: Re: How can I indicate a magical compulsion to protect someone without truly disclosing it? One of the characters in my book feels the need to protect a woman she barely knows and later on it

Diana Wynne Jones did this (quite well) in The Merlin Conspiracy. The reveal, near the end of the story, was quite effective.

I would challenge the idea that you need to hint directly to your audience why a servant feels a particular compulsion to protect her mistress (or her master's child, or whatever connection there is). Rather, have your protector-character rationalize her extraordinary actions to herself. ("This is my duty as a servant. Sure, I'm not normally big on duty, but... She just couldn't make it without me.") The more obviously false the rationalizations, the less unnatural it will seem to the reader when it turns out there was a magical compulsion in play. ("Okay, she stepped up and solved that problem without me, but I'm SURE she needs my help most of the time; she's high-born and can't handle things like...")

People in general often act first and then explain to themselves why they are doing what they're doing - attempting to impose reasonable motives on possibly unreasonable behavior. Interesting story tensions arise when it becomes difficult or impossible for a character to maintain their false self-narrative regarding their behavior.

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: Re: How can I indicate a magical compulsion to protect someone without truly disclosing it? One of the characters in my book feels the need to protect a woman she barely knows and later on it

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: Name of the technique where you show a tense scene in the beginning and then transitioning to a peaceful first chapter What do you call the writing technique that shows an incredibly tense

: What kind of protagonist or writing style is Jack Sparrow? I want to ask about a certain style on how to present a character. I know Jack Sparrow is from a movie (and I've only watched the

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: Seeking advice on editing process through integration into online poetry writing communities (Heavily edited in a sincere attempt to reduce subjectivity / instigation of unwieldy discussion or chattiness:)

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