There are moments when a writer says that they ‘Need’ something. And then there are the things that we all simply ‘Want’. I’m going to break down the things that should be in both categories, beginning with: What a writer Wants. The basic difference between ‘Wants’ and Needs’ is simple. The ‘Needs’ are the things that a writer cannot succeed without to be a writer. Not to be an author or even to…

One of the first things I loved is the ever presence of magic. The fact that spells and sigils take the names of “idioms,” “nouns,” “verbs,” etc. was evidence enough that magic was incredibly common. Despite it being common, it still keeps the essence of ‘magic’—being a mystery despite how accessible it is.

Your name for magic being “Flux” is really nice. It being present or “flowing” everywhere—it also means continuous change, which fits with the “ever-changing universe” :D.

Souls existing inside of nearly everything, and one of the components for a soul to have consciousness, has me wondering if planets in our solar system are conscious, ancient beings in this universe.

Becoming a husk of your true self once the connection to your soul is severed is a unique take on ‘death’. What if the body was destroyed? Would that thing with a soul just be dead and gone?

Manipulation of another’s essence being neigh-impossible adds to the primordialness of Flux imo.

“Words” (simply being called that, again, gives off the idea of being really common :D) being essentially their own language to learn or study is an aspect I haven’t seen—probably not the best one to be seeing that as I haven’t seen too many shows/movies/books. And them being reshaped, more comprehensive, precise, and having improved clarity makes me wonder how exactly does this medium tap into Flux?

I’m glad you brought up, even briefly, how Idioms is not only important to sciences, but also has became culturally significant. The comparisons to everyday things really sells how normal it is to society. I also like how instead of just being able to learn multiple disciplines like it’s nothing, it takes time—and a lot of it—just for one to be mastered.

My question about how this medium taps into Flux was just answered. Being a talented wordsmith doesn’t just use one part of you, it uses every thing you got and I think that just makes sense.

“Words are the recipe, not the ingredients.” So, they’re like the instructions on what to do with the ingredients, right?

The Nouns themselves are something I could go on about. They’re simple but get across what they represent really well, like fire looking enough like a geometrical fire. Don’t know if it was intentional, but air looks like a mountaintop which I think is neat cause it’s the opposite of what earth reminds me of (some cavern or core to the Earth or something deep underground). They (Earth and Air) vaguely remind me of their alchemical symbols.

Woah that's a lot ! I am very glad that you're enjoying my magic system a lot, I put a lot of time and effort into it so it makes me genuinely happy that people are enjoying it as much. I'll try to answer the questions you asked. They should be already answered in the wiki, but I'll still provide more straightforward answers here :

Specifically like... if you're thinking of using the phrase "sharp as steel" or variations thereof... steel wasn't invented during the bronze age.

I blinked and my poem had almost 200K views and a Daily Deviation award on DeviantArt. I'm shaking. THANK YOU!

I feel like this has been asked before, so feel free to correct if you've answered this question... How do you work out how to write distinctive dialogue for each character that you write? and how do you make them sound not flat or scripted, to sound realistic? Because I always find myself running into a brick wall. There is that risk of sounding too cliche, too unrealistic, too much, or too less.

Do you ever listen to music when you write?

I apologize for this very long Ask!

Kisses,

anon.

This is the kindest, most relieving and uplifting note to read. I can’t thank you enough for your kind words, and I’m really humbled that you find that talent in my writing. I feel like I’ve grown so much just in the past year, and it’s been a delight to do it with people giving their feedback instantly. It’s a special little thing we’ve got on this platform.

I was literally just discussing the dangers and delights of dialogue with my writing friend yesterday. I feel like just in the past few months I’ve gotten to a new level of comfort in writing it -because I used to find it terrifying -but still there’s so much doubt creeping in at times. That’s one thing I adore about writing, if you keep after it you can be sure to progress no matter how veteran you are at it.

How do I manage it? I’m relieved that you think I do manage it, ha. But honestly I think much of it comes from studying other people’s works. Any movie or book or fic that strikes you as effortlessly natural, copy the hell out of it. Not word for word although that’s a place to start just to get the feel, replace it with your own words but notice how they structured it.

Humans don’t perfectly abide by grammar when speaking, or if they do it sets a tone for that person. Most of us start a sentence halfway through, nixing the starting place that a novel would chose and go straight to the point, sometimes having to tack on specifics at the end but never the beginning.

“Where’d that cheese grater go?” He asked and you were confused by what was wrong with the one he now held, “The one with the rust on it,” he elaborated, “I like the tinge it gives the cheese…”

😜 anyways…so study the heck out of how real people talk, and that varies drastically from person to person in the ring details, study the movies that feel least scripted (so often it’s not the actors fault it’s the script feels false) and mumble to yourself. I’m not kidding, have conversations in character, in your head.

Often if I have someone to base a character on in my head (say Elvis or Ann-Margret) I’m going to study their vocabulary, I’ll plop a interview on before writing and just listen to cadence and word choice. What words they tend to use and which they don’t. Anything culturally distinct about their sentence structures? Does one say “alright” more than “okey?” So often I’ll just write sentences that come to me then go back and weed out words that strike me as “too Elaine” for Gigi or “too Rosey” for Elaine. It’s a vibe you’re trying to maintain with a paper person’s aura, and much of that is how little or how much they say, wether they plead it or joke it or demand it.

And when you write the dialogue correctly you find that you don’t always need the dialogue tags to tell people whether they’re demanding or begging, etc. it’s really a thing no one can show it’s just felt, and I know that’s an obnoxious bit of advice but truly my last suggestion is also my first -go practice, and keep it messy!

Also, not always do I listen to music, but often! That’s another thing I don’t worry about words I worry about atmosphere with my playlists so I’ve had folks laugh about how some songs don’t fit lyrically, and that’s true, but the vibe is right sonically, it puts me in the right headspace so it keep it in the queue.

Thank you for such a delicious ask! Xoxo 💋 Marina

What is your favorite hobby or pastime? Ah, when it comes to my favorite hobby or pastime, I’m all about writing for my blog on good old WordPress! It’s kind of like my secret sanctuary in the digital world. I get to sit down, let my creative juices flow, and pen down all the things that make me tick. You see, it’s not just about writing; it’s about the stories I want to tell. Sometimes, it’s…