate the personality of one of my characters in my novel?
Write from their POV This is basically the same solution as everyone else has provided, and can actually be combined with most of them. Pick a scene - be it an out of world interview, or a scene you've already written, or a story from the character's past, and write that story from the point of view...
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about 6 years ago
Answer A: Where do I start with C++ documentation?
Find a style guide and stick with it. Style guides are more than just comments - they cover all parts of your code from how you name your variables to how you structure your code. Good style guides are designed to keep your code as maintainable as possible, with an emphasis on readability. There ar...
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over 6 years ago
Answer A: "Calm" vs Adventurous Main Protagonist
Story is driven by conflict. Conflict is driven by character desires. Conflict is a struggle between a character who wants something and the things that are preventing them from getting what they want. If a character has nothing that they want, then there isn't anything to put them in conflict about...
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over 6 years ago
Answer A: Where can I find resources for bedtime story plots?
You're looking for a random story generator There are lots of those on the internet. The first one I found Plot Generator. It gave me quite a few prompts that weren't child-suitable, but I hit gold when I randomly generated a Fantasy Blurb. > Garth Butterscotch, the Troll > A Fantasy Novel > by...
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over 6 years ago
Answer A: What are the advantages and disadvantages to changing the POV in the second and third books of a trilogy?
It depends on your character arcs Switching POVs to a secondary character is actually incredibly common in romance series. Each book completes the romantic arc of a single couple, and then the sequels pick up secondary characters from the earlier novels and give them romantic arcs as well. There are...
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over 6 years ago
Answer A: How can a "rip-off" still be good?
The thing about originality is that originality is judged from the reader perspective. A reader will only consider a story a retread if it's similar to one they already know. You see this effect particularly strongly in YA novels, because young children, almost by definition, tend to be less well r...
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over 6 years ago
Answer A: How does a person go about describing a place/experience that they never personally experienced before, like a circus?
Find good Beta Readers It would be lovely if you had the time to become an expert in all the various different facets of life which are involved in your story. But you don't. Nobody has time for that, and you have a story to write. So do as much research as you can, fill in the blanks as best as pos...
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almost 7 years ago
Answer A: Should mystery stories have resolutions?
There's a concept that I'm rather fond of regarding story resolution called " promises to the reader" The idea is that every story promises things to the readers, and failing to fulfill those promises will leave the readers unsatisfied. These promises come from a variety of places - the title, the g...
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almost 7 years ago
Answer A: Is it wrong if I kill off a black character?
Killing a minority character isn't a problem in itself. The problem is that western media (particularly film) has a long tradition of killing of minority characters and leaving white protagonists to complete the plot. It is a habit that is rooted in racism, and not one that you want to add weight to ...
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almost 7 years ago
Answer A: Using fake swear words without them seeming out of place to the reader
Fake swear words are a staple, particularly in otherworld fantasy and science fiction. But most of the fake swear words that I can think of are real words, just not ones that are typically used as swear words. This is fairly realistic to real life, too. If you think about it, the word 'bitch' doesn't...
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almost 7 years ago
Answer A: Effective hero journeys that don't kill the villain?
Short answer : No, you do not need to kill the villain. Long answer: The hero's journey is an archetypal path that many stories use to show the growth and progress of their main character. This page provides several different descriptions of what exactly the journey entails. If you read through al...
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about 7 years ago