I’m wearing sleeves
on my insides. All the
uncool kids are
internalizing shirts,
and well-dressed
emotions with
pocket squares
are nominated
for awards. They
like them. They
really really
like them. And
the award goes to
A unified universe.
Constant crossovers of characters and events.
A timeline stretching from the beginning of the world to its end.
Welcome to my world...
Our temps will become mild/warm for a couple of days. Strange year.
I’ve passed the 25% mark editing A River in Each Hand, but am suffering some burnout. The voice in the back of my head likes to remind me that if I don’t do it who will?
I’m also feeling sorry for myself over a recently passed anniversary & need to get over it.
Scheduling a break in my routine is what is needed, & I certainly have that freedom.
#amwriting I was reading the 48 laws of power book again, got up to rule 27 which is "play on people's need to believe" and had a moment of realisation about AI hype, NFTs, crypto, etc.
I hadn't noticed that, even though I had watched the folding ideas video on flat earth, these aren't scams; they're religions.
Funny. The 48 LOP book is such a sad story of unloved and unlovable characters, but sometimes it does have these little moments where it opens my eyes to other goings on.
In my new fantasy book, I'm going to forego describing my MC. The reader will get a picture of his age and status within society, and an impression of his clothing, nothing else. This will allow the reader to picture him more or less however they want. Support characters will be thoroughly described.
So the question is: how much would readers find an undescribed MC off-putting? Not that the answers will change my plans, I'm just curious.
@ChrisJagged That's a fabulous conceit. I love it. There's a book I read decades ago that doesn't reveal the main character is Black until 150 pages in, and it's because they live in a future era where it's not an issue. It's a bit of an easy answer--white author--but it affected me!
There's also a Margaret Killjoy novella where the first-person narrator is never gendered. It's marvellous.
@ChrisJagged There's absolutely nothing wrong with leaving things to the imagination of the reader. Almost all modern works are spoiled by television and the incessant need to describe things scene-by-scene.
@beexcessivelydiverting@bookstodon there're a couple of signs within about 20 miles that say, "welcome to Jane Austen Country" and they're very... interpretive.
Where in New York City would a young person live who has two part-time jobs that don't pay particularly great, but who (for magical plot reasons) doesn't have to worry about healthcare expenses, appliances breaking, or other such stuff that poses a major financial risk for real-world (non-magical) people?
Small apartment, solvent parents who can help in a pinch, the character is, for lack of a better description, a liberal, intellectual, scientifically-minded young person (20s).
I've never set foot anywhere in the US, let alone New York, so I have no clue.
Related: it would be amazing if there were a website for writers where they could collaborate on maps of their home towns, describing areas (i.e. "the poor quarter", "the filthy rich white people quarter", "the quarter where students live", etc.), giving descriptions of land marks, party streets, vacation spots, hospitals, etc. – everything a foreign writer would need to plausibly enough describe a character living in that city without huge mistakes like placing a poor character in the "ivy league DINKY trust fund" neighbourhood.