I'm excited to see this up! I was reading the other thread but didn't want to comment, this is something I'd like to join in. I'll be back with input on various questions later, right now gotta go get ready for work.
No problem with moving the thread. That other thread has become toxic. I'm not going back to it. Yikes. Anyway.... You could probably work on this from the angle of stereotypes. The conquerors stereotype the people they've conquered, and use the stereotypes to discriminate against them. It doesn't have to be direct oppression/slavery, etc. It can be exclusion. Or not hiring somebody from that conquered group because 'they are lazy' or 'they're going to want time off to practice their religion,' or 'they aren't as smart as we are,' or all these other reasons that have nothing to do with what the group actually is, and everything to do with the maintained stereotype. They're only fit for manual work, low-paid work, etc. They have inept social skills. They are untrustworthy. And etc. (All these things and more were said against the Irish, both here in the UK and in the USA. I just read a research book called The Irish Bridget, by Margaret Lynch-Brennan, about the Irish female domestic help that was hired at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and how they were regarded and treated. An eye opener, for sure....) Scots, for example. How many times have you heard the stereotype that Scots are careful/stingy with money? It's one of those stereotypes that has been the basis of jokes for, like, ever. And I can't think of a stereotype that is LESS deserved. Scots, in general, are hugely generous people. (Crowdfunding for a good cause usually reaches its target and surpasses it with lightning speed.) Of course there are exceptions, as everywhere. But any Scottish person who is ungenerous is not well regarded by fellow Scots. Where did that stereotype come from? I don't know. But I have my suspicions.
21. Using psychology. Make clear differences in some areas of Big Five and use them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits 22. Make a motivation feedback loop to one character. This helps because... 23. Use frustration to make same situations to totally new situations. 24. Use hope to color some characters in some special way. 25. Use layered conflicts to make the archs more diverse. 26. Chance the substance or dynamics of point of view while keeping the position of point of view same. 27. Use layered motivations and reveal them step by step. 28. Use changing the emotional saturation. (Depression - grey bubble. Joy - colors, smells, tastes. Love - ....) 29. Tell things you don't show. 30. Break your rhythm. 31. Make your writing voice diverse. 32. Use empathy even when you can't use sympathy. 33. "Animalize" humans. 34. "Humanize" animals. 35. Use religious, spiritual, metaphysical... dimensions. 36. Use art and/or as if it was a character. 37. Use substories. 38. Use micro flashbacks to make things more alive and add meaning. 39. Use bizarre archetype - character -pairs. 40. Use bizarre truths in important plot twists. Here you are! Next 20.
My WIP is a five book fantasy series called If Eternity should Fail. The story for the series is written and the five books are outlined. I'm almost done with the 1st draft of the first book that is titled Of Sins and Shadows. I started out with the origins of the world and the calamity that forced all life underground. Then, I did a rough 6,000 years time line that started when the people of Triskele began to re-inhabit the surface until the time when the story took place. Here's the map of the world: Here's the part of the world where the story takes place: Most of the names are place holder names that have, or will be changed. I will produce a new proto-map in the development draft of the first book. Here's an excerpt from the Triskele timeline: Human Alphabet and Language-3300A The first human alphabet and language, called Kna’n-Ahirom, is developed in the Kna’n city of Juvayl and becomes the basic for the common human tongue. By modern times, Ahirom(also known as Byzas-Ahirom) is the predominate spoken language by humans. Kuk Ikhna becomes ruler of Dj’w-3997AF Kuk Ikhna, the avatar of the god Kuk, slays his brother, Djed Akhen. Djed is destroyed by Kuk. Kuk Ikhna becomes a mad tyrant. He ruins trade and world relations for Dj’w. The Fall of the Dj’w Empire-3314A Uruk returns to Dj’w to stop Kuk. Dj’w faced an uprising of dwarven slaves, the Deneg, led by none other than Uruk. The Head Ava, Kuk, is destroyed and the Avi Host is scattered. Uruk leads the Deneg to the mountains of Kiliman Jaar and then vanishes. The time of the Dj’w Empire had ended. The Two Kingdoms of M’dran-3314Z through 3430Z M’dran splits into two kingdoms, the Upper and Lower Kingdoms. The D’mt Empire-3430Z The two gods, Sjr of the Lower Kingdom and Hedjet of the Upper Kingdom join the two kingdoms when Hedjet brings Sjr into the land of the living as the god Atef. The Unified Calendar Created-3431Z The original M’dran Lunar calendar had been modified into a solar calendar by the Upper Kingdom of Hedjet. When Hedjet and Sjr united, the Unified calendar was created. The reckon date is the establishment of the Dj’w Empire. Dwarven Trade Tokens adopted by Humans-3588A Kna’n begins producing its dwarven trade tokens. They are called knans but the name eventually becomes coin. Mount Strongýlē Errupts on Labrys- 3650A The volcano Strongýlē erupts, destroying the Krossan civilization on the island of Labrys. The survivors flee to Byzas and found the city of Byz Nergal. The Teachings of Derakh Maah-3800A Derakh Maah of Mysia begins teaching in the land of Umia. Among his achievements, is the Derakhan Calendar. His followers collect his writings into a book of four volumes called the Mysiaca. Not only does Derakh write the history of world, but, its future too; including his epic poems, the Lamentations for Byzasehir , the White Daughter and the Red Daughter. He also wrote Ilahi, (Gathas) of 17 hymns and the Antifon, a collection written in the human language of Ahirom. Derakhman Calendar is used by Saraji 3868Z The Derakham calendar replaces the old Byzas Calendar throughout the Siraji Empire. Year 3668z is year 01 of the Derakham calendar. Rise of the Siraji Empire-3866AF The city of Sirajis, under AshareduI, expands into an empire stretching Kn’an and Byzas. The Apuani Earthquake-3892A A massive earthquake rocks the Apuani coastal region from Rosi River to the city of Carrara. Hundreds of thousands die or vanish. Now this material is being revised as the story develops as I write the first book, and will never be mentioned in the books. But, while the series occurs in a small potion of Triskele, it does feature characters who come from all over the the world. There a lot of back and forth between the different elements as the characters are fleshed out, the story evolves, and the world building continues. Everything works hand in hand to, hopefully, eventually create an entertaining story for the reader. Godspeed!
Good grief. That is very detailed. Is it my imagination, or does the map look a bit like a skewed version of Europe? Is that intentional? Is this supposed to be Europe in 6000 years' time? If it is, and Europe's groups of people have been living underground for 6000 years, presumably in isolation from most other groups, I assume that language and cultural differences will be more pronounced than they are now?
Triskele is a world separate from ours. I took real world continents, broke them apart and realigned them using the longitudes. The real world is the basis for Triskele. With the proto-map I was concerned about placing things in a way that I could use real world locations for reference. My goal is to have a high fantasy setting with real world detail. While I did get the three ocean ocean spiral happening, I've yet to really work on shaping my land masses. There's no point in doing so while everything is still changing. You will notice places on the map that has names slapped on top of each other. This is because I'm still naming or renaming places. For example, Urn is now named Athar. I'm close to finishing the 1st draft of book one. After the 1st draft, I'll do a developmental draft. I'll also do a new proto-map based on how the story has reshaped the world. But the system I've devised about using real world references as the basic for the fantastical is really paying off. I've created one setting after another in the story so far with characters and lore that are unique to the location, but consistent with the overall world. Oh, and one last thing. One of my pet peeves about fantasy worlds is how generic the non-human races are. By basing my elves and dwarves on real world groups of people, they are as diversified as the different groups of humans are. Happy New Year, everyone!
Adobe Photoshop. It allows me to work quickly using layers. Right now it looks like throw up, but I won't invest a lot of effort in it until I'm ready to finalize the design. I need the real location as references. Later, I will 'fantasy up' everything. Maps are cool, but the book takes precedent.
When we invent characters and settings, it's easy to fall into thinking of what works, how society might be structured to function, what beliefs people have that accurately describe their reality. To make the world less uniform, we could think of dysfunctionality. What beliefs do people have that are totally wrong? The people of a fantasy kingdom could love their king, saying he is good, benevolent and a hero. The king could actually be a ruthless tyrant who is massively overtaxing the people and causing untold misery. Laws can to dysfunctional, doing more harm than good (but they still need to seem like good ideas in principle in order to be plausible). There could be a draconian and incredibly bureaucratic system used to administer and monitor meager welfare provisions, to ensure no one receives what they're not entitled to. The ruling elite claim any amount of 'expenses' they like with no controls, because they can be 'trusted'. The rich relentlessly and methodically fleece the poor and laugh all the way to the bank. Anyone who speaks out against this arrangement is condemned as 'the enemy of the people' and the people believe this and are conned into supporting the system that oppresses them. Contradictory information would need to be carefully managed so as not to confuse the reader. There is also the danger the reader might find the situation too implausible and throw the book across the room (best not mimic the reality of politics in the US or UK too closely).
