C's Writing Thoughts Dump

Hi! I'm Cass, but you can call me C. I'm an unpublished fantasy author, and this is my writing blog. In my 20's, live in the US, she/they/it multigender transfem. Check out my actual writing at https://cmaxwrites.com/

[cmax-writing]

Intro Post!

Hello! I'm C, a fantasy writer, and this is my writing blog. I talk about my experience writing, my worldbuilding, my oc's, and do short writing pieces or share short excerpts of my writing here. I'm also a big D&D nerd who makes homebrew lore and mechanics, so I post that here too. I'll also sometimes talk about various pieces of media, though this isn't a fandom blog.

The best way to read my actual writing is to go to my site, linked below.

I'll use a lot of tags on a lot of my posts for reach, but for navigation of this blog I'll use the tags #novel - for when I'm talking about one of my novels #short story - for when I'm talking about one of my short stories #worldbuilding - for when I'm sharing some of my worldbuilding #character spotlight - for when I'm talking about one of my oc's #media thoughts - for when I'm talking about another piece of media #homebrew mechanics - for when I homebrew D&D mechanics #homebrew lore - for when I homebrew D&D lore #C's writing - for any excerpt or little bit of my actual writing I also write in different settings, so will try to tag my posts with each setting

I'll also color-code and title the headers of my longer posts as Writing Excerpt: Worldbuilding: Character Spotlight: D&D Homebrew: Media Thoughts:

As my blog description says, I use she/they/it pronouns, and am a multigender transfem. You can refer to me with either masculine or feminine terms generally. I'm in my 20's, white, and live in the US.

I mainly write young adult high fantasy, but sometimes I do other genres, though mainly just shades of fantasy.

Some of my favorite writers are Terry Pratchett, Red OSP, Melissa Caruso, Rich Burlew, and N. K. Jemison, and they pretty much all inspire parts of my work in one way or another.

I should also say I don't think that DNI's work, but just to be clear, I fully support "forced" diversity in fantasy fiction, believe that all art is political, and think that fantasy's history as a vehicle for bigotry should be acknowledged, as that's the only way to improve going forward. If any of that upsets you, this isn't the blog for you.

Asks are welcome and reblogs, including of this pinned post, are greatly appreciated!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy my writing and my blog!

[cmax-writing]

I'm aromantic, and I'm not very big on romances in fiction. There are plenty that I like or am fine with, especially if they don't distract too much from the central plot, but I'm often most engaged in platonic dynamics between characters. I've written some romances, but while I have a few romance-centric short stories, it'll be a while before I write a romance book.

I remember when I read MDZS, a chinese gay fantasy romance series, I sometimes completely forgot it was a romance (to be fair, it was quite slow-burn) and was more interested in the other plot and my favorite character was the protagonist's brother Jiang Cheng, a gold medalist in the hater olympics who didn't give a fuck about the romance and just wanted to kill the protag.

[cmax-writing]

I'm aromantic, and I'm not very big on romances in fiction. There are plenty that I like or am fine with, especially if they don't distract too much from the central plot, but I'm often most engaged in platonic dynamics between characters. I've written some romances, but while I have a few romance-centric short stories, it'll be a while before I write a romance book.

I remember when I read MDZS, a chinese gay fantasy romance series, I sometimes completely forgot it was a romance (to be fair, it was quite slow-burn) and was more interested in the other plot and my favorite character was the protagonist's brother Jiang Cheng, a gold medalist in the hater olympics who didn't give a fuck about the romance and just wanted to kill the protag.

[cmax-writing]

Worldbuilding: The Shattered Realms

I've only written one story, the book The Eldyr War which you can read the first few chapters of here, in this setting, but it's the only setting besides Primordiala that my website has a book written in, so I figured I should make a post for it.

The Shattered Realms are just called "The realms" by the people who live in them. They began with only a great chaotic mass of raw reality in the middle of a great expanse of nothingness. Five beings arose from that chaos, called the eldyrs, and each one first created for themself a tool that would help them channel their power in a way that suited them. These powerful tools were known as the relycs.

One of the eldyrs, Apophis, was filled with a hatred for existence the moment that they came to be, and sought to use their relyc, the Knife of Unmaking, to destroy the rest of the universe and then themself. The other four eldyrs stopped them and sealed away both them and the knife.

The four eldyrs then proceeded to mold the remaining raw reality into bubbles of safety from the cold of the void. These bubbles were called the realms, and were split into four domains for the four eldyrs. Seraphiel made a realm called the Citadel, Sekhmet made one called the Outlands, Prometheus made a collection of small realms called the Archipelago, and Dheghom made the largest realm, the Center Realm.

Sekhmet and Seraphiel made races of celestial children each, the fomorions and the alfir, but Dheghom used her relyc, the Seed of Creation, to create an entire biosphere of mortal life, from grass to bacteria to humans. She sacrificed her body in the process, but her divine essence existed in every mortal thing and her mind remained intact and capable of perceiving everything that her children did. She also made nymphs, celestial caretakers to help her guard her world.

The eldyrs collectively disagreed about what to do with the Center Realm and humanity, strange creations of Dheghom that had the intelligence of immortals despite being short-lived and without divine power. Sekhmet and Seraphiel, who once deeply loved each other, grew increasingly angry with each other over the escalating arguments and conflicts, and fell to battle.

The fomorians and the alfir went to war, and they would wage it in the Center Realm. Travel between realms was possible, but the position of the realms meant that if one wanted to travel from one realm to another, they would usually have to go through the Center Realm first.

Dheghom wanted to preserve her realm from the destruction the war would bring so she and the fourth eldyr, Prometheus, collaborated to create a barrier around the Center Realm that would prevent Sekhmet, Seraphiel, and either of their children celestials from entering, and so it has been for thousands of years.

The Shattered Realms are somehow both more narrow but also more complicated to explain than Primordiala, so I'll have to save future lore info for other posts.

[cmax-writing]

Worldbuilding: The Shattered Realms

I've only written one story, the book The Eldyr War which you can read the first few chapters of here, in this setting, but it's the only setting besides Primordiala that my website has a book written in, so I figured I should make a post for it.

The Shattered Realms are just called "The realms" by the people who live in them. They began with only a great chaotic mass of raw reality in the middle of a great expanse of nothingness. Five beings arose from that chaos, called the eldyrs, and each one first created for themself a tool that would help them channel their power in a way that suited them. These powerful tools were known as the relycs.

One of the eldyrs, Apophis, was filled with a hatred for existence the moment that they came to be, and sought to use their relyc, the Knife of Unmaking, to destroy the rest of the universe and then themself. The other four eldyrs stopped them and sealed away both them and the knife.

The four eldyrs then proceeded to mold the remaining raw reality into bubbles of safety from the cold of the void. These bubbles were called the realms, and were split into four domains for the four eldyrs. Seraphiel made a realm called the Citadel, Sekhmet made one called the Outlands, Prometheus made a collection of small realms called the Archipelago, and Dheghom made the largest realm, the Center Realm.

Sekhmet and Seraphiel made races of celestial children each, the fomorions and the alfir, but Dheghom used her relyc, the Seed of Creation, to create an entire biosphere of mortal life, from grass to bacteria to humans. She sacrificed her body in the process, but her divine essence existed in every mortal thing and her mind remained intact and capable of perceiving everything that her children did. She also made nymphs, celestial caretakers to help her guard her world.

The eldyrs collectively disagreed about what to do with the Center Realm and humanity, strange creations of Dheghom that had the intelligence of immortals despite being short-lived and without divine power. Sekhmet and Seraphiel, who once deeply loved each other, grew increasingly angry with each other over the escalating arguments and conflicts, and fell to battle.

The fomorians and the alfir went to war, and they would wage it in the Center Realm. Travel between realms was possible, but the position of the realms meant that if one wanted to travel from one realm to another, they would usually have to go through the Center Realm first.

Dheghom wanted to preserve her realm from the destruction the war would bring so she and the fourth eldyr, Prometheus, collaborated to create a barrier around the Center Realm that would prevent Sekhmet, Seraphiel, and either of their children celestials from entering, and so it has been for thousands of years.

The Shattered Realms are somehow both more narrow but also more complicated to explain than Primordiala, so I'll have to save future lore info for other posts.

[cmax-writing]

My first few books were actually just supposed to be anthologies in a particular setting, but pretty quick into the process of writing or even thinking about those anthologies, I decided I wanted to tell one much longer story. Those multiple story ideas were put into one, which meant my early books had a lot of different storylines in them. Those books were obviously rife with problems, but some of my latest works have been a bit lacking in narrative complexity, so maybe I should try to figure out a way to do more stuff with more plotlines.

[cmax-writing]

My first few books were actually just supposed to be anthologies in a particular setting, but pretty quick into the process of writing or even thinking about those anthologies, I decided I wanted to tell one much longer story. Those multiple story ideas were put into one, which meant my early books had a lot of different storylines in them. Those books were obviously rife with problems, but some of my latest works have been a bit lacking in narrative complexity, so maybe I should try to figure out a way to do more stuff with more plotlines.

[heirtocragflame]

Princess who says “let me consult with my advisors” before staring off into space for a full 30 seconds until she snaps back with a different posture and tone of voice

[esthermika]

gives a new meaning to the royal we

[cmax-writing]

I like it when a fantasy story takes a term that's a standard staple of fantasy fiction and makes it just an in-universe social construct. For instance, stories in which "dark magic" really just means a collection of different spells people didn't like the vibe of that don't necessarily have anything in common and aren't inherently evil. Or when "monsters" aren't a separate category of creature with some common trait, but just a name given to some inhuman creatures who it is convenient to villainize.

[cmax-writing]

My short story Marriage, Death, and Birth, (you can read it here) was inspired originally by just a desire to write a queerplatonic dynamic two cool magical creatures based on the dynamics I had with some of my friends. It made me want to write a full book with those characters, Black-Hearted Faery Tale, and then I just had a lot of fun continuing to write books with various members of the Unseelie royal family, their kinship being a fun connecting thread between the stories. Black-Hearted Faery Tale actually made me make some pretty big changes to the world of Primordiala, the setting I do most of my writing in.

[kjscottwrites]

Alright lads, here's one for any and all writers: what are the top five things readers can basically always expect to see in your work?

[cmax-writing]

Hmmmm...

magic fight scene featuring teleportation

a villain with deeply disturbing/horrific magic

one character giving another a lengthy pep-talk

the internal monologue of someone's mental health spiralling

a pretty well defined group of 3-5 people who comprise team good guy

[cmax-writing]

I have a real hard time coming up with titles, particularly for chapters and books. It takes a while for me to be happy with a title. For my most recent book, The Patron Spirits of Kalish, I tried to focus less on something that would sound cool and more on something that would stand out a bit and be memorable without sounding completely stupid. This is in contrast to the book before it, Shadowy Seas, which I'm still not completely happy with the title of.

[probablybadrpgideas]

As a counterweight to the GM facilitating the game, include an anti-GM whose job is to actively prevent the game.

[2manypdfs]

happy There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury day

[coffinbutch]

Link to the full story

[thestuffedalligator]

Dragons are fireless until they undergo the Hroom, the traditional draconic ceremony where a fledgling dragon will go out into the world and make a bargain with a spirit of elemental fire to live in their soul in a state of mutual symbiosis. The spirit receives shelter and nourishment, while the dragon receives a source of elemental fire, which it can only now use to defend itself.

In many draconic cultures, the Hroom marks a dragon’s coming of age, a time to recognize that a dragon is now of a proper age to hold a weapon and defend itself. Some dragons believe that it is only by bonding with an elemental spirit that a dragon has a soul, and that a dragon is only a whole dragon when it has both the mortal shell and the inner spark.

There has been a backlash to this in recent centuries, of course. Fledglings these days are going out and making bargains with all kinds of things. This is usually spirits of elemental lightning and ice, but more than one dragon has come back to their clutch with a fairly bewildered witch.

[thestuffedalligator]

#Does the witch live inside the dragon's soul after...?

Metaphorically, yes. One dragon had married the witch she brought back to her clutch, and she said that meant their two souls had become one, which was basically the same thing.

The other dragons in her brood said it didn’t work that way, but she was able to breathe pure magic afterwards, so it at least worked that way for her.

[writing-prompt-s]

You chose the name of a goddess of death for your online handle and kept it for games, websites and social media. You thought it was cool until the goddess herself came and wanted to have a word with you.....

[cmax-writing]

Marcus stared up at the figure floating in his room. Sunken black eyes stared back at him from a face so gaunt it was very nearly a skull. She was dressed in rotted funeral wrappings, with a rusted breastplate on her chest. She was sitting down on thin air, floating three feet off the ground, her bony arms folded in front of herself.

"Look, ma'am, I'm-I'm very sorry if I've committed some sort of blasphemy," Marcus stammered, "I just read the name 'Karatha' in like a history book and thought it sounded cool and used it as my League of Leagues username. I didn't think you were-"

"Silence!" cried the figure. Karatha's voice was rough and thin, like the throat it came from hadn't spoken this century. "You may not have known what you invoked, but ignorance is no excuse. Death has no leniency for the foolish. Quite the opposite, in fact." Her mouth spread slightly and her desiccated lips twitched, and Marcus realized she was trying to smile.

"Okay, I get it, I get it, some dumb teen uses your name for a silly game when you're a goddess who should be revered-"

"Uses my name to fail at a silly game!" Karatha snapped. "You dishonor me with your weakness."

Marcus blinked. "Are you... mad that I'm not better at League of Leagues?"

"Yes! I know that the world has changed, and these strange 'video games' are now the common contest of skill among your people. In the height of my worship, warrior women would sometimes take my name for themselves, as a way of honoring me and bringing glory to themselves. Those that lived up to my name and performed well in combat earned great prestige and my personal favor. Those that dishonored my name with poor performance faced my wrath. It is this tradition that you have unknowingly invoked. Judging from your competitive ranking and your average kill/death ratio in these matches, I would say it's quite clear which camp you fall into."

"I... okay? I'm sorry! I can stop playing, or get better, or whatever it is you want! Just don't kill me!"

Karatha gave a death rattle sigh. "In those olden days, such pleas for mercy would have earned you nothing. But... it has been some time since anyone attempted to honor me, even accidentally and pitifully. I cannot squander this oppurtunity. So you will continue to play, mortal. And you will improve. Practice in casual matches more, watch strategy videos, whatever. I expect to see at least a golden rank next to your player icon before the year is done."

Marcus nodded gratefully and enthusiastically. "Yes, yes, I can do that. Thank you, thank you. I will do my best to continue the proud tradition of-" he stopped. "Wait a second, you said that it was warrior women who did this tradition. Uh, I'm a guy."

There was a pause. Karatha's sunken eyes looked Marcus up and down. "Yeahhhhhhhhhh... have you, uh..." The death goddess clearly attempted to click her tongue in thought, but the sound produced was more like sandpaper rubbing against stone. "Have you thought much about your gender identity? Recently? Because there are, uh..." Karatha looked Marcus up and down again. "There are some signs. And some things you should be considering."

[notahorseindisguise]

the "came back wrong" trope except like... they didnt. like this mad scientists wife died, and so he studied necromancy, brought her back, and she came back and it all worked. like she came back exactly the same as she was before with literally no difference. but the scientist guy is like "oh no... what have i done.... shes Different now!!!! she came back Wrong!!!!" and shes just like. chilling. reading a book. cooking dinner. shes just so so normal but in the guys mind hes like "oh shes soooo weird" but shes just normal

[mysticorset]

Peer reviewed tags from @somanyofthekids

[notahorseindisguise]

NO its a JOKE and YOU DONT GET IT. ITS NOT THAT DEEP

[hiveswap]

While she was dead he put his memory of her on such a high pedestal that she could never live up to it alive

[midnight-revolucion]

alternatively‚ she came back perfectly fine but he thinks she came back wrong‚ because the tragic reality is that he never actually knew his wife

[notahorseindisguise]

im going INSANE thats MY POST.

[marlinspirkhall]

It's your post but the journey to posting it changed it to such a degree that even its closest intimacies are now foreign to you. Sorry dude.