Recent content by MFontana

Personally, I referenced the Ancient Roman Empire for one of my own and designed a provincial-prefecture based imperial/feudal system. However, the governmental structure of the civilization would also be influenced by its culture and the scale/scope of its territory. From what you presented...

For me, it ultimately comes down to the execution. What role is the character meant to fill? Are they believable? Are they relatable? What is their psychology? What are their motivations/goals? Why do they do what they do? What are their conflicts? Do they have regrets? What do they believe? How...

I'm not really sure what you're asking, but if you mean have I ever struggled with any particular writing style, I'd have to say no. Mostly because I don't try to mimic any existing style. It's been a lot of time, work, and effort, to hone and refine my own style. If you mean struggling with...

For me, it isn't a matter of attention span. It is a matter of what is visually appealing and an easier structure to follow. Towards that end, I tend to lean towards the standard range of 3-5 sentences per paragraph, with both my preferred reading, and my writing. 3 - 5 sentences per paragraph...

A personal favorite: "Your visage is so hideous, the last time you had a portrait made it needed neither hammer nor nail, as it hung itself."

There are varying degrees of blindness. What degree are you asking about? And under what conditions was said character blind? The "tropes" you mentioned are realistic, and reasonable, in most cases. When one sense fails, the others often sharpen over time to compensate (not to superhero-levels...

Short-form from my own outline. Story Title / Project Name * Initial Concept/Premise * Planned Length (Volumes) Volume # & Title - Number of anticipated "Arcs" or "Segments" Chapter # * First major story beat * Second major story beat * Third major story beat * Forth major story beat Rinse and...

As an author; I'll tend to use multiple points of view; and often let multiple plot threads develop and progress in parallel, which is something that I have already begun laying the groundwork for in The Elarian Chronicles - Duskfall. As a reader, I tend to favor small-entourage casts and...

Well seeing as how the real world is a part of my shared universe, this is easy. The protagonists of The Elarian Chronicles are American, of Western-European lineage. I don't go into much deeper detail than this because it isn't relevant to the story. Since Aestelle Nocte takes place (mostly)...

I'd say its a solid start. One thing to definitely consider; the Magic System of the setting (if it has one). Another, are the governments of the different kingdoms. (Their political landscapes). And lastly... Are they at war? and if not, Why not? Then, you'd want to consider the different...

To be completely fair, and honest, no existing "AI" tools are true artificial intelligence. People have just taken to calling them that without understanding how they function, and what the differences are. As they are now, they will never be able to replace human creators, because they are...

Good luck. And sure, go ahead and drop it (but if you do, be sure to include the link here for easy access to it).

Personally, I'm not a fan of relying on archetypes or classifications for any of the characters, because I find doing so to be very limiting, almost to the point the it stifles creativity for the character, and the narrative. To that end, I'd advise against relying on archetypes for any...

All forms of creative expression are worthy of being called "art". Whether they are "Good" or not is purely subjective outside of the extremely rare, genre-defining and timeless works of legends like Tolkien, Rice, Shelley, Lewis, LeGuin, and many (many) others. What I tend to look for though...

Then you'll definitely want to read and study C.S. Lewis' style as a reference point. In particular, his Narnia series. He tended to favor a lighter style that was full of layered description, and could be a solid go-to stylistically speaking. The best advice I can offer is that description...