Magic (paranormal) Magic or sorcery is an attempt to understand, experience and influence the world using rituals, symbols, actions, gestures and language.[1][2][3][4] Modern Western magicians generally state magic's primary purpose to be personal spiritual growth.[5] Modern theories of magic may see it as the result of a universal sympathy where some act can produce a result somewhere else, or as a collaboration with spirits who cause the effect.[6] The belief in and the practice of magic has been present since the earliest human cultures and continues to have an important religious and medicinal role in many cultures today.[7][8] Magic is often viewed with suspicion by the wider community, and is sometimes practiced in isolation and secrecy.[4] The word "magic" derives via Latin magicus from the Greek adjective magikos (μαγικός) used in reference to the "magical" arts of the Persian Magicians (Greek: magoi, singular mágos, μάγος), the Zoroastrian astrologer priests of the ancient Persian Empire.
Literature -- Constructing Plot The Elements of Plot Development If an author writes, "The king died and then the queen died," there is no plot for a story. But by writing, "The king died and then the queen died of grief," the writer has provided a plot line for a story. A plot is a casual sequence of events, the "why" for the things that happen in the story. A plot's structure is the way in which the story elements are arranged. [What Goes into a Plot?]
Advanced Fiction Writing Blog » Blog Archive » Writing That Pesky Three-Act Structure Understanding the high-level structure of a novel is hard work. It’s also rewarding work, because if you can discipline yourself to do it, you’ll understand what’s most important in your story and you’ll be able to help the marketing people at your publisher when you get your book published. Camille posted this question on my “Ask A Question For My Blog” page: I’m working on a proposal for a completed novel using the Snowflake Pro. Cool thing, by the way.Stepping up from a one sentence summary to one paragraph using 5 specific sentences is crazy hard, at least for me. Randy sez: Thanks for the shout-out on Snowflake Pro, Camille. Let’s review first what our goals are with these summaries. Now when you go to expand this to a one-paragraph summary (in five sentences), you have an entirely different goal. A story is not just a disconnected set of episodes. Now it’s impossible to get what you want unless you actually know what it is you want. For Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone:
6 Real Places on Earth Straight Out of a Fantasy Novel Honestly, we're sick of hearing about the planet's freaking natural beauty. Yes, those snow-capped mountains are very nice, and we're sure those white sand beaches of St. Barts are even prettier in person. But if we're adding vacation spots to our Bucket List, we're going for the weird shit. You see, every once in a while the malevolent robot lords in charge of programming the shared illusion that is our world will slip up and let a chunk of broken code go through, resulting in geographical phenomena that defies explanation. Like ... #6. Michael Day The three lakes of Kelimutu, in addition to sounding like the title of a fantasy novel, are a geological oddity found snuggled up against the base of a dormant volcano in Indonesia. Tom CasadevallIt's entirely possible that they are giant bowls of melted chameleons. Each lake can change its color completely at any time, independently of the other lakes. Rosa CabecinhasA million people pooped in this one. Neil/WikimediaRIP, Kermit and Rowlf. #5.
Basic Tips For Writing Orthodox Jews This article was contributed by Shira M. Rabinowitz. Thanks so much, Shira! More and more these days, Jewish characters appear in fiction, both non-Orthodox and allegedly Orthodox - most of the time when they're supposed to be Orthodox, they really aren’t. Orthodox Jews wear different clothes. Generally, women will wear skirts to or past the knee, sleeves to or past the elbow, and necklines to or above the collarbone. Men wear semi-formal clothes and never go without having their head covered, whether by a kippah, a hat, or something else. Men will also carry with them a bag containing a large four-cornered garment with tassels at the edges (tallis) and phylacteries (tefillin). Orthodox Jews eat different food. We only eat kosher food. A few examples of hechsherim (symbols certifying that a food item is kosher) that are generally accepted are the OU, the OK, the StarK, and the ChofK. Orthodox Jews keep Shabbos (the Jewish Sabbath). We don’t turn electronics on and off on Shabbos. -Shira M.
Ethical Spell-Casting - Wicca and Witchcraft Whether simple or complex, all spells involve focusing the power of intention to produce outcomes. Your intention not only provides the fuel that energizes a spell, it also colors the spell. As discussed in Chapter 1, your motive for doing a spell determines whether it's “white” or “black” magick, or somewhere in between. There's nothing wrong with doing “gray” spells — most spells, in fact, fit into this category. It's not incorrect or selfish to use your magickal talents to improve your lot in life. Black magick doesn't always involve the ritual of casting a spell. It's also important to feel good about the spells you do. Spiritual Spells: Herbal Magick Book of Shadows Many Wiccans, Pagans, Magicians, and Conjure folk pride themselves on their knowledge of herbs, and which ones can be used in which ways. Every herb and root has a medicinal and a magical property of some sort. Each shows its properties by its form, shape, and spirit; this is the Doctrine of Signatures. The herbs used in Witchcraft and Wicca magick are not always the same as those used in Conjure, so we provide two lists here, covering the most popular herbs in both traditions. Two books that we recommend to our own Coven members, and which we believe will set you on the path of discovery about the wonderful subject of herbal spell-crafting are:
Novel Revision Stage I: Plot Can we talk about the fact that every time I reach a new stage in the novel writing process, Chuck Wendig writes a thorough, lengthy post about how to work through that exact thing? I’m tempted to just link to that article and call it a day. However, I think (hope) that my experiences as a first-time novelist could be helpful to some people, too…Right? Aren’t they? And every piece of writing advice is just that: advice. I’ve included relevant links at the bottom of this post to other writing bloggers and the Tumblr writing community in general that helped me formulate my own revision plan. Revision Strategies: Some Options It’s difficult to decide where to begin tackling the first draft of a novel. From Emma Darwin: Think about a list headed “Renovate the House”. Chuck Wendig also discusses some different strategies for approaching the monstrosity that is your novel. My Personal Revision Plan First: I’m going to read through the entire thing. Stage I: Plot The beginning. Yay new challenges!
45 ways to avoid using the word 'very' Writers Write is your one-stop resource for writers. Use these 45 ways to avoid using the word ‘very’ to improve your writing. Good writers avoid peppering their writing with qualifiers like ‘very’ and ‘really’. They are known as padding or filler words and generally add little to your writing. According to Collins Dictionary: ‘Padding is unnecessary words or information used to make a piece of writing or a speech longer. Adding modifiers, qualifiers, and unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, weakens your writing. This post gives you 45 ways to avoid using the padding word ‘very’. Three Telling Quotes About ‘Very’ “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. If you enjoyed this, you will love: Top Tip: If you want to learn how to write a book, sign up for our online course. by Amanda Patterson © Amanda Patterson
41 WAYS TO CREATE AND HEIGHTEN SUSPENSE According to top New York literary agent Noah Lukeman (The Plot Thickens), if a writer can maintain suspense throughout the story, many readers will keep reading even if the characters are undeveloped and the plot is weak. Clearly, suspense is a vital tool, yet most books on writing only mention it in passing and few devote much space to its creation and development. I've written 27 novels, and some of them have been rather successful, but Lukeman's observation came as a revelation. Accordingly, I've scoured my writing notes for the past quarter century, and the books and articles I've read on storytelling, in order to compile a comprehensive list of ways to create suspense. At its simplest, a story consists of a character (the hero) who wants something badly, and an adversary (the obstacle) who is trying equally hard to prevent the hero from getting what he wants. Suspense comes from readers' anticipation of what's going to happen next. To build suspense through your characters:
How To Create An Intriguing Inciting Incident Every single element between the first page and the very last page of a screenplay is arguably the most important, salable thing about it. In this article, the beginning of the plot takes the number one spot. However, the plot really can’t begin being awesome until it is set in motion. That’s where the inciting event comes in. A good plot is everything that transpires in the screenplay and, if it’s captivating, will have an equally captivating inciting event. First, the reader/audience has to care about the character they’re following. Even if the main character isn’t all that interesting, the situations or surroundings that make up their world can be what keeps the audience engaged. Now that we have a good starting point, we have to make the inciting event big. In Star Wars: Episode IV, the inciting event is Luke Skywalker discovering that his family has been killed. In Disney’s The Lion King, Mufasa has a son who will inherit the throne from him.
Stephen King On How To Write