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  1. Zagaroth

    As a new writer with brain fog and severe laziness, Any Advice

    Brain Fog and "Laziness", unable to even do that which you want? Top recommendation: Consider getting evaluated for ADHD. Laziness is only doing what you want, and not that which is inconvenient. If you have trouble gathering yourself to do the things you actually want to do, it may be ADHD.
  2. Zagaroth

    As a writer, what do you feel your greatest strengths and weaknesses are?

    My greatest strength is easily making characters who develop very real feeling personalities. Naturally, with all writing, there is a limit to how deep and complex a character can be, but I think mine at least approach the limit of what you are going to find without doing a 1st person slice of...
  3. Zagaroth

    I Can’t Write Romance…

    I'm 50 years old, and my 12th anniversary will be later this year. I have no problem writing a happy, healthy romance, because it is what I have always wanted and what I now have. In order to be a *good* romantic partner, one must first be capable of being a good friend. Friendship involves an...
  4. Zagaroth

    How often do you check your story’s stats?

    Highly variable; basically am I being twitchy and clicking on things because I need some stimulation. So I may go days or weeks without looking, and then check three days in a row or what ever.
  5. Zagaroth

    Writing How do y'all figure out story or worldbuilding problems that you're stuck on?

    For me, my stories all start with ideas about the characters. Then I have to figure out where the characters are that this idea or moment could take place in. Everything else rolls out from there. But as no one story explores or overshadows the entire world (I keep my power scaling relatively...
  6. Zagaroth

    Writing How do y'all figure out story or worldbuilding problems that you're stuck on?

    To a large extent, the story and the world building go hand in hand for me. I world build to answer the questions that come up in story, and that shapes the next part of the story. Here's an example of pieces of my worldbuilding work flow...
  7. Zagaroth

    Is it true that some authors spend time describing a character eating breakfast or the texture of toast?

    So, for a moment I thought maybe you were a sex-repulsed asexual (https://lgbtqia.wiki/wiki/Sex-Repulsed) but that wouldn't explain your reaction to filial bonds. That one, um, might be something you want to talk with a counselor or therapist about.
  8. Zagaroth

    Is it true that some authors spend time describing a character eating breakfast or the texture of toast?

    Sure, on occasion, though not too much detail. It's not generally a major focal point, but it can add some depth to a scene and character. Example: this was part of a little bonding scene between Fuyuko and some adoptive family.
  9. Zagaroth

    Dashes in Writing, AI

    alright, so I just started incorporating en and em-dashes into my writing, and learning the exact differences is fresh in my head. We have 3 dashes. - normal dash, often used as a connector, when two words are being used as one word. Example: "a spell-charged ball of foxfire" (from my latest...
  10. Zagaroth

    Tournament Arcs?

    I didn't exactly have a normal tournament arc. :) The MCs were the hosts. Though that was part of the inspiration for me introducing a new character with a (temporarily) mysterious background/origin with his own reasons to be entering the tournament. Which I revealed slowly. And once his arc...
  11. Zagaroth

    Tournament Arcs?

    Consider just not writing out every fight. Skim and summarize over some of the earlier fights, especially if the rules of the tournament allow the people setting it up to deliberately put stronger (by their judgement) competitors farther in the bracket from each other, and everything else...
  12. Zagaroth

    Tournament Arcs?

    As long as it reasonably fits inside the narrative. It's usually best when participating and doing reasonably well is enough to accomplish any primary/critical goals. Then it can be unknown just how far they will really get into the tournament, beyond doing well enough that the story wouldn't...
  13. Zagaroth

    How do you design iconic characters?

    I agree with Charles. Just make characters who feel alive and rich and vibrant. Fill them out. Make them People to your best ability. And then, maybe, if you are lucky, one of your characters will become iconic. ------------------ Alternatively, become a reasonably successful TTRPG...
  14. Zagaroth

    Why don’t the monsters in your world attack cities often?

    "Monsters" aren't exactly a unified category of creatures, and by definition mostly means non-sapient creatures. Most of the time, it effectively means animalistic/aggressive/predatory but with magical abilities. They no more attack cities than bears attack cities in our world, but they are...
  15. Zagaroth

    No, transformations aren't supposed to hurt! =P

    Well, I was thinking magical experiment, but more along the lines of "we want super-soldiers who can transform into giant monsters on command", and so they try to 'hack' the innate magic of other species to give them the results they want and then tack that magic onto people who may not be...
  16. Zagaroth

    How do you write fighting scenes?

    I'm no master of combat, but I have had regular fire arm training during my time in the military, and some basic unarmed combat training on my own time. When doing something that has a habit level of automation, you do generally have the time to either A) pick options of which action to do or...
  17. Zagaroth

    No, transformations aren't supposed to hurt! =P

    I have innate and spell based transformation be (usually) painless, though not necessarily comfortable at first. But curse-specific transformations, that are meant to punish the person each time they transform? those are going to hurt. In certain scenarios, infusing a person with a permanent...
  18. Zagaroth

    Have you guys ever had a really good idea for a story that you didn't pursue/expand on?

    I have a ton of ideas in a file I have for keep track. I have not expanded on most of them, yet. I have occasionally dropped off an idea in a thread on a related topic, if it's not an idea that is too tightly bound to my world and would be a minimum of five years before I *might* start working...
  19. Zagaroth

    Power Creep

    My solution was to A) soft-cap advancement. You will reach a point where you can't progress quickly, no matter how good you are. B) I knew the power the main antagonist was going to have as soon as I figured out who he was (I am primarily a Panster), and I knew all power progression had to be...
  20. Zagaroth

    Writing Should I explain the power system/characters of my story in a dedicated chapter?

    No. 1) Mystery is good, it means there is more to learn. 2) Interweaving little bits of it as a character learns it makes it more a part of the world and gives it more depth and flavor. 3) What you are describing is a form of exposition. And entire chapter of exposition? No, never do that...
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