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I have done *some* research already and I have a copy of "Malleus Maleficarum" I need to read through tomorrow evening, or at least the chapters concerning succubi and incubi. I've also got Friday off because it's my birthday so I'm going to camp in the library for a few hours in amongst other things.
Interesting fact - did you know some cultures consider succubi to be good luck? It's mainly tribal and shamanistic cultures, although a few Slavic groups hold to the belief as well. They tend to view them as "spirit spouses". I have a theory as to why this belief never took hold in Europe but it'd be beyond the forum bounds to go into it.
Another slightly more sinister fact is that even modern cultures are prone to beliefs and superstitions about succubi too, even up to the 1960s and 70s.
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Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
A genius scientist.
A schizophrenic wizard.
Two worlds, one idea.
When Amir finalized his Interstellar Gateway -- trademarked -- he never expected it to succeed. Yet it was worse than he thought it would be; it succeeded in failing in his goals spectacularly, even though the machine itself was a success. But what are those strange syrup-like liquids that sometimes mark the floor around it?
Irwan has always had occassional lapses in his worldly perceptions, but his vision of a utopia where scarcity is no more was always clear to him. When one of his many experiments went wrong again, he thought the time was there to finally give up and let it rest... until one of his apprentices, his niece Zorya, falls into his giant cauldron and disappears into a world of horrors.
Dare you enter... the Quantum Cauldron?
Basically, a story with two sides, and when they meet in the middle, bad stuff happens. Like love. And death.
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Strawberries is thanked for being an awesome avatarist.
Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
Going to have to step out of NaNo. Too much Physics work. Sad face.
Oh well. Will try again in a few years when I have more time.
__________________ "I'm just going on motive and opportunity here and the fact that if the earth got swallowed by a black hole, I'd look suspiciously in your direction first."
~ Timberwolf
"After the first day we universally agreed that she was banned from fire thereafter. The second day she ended up with the power to create 5 extra copies of herself."
~ Heliomance
"You're like Pinkie Pie powered by a nuclear reactor."
~ Lix Lorn
Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
A request for myself and Morph - if any of you happen to come across any good books on mythology, can you please link title/author/ISBN in here? It'd really help us out and we'll be sure to do the same.
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Proof that avataring standards in the Playground have reached an all-time low:
Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Succubus
A request for myself and Morph - if any of you happen to come across any good books on mythology, can you please link title/author/ISBN in here? It'd really help us out and we'll be sure to do the same.
I have a few at home. When I brave the hurricane back home from work, I'll get them on here for you.
Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
oh god
my word is a poorly-defined caldera or something idk
one of my three main characters is uninteresting
the magic system is okay i guess
i have no idea what the other half of the plot is
i am in over my head
Stream of consciousness aside, it's going to be awesome, with about as much planning as my last one but more of an idea what I'm going to do wrong. Whee!
Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
I've failed at Nanowrimo since my college years, so I'm not entirely optimistic about it. Still, even if I don't reach 50,000, I do want to give this an honest shot this time instead of giving up like I always do on the third day or so.
I'll still deciding over the topic; I have a number of ideas that I've been nurturing about the story, but I can't actually decide on any of them. My ideas:
Exploring the life of Lucas Gray, a villain that acts as a slave trader, a drug trafficker, and a general heist man for rich clients. I wanted to chronicle his lifestory - what made him decide to walk a path of evil and his slowly corrupted psyche, as well as accounts from his accomplaces and some of the people around him.
A famed novelist, said to be slowly descending into insanity in his later years, dies. His estranged sister, an accountant currently on leave from work, comes to mourn his loss, and discovers the man's "final masterpiece" - dedicated to her, his family, and the world - hidden within his bookshelves; curious, she sets about reading the half-completed story, and tries to use the symbolism in the book to piece together the psyche of his brother during his last few years of his life - and strives to write a true account of his last years as a token of farewell to her brother. This is an idea I've pampered for a long time, but I dread writing this since I do not believe I have the writing skills to pull it off.
The Republic of Lan has won a hard-fought victory over the smaller kingdom of Hong; Hong had very little military power of their own, but their famed "shamans" - magician families of great might, gave Lan the most trouble, and it was only after the defection of some prominent shaman families that Lan was finally able to win the war. The protagonist is a young girl whose father was a powerful shaman and a supporter of Lan's invasion when their victory was inevitable, but secretly tried to aid his countrymen and was eventually killed when this was discovered. A powerful shaman by inheritance, bitter, but realistically understanding that she could not fight against an entire nation of invading forces, she found companion in a retired Hong soldier and seeks to escape her nation before Lan could catch her. It's inevitable that they succeed, but the story is about her escape; the various things that she meets, and how her and her older, more mature guardian interprets the occupation and its effects through their own world views.
There were about twenty ancient books that gave their wielders astounding powers, but had no limits on how the wielder could use them. The books were hidden around the world and are relatively unknown up until now, when they began to resurface themselves amongst the hands of seemingly random people. The protagonist, a teenager, ends up with one of these by chance and uses it to right the wrongs of the world in his eyes; alongside acts of selfishness, he killed politicians with beliefs that he believes to be poisoning the world, "corrupt" corporate executives, and other such people. This, of course, causes a disaster of cosmic proportions; the story is about the protagonist realizing his mistakes and traveling around trying everything he could to undo his wrongs. Of course, a political and economic disaster can't be corrected by throwing fireballs around, so eventually, the protagonist unites other book holders with similar beliefs and takes over the world.
The beginning of that song was bad, not half as manly as the original song. The end of it was good.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Felyndiira
There were about twenty ancient books that gave their wielders astounding powers, but had no limits on how the wielder could use them. The books were hidden around the world and are relatively unknown up until now, when they began to resurface themselves amongst the hands of seemingly random people. The protagonist, a teenager, ends up with one of these by chance and uses it to right the wrongs of the world in his eyes; alongside acts of selfishness, he killed politicians with beliefs that he believes to be poisoning the world, "corrupt" corporate executives, and other such people. This, of course, causes a disaster of cosmic proportions; the story is about the protagonist realizing his mistakes and traveling around trying everything he could to undo his wrongs. Of course, a political and economic disaster can't be corrected by throwing fireballs around, so eventually, the protagonist unites other book holders with similar beliefs and takes over the world.
Sounds like DeathNote with a twist.
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Strawberries is thanked for being an awesome avatarist.
Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
All right, as it's my first time, I'm jumping the gun today with a test run. So far, given that this is supposed to be the easy period, I'm not doing so hot: 744 words in more than an hour. Once I no longer have to make conscious effort to keep myself from going back and correcting my word choice twice a paragraph, I might have more of a handle on it, though.
EDIT: Two and a half hours, all told. I can live with that.
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Under key and in disgrace from her costly caper -
That's where old Ms. Wenceslas read the daily paper.
Though she never said a word, she felt sick at bottom:
Those brushstrokes she had seen before. She knew them when she saw them.
(But who knows. She has had audience with the King, and the oobleck has to be cleared up somehow.)
Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
Well, I think I have a setting and one or two characters hashed out, if only in the most general terms. However, I still can't think of a plot. So if I do decide to enter NaNo, it looks like my novel will be titled "Random Chick Shoots Stuff in Space for No Reason". Clearly, it has the makings of a best seller.
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Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
Quote:
Originally Posted by lesser_minion
Well, I think I have a setting and one or two characters hashed out, if only in the most general terms. However, I still can't think of a plot. So if I do decide to enter NaNo, it looks like my novel will be titled "Random Chick Shoots Stuff in Space for No Reason". Clearly, it has the makings of a best seller.
49,991 to go
I'm still chanting "I will not start for at least another 6.5 hours..." myself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Morph Bark
Sounds like DeathNote with a twist.
Spoiler
My concept #1, the one I didn't go with? I didn't say the name earlier, but it's "Love Note".
"Rule the First: the mortal whose name is first written in this note will fall in or out of love with the next mortal whose name is written in this note."
"Rule the Second: the mortal writing names in this note may not write their own name in the note, nor compel it to be written."
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Sometimes, the knights are the monsters
The main problem with the world? So many grownups, not enough adults.
Pain is nature's way of saying you're not dead and the other guy is.
Current Project: Building a new superheroic campaign for the new generation of our old gaming group.
Last edited by TheEmerged : 10-31-2012 at 04:45 PM.
Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
I made a beginning yesterday (well, past midnight then, but now it's past midnight as well, so works either way), but ditched it today in favour of a different beginning.
I started with a guy getting his old scooter back, patched up by a friend into looking totally audacious (and being named "Cassandra" by both of them).
New beginning is instead the main character waking up on a parking lot after getting knocked out in a fight while on his way to work by a gang of thugs.
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Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
I totally forgot it was November, that NaNo was even a thing in fact, but I am doing this in 2012. Probably mostly in lunch breaks. My time is endlessly oversubscribed.
__________________ Chaotic Neutral according to every test I've taken.
Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
A good first hour, or well really 45 minutes. I wrote 1700 words and have a decent idea of what I'm going to do for the next couple of days at the very least. After that I'm still not sure but it's been good practice so far.
If you're ever in a situation where you can't survive, go for the broke and fill all of creation with chickens. Just imagine the reaction of people halfway around the world when every square inch of space in their world is suddenly and completely full of chickens.
Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
I'll be super-busy for another couple of days still, so I'll likely skewer them off and recalculate a word count in the worst case.
The good news is that I got a story to write, and a progression of sorts to make it flow, but it needs a meaningful title and a clear 'genre' definition.
I'd be tempted to just tick the 'Other' box since being categorized isn't all that important to me, but if anyone more experienced in how NaNo defines their genres want to help me I'll gladly unveil my concept and accept help.
__________________ The Pen is mightier than the Sword - when the message is written in Blood.
“Not a promise, not an oath, or a malediction or a curse,” I said, sounding calm, probably inaudible in the midst of the screaming. “Inevitable. Wasn’t that how she put it? I told them. Warned them.”
-Taylor Hebert. Yes, I'm a proud Skittle.
Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
I'm working on my prologue now, and there is more exposition in there than anything else. Still, I'm about halfway towards the total I'm aiming for today.
Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
Quote:
Originally Posted by Morph Bark
A wise man once said "if you don't know what to do, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand".
You may also replace the man with a dapper velociraptor and the gun with a copy of a weaponized version of the Prose Edda.
Well, I did just end my first scene. 331 words, it's more of an introduction, and there is no dialogue except internal narration. But my main character just entered his office.
A man with a gun may come in later. He might be a lizardman. If he's a lizardman from the right culture, the weaponized prose edda (oor the local equivalent) would actually be his prefered weapon. Theodoar Thundervoice wrote some very strong poetry.
Actually, I'll put that down for later. Lizardman truespeaker with weaponized wiking saga. Fits the tone of the story quite well, I think.
“Not a promise, not an oath, or a malediction or a curse,” I said, sounding calm, probably inaudible in the midst of the screaming. “Inevitable. Wasn’t that how she put it? I told them. Warned them.”
-Taylor Hebert. Yes, I'm a proud Skittle.
Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
"Billy Cranston found himself waking up in a clearing, surprised that it was light enough for him to see. The last thing he remembered, it was almost midnight. "What... what just happened?" "
Aaaaaaaand we're off!
__________________
Sometimes, the knights are the monsters
The main problem with the world? So many grownups, not enough adults.
Pain is nature's way of saying you're not dead and the other guy is.
Current Project: Building a new superheroic campaign for the new generation of our old gaming group.
Last edited by TheEmerged : 11-01-2012 at 08:10 AM.
Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012
Started on the bus this morning. "The world burned beneath the fierce southern sun." Or something like that, I don't remember exactly. But I got a decent paragraph down!
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Re: National Novel Writing Month
