Are There Any Hobbies Or Careers Your Characters Have That You'd Like To Do One Day?

Are there any hobbies or careers your characters have that you'd like to do one day?

(I'm asking because I noticed how I picked up coding from my oc Elijah, so of course I'm curious)

Thank you for the Ask, Bug! That's a very, very interesting question!

Most of my WIP's take place in either very historical high fantasy settings or futuristic sci-fi worlds. Even my modern superhero story takes place in a near, very cyberpunk, future.

So most of the jobs/careers my characters have are either:

1. very, very old and dated to that specific time period (such as being a sword-fighting knight of a chivalric order, an indentured servant working for a noble in the Victorian Era, etc),

2. fictional (a dragon rider, a spaceship navigator in a far off galaxy, a mage from a mystical high council, etc),

3. highly illegal and morally incorrect (mobster/mafia boss, assassin, tomb-raider thief, etc)

Therefore, it is very difficult/impossible for me to say which of those occupations I would actually pick up in my real life, lmao, BUT, I know which jobs I would like to have if I actually lived in the world of my WIPs, as in, if I were a fictional character as well. Being the leader of the Dragon Riders from The Last Wrath would be very fun, while I would love being an adventurous space pilot in Supernova Initiative.

However, out of the actual hobbies - not main jobs - my characters have, however, I can safely say that learning how to sew (Nethen Fahris's hobby from The Last Wrath, and Julia Killian's from Enchanted Illusions), play the violin (Marcus Kallihan's hobby from Enchanted Illusions), and learning high level computer-science (Jym Callister's hobby and job from Open Secret Files) would definitely be very fun and helpful!

Worldle-Building Wednesday Tag!

Thanks for the tag, @oh-no-another-idea! I've never heard of this Wordle before, but I hope I was able play this game right!

Rules: using this Wordle maker, come up with a relevant word for your WIP, and share the link! Then, below a cut, share why the word relates to your current project.

mywordle.strivemath.com

Make Your Own Wordle

Guess the hidden word in 6 tries. You can also share your own word!

Explanation below the cut! (:

The word ARISE, is very relevant to my WIPs - mainly Realms of Loss and Enchanted Illusions. For Realms of Loss, arise means to rise from the ashes of what their world once was to build a better future, like a phoenix. For Enchanted Illusions, it means to rise in favor of justice and freedom for all, despite the corruption of their peers.

I'm glad you liked the question, @oh-no-another-idea! Thanks for turning it around, I'll try to answer it! (:

I am a huge fan of worldbuilding, so most of my WIPs are very high fantasy settings, lmao. I've mentioned the pantheon of gods from The Last Wrath and Tales of Wilted Flowers in a few other posts, so in this one, I'll cover the pantheon of Celestials from Realms of Loss - which happens to be a huge part of the story, because some of the MCs are half-deities and the plot vastly revolves around the return of a dead god (who is actually a demigod ascended into Godhood, but details, details...)

In Helvastte, the main continent of that WIP, the actual Old Gods are dead, having perished in a dreadful battle centuries prior, which ravaged the lands and caused the appearance of a terrible curse. So, the main deities who rule over and are worshipped in Helvastte are the Celestials, who were born of the remnant strings of magic from Ichor, the blood of the Gods, after the fall of the first pantheon.

Celestials are immortal and incredibly powerful beings, but not nearly as powerful as the Old Gods. For example, Celestials cannot create or destroy worlds, which the Old Gods could easily do, nor change the Tides of Fate, which didn't affect the Old Gods. They also aren't immune to the Forgotten Curse, because - much like them - it was created out of the Ichor spilt by the Old Gods in their battle.

But what can Celestials do in Helvastte? They hold incredible power over specific domains, such as the Storms, Chaos, or Marriage to name a few - and so, because of this, there are many demigods, some more or less powerful than others depending on their Domain. They are also magical entities and have a lot - and I mean a lot - of sway over the decisions and wars waged by the human kingdoms sworn to them. They can be patrons of some specific orders of Casters, and often sire half-deities, known as Divine Heralds, who are the magical elite of the realms - the most powerful kinds of mortals.

For example of a half-deity in the actual story, Kassien Vann was a highly trained Divine Herald of the elite royal guard, son of the Celestial of Storms, Moyrah, and a human man.

There are two rival Celestial Courts in Helvastte, which favor specific human kingdoms in their neverending war to decide who will rule what remains of the continent, as conquests are paramount for survival in a land ravaged by a curse even the Celestials aren't immune to. Some Celestials aren't a part of the Courts and are often called the Unseen.

Happy WBW, Cass!

In the world of your WIP, is there a main pantheon of deities/gods that is worshipped? Are they actual celestial beings that exist or are they figments of the people's imagination? If they exist, do they have anything to do with the magic that exists in that world?

Hello, pal, thanks for the ask! <3 Man you've managed to hit me right in the chink of my armor! As a writer who is low on world building, I don't think a single one of my WIPs has any sort of new or imaginative religions/gods. 😭

This is still a terrific question though--may I turn it around and ask YOU the same? 💛

WRITER ASK GAME - Fantasy

PIRATE - Pick one! Pirates or Royals?

KINGDOM - How many named places are there in your WIP? How much have you developed them?

PHOENIX - Have you invented any fantasy creatures?

PRINCESS - Urban fantasy or high fantasy?

WIZARD - Who is your favourite character in this WIP? Describe them!

SHIP - How many pages of planning documents do you have, if any?

KING - How long have you been working on this WIP and its world?

KNIGHT - Pick one! Forbidden Love or Enemies-to-Lovers?

HERO - What makes someone a hero in this world?

VILLAIN - Do you prefer creating heroes or villains?

TREASURE - What is the best thing about the world of your WIP?

MAGIC - What is your magic system?

QUEEN - What is the earliest planned historical event in your WIP?

UNICORN - What makes your WIP and your writing stand out?

ISLAND - Have you created a language for your world?

POTION - If potions exist in your WIP, give me a potion recipe!

CAULDRON - Give me a fantasy food!

WITCH - What sparked the idea for this world?

DRAGON - Do you write about dragons?

GOD - Does your world have a religion? Is it, in this world, right?

Happy STS, Claire!

What is easier for you in a first draft of a WIP: expressing the emotions/feelings of your characters or describing the setting's details?

Happy STS and thanks for the ask!

So the answer is actually a secret third thing: dialogue. Generally, my Draft Zero reads like a screenplay. Every draft after that sketches more of what is happening around that dialogue. This is partially because just enjoy writing dialogue, but I think it's also because I tend toward hyperphantasia, so I can see where the characters are, what they look like, and every other visual thing around them in my head to be able to write what they're saying. That means that for my own purposes, I don't necessarily need it to be spelled out on the page at that point. (Obviously, the reader does, though!)

Of the two you mentioned, emotions and feelings would definitely come first, or second after dialogue. Descriptions of settings and other details are usually the last thing that gets added (not surprisingly, it's also what I enjoy writing the least). 😂

on fear of writing-risk

a reminder to writers: if you end up not liking what you write, you can always rewrite it later on. take those risks and write what you’re afraid to, nothing you draft is ever final unless you want it to be.