marycatelli: (Cat)
Trying to wrassle two stories in outline form at once. At least as much as the plot bunnies will allow

One has revealed that the heroine's heroic efforts to save lives will produce a backlash. People will have to die. Fortunately, it will be logical that these are people who cause trouble in another plotline.

The other one has revealed that the heroine will have to hear some backstory from the not-quite-love-interest-yet about how the number of wizards is so few, and he's the only adult in their number.

Sometimes plot bunnies multiply in odd ways.
marycatelli: (Default)
Hey character -- you there. I put you in already.

Come over here and eavesdrop so the hero can learn something that happened while he was dead.
marycatelli: (Cat)
Was pondering the classic monster mash.  As in, never heard of before the 20th century.

Now, as I have observed before, vampires raise more metaphysical issues than werewolves.  On the other hand, vampires on their own raise a lot fewer than a world with vampires AND movie mummies AND ghosts.   All of them raise a variety of questions about life after death.  For them all to be compatible stretches the metaphysics far more.  Vampires move their bodies about; ghosts can't; mummies can revive their bodies after a long time.  What happens when a ghost questions a mummy about what will happen when you "move on"?

Unity of setting helps avoid confusing issues.
marycatelli: (Cat)
The hero is about to kill another evil wizard living under the protection of the king's knights.

Read more... )
marycatelli: (Default)
The hero is in an enchanted castle, which will protect him.

Outside is an ill-minded crow witch, who will try to kill him.

Read more... )
marycatelli: (Cat)
Was pondering the necromancers' motives for the inciting incident.

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marycatelli: (Rapunzel)
It occurred to me: a magical knight can, if of strong enough character, influence how his powers manifest. A sufficiently hot-tempered and impulsive candidate may manifest fire powers even if the wizard tried to make him a water wizard.

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marycatelli: (Rapunzel)
There are wizard who can cast many different spells. And there are knights who have single power-sets but are immensely powerful.

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marycatelli: (Default)
On reflection, death is only one facet of a major problem with superhero stories: change.

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marycatelli: (Cat)
Was once in a rip-roaring online discussion about whether superheroes should marry.  After all, they risk their lives so often.  Is it fair to marry with the awareness that you will quickly leave behind a widow?  What if there are children?  Should they be deprived of one parent?  It's not actually like police, who would not be expect to be in a shootout every month.

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marycatelli: (Cat)
Two necromancers in argument.  Chiefly over whose job it is to keep the king alive this week.

But, being conceited, it rapidly turns into an argument about whose magic is superior or inferior and I'm thinking of a meme of a movie dub where someone didn't know "necromancer" and called the character a "zombie wrangler."

Well, there are no zombies here, but I'm thinking of insults on that vein.  Shorter because they get flung around a lot. . . .
marycatelli: (East of the Sun)
One disadvantage of knowing more fairy tales than everyone else about you is that there is no one you can consult when looking for a fairy tale. As in, a captive of necromancers needs a tale with a villain like them. (She's not up to subtle references.)

Finally decided on a tale where the villain has no heart in his body, and also one where he smells the hero, and the heroine has to put him off with a tale about a bone.

And was writing along and realized that it wouldn't all get told. Ah, well, helps the question of what to make necromantic.
marycatelli: (Cat)
I was just thinking that I shouldn't repeat too many, so as to not understate their number, and so another bit necromancer was needed, and then no, there can't be too many, or they would have killed each other in bad temper and lack of resources. . . .

On reflection, there are certainly dozens, because many escaped in the final battle. But probably less than thirty.

I should list them. I probably have a dozen already. And then I work out how they repeat in scenes.
marycatelli: (God Speed)
After a time, the evil necromancers face an invasion by an army. Our hero gets to escape during it.

So there has to be some time -- absolute necessity for plot reasons and to motivate our hero -- and I ponder why the delay. The hero doesn't know at first, but other point of view characters do, and the hero will learn it in time.

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marycatelli: (God Speed)
Outlining along, told myself that it was a big fight this time and it's not enough to leave the hero and the villainess's powers vague.  I have to establish them.

Turns out I have to do the moves in the fight, too.  Partly because there are other characters that he has to maneuver about; if he didn't care about them, he could just turn tail and run, or else blast everything sight to try to kill her, except in their absence I don't think he would want to kill.

Good thing for him that she wants him prisoner, not dead.
marycatelli: (Roman Campagna)
How long will this story take?

On one hand, the original characters had two who became like wise elders after the inciting incidents. On the other hand -- serial number, filing off.

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marycatelli: (Cat)
In a discussion of modern-day monsters and whether they should be more, not fewer, I suggested that they are sensible.
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patricide

Feb. 1st, 2022 11:17 pm
marycatelli: (East of the Sun)
How can I tell people that the prince in this story is evil?   Have him kill his father?

Have me racking my memory for a story where a prince, however evil, kills  his father?  

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marycatelli: (East of the Sun)
Hmm. . . the story is plugging along and I know that they know bad things about this prince. . . and then I give him a backstory for it. . . and then it occurs to me. . . .

There are other princes in this story who should get them.

Read more... )

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