Brainstorming from Story Seeds

[Tariniel]

Not sure if any of you have listened to Season 8 of Writing Excuses recently, but I noticed there are a quite a few episodes centered around brainstorming and the development of ideas. In several of them, the podcasters spit out random ideas in an attempt to further develop certain story seeds, or at least strike a match in the original author's brain. This intrigued me, as it really does seem like something worth trying. Obviously, we can't do it in a live session like in the podcast, but I was wondering if you could try shooting some random ideas at me for a magic system that has been playing around in the back of my mind. I mainly need a plot to go along with it...

The story seed I came up with for the previous podcast was a magic system fueled by pain. It has since developed into something a little different, in that there are some sort of spores in the air that are attracted to open wounds (more specific than general "pain"). They enter the body and grant their host with certain magical abilities. Once inside, endorphins are practically the only way to flush them out, meaning that pain still is a factor. The "gee wiz" part of this idea was that certain people may wish to live their entire lives in pain in order to gain these abilities, which is fascinating to me. Maybe the strength of the powers granted have a direct correlation with the level of pain?

Just wanted to see if anything can come out of this... Currently planning it as a standalone short story, but who knows? Maybe your suggestions will cause the idea to grab me more...

Thanks!

Edited September 13, 2016 by Tariniel

[Hobbit]

Interesting.  Here are my first few thoughts.

If someone is anticipating getting powers from their open wound, would their excitement about getting the magic give them more endorphins, which would in turn give them less magic?  Do people who are not "trying" to get magic actually end up with more power?

Can people collect spores in bandages?  Could you have special magic spore bandaids?  Maybe some people can afford these, but others can't... Maybe they're hard to make.  Maybe they were just discovered.

Also, what are doctors like in this world?  If you come to the ER with a giant gash, are the doctors like, "Oh, would you like us to fix this or not?  Did you sign a waiver for treatment of open wounds?"  Are there reverse doctors, people who assist you in cutting yourself in ways that aren't dangerous?

And can magic heal an open wound?  If people don't know what they're doing and they get cut, would their body instinctually use the magic to heal their cut, therefore cutting off any more magic?  Hmmm....

Well, that's where my brain went.   This is fun!

[kais]

I just get hung up on the spores thing. Spores are from fungi, and many fungi produce mycotoxins. Many mycotoxins are dangerous to people to varying degrees. If you were looking for something 'solid' to hang this magic system upon, mycotoxins would be a solid idea. Fungal spores are airborne, ubiquitous, and hard to ID without very specific knowledge. You'd either have to do some serious research though to get your chemistry right, or work with a mycologist on setting up the system. Of course, this might parallel your magic system (research causes you physical or mental pain, yet you persist to write this story...).

In regards to the seeds thing - I have a dear friend who spitballs this stuff with me all the time. It is so useful when you have a base idea but need little developments to get it flushed out. I use my Facebook feed a lot too when I just need smaller seeds. Very useful!

[Tariniel]

Lots of interesting ideas here!

11 hours ago, Hobbit said:

would their excitement about getting the magic give them more endorphins

I may be mistaken, but I believe endorphins are actually what cause that feeling of excitement. It's kind of like the body's way of cheering you up after a stressful situation. The idea that people who are not "trying" to get magic actually end up with more power really intrigues me, however. 

11 hours ago, Hobbit said:

Can people collect spores in bandages? And can magic heal an open wound?

I think these are both based on the way I'm viewing these so called "spores" (magical bacteria?). Right now I'm shooting for them to be attracted to the live blood itself, and from there be absorbed into the body. Maybe they just dissolve when the come in contact with endorphins? Magic would probably heal all wounds but the entry wound, as it is in the bacteria's favor to keep their host happy with its newfound abilities.

11 hours ago, Hobbit said:

Also, what are doctors like in this world?  If you come to the ER with a giant gash, are the doctors like, "Oh, would you like us to fix this or not?  Did you sign a waiver for treatment of open wounds?"  Are there reverse doctors, people who assist you in cutting yourself in ways that aren't dangerous?

This was really interesting! It got me thinking into how I can extrapolate this, and all of these interesting conflicts between this society and ours. Love the reverse doctors idea  That familiar need to get this story down on paper is quite strong now. Just need to outline a plot, then I'll try a quick scene sketch.

9 hours ago, kaisa said:

I just get hung up on the spores thing.

I didn't really mean spores from a fungi, I was using it more as a general "small reproductive things flying through the air" label. I was looking at it from the angle that the magical abilities were the method of reproduction, as more people will want to give them a host body. Your comments about mycotoxins were really interesting, however, and do represent yet another way I can choose to take this.

BTW: How do you tag someone in a post? I see everyone doing it, but I can't seem to figure it out...

[kais]

@Tariniel just put an '@' sign before the name. A list will appear and you can select the correct person from it. 

[Robinski]

Interesting. I do like those episodes from Season 8, up to a point. They're an interesting example of the process but, ultimately, the episodes don't produce material that we would write, of course. In Season 9, they go to the ultimate level of writing the stories, of course, and then publishing them. Don't know if any here have the Shadows Beneath hardcover, but it's a beautiful and interesting thing.

Anyway, you're idea is very interesting to me, @Tariniel, as I not long ago finished a novel 'Waifs and Strays' in which the magic system was essentially based on self-harm. In the first edit, my system is very much underdeveloped, but even when I edit the story, I doubt I will take its development to a scientific level. So kudos for that.

At first thought, it sounds as if our systems are similar, at least in the aspect of wounding being significant and a source, and yet almost immediately they diverge in different directions. Specifically, mine is not really about pain at all, but about sacrifice or offering, so it ends up being completely different.

Also, it strikes me that the setting of the story impacts upon the magic system too, and that it would be interesting to write a series of short stories in which the magic system was the same, but the setting changes. Oh, what's that? Yes, of course, Brandon has done this already!!!

Anyway, great thread. Good luck with the story!  

[Tariniel]

@Robinski I'm planning on moving through the Seasons again, this time following through with the writing prompts. Hopefully I'll build up to what you are doing with Season 9 and produce a competed novel. 

1 hour ago, Robinski said:

I not long ago finished a novel 'Waifs and Strays' in which the magic system was essentially based on self-harm

The sacrifice itself was the source? That's really interesting! I don't suppose there's any chance you compiled all of the RE submissions into a single file that I can read?

1 hour ago, Robinski said:

Oh, what's that? Yes, of course, Brandon has done this already!!!

This is usually the case 

[Hobbit]

4 hours ago, Tariniel said:

This is usually the case 

Ain't that the truth.  We love you, Brandon.

12 hours ago, Tariniel said:

I was looking at it from the angle that the magical abilities were the method of reproduction, as more people will want to give them a host body.

Not sure exactly what you mean by this (humanoid reproduction or magic bacteria reproduction?) but it sounds interesting.  Bacteria are cool because they already manipulate our bodies in lots of ways.  Spores are cool because they are sooooooo hard to destroy!!!  And for other reasons of course.

4 hours ago, Tariniel said:

That's really interesting! I don't suppose there's any chance you compiled all of the RE submissions into a single file that I can read?

Indeed!  Is it coming out anytime soon?  Or is it in need of a beta read that would conveniently let me read the whole story?  

[Tariniel]

12 hours ago, Hobbit said:

Not sure exactly what you mean by this (humanoid reproduction or magic bacteria reproduction?) but it sounds interesting.

The bacteria/spores have evolved in such a way as to grant magical abilities to humans as an "incentive" to give them a host body. They are attracted by live blood, but they feed on pain, making them depend on live organisms to survive. Hmmm.... That just got me thinking about the ramifications of these bacteria infecting animals. Gotta write this down 

Edited September 15, 2016 by Tariniel

[Robinski]

On 14 September 2016 at 9:59 AM, Tariniel said:

The sacrifice itself was the source? That's really interesting! I don't suppose there's any chance you compiled all of the RE submissions into a single file that I can read?

Not for Waifs & Strays, only the novel itself, which is 166k words. You're welcome to read it, but I know that's not what you meant. @krystalynn03 has read it, and could testify to the fact that the magic system is not well-specificed or especially clear or consistent at this point. It's a first draft and will (hopefully) be revised in time. One of the first things I will do is write a paper apart about the basis of the magic system.