Alterra Update!

Alterra Update!

I’m feeling kind of out of it today, so here’s just some random city data copy-pasted from one of my many world building lists. Most of them don’t have any information about them, but I’ll go more in depth in a future update.

The 5 cities of unity;

-Dawncrest (Novélia)

-Aguefort (Corkus)

-Cinfras (Kio)

-Helioa (Rings of Troms)

-Hylinn (Runa)

Other cities;

-Hytolra (Elven):

-Vreedon City (Human): Capital to the province of Vreedon

-Vreeport (mixed): Home to the second largest legal port in Alterra.

-Thetville (Human):

-Niseton (mixed): Small village near Thetville

-Outerton (Human): A self governing large town, and third largest bounty hunting town after the fall of Blackwood.

-Blackwood (destroyed, former bounty hunting capital)

-Olmic (Dwarven): World’s largest producer of steel, steel alloys, and silver.

-The Multitree (High-Elven): Home to the High Elves, all visits must be scheduled and approved beforehand.

-Tal Aln’ir (Elven)

-Nae’lar (Elven)

-Helmsgate (Dwarven): Dwarven Capital of Corkus, and the blacksmith capital of Alterra.

-Rymek (mixed, Dwarven / Golemic): A dwarven made city where Golems can live safely outside of Unity Cities. Also the highest educated non-capital city in Alterra.

-Arca’nir (Elven)

-Argoth (mixed, Dwarven / Orken / Human): Main port of Corkus.

-Y’ fae (Elven)

-Angia (Elven)

-Koerra (Elven)

-Nae’orr (Elven)

-Bankwood (Human): Second largest bounty hunting city in Alterra.

-Nae’a (Elven)

-Tal Helia (Elven)

-Val T’orin (Elven)

-Arca’fae (Elven)

-Ori (Elven)

-Kangdor (Human):

-Ru’ina (Elven)

-Arca’nir (Elven)

-Tal’lynn (Elven)

-Arca’lynn (Elven)

-Arca’rö (Elven)

-Helguard (Dwarven): A military city built beside the largest HellHole on Alterra. Soldiers trained here are some of the best in the world, and often travel abroad hunting monsters and preventing demons from coming to the surface.

-Bankside (mixed)

-Sowick (Human)

-Setwick (Golemic)

-Tort (mixed): Capital of The Rings of Troms, and home to the largest port in the world. It’s so large, it connects to the port of the Unity City Hilioa. The lush jungle provides Tort with vast amounts of exotic fruit and spices, and is responsible for exporting over 90% of the world’s spices. The vast amount of life also makes it a very attractive destination for those learning magic.

-Anri (Arcanic): A magic city located in the only desert left on the planet, besides the Warlock Wastes. The desert’s strange magical properties and relation to Dragon’s Peak make this the best place in the world to study the arcane. Any rumors saying that Anri is working together with The Lord’s Wastelands are unconfirmed.

-Death’s Gate (mixed, Human / Orken): New bounty hunting capital of Alterra, and closest town to the Lord’s Wastelands.

-Tell (pirate town)

Continents;

-Novélia

-Corkus

-Troms

-Nesaak

-Kio

-Runa:

-Frowynn

-Hylinn Isles

-N.O.V.A. Territory

Mountains;

-Split peaks

-Dragon’s Peak

-Vualt mountain

-Durok mountain

-Mount Feln

-Mount Buro

-Twin Peaks

-Mount Brimstone

-Spikecaps

Dwarven mines;

-Mt. Vualt mines

-Mt. Durok mines

-Mt. Feln mines

-Mt. Buro mines

-Mt. Brimstone mines

Points of Interest;

-The Lord’s Wastelands:

-Warlock Wastes

-The Droughted

-The HellHoles

Crap, forgot to post again.

Uhhhhhhhhhh, idk what to post this week.

Here’s a world map of Alterra, I guess. Next week I’ll delve into some of the cities

Due to a series of “unfortunate” accidents, everyone in the city believes you are the secret identity of an up and coming supervillain. In truth you are a retired supervillain who faked their death years ago and now this upstart is going to get a taste of what true supervillainy looks like.

DID SOMEONE SAY Sir James William Hudson Honorborn?

How to write charming characters

With both positive and negative aspects to their personalities, charming characters can be difficult to write convincingly.

Whether you're writing a romantic love interest or a compelling con man, here are some examples for giving your charming characters depth.

How do they behave?

Attentive listeners: they pay close attention to people around them

Take pride in their appearance

Are happy to share personal space

Speak with a strong voice and an energetic tone

Are often hospitable and give off an air of welcome

Always give the impression that they are happy to see you

Demonstrate empathy

How do they interact?

Have a firm handshake and make strong eye contact

Are often encouraging

Compliment freely

Use humour to create a fun atmosphere

Communicate physically (through touch and gesture)

Make a point of using a person's name

Initiate conversations

Describe their body language

Have a relaxed stance with a straight and confident posture

Inclusive and attentive

Mirroring: they will mirror the body language of the person they are interacting with

Will lean forward to show attention

Lightly touch to create connection

A slight head tilt to show interest

Rarely cross their arms or legs

Maintain eye contact

Describe their attitude

Carefree

Good sense of humour

Friendly and playful

Self-aware

Opinionated and confident

Exhude an impression of honesty

Good intuition

Highly social

Polite and respectful

Eager to please

Potentially manipulative

The positive aspects of charm

Charming characters put people at ease, praise them freely, and boost their confidence. They make friends easily, talk their way to favourable resolutions, and are often the centre of attention.

They have impeccable grooming, conveying trustworthiness and concern for others, leading to a sense that they have your best interests at heart.

The negative aspects of charm

A charming character can manipulate others for personal gain. They can be overbearing, exerting their will on less confident individuals.

Their charm often draws focus, making others feel inferior, making them perfect for a protagonist to exhibit personal growth, or for a villain that a reader will fall in love with.

While it’s not enough, it’s a strong foundation. Good side characters need all of these things, yes, but they also need:

-things that won’t change about them, most commonly their personalities

-their relationship to the MC

-Morals and motivations of their own

-Mannerisms and the way they speak / do things

-notable differences to the mc

-their mental state

-how they talk to different people, like a best friend or a stranger.

-ect.

There are plenty of things side characters should need, because they are people in the story just as much as the MC is. It’s a lot more time consuming to write fully fledged out side characters, but it will be so much more enjoyable if you do.

Creating Memorable Side Characters

                Not everyone gets to be the star of the show. Side characters fill out your world and add context to your main character’s journey. Often they are the parents, friends, or coworkers of your main character and as important of a role they play in the MCs life, it’s easy to forget they exist until we need them next.

                While they shouldn’t take the main stage, creating memorable side characters gives them a sense of realism and importance. They can provide motivation, inspiration, or a little bit of support when the MC needs it next, which will all land harder if we care about them as people. So here’s a few ways to do it:

Give them a little arc.

While the journey of the main character is why we’re reading your story, they aren’t the only people who can change. Allowing your side characters some development across the story, even in small ways, can add a layer of depth and intrigue to them. This can look like going from “dad hates all of MC’s friends” to “dad houses and feeds all the friends when they need it most”.

2. Give them a space

Unmemorable characters are treated more like tools to the narrative than people. If your side character shows up wherever they are needed at any given time, they’ve become a plot convenience rather than a person. Give them a place to exist—they hang out in the library, they can be found at the café down the street, they’re three phone calls and a flare in the sky away. Give them a reliable place that’s just theirs.

3. Give them a point of interest

While your side characters aren’t going to be as fully developed as your MCs, you can pretty easily give them some intrigue and the hint of a broader life by giving them a specific point of interest. Maybe the friend is in the photography club, the parents go out to drag shows on the weekend, the coworker always has a new crochet scarf to bring to work, etc. Just make sure it doesn't stand in alone for further character development.

                What are some examples of memorable side characters you can think of?

Writing With Folklore Blog Directory

Looking for something specific? This list is updated periodically with every post I’ve ever made! Start here if you’re looking for…

Characterization/Development

2 Alternate Character Creation Techniques

Character Creation with Tarot

Character is Plot

Characters Contradict

Creating and Using a Logline

Subtext: What We’re Not Saying

The Past, Present, and Future of Your Character (Tarot)

There’s no Such Thing as Fluff

Troubleshooting Your Dialogue

Voice is What They Say, Not How they Say It

Why is Your Antagonist the Antagonist

You Only Get One Character Introduction

Plotting

Finish Your Drafts

Motifs and Throughlines

Should I Edit or Rewrite?

Stick to your Twist

The Last Chapter

Troubleshooting your Plot

Your Plot will Always have Holes

Outlining

Finding your Title

Master Planning Checklist  

My Favourite Chapter Titles from my Projects

Outlining Part 1

Outlining Part 2

Outlining the Short Story

Theme is not a Question

What Happens Next

You Don’t Need to Write Chronologically

Worldbuilding

10 Questions to Ask About your World

Building your World

Throw Out your Details

Writing Prophesy

Theory

Beginner’s Luck (The illusion of a perfect first draft)

Camera as Narrator

Expanding on the Narrator

Experiencing and Writing

How to Sentence Structure

Maintaining a Writing Schedule

Read it Out loud!             

When Writing Needs Therapy  

Why Screenwriting is a Good Model for Novel Writing    

Writing is Feeling            

Writing Requires Fuel    

Zoom in               

Misc. Writing Advice

Don’t Write What You Know, Write Genuinely

Forget Clarity of Description

Grave Tending  

Keeping Secrets is Risky Business

Movement Kills Pacing

Nailing Your Pacing and Rhythm

Passage of Time

Sentence Structure Ask

Suspension of Disbelief

Trust your Readers

Writing about Sensitive Subjects

Writing about the Holidays

Writing a Universal Story

Writing with Intention

Prompts

Character, Prop, Situation

Exploring Humanity

Musical Writing

Now They Meet

Secrets

Sparking an Idea

There’s Magic in Cities Too

Write Without your Vices

Folklore

Banshee

Bigfoot

Doppelganger

Fairy Tale: The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood

Gargoyles

Gnomes

Goatman

Golem

Griffin

Kelpie

Krampus

Leprechaun

Loch Ness Monster

Mothman

Phoenix

The Bray Road Beast

The Headless Templar

The Jersey Devil

Will-o’-the-Wisp

NaNoWriMo

Developing your Nano Protagonist

Finding Your Nano Idea

Outlining your Nano Project

Setting a Custom Nanowrimo Goal

Inspiration

Alienation and Creating

Art Requires Vulnerability

Carry a Journal

Discovering Your Weird Brain

Do you Diary

Facing the Blank Page

Happy New Years! (eve)

I’m Still Writing Despite Everything

Is your Idea Original?     

Looking Forward to Looking Forward

Mental Illness and Creating

What Makes you Wonderful?

Why I write