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Sep. 8th, 2005 04:07 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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nanowrimo_ljI decided to break down and repost and summarize the bits of my novel that I have worked out so far.
The Plot:
Modern day magical fantasy. Our hero, having just finished his first year of college, discovers he doesn't know where he's going in life. He moves in with a friend for a summer, gets a meaningless summer job and decides to spend the summer pondering his future. His summer is filled with unexpected happenings as he has forms several relationships with different women, all who come across as being older and wiser than they should. As these relationships develop, our hero starts experiencing things that he can't explain and seems to be developing abilities which he knows to be impossible. Eventually one of his love interests reveals a secret which gives our hero what he was looking for all along: purpose.
As it turns out, the women are part of a group of magical Acolytes working for a powerful adept who is tasked with discovering those who make are singularly suited to be magical vessels. Those who are found are imbued, slowly and gradually, with magical abilities, then tested for talent and character.
Story Elements:
In this case, info on various aspects of the magic of this world.
Healing
The ability to heal injuries and illness. Combined with defensive magic, can be used to cure magic-induced injury and illness.
Defensive
The ability to defend against physical and magical attack. Can be used to defend others. Can be used to remove implanted and sustained magical effects including other defensive magic.
Manipulation
The ability to manipulate matter at will. Telekinesis is one type of manipulation, as are certain types of force fields. Manipulation magic can be used to change an object's shape, but not its size, mass or chemical or atomic makeup. See Transformation.
Offensive
The ability to cause damage and harm. Also called combat magic. Examples include fireballs and stun and shock spells. Effects range from very directed bursts to wide area effect.
Illusion
The ability to make living beings perceive that which is not there. Though commonly thought only to affect one's sense of sight, all senses can be affected. Illusion magic affects the mind instead of changing the physical or magical properties of things.
Detection/Divination
The ability to perceive the effects of magic around oneself. Although detection magic can be used to perceive strong emotions, images and memories implanted in objects and places, it can not predict the future, though it is commonly misunderstood that this is possible. Any use of magic can be detected, including traps and any magic meant to deceive.
Legilimency
The ability to read minds. Surface thoughts are easy to obtain from those unaware of this ability, though anyone who can clear their mind can keep from being read easily. Memories can be extracted from the willing and unwilling; however, extracting memories from an unwilling subject can result in serious and permanent brain damage and death.
Transformation
The ability to change one type of matter into another. Lead into gold is a common example, though more advanced forms can be use to change inanimate matter into plants, animals, insects, etc. More common uses include changing one's appearance and dress.
The Characters
Darrell Ramsey - The "Hero"
Short, dirty-blond hair, grey eyes, average complexion. 5' 10", 140 lbs. Above average looks. College student, age 19. Just finished first year of college, deciding if he wants to continue. Has summer job. Strict Protestant upbringing, though he rebelled inwardly in high school. Does not attend church in college. Parents check in weekly. Has a fondness for video games, junk food and Sci-Fi movies. Not organized. Dislikes those who insist on living their lives to a schedule and timetable. Natural abilities in math, though he dislikes doing it. Does not believe in the supernatural. Believes in live and let live. Believes people should be as self-sufficient as possible without asking for help from others. Despises those who make lots of money by stepping on others.
Armando Prater - The Roommate
Long dark hair (pony tail usually), dark brown eyes, olive complexion, 6' 0", 200 lbs. Very attractive. Very fit and muscular (buff). Very much a guy. Charismatic, a chick-magnet, though a bit more humble than your usual Don Juan. Does everything for the ladies, but knows how to make and keep friends with the guys. Obsessed with his muscle car. Recognizes some potential in the main character that he can't quite put his finger on, took him under his wing, so to speak. Second year Junior, age 22. Goes out with many girls, though resists having a 'girlfriend'. Girls don't seem to mind but continually vie for his attention behind the scenes.
Kathryn Foster - Darrell's On-Again/Off-Again Girlfriend
Strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, light tan skin. 5' 3", 100 lbs, slim but fit. Girl-next-door looks. Met and became friends in Junior High, dated in High School. Originally not headed to same college as main character, ended up there as a result of a strange string of events. Always a close friend, frequent sexual tension between them though they've never been intimate. Always seems to know what he's thinking and the right thing to say. Seems to go back and forth between getting close to him and distancing herself from him.
Zoë - Healing Acolyte
Long brown hair, hazel eyes, light freckles, nice-girl looks, average but attractive build, very curvy. Claims to be a nursing student, seems to have a good bedside manner personality. Very kind, caring and sweet.
Lydia - Defense Acolyte
Long dark red hair, emerald green eyes, freckles, seems to be Irish but with no accent. Slightly attractive. Very built, could almost be a body builder. Stocky. Karate as a hobby. Slightly paranoid. Likes to have fun but always in moderation, never taking chances.
Penelope - Manipulation Acolyte
Long blond hair, light blue eyes, light complexion, supermodel looks and body. Very intelligent, sharp wit. Extraverted, fun-loving, mischievous. Prankster. Somewhat high-strung, very sexy and seductive. A tease. Next to impossible to determine what she really wants or what her true intentions are.
Melanie - Illusion Acolyte
Dark black hair, dark brown eyes, light complexion. Asian. Exotic good looks. A goth chick, though not an S&M type goth. Avoids giving direct answers, smiles a lot. Seductive but in a subtle, controlled way. Can be cruel to those she dislikes.
Cassandra - Detection Acolyte
Strawberry blonde hair, clear blue eyes, light tan skin. Slender but in shape. Girl-next-door looks. Seems easily distracted, often off in her own thoughts, apparently daydreaming. Street smart and resourceful. A great well of odd, esoteric, yet relevant trivia.
Magus
Short, neat white hair with a full but neatly trimmed beard, light grey eyes. A slightly taller, older, less dashing Sean Connery. Manners expected of one of his age, caliber and status. Very fatherly. Takes well to the role of teacher. Plays certain cards close to the vest.
Conrad Wallace - Darrell's Boss
Two steps shy of a slave driver. Demands 100% attention to the job at hand. Break time strictly regulated and enforced. Seems to give the main character more leeway than others, though nobody can figure out why.
Nick Clayton - Darrell's Coworker
One step shy a true slacker, only puts up with boss because the job keeps him out of his parents' house. Often does things that, if main character informed the boss, would get him fired.
Burt Evans - A Detective
A wash out. Ended up in this town. At the end of his career. Drinks too much too often. Desperately needs a good case.
I used an idea from the "No Plot? No Problem!" book and got most of these names by purusing my spam email. The Acolyte names I got from a list of Greek Female names.
Comments welcome.
The Plot:
Modern day magical fantasy. Our hero, having just finished his first year of college, discovers he doesn't know where he's going in life. He moves in with a friend for a summer, gets a meaningless summer job and decides to spend the summer pondering his future. His summer is filled with unexpected happenings as he has forms several relationships with different women, all who come across as being older and wiser than they should. As these relationships develop, our hero starts experiencing things that he can't explain and seems to be developing abilities which he knows to be impossible. Eventually one of his love interests reveals a secret which gives our hero what he was looking for all along: purpose.
As it turns out, the women are part of a group of magical Acolytes working for a powerful adept who is tasked with discovering those who make are singularly suited to be magical vessels. Those who are found are imbued, slowly and gradually, with magical abilities, then tested for talent and character.
Story Elements:
In this case, info on various aspects of the magic of this world.
Healing
The ability to heal injuries and illness. Combined with defensive magic, can be used to cure magic-induced injury and illness.
Defensive
The ability to defend against physical and magical attack. Can be used to defend others. Can be used to remove implanted and sustained magical effects including other defensive magic.
Manipulation
The ability to manipulate matter at will. Telekinesis is one type of manipulation, as are certain types of force fields. Manipulation magic can be used to change an object's shape, but not its size, mass or chemical or atomic makeup. See Transformation.
Offensive
The ability to cause damage and harm. Also called combat magic. Examples include fireballs and stun and shock spells. Effects range from very directed bursts to wide area effect.
Illusion
The ability to make living beings perceive that which is not there. Though commonly thought only to affect one's sense of sight, all senses can be affected. Illusion magic affects the mind instead of changing the physical or magical properties of things.
Detection/Divination
The ability to perceive the effects of magic around oneself. Although detection magic can be used to perceive strong emotions, images and memories implanted in objects and places, it can not predict the future, though it is commonly misunderstood that this is possible. Any use of magic can be detected, including traps and any magic meant to deceive.
Legilimency
The ability to read minds. Surface thoughts are easy to obtain from those unaware of this ability, though anyone who can clear their mind can keep from being read easily. Memories can be extracted from the willing and unwilling; however, extracting memories from an unwilling subject can result in serious and permanent brain damage and death.
Transformation
The ability to change one type of matter into another. Lead into gold is a common example, though more advanced forms can be use to change inanimate matter into plants, animals, insects, etc. More common uses include changing one's appearance and dress.
The Characters
Darrell Ramsey - The "Hero"
Short, dirty-blond hair, grey eyes, average complexion. 5' 10", 140 lbs. Above average looks. College student, age 19. Just finished first year of college, deciding if he wants to continue. Has summer job. Strict Protestant upbringing, though he rebelled inwardly in high school. Does not attend church in college. Parents check in weekly. Has a fondness for video games, junk food and Sci-Fi movies. Not organized. Dislikes those who insist on living their lives to a schedule and timetable. Natural abilities in math, though he dislikes doing it. Does not believe in the supernatural. Believes in live and let live. Believes people should be as self-sufficient as possible without asking for help from others. Despises those who make lots of money by stepping on others.
Armando Prater - The Roommate
Long dark hair (pony tail usually), dark brown eyes, olive complexion, 6' 0", 200 lbs. Very attractive. Very fit and muscular (buff). Very much a guy. Charismatic, a chick-magnet, though a bit more humble than your usual Don Juan. Does everything for the ladies, but knows how to make and keep friends with the guys. Obsessed with his muscle car. Recognizes some potential in the main character that he can't quite put his finger on, took him under his wing, so to speak. Second year Junior, age 22. Goes out with many girls, though resists having a 'girlfriend'. Girls don't seem to mind but continually vie for his attention behind the scenes.
Kathryn Foster - Darrell's On-Again/Off-Again Girlfriend
Strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, light tan skin. 5' 3", 100 lbs, slim but fit. Girl-next-door looks. Met and became friends in Junior High, dated in High School. Originally not headed to same college as main character, ended up there as a result of a strange string of events. Always a close friend, frequent sexual tension between them though they've never been intimate. Always seems to know what he's thinking and the right thing to say. Seems to go back and forth between getting close to him and distancing herself from him.
Zoë - Healing Acolyte
Long brown hair, hazel eyes, light freckles, nice-girl looks, average but attractive build, very curvy. Claims to be a nursing student, seems to have a good bedside manner personality. Very kind, caring and sweet.
Lydia - Defense Acolyte
Long dark red hair, emerald green eyes, freckles, seems to be Irish but with no accent. Slightly attractive. Very built, could almost be a body builder. Stocky. Karate as a hobby. Slightly paranoid. Likes to have fun but always in moderation, never taking chances.
Penelope - Manipulation Acolyte
Long blond hair, light blue eyes, light complexion, supermodel looks and body. Very intelligent, sharp wit. Extraverted, fun-loving, mischievous. Prankster. Somewhat high-strung, very sexy and seductive. A tease. Next to impossible to determine what she really wants or what her true intentions are.
Melanie - Illusion Acolyte
Dark black hair, dark brown eyes, light complexion. Asian. Exotic good looks. A goth chick, though not an S&M type goth. Avoids giving direct answers, smiles a lot. Seductive but in a subtle, controlled way. Can be cruel to those she dislikes.
Cassandra - Detection Acolyte
Strawberry blonde hair, clear blue eyes, light tan skin. Slender but in shape. Girl-next-door looks. Seems easily distracted, often off in her own thoughts, apparently daydreaming. Street smart and resourceful. A great well of odd, esoteric, yet relevant trivia.
Magus
Short, neat white hair with a full but neatly trimmed beard, light grey eyes. A slightly taller, older, less dashing Sean Connery. Manners expected of one of his age, caliber and status. Very fatherly. Takes well to the role of teacher. Plays certain cards close to the vest.
Conrad Wallace - Darrell's Boss
Two steps shy of a slave driver. Demands 100% attention to the job at hand. Break time strictly regulated and enforced. Seems to give the main character more leeway than others, though nobody can figure out why.
Nick Clayton - Darrell's Coworker
One step shy a true slacker, only puts up with boss because the job keeps him out of his parents' house. Often does things that, if main character informed the boss, would get him fired.
Burt Evans - A Detective
A wash out. Ended up in this town. At the end of his career. Drinks too much too often. Desperately needs a good case.
I used an idea from the "No Plot? No Problem!" book and got most of these names by purusing my spam email. The Acolyte names I got from a list of Greek Female names.
Comments welcome.
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no subject
Date: 2005-09-09 01:56 am (UTC)The plot sounds like a lot of fun -- just the kind of thing I like to read! I love stories where things seem normal until One Day, Our Hero Notices Something Strange (tm).
no subject
Date: 2005-09-09 02:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-10 01:48 pm (UTC)Anyway here are my thoughts.
The summer part "pondering" doesn't seem too exciting unless you are planning to gloss over it. The only reason why it should be used (without knowing really what you want to do with the story) is that if something (however small yet significant in some way) happens during that summer or with the meaningless job.
The manipulation part sounds very interesting!
Btw....5'10 is short?!
Have you thought about some inherent flaws in your main character? And I just wanted to say....Kathryn is VERY skinny, then? 100 lbs for a 5'3 person...wow hehe.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-10 02:52 pm (UTC)When you say "Manipulation" do you mean the type of magic or the Acolyte? :)
The "short" part of Darrell's description was meant to describe his hair.
I might bump Kathryn up to 110 or 115, but she is supposed to be slim, yes.
As for character flaws, I'll be working that very soon. He'll be Nieve, of course, and has a weakness for women, as all young men his age have, expecially when they show interest in him. He's still very much a work in progress.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-10 08:03 pm (UTC)I meant the magic :) and oh duh hehe (the hair)...I knew that...jk. As for Kathryn, the weight probably isn't necessarily going to be directly told in the details right so it doesn't really matter although in case you do not know, muscle weighs more so 105-110 sounds great for a fit-yet-slim 5'3 characcter.