Setting and Plot

http://writerswrite.co.za/five-ways-to-use-setting-to-advance-a-plot

Above is an article that discusses the use of setting to advance the plot. 

Seven important details to consider are place, culture, era, geography (physical), things, time and weather. 

Place - Salem, Massachusetts / The (secret) Salem Society of Sorcery

Culture - It's contemporary North America, but under a magical Sorcery Society governed by the High Order. There are different classes to magic (fire, water, earth & air), as well as different magic practices. The Salem Society follows the practice and ideology of sorcery, but others such as the Realm in Edinburgh, follows the practice of enchantment.

Era - 2010s decade (with references to 1690s, 1960s-1990s)

Geography - Urban small city near the Atlantic Ocean

Things - Members of the Society have Familiar Companions such as Cats, Dogs, Rabbits, etc.. however these are characters more than props. Magical objects include Apples, Pears, Strawberries and Blueberries, spelled with capitals to distinguish from non-magical equivalents. The four fruits each correspond to the classes of earth, air, fire and water magic. (I've written an article before about the four fruits, but I may write more on some of these topics in the future.) Other objects include amulets worn by many of the characters (a sapphire icicle, a ruby heart, a diamond star and an emerald shamrock) which correspond again to the four classes of magic.

Other general objects include spell books and broomsticks. There are also four secret entrances to the four secret districts of the Society; the Crystal Clock Tower, the Golden Windmill, the Amethyst Swan and the Fountain of the Red Herring. Also expect a number of magic spells (including harmful curses) as well as other surprise magical items.

Time - The book starts at night and continues to the day.

Weather - [Spoiler Censor] 

Another Story

Much of this blog currently involves the continuity of my current novel The Face of the Pumpkin (or fantasy pop culture references).

I am, however, working on an another project. This book which is intended for a slightly younger audience will be a middle grade (or maybe lower) story with an all animal cast, involving a magical journey. The story does not take place in the same universe as The Face of the Pumpkin. Since I've only just barely written the beginning, I'm going to just place this picture here as a clue of the main character.

One of the most hated villains...

Earlier I wrote an article about what makes someone horrible.

http://bennyrotondi-smith.blogspot.com/2015/06/a-horrible-person-but.html

The limitations were that
A) No violence
B) No magic curses
C) No derogatory slurs

I made a number of points on this topic, but I overlooked one major detail. I won't describe in words this characteristic, but instead show different interpretations of one character, who actually fits the shoe on this personality.

P.S. The character may be horrible, but these actresses played her wonderfully!

Character Backstories

http://writershelpingwriters.net/2015/06/3-quick-tips-to-help-readers-connect-to-your-hero/

Here is an article I found about ways to allow readers to connect to the hero(es).

There is a section called "Understand What Came Before" which is a bit funny since it states, "The character’s life did not begin on page one, so we need to spend some time thinking about their past." 

 The irony is that in the case of my book, The Face of the Pumpkin, the main POV (point of view) character's life really does begin on page one, due to the character being "born" as the result of a magic spell. A similar condition exists with literary characters such as Pinocchio, as well as a handful of characters from L.Frank Baum's Oz stories. There have been also a number of stories with robot/android protagonists who are born at the beginning of the story.

In this sense the Pumpkin is like a child in many ways but with instant intelligence "programmed" into the character and with the capability of instant learning. (One major skill is that the protagonist can understand any human language). The protagonist's condition is based on the current condition of wanting to learn about the world of humans and reflecting those differences as opposed to being a walking, talking Pumpkin who has a great deal to prove in order to save the Society of Sorcery.  Our hero feels abandoned, rejected from the witch named Annie, who was so focused on her Necromancy Spell, that she neglected her sentient creation.

This brings me to some of the other characters, Annie Airgid, who is one of the most important characters in the book, has had a huge history and much of the story deals with her previous backstory as well as how it intersects with other characters. The story is told from the neonate Pumpkin, and through this character, we learn about the setting in Salem and many of the main players such as Annie, the ghost named Gordy and the Bat named Eeltog. All of these characters have  histories that are relevant in the present and will be significant in the future.

Personality Quiz: Salem Society of Sorcery Character

I made a personality quiz!

The possibilities are: Annie Airgid, Diego Montebello, Gordy Komori or Charlotte Larques.

http://www.gotoquiz.com/_salem_society_of_sorcery_character

Below is a sample of a possible result.

A horrible person, but...

On Critique Circle, there is a writing challenge activity. The prompt is to describe a horrible person whom you would not want to have in your life. The limitations are:
A). No descriptions of violence (murder, physical abuse, etc.)
B). No casting magic curses (turning people to stone, sleeping curses, etc.)
C). No derogatory slurs (although they can be prejudiced, as long as it's tastefully done).

This is an interesting challenge, since A and B are something that are quite common in my writing when looking at the actions of my antagonists. This isn't surprising, since A) and B) are very common in the fantasy genre (C is less common). Villains in fantasy fiction often are villains because of either their willingness to rely on violence and/or on magical curses. Violence is very common in Game of Thrones; magic curses on Once Upon a Time.

In my book, for example, there are antagonistic characters who possess magic and use that ability to get what they want by enacting curses that may not be violent, but can still be harmful, such as turning someone into a gold statue or a sleeping curse. (I'm trying to describe this without giving away any spoilers!) On the other hand, there are also characters in this book (The Face of the Pumpkin), who do not possess magic, and they tend to result in physical violence, such as murder, mugging or bullying.

When you take the previous actions away, however, there's still a lot more than can be seen as horrible. For example many would consider greed and ignorance to be a type of evil. There is also robbery/thievery, but this sometimes depends on the context, since there are noble thieves such as Robin Hood. Stealing/cheating is a characteristic that can be seen as anti-hero more so than full-on evil. Abandonment and neglect can also be seen as quite horrible. Perhaps one of the worst non-violent things in my mind that someone can do is extreme gossip, to the point where they spread lies and manipulate facts to ruin someone, but again it depends on the context on how malicious is their intent. Kidnapping someone/ or keeping an innocent a prisoner and keeping the truth from them, even if there is no physical violence can also be pretty bad. Emotional abuse can be extremely damaging.

In the end, different people may have different limitations, depending on their sense of humanity. There are many who have no problem with lying, cheating and stealing, but draw the line at violence. At least to the point of fatal violence. Others do not want to have literal blood on their hands, but will walk away and ignore those who are in need.

I look forward to see what kind of characters people write in the upcoming days!

Critique Circle

Recently a writing friend of mine referred me to Critique Circle  (http://www.critiquecircle.com).

I have not submitted anything yet, but when I do my name is Ydrwsglas! 

It's a writing group where members who register can read and critique parts of works by aspiring authors and in turn submit their own works. It requires some extra time, but it is definitely something I would like to experience more!