#Writing discussion: Magic and "systems"
Lots of people, when they sit down to introduce magic into their story, think about it from a "system" point of view, implying things like rules, predictability, etc. But magic/the supernatural in our world is often very vibes based and unpredictable. Which does your story's "magic" lean towards? Do you think one works better than the other? In what situations and why?
I don't do word counts because they yuck my low-focus yum. I do checkpoints. My #WritingGoals for Project Mega are:
Herd A-story characters to X part of the story; bonus points if you also get the B-story character to Y part of the story. Triple bonus if you get certain marked characters away from A-story and B-story into C-story. Think of ways to weave in B-story-subplot-A and B-story-subplot-B if vibes.
I blame George R. R. Martin for this nonsense.
#writersCoffeeClub APR-21 Do you agree with Rose Tremain, who says you shouldn't plan a book's ending; it must be earned?
Similar to how I think, that theme is not enough to write a self-contained story, and you need plot for it, knowing the ending in some shape or form is needed to know the direction, which in return lets you gauge whether writing the story makes sense. However, that doesn't necessarily mean, the ending can't change.
#WritersCoffeeClub APR-09 Do you use a dedicated proofreader, or is one provided by your publisher?
For my German stories that I used to publish at Queerpoint.net, @Arokh did a fantastic job at not only proofreading, but also copy as well as line editing all my stuff 
For my English stories, I haven't found a proofreader or editor yet.
#WritersCoffeeClub APR-04 Do you feature real-world political and social issues in your work?
Social issues play a huge part in most of my story. Since a good part of my stories has #queer topics, my characters deal with #homophobia (including internalized one)/ #transphobia, #heteronormativity/ #cisnormativity/ #allonormativity, you name it.
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#PhantastikPrompts APR-12 Wie viele Geschichten/Projekte sind gleichzeitig in Arbeit bzw. im Kopf? Haben sie miteinander zu tun?
Zusammenhänge Projekte habe ich selten. Ich habe insgesamt einmal einen Crossover-Gastauftritt eingebaut.
Ein anderes zusammenhängendes Projekt ist ein Sequel, den ich aber nur in groben Zügen vorbereitet hatte.
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#PhantastikPrompts APR-10 Teile einen Abschnitt deiner Geschichte zum Thema "Dunkelheit".
![Darkness. Floating. Nothing. Was he, or wasn’t he? Time did not exist. Nor did feelings. But somehow, he knew, he was inside himself. A prisoner of his own body without a way to communicate with the world outside. He hardly understood the meaning of “outside”. But then he noticed something else … A light—a glowing spot—and somehow, he knew, it was different from the darkness surrounding him. It was opposed to it. He tried to touch it, but the moment he did, yet it turned dark again within the same moment. However, this time something was different. The light was not gone for good—it was inside him. Of course, he was aware how ridiculous his assumption seemed to be, as he already was inside himself. He would have laughed, but he had no voice, no control over the muscles necessary to create sounds. In case this really was his body, encapsulating him and holding him captive, he had no control over it.
Eventually the light turned into a thought, a realization, a memory perhaps. The world outside existed. And he was once there, too. But he had no idea, how he came here and how he could escape this prison. Nothing happened. Time passed. Did it? Did time exist down here? Everything was absolutely similar in that darkness. Then, another light turned up. It glowed and disappeared like the first one. And it turned into a thought again. Green eyes. He had no idea, whose eyes that were let alone where he had seen them. But they were kind and handsome.
[…]](https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/256/133/048/827/943/original/085091f55c6c10cb.png "Darkness. Floating. Nothing. Was he, or wasn’t he? Time did not exist. Nor did feelings. But somehow, he knew, he was inside himself. A prisoner of his own body without a way to communicate with the world outside. He hardly understood the meaning of “outside”. But then he noticed something else … A light—a glowing spot—and somehow, he knew, it was different from the darkness surrounding him. It was opposed to it. He tried to touch it, but the moment he did, yet it turned dark again within the same moment. However, this time something was different. The light was not gone for good—it was inside him. Of course, he was aware how ridiculous his assumption seemed to be, as he already was inside himself. He would have laughed, but he had no voice, no control over the muscles necessary to create sounds. In case this really was his body, encapsulating him and holding him captive, he had no control over it.
Eventually the light turned into a thought, a realization, a memory perhaps. The world outside existed. And he was once there, too. But he had no idea, how he came here and how he could escape this prison. Nothing happened. Time passed. Did it? Did time exist down here? Everything was absolutely similar in that darkness. Then, another light turned up. It glowed and disappeared like the first one. And it turned into a thought again. Green eyes. He had no idea, whose eyes that were let alone where he had seen them. But they were kind and handsome.
[…]")
#PhantastikPrompts APR-03 Welche Location aus deiner Geschichte gefällt dir am besten & warum?
#SubconsciousMind spielt in Alaska, was an sich schon mal ziemlich cool ist. Lieblingsort wäre wahrscheinlich das Writer's Block. Die Atmosphäre dort ist einfach sehr herzlich und man kann dort Stunden verbringen.
Und das Lokal gibt es auch in RL:
http://writersblockak.com/
#WordWeavers APR-08 Are you happy? Why/why not?
#ArkanCotton: "With myself? Absolutely. How couldn't I? With everyone else? Hell no. How could I? This bunch of morons doesn't even acknowledge my genius, besides pretty everything else they do wrong."
#WordWeavers APR-07 What conflicts (internal and/or external, subtle or grand) are important in your story?
I seldom have antagonists in my stories. Usually, the conflict is within the protagonist or comes from society as a whole.
#WordWeavers APR-06 Does your MC feel understood? Why/why not?
#ArkanCotton never feels understood because he always feels better and more clever than anyone else and doesn't hold back telling everyone exactly that to their faces.
#WordWeavers APR-02 What books/resources have you used to improve your writing? Which ones do you recommend?
There's a #YouTube channel called "Hello Future Me" that explains different storytelling and genre aspects:
#WritersCoffeeClub MAR-27. How does it feel knowing that strangers will read your work?
I pity them. Nobody should be forced to endure that.
#WritersCoffeeClub MAR-26 In your opinion, name a book, movie or TV show where the ending spoils the story
I felt, #TheBigBangTheory's finale was quite anticlimactic, too. But after all, it was "just" a sitcom.
#WritersCoffeeClub MAR-26 In your opinion, name a book, movie or TV show where the ending spoils the story
The series #HalfBad/ #TheBastardSonAndTheDevilHimself built up to the very moment of Nathan Bryne meeting his father, where I expected him to find or realize something to make the world he lives in, a better place. But yeah, nothing of that sort happened. It was quite anticlimactic. Meh 
#WritersCoffeeClub MAR-26 In your opinion, name a book, movie or TV show where the ending spoils the story
Throughout the seasons of #Warehouse13, an attraction between main character Myka Bering and recurring character H. G. Wells was well established, only to be surprisingly retconned in the series finale.
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CET