The State of the Chronicles, August 2010

We continued to respond to fantasy rants, and I'm hoping for an update on The Video Game soon.

Thanks to all that read and support the blog

How Gemsinger Holds #79: Balancing the Story

1. Nothing will go on for pages and pages without a very good reason

2. Characters are more than flies on the wall

3. I will pick a viewpoint that suits the story

4. Every character will have their own voice

5. There will be pauses to calm down after exciting parts

6. Outlines are not set in stone, they can be added to, deleted from, or rearranged at any time

How Gemsinger Holds #78: Non Heroic Kids

1. Shokiyan kids are not, in limyaael's words, Cute Monsters, nor are they Mini Grad Students

2. Kids will not handle a journey THAT well

3. Kids will be treated with respect and dignity

4. They are not a Love Cure, either

5. They will be more than ciphers and reflections on innocence

How Gemsinger Holds #77: Islands

1. Any island will have some source of fresh water, whether or not it's already there, or Miresa and co. have to get it themselves.

2. There will be food on the island.

3. Not every island is tropical (but the ones that are not are too cold to sustain human life)

4. Shokiyan islands have a connection to the outside world.

5. I will research how people get off the island

How Gemsinger Holds #76: Spunky vs. Annoying

1. I will show Miresa's spunk, not tell it.

2. Miresa will not be part of the Sexist Scene (tm) (eg. being told she can't do X because she's a girl)

3. I will concentrate on the good side of being spunky

4. Her good qualities have got her in trouble before

5. She will be countered by someone

How Gemsinger Holds #75: Fleshing Out Supporting Roles

1. Secondary characters will act consistently with their own motivations

2. Just because I have a stock party does not mean the party members will be playing stock party roles.

3. They will react and play off one another.

4. The party is more than a passive mirror

5. We won't know everything about the party

How Gemsinger Holds #74: Money and greed

1. Mercenaries will act as such.

2. Soldier's pay will be put in play.

3. Smuggling will be handled realistically (Miresa and co. won't be doing it, but they will see others doing it

4. The party will find hidden economic motivations.

5. Merchants do have a right to care about their cash.

How Gemsinger holds #73: How to Discretely Put Myself In the Story

1. While I will be drawing on my experiences for plot points, Miresa will not experience them like I did.

2. I will adhere to "Write what you know, and research what you don't"

3. Flaws will have their place in the story

4. Only those experiences of mine that might fit in the plot will be used.

5. Miresa does not hinge on one aspect of me.

6. I will use aspects of myself as starting points to build a character

How Gemsinger Holds #72: Stubbron vs. annoying

1. I will explain why Miresa is stubbron.

2. Different people will have different reactions to her stubbronness.

3. Sometimes her stubbroness is a flaw

4. Miresa will not conveniently give in because the plot said so

How Gemsinger holds #71: Getting the plot going

1. I am planning how personalities meld and clash

2. I am planning the incendiary (which is Halliwen in Miresa's case)

3. There will be others keeping an eye on Miresa's journey besides the demon lord.

4. The ripple effect doesn't have to stop

5. Shokiyu does not revolve around Miresa at all

How Gemsinger Holds #70: Neutral Characters

1. Miresa does not run into or need the Helpful Stranger

2. What strangers she dos meet will care about her

3. Aquaintence=/=friend

4. Neutrality does lead to some friendships

5. On the other side of the coin, not every relationship will deepen

How Gemsinger Holds #69: Making Protagonists Heroes

1. Special talents do not a hero make.

2. Miresa is not meant to play just one role in the story.

3. Miresa will survive her suffering

4. I will put my own spin on fantasy tropes, if not do away with some altogether.

Bradlin's new class

Since some of you have said Bradlin's class is too stereotypical of an RPG, would it make more sense if he was a warrior? Or something completely different altogether?

How Gemsinger Holds #68: Astronomy

1. I will be mindful of moon phases (although the Shokiyan moon is similar to our moon)

2. The moon does not rise at the same time every night--time of year, weather, phase, and location will be taken into account

3. Solstices and equinoxes are not just for parties (although the only ones that get a party are the solstices, but they are not the reason for said party)

4. Shokiyu will have its own constellations and stories behind them.

5. I will keep the heavens in mind when designing a calendar

How Gemsinger Holds #67: Villains

1. I'll admit I'm guilty to the "inner beauty" concept, but Katva does have a beautiful human form, and can assume a number of other forms to tempt people.

2. Katva is smarter than you think.

3. Katva deserves and will get sympathy--he may be a demon lord, and he may have tried to destroy the world a few billion times, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't get sympathy.

4. Katva and his minions have just as powerful spells as the party does.

5. Katva will not be done in by mere chance--he takes precautions when he senses a Gemsinger awakening

6. Katva and the other demons think getting their own world is great, and they don't see their plan as evil.

7. The moral standards will be the same for hero and villian alike

How Gemsinger Holds #66: Weather

1. Weather will behave realistically except when under the influence of magic.

2. Once I start a storm, it won't magically clear up three lines later--unless there's a very good reason.

3. I will keep the consequences of weather realistic too.

4. Weather does affect armies

5. The party will be prepared for all kinds of weather.

6. The weather helps the party on occasion

7. I will keep weather in mind when designing non-human housing

8. Geography will affect weather

How Gemsinger Holds #65: Keeping Distance

1. Miresa may be the most important character to me, but not to the rest of the world of Shokiyu.

2. I will not play deus ex machina in any form

3. I will stay true to the world I've created

4. If I can't go for sympathy, I'll at least try for empathy

5. I will be careful with the omniscient view

6. I will be careful with how much I DON'T show

How Gemsinger Holds #64: Occupations

1. I'm not sure what Miresa's family will be yet, but it isn't a servant or a spy (it could be a merchant, but I'm not 100% sure yet)

2. I will not infodump in monologues about anything.

3. Miresa will have to earn the squeeing.

4. The job will be part of the plot.

5. I will keep in mind the job's limits.

6. Miresa actually works better in a group, and usually has at least one other person with her.

How Gemsinger Holds #63: Dreams

1. Meaningful dreams will actually have consequences.

2. Dreams will be used for a very good reason.

3. I will use more than italics when writing dream sequences

4. Dreams will not be the only means of getting info

5. I will be careful with nightmares too

How Gemsinger Holds #62: Spying

Since a critical plot point of book 1 is exposing a false Gemsinger, Miresa and co. will do a little spying to uncover the plot. Having said that...

1. Just because Miresa has talent doesn't mean she will have the skill of a veteran spy (or veteran anything) overnight.

2. She will not be the only one that knows a thing or two about spying

3. We will see the gang sift through information (and likely find some red herrings)

4. Miresa will have reasonable tools to help

5. I will keep danger as well as cool in mind

6. I will include precautions that are actually precautions.

How Gemsinger Holds #61: Explanations and metaphors

1. I will make sure my descriptions sound as good as they look.

2. I will KISS--Keep It Simple, Silly!

3. I will say what I mean and mean what I say.

4. I will not confuse my audience with a metaphor

5. I will be mindful and be careful with cliches

6. I will be sure my millions of details don't contradict each other

How Gemsinger Holds #60: The Hunt

1. I will keep in mind what can and cannot be eaten.

2. I will be mindful of what crossbreeds I can't have.

3. You will see the work that goes into prepping the meat.

4. For the most part, the animal's senses are better.

5. I will do the research on medieval style hunting.

6. The party isn't picky

How Gemsinger Holds #59: Ceremony

1. I will be mindful of titles

2. I acknowledge that dresses are awkward--hence why Miresa never wears one.

3. Miresa's clothing will suit the occassion

4. I will also be mindful of smoke

5. The luxuries availiable will depend on the realm's wealth.

6. The hiearchy of manners will be considered too.

How Gemsinger Holds #58: Ordinary Heroes

1. I will show, not tell

2. I will let Miresa tell the story

3. Her faults will be displayed and acknowledged

4. Beauty alone will not a good character make.

5. Characterization will not take a back seat to her magic.

How Gemsinger Holds #57: Long Novels

1. There will be plenty of subplot interaction.

2. Not every character gets equal screentime.

3. I will take any opportunity to hint at a vater pattern.

4. I will choose what plot aspects to emphasize

5. I will not make the story a Byzantium novel.

How Gemsinger Holds #56: Conversations

1. I will avoid "As you know, Bob" speeches if I can.

2. I will be careful to avoid repeating myself too many times.

3. Miresa will get her chance to say something important--sometimes even blurting it out.

4. I will not confuse bickering and banter.

5. I will keep outside circumstances in mind when writing a conversation.

6. I will summarize what already been said if I have to repeat it more than twice

How Gemsinger Holds #55: How NOT to Write a Heroine

1. Miresa's treatment will be consistent with other girls and women in the world.

2. Miresa is valorized more for how she grows up mentally and spiritually, not physically.

3. Miresa's adventure is not my soapbox.

4. I will try to avoid cliched dialogue about Miresa can't do X because she's a girl.

How Gemsinger Holds #54: Lord of the Rings Cliches

1. Not every kingdom is medieval style on Shokiyu (The avri lands, for example, are based on ancient China and Japan)

2. My evil lord has reasons and justifications for destroying the world.

3. Miresa is actually saving the spirits that guard her world, not just any old set of magic gems.

4. Everyone has their reasons for joining Miresa.

5. While I do have elves, dwarves, and orcs in our adventure, I try to put my own spin on them.

6. Miresa is in no way a perfect heroine (as I've said before)

How Gemsinger Holds #53: Pacing

1. Ordinary events will be described like ordinary events.

2. If the journey is short and nothing happens on the way, we'll skip it.

3. Flashback will be just as interesting as the main plot.

4. I will avoid infodumps when I can and scatter my description throughout.

5. Things will be happening in the middle.

6. The climax will not be cheap.

How Gemsinger Holds #52: The Epic

1. I will not be describing pieces of grass in excruciating detail unless said pieces of grass are important.

2. There will be plenty happening on the way.

3. The only backstory you hear about directly is the main party, and even then, we don't discuss it for 300 pages.

4. I will not introduce new characters and plots out of nowhere.

How Gemsinger Holds #51: Dynamic Characters

1. Miresa's actions and reactions will change.

2. Other character's reactions to her will change.

3. The whole point of the quest is to show her learning and mastering her powers.

4. She will not be chained by my worldbuilding