Showing posts with label writing tricks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing tricks. Show all posts

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Jay's Synopsis Formula

Jay's Synopsis Formula
will work on your Novel.

 by JayDirex

 

Why? Because it works. 



It does not matter if your story is slice of life about a GENDER-BENT BLOB OF ENERGY. My synopsis formula works. All you have to do is answer these FOUR QUESTIONS and you can create a great synopsis.

0. Describe the Genre: 

1. Who's the Main Character(s)?

2. What are they about? (What do they do?)

3. What is the conflict that broke up the normal?

4. How do they attempt to resolve the conflict?


EXAMPLES

https://cdn.scribblehub.com/images/6/the-villainous-lee-twins_133649_1594042125.jpg

Story: The Villainous Lee Twins 

0. Describe the Genre:  

 -- An action packed shoot-em-up!

1. Who's the MC? 

 -- The Twins, Bro and Sis.

2. What is he/she they about? (their normal thing) 

 -- Kick ass Bounty Hunters/wild pair.

3. What is the conflict that broke up the normal? 

 -- A high-risk bounty job goes wrong, now crews trying to kill them.

4. How do they attempt to resolve the conflict?  

 -- Lock-load and shoot their way out- who knows if they lives or dies


SYNOPSIS- notice how each question is answered in order below:

(0) In this action packed shoot-em-up! (1) We meet gutsy twin bounty hunters, Bro and Sis. (2) A wild pair who thrive on snaring high-reward fugitives. (3) But one day a dangerous job goes violently wrong, and the twins become the target of two murderous crews out to kill the bounty they're transporting. (4) Now trapped between warring sides, BULLETS FLY as the siblings go full metal jacket to guard their bounty and stay alive!
Assassin girls, Baka Twins, Battle Rifles, Crime, Action Packed!!


https://cdn.scribblehub.com/images/1/Rica-Wants-Him-Dead_22182_1555869770.jpg

Story: Rica Wants Him Dead

0. Describe the Genre: 

 --  Crime/Drama/Romance

1. Who's the MC? 

 -- Teen Ko

2. What is he/she they about? (their normal thing) 

 -- Kick butt Assassin, one of the best.

3. What is the conflict that broke up the normal? 

 -- He rescued a mob boss kidnapped daughter, now bad-dudes trying to kill him

4. How does he attempt to resolve the conflict?  

 -- Seeks help from dangerous girl from his past- who knows if he lives or dies.



SYNOPSIS- notice how each question is answered in order below:

In this Crime/Drama/Romance- (1)We meet Teen Assassin, Ko. (2) One of the best in the business. (3) After rescuing a Korean mob boss’s five year old daughter from kidnappers he becomes a hunted man in New York City. (4) Now on the run and desperate to protect the child, Ko discovers there’s only one person willing to help him: The beautiful and deadly Rica Reyes. A villainous Teen Rifle Girl from Ko’s past, who once tried to kill him. Out of options he's forced to trust Rica and accept her aid. But Ko is no fool, and he knows that the price Rica will extract for her help could cost him everything. - Teen Romance, Tsundere, Light Novel, YA, Assassins


DO YOU KNOW WHY THIS SYNOPSIS
WORKS WITH ALL STORIES?

Because your story is about 

1. CHARACTER(S)

2. Who do a normal thing.

3. Suddenly something abnormal happens--conflict.

4. The character(s) now has to resolve this conflict.

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Writing Adult or Romance? There IS a Difference.

Mage & the Succubus
Romance or Adult?
 

 ----- Original Message ----- 

A quick question about romance...

I'm writing an adult story about a succubus who yearns to be with a human and forms a loving attachment with him. The story was meant to originally be kind of short and sweet, but has evolved into something much longer. I'm now debating on breaking it up in two books, where the first book ends before they formally get together. But I wanted some advice from romance readers. Are you ok with the ultimate payoff (the two characters getting together) taking a while to reach? Or do you need that payoff before the end of the first arc of the story? 
 -- Romance Confused


First:
-- Do you want this story to be ADULT?
or
-- Do you want this story to be ROMANCE?

 

Do you want to Write
Adult
or Romance?


There IS a difference.

In fact, there's a huge difference. Romance and Adult are two completely different Genres. Each focuses on, and details, different things. They also have different Plot patterns. 

Additionally, Adult fiction is split again into two different sub-genres. Erotica and Adult Adventure fiction, AKA: Erotic Romance


Romance

While Romances can have Adult scenes, the Focus of the whole story is on Feelings and Emotions and DRAMA, so those are what need the highest detailing in the story. Dramatic secrets, angst, pining, misunderstandings, and Sexual Tension all need to be lovingly Detailed for pages and pages.

 Adult scenes in these stories can easily be cut down to mere kissing scenes, and still satisfy your Romance reading audience.

The Plot only needs to frame the two main leads, and give them the occasional reason to Do things, like; show off for each other and possibly the occasional rescue, or escape.

The Love Confession generally happens in the second to last chapter, with the very last chapter being reserved for a wedding, a love scene, or some other show of happiness and affection. The End.

 

Adult

Adult stories focus on Action. Sex Action specifically, so Describing everything is Paramount. 

The flowing silks, the sweeping vistas, the glittering palaces, the sweat dripping down her thigh... These scenes should appear in the Readers' minds as clearly as a Motion Picture -- especially if you are writing for a Female reading audience. 

 

Erotica

Erotica is short and simple. The whole story focuses on the getting Sex, having Sex, then maybe a paragraph or two on what happened after Sex. The ending could even be as simple as: They fell asleep.

The Adult action scenes are loving detailed in cinematic style: what the characters look like, what they feel like, what they smell like, what they taste like, what they sound like. Everything else is Unimportant -- including names. Locations are merely stages for the characters to have sex. 

Basic Erotica Plot:

They saw. 

They conquered.

They came. 

 -- The End. 


Adult Adventure AKA: Erotic Romance

If you're writing Adult Adventure fiction, the focus is on Action, but that Action is split between the Adventure and the Adult. The very least being 60% Adventure to 40% Adult.

And those Adult scenes need to be HOT, like Erotica -- and just as thoroughly Described.

Adult Scenes in these stories are ideally used to show the Progression of Affection as it grows between the two main leads. In other words, the closer the couple gets, the hotter and possibly kinkier, the Adult Scenes should be.

The PLOT in Adult Adventure fiction needs to be fully functional. As in, a real Plot for an actually full blown, fully realized Story.

Unlike a Romance, where the Plot is merely decoration and window-dressing to frame the two main leads, in Adult Adventure fiction, the PLOT is just as important as the Characters, and the Sex

In fact...

The PLOT should be what compels the main leads to have Sex -- regularly.


Example:​
~~~~~~~~~~~~​
A succubus and a scholarly mage are trapped in a closet.
 
The succubus has a crush on the mage, so she's been skipping meals because no one else compares. However, she's gotten very hungry. The mage rubbing up against her smells delicious.​
 
The mage has a crush on the succubus. She's so pretty and has been very attentive as his secretary with no hint of her...appetites. The succubus rubbing up against him smells of sugar coated strawberries -- and sex. He's getting hard fast, and isn't sure what to do about it. Also, his magic has been running a little low from all his work on a new spell. He could really use some...input from a willing magical source.​
The busty succubus blinked at the handsome mage holding her in his arms. "Um, Mr. Mage, why are we in the closet?"​
The mage sighed and closed his eyes. "I am so sorry, Ms. Succubus, but if I go out there, that Dark Scholar will try to drag me off to their Tower. They want my latest spell, you see." He lifted his chin and gazed into her eyes. "If I left you out there, they'd probably kidnap you as a hostage and likely do...bad things to you." He took a deep breath. "And...I just can't let that happen to you."​
Ms. Succubus gasped and tightened her arms around his shoulders. "I mean that much to you?"​ 
"You're--" He swallowed hard. "Your my secretary. Of course, I...care what happens to you." He winced. "And...I'm a little low on magic at the moment. I haven't had time to...recharge."​ 

The succubus's stomach took that moment to grumble.
Cue: Sincere affectionate dialogue that leads to the succubus confessing her hunger, and the mage volunteering to assist her.​


The main problem I see, is that
one of your main characters is a
Succubus. 

This implies to the Readers that the story is going to be Adult, because succubi appear almost exclusively in Adult stories.

If you decide that Adult is Not the way you want to go, then you may need to change the Succubus into something Less sexually-oriented.

Also...

Watch how you Label your story.

If you Label your story Adult, the Readers will Expect Sex.  

Romance often has Love Scenes, so that label is safe to use. Just make sure you've got a heart-pounding angst-driven Drama for the Romance readers because that is what they are looking for.

 ☕

Friday, June 14, 2024

Writing ACTION 1: Action Scenes that Work

 


The Trick to Writing Action Scenes that Work:
Action THEN Reaction!

The #1 Most Common cause of Confusion in Action Scenes?
Putting the Reaction BEFORE the Action that caused it.

WARNING! This tutorial is NOT meant for those do Creative Writing.

This essay was originally written for writers seeking to be professionally published authors. As a multi-published author, I have been taught some fairly rigid rules on what is publishable and what is not. If my rather straight-laced (and occasionally snotty,) advice does not suit your creative style, by all means, IGNORE IT.


If you are new to my tutorials, please read this one first:
The Secret to Proper Paragraphing and Dialogue
Certain things covered in this tutorial are based on that information.


Why is Action THEN Reaction so Important?

The flash of pain exploded in my cheek from the slap her hand lashed out at me.

WRONG!


Why is this Wrong?
-- If you were watching this scene as a movie, that sentence is NOT how you would have seen it happen.

Actual Sequence of events:
1) Her hand lashed out at me in a slap. [Action]
2) A flash of pain exploded in my cheek [Reaction]

the-women-gif-11.gif


ACTION Sequences = Chronological Order

Chronological Order --the order in which things actually happen-- is the ONLY way to write an Action Scene that won't confuse your readers. If you visualize the characters doing something in a specific order – you write it in THAT order.


REALITY =
Something random happens to you then…you react. 

- in Chronological order
Action –> Reaction 
 
Dialogue and Action:
Which comes first?


ACTION.


Too many inexperienced writers put all their Dialogue at the beginning of their paragraphs -- before the action that caused that dialogue to happen.

The truth is, Dialogue belongs in the sentence when it happened; before the action, during the action, or after the action.

However...!

The finger pulls the trigger THEN the shooter wonders: “Oh no, what have I done?”​

Realistically, physical actions usually happen BEFORE dialogue. Most people ACT then comment because physical reactions normally happen faster than thought. Ask any cop or martial artist.

This Does Not mean that thoughts or dialogue don't happen before the gun or fist is raised and pointed! Bad-mouthing and instigation is usually how fights start to begin with. 
 
However, the human body has a habit of...jumping the gun -- reacting before the thought of doing said Action is even fully formed, especially if they are martially trained.​

Thoughts that come first FREEZE physical action. Not in the literary sense, for real. Most people stop whatever action they are doing, they pause to speak.

Fiction works exactly the same way.


FICTION =
The Plot happens to the characters then…they react.
- in Chronological order
Action –> Reaction

1 - Something happened TO the character, (the Action.)
2 - The character feels the Physical Sensation - the effects of the Action, (the reaction.)
3 - THEN they have a thought and/or comment about what had just happened, (an Action.)
4 - THEN they DO something about it, (their Reaction.)


WRONG:
The flash of pain exploded in my cheek [Reaction] as the slap her hand lashed out at me. [Action]​

RIGHT:
Her hand lashed out in a slap [action].​
My cheek exploded with a flash of pain. [reaction]. “Ow!” [dialogue/action] I balled my hand into a fist and swung for her face. [reaction]​

1631568857654.png
(Stupid gif won't load. Click image to see Action!)

Why did I break that sequence into Two lines?

Because each character gets their own paragraph for their actions.

Why?

For exactly the same reason you separate each character's dialogue into two paragraphs. Dialogue is an Action.

And while we're on the subject, leave the Dialogue ATTACHED to that character's Actions! This way you never need to use dialogue tags such as 'he said' or 'she said' to identify who is speaking. The Actions do that for you.

Back to the topic...

Violating chronological order is a Bad Idea. If you knock the Actions out of order the reader’s Mental Movie STOPS because the reader has to STOP READING to Re-Read that sequence and mentally rearrange the sentences in into the correct order to get the movie back.

Making the story hard for the reader to PICTURE
-- is a VERY Bad Idea.

Anytime the reader has to STOP to rearrange the words to FIT their mental movie, you’ve made a break. Breaks are BAD – very, very bad! A break creates a moment where the reader can STOP READING your story, and start reading something else -- and possibly never look at your work again.

A lot of writers hesitate to break up the actions between characters because written chronological action and dialogue tends to look very choppy on the page. It doesn't look neat and tidy

Neat and tidy be damned!

Who cares how the words are arranged on the page? Once the reader has their Mental Movie rolling the reader won’t even notice the specific words. They’ll be too busy watching the scenes playing out in their mental movie to care what they're reading.

Screw aesthetics! Your first priority is keeping that reader reading. That means keeping their Mental Movie going without interruptions!


How to FIX this chronic problem:

VISUALIZE your scenes as you write them. Play them as a movie in your head and write everything down EXACTLY as you see it. If it comes out in a pile of one short sentence after another, then add some smart-assed internal comments and/or dialogue.

Just remember to keep the character's dialogue connected to their actions.

Don't Forget: Dialogue is an Action too!


What about Literary style?

What about it?

If you simply MUST have stylish phrasing in your fiction, save it for the descriptions. Keep it out of the Actions!

If you want the reader to SEE the actions that you are trying to portray, Chronological Order is the ONLY way to make Action Scenes crystal clear in their imaginations.



-------- Original Message -----------​
"I can't write an action/fight scene worth a crap. Mind you, I can usually imagine them, I just can't write them."
-- Wanna Do a Fight Scene.

If you can imagine it - you can write it. The easiest way is by doing it in LAYERS.



A Quick and Dirty Method:
Writing Action Scenes in Layers


pirates2.JPG

Start with a List of ACTIONS
and their following REACTIONS.


Don’t Forget! ~ Actions ALWAYS go Before Reactions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List of ACTIONS 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- IMPORTANT! Each Character gets their own paragraph. NEVER clump the separate actions of two different characters in the same paragraph or the reader will get confused as to who is doing what very quickly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 
​Will lunged forward, his sword fully extended in a stab.​​ 
 
Jack caught Will's blade with the flat of his blade. Pushing the blade just out of range of his skin, Jack slide down Will's blade in a short fast stab.​​
 
Will turned to the side to avoid Jack's sword's point. 
 
​​Jack did a quick side-step to stay in front of Will, keeping his sword's point on target.​ 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Add DIALOGUE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're dead meat!" Will lunged forward, his sword fully extended in a stab.​
Jack caught Will's blade with the flat of his blade. "Oh really?" Pushing the blade just out of range of his skin, Jack slide down Will's blade in a short fast stab. "I don't think so!"​​ 
 
Will turned to the side to avoid Jack's sword's point. "Crap!"​​ 
 
Jack did a quick side-step to stay in front of Will, keeping his sword's point on target. "You're gonna have to do a lot better than that."​

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Add EMOTION.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're dead meat!" Will bared his teeth and lunged forward, his sword fully extended in a stab.​​
 
Jack snorted in derision and caught Will's blade with the flat of his blade. "Oh really?" Pushing the blade just out of range of his skin, Jack slide down Will's blade in a short fast stab. He smiled. "I don't think so!" 
 
​​Startled, Will turned to the side to avoid Jack's sword's point. "Crap!" 
 
​​Jack did a quick side-step to stay in front of Will, keeping his sword's point on target. He chuckled. "You're gonna have to do a lot better than that."​ 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Add INTERNAL NARRATION. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- Pick ONE character in that scene and add only THAT character's internal observations -- no others! (More than one POV in a scene is known as HEAD-HOPPING.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You're dead meat!" Will bared his teeth and lunged forward, his sword fully extended in a stab.​
Jack snorted in derision and caught Will's blade with the flat of his blade. "Oh really?" The kid certainly had guts. Too bad he didn't have the skill to go with it. Pushing the blade just out of range of his skin, Jack slide down Will's blade in a short fast stab. He smiled. "I don't think so!"​
Startled, Will turned to the side to avoid Jack's sword's point. "Crap!"​
Jack did a quick side-step to stay in front of Will, keeping his sword's point on target. He chuckled, knowing it would piss the kid off. "You're gonna have to do a lot better than that." He was hoping the kid would figure out that he was out-matched and just bolt. He didn't like killing those that didn't actually deserve to die.​

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seriously, if you can imagine it - you can write it.

Having problems imagining it?
- Watch a few MOVIES.


Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Making Magic 1 - A History of Magic?

Making MAGIC
For your Fiction

 

NOT for LitRPG novelists!

If you are a LitRPG (Literary Role Playing Game,) writer, and you're trying to make a numerical leveling System for your fantasy story, please refer to: Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master's Handbook, specifically. However, just about any role-playing handbook will do. There are literally Thousands of them out there for ever type of genre, and many of them are available online for free. Google is your friend. 

After all, that's where Literary RPG came from, table-top Role-Playing adventures that someone wrote down.


Also see:
 
☕ 

So you want to have Magic in your brand new fictional Fantasy world?

Alright then, lets start with a few simple World-Building questions, so you have some idea of what you're in for-- I mean, some idea of what you're going to need to know to make your new world feel solid and logical to your Readers. 


How does Magic
Affect Your Fantasy World?
 
If you're a writer planning to use Magic in your world, here are a few things to ask yourself while you world-build. 

 

What are they using Magic for?

If Magic is in common use, are they using it to make War or Peace? Are they cooking their food with it? Storing their valuables with it? Building castles with it? Traveling across great distances, or only short hops from town to town? Do they have horseless carriages? Flying ships? Are they communicating across distances with it as commonly as we do with our cell phones? -

Or is it not in common use? If not, then what are they doing with their Magic? Are these magical people in hiding, or protected by the government? Are they gathered in special enclaves, or living scattered among everyone else?

 Who has Magic?

 
Does everyone have Magic, or only a special few? Why would only the special few have it? Were some born with the talent for it, rather like an Artist? Is it something anyone can develop as long as they have proper instructions, like an athlete? Is it something only a few families pass down through their genetic lines?  Is there a special substance that must be grafted onto the body to allow one to use Magic, such as a magical runic tattoo? Does one need a special artifact from a bygone age, or has technology finally developed enough to create a specific tool to access Magic? Does it take a super secret special ritual to awaken one's Magic?

 

What powers Magic?
Where does the ability to use Magic come from? Is it granted as a favor from Spirits? An endowment from Gods? Can one gain Magic from an elixir you eat or drink? Is it generated by an organ such as a Magical Core? Is it an aether that fills the atmosphere that one has to learn to collect, like in Cultivation novels? Is it a power that's already there that one must learn to Feel, like the Force? Oh wait, Cultivation novels use that one too.

 

How do people learn to use Magic?
 
Magic can be very dangerous to both the practitioner and the unaware people around them, if handled incorrectly. So, how does one learn to Control it? Do people have to go to schools to learn how to use Magic? Are the skills passed down through apprenticeship under an experienced practitioner? Does one learn to use Magic from the Gods or Spirits themselves? From dreams? Can someone learn to use Magic by complete accident? 
 
Has your world always had access to Magic,
or is it a new development?

When and where did the use of Magic start? Did a meteor hit the planet and just...irradiate people with Magic? Did some wellspring of pure Magic from the Soul of the World erupt to spray magic into the air like a geyser? Did someone just wish Magic to happen, and it did? Did some strange traveler come and bless certain individuals with Magic?

If Magic isn't a sudden new development, how long people have been using it? Are there a few famous practitioners? What kind of History does your Magic have?

What kind of Spiritual Background are you using for your brand of Magic? 
 
This is Not a trick question. You are basing your fantasy Magic on some form of real Magical/Spiritual practice, right? You're not trying to create a whole Magical doctrine from pure Make-Believe, or worse: relying on Dungeons and Dragons for your Magic, right? 
 
Surely you don't plan to rely on Make-Believe to create your own History of Magic from scratch?! 
 
In the beginning, the spirits said, "Let there be MAGIC...!" And it was good. 

 

Writing a History of MAGIC?
Can be more Headache than it's worth.
----- Original Message -----
...How am I supposed to explain how magic has evolved over thousands of years from singing and chanting to using magic circles to unleash devastating spells? Like how did people discover drawing circles in the air with magic text inscribed in them was better than singing your lungs out?
-- Concerned Fantasy Writer.


Making up a full History of Magic, or even a partial History of how early Magic progressed from using a shamanistic style of magic; rituals and prayer incantations, into condensed mana imprints; spell circles cast on thin air, especially when there's thousands of years of progress between them, is a Big Project.

What you're trying to do here is similar to coming up with the history of how humanity went from using bows, swords, and horses to conduct warfare, to modern warfare using sub-machine guns, tanks, and helicopters.

To even attempt this, would take massive research. 

Just to start with: 

How much do you know about:
The History of Actual Magic?

Not make-believe magic, like what's found in Dungeons and Dragons, but Real, historical Magic as it is currently practiced here on Earth? 


 Stonehenge

A brief History of Actual Magic

The History of Magic starts at the dawn of human existence.

However, most archaeologists and scholars who study history are Scientists. They don't always recognize what's right in front of their noses.  

Put It Back!

Magic after all, is the bailiwick of Dreamers, Artists, and Poets. It often takes a Dreamer to spot the Magic among the mundane, (and when certain things really need to stay buried.)

Luckily, there are a lot of Dreamers out there writing book after book, and blog post after blog post, about Magic and it's actual History.


Here's a very basic Summery:

-- The earliest form of Magic was basic shamanism which was practiced by native people all over the world in every country, and every culture. 

Magical songs, magical music, and magical dances to celebrate the sun, create rain, call the wind, bring down lightning, stop floods, walk in the bodies of beasts, encourage fertility in people, land, and livestock, or call an end to winter, are all shamanistic practices. Japanese Shintoism for example, is a somewhat advanced form of shamanism still in practice today. 

https://www.artnet.com/WebServices/images/ll00010lldqnVJFgneECfDrCWvaHBOc0tVF/shamans-mask.jpg

-- Prehistoric metal workers; Smiths, were considered powerful Magicians who sang over their forges and knew the secret of how to turn rough stones into gleaming weapons. Especially magical were the sword makers; the bladesmiths who used all kinds of sacred and profane ingredients, including fallen stars, to make mystical unbeatable swords that could empower or curse their wielders. 

https://www.powning.com/jake/images/0anthro18.jpg

-- Long before Christianity began, Judaic ceremonial magicians worked with divine beings and developed the Tree of Life as a progression map. Through prayers and songs they recorded in their Torah; the precursor to the common bible, they called down divine retribution, parted seas, sealed ifrits and genies into bottles, and introduced the idea of an Evil counterpart to the Divine: Shaitan; the Adversary. 

https://arsmagine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/22_2.jpg

-- From India came the sutras; massive, long, and convoluted prayers that induce a meditative state so strong --and useful-- that the entire far east jumped on their bandwagon, branching out into thousands of different forms of Buddhism.  

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Kalpa_sutra-Jina%27s_mother_dreams_c1465.jpg

 -- In China, Buddhism was added to the native forms of Shamanism, Astrology, Alchemy, and Numerology. This developed into a new form of Chinese Magic; Taoism, side-branching into Feng Shui. (Keep in mind, I'm being VERY general here.) Both the Buddhists and the Taoists slew demons and monsters, laid the walking/hopping dead to rest, broke curses, and tamed spirits and ghosts. However the Taoists also cultivated enlightenment to reach immortality, and apparently flew on swords as well. Much later, Confucianism was added to the mix and the fortune-telling Tao Te Ching emerged. 

https://www.worldhistory.org/img/c/p/1200x900/4551.jpg

 -- Chinese Magic; Taoism, eventually spread to Heian Japan. It mixed with the native shamanistic practices and Buddhism already there, and the Onmyoji sorcerers came into being. They did all the same thing as their Taoist counterparts did, except cultivate to immortality and fly on swords. 

https://cdn.zekkei-japan.jp/images/spots/d7cd88319ecae5f9a228e33bed048330.jpg

-- The Celestial or Sacred Mathematics known as Geometry started in ancient Babylonia. It was used for surveying, astronomy, and construction of their massive temples. The Egyptians grabbed onto it and developed it further. They used it for surveying, astronomy, and construction too, but they wanted their sacred palaces, sacred temples, and sacred pyramids to also line up with their favorite stars. 

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/15/9c/bc/159cbcf2bf6ed847c7f7b5b05d4e6049.jpg

-- India developed their own form of Geometry for all the same reasons, and built gigantic sacred temples like everyone else, only a lot more decorative. 

 https://static.theprint.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Untitled-design-31-696x392.jpg?compress=true&quality=80&w=376&dpr=2.6

The Greeks snatched Geometry from both India and the Egyptians, then developed Geometry into a high art form. They used it to build even fancier temples plus palaces that lined up with the sun, the moon, and certain planets. 

https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=709x10000:format=jpg/path/s2217cd0bb1220415/image/i5ee652a092017c1a/version/1695985417/ancient-greek-temple.jpg

-- When the Romans took over Greece, they got a hold of Geometry, and developed a brand new invention called Cement; liquid stone that hardened into any shape you had a mold for. They combined the two and promptly went insane. They used Geometry and Cement to build massive domed temples of every variety for every god, plus aqueducts, fountains, sewage systems, drainage systems, irrigation systems, road systems that covered most of the known world, central under-the-floor heating, heated in-home baths, whole apartment buildings, outdoor theaters, coliseums, purely decorative grand arches, and huge Imperial palaces. 

https://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/field/image/rome-republic.jpg

 -- By the close of the Roman Empire, Sacred Geometry was firmly under the control of a brotherhood of architects and builders known as The Masons, and was jealously hidden away from anyone that wasn't a Masonic Architect. For over a thousand years the Masons kept Geometry as a Magical secret. Only they knew how to construct the massive, awe-inspiring Sacred temples, mosques, and cathedrals

 https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/low-angle-view-of-cologne-cathedral-against-clear-royalty-free-image-1594137089.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:*

-- The modern 'Order' of the Free Masons had their start here. In fact, if you look at any modern Mason ring you'll see the "G" and the tools used for Geometry.  

 https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61YVAc0Q9yL._AC_UY1000_.jpg

-- During the Byzantine era, a Syrian Alchemist created the chemical bomb known as Greek Fire for the Byzantine Emperor. Greek Fire was considered very Magical indeed because no one could figure out how he did it. The Syrian never told anybody. 

Much, much later someone invented something similar under the name: napalm. However, it wasn't considered magical in the least.

 https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/912414619784308609/3BC8E35EDF275A4473D2A8CB1DD4FB62FF8B5DE3/?imw=512&&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

-- In the early to mid 1200's, Roger Bacon, a medieval English philosopher and Franciscan friar, was also regarded as a Wizard. He was attributed to the invention of gunpowder, (clearly stolen from the Orient,) and the magnifying glass. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Roger-bacon-statue.jpg/220px-Roger-bacon-statue.jpg

-- In the late 1200's, Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet, writer, and philosopher published three works of fiction that pretty much changed how every single Christian in the world saw Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory. His Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, were published just in time for the invention of the Gutenberg Press. These books, alongside the first printed bibles, promptly spread all over Europe to every home that could afford a printed book.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91gSG9YGzHL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg 

-- Dante's stories introduced the nine levels of Hell, and the names of the demons that lived there. They also described the levels of Purgatory, and what could be found there, and the nine levels of Heaven and the names of the angels that lived there. King Solomon was also tossed in and recorded to have captured and sealed away a great many demons into bottles. Dante listed the names of those demons too. These books also introduced the concept of a War in Heaven. This war featured a peerless angel that rebelled against God, and was punished for it by being thrown out, or down rather, to become the ruler of Hell. He even named that fallen angel and gave the ruler of Hell a title borrowed straight from the Torah: Shaitan -- Satan. 

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-- By the mid 1300's, all the demons and angels mentioned in Dante's works of fiction, were accepted as being actual demons and angels. Absolutely everyone accepted that the War in Heaven actually happened, and the story of the fallen angel as Fact. There was a Satan in Hell, just ask anyone, even your local priest -- who likely had a copy of Dante's books sitting right next to his personal bible. For reference.

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-- There was actually a reason why Fiction suddenly became Fact. Namely: the Black Plague and the Bubonic Plague.

The only explanation anyone had for everyone dropping dead around them was either "God hates us," or "There was no God." After all, God was supposed to be a being of pure Good, God couldn't have possibly created a Plague! Well, the Catholic Church certainly couldn't have people not believing in their God anymore. That was an awful lot of tithes (money) they'd lose out on. So in all their wisdom, the Catholic leaders in Rome decided they needed Someone to Blame. They looked no further than Dante's books. The plagues were Satan's fault. 

Satan, a fictional character from a work of fiction: Dante's Inferno, has been blamed for everything wrong with the world ever since.

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-- By the late Middle Ages (c. 1350–1450), the major plagues were pretty much over, so all the local peasant farmers started celebrating, with Pagan revivals. 

Pagan rituals and celebrations were a lot more fun than sitting in a cold stone room crammed in next to your unwashed, smelly neighbors on hard wooden seats being snarled at by the local Christian priest for hours. Nobody wanted to be yelled at for enjoying making love to their own spouse, enjoying the beer and mead they brewed in their own cellars, or for women using their skills to make an income to help support their families. So they stopped going to church. More importantly however, they stopped paying for the churches' upkeep.

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 -- To deal with the crisis, (the churches were losing a lot of money,) the Christian leaders in Rome did two things. The first was to make all the local gods into Christian Saints and allowed the local celebrations -- now sanctified by the local churches. 

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-- The other was to start a Smear Campaign against anything, and everything to do with Magic. It worked on the uneducated peasant populous. The educated populous however, smiled in church on Sunday, but held secret book club meetings the rest of the week. In their private parlors and hidden rooms alongside close friends and associates they perused old obscure books about Geometry, Alchemy, Philosophy, and Magic.

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-- As a result of those secret book clubs, in the 1400's, Middle Eastern Alchemy became quite popular in Europe, and split into two distinct branches. One branch was very practical in nature. These Alchemists developed the earliest techniques for creating artificial, manufactured, jewels: diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and rubies. They did this by combining base ores and certain chemicals in a high pressure furnace called an Athanor. Of course a lot of them blew themselves up doing it too. Anyway! Today, Cubic Zirconium; manufactured diamonds, are created in this exact fashion. With a lot fewer people being blown up.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/d0/dc/e6/d0dce6ee2c02e102ae25c350686b43e3.jpg

 -- The other branch of Alchemy was highly philosophical in nature, and considered one of the earliest forms of Psychology. The very earliest form of psychology being talking to your local shaman or priest. This 'spiritual' Alchemy became known as Hermeticism. 

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-- During this period, the Northern Europeans went through a Magical Renaissance. By dredging through every obscure book they could find, they developed a whole new system of Magic. This new Magic combined the Judaic Tree of Life/Sefirot magic, Masonic ceremonial magic, different forms of fortune-telling, Astrology, Greek Philosophy, Hermeticism, mathematics, and a dash of shamanistic spirit summoning. This form of Magic invoked Heavenly and Unholy powers using angelic and demonic names straight out of Dante's works of fiction, through basic addition and subtraction called Magic Squares These Magic Squares were later made circular and stamped on medallions.

https://www.bookofthrees.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Magic-square-coins.jpg

 -- You can find a bunch of these squares and the symbols created through simple addition and subtraction in the Ars Goatia, also called the Lesser and Greater Keys of Solomon. The Ars Goatia is where all those fancy circle spells you see in manga and anime were borrowed from.  

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Circle_of_Solomon_and_Triangle_of_Solomon_from_The_Lesser_Key_of_Solomon.png

-- In 1478, the Spanish Dominicans, a branch of rabid Christians who murderously loathed anything that wasn't their brand of Catholicism, (and women in general,) petitioned the Monarchy of the newly unified Spanish kingdom for permission to combat heresy and demon worship in Spain. They were called The Spanish Inquisition.  They were also called, Domini Canis; Dogs of God -- implying just how rabid they were. 

This Inquisition had their own form of Magic that utilized prayers from the bible plus a few they created themselves, consecrated hosts, holy water made by their churches, blessed swords, and lit torches. Permission granted, they went absolutely insane. They grabbed anyone and everyone that wasn't their brand of Catholic, from peasant to noble. Especially if they were female. Once they tortured confessions out of them, they burned or hanged them to death. Then they took their property -- for God. They killed a lot of people.

The Inquisition remained in operation burning and hanging heretics, demon worshipers, and witches all over the world until 1834. 

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-- In the early 1500's --despite the threat of The Inquisition-- a German Renaissance philosopher named Agrippa, came up with the Angelic ScriptTransitus Fluvii, and Malachim alphabets to make communicating with Heavenly beings easier. 

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-- During this period, telling the future by Scrying; seeing, by peering into a bowl of liquid, or crystal balls, or reading the swing of a pendulum over a laid out alphabet, plus Astrology, and Tarot card reading, became very, very popular. Everyone who was anyone was doing at least one of them during dinner parties and afternoon teas.

https://catalystmagazine.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/John_William_Waterhouse_-_The_Crystal_Ball.jpg

-- In the late 1500's, an an English Renaissance occultist and scryer called Sir Edward Kelly, and his friend John Dee, an English court astronomer, came up with the Enochian alphabet. This was also meant for communication with Heavenly beings -- and taming ghostly beings. 

https://brazen-head.org/user_content/uploads/2020/10/Dee-and-K.jpg

-- In the 1600's, Voudon, (voodoo), a form of native West-African shamanistic magic mixed with prayers and songs from the King James bible, developed in Haiti and quickly spread through all the islands close to it. It also spread to the Southern US and outward with the slave trade. 

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-- By the mid 1700's, the British isles developed two distinct forms of magic. Witchcraft; based on native shamanistic rituals, and Ceremonial Magic, which was pretty much a cleaned up and polished version of what was being practiced in Europe mixed with Masonic rituals. Currently, the witchcraft forms are called Wicca, Paganism, and Heathenism respectively, and the ceremonial forms are mostly under the headings: Hermeticism and Western Esotericism, with thousands of variations under both types of magic. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Aleister_Crowley%2C_Golden_Dawn.jpg/640px-Aleister_Crowley%2C_Golden_Dawn.jpg

-- In the 1800's consumption; tuberculosis, began to kill large numbers of people all over the place. Because everyone had someone they dearly missed, a pretty large occult revival happened all over Europe and in the US. Seeing and talking to spirits of the dead by way of seances: featuring full on possessions by ghosts, table-tapping, levitating objects, and the appearance of ectoplasm, became very, very popular. Especially in England.  

https://oldoperatingtheatre.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Spirit_WilliamMarriottLevitatingTableWithFoot-1024x617.jpg

 -- In the mid 1800's, the Rosicrucian Fraternity appeared in the US, a mix of Occultism, Hermeticism, and Christian gnosticsm. Supposedly it had a long and involved history that went back to the 1500's. Said history has since been debunked as Fictional. However, the Magic works just fine. 

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-- In 1940 in England, Neopagans, and very witchcraft Wicca, emerged onto the public domain. Their brand of Magic was shamanistic at core, celebrated old Celtic and old Scandinavian gods, utilized divination, and was only loosely organized. These practitioners also borrowed bits and pieces from just about every other form of paganism, mysticism, and the occult -- depending on the practitioner's personal feelings, beliefs, and curiosity. 

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-- In 1969 modern Satanism happened. This form of magic and the belief system that went with it was put together by one man: Anton LeVay. He used bits from the common King James bible, some demonic names from Dante's books, created a philosophy of Self-Worship based on European Hermeticism, added a few European magic squares, and mixed it all together with basic Golden Dawn brand ceremonial magic to make it pretty. Strangely enough, it actually works.  

https://encyclopediasatanica.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/antonlaveyritual4.jpg

-- In 1977, the US government recognized Wicca as an official legal Religion. This prompted a massive explosion of books for and about witchcraft. Some of these books are quite informative and well researched, others, a jumbled rehashing of what was already floating around from the last occult movement during the 1800's. Buyer beware. 

https://archive.org/services/img/truthaboutwitchc00cunn/full/pct:200/0/default.jpg

And that's just skimming the surface of the History of Magic right here on this world. If you want to know more, Google is your friend.

Knowing the Facts about real Magic can assist you in making any form of fictional Magic, no matter how Make-Believe, not only logically operable, but feel Real and possibly even familiar to the readers.

 

As for the original question...

Magic using Computers
The Irregular at Magic High School, Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei

You Don't need to Invent a whole
History for Magic.

Writing a whole history; even in note form, would be a massive amount of work.

Instead, focus on how your spells are Powered; Gods, Spirits, the Force, a magical core? Then work out the reasons why the spells were progressed from shamanistic incantations to the form you plan to use in your story. 

A good place to start would be looking up the early Magic practices of the culture you're writing about. For example, JRR Tolkien's high-fantasy stories about wizards, elves, dwarves, ents, and trolls was based on early Scandinavian mythology. 

 

 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Anime) | AnimeClick.it

 FullMetal Alchemist
Magic through Memorization.

As for Mana Circle Imprints... 

Just coming up with how mana imprints happen will be headache-inducing enough, forget trying to write a history for how that came about.

I mean seriously, if we use most fantasy anime and manga as examples, and skipping the fact that most of the circles came from images in the Ars Goetia books... To use projected mana circles, those magicals have to Memorize every circle they intend to use; like in FullMetal Alchemist, then project the right amount of mana to create each memorized circle -- then supply mana for the effect they want to create, every single time they want to cast a spell.

Are you aware that at this point in time in the Modern Era, only Idiot Savants and extreme geniuses are capable of doing that kind of memorization? The regular human brain simply can't hold that much information without the memory degrading -- in minutes.

Clearly, normal-brained magicals need something to assist them in making the right circles occur, so they can then put their mana into them.

Here's a few ideas: 

  • For magicals that live in a time before computers, books with all the circles written down for easy access is commonly used in most RPGs. By the way, hunting for books with more powerful spells is a very common subplot. 
  • Magical Objects with pre-loaded spell effects; such as talismans and artifacts, commonly appear in Chinese Wuxia and Xanxia stories, and Oriental Onmyoji ghost stories.
  • Magical Tattoos; spells written on skin, are a common shortcut in Celtic, Norse, and Gaelic legends.
  • If your magical lives in a modern or sci-fi world, a hand-held computer like a smart-phone that projects those circles via holograms can be used. In fact, this technique is used in the manga and anime series: The Irregular at Magic High School, Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei.

Trying to add a History to how all this came about is a sure-fire way to kill all your inspiration to write. Better to just skip it entirely -- like everyone else does.

 

In Conclusion...

If you're determined to create your own brand of Magic for your stories, the best place to start is with the History of Magic that already exists for whatever culture you happen to set your story in; Chinese, Japanese, Norse, Celtic, Polynesian, African, European Medieval... Use it as a jumping off point, or a framework that explains why your magic works the way it does. Simply adjust the facts to fit the story you want to write. Add things, or subtract things as needed.

Just please be aware that there will be actual practitioners of magic in your reading audience. We will Know when you mess up and don't keep to your own lore, just as easily as we know when someone is using Dungeons and Dragons as a base for their magical system.

After all, we love Fantasy stories too. If we didn't, we wouldn't be practicing magic in the first place.

Morgan Hawke