Does sound like an interesting idea? Think of magic as kind of energy malleable to human thought, witches a gateways for it to pour into the universe. But when a witch does a lot of spells in an area, that means that there's residual magic, which ordinary humans can subconciously exert influence over, with horrible results. So basically their mere prescence can give humans unatural power.
I have to say, asking questions for specific problems that you're having in a story is one thing, but it seems that you want validation for the idea as a whole and are almost asking people to write it for you. You can think of names. You have to decide what their cover story is, what their familiars are, what their reasons are, what happens to them. You shouldn't be writing to make sure people approve of you, you should be writing because you NEED to get the stories out of your head. Just write it down as it comes and then, when you've got at least a decent head start with your story line post in the review section to see how the response is. As I said, we CAN help you with some things, but you can't expect us to answer everything for you. All you're getting is what WE would write if WE were writing a story about witches and warlocks, and WE'RE not. You are. Just WRITE IT.
Do you think the plot point about witches causing normal people's wishes to come true in horrfying ways subconciously interesting?
So anyone have any thoughts on alternate terms for witches? And would ,magic being drawn from the afterlife dimension have any interesting implications?
It would be a whole lot funnier if the dads were the witches. And it would be logically sound as well, since males carry the dominant gene. Well anyway, ever thought of weird hair streaking? For instance, when Magneto transfers his powers to Rogue, her front bangs turn white. And speaking about where they're drawing their powers from, the afterlife makes sense but maybe, since they're essentially human, it would make more sense if they knew necromancy. As we know, spirits are made of energy & necros are able to call on that energy. Am I helping? Another problem that could arise is, if you've read about Alchemy in great detail as I have, you would know you never get something for nothing. You can't conjure up something out of thin air without sacrificing something of equal or slightly lower value to produce it. So maybe a ritual of some sort will need to be involved?
Thank you, I know I used that word on purpose. See, if he made being a witch a truly feminine profession (& we all know warlocks are extremely masculine & aggressive), it would change the way he writes the dads, wouldn't it? Make it more interesting anyway.
Because with a female witch, there's only one way to write her. Or rather, there's only one way she's ever been written. Hermoine Granger is the only truly academic witch I have come across. If the dads are the "witches", you could make them either the forgetful academic type, the male dancer type (the stereotype of this, of course), or gay (again stereotypical) - completely opposite to what warlocks are usually like. And there are a lot more you should be able to think of - these are merely off the top of my head because I recently wrote a short about a slightly effeminate yet mostly masculine male "witch". He only got all girly when he was brewing something - a bit like the delicately performed Japanese tea ceremony - or when setting up his altar or entertaining other witches. He was, after all, the only memember of the local witches club (I prefer humour to anything). You wouldn't just have your standard issue witch then.
Being a witch isn't so much a profession as having the right genes. And why did you say it'd make more sense? Also if witches get their powers soon after birth would that have any implications?
Not really. In some anime, when a character inherits supernatural powers, they are usually protective before said character hits puberty. For instance, in 'Charmed', Piper's first kid had a shield around himself when there were stranger in his vicinity. Also, the powers attacked demons to protect him, of their own accord. As for the being skewed at puberty bit, if you remember how Harry started off...his powers manifested themselves in the most unusual way when he was experiencing heightened emotions, mostly because he hadn't learned to channel them yet. As for being a witch not being a profession, it's like being an Oracle or a Soothsayer - they aren't like the one from the Matrix, who had some hidden means of income. They usually make their way through Tarot/ Crystal ball reading, minor potions for love, success etc. It just makes more practical sense.
Witches prefer secrecy and the story takes place in modern day. And would it be interesting to follow the MC's from birth to young adulthood, see magic from a kid who's growing up with it's perspective. And would it be refreshing if their heritage wasn't kept secret from them?
Maybe if the one doing the teaching was a grandparent. That way, you have the element of family as well as tragedy because something bad must have happened to the parents. And maybe if that magic skipped a generation because of the recessive gene thing, it would make more sense for the grandparent to practise & teach them about magic. Most urban fantasy involving witches are based in modern times. And most of them treat magic as a profession, keeping the darker side of their powers under wraps. You could have them fully grown with flashbacks to lessons with the grandparent now long deceased, having fought in a duel to the death or something.
Remember the story is about their attempts to fit in and avoid magic to keep their classmates from finding out. And I like the idea of the being raised by their grandmother.
Then why not let them try to use it under the context of a Magic club? That way they can enlist other classmates & can pretend to be just as new to all these ideas. After all, who doesn't dream about being able to perform actual magic?
You mean pretend to do stage magic as opposed to the real thing? And what do you think of the magical pollution idea?
Nope, not stage magic. Have you ever watched the movie 'The Craft'? They invoke the spirit of Manon, the "God" of all creation, to give them supernatural powers. These are actual powers we are talking about. I'm sure most teens have some fascination for wiccans and the like, so being a part of some club that's involves in activities like that would get them all in a tizzy. Great way for "real" magic users to use as well as a great pretext for making friends. This is the first I'm reading about the 'magical pollution" bit. What's that about?
Basically a witch can cause residual magic from spells to build up in an area, which humans can affect subconciously with horrible results. And magic is genetic how could they let their classmates in on it? And how might the local church react?
They're not really. I'm sure you know how illusionists function - everything is based on sleight of hand or illusions. And anyway, when you perform group magic, you can't really tell where the magic is originating from. All it does is that it helps the non-witches feel "included" in something that forbidden & exciting. As for the residual magic bit, why don't you have a clean-up crew like in MIB, where you wipe people's memory and traces of stray magic. This way, you could explain away the inclusion of an organization who is hunting down the young witches because they think their powers are getting out of hand. The whole club scene is usually about secrecy. So, staying under the radar of the church would be just part and parcel of the game. It's what makes it all the more exciting.
So basically the normal kid's are piggybacking on the witches' power? And how might using magic affect the witch kid's? And ways they could deflect suspicion?
