I’m so happy it worked out. There’s nothing better for any writer than to have a wide and disparate network of experts who are happy to chat about their deep knowledge.
I could joke I'm sorry I said anything (and t'was on a THIRD read, when I went, "waitaminute..."), but, eventually, someone else would have the same thought, so at least it came up while you had time to deal with it before reaching the end of the story.
Not a physicist, of course, but, if a temporal shift also occurred, said stars could have been, say, four years away (like Alpha Centauri), not hundreds, thousands, or millions.
Given Einsteinian physics links space and time, and that Kaenamor's spell linked universes (obviously a massive warping of space), a little temporal jiggery-pokery is probably perfectly plausible, but, I'll re-read the relevant linked chapter and see if I can spot what the actual scientists came up with in character dialog.
Or she might figure it out AFTER getting to the site of the original spell, at the last second, depending on how much tension the author wants to wring out. 😉
That is so cool! Loved this insight into a particularly hairy bit of worldbuilding (and the headache that is online serial writing). I'm curious, is this the first time that you've asked experts for advice on a plot thing? If not, where/how did you ask before you had your own subs & the Notes network? Personally, I sometimes ask on certain subreddits--the results can be almost as useful as what you're describing here, I think--or Discord communities of writers & creatives (but the chances of finding the expert you need are obviously slimmer there).
This is the first time I've sought out experts in a field, yeah. I've talked to people about other matters while writing on numerous occasions, though.
In my first book, many years ago, a character breaks their arm and I wanted the description and their reaction to be convincing. I've never broken anything, so couldn't draw on first-hand experience. Fortunately (!?!?) a friend had recently fallen off their bike, and could perfectly describe what it was like! On another occasion I reached out to a friend to sense-check a Triverse chapter that was specifically dealing with LGBTQ issues - I'm a straight guy, so didn't want to accidentally write something tone deaf or clunky.
Otherwise, I just do my own research, which tends to involve intense Googling and then spiralling off down the various avenues that open up.
This is probably the first time I've sought out advice specifically about a plot point, rather than a character point.
Interesting! And yes, tone/sensitivity reading is really important too, if you can do it. (I recently had a scientist read a short story of mine to see if the biology lab aspects were convincing.)
Certain topics seem to be trickier to research than others, no? It always seems to be either science (physics, biology, chemistry, even forensics) or medicine aspects that are hard to get right for writers. For injuries, I usually refer to Body Trauma. A Writer's Guide to Wounds and Injuries by David Page. It doesn't tell you what a particular injury "feels like" but at least it's a great reference for: how long does x take to heal?
Whenever I'm writing science fiction, I still wish I had a physicist friend I could ask about all the details, have them check travel time calculations etc. But I guess we're blessed to have the internet hive mind as the next best thing!
Thanks for this! Your bonus magic post makes me think that I need to set up rules for the magic that will eventually show up in my story. And these comments gave me the brilliant idea of having lunch with an old friend who just happens to be a medievalist and can answer my questions about magical beings. Progress.
I love it when you can speak to experts on stuff. Because sometimes, there's going to be a little bit of truth in your fiction, right? In romance especially, you're going to get readers who are going to call you out--publicly--if you fucked something up because you "Clearly didn't research that." LOL I'm making sure that's never going to happen to me, which is why I love the research side of writing fiction.
I’m so happy it worked out. There’s nothing better for any writer than to have a wide and disparate network of experts who are happy to chat about their deep knowledge.
Absolutely! Thanks for putting me in touch with Other John, John.
I could joke I'm sorry I said anything (and t'was on a THIRD read, when I went, "waitaminute..."), but, eventually, someone else would have the same thought, so at least it came up while you had time to deal with it before reaching the end of the story.
Not a physicist, of course, but, if a temporal shift also occurred, said stars could have been, say, four years away (like Alpha Centauri), not hundreds, thousands, or millions.
Given Einsteinian physics links space and time, and that Kaenamor's spell linked universes (obviously a massive warping of space), a little temporal jiggery-pokery is probably perfectly plausible, but, I'll re-read the relevant linked chapter and see if I can spot what the actual scientists came up with in character dialog.
Yana is still trying to wrap her head around it, to be fair. She just needs to work it out before she gets to the site of the original spell....
Or she might figure it out AFTER getting to the site of the original spell, at the last second, depending on how much tension the author wants to wring out. 😉
That is so cool! Loved this insight into a particularly hairy bit of worldbuilding (and the headache that is online serial writing). I'm curious, is this the first time that you've asked experts for advice on a plot thing? If not, where/how did you ask before you had your own subs & the Notes network? Personally, I sometimes ask on certain subreddits--the results can be almost as useful as what you're describing here, I think--or Discord communities of writers & creatives (but the chances of finding the expert you need are obviously slimmer there).
This is the first time I've sought out experts in a field, yeah. I've talked to people about other matters while writing on numerous occasions, though.
In my first book, many years ago, a character breaks their arm and I wanted the description and their reaction to be convincing. I've never broken anything, so couldn't draw on first-hand experience. Fortunately (!?!?) a friend had recently fallen off their bike, and could perfectly describe what it was like! On another occasion I reached out to a friend to sense-check a Triverse chapter that was specifically dealing with LGBTQ issues - I'm a straight guy, so didn't want to accidentally write something tone deaf or clunky.
Otherwise, I just do my own research, which tends to involve intense Googling and then spiralling off down the various avenues that open up.
This is probably the first time I've sought out advice specifically about a plot point, rather than a character point.
Interesting! And yes, tone/sensitivity reading is really important too, if you can do it. (I recently had a scientist read a short story of mine to see if the biology lab aspects were convincing.)
Certain topics seem to be trickier to research than others, no? It always seems to be either science (physics, biology, chemistry, even forensics) or medicine aspects that are hard to get right for writers. For injuries, I usually refer to Body Trauma. A Writer's Guide to Wounds and Injuries by David Page. It doesn't tell you what a particular injury "feels like" but at least it's a great reference for: how long does x take to heal?
Whenever I'm writing science fiction, I still wish I had a physicist friend I could ask about all the details, have them check travel time calculations etc. But I guess we're blessed to have the internet hive mind as the next best thing!
Thanks for this! Your bonus magic post makes me think that I need to set up rules for the magic that will eventually show up in my story. And these comments gave me the brilliant idea of having lunch with an old friend who just happens to be a medievalist and can answer my questions about magical beings. Progress.
Eric Falden has a series of interesting posts all about magic systems: https://ericfalden.substack.com/p/why-magic-systems-matter
Wonderful! Thanks!
It was a lot of fun to think about this, happy to have been of some small help 😃
Happy to have been able to help, even if only in a small way!
I love it when you can speak to experts on stuff. Because sometimes, there's going to be a little bit of truth in your fiction, right? In romance especially, you're going to get readers who are going to call you out--publicly--if you fucked something up because you "Clearly didn't research that." LOL I'm making sure that's never going to happen to me, which is why I love the research side of writing fiction.