Recent content by Marscaleb

Because police don't go into your homes and look to see if you are violating laws; that would be a blatant violation of constitutional rights. This isn't a 2025 mindset, this is a 1789 mindset. Police drive around in cars looking for people violating traffic laws on public roads, they actually...

Wow, vans driving around to see if anyone was watching TV without paying for it? I guarantee you that would NEVER had flown in the US. I kinda like the idea of paying to have my TV with no commercials (especially since we just got cable and then had to pay and still get commercials) but the...

I've heard of this before, but it was always described to me as a tax. Brits don't have commercials, but they pay a TV tax. I've never heard it called a license before; how does that even work? A tax makes sense because everyone pays it, but a license is something you have to apply for and pay...

A similar (and more reasonable) example I once saw was regarding travel laws, not flight itself. In BNA there are anthro-people, and some are based on migratory birds. The character in this particular episode was an albatross, I think. And it is in their nature to just fly everywhere like...

I personally see it as something that can go either way; it's a matter of terms and definitions, not a matter of "what is normal." You can think of it in terms of how language evolves. The concept of magic has been around longer than English, and it could very well be the same is true for the...

Considering how people keep digging up this thread, it would seem a lot of people are interested in it. It's worth pointing out that many times in my writing I have penned some idea or some event, only to later realize it "isn't reasonable", and as I pursue what IS reasonable I suddenly find...

The exactings of "how" may not need to be understood, but there are things I think the reader should know: 1) The limitations. In today's world there are thousands of smart-alec's who can point out massive problems and loopholes with magic systems. If a wizard can just summon limitless water...

Okay, I trimmed out too much context. I was thinking I should focus on the worldbuilding side rather than the story, but I trimmed out too much context. The character in question is learning the local language; when the other characters speak of "magic" they are using a word she doesn't...

I should probably rephrase the question I left in my post; I really don't have the context in here to "answer questions." I mean, I am left with the question of "does this lead to more questions?" and I do wonder if this selection does that, but I also know that the full context of the story is...

Of course it is "best" to show your magic, demonstrating how it works through practical examples as the story naturally progresses. But sometimes you need a good way to just openly explain your magic, laying things out in no uncertain terms, directly answering questions that the reader may...

At nine chapter in though, the reader has already seen a lot inside Amber's head. It makes it more interesting for a snippit like this, but would a reader still find that interesting? And yes it's about "what you do with those words" but that begs the question of "are those extra words doing...

I'm writing a scene; this is about 9 chapters into my work. The main character is introduced to several new characters; soldiers being placed under her command. I've got two different versions I have written. One describes the whole scene and gives dialogue between the MC and the new...

I had forgotten; I did make those changes I mentioned. Several months later, here's the updated version I never managed to share. I'm still not sure that this is *quite* where I want it to be before I pay someone money to redraw it in a proper art style.

It has a magic-powered ankle hinge, so his gait isn't terribly different, and Amber happens to never notice this. She does notice that he never goes on runs and rarely takes the recruits on marches, leaving that to the lance corporal. The mana actually goes into both boots like it does with...

I admit I do like that approach; make the seed be something else. That said, if she were to notice a detail about his boots, perhaps what she would notice was a leather strap peeking above one boot. For being a military setting, I think his boots being noticeably different would be a problem.