Magic by another name... - Writers Forum

chris54321 · 05-08-2007, 08:21 PM

...but what to call it?

Basically, got a story. In fact, it's a full length novel, measuring at 115,000 words and I'm halfway through rewriting the entire thing word by word. Taken me about 9 months so far, but I'm STILL stumbling on one area after all that time, so I'm throwing the floor open to suggestions.

In the book, some of the characters have some rather cool abilities; teleporting, invisibility, summoning up fireballs, whatever. Anyone who has any of these abilities owes it to their Heroic blood, so called because they are descended from a Hero who were (predictably) incredibly badass and had all those superhuman abilities.

Problem comes in thinking up a name for it all. I don't really want to call it 'magic', but I can't think of anything else. There are actually two situations that matter.

1) dialouge - "do you want me to use my (magic) if they attack through the town? I might hit someone's house!"

ie, what do the characters themselves call it? As it's generally not all magic in the conventional sense (it includes things like shapeshifting, mindreading or just being good with a bow), I really don't want to call it that. It's more like a 'special attack' or 'special ability'.

2) when they actually use it - "harry saw the horrible monster coming to eat his face and he (activated) his (super special attack) and turned it into a twiglet"

ie, how I should write when the main character uses his abilities, or for that matter when someone else uses theirs. I usually have him concentrating on it and then it happens, but I really need to find a good word that I could use like 'activated' for when someone uses their powers.

Basically, my problem is that I don't want the characters to talk like people from a beat-em-up or some RPG game, 'oh, I'll just Charge them and then Dragon Stab them!'. None of the powers have actual defined names, instead the effect is described, so there's no Starfire or Badger Claw or Stance of the Ballerina or whatever. Teleport is more like 'Greggor vanished in a puff of black smoke, reappearing behind the generic bandit a moment later', etc. Thus it's a bit hard to call them 'my powers' or 'my Heroic skills' because none of the characters talk like that (it makes them sound like comic-book superheroes and I'm conciously trying to avoid them behaving that way).

Hopefully my inane rambling there has given you some picture of what I'm looking for, so any thoughts are welcome. Thanks in advance.

mammamaia · 05-08-2007, 09:02 PM

Quote:

1) dialouge

it's 'dialogue' or 'dialog'...

why not just call it their 'powers'?

faithless · 05-08-2007, 09:17 PM

I write fantasy also (as I assume you do from the content of your post), and like any writer of the genre, have crossed this problem as well. The first thing that comes to mind when I read this post is a show in the U.S, at the moment quite popular, called “Heroes.” It is about people with powers just like the ones you described. The characters in the show themselves refer to their “skill” as: an ability, a talent or a power. You might opt for a term more specific to your world like “blood limit” (which I believe comes from an anime called Naruto). However, all this has been done before, and you specifically stated you don’t believe such things will work.

The only way I think it will work is if you decide what the population of your imagined world would call such things, as they would certainly have been given a name. This is a difficult task, for depending on what the setting of your story is the term would be different. I think a land of barbarians with powers would have a different perception of such powers, and thus name them differently then a organized, civilized society of merchants and kings and peace. The name might reflect the people’s respect or fear of the individuals with such powers. Also, you should know that not all people within a society will agree on the nature of the power. While one might call it a miracle, another might say it is witchcraft.

This is where a writer’s understanding of language is put to the test. It can only be your job to find the right word to call these powers. In Star Wars it was called “the force,” and this term fit so well into the world that it became a part, however small, of pop-culture. Others on this forum might give you names for such powers, but I doubt if any of them will be original or fit your story properly. Because you’re the only one who knows your story, it must be up to you. And as you develop your precision with language you will find that your story grows in many others ways, that by finding the answer yourself, you will use sharper words with everything--from the names of characters and places to strong verbs that can replace weak verbs supported by adverbs. It is unfortunate that most problems in writing must be tackled solo if one hopes for a sound answer. Study cultures, study how words evolve, and give it a lot of thought. You can always ask others for help, but that is rarely the path to a great story.

If I thought a direct answer could help you, I would supply it. But I have thought upon this problem and many others in my own stories, and I know that no answer I could give would fit your story as it properly should, unless I were to understand your story deeply. So I only hope my digression on the subject can be of use.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mammamaia

it's 'dialogue' or 'dialog'...

why not just call it their 'powers'?

While this can only be for chris to decide, I feel it is too obvious. Obvious is not always the worst, but often not the best possibility. The real question is, "Would people in his world call it this, or would a different term have evolved?"

chris54321 · 05-08-2007, 09:40 PM

Faithless, your post made a valuable point when you brought up how different kingdoms would react to the powers. Hadn't occurred to me, but I think I'll write that in. Thank you.

As far as coming up with the name the locals would call it, that's what I've been trying to do with little avail. I know what you're saying about only me knowing the story, but that doesn't mean other people can't throw ideas out there. Never know, one of them might be perfect

mammamaia - obviously my spelling has got lazy now I'm used to those little red lines from word!

But to answer your question, as Faithless pointed out, 'powers' sounds too cheesy for me and doesn't fit with the world. It's almost too casual, basically. The writing is reasonably serious and having someone spouting lines about his powers just sounds too comic book/computer game for me. Given the subject matter it's hard to avoid, but I'm determined to find a way around it.

Thanks for your thoughts, you two.

Cran · 05-08-2007, 10:34 PM

chris54321, individual "magical" abilities have been called "talents" ...
People with such abilities have been called "gifted" or "mutant" or "superhuman" ...

There are at least two realms or genres in which these powers are accepted and individually named: sorcery/witchcraft - where they are either spells or integral powers, and the names are those you find in RPGs;
paranormal/parapsychic - where they are given pseudo-scientific descriptions, such as teleportation, pyrokinesis, telekinesis, telepathy, precognition, lycanthropy, etc.

Your "gifted" or "talented" characters are descended from Heroes?
These heroes are "superhuman"?
Are they from a race or species alien to the general population?
Does this race or species have a name?
A culture? A history? A language?
If so, then perhaps the answer you seek is in there?

Xion Night · 05-08-2007, 11:18 PM

You could just make up something or use a fairly unrelated word. Like spark...

"Hey, should I [use my] Spark?"
"John Sparked up"
"The Spark destroyed millions of homes and many people died."

Haha, okay, those are terrible, terrible examples with a terrible, terrible word, but you know what I mean? Actually, I don't know what I mean. Ehh...

[ignoreme][/ignoreme]

chris54321 · 05-09-2007, 01:36 AM

The 'Heroes' are basically people from our world who ended up in Arcadia, the world where the story is set. They're basically the same as the people there, excepting the remarkable powers, so there's not much background to mine I'm afraid.

I think the unrelated word thing is definitely a possibility, too. Just not managed to think one up. I doubt this is going to be an easy one to solve (else I'd have done it already

).

Cran · 05-09-2007, 04:43 AM

Sounds like you've painted yourself into a corner, chris54321 ...

the people who came from Earth will have taken our languages and cultures, and used those to explain their remarkable abilities ... their descendants, your characters, will only have those or the Arcadian equivalents to drawn on ...

which brings you back to the languages of magic/sorcery/witchcraft ...
or of the paranormal/parapsychic ...

Good luck ... maybe some word games with a thesaurus?

Destroyer · 05-09-2007, 05:05 AM

"Witchcraft" is always a favourite. Or just "Craft", maybe with a slightly different spelling, like "Kraft" or "Craaft"

chris54321 · 05-09-2007, 05:48 AM

It's not really magic though, that's the thing. It's more like X-men or something when everyone's got an ability or enhanced trait. I guess I'll just have to sweep the issue under the rug and not come up with a defined name for it all. I guess it might work out in the end because it adds to the mystery of their powers (it doesn't standardise them under one name), but it somehow feels a little...disappointing.

Cran · 05-09-2007, 06:41 PM

Quote:

chris54321: It's more like X-men or something when everyone's got an ability or enhanced trait.

Yep, mutant abilities or mutant powers, or mutations; I don't recall them being called anything else ...
see? - you're not the only one limited by Earth languages

faithless · 05-10-2007, 04:55 PM

Quote:

...(it makes them sound like comic-book superheroes and I'm conciously trying to avoid them behaving that way).

Cran, you miss the point. Even though Chris said the powers are like those of the X-men, the main point of his post was to find a term that would avoid portraying them as such. I would do the same in his position, for even though it is by far the harder path, a unique term for such abilities might give the reader a different perception of them and thus a different perception of the story. I don’t know his story, but I believe there is a little more to the powers than just being powers (such as they are passed via blood and not just through random mutations).

Cran · 05-10-2007, 06:23 PM

no faithless, I got the point - perhaps I was too subtle for you?

chris54321 has taken people from Earth, and put them in another world, in the process these people gained superhuman abilities, which they have passed on more or less to their descendants - like it or not, that is comic book stuff (a la Superman and family) ...

but my point, which you missed, is that by using Earth as his point of origin, he is limited to the languages and cultures of Earth to describe the cause and effect - the X-men reference (which chris54321 first cited) was to illustrate how limiting that could be ... simply put, it was an acknowledgment of the dilemma that chris54321 faces - and the only alternative is to develop an Arcadian language and culture, and use those words which, as you pointed out would be coming from a different perspective or pespectives ... possibly something based in their mythology or religion, depending upon how unsophisticated the Arcadian civilisations are ...

or did I miss your point?

faithless · 05-10-2007, 07:10 PM

Quote:

like it or not, that is comic book stuff (a la Superman and family) ...

I suppose a narrow-minded person could only see such a thing from one perspective. However, what children fail to see, but most adults realize, is that nothing can be looked at only from one perspective. You state that the powers are “comic book stuff,” thereby implying that it must carry the stigma of comic book terminology, and cannot be viewed any other way. This could not be further from the truth. Star Wars, for example, calls the powers of its world “The Force.” At the time, this was original and avoided using dull terminology like “powers, abilities, or mutations.” You might feel that Star Wars is comic book stuff also, but I disagree. Yes, it is fantasy, but that does not mean it must be viewed as “comic book stuff” or “superhero stuff.” Imagine if the Force was just called “powers” in Star Wars. It would have taken a great deal of character from the story. Good thing you didn’t coach this writer--he would have been defeated before he even tried.

Quote:

but my point, which you missed, is that by using Earth as his point of origin, he is limited to the languages and cultures of Earth to describe the cause and effect -

Why is he limited? I guess this world of his speaks exact English? They couldn’t have their own word for explaining the supernatural, or a word for a person who uses supernatural forces? The word he is looking for does not have to be limited to the minds and cultures of the Earthlings, for the Earthlings might learn the foreign word for themselves, and accept it as their own. I’m starting to see a pattern in your thinking.

Quote:

and the only alternative is to develop an Arcadian language and culture, and use those words which, as you pointed out would be coming from a different perspective or pespectives ... possibly something based in their mythology or religion, depending upon how unsophisticated the Arcadian civilisations are ...

This was my point, as I explained above: that Chris could use a term derived from the cultures of the world. But I never said this was the only option, and I am sad to see that, once again, your imagination is so limited. Just because the people come from Earth does not mean they must come from our Earth. In the Earth of the Story, could there not be a government program that gave people these powers? And maybe scientists used Latin to name these powers? (Yes, Latin is from Earth's cultures, but this is not the point of my agrument.)

Your whole argument still ignores the point that Chris is looking for a unique way to describe powers. That is the point--even after your not so subtle argument serves as a not so subtle dodge. Your points are only valid to someone who sees in one dimension, as I have explained above.
Many writers have found unique ways to describe "superhero" powers in books. Don't have such limiting thoughts.

chris54321 · 05-10-2007, 07:25 PM

I have to say, having two people with the same display picture arguing with one another is somewhat disconcerting. I was wondering why I had someone arguing with himself at first.

Faithless has pretty much hit the nail on the head as far as what I'm looking for with his reference to star wars and how rubbish it would be if they hadn't come up with the idea of the 'force' and called it something generic instead, though I can also see the point that Cran is making. Essentially, though, the origins of the characters with the powers (some are Arcadian, some are from Earth) is largely academic - if the first Heroes were from Earth, when they arrived in Arcadia and discovered their powers they would come up with a name for them or the locals would. I don't think it's particularly limited by the culture in either case as it is something entirely new. By the time the MC of the story arrives in Arcadia the powers would have been around for 500 years so a name will already exist for them, provided I can think one up of course. It's origins don't matter that much, so arguing over it probably isn't worth it

As an aside, posted the opening section of the story up in the Writer's Workshop forum here:

http://www.writingforums.com/showthread.php?t=78295

It is still some distance from the part where the MC starts demonstrating his powers, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.