#novel help

Usually I'd say no, but I'll do it this once...

I'll make a list of 50 and post another 50 tomorrow, then link the other one back here. 🤍

50 Rare Words in English Language.

.Luminiferous (adj.) - Creating, transmitting light.

Ailurophobia (n.) - An irrational fear of cats.

Heliolatry (n.) - Religious worship or reverence of the sun.

Selcouth (adj.) - Strange, rare, and marvelous simultaneously.

Unipara (n.) - A woman who gave birth to one child.

Snowball (v.) - To increase quickly in size, intensity, or importance.

Assail (v.) - To attack someone violently, heavily criticize someone.

Accountrement (n.) - Items of dress, equipment, or other items used, worn, or held for a particular activity.

Atelier (n.) - A workshop or studio, usually one utilized by an artist or designer.

Coruscate (v.) - Giving off or projecting light in bright flashes or rays.

Empyrean (adj.) - Relating to heaven or the sky.

Sumptuous (adj.) - Very rich, luxurious, or detailed in a way that appears expensive.

Desolation (n.) - A complete state of emptiness or destruction

Pastiche (v.) To imitate the style of another artist or piece of art.

Laconic (adj.) - A person, speech, or writing style that utilizes little words.

Snuggery (n.) - A cozy place such as a bedroom or den.

Vagrant (n.) - A bird straying or forced off it's usual migratory route.

Imperil (v.) - To put at risk or endanger.

Cabotage (n.) - The transportation of goods or passengers between two areas within the same nation.

Penitentiary (n.) - A prison intended for people convicted of serious offenses.

Imago (n.) - The unconscious idealized mental image of someone, usually a parent, which influences the person carrying it.

Hallux (n.) - Your big toe.

Ragamuffin (n.) - A person, usually a child, in ragged or unclean clothing.

Xanthopsia (n.) - A color vision deficiency causing predominantly yellow vision because of the yellowing of the optical media of the eye.

Derecho (n.) - A line of intense, widespread, rapid windstorms or thunderstorms that travels a great distance and is primarily characterized by it's damaging winds.

Nemophilist (n.) - A lover of the forest.

Woolgathering (n.) - Indulgence in aimless thoughts or dreamy imagining.

Patella (n.) - Synonym for kneecap.

Polydipsia (n.) - Excessive thirst.

Ligature (n.) - Any material tied around a blood vessel to prevent further bleeding.

Natter (v.) - To talk casually, usually about unimportant things.

Henpeck (v.) - A woman continuously criticizes and orders her husband/male partner around.

Sedulous (adj.) - A person or action that shows dedication and/or deligence.

Ultracareful (adj.) - Extremely careful.

Crapulence (n.) - A terrible sick feeling someone gets after drinking too much, or a stomachache from overeating.

Trigger-happy (adj.) - Ready to react violently, especially by shooting, to any provocation.

Rutilant (adj.) - Glowing or glittering with red or gold light.

White-hot (adj.) - Hot enough to radiate white light and heat.

Hodiernal (adj.) - Of this day, relating to the present day

Mondegreen (n.) - The mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase that gives it new meaning.

Yclept (adj.) - By the name of, having the name of.

Farrago (n.) - A confusing mixture.

Turophile (n.) - A lover of cheese.

Glabella (n.) - The part of the forehead above and between the eyebrows.

Zetetic (adj.) - Proceeding by inquiry, investigating.

Corrugate (v.) - Contract or cause to contract into wrinkles or folds.

Striate (v.) - To mark with long, thin parallel streaks (striae).

Variegated (adj.) - Displaying different colors, especially in patches or streaks.

Splodge (n.) - A large blob or smear of something, synonym for splotch.

so. i am currently sturggling with making characters for my book. solution! the internet. if ANYONE is interested in creating a chracter for my book, please DM me!!! I will also put other details that is needed below!

How magic works.

Magic is an accumulation of the soul’s will.

When one is born, they gain their ‘Essence’. Their essence stays with them for their entire life, moulding and shifting with the person, developing as they grow. An magical essence declares what people can and cannot do - It is what allows them to draw upon magic, and harness that same magic to their will and whim. It is drawn into them from the very fibers of the moment, from the emotions and the air around them. Magic is very flimsy, like a thin string pulled taught. However, it is also strong in a sense, and controls the strings of reality. Users of magic can only draw upon magic corresponding to their magical essence, and each essence requires the user to shift their life alongside it. However, new runes, new recipes, and new spells can be created whenever; It happens all of the time, and most are left undocumented, as people create and forget them. Some of them most powerful spells have been left, buried down underground, so no mortal may cast it and cause the destruction of the realm they live within. All essences manifest at 21; the user is then escorted to the magicary to study the way of magic, and will learn how to use magic. School is still in order, however. Students go to school and high school, and still learn science. Science and magic are very differentiating, and cannot be confused. 

Alchemy - The art of creating potions. Ones of healing, ones of harming, it does not matter. The user imbues magic into their own cauldron, putting in ingredients that naturally absorb magic and transform it within themselves. Each ingredient modifies the elements of the potions, and most alchemists have a plethora of ingredients on them, accompanied by containers imbued with their magic, to create such potions on a whim. Ones that adventure, though they are weak, carry an abundance of potions. Ones that harm, ones that heal, ones that strengthen and weaken. Ones that augment themselves.

Spellbound - The art of magic, in it’s purest form. Ones that are spellcasters can harness magic at it’s purest form, and use it to tug at the seams of reality to create elements or things. One could warm with fire, push with wind, and even summon items with their magic. They can augment themselves with magic; although risky, the results are powerful, and a testament to evolution itself.

Blood Mages - A fiendish art, feared by many. Although it is not the user’s fault for having to use this kind of magic, it is still hated by many, disgusting even the strongest of mind and the purest of heart. These people innately create magic within themselves - magic of their own kind. The magic is imbued into their blood, and affects their biology. Unfortunately, this results in them having a requirement to drink blood; Magic or not, it needs to be consumed. However, in return, they can do both Alchemy and Spellcast. It works immensely different, though. Instead of using their will, they must spill their own blood, or use prepared blood from themselves. For spellcasting, they must draw a ‘Magic circle’ from blood. When the circle has the correct runes and is connected, the spell flies out from it, or the spell imbues itself into the object, depending on the extra runes. It can be of any size - A bigger circle means a bigger spell. For alchemy, they must pour their own blood into the tonic for it to become an potion. Any amount of blood works, so most Blood mages dry their own blood, crush it into flakes, and put a singular flake within. Despite being able to use both types of magic, they study the basics of each, and then focus on one rather than the other, so their mind isn’t flooded with information. These people are much rarer than Alchemists or Spellcasters. From murder or just rarity, nobody can tell.

Divine - These people are extremely rare. Each birth is recorded with an estimate of 50 years apart. They cannot harness any magic, and will never harness or grasp any. In return, they are much stronger than regular humans, having their peak speed be two times faster than Blood Mages. They are a force to be reckoned with, and are praised, and seen as a shine of hope, or an omen of doom.

Do you use wants and needs for your characters to make them interesting? No? I think you should reconsider...!

Let’s talk about character wants versus needs! A lot of writers don’t think about these as two separate ideas, but they are. When we talk about a character’s personality, these two basic things can make them instantly feel deep and real, and keep readers wanting more of them. Here’s a simple example:

This character wants to be super famous and rich. He needs to be super attractive and charismatic to get what he wants. 

Or:

This character wants to be super famous and rich. What he needs is to decide what’s more important to him: financial riches or relationships. 

Which character seems more likeable or relatable? Probably the second one. The wants and needs don’t need to directly reference each other like in the first description. 

In fact, people like characters with wants and needs that are opposites, because it creates conflict and tension. Here are some popular examples of this: 

The good guy and the bad guy fall in love with each other, the good girl goes bad, the cold-hearted turns warm, and so many more.

These are all example of characters with wants that clash with their needs, creating the opportunity for good conflict which is what we’re all looking for! When you incorporate this into your character creation, you might find it easier to form your plot, relationships, and personality traits/flaws. It creates a character that readers will fall in love with, and will want to read more of! Let me know if you do this, or if you do something different that gives the same result. I hope this information serves you well, and as always, happy writing!

So I'm entering my very first novel into a local competition and I need some help going over a few chapters and really getting it competition ready!

It is an original piece, not like my usual fanfiction.

If anyone is interested please dm me!