There is a quote by the science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke that goes “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” This means that while a gun or a lightbulb might seem like magic to someone from thousands of years ago, a tractor beam or teleporter might seem like magic to us, since it…
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Muse on Monday – May 26, 2025
One of the main elements of fiction is conflict. There has to be some problem to solve or it is not that interesting to read. A lot of stories take place in horrific circumstances, where there is conflict all over the place. However, could you write a story in a seemingly ideal situation? What would…
Muse on Monday – May 19, 2025
Time for a super specific prompt this week, loosely based on the picture above. Story Prompt: May 19, 2025 You are hurrying home at night when you meet a figure in a black cloak and holding a sword. “Don’t be afraid,” it says. Remember that the plot and the tone are totally up to you….
Muse on Monday – May 12, 2025
Isn’t it great to have someone with more experience who can teach you things? Fiction is full of examples of mentors who helped a character grow and develop. This is especially true when the main character is a newcomer to the world, or a noob. This is when one character explains the world to another…
Muse on Monday – May 5, 2025
Lots of stories have a group of friends as the main characters. One of them might be the main character with the others as supporting characters or they might all be treated equally. Stories with groups have two different areas for conflict: the external one where the group works towards some external goal (e.g. the…
Muse on Monday – April 28, 2025
A staple of romantic comedies is the “meet cute”. This is where the two romantic leads run into each other for the first time, sometimes literally. One common example has one of them bumping into the other carrying papers, which scatter all over. The two future lovers gather them up together, with maybe their hands…
Muse on Monday – April 21, 2025
There is a trope in fiction of an unseen world laid overtop of ours. It could be a magical world, or an alternate dimension, a glimpse into the past or future, etc. An example is the Spiderwick Chronicles, where the characters look through a magical stone to see the invisible creatures around them. A more…
Muse on Monday – April 14, 2025
If you have ever been lost in the fog, you know how disorienting it can be. It can be a nightmare, although it depends on the context. If a monster is chasing you, or if you are in a foreign city and your ship leaves in an hour, it can cause panic. However, if you…
Muse on Monday – April 7, 2025
I used to wonder, in the story Jack and the Beanstalk, how the giant’s castle stayed up in the clouds. What’s more, what did they do with their garbage? If they dug down, could they poke through the cloud or was it solid? The answer to all these questions is, of course, it’s magic so…
Muse on Monday – March 31, 2025
The duel: it is a staple of action movies, like the standoff in a western movie. At the climax of the story or movie, the hero and villain face off, one on one. Of course this doesn’t have to be a physical confrontation. It could be a debate or a chess game or even two…
The Green-Walled Treehouse 