Comments for Fantasy Author's Handbook

Comment on PLAUSIBLE TECHNOBABBLE by Ryan Schneider

Ryan Schneider — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:27:35 +0000

I imagine this is why hard science fiction is so cool. It’s rooted in an attempt at real science, or a projection of where real science and actual technology will be at some point in the future.

And like you said, making up stuff to a) sound like you as the author know what you’re talking about, and to b) attempt to convince your reader that you actually DO know what you’re talking about, is always great fun.

Thanks!

Comment on PLAUSIBLE TECHNOBABBLE by Tharcion

Tharcion — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:27:23 +0000

Creating technobabble is always fun, and anyone who uses the Chamanx Plague adventure as a hook has my attention. I loved that adventure. The clue the crystals weren’t real should have been in the name, which amounts to “blue crystals.”

Anyway, Wikipedia is your friend when building technobabble, or even techno-magic-babble. Read a page or so on the Standard Model, or wormhole theory and you can be making up total rubbish that sounds reasonable in a few hours.

Comment on PLAUSIBLE TECHNOBABBLE by Philip Athans

Philip Athans — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:27:16 +0000

Good luck!

Comment on PLAUSIBLE TECHNOBABBLE by kirkeberg

kirkeberg — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:26:12 +0000

Looking for some babble of my own. Making an old west gentleman vampire able to be nourished and still remain a good guy and a gentleman.

Comment on WHAT YOU NEED AND WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE by Gryphonboy

Gryphonboy — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:24:10 +0000

an extra is crept in there for some reason :/

Comment on WHAT YOU NEED AND WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE by Gryphonboy

Gryphonboy — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:23:23 +0000

Good solid advice.
I think is the desire one is the only one you truly “need”, Obviously pen and paper is essential(if you don’t have a pc) but without the desire I can’t see how any of the other stuff matters.

Comment on WANTED: ONE DEADLINE, ANY CONDITION by FOUND: SIXTEEN-AND-A-HALF DEADLINES, SLIGHTLY USED | Fantasy Author's Handbook

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:26:58 +0000

[...] On October 5, 2010, here at Fantasy Author’s Handbook, I posted a, unabashed plea for deadlines: WANTED: ONE DEADLINE, ANY CONDITION in which, among other things, I bemoaned my own inability to stick to a self-imposed [...]

Comment on TOOLS OF THE TRADE: TRAVELLER5 by C.D.

C.D. — Sat, 04 May 2013 21:51:20 +0000

Funny. The set I have isn’t Traveller5 or Traveller 2000 but … Traveller. The original with the mayday quote on the box cover. And it’s stuffed with alien modules.

Game rules and detail sheets are a way to remind you to think about character and locale elements. One thing that’s interesting about GURPS is that its game rules also permit one to compare characters’ relative balance against one another – something that’s very hard with dice-driven character-generation rules.

But to create characters that work on the written page, details that aren’t on character sheets (or world stats) should be considered. If the air is tainted … what’s that do to color? smell? tastes of foods people brought with them? body odor? And the characters — character sheets don’t normally have places to add written-page quirks like dialogue tags, colors/phrases that evoke particular character, etc. I’d love to see sheets designed to capture THAT.

Comment on TOOLS OF THE TRADE: TRAVELLER5 by Philip Athans

Philip Athans — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:00:20 +0000

It’s not easy, but worth a try!

Comment on TOOLS OF THE TRADE: TRAVELLER5 by Shayne T Wright

Shayne T Wright — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:59:11 +0000

As a Battletech player since the mid 90s, yep I still have a collection of 1st & 2nd Ed releases, I am very happy to see the resurgence of these types of generic source books. They are a wealth of imagination poking start points for any sci-fi writer and can help form the basis of any universal lore…