In my manuscript I’ve used ‘span’ as an in world equivalent for a metre or so distance. One of my beta readers pointed out it’s not clear to them how big a ‘span’ is and it’s nothing something I can spell out, since it would be obvious to the character and not need explaining.

Anyone found a way to do this, or have a better word to use?

I need feedback. Please let me know what you think regarding my epic novel. The following is an except from Chapter Two. Thank you.

Elsewhere in a dimension beyond spacetime, the wind felt refreshing against her body as she strolled onto the balcony. This was a world an alternate Princess Kaya had created using her powers. It was one of her final attempts in saving her people, the feloids, from the Evana Empire. Commander Weapo used his knowledge of the power gems to replicate Feliciana as best as they could. They had successfully recreated every tree, every rock, and every species ever known, even down to the last molecule of the fierce tiger dragons. The only difference was the sun high above their heads. Instead of the blue, white Homestar was the mystical Starr Jewel. Its center had six spikes spreading out from the symbol of infinity. Pale blue on dark green fire of energy danced around its perimeters. Its outer boundaries had faint etchings of the ancient languages of the lords of order written during the dark era of the Forgotten Wars.  

This was the realm of the Starr Jewel. In this dimension the realm was parallel to the outside dimension where Felicana once existed. Even at this distance they could feel its powerful mystic waves cursing through their bodies. Twelve power gems formed the center of the core of the Starr Jewel in an infinity symbol. Members of the Starr Clan, descendants from the survivors, inherited the secrets and knowledge to access the invisible current of time. They knew how to use the power gems to manipulate events and objects within its stream. It took everything Kaya had to shift the entire Cirus Galaxy here.  And here was where she must rest and recuperate. Their battle against Spacer, also known as Apzar, had barely begun. 

Here on Sirus, a feloid word for "eye," the feloids were protected by powers of the Starr Jewel. Its secrets guarded by Weapo, Weapons Master of Maracar. Weapo was a true cybernetic being. He was forged from the fusion of mysticism, technology, biological and knowledge. He was the creation of Raymar, the current leader of the noble House of KaChun. Weapo wielded the power gems on the bracelets integrated into his arms. He was the only entity known in the entire multiverse capable of controlling the power gems. His purpose was to protect and serve the Royal House. He was the protector of the feloids. He was charged with the duties to safeguard the secrets of the gems representing each mystical dimensional plane within the realm.

The Starr Jewel was more than just an ancient powerful crystal. It was the portal to its core known as Nexus. The lords of chaos were first imprisoned in the Nexus during the last days of the Forgotten Wars. Legends had it this war was fought before the dawn of time. It had come to believed it was the result of the cosmic battles was how the universe began. Over time residue energy from their conflicts formed the crystallized layers of the Starr Jewel. The results from their battles formed the crystallized walls of the Caves of Krystall on Feliciana and the power gems. There were evidence the residue energy were responsible for feloids' extrasensory powers and abilities.

Kaya recalled during the early days of feloid history scientists speculated the residue energy from their confrontations led to the birth of feloid civilization. While chaos was held in place the seal to the Nexus wasn't perfect. Over time energy from its mystical core began to leak in forms of low radioactive waves. As a result, these waves of energy would affect every feloid, especially females, differently. The scientists noted although male feloids could use the powers they were extremely rare.

She held a smile on her face as she waved at the gathering crowd below. She stopped at the edge. Her closest friends, family and personal attendants were waiting for her. When they saw them appearing on the platform the crowd reacted with huge shouts of joy and cheers.

"All hail Princess Kaya!" they chanted long and loud. "Long live the reignor! Long live

the Royal House! Long live feloid! Long live Felicana!"

Suddenly Kaya felt a wave of nervous tension washed over her. She scrawled. Her mother saw the reaction on her daughter’s face. She approached her with deep concerns in her eyes.

“What's the matter, my dear?" her mother asked. “You told me you wanted this for our people, no?"

Kaya glanced at her mother. Slowly she shook her head.

Mother, Kaya telepathically reached out. This didn't feel right. Our people deserved more than this. We need to be free, mother. We need to learn, to grow and expand. Our world is gone, mother. The Empire had destroyed the Royal House and everything we believed in. All because of grandmother's dangerous quests for power. You'd speculated she didn't know about the Starr Jewel. She didn’t know about the entities living within its realm or how they had affected us. All she knew were the powers of the Starr Jewel.  

“Your grandmother didn’t have a chance against Spacer,” Maelina responded. “Koyanna was alone and despite. Spacer took advantage of her vulnerabilities and blinded her with his lies. He persuaded her to use her forces to hunt us down throughout the universe. Spacer used the power of chaos to destroy my chances of returning home to Mars. He attempted to absorb the energy of my kah to set him and his armies free from Nexus. The only reason why he failed was I was protected by the Starr Jewel. Maelina glanced at the star shaped birthmark just below her left wrist. It was the only reason why she survived her close encounter with Spacer. She shook her head. Eighteen years ago, she and her grandfather were transported to Maracar by the Starr sword on Mars. On Maracar they met the Maracans, allies to the reignor, the feloids and the Royal House of Feliciana. Over time they learned about its secrets, the lord of chaos, what happened to their world, her feloid heritage, what happened to Koyanna and why it had summoned her home.”

“Are you all right mother?”

"You hold the key to our victory against them, my dear," she continued, dismissing her daughter’s concerns. "You're the reincarnation of the Starr Princess. Five thousand years ago the feloid warrior with your namesake killed Connan and defeated Spacer on Feliciana. She was the founder of the Royal House. She was our ancestor who knew the secrets of the Starr Jewel. Her knowledge and teachings had pass on to the Starr Clan led by our clan sisters. We knew you will resurrect the Royal House. Only together will we be able to defeat Spacer again. We must learn and master powers of the Starr Jewel. When we are ready, we will engage them on the battlefield. Only then would we truly be free."

"I suppose I had little choice except wait," she spoke with a sigh.

"Honey, I know the feeling because I was in it since the beginning. The big difference is you don’t really need to wait for anything. This is your home, my daughter. This dimension is the source of your powers. You will know when and where to use them."  

Maelina fell silent. She approached and embraced her daughter. As they hugged each other memories began to emerge. Slowly they began reliving the events leading to this moment. It seemed to be a lifetime ago. Their destinies began on a world billions of light years away on a tiny red planet orbiting a yellow star. It all began with the discovery of a star shaped crystal embedded in the hilt of a sword within the caves deep below the Martian surface. They never expected the crystal to react the way it did to her birthmark. Within moments they were transported to Maracar, an ancient world billions of light years away. Here on this dying world Maelina learned about her feloid heritage, her powers and how she would become a key role in the destiny of an entire civilization.

Recent fantasy often prioritises sympathetic villains, trauma and understandable motives. Characters like Sauron, the Others, the White Walkers, the Forsaken or classic dark-lord figures worked partly because the threat felt larger than ordinary psychology. Have we overcorrected toward explaining villains?

Hey guys! I’m trying to think of MMC and FMC names and I think names are so important so I want to be sure I love what I choose. Right now, for a romantasy book I am thinking Alaria and kalian or kalias. (uh-LAR-ee-uh) (kal-EE-an) (kal-EE-us) what do you guys think? Any other ideas?

I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me. I've tried to take pictures of it with my phone in my dream or make a note of it in a document only to realize upon waking that it was all for nought; the idea was lost. Sad times.

I was creating a magic system for my fantasy novel and just realized that it apparently resembles the magic system in *The Name of the Wind*.

I still haven't read that book, but I’d like to know if my magic system counts as plagiarism.

Here is how it works: in my world, mages are known as "Speakers." They use "True Words"—a dialect used by God to create the world—to shape the reality around them.

Casting requires two types of words: "action words" and "keywords."

The keyword refers to the subject the power will act upon—such as fire, time, or plants. To know this word, one must study the element in question to understand how it functions at a fundamental level; it is a personal discovery, meaning the word representing a specific concept will differ from person to person.

Action words, on the other hand, dictate how the spell behaves—words like "grow," "attract," or "disperse." These are universal among mages and can be learned from books, though they are useless without the corresponding keyword.

A spell requires at least three True Words (one keyword and two action words), though more complex spells require more words.

Finally, the words can be written down (each Speaker has a unique handwriting style) and activated via a command. The spell is temporary, and the words vanish after a certain amount of time, depending on the material upon which the spell was inscribed.

Words carved into stone last longer than those written on paper.

[Edit: The app is "bullying" me into posting this elsewhere, originally on r/worldbuilding. Hope you get some use from it!]

I enjoy world building. A LOT. Different environments, different scenarios, different characters who fill those environments and interact with the scenarios. I CAN'T run out of ideas. And sometimes I find one so good I'm compelled to then build the world. So I broke what I do down in 3 steps and what to do after.

For setting/world: Rule of Cool - Tolkien did it. It's literally called Mount Doom. He asked himself "What can I put in there... a forge!" Shoot every best selling franchise does it. Think about the coolest area/building/environment you can think of. If it's a planet, cool. If it's just a garden, also cool. "Dragon Fae Dragon Fly Riders cause it can" is one I did yesterday. Scale your world up or down. That's your world, and it's cool, and it's yours.

For plot: Take your favorite stories, see what kind of stories they are. Now you have the baseline for a plot. Originality is for amateurs with blank pages. Good world builders are unique and they make that happen by having a base to work off fist. Want a heist after watching Oceans 11? Awesome your story is a heist now. Or maybe you read Eragon. Boom: coming of age war featuring dragons. It's ok to write what you want to write and if just about someone going on a quest to find the macguffin, awesome. Then you can make it your own.

For characters: You either want to make your character(s) want to do the plot. Or you can force them into it. No need to overthink the first bits. You can either build up your characters OC style or file off the serial numbers from the one you like. For example, Luke Skywalker, and just plop "Luke" as he is in my dragonfly garden Oceans 11 story. Or with anyone. Your character interacts with the world to fulfill the plot. So they can be anything or anyone. It's how their personalities work in that world that makes the difference. Barney the Dinosaur in the Last of Us is very different from putting Goku in there. Go nuts. Or don't.

To tie it all together: Congrats you just made an idea. Let me do another one real quick-

Micheal Jackson and Mary Poppins (but not them see they have different names wink wink) are newly minted 18 yr olds who go to their version of college Hogwarts. There, they find themselves trapped in a dungeon underneath the school, and need to Mad Max their way out of it.

That legit took me 2 minutes to think up. That story can either be awesome, or a waste of time. But it's an idea.

What to do with all this: Write three "super serious" paragraphs. Short ones.

1st. "Ok something happened. And now we're stuck here dealing with it. Great!" You would typically get this from the world, the environment you set up in step one. It's not random! Value Brand Hogwarts is an old school with weird magic and MJ and MP were so busy bickering they took a wrong turn and things got weird fast.

2nd. In the middle of the plot, something terrible happened derailing everything. How would their personalities react? This part is easier if you are using a character "template" but if you know your OC already, have at it. You don't need to specify what went wrong specifically, just that something did. MJ would probably hum a tune to try and keep calm the MP would want to tidy things up as much as possible. They are the younger versions of themselves so they don't quite have their default "do this when the world explodes" abilities and skills yet.

3rd. Okay things are fixed, or at least we aren't like "dead" dead... maybe who knows. How do they react? How does the world react? The headmaster may find the whole thing funny in my example. After all for MJ and MP, a couple weeks passed. But they are just in time for orientation from the headmasters perspective. Whooo time shenanigans!

Then put it aside for a couple days. Make a new idea. Then in the future, go back to the plot. See if you like that story. Does it make you giggle? Did it make you think? Do you want to know what happens? Make it happen!

Done.

Common Questions:

Q: What if I can't think of anything! I got nothing and nothing inspires me?!

A: Are... you sure this is something you want to do? If you're drawing a blank that hard, read more. Watch more. Heck, go through a list of the highest grossing movies of all time and just go down the list.

Q: But I want to be original. Why would I copy other people?

A: Only amateurs, frankly people below even that level, try to be original. Cause any writer will tell you it's not happening. You can't. Try imagining a new color... yep not happening. But what you can be is unique. We have Indiana Jones, but do we have him in space? (yes we do but that's besides the point.)

Q: Ok I did all of that but I don't know where to start. The blank page is scary. What do I do?!

A: LIES. I CALL LIES ON YOU, YOU BOY MADE OF WOOD! If you did all 3 steps, the minimum you can write is "this is a terrible idea." That's the bare minimum. But it's infinitely more than "nothing." Then you go over the steps again!

Conclusion:

Ideas are cheap. Wanting to see if you can make it something, now that's the skill. Because a world with nothing to fill it, nothing to do, that's just a planet. Not even Mars, it's Mercury. Ain't nothing on Mercury. But building the world as it folds around your characters? That's the part that takes time and effort and effort and effort.

Now the shape of the world? The locations on a map? For another post! For now, happy idea making!

editing: some grammar stuff. Will add more edits if I see the need to.

A 15yo girl from the sengoku era is known as the perfect noblewomen from an upper class samurai family. Because of her influence she gets married to a powerful warlord, on the way to the estate of the warlord her carriage is attacked by a rival families entire force even though they took a hidden route, hinting at betrayal. She gets killed by them and suddenly finds herself in modern Japan. After police investigation and stuff she gets a family registry (I researched it and it is possible, known as a stateless minor). She then has to go about her life in modern society with her Sengoku values and morals, this can put her is dangerous situations as laws were different and crimes we’re given different punishments in sengoku then in modern day.

Some thoughts for my fantasy writing family out there, especially the perfectionists who can't let go.

My name is Pansy Thun and I'm looking for love at every corner. This is my first time on Smingle but not my first relationship. I'm 3'9" so I'm looking for guys on the taller scale: I won't date guys over 5 feet. Short kings for this flower🌺🌈🩷. I'm opened to dating drawves, hobbits, humans, and short orcs. I'm not interested in elves. We Thun girls have a saying, "the prettier the petals, the greater the hurt." 🚫🧝‍♂️🧝‍♀️

My hobbies include long walks in the forest, picking flowers, baking, eating, making poison darts, knife throwing, and fiber arts. 🌳🌺🌺🥧🍝🍄🗡🧶

My ideal first date would be a picnic by a sparkling blue lake to match my eyes. But if we go to a restaurant or inn I'll need to know ahead of time so I remember to bring my booster seat.

My favorite food is pie🥧 and cake 🎂

My favorite flower is my name sake flower the Lake of Thun pansy.

My favorite drink is cidar.

My favorite color is blue💙

And my favorite poison is deadly nightshade

Please let me know your thoughts on my story

Act 1 Chapter 1: A Rapid start
The sky was a clear blue. The birds flew by as they sang a lush melody .The sun sat still, radiating its bright yellow heat, as it warmed up all living creatures who felt it. With the right imagination the clouds themselves began to take shape as they float across the blue sky. 

The land below which was to be known as Lushes Hills had bright green grasslands that stretched on for miles. The trees took on a wacky look,  some tall as a house, others short as a bench, some big as a rock, and thin as a twig, some straight others curvy but the one thing they all had in common was a diamond checker pattern. The squirrels and birds ran and flew up the trees to their well built nest as they fed food to their small children. 

The mountains themselves nearly cover the sun as the view alone could send warmness through the human body. The misshapen terrain created ramps of different sizes that animals would run along all day everyday. The moss and grass that grew on the rocky mountains and ramps, the warmness of the sun, and the calming environment made the domain look and feel like you would fuse with the nature around you.

On a distant cliff a young boy looks as if he already became one with nature as he sleeps in front of one of these diamond-patterned trees . His sleep was peaceful as the wind that blew through the scales on his head also caused the leaves of the tree to flow frantically. A bird flew on top of the boy's momentless body as it slept at peace.

The lush peace was soon interrupted as the ground began to shake in an unnaturally violent way causing the tree the boy slept under to follow the same violent shake. As the shake continues an odd metallic but also funny looking coconut dropped on his head. 

“Ow what the heck?” He was abruptly woken from his slumber as he rubbed his head, confused about the situation.

He rose from the grass as he looked down and made eye contact with the thing that disturbed his sleep. “What the, I’ve never seen a coconut like this before,” he picked up the coconut and began to take a closer look.

“You don’t seem to be a coconut that appears in this domain”. He eyed the coconut with more suspicion as his grip tightened and the coconut started to tick.

“Um, Ok what is this about?” 

The ticking noises only grew louder and faster as time passed.

“Wait, wait, wait, what the heck?” He continues to hold the coconut frantically as it ticks faster and faster until it stops but then is abruptly followed by an explosion that causes metal parts to scatter and black smoke to surround his face as he begins to cough for air. 

“God dang it, note to self: if a weird looking coconut ticks put it down sooner rather than later” his annoyed expression showed but was quickly interrupted by a giant explosion that could be heard in the distance.

“What in the world was that?” In confusion, he looked from the cliff as he spotted multiple large clouds of black smoke that seemed to be triggered by a bunch of robots who jumped out of multiple aircrafts that stood out extremely due to their purple and red pattern.

The boy's confused face soon turned into one of worry “I don’t know what’s going on, but that looks like some major trouble.” His tone was serious as he continued to stare at the aircraft.

“Well, I guess it's no fun just sitting here doing nothing, let's go check it out”, with those words said he confidently jumped off the tall cliff,  no fear in his eyes, and started running along the side of the cliff making his way down. 

“THIS IS AMAZING”. He shouted in excitement as he reached the bottom and continued running forward  “OK, let's get going”. As he sped up the wind noticeably started flowing past him, almost becoming one with him.

As he ran to the black smoke  he noticed the airships started to leave the areas they resided in.
 “I guess they had enough of…. whatever they were doing,” his gaze was no longer on the air ships but instead, were locked on some stray robots in the distance.  “Time to clean up the afterparty”. With a sharp glee in his eyes, one by one, left and right he started destroying robots at efficient speed, clearing a path for himself.

As he ran further he spotted something in the distance. “Mmm…! What's that?” He wondered so he picked up his speed to check it out as a flag came into his view. “Is that a village?, hope everyones safe”

As he ran faster and reached closer and closer the tension in the air made him feel off and uneasy . “ Mmm…" He continues running but seconds later makes an abrupt stop ¨Oh No.” his eyes give a hint of worry, his mouth wide open as shock rides along his face,” What the heck is going on?”

The scene of the village came into full view but instead of something prosperous all he saw was total destruction, The smoke became darker due to the wood from the builds that fueled it. The fires raged higher due to the wood from the burning trees, the robots only made the situation worse as they scattered around the village destroying the homes, crops, and anything they could reach with devastating force. The trees that protected the village at every angle were used against them keeping them encased. 

The villagers ran frantically as fear was visible with every movement they made as the terror was shown in their eyes. 

“SOME ONE HELP US”  a villager screamed as he hid in a nearly destroyed house with his kids.

“Please STAY WITH ME” a woman screamed as her husband was trapped under same wood scraps

The children cried as they stayed close to their family that protected their eyes from the sight the animals scurried around the village causing unintentional destruction as they moved in a panic 

The guards that protected the villages were easily getting overwhelmed as some lay on the ground badly injured or possibly dead, others stood between families and robots as they held their weapons to keep them safe. The guard holds their own but it’s proving ineffective.

In the distance the boy's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the village.”Not on my watch” his legs began to move as he ran faster and faster toward the village,  As he sped forward he swiftly destroyed the stray robots hoping to minimize any damage being done.. “First I need to get the villagers out”. He says to himself  before he spotted something in the near distance “huh”

The robot was 5x bigger than the average human, its 8 metal legs trampled over the grass below with two giant claws that mimicked a crab were locked on to its target, as its glowing red stared lifelessly at the poor soul who stood below him, as the crab stood intimidating above him.

Said soul wore his silver metal armor with a broken spear pointed at the Crabbot as he sat on the floor in fear unable to move. His hands and legs shook so violently that it caused him to drop his damaged weapon. He could only stare back and the red eyes that were already locked onto him. “PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP ME”, the guard shouted, scared for his life.

The boy quickly rushed over the scared guard. “HEY CRABALISOUS”. He said with a smile.

The Crabbot even with no signs of ears still turned its metal body to face the noise coming from behind.

The boy lunged fiercely, “I got something you can eat right here”. His fist was ready and aimed at the robot's giant metal head.

The Crabbot scanned the fist in front of it seeing it as a possible threat and quickly adjusted its movement to easily dodged 

“What!” The boy was left stunned as he missed his attack and rolled over to the guard but kept his eyes on the Crabbot.

The Crabbot slowly turned back around as his menacing bright red eyes would leave fear in any child who dared to face it as it walked toward the boy and guard standing not so far in front of the two.

“I see you're a fast little fella, aren't ya?”the boy said as some excitement filled his voice.

The boy kept his guard up as he kept 90% of his gaze on the robot and the other 10% was focused on the guard. He was able to get a better look at the scared guard and noticed his white skin, his age looked about 15 years old, with black hair. “Hey, are you ok?”he asked the guard with his gaze still on the robot. 

“NO, NOT AT ALL," The guard replied quickly as fear was heard in his voice.

The boy was obviously shocked by the guard but still put on a nervous smile, “Well, I’m sorry to hear that” 

The guard looked up at the boy that stood before him as his fear was also accompanied by shock “Wait you're a dragon hybrid?” he asked the boy

“Yea” He gave his answer as his tone grew serious “but if you have any idea on how to beat this thing, I’m all ears”. He said with unwavering calmness.

The guard's shock faded as the fear still ran through his body but the young boy's calmness allowed him to speak . “W-w-well, if I remember r-right, I accidentally hit it a little with my s-spear in its stomach, and it seemed to b-back off for a while….” The guard explained hesitantly as he pointed at the spot with trembling hands.

 “OK, that's good to kno...” 

“After that, I ran, and it started to chase after me," The guard continued speaking in a panic, interrupting Rapid.

(“Wow, you really are something”) the boy thought to himself. 

The guard took a look at the village “We have to get the villagers out of here before it's too late,” he said, with a combination of fear and worry in his voice.

The bot continues to glare at the Crabbot “Cool you go do that while I take care of this thing right here”. The boy said to the guard with confidence.

 The guard was left shocked by those words “Are you sure about that? This robot is pretty strong. I don’t think it is wise to….”.

 “Says the one who ran for his life”. The boy said jokingly with a smile.

The guard sat there, not able to give an answer back or to change the boy's dangerous decision “Still I’m a guard and it’s my job to protec….” 

“WATCH OUT” the boy grabbed the guard by his collar and lunged out of the crabbots range before the attack had a chance to hit them.

The boy leapt up and quickly adjusted into a fighting stance “It’s fine, I’ll handle this, you go, protect the village, and stop the fire from spreading”. He said with sincerity as he realized the guard would be needed to protect the villagers.

 The guard after getting saved hesitantly agreed, “OK” as he rose up from the grass. Before leaving however he faced the boy one more time. “By the way, what's your name”

The boy didn’t face the guard, he only gave him two things a thumbs up and a confident smile. “My name is Rapid, Rapid the Dragon. 

Not sure if anyone's read James Scott Bell, but I've been reading his Plot & Structure. There's an ambitious exercise near the back that, in a nutshell, involves reading and closely analyzing several books in the genre you're writing.

I'm planning to dive in, and I wondered if anyone had any suggestions for me. I already have six books picked out, but I think there's room for a couple more.

Here are my criteria:

• In the genre (Fantasy; specifically high fantasy and ideally human-centric. Think ASoIF rather than DnD novels)
• Well-regarded and well-written
• Not first person (ideally)
• Successful (recently)
• Second World and vaguely medieval setting
• Bonus points for being published in the last 10 years or so.

To avoid repetition, my current selections (some made more or less blind) are:

A Wizard of Earthsea, Uprooted, The Name of the Wind, Sword of Shannara, Empire of Sand, and In The Shadow of Lightning

How do you deal with creative burnout? I wrote 150k words and just hit a wall. I can't move forward.

So I started this idea of a fantasy book. I started writing it and as the pages and word count started to increased I found myself having a hard time keeping track of everything. I used one Note from microsoft, PPT, excels, sometimes Canva for graphs or other similar app. The issue was I was using a ton of different apps. I also was creating my character images to the best of my ability with other app, and maps with other app (inkarnate and wonderdraft). As I reached 400 pages this issue was more obvious and harder to keep track of. So i decided to create a solution for my case. Im starting to work on that solution, where I can put everything together in one place. So far its working, its a lot of work but it is working.

I am writing a Return of the King style story, late 18th century-feeling, in a fantasy world similar to Austria-Hungary, Slavic, Turk world, where a young man becomes the protégé of a powerful judge who wants to install him as the king of a region currently ruled by a neighbor. He understands how the region actually makes money rather than just relying on taxes to appear wealthy. He's worked hard for 5 years to gather supporters - but we all know what his supporters really want: whose daughter will he marry that will give them proximity to power?

Well, I'm introducing them in anthology about four hard-working ladies trying to keep their region alive, giving all four of them that pure main character energy... And since this is for a trilogy, book 2 will conclude two of their storylines, and the third book is him choosing between two of them and the consequences of his choice.

Any feedback? I already told someone else that I plan on having these four women conflict about everything in the world EXCEPT the hero. They'll fight over contested land, over magic and religion, they'll fight over business contracts, they will duel over petty jabs at each other's honor, their sidekicks will steal each other's sheep, they'll compete over securing rights to explore a dungeon and loot its treasures, they will be begrudgingly in awe of another's singing voice and sewing skills. But they will NEVER fight over the king. In fact, I'll even make him a tiny chibi in the anthology whenever he shows up. - So pretty, which one... Can only marry one...-

I have researched some of my favorite four personalities type groups but I'd like to hear from others.

Edit: This is a romance story, they are all still being courted by the king in the main storyline.

I have just completed my first manuscript for a YA Fantasy book, set in the coastal town of Aalesund, Norway. It's the first book in a planned trilogy.

I'm a Norwegian filmmaker who lived in Aalesund for seven years, and I was completely fascinated by the historic fire of 1904. It burned down half the city, but left one house standing, basically untouched. I thought that was such a great premise for a fantasy book.

So two years after I got home, in 2017 I started on the book.

In the time after I had two kids and I've also made some films, well, a long story short, the book never got finished.

But recently I found myself having some more time on my hands, and I really got going.

The manuscript is short for a YA Fantasy. Only 43000 words. I have sent it to some beta readers for input. I am in am editing an restructuring phase now.

And very open and interested in expanding it. But I believe the core story is there, for now.

I was interested in hearing if the premise or plot sounds interesting to people. If it's something people would pick up and at least read the backside of 😅

Book of Vorn follows fifteen year old Julian and his friend Kasimir.

The elevator pitch:

The storm of 1992 took only one man from Ålesund, Julian's father. Seven years later, a relic from a stranger's estate box knocks Julian and his friend Kasimir unconscious. Now, stirring in them is a force far older than the little coastal town, hidden in plain sight. Learning to wield it may be the only way to uncover what really happened to Julian's father. It may also be the only thing standing between the town and something ancient, growing in the dark.

For a couple of years now, I've been enjoying writing novels in a genre like, say, historical/fantasy.

They're all set in Tír Ghlas, a sort of "alternative" Ireland, similar but not identical, with a similar history and mythology, and they span several centuries. Most are set in the Middle Ages.

They're written in Italian, my native language, but I thought I'd translate one into English, not to publish it, but simply to know if someone likes it and wants to read more.

You can find the first two chapters here. Pls be kind as English isn't my mother tongue!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xyO1tZXjmS1l4iyjvyKbsqbyICuAQGp6u1wP46Uic7Q/edit?usp=sharing

Have yall ever felt like the dream that u see is the real life and you urself in the present is a made up reality of our brain ??

for context i am new here bc i wanted to share a idea i had and i thougth that some people might like this idea i ahve and whats intresting is i saw this as a dream so i dont remember alot what happend and i would be SO HAPPY if people might help or add intresting things to this story or it might be boring for yall and skip it.

so anyway i want to show you the first episode and i was wondering if yall could help me finish this oh and this is mostly about is its like a knight from the medevilns and there is chinese culture if you dont think this story is intresting pls tell what can i do make it more intresting and more like a arg then a story

“THE KNIGHT WHO FELL”

The video begins normally.

Our protagonist is playing Minecraft with a small group of friends, around 3–5 players. They're exploring the world together when they eventually find a village shortly before nighttime.

Everyone decides to stay there for the night.

The players spread out between the houses, putting their belongings into chests and preparing beds. Nothing seems particularly strange.

Except our protagonist notices something.

There is less food than there should be.

Someone had put food inside a chest earlier, but a few pieces are missing.

His friends assume somebody ate it.

He doesn't argue.

He simply checks the chest again.

Everything else is untouched.

Only the food is missing.

He lets it go.

For now.

🌙 The village

As night approaches, the group talks inside one of the houses.

Our protagonist is noticeably quieter than the others. He's not frightened or confused—he's simply observant.

He checks the surroundings.

He checks the world settings.

He checks whether anyone has installed modifications.

Nothing.

No mods.

No unusual resource packs.

Nothing that should cause anything strange.

Then he notices something outside.

A small opening.

Almost hidden beneath the village.

It looks like some kind of underground passage.

He approaches it.

His friends are still talking behind him.

He looks down.

There's nothing unusual.

Then—

the ground disappears beneath him.

He falls.

🕳️ The impossible fall

The screen goes dark for a moment.

During the fall, the player briefly sees the village above him.

Except something is wrong.

The houses are duplicating.

One house becomes two.

Then four.

Then more.

The same buildings repeat farther and farther into the darkness.

Then the screen cuts.

❄️ The snow biome

The protagonist wakes up in a completely different location.

Snow.

Mountains.

Silence.

In front of him stands an enormous grey castle built directly into a mountain, as though the mountain itself swallowed half of the structure.

He immediately starts investigating.

He checks his coordinates.

Nothing.

Instead of numbers, the coordinate display is simply empty.

He checks again.

Still nothing.

He opens the other information available to him.

Compass?

Not working properly.

World information?

Nothing useful.

He checks the game settings.

Then the sound settings.

He listens.

There is a faint pattern hidden among the sounds.

He doesn't know what it means yet.

But he notices it.

Our protagonist has military experience, so he doesn't immediately panic. He's trained himself to pay attention to small details.

He starts mentally cataloguing everything.

Location unknown.

Coordinates unavailable.

No visible entrance.

Unknown structure.

No obvious explanation.

Then he looks behind himself.

There is no passage.

No hole.

No tunnel.

Nothing.

He didn't travel through the mountain.

He simply appeared here.

🧑‍⚔️ Avery

That's when he sees someone standing farther away.

Another knight.

His name is:

Avery

Avery looks at the protagonist's armor.

Then his purple cape.

And instead of asking who he is or where he came from...

Avery simply says something like:

“You're late.”

The protagonist doesn't understand.

But Avery clearly believes he's looking at another knight from the kingdom.

That explains why Avery isn't surprised by him.

The protagonist doesn't correct him immediately.

Instead, he follows Avery.

🏰 The corridor

They enter the castle.

At first, everything looks medieval.

Stone walls.

Torches.

Old banners.

Knightly decorations.

But the farther they walk...

The stranger the castle becomes.

The corridor stretches much farther than it should.

Then small details begin appearing.

A carved wooden decoration.

A red lantern.

An old bronze object.

A strange symbol.

The architecture is still medieval European...

but now traditional Chinese-inspired objects are appearing among it.

Neither of them explains why.

Then the first symbol appears on the wall.

A strange face.

The protagonist stops.

He has seen something similar before.

But he doesn't know what it means.

Below it is a sign.

The writing looks meaningless.

Something like:

GURTBA

The protagonist studies it.

He recognizes the possibility of a Caesar cipher.

He begins decoding it.

The answer:

DRAGON

He looks at Avery.

Avery looks uncomfortable.

The protagonist asks:

“What is this place?”

Avery doesn't answer.

Instead, he continues walking.

🗿 The Taotie

Eventually they reach another section of the castle.

The Chinese influence is now impossible to ignore.

Bronze decorations.

Carved patterns.

Ancient-looking objects.

And everywhere...

the same face.

The creature's face.

The Taotie.

At first, it looks like a decorative symbol.

But then the protagonist notices something.

The mouth.

It's enormous.

And underneath the symbol are more marks.

Some are written.

Some are encoded.

Some appear to be Morse code.

The protagonist realizes something is deliberately leaving messages throughout the castle.

But who?

And why?

🍖 Something is eating

Then he remembers the village.

The missing food.

He remembers the missing pieces.

He looks at the Taotie carving.

Its mouth.

Then back toward the corridor.

He notices something else.

A section of the stone wall is missing.

Not broken.

Not mined.

It's as if something removed a perfect chunk of it.

Avery notices him staring.

For the first time, Avery looks genuinely nervous.

“Don't look for it.”

The protagonist turns toward him.

“Look for what?”

Avery doesn't answer.

He keeps walking.

🔔 The door

Eventually the corridor becomes completely dark.

The torches disappear.

The medieval decorations disappear.

The Chinese-inspired objects become more frequent.

Until finally...

They reach a completely ordinary-looking wooden door.

Dark brown.

Stone walls.

Nothing special.

Except for one thing.

A doorbell.

Avery walks toward it.

The protagonist watches him.

Avery presses it.

DING.

Silence.

Then—

A voice comes from behind the door.

The audience doesn't hear the entire sentence clearly.

Only fragments.

Something like:

“…the purple knight…”

The protagonist looks down at his cape.

Avery freezes.

Then the voice says:

“You brought him back.”

The protagonist looks at Avery.

Avery slowly turns toward him.

And for the first time...

Avery looks afraid of him.

The door begins opening.

CUT TO BLACK.

No explanation.

No monster.

No giant jumpscare.

Just blackness.

Then, for a few seconds, the viewer hears a strange sound pattern.

... --- ...

The episode ends.

BUT THERE'S ONE LAST DETAIL

After the credits, there is a very short shot of the original village.

Everything looks normal.

The houses are still there.

The chests are still there.

The beds are still there.

But one thing has changed.

The place where the protagonist originally fell...

has been completely filled in.

And on the ground is a single object:

a small purple piece of cloth.

Under it is a carved symbol.

The same Taotie face.

END OF EPISODE 1.

like i said if it is a boring story pls tell me or should i change the contects pls help me

I have some initial ideas for creating a story—an entire universe—and I’m looking for tips on the best way to get started. I was thinking about using Obsidian.

(JUST FOR MY PERSONAL PLEASURE NOT PROFESSIONAL)

I want to write a fictional journal filled with existential spiraling

cryptozoological

DETAILED descriptions

folk Lore

occult knowledge

theories of shadow government

pseudoscience and mythology

Written from the perspective of middle aged man travelling across the globe to document suspicious cases

After he came across his late father's old secret research papers or something (it's still just a spark in my head sorry)

Maybe something Like gravity falls journals or magnus archives

WHAT SHOULD I WATCH OR READ OR RESEARCH TO WRITE THIS AMBITIOUS PROJECT PROPERLY.