Hey everyone, How are you all doing? So we’ve had an awesome month so far. Our writing sessions have taken place every Thursday and will continue to do so. Some highlights from those include the time we made some monsters and ended up with some political references. Or the time we took some random people, places and events and made a story out of them, causing some severe historical inaccuracies and was a whole lot of fun. In addition, this month was NaNoWriMo which meant some crazy writing times. We’ve even had all-night write-ins to prove how mental we all are. It’s been absolutely crazy but we’ve all done soooo incredibly well. Just remember that if you’ve taken part, no matter how many words you’ve written, it’s still so many more than you would have done otherwise which is absolutely awesome.
So that’s it for this month but we’ve got loads of real awesome stuff coming up for December so please look forward to that.
Feel free to come chat to us in the forums or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/nclwriting) or Twitter (@nclwriting) should you have any questions at all. Happy writing! Salma J
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Hi everyone! Hope you're all having a good week, and those doing NaNoWriMo are still plowing forward. I've got another opinion piece for you. Here. Enjoy! One of the most popular genres for creative writing is fantasy, which brings in a whole host of exciting possibilities, including magic. Now, there’s plenty of resources on the CreSoc website to help you build a magic system for your story, so here I’m just going to briefly talk about possibly the most fundamental trait of your magic, which, if chosen wrongly, could make or break an entire narrative.
Hard mgic vs soft magic. A hard magic system is where the laws and system are fully known and defined, whereas a soft magic system is unknown and mysterious. Soft magic systems are much more common in books and movies, such as “A Song of Ice and Fire” and “Lord of the Rings”, and hard magic is more likely found in tabletop or video games, such as “Warhammer” and “The Elder Scrolls”. Neither of these systems are inherently better – in fact, as a storytelling mechanic, they are incomparable – so long as you know how to use them correctly. Hard magic is the more difficult of the two, due to the large amounts of exposition it requires, but grants a lot more freedom when set up. The main things to remember: limitations and consequences. For each “magical act”, make sure the reader knows the power and the cost before using it. Most people focus on the limitations, but the consequences are where you can really get creative. From the physical (to cast a spell, you require a petal from a rare flower), to the metaphysical (each spell cracks the fabric of reality; if two cracks meet then the universe will shatter), to the psychological (every spell has an affiliated emotion which is drained when it is cast, leaving the most powerful sorcerers as soulless husks who’ve lost the will to live), these can provide many complex and interesting storytelling scenarios. One of the main advantages of a hard magic system is that the magic can be used as a tool by the heroes, to solve problems and overcome obstacles. Take the example of a hero in trouble teleporting away from danger. With a soft magic system, this would seem like deus ex machina, which decreases the threat of any future danger and is generally a lazy way of storytelling. However, if you have previously defined how the teleporting works (only on a full moon, inside a circle of mushrooms, chanting your name backwards, and it kills a random loved one) then the reader will understand how the magic is cast, and the consequences of it. Soft magic can of course be used in your narrative too, but must be approached as one would luck; it can only be used to get your protagonist in trouble, not out of it, or just as superficial tricks which provide no real effect to the narrative, provide a sense of mystery and danger in your fantasy world. And finally, you can mix them. Maybe your magic starts off as a soft system, but as the narrative progresses, the characters slowly learn more and it becomes a hard system. Maybe your heroes use hard magic, but your villains use a stronger soft magic. Whatever you choose, just remember, above all else your story comes first. This blog was heavily inspired by the Brandon Sanderson’s Three Laws of Magic. For the full article and more, visit the Worldbuilding section of the resources. What’s your favourite magic system? Can you think of any particularly interesting uses of hard or soft magic systems? What magic system do you use, and why? Post down in the comments and, until next time, keep writing. Devon Hi everyone!
I was actually writing this at our first Writer’s Date, at Central Bean, on one of their very comfy sofas. We hold these tea/coffee meetings on the last Saturday of every month, (although November's will be on the third week) so make sure you pop along to our next one! We’ve had a very busy October, from writing sessions to workshops, but we’ve got an even busier month to come. November, to many people, means sleepless nights, endless refreshing of word counts, and occasionally shouting at computer screens. In other words, National Novel Writing Month is upon us! To celebrate, and to help those of you who are going for that golden prize of 50,000 words, we’re hosting lots of events, such as write-ins at the Robinson library (our first one is tomorrow, Saturday 5th from 7 'til 7!) and casual socials where you can chat to others about your ideas. There’s also going to be a NaNo awards ceremony at the end of the month to celebrate individual achievements, and we’ll be going for a fun restaurant social afterwards. But don’t worry if you’re not going to be doing NaNoWriMo – these events are welcome for everyone, and we’ll still be hosting the usual writing sessions every week. Remember to check our Facebook (/nclwriting) for events and which rooms we’ll be in for them! Happy writing! Tilly |
Blog posts are written by our committee members, posted regularly! We talk about exciting new ventures, upcoming events and opportunities, as well as the odd writing thoughts and topics we think of!
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