Post Adg4qaRCwtfD5pNLXM by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
(DIR) More posts by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
(DIR) Post #AdfrcPgYpYAcHqT54y by lordjestocost@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T15:34:05+00:00
1 likes, 0 repeats
"Skin in the Game" is near-future, and not much has changed. The tech is mostly stuff we have now, just a little better or used a little differently. It's obvious from the context that "burner cards" are anonymous like cash, "rides" refer to autonomous taxis, etc.Prior to the action of the story, there was a wave of libertarian regulatory reforms that I spare the reader a description of. That tattoo parlor technicians are performing skin grafts indicate that something like this has happened, or the story's set in a universe with a very different regulatory environment.
(DIR) Post #AdfrdDlEeRcPap2WJ6 by asihart@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T15:39:22+00:00
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In WIP it's jus the world as it is, but with the current cultural vibes I detect in the ruling class advanced by a couple years.
(DIR) Post #AdfriCckJ1QjVyRbTU by asihart@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T15:37:39+00:00
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At least it's not the "as you already know..."
(DIR) Post #AdfriGXDlVO5dztFQ0 by sugarthyme@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T15:50:43+00:00
1 likes, 0 repeats
An alien race. The MC specifically doesn't know/remember anything about them, so it's better to leave them an overall mystery. You just have to glean what you can from what little information there is. The MC has to accept this mystery as he himself decides to blow up what's left of any remaining traces, destroying any hope of learning more.
(DIR) Post #AdfriIO4sTGJODcyRc by NSonic79@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T15:57:02+00:00
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In Sherlock Homeboi I don’t describe too much outside of the ghetto. I don’t even name the city they are in or county/state the story takes place at. I want to focus more on the local level vs the larger world.
(DIR) Post #AdfsgrZFCwLjsEjPfs by NSonic79@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T15:57:11+00:00
1 likes, 0 repeats
In Sherlock Homeboi I don’t describe too much outside of the ghetto. I don’t even name the city they are in or county/state the story takes place at. I want to focus more on the local level vs the larger world.
(DIR) Post #Adfw16SdqLsbiezCAC by authorbrookeshaffer@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T16:00:52+00:00
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Most alien physiology. I'll give general descriptors like size, striking features, or any terran animals it may resemble or have characteristics of, but I don't usually bother with detailed descriptions. 1. The reader is not going to remember them, especially if they're one-off mentions. 2. It takes up too much world-building time, especially if they are only one-off mentions. 3. The reader imagining the aliens how they want can help to draw readers in because then it's their own creation.The only aliens that I have set descriptions of are the Borelians, Lixon, Grunjor, Turitians, Korin, Xur, D'Bok, and Kolkath. That out of a few dozen named species and a few thousand implied species. What do the rest look like? I don't know. I don't care. They're big, they're small, they have extra appendages, they have this, don't have that, make of it what you will, it's not important to the task at hand.
(DIR) Post #Adfw2Ck1yiC5UHe2i0 by CodenameWraith@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T16:40:12+00:00
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Magic. As alluded to on a podcast I did a while back with @marquesedliddle, I dislike the idea of magic 'systems', and for the most part think magic should be rooted in mystery and metaphor. Thus my WIP features only a handful of people who use rather limited forms of magic, and I don't intend to explain it in detail as I did in my first book.
(DIR) Post #Adfw6MqgLEoTzcjztY by fumoherder@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T16:44:21+00:00
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Admittedly I'm a bit of an extremist in this regard, but I explain as little as possible about the world-building. Exposition is weak writing. Everything the reader learns about your world should come through the lens of your characters' perception of it. Furthermore, there are certain things your characters will take for granted and that is normal. For example, in 1/1/2029 a prominent location is referred to as "the DEZ." At no point in the novel is that acronym explained because it wouldn't be in real conversation. People don't say, "WTC7, which stands for World Trade Center Building 7, was never hit by an airplane."
(DIR) Post #Adg3LGgOFRrstNylu4 by usagitenshi@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T17:55:55+00:00
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...I can't resist at least giving a LITTLE bit of info on worldbuilding, even if it's not explained fully or scientifically, etc. (like the solar system of my smaller brick. But then, there are plot-relevant reasons to go into it)
(DIR) Post #Adg4oQQBDfDlRprdKa by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T18:23:20+00:00
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Thanks for the shout out.Yeah, magic systems as such start to feel very "game-y" in a bad way the harder the are presented in fiction.I think having a hard system can be fine, but I think the author should hide certain elements of it so that it still feels like magic. After all, even chemistry contains mysteries to an individual chemist who does not have access to the entire body of modern research. And even if he did, he still might cause some reaction he wasn't expecting if he is experimenting (or causes an accident).
(DIR) Post #Adg4qaRCwtfD5pNLXM by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T18:20:14+00:00
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The geography.In the Wand Smoke stories, I built the geography to make some superficial sense, but mostly it is meant to feel fun and fantastical (such as the dragon and hand-shaped landmasses).I'm sure this will bother some hardcore worldbuilders, but I find that time both in research and in writing the text is better spent on details more relevant to the plot and characters. Even small matters of verisimilitude (such as being accurate with something like herbalism) matter a lot more to me than large scale geographical sense, as the characters are even only in one place at a time, and they're concerns are local (e.g. Does this volcanic mountain contain the minerals and metals I'm looking for? not, How likely is it that these specific minerals would end up in this mountain based on geography on Earth).Again, I'm sure if this was something I cared more about, it would bother me, so I get it if the hard world-builders critique that aspect of my work.
(DIR) Post #Adg4zbWAIqmF34zhNA by antonyobeara@www.minds.com
2024-01-09T17:58:57+00:00
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The faeries' connection to the land. I state only that it is a mystery that even the elves do not understand. I thought it would be amusing to leave it at that because it adds an air of mystery to Elvene, the story's primary faerie character.