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  1. Zagaroth

    How long should the story and chapters be?

    I prefer 2k words minimum per chapter. As for the book size, many progression fantasy publishers want 80k words minimum. Podium specifically wants 90k-160k per volume/book. As this is a serial site, generally all the 'books' are just published under one title for the whole series.
  2. Zagaroth

    Werewolves: Fluffy or Feral?

    "Depends". If someone has been hit with a curse, they are probably going to be feral. Nature of the curse. If you are looking several generations later, it becomes a matter of mastery, going from semi-feral to fully controlled with practice. But the shape shifting is no longer triggered by the...
  3. Zagaroth

    Intimacy without Romance

    So it seems that you specifically mean non-sexual intimacy? It can be a difficult balance, and I have to admit, there is a lot going on there that could lead to romance. Several layers of bonds, and I assume both are straight or bi. If it's feasible in your story, I would probably try to...
  4. Zagaroth

    Would you rather…?

    Modern alternative reality, assuming that I absolutely have to do either one of these, because they both sound like hell. I'll take 3 years of slightly worse hell and be back home please. Look, with specific training and knowledge, surviving in any reasonable biome on Earth is not terribly...
  5. Zagaroth

    Means vs. End

    I'm going to have to go with "Journey before destination" here. Consider video games as a simple example: Yes, there is value in completing a game, knowing the story, having that satisfying ending. Yet, for many of us, there is also value in replaying even linear games, if the experience of...
  6. Zagaroth

    does any one got publishing contract?

    Also, get an agent. I got my two offers first, then approached an agent, which also got me a discount as I had removed some of the work and a lot of the risk. To be clear: that's a smaller percentage/commission. Agents are *NEVER* paid up front/hourly, which is also why they can be picky. Any...
  7. Zagaroth

    What type of literature inspires your writing?

    I'm 51, and I've been reading fantasy novels since at least 10, so I have a huge swath of fantasy and sci-fi material that influences me, with a particular love of stories that include a good romance. Add onto that cartoons, comics, anime, and video games with an ever evolving taste. For the...
  8. Zagaroth

    does any one got publishing contract?

    I post here and on Royal Road. I have a contract with Podium to publish the first 3 books of my series, including audio books; professional editing is currently in progress. They were one of two offers I received after submitting to several smaller publishing houses. Note: I had been writing...
  9. Zagaroth

    An idea I had

    The biggest issue I have with the set up is that you have his social interactions sound like he lacks empathy, when all you removed was fear. Fear is danger sensing, which can trigger either avoidance or aggression behavior, but even without emotional fear driven reaction, you can care what...
  10. Zagaroth

    Writing Who is the Narrator in Your Fiction?

    Well, the narrator represents me to an extent, but also represents the PoV character. So even though I am writing in 3rd person, the text is flavored by whose PoV we are in, including how other character are referenced. Most of the time the 'camera' is sort of sitting on the PoV character...
  11. Zagaroth

    If your main character had to survive a zombie apocalypse…

    Mordecai, Moriko, and Kazue would all be fine without equipment, they can just use some combination of magic, fox fire, and wind strikes to stay out of range. Kazue would, however, absolutely have some sort of intense and undoubtedly lewd romance book tucked away. Moriko might happen to have a...
  12. Zagaroth

    Writing How to handle sensitive content regarding the mother's childbirth scene?

    I vote most strongly against clinical; the specific physicality of the situation in many ways is secondary to the emotional and mental stuff going on. Yes, it informs and modifies the mental state, but from a story perspective, it is not the important part. Also, if going clinical, then you...
  13. Zagaroth

    Writing If your protagonist lived in the real world, what nationality might your protagonist be?

    Well, all three of them are blends, whether comparing them to canon ancestry or RW groupings/nationalities. Mordecai appears to be some blend of Mediterranean, including a little bit of Persian. Given that he literally designed his body, this was a choice that was influenced by an on-again...
  14. Zagaroth

    Writing Fictional race/ethnicities in story vs real-life counterparts

    So: Species, or 'races'? Elves and Dwarves are species, not races. The concept of race/ethnicity is basically a fiction already. "Hispanic" is the biggest example of this, as it is liberally used on both Native Americans from Mexico and nearby areas, as well as on the descendants of Spanish...
  15. Zagaroth

    Writing Outlining: How Do?

    It will vary by needs. I have over 900K words written, and I never wrote a proper outline. However: While I only started with a basic scene and some characters, and just simply started writing from there, I discovered the general shape of my primary antagonist in the process. Great, I have a...
  16. Zagaroth

    Do you use AI to help you? Asking humbly to anyone out there. I'm seeking an answer.

    Nooo; I don't want it to do anything while I am writing, all those underlines would mess with me. I do it this way specifically to avoid having it try to prompt me while I am still writing. I want it to check things only after I am done with the chapter.
  17. Zagaroth

    Developing a counter to my magic system

    Well, there's True Names per the Earthsea series, which builds on older mythological concepts of true names and the true language of the world (i.e. in the Old Testament, the story of the tower of Babel). Having it be related to a specific species/language is also reminiscent of the Thu'um...
  18. Zagaroth

    Which "app" do you use to write(and save your chapters, etc)?

    Libre office is my writing app, which I also use to take notes. My chapters are immediately saved via RR, SH, Patreon, and Discord; RR and SH being thanks to the draft saving/schedule functions. My 'official' notes (which includes some behind the scenes tracking of abilities) get uploaded to...
  19. Zagaroth

    Why are writers fighting the future AI?

    Note: More than a few stories have done fairly well that started as FanFics, then had the 'serial numbers' scrubbed off. I have not read your work, but assuming it meets the quality it was described as having, simply editing it enough to change the fanfic sections to be different-but-similar...
  20. Zagaroth

    Why are writers fighting the future AI?

    Generative 'AI' is truly nothing more than a very advanced version of the text prediction stuff that's on your phones. There's nothing 'smart' about it, and it understands nothing, though that text prediction part is why it can be useful as a grammar/punctuation checker. Such a thing could...
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