: Re: Is it bad not to explain things? Background So I see a lot of questions on the site like this. They're all about deeply explaining worldbuilding and stuff, doing all of that explaining type

My only objection to It Just Happens is when you overload the suspension of disbelief.

You can draw on the power of the ancients for magic? great.

You can draw on said power for flight, telekinesis, telepathy, physical transmogrification, healing, fighting, blasting fireballs, warding off someone else's fireballs, wayfinding, animal telepathy, and mixing the perfect Pan-Galactic Gargleblaster... all at once? by the same person? without paying a price? Now I'm going to need an explanation.

So as long as you don't strain your minimalist explanation with maximalist results, you should be okay. Each person can do one thing at a time, or maybe each person can only tap one kind of magic: sure. That's reasonable. You don't need to go into details about how you contact the gods or which gods bestow which power etc. It's when It Just Happens becomes Dei Ex Machinae Happens that you need to prop up the Dei with worldbuilding.

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: 1) Use the ellispses and emphasis, and tighten up the spaces. This man, this...monster...has done something despicable. There's no typesetting reason to have spaces on both sides of those

@Debbie451

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: Where in the writing process do you work in subtext? In the BBC Sherlock fandom there are many lively discussions about how a lot of the story takes place in subtext: Person C is a "mirror"

@Debbie451

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: How do I improve "beige" text? I have a tendency to write text that's on the "beige" side. I think it's the engineer in me that tends to write text that's very straightforward and strictly

@Debbie451

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: How much work does a (nonfiction) ghostwriter typically do? I just finished the charming short memoir from actor Cary Elwes, As You Wish, about his experiences while filming The Princess Bride.

: Re: Is it bad not to explain things? Background So I see a lot of questions on the site like this. They're all about deeply explaining worldbuilding and stuff, doing all of that explaining type

More posts by @Debbie451

: 1) Use the ellispses and emphasis, and tighten up the spaces. This man, this...monster...has done something despicable. There's no typesetting reason to have spaces on both sides of those

: Where in the writing process do you work in subtext? In the BBC Sherlock fandom there are many lively discussions about how a lot of the story takes place in subtext: Person C is a "mirror"

: How do I improve "beige" text? I have a tendency to write text that's on the "beige" side. I think it's the engineer in me that tends to write text that's very straightforward and strictly

: How much work does a (nonfiction) ghostwriter typically do? I just finished the charming short memoir from actor Cary Elwes, As You Wish, about his experiences while filming The Princess Bride.

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