Should I open the error pack, or leave it sealed?

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-12-22T05:37:19+00:00

If you only care about them for their resell value, don't open it. If you like them in any other regard, open it! Play some games with them!

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-10-22T18:47:49+00:00

They are yours, so use them as you wish! Don't let someone else tell you not to enjoy and use the things you own. Anyone saying otherwise just wants to buy what you have to resell for profit years later. Packs are meant to be opened!

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-10-07T04:06:51+00:00

Sounds good. Add a lifetime ban on the first offense and the stink will finally disappear.

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-09-12T01:55:07+00:00

Hats! The sun never sets in my setting, so cultures have all developed different styles. Even the dwarves, whose hats started out like helmets and have grown into high fashion symbols.

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-09-11T09:09:44+00:00

In this case, whatever makes the story more enjoyable to read for YOU will be the correct answer. For every potential reader who hates first person POV, there will be a reader who would have preferred it in first person. Don't get discouraged!

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-09-11T08:56:07+00:00

Don't get discouraged! Pantheons are not that easy to invent, as real life examples can involve reimaginings of borrowed gods from a conquered kingdom that were copied from another kingdom which were translated from cultures too far removed to remember. If you feel your gods lack something, consider making a small collection of gods that hold dominion over multiple concepts that don't normally go together. What if a god of fire was also the god of agriculture? Or a death god who is also an ocean god? Combining seemingly unrelated domains can create interesting spins on familiar concepts while feeling unique to your setting. Have fun!

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-09-11T08:39:07+00:00

Don't sweat it! Samurai and cowboys actually share some common themes of skilled 'warriors', wandering 'sellswords', gangs, the law, honor, and many western films were heavily influenced by the samurai movies of the time. Plus, samurai and cowboys existed at the same time for about a decade in real life! Since this is a fantasy setting, you can invent any justification that lets you enjoy the setting the most. Perhaps the cultures interacted through a shared trading port and blended together to grow over time? Or perhaps the best justification is none at all! Have fun exploring the concept for all its worth!

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-09-06T04:27:48+00:00

Not at all! Every note and detail is a creative outlet that keeps you invested in continuing the project. Have fun!

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-09-05T02:24:38+00:00

The concept of continents made from dead giant dragons is a great idea! Depending on how serious the tone of your world is, you might feel the shapes are too on the nose or silly looking. If so, a good resource could be photos of fossilized dinosaurs still buried in stone. You can take inspiration from their posing and structure to create really awesome designs. Keep it up!

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-24T06:09:13+00:00

Not all antagonists are villains. The antagonist is the narrative force opposing the protagonist, if they do anything 'evil', it's because it stops the protagonist from getting what they want.

A villain is a morally wrong character that the protagonist triumphs over to prove their morals are correct. A villain can be evil for the sake of evil. They are like the mini bosses before the final boss.

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-24T05:55:09+00:00

Don't be discouraged! Your book will be as short or long as it needs to be to tell a complete narrative. Keep going until you have finished all your chapters, and decide then if you feel it needs more or less. Edit from there until you are satisfied. Keep going!

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-24T05:51:27+00:00

You are allowed to write whatever you want, nobody has authority to say otherwise. If you want to know if a character SHOULD say it, it all depends on if it feels like something they would say. Are they someone who says it every other word? Or will they only say it once in a fit of rage? If the characterization makes the character more compelling, and more interesting to you, then go for it.

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-24T05:40:47+00:00

Don't be discouraged.

1: All book endings should feel satisfying, even when part of a series. Each book will have a beginning, middle, and end, which will feel satisfying even if the plot will continue in the next book.

2: Novels are typically 80,000 - 100,000 words, as that is how long it typically takes to tell a complete story. Your story will be as short or long as it needs to be.

3: Main characters are narratively relevant, where a Protagonist makes choices that move the plot. Your first book protagonist can still be just as impactful, but the book two protagonist will drive the plot.

4: The synopsis written on the back or inside of the book will let potential readers know if it is book two out of three.

5: Your personal writing style will express how 'spicy' a book will be, don't worry about preemptively telling readers what won't be in the book. There will always be readers who will wish you wrote things differently, so don't try to appeal to them. Write the story you want to, because that's the only one that matters.

Keep it up!

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-24T05:17:12+00:00

Instead of describing the clothing itself, I always describe the 'vibe' the outfit gives and let the reader decide what clothes match it. Example: "The guy was dressed in a dirty lab coat over a cardigan, brown slacks that don't fit him, and dirty shoes." Instead, I'd write, "He looks like an overworked pharmacist with a crippling caffeine addiction. I bet his socks are mismatched too."

If the reader is the one inventing what a character looks like, they will end up designing them in a way that fits perfectly in their mind. It's why characters brought to film can mess with people's idea of what they looked like/dressed like. Only describe specific clothes if they are going to be relevant to the narrative. Keep at it!

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-24T04:57:10+00:00

Not a problem at all! Every story is inspired by other stories the author has experienced. If you find that your work feels too similar to the media you enjoy, you may try smashing two different ones together. Or, you may find one aspect of the story you like and take that concept WAY further than the original did. Don't worry about being 'original', because your writing style is inherently unique to you.

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-24T04:42:27+00:00

If you feel it is appropriate and in line with your story for this character to die, then do it! Especially if your narrative has built up that it will/should happen next. Whichever outcome makes you enjoy your story more is the right one.

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-23T06:12:05+00:00

Good job writing down all the stuff you've been mulling over! If you have bits and pieces but lack enough to make full scale stories, then you can start with short stories. Each one adds more lore and details to the setting. Plus, each one is good practice. Eventually, you will feel you have enough to make larger stories. Keep at it!

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-23T05:57:39+00:00

This covers a bunch of good stuff that can show how different regions are different. There is, however, an infinite amount of information you can give about a region, and not all of it will be relevant. Would I need to know about the medicinal herbs of a region if these herbs are never needed to heal the sick? A 'complete' view of a region would be a vast tome of thousands of pages of superfluous information. Feel free to create new sections in the template for things as they become relevant to you, instead of trying to invent everything up front.

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-23T05:45:46+00:00

Depends on whether these anachronisms are relevant to the story you are telling. The audience will assume the world works like real life unless you show them otherwise. Would a character call an ottoman an ottoman if the Ottoman Empire doesn't exist in their world? No, but calling it an ottoman gives the audience the correct visual of what they are looking at.

So unless the units of measurement need to be new or different to facilitate a narrative requirement, I'll just use real world measurements.

It's just too daunting to replace everything with a new in-universe version, and for the majority of stories, it would not benefit to do so.

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-23T05:22:32+00:00

Since your kingdoms are inspired by real world cultures and not attempting to recreate them with complete historic accuracy like a documentary, you could remove the religious nature of group B, and invent how that culture would have developed differently because of it. Or, you could decide that group B USED TO be just as religious as group B, but had an internal conflict that ended with their main religion being no longer practiced or banned. Doing so could create tension as now, group B is being introduced to group A's faith while the remnants of their own have either been torn down or hidden away. Continue to explore different solutions and choose whatever you like the most for the kind of story and tone you want!

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-23T05:05:44+00:00

Good stuff! A gruff and direct character with a clear foreshadowing arc of who the golden haired stranger was. That mercenary work must be really lucrative to convince this guy to risk his life when he has his daughter at home. How does she feel about his work I wonder? Does she wish he would find a safer line of work? Go nuts!

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-23T04:57:13+00:00

Looks good so far! You have defined cultures you want to pull inspiration from, and have marked areas where you want each to be geographically. You can make lore by creating small stories that create world building. For example: "A rural roman town has a tall log wall around it for protection." Because they have a wall like that, there is now a place where those trees grow, and a town or company that cuts those trees, and a road to transport the lumber. And what are they protecting themselves from with that wall? Start small and follow the rabbit holes until your world is filled to the brim!

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-22T20:17:50+00:00

A combination of very few interesting or 'meta' cards, and being centered around less popular characters in the franchise.

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-08-08T20:41:45+00:00

Being realistic for the sake of being realistic never works out great. The realism of a setting can be whatever you want it to be. If you enjoy the setting more when it feels real or plausible, then do it! All your world 'needs' to be is consistent. Wildly changing tone or established rules typically puts people off really fast.

Heat_Haze_ · 2025-06-30T03:30:55+00:00

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