Recent content by R.H. Smith

In visual terms, if you watched Game of Thrones you could literally see Daenarys transformation from the wanting to do good - to doing good by being evil sort of thing. Some people say they didn't see the arc, but i find that hard to believe. Anywayz, that's one arc you can use for inspiration...

I know this is not part of the thread, but i would like to reply. Even before this question, yes, personally the two words held and continue to hold differing connotations. In terms of denotation, i find them both interchangeable. Connotation-wise, they couldn't be farther from each other.

Hi Avadyyrm! This is a somewhat daunting task. I have not self-published yet, but am soon to do so and have done the research. Mainly to self-publish the easiest way is to take your manuscript and convert it into the format that the Kindle can read. If you look online you will find the...

I take it as: Want - what you OPENLY desire Desire - what you SECRETLY desire If you look at the human psyche (i'm no psychologist but I tend to study peoples traits, mannerisms and such to see how I can integrate that into my chars) most, if not everyone will openly and out loud voice what...

I like the premise. I'm actually writing a MS using angels and demons, god and the devil, etc. Anyways, something i notice alot with these types of works is that power is dependent on the god...so angels depend on god for their power and demons depend on the devil. There is an inherent flaw with...

I think the best way to show goriness without actually writing the goriness is through the emotions and reactions of your other characters or MC reaction what he/she just witnessed...As the witches hand lovingly clutches the Uber-dagger, she cackles, lifts her eyebrows in glee and shoots her...

I like the premise man. If it's religion based, then the solar eclipse can be correlated to some powerful god of the witches. The lunar can have the opposite effect and take the guise of, for example, When the Gods Solar and Lunar were waging war across the sky, each factions power waned and...

I see here a lot of people are going with the Magic is an everyday thing and governance should be placed/used along the lines of a Fraternity or like-minded people. Now we all know that this is easier said than done in the real world (yes, yes, we are writing fiction, i know) but the reader can...

Villains, Bad Guys, Good Guys, Saviors... it's all in the eye of the beholder. Common quip: Is the snake bad because it bites. or because of its venom? Bad / Evil is not purely for its own sake. Nasty mob hitmen have done unspeakable deeds, yet they were the best of fathers to their own kids...

I think the thing to show the passage of time is essentially a before and after mini fluff piece. In my MS, I show my MC training and gradually getting better. I do this by portraying more difficult spells and such being mastered. Remember, almost no idea is original anymore, its all been done...

I guess treating magic as you would treat another character, for me, could make it seem more real, alive. Off the bat, your description made me think of Avatar the Last Airbender. They had elemental magic much like you do in your story. In my MS, magic is something you're born with (kinda boring...

I think limitation on magic is key. For me, though, the main thing that would set apart magic systems are the types of limitations. As in life, not everyone has the same knowledge, skill, and i think most importantly, that "inner talent". As much as I want it and practice, I will never be as...

Excellent question. I think before we could get down to the nitty gritty we would have to see what type of char is your crime boss. Is he the quiet type? Doesn't need to make noise, doesn't like to call attention to himself, or is he a show-off? If he's the quiet type, then maybe something like...

I like the concept. The only thing, in my humble opinion, I can see messing with your concept, is the fact that the more broken you are emotionally, the more powerful. So someone that had the worse childhood (parents died, got sent to foster homes, was raped/molested, etc.) will be the most...

From what you described, the crime boss' mistress is very pragmatic. Following that logic, she would simply use the most efficient poison for the job. I'm sure she will try to not leave as much a mess as she can, but in the end, she believes it's her 'last job' so she might not care, she just...