greetings! i am tae [not my actual name but derived from it] and i am a twenty-two year old from seattle but i currently take up residence in arizona. this is my first writeblr, so if anyone has any tips, i’m all ears!
⇒ playlist [about me]
â…°. i blow out the candles on jan. eleventh, which makes me a capricorn
ii. i am a creative writing major, who is also pursuing a certificate in editing and publishing and i’m graduating this year, which is both great and terrifying
iii. other than writing you can find me reading, listening to music, playing animal crossing, drawing [poorly], and watching way too much youtube
iv. the genre i write in the most is fantasy, but i would like to dive into historical fiction, granted it focuses on gothic themes [i’ve been really obsessed with gothic lit lately, so if anyone has any suggestions, i encourage it strongly]
v. i am a consumer of dark chocolate, webtoons, and kdramas
vi. i have met and talked to a few people on this platform, but i would like to get to know a lot of people so, feel free to reach out and/or interact with this post
⇒ characters [wips]
for my wips, i’m probably going to make a masterlist post when they are more concrete ideas, but for now, i will give teasers to the ideas floating in my head:
❝ a universe for the sad and cunning❞ [code name] in which characters of old try to solve a murder | genre: historical fiction + magical realism | status: planning
❝ the gods glittered with gold and blood❞ [code name] in which a fallen goddess tries to reclaim her stolen throne with the help of a lesser god | genre: dark + industrial fantasy | status: planning
⇒ statement of purpose
i created this blog in the hopes of meeting fellow writers, making my online presence more known, letting people get more acquainted with my work, and to share my progress and milestones as i write my stories
⇒ acknowledgementsÂ
thanks for letting me share and i hope to get to know a lot more people! bye!
Came back wrong? How about came back right, except that the world you came back to is wrong. Came back just like waking up from a long nap only to find that the people who love you broke themselves into shards and bloody bargains to get you back.
There are new stains that nobody will explain, hidden beneath the rug in the upstairs hallway. Your mother's left eye is clouded and strange. The cat no longer goes near your brother. There's a sharp-edged shadow now, under your lover's smile.
Everybody says you must be remembering wrong, but your sense of smell is just as good as ever. The closet that used to smell like cedar and cinnamon smells like sulfur, now, and nobody will tell you why.
outlining is, depending on who you ask, a vital step in the writing process. of course, it all depends on whether or not you are a plotter at all. if you’re a pantser, or somewhere in between, outlining might be a little difficult to get anywhere with. in this multi-part series, i’ll talk about a few different methods i have used as well as some pointers.
first, let’s begin with some general outlining tips to get you started!
THE BLANK PAGE: cultivating your idea.
might seem a little daunting at first. but this is where your story begins. write down any ideas that you might have for your wip. maybe that just means the concept, the premise, or a singular scene that you really want to happen. it doesn’t matter–write it down!
how many povs do you want? first or third person? omniscient or limited? alternating povs or something else? consider why you want this specific type of pov and how these characters can contribute to the story.
think about story structure. how do you want to divide the story up? of course, you don’t actually have to stick to it, but this might help you get started.
what tropes do you want to include? found family, there was only one bed, enemies to lovers, etc.Â
maybe make a few graphics, or scroll through youtube for those 1 hr long playlists that just give you vibes. it might help immerse you a little bit more in your idea. make sure you save these things for later–if you get stuck, these could dig you out of a hole.
ramble to friends!! having someone to talk to and bounce ideas off of could get your idea to grow even further.
remember that anything you do at this point is subject to change. you’re loosely setting up how you want to tell the story, as well as figuring out how it’s going to be written. if you find out later down the line that you want to do something else, nothing is stopping you from changing it!Â
depending on what sort of writer you are (plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between), the beginning steps of an outline may differ. when i’m putting together my more cohesive outlines, i write a lot more in the first step. when i’m just writing to chase after inspiration, wherever it might take me, i usually just write down a few thoughts that i know have to happen. it all depends on what’s comfortable with you!
written by popular demand of nicole @seasteading’s cat meowing into the mic
so you’ve got a story idea, and now you need to populate it with characters—where do you begin? or perhaps you have the vaguest idea of a character in your mind, but you need a little help figuring out their story. characters are absolutely vital in the story you want to tell, because they’re your readers’ eyes into the world. they experience the story as your characters do. you might even hope that your readers will get attached to them and send you a million all-caps messages crying about the fate of said characters.Â
whatever your goals are, here are a few things to keep in mind as you begin.
TRIED AND TRUE RECIPE FOR MAKING THE PERFECT CHARACTER (run them through the mary sue litmus test)
don’t write characters, write character arcs. characters are not static. throughout the story, there will be conflict that should—and will—change your character. the character arc can either compliment the main plot or be that plot. many conflicts are resolved by characters overcoming their own personal or mental battles, or developing in a way that makes a solution possible. the person your character begins as at the beginning of the story will not be the same as the person they are at the end.
think of lord of the rings and how frodo ends up at the end of the story as compared to the very beginning. the struggles he went through ended up changing who he was, and he realized that there was no way he could return to how he was before his journey.
point a to point b. this is one method that i use to write character arcs. i first figure out who my character is and what their situation is like at the beginning of the story. then, i come up with how i want them to end up at the very end. once you have these two points, you can work on how it is possible for them to develop from point a (the beginning) to point b (the end).
along the way, there will be a lot of intermediate points. you can flesh these out as you come to them, and even discover more things about your characters. point b can eventually become point z, or point 1000. how did we go from letters to numbers? who knows! but the journey of character development doesn’t happen immediately. it is a gradual shift.
conflict. pay attention to how your character responds to conflict. conflict can be used as a catalyst for change for your character. when coming up with conflicts, it is important to keep in mind your character’s values and limits. in order for the conflict to feel worthwhile, these two things need to be challenged. it is an ideal situation for development, and even a little angst, if you want that.
character relationships. how does your character view the rest of the cast? if you’re working on the previous point, how might they come into conflict with them? relationships between characters allows the readers to understand more about nearly everything in the story—the plot, the world around them, and in turn, the characters themselves. the way they treat each other can reveal a lot about their own backstories. think about all the ways that they can play off each other, and how this may change as the story progresses, especially when the characters each branch off and develop.
character-driven narratives. if your story is character driven, it becomes even more important that your character motivations are solid and progress in a believable manner. they are the ones enacting change around them—specifically, they will be the ones moving the plot along. think about the ramifications of your character’s actions: how it affects those around them and how it affects the larger picture. then, think about where your character will go from there as a reaction to the things their own choices have caused.
the plot doesn’t just happen. even if you are writing a more passive character, the plot doesn’t magically part for them like the red sea for moses. there are other factors, such as other characters within the story, or perhaps your own character’s desires. of course, this all depends on where you want the character to go from here. you might consider what would make a more passive character less passive, or how else you can ruin their lives to force them to act. either way, plot is something that moves the story forward, not something that just happens to characters.
fundamental character traits. we’ve been talking a lot about how the characters change, but we also need to keep in mind that in some ways these characters must also remain the same. they each have fundamental character traits that will remain by the end of the story. for example, kaz is still the bastard of the barrel at the end of the duology—but he’s opened up more to the crows. the changes a character goes through must be proportional to the events of the plot. they might change a lot, but they must still be recognizable at the end of the story due to the things that they have gone through.
flaws. last but not least, make sure your character has flaws! these can be their weaknesses, things they work on throughout the story and eventually improve upon, or even just character traits that aren’t exactly the best to have—simple facts about them. people aren’t perfect, and your characters shouldn’t be either.
written by popular demand of nicole @seasteading’s cat meowing into the mic
so you’ve got a story idea, and now you need to populate it with characters—where do you begin? or perhaps you have the vaguest idea of a character in your mind, but you need a little help figuring out their story. characters are absolutely vital in the story you want to tell, because they’re your readers’ eyes into the world. they experience the story as your characters do. you might even hope that your readers will get attached to them and send you a million all-caps messages crying about the fate of said characters.Â
whatever your goals are, here are a few things to keep in mind as you begin.
TRIED AND TRUE RECIPE FOR MAKING THE PERFECT CHARACTER (run them through the mary sue litmus test)
don’t write characters, write character arcs. characters are not static. throughout the story, there will be conflict that should—and will—change your character. the character arc can either compliment the main plot or be that plot. many conflicts are resolved by characters overcoming their own personal or mental battles, or developing in a way that makes a solution possible. the person your character begins as at the beginning of the story will not be the same as the person they are at the end.
think of lord of the rings and how frodo ends up at the end of the story as compared to the very beginning. the struggles he went through ended up changing who he was, and he realized that there was no way he could return to how he was before his journey.
point a to point b. this is one method that i use to write character arcs. i first figure out who my character is and what their situation is like at the beginning of the story. then, i come up with how i want them to end up at the very end. once you have these two points, you can work on how it is possible for them to develop from point a (the beginning) to point b (the end).
along the way, there will be a lot of intermediate points. you can flesh these out as you come to them, and even discover more things about your characters. point b can eventually become point z, or point 1000. how did we go from letters to numbers? who knows! but the journey of character development doesn’t happen immediately. it is a gradual shift.
conflict. pay attention to how your character responds to conflict. conflict can be used as a catalyst for change for your character. when coming up with conflicts, it is important to keep in mind your character’s values and limits. in order for the conflict to feel worthwhile, these two things need to be challenged. it is an ideal situation for development, and even a little angst, if you want that.
character relationships. how does your character view the rest of the cast? if you’re working on the previous point, how might they come into conflict with them? relationships between characters allows the readers to understand more about nearly everything in the story—the plot, the world around them, and in turn, the characters themselves. the way they treat each other can reveal a lot about their own backstories. think about all the ways that they can play off each other, and how this may change as the story progresses, especially when the characters each branch off and develop.
character-driven narratives. if your story is character driven, it becomes even more important that your character motivations are solid and progress in a believable manner. they are the ones enacting change around them—specifically, they will be the ones moving the plot along. think about the ramifications of your character’s actions: how it affects those around them and how it affects the larger picture. then, think about where your character will go from there as a reaction to the things their own choices have caused.
the plot doesn’t just happen. even if you are writing a more passive character, the plot doesn’t magically part for them like the red sea for moses. there are other factors, such as other characters within the story, or perhaps your own character’s desires. of course, this all depends on where you want the character to go from here. you might consider what would make a more passive character less passive, or how else you can ruin their lives to force them to act. either way, plot is something that moves the story forward, not something that just happens to characters.
fundamental character traits. we’ve been talking a lot about how the characters change, but we also need to keep in mind that in some ways these characters must also remain the same. they each have fundamental character traits that will remain by the end of the story. for example, kaz is still the bastard of the barrel at the end of the duology—but he’s opened up more to the crows. the changes a character goes through must be proportional to the events of the plot. they might change a lot, but they must still be recognizable at the end of the story due to the things that they have gone through.
flaws. last but not least, make sure your character has flaws! these can be their weaknesses, things they work on throughout the story and eventually improve upon, or even just character traits that aren’t exactly the best to have—simple facts about them. people aren’t perfect, and your characters shouldn’t be either.
so, for the almost three years i’ve been on writeblr, i’ve had a few instances of suspiciously similar stories and premises from new followers and even a former mutual. i’ve seen someone exactly copy the very specific formatting i use on all of my posts for my original writing, down to the italics and bold (a format which i have been using for well over a year). the most recent incarnation of this is definitely the worst of it and i gotta say i’m sick of the bullshit.Â
i will be censoring the url of this person, but due to the nature of the screenshots provided, it might be easy to find their blog. DO NOT harass this person. DO NOT go out of your way to find their blog. i’m not making this post to attack them, i just want to teach two lessons: 1) how to recognize plagiarism or lifted ideas and 2) why that’s a shitty thing to do.Â
additionally, i don’t know what pronouns this person identifies with, so i will be referring to them with they/them pronouns, and i apologize if i’ve misgendered them in any way.Â
hey!! i was wondering if you were making a 2022 writing tracker again this year? the 2021 saved my LIFE and i loved it sm!! <333
Yes! I'm so glad you enjoyed using the 2021 tracker. I didn't really change anything for 2022, but I did go through and update the dates so it's fresh and ready to go:
Grab your own copy here.
The link includes the year-long tracker and the smaller sheet with the 30- and 31-day mini-trackers for month-long challenges like NaNoWriMo or Writetober.
a highly customizable, simplistic but fancy googlesheets tracker for writers. perfect for tracking your writing progress while keeping it aesthetically-pleasing. mimics a minimalistic planner for all your tracking needs. to download / copy, go to file and click “make copy” to copy it to your gdrive.
features:
all-in-one yearly overview
filters for easy navigation
overview for your individual projects and overall
automated progress bars
interactive tag system (dedicated to multiple projects)
mini calendar for monthly activity
automated daily goals
automated stats
please like / reblog if you’re using or interested in using it!
1. loveliest
2. villain origin story
3. capricorn
4. genetic disease
5. bansheeÂ
6. record
7. soot
8. lies from heaven
9. addiction
10. cream
11. why did you go there
12. manner of death
13. bronze
14. armor
15. rare fruit
16. european
17. the love you abandoned
18. locker room
19. croissant
20. joker
21. dreams of summer
22. earthquake
23. canals
24. needle
25. i’m still here
26. elder tree
27. grieving
28. wolf moon
29. minerva
30. cliffhanger
31. as you looked away
AÂ Â { R E } I N T R O D U C T I O N ; by @serpentariiÂ
hi hi, i’m pris, they/she, eighteen, intp, and this is the third time i’m introducing myself because it’s been almost a year since my last reintro (prev. urls: @/dhampier, @/salicaires, & @/yuriykovtun). i write primarily fantasy with a lot of folkloric influences, but that could change who knows. i’m also a member of the wtw network !Â
i didn’t feel like bombarding people with a bunch of wip intros, so below the cut i’ve given a brief synopsis for each of my projects as well as some info on where they’re sitting at.Â
Note: Not all of these beats are equal in scene length. Some can be very short, others long.
Opening Image: They way your novel opens, usually with a scene, some narration. Introduction to the protagonist/world. (0-1% of the novel)
Theme stated: Life lesson, what does the protagonist need to learn before the end of the story? This is stated by a character that is not the hero. (at 5%)
Setup: Thing that needs fixing. (First 1-10%)
Catalyst: (Inciting incident) The thing that kick starts everything and ensures people can’t go back. (At around 10%)
Debate: Reactions to the inciting incident. (Around 10-20% in the novel. If your novel is 400 pages this happens between page 40-80)
Break into 2: Hero accepts the call to action. (At 20%)
Theme Stated/ B Story: Introduction of a new character, or the character that helps the hero learn the theme. (At around 22%)
Fun and Games: Hero in their new world. (from 20 to 50% in the book aka page 80 to 200 in a 400 page novel) This is called fun and games because that’s what it is to the audience.
Midpoint: The middle of the book. Literally. False defeat/victory. Stakes are raised. Either things have been going the heroes way and they are on top of the world about to lose it all. Or things have been going down hill and this is where things start to get better. (At 50%, page 200.)
Bad guys (Internal) close in: If the midpoint was a false defeat, this is the point where things slowly get better. But the heroes flaws are closing in. (At 50-75%)
All is lost: Whiff of death. Rock bottom, something happens that shakes everything and crumbles the heroes. (At 75% Or page 300)
Dark night of the soul: Return to normal. This is where the hero deals with the darkest point. Reaction to all is lost. (At 75 to 80%)
Dark night epiphany: This is where the hero learns the life lesson/theme. (internally) (At 75 to 80%)
Breaking into 3: Hero realizes how he has to fix himself. (At 80%)
Finale: Hero proves that he truly learned the lesson/theme. (At 80 - 99%)
Gathering the team: Hero gathers the people around him. (At 80 - 99%)
Executing the plan: They execute the plan. (At 80 - 99%)
High tower surprise: Final act set back. (At 80 - 99%)
Dig deep down: Hero uses their learned theme to band together. (At 80 - 99%)
Final image: Opposing image to the opening image.Final scene of the novel. (At 99-100%)
I've been putting this off for some time because ughhhhhh so much work ahah! Anyway, I finally bring The Ultimate Masterlist to your dashboards! Hold on, it's going to be a long ride~
General Posts
Every single daily prompt ever... (Except Prompt #208 because apparently it doesn't exist... ???)
Excerpts
ACFWB Playlists
Character names
Character sheet
Relationships
Writing Advice
Finding inspiration
Overcoming writer's block
Continuing on with your story
Developing a plot
Starting your story!
Worldbuilding
Writing in third person
Tips for writing in first, second & third person
Emotive language
Tips for writing character features
Expanding vocabulary
Choosing the direction of your story
Hitting a block (Minor writer's block)
Improving your writing in a specific genre
A guide to bettering your writing (The tall one, the blonde one...)
Writing dialogue
Long Posts
#30 Q's to ask your OC's- Appearance
#50 Q's to ask your OC's
#50 This or That Q's for your OC's
NSFW Dialogue prompts
#100 NSFW/Smut dialogue prompts
Sexual tension prompts
Reasons for couples to break-up
#50 Dialogue prompts- compilation
#100 Dialogue prompts- Angst edition
#100 More angst/argument prompts
#100 Prompts to break a reader's heart
#100 Prompts to make a reader swoon
Short fluff/cozy prompts
OTP Christmas scenarios
#100 Song lyric prompts
First person prompts
Protagonist in a situation with...
Dystopian ideas
Shy fluff prompts
Character death prompts
And I think we're done for now! I'll try to keep it as updated as I can! All my love, Yasmine xox
how to create a high fantasy politics reference doc (with a template and guide!)
political fantasy is an extremely fun genre to write in, that is, until you have to actually write the politics. in this semi-requested guide, i'm going to explain to you how i virgo-planned my way to a horribly detailed—though also horribly helpful—political reference doc for my one and only wip, a treatise of tyrants and thieves.
if you too would like to use a similar format to what i did (though consequently you will have to change it to fit your own worldbuilding), i have a template on dropbox paper right here.
as a sidenote, i do recommend already having built up a decent amount of your world before jumping into this; this document is meant to help flesh out pre-existing content in such a way that is really hard to do with a wip that's just starting out.
setting up.
Generally speaking, when I first began writing this doc, I was mostly doing so in relation to the government of the country wherein my WIP takes place and its relationship with other countries (or nations!), with its own people, and within itself. This then lead to my three, aptly-named subcategories; External, Internal, and Personal Relations (I'm very creative as you can see.)
These three subcategories became my main headers, and all of my organization took place within a Dropbox Paper doc—as I am partial to the cleaner interface and very easy creation of a table of contents—but using Word or Google Docs works just as well. With that, and a lot of pain and suffering in the form of preexisting worldbuilding, I started to flesh all the info out.
You should note that the country AToTaT takes place in a country called Vsyhna (vuh-sen-uh) and its government is referred to as the Dual Courts. This is also a forewarning, for the fact that I will probably be talking about my own worldbuilding quite a bit, if not only for purposes of giving proper examples!
So without any more notes from me, let's properly jump into this thing.
external relations.
The external relations between the Dual Courts and all the other governments within Ashvayr (the continent that Vsyhna is a part of), of which there are eleven, can be described in one of the following ways:
âś… = Allies
⚠️ = Allied by treaty, with tensions
❎ = Not allied, but no real tensions
✴️ = Not allied, but with tensions
⛔️ = Enemies
All of these relations should be taken with a grain of salt, and also adapted to fit your worldbuilding, of course, but as a general consensus, most governments will have one of those relationships with another. The emojis are used so that it's easily identifiable (I'm also insane, let's not forget), but emojis don't replace discussion.
Within each section, I discussed the relationship between these governments but also gave a quick list of bullet points that explained important moments in recent history that have created those tensions—or lack thereof—the current political state in each country, certain cultural tidbits, and cultural differences between Vsyhnians and others.
Generally, this isn't the stuff you want to get lazy with, and while it is fine to say something like "Oh they live across the world my mc's won't know this." It's better to have the ability to even subtly suggest other people, cultures, or ideologies. It deepens your world, and more than this, can be super interesting to readers. You should also note that this information should affect your characters in some way, otherwise the politics are going to be very boring (as they don't relate to anyone.)
This alternated between something as complex as gender politics, to things as simple as cuisine or trade goods. Indeed, you don't have to cover every base with these descriptions, arguably, this is the part you should spend the least amount of time on (unless you're braver than a U.S. marine and do, in fact, wish to take on international relations), but you should cover every important base.
For a slightly more simple example, let's look at the Empire of Sansryn. I wrote: "The Empire of Sansryn ⚠️ is an archipelago that is composed of two main ethnic groups; the Sansrynians, who occupy the northern half of the islands, and the Tarimese, who occupy the southern half of the islands." Then continued to briefly describe the relationship between Sansryn and Tarim.
The next two paragraphs were designated to a) their relationship with Vsyhna (which as you can see with the ⚠️ emoji is not great) and b) their relationship with other countries around them, not forgetting why it's so poor in the first place, which, spoiler, has to do with a number of social issues.
Also in the case of Sansryn, one of my side characters is half Sansrynian, which is something I noted mostly for the purposes of clarifying this character's relationship with this part of their identity and culture.
Realism is, quite frankly, optional in fantasy (or rather, you define what "real" actually means) but I do tend to strive for realism within AToTaT's politics, if not only because it's fun. When delving into (rightfully!) complex issues—like ethnic conflict for example—it's necessary to do your homework (and hire sensitivity readers afterward) if it's not a topic you are familiar with or related to. However, that exact process is not something I will be discussing in this post and I encourage you to do your own research.
You also want to take into consideration how these countries are related to each other. For me personally, I almost exclusively did this for the two current conflicts (i.e. actively disputed treaties, current armed conflicts) within the world, but I did briefly touch on how those relationships came to be, as you can see above.
internal relations.
Internal relations is where things start to get more complex and also more specific to the world my WIP takes place in. For this section, you need to have already realized a great deal in regards to major political institutions (if you have them!) and most importantly, cultural attitudes.
I split my internal relations section into seven sub-sections, which included: Social Cleavages, Justice System, Garrison, Navy, Cults vs. Church, Crime, and Trade.
For a Wikipedia definition, a social cleavage is "a historically determined social or cultural line which divides citizens within a society into groups with differing political interests, resulting in political conflict among these groups." AKA sexy, sexy plot tension.
The social cleavages of Vsyhna mostly revolve around social class (in-world called "rank"), an urban/rural divide, and nationality, which I note as being "considerably not a social cleavage." It appears I should have listened to my Wikipedia-defined advice. That said, rank was described at length for its importance to the religion, general structure within government, linguistic flavor (dialects!), and laws. It's one of my largest social themes and connects to almost everything within the book, including the magic system.
Speaking of magic, as I didn't mention it within my seven sub-categories above, I should note that however magic works in your society should also be included. In my case, it's heavily intertwined with religion and social class (access to the information that allows people to use magic, I mean) and so I didn't feel the need to clarify its role with an entirely new section, but how you do this is entirely up to you. It's also up to you to include a magic system, as in reality, you don't necessarily need one. I also have a completely separate Dropbox doc for most of these things anyway (re:knowing stuff before you jump into this.)
The justice system is something I find is often not immediately thought about when it comes to fantasy, but from a very general point of view, this also encompasses subjects such as law codes, the punishment for breaking those codes, and what trials look like, if you have them. This can tell us much about your culture, what they value, and more importantly, how much they value it.
For example, continuing with my themes of classism, sumptuary laws are a large part of Vsyhnian society, i.e. laws that forbid the usage of certain goods to lower classes. Given that it's illegal for someone of lowborn status to have, let's say silk, it creates a) a prime criminal market (trading "illegal" goods), b) a need to crack down on this market, and c) further severs the relationship between upper and lower classes, given that the fairness of the justice system is then put under scrutiny. Indeed, the fact that it's the Church that controls the justice system, you have a similar tension in the department of faith, and I haven't even begun to talk about how the treatment during trials differs.
I often find military to be the greatest emphasis within quite a lot of political fantasy, that being, the mobility of large land armies or prowess at sea. For me personally, I find this to be rather boring (both on accounts of reading and writing) so I did come at this with a lens of interest in the personal relationships of these people and actual organization within the military. Mostly, I used what I knew from external relationships and current conflicts to create something that could be used later on if I needed it, as it's not heavily featured (at least not in the first book!) Treaties, blockades, relationships between commanding officers, and relationships with piracy.
On notes of realism, I went with the very classic These Island People Have A Great Navy, as, historically, they tend to.
We should all know by now how important religion, or lack thereof, is in epic fantasy, and while I could go on about this for several hours, this is a political relations doc, so I focussed on the tension between sects of the main religion. How different leaders within the religion interacted with other members of government is a topic for personal relations, however, if not only because they're heavily featured, and there are several (about nine actual descriptions.)
This culminated by way of cults vs. the Church, differing ideologies within fundamental concepts of the religion, and generally how they're seen by Vsyhnian society (and—you guessed it—social class.) As an example, I wrote, "All of these organizations consider the Holy Book Rovnokh to be canon and true within their faiths, though it is the Codex Drkha that is often disputed in validity. This is the result of their own written dogma, which may convey entirely different personalities and oblation tales, or emphasis on a very specific aspect of the mortal godchild then how they are presented in the Codex."
It is important to consider, before even delving into differences, what the fundamentals of each sect or division within your religion are speaking on. Think of the historical context that may have brought about such a concept, or even fuzzy lines within canon texts. Here's another example, "The seventh mortal godchild is not mentioned within the Codex and therefore not considered a valid mortal godchild, though Vrah’s appearance in the Holy Book and the Children of the Bone’s own text—which are older than the Codex—say otherwise. 'Vrah' is more used as a term to describe magic and not at all a person, when it is mentioned in the Codex."
Crime and trade, as you can imagine in a society plagued by rules that dictate trade—and in many cases make the trade of certain items a crime—is quite important. As I hinted earlier in the justice system section, the "illegal" trade of certain goods, which goes against sumptuary laws. That said, crime happens for a number of different reasons, and I took the time here to think about partner organizations, illegal magic producers, and gangs.
Crime can actually be an excellent tool of worldbuilding, if not only for the fact that it is so specific to the country and history it resides in. Why does something need to be stolen? Fabricated? Spied on? And who is getting the most out of it?
Trade was something I rather lazily did with the above Vsyhnian roadmap—I don't plan on discussing economics at all, nor following merchants as they move goods though the country.
I want to note once more that all of this is extremely relative information; what you need to write about to create political tension is entirely up to you and your story. As a general bit of advice, however, it is helpful to ensure that everything can come back around to your characters—if not now, then at some point within the series or story as a whole. Politics can become boring very easily, especially when not personal.
personal relations.
For our final and most interesting section, I did two, somewhat important things before actually writing anything out; that being creating two charts. The first is a political alignment chart, the second is a chart that defines the different positions of government. While again, this is totally relative, this is what I came up with:
Take the time to think about and research other forms of government, what each "branch" might do, and how they do it. More importantly though, think about how the culture and religion would, can, or do influence the government, and how the government has responded to such action. Look to history especially!
The charts allowed me to very easily place my main characters, their families, and all the previous groups of people (gangs, cults, social classes) into categories that can then, more or less, directly define their relationships with one another. This made the process that I will now describe to you a little less tedious.
I divided this category into three sections: Nobleborn Houses (that being houses of great import and high rank), the Prelacy (leaders of the Church), and Others of Note.
There are ten nobleborn houses, however, I only did mass amounts of details for five of the most important. I should also note that two of my four main characters are a part of two of these houses, and it's for that reason that I felt I needed to be as in-depth as possible. For Houses, the organization went something like this:
House Name:
A general description of the house, its history, and how it rose to power, as well as what they generally control within the government or country and how long they've had this position.
Try to be as diverse as possible within these descriptions—cover a lot of different bases and don't be afraid to do it! A family rising to power as a result of the money they, for example, gained from growing roses says a lot about the culture and commerce of a particular country.
Public Opinion:
What the people think of this family, given all social standings and occupations. Naturally, when I say all, I don't mean think about what every carpenter thinks of the royal family, I just made sure it was a general consensus!
Opinion of the Other Five Houses:
This, I tended to keep as short as possible, but like the external relations above, I wanted to know what and how the relationship was what it was. For several, I already had an idea, but for...so many more I did not (hear the pain in my voice? there's pain in my voice.)
Opinion of the Remaining Houses:
Shorter than even short as possible, but the same idea as before.
Main Members:
Probably one of the more important sections; I listed out all the members of the main part of the family, that is, the immediate family of the person involved in government (or main character.) This not only defines your side characters—of which there are bound to be many—but also clarifies the conflicting motives of the people in charge. And they should conflict, hopefully with the motives of your main characters. Extended family was discussed when important, such as prominent aunts, uncles, or grandparents, but for sake of simplicity, lengthy descriptions were kept for parents and children.
I also included charts after this about minor houses sworn to these noble houses, but to be completely honest, I didn't fill out most. That said, I did repeat this process for all five houses, and the good news, is that after you talk about the relationship with one of the other five, you're done completely, so, yay one less bullet point each time. Also, don't feel pressured to have a name for everyone or everything! In fact, I mostly skip over names of people unless I really have to know them in text, far more characters are simply [BROTHER] or [PARENT], though this could be a laziness thing. Or a conlang one.
A worldbuilding note: I also included house colors, sigils, and heads in this instance, as well as their connection to certain magical oaths.
For the remaining five nobleborn houses, I only listed house heads, sigils, and colors, if not only because I described their relationship with everyone else, earlier. That said, I also included house heir and extra notes, if I needed them.
The Prelacy was organized slightly differently, as important members of the Church, they don't necessarily have family members interacting with them. Instead, I focussed on backstories, their relationships with the Arkan (the monarch, sort of), and once more, motive (and personalities, given that I don't give side characters a full oc profile.)
As shown in the chart above, there is one High Vokhsv and six Vokhvs that work under them; the former had a more in-depth section of text, however, the six got just about as much detail as the lesser five noble houses.
My last and final section was short and sweet (thank God) and covered two topics very briefly, that are so world-specific I won't even bother explaining them. That said! That's what this section is for; anything else that you might have missed.
I won't lie, the personal relations section was probably the most time-consuming part of this entire doc, but in the end, it did pay off. The entire thing took about from the 22nd of February to the 18th of April, and came out to around 30k. Do I suggest you also write this much? Not unless you feel like you need it. I don't really plan out plot, so for me, this was my plan, hence the length and detail.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this far too long breakdown of my political reference doc of my WIP, A Treatise of Tyrants and Thieves and good luck with your own process, writing, and research <3
Designing a fantasy legal system (Worldbuilding Stack Exchange)
Unpacking Folk Tales/Motif Index (Uni. of Alberta)
Real Inequality in Europe since 1500 (Journal, PDF)
Diplomacy (Wikipedia)
Public Diplomacy in Early Modern Europe (Journal)
The Spy Chiefs or Renaissance Venice: Intelligence Leadership in the Early Modern World (Oxford Brookes Uni., PDF)
Branches of the U.S. military (SOU)
those who were interested.
@chovansjtsjina @zielenheil @lord-fallen @ninazeniks @viesceral @introverteddumbass @wisteria-eventide & anyone else, feel free to reply, send an ask, or dm me about questions!
- NameChef
- Name Generator
- Reedsy Generator
- Fake Name Generator
- Fantasy Name Generator
- Baby Names
- Baby Center
Lists:
- Long Names List by @leafvy
- Giant Name List by @serifsystem
- Dark Academia Inspired Names by @victoriahazelnut
- Dark Academia Inspired Names part II by @victoriahazelnut
- Modern Names Similar to Constellations by @victoriahazelnut
>Personality
Websites:
- Personality Generator
- Random Character Traits Generator by @lucalicatteart
- Random Zodiac Sign Generator
- Zodiac Generator
Lists:
- 638 Personality Traits
- Character Traits List with Examples
- 800 Character Traits: The Ultimate List (+ How to Develop a Good Character Step-by-Step)
- The Signs in a Relationship by @neo-wonderland
- Character Flaws by @madswritess
- A List of Character Quirks by @psychidion
- Victorian Detective by @iamacuteapplepie
- Little Quirks for Future Reference by @elvenwinters
- Things your Character Might be Afraid of by @rpmemesbyarat
- Masterlist of Characters’ Deepest Fears by @bailey-writes
>Backstory
Websites:
- Kassoon Backstory Generator
- Character Biography Generator
-Â How to Write Compelling Character Backstories: Step-by-Step Guide
- Childhood Memory Generator
Lists:
- 33 Life Events For Your Character’s Backstory by @creativerogues
- Important Life Events
- Past Traumas by @blackacre13
>Goals & Motives
Websites:
- Character Goal Generator
- Character Motivation Generator
-Â Motive Generator
>Secrets
Websites:
- Secret Generator
Lists:
- 300 Secrets for your Character by @crissverahelps
- What Secret does your Character Keep?
-Â 150 secrets/plots by @sunshineandtearph
>Appearence
Websites:
- Appearence Generator
-Â Portrait and Figure Drawing References
Lists:
- Appearence Adjectives
- Adjectives to Describe PeopleÂ
plot feeling a little empty in the middle? here’s some food for thought.
actions have consequences. things that your characters do inevitably can affect other people around them. what might they have done in the past that could come back and serve as an obstacle? or, maybe, what could they do now that could possibly raise the stakes just a little bit more?
subplots! be mindful of the subplots you’re adding - but sometimes it might be a good idea to include one if your plot is feeling a little bit empty. not only can it tie back into the overarching struggle, but it could also serve as a way to explore one of your characters or points further.
character exploration. get to know your characters a little bit better! let your readers find out something new. connecting and understanding the people within your story is important if you want your readers to grow attached to them.
world exploration. similar to the previous point, with the addition of creating a greater sense of familiarity of the circumstances that your story is taking place in. remember that nobody else knows the world of your wip as well as you do - illustrate it even further so everyone else can grasp it even better.
let your characters bond! maybe there’s a lull in the plot. if your characters have the chance to take a breather and get to know the people around them, let them! it might help flesh out or even realistically advance their relationships with each other.
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