Re: How do you do action scenes?
- From: Tina_Hall@xxxxxxxxxxx (Tina Hall)
- Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2006 13:18:00 GMT+1
Mary K. Kuhner <mkkuhner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Tina Hall <Tina_Hall@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Physics-based I get, but emotion-based still leaves me puzzled,
or rather, trying to get physics and emotions onto an axle at
opposing ends, I fail.
Hm. Let me try to think about this.
Physics (possibly putting aside some parts of quantum physics)
does not care what kind of person you are. It cares about
objective external things: how much you weigh, how warm you are,
how fast you are moving.
The kind of magic that appeals to me does care what kind of
person you are--what you feel, think, your moral state, your
past history.
Ah, now I get it.
In a physics system, to turn into a dog you might need to
find a way to adjust your weight to a dog's weight, and to
bring in the necessary information to describe a dog's
body, and perhaps add some energy to make the transformation
happen. If you fail, you probably lack sufficient power or
necessary tools.
Can't say that wouldn't appeal to me, but I know what you mean now.
In an emotional-magic system, to turn into a dog you might
need to gain insight into what a dog's worldview is like,
or bargain with a dog-spirit, or remember a previous life
in which you were a dog, or perform some act that is symbolically
a dog's and not a human's act, or simply love dogs very
much.
I see. I think I now know why I had trouble figuring out what you meant
with your emotional based magic; I never thought of this because it
would throw me off. :)
In my mind it would just be the shape, not the mindset, that were
changed into a dog, so all the dog's emotions don't really matter.
In the trilogy, your thing is sort of built-in into the people without
any need to find out the relevant stuff. An Earth Priest is an Earth
Priest the same way a dog is a dog. He doesn't need to learn anything to
feel closer to the earth and Earth magic, only has to learn to use it
the same way he learns walking and talking as a toddler. He could study
Winter magic all his life, and never even produce an ice pebble, never
mind learn the ability to freeze someone.
Doesn't mean they don't sometimes have other interests. There's one who
went to join the Fire tribe because of an interest in their volcanic
landscape. But even there, he always stays an Earth Priest.
Another person might do the exact things you did
and fail, not because they didn't have enough power, but
because they had the wrong relationship with dogs. (If I
were a fantasy character, I could turn into a cat but not
a dog.)
I've got a Shan (Magic Earth series) who likes to alter his appearance
into that of a large, black wolf. The very term 'alter his appearance'
says something, though. He doesn't 'change into' a wolf, he just looks
like one, with all physical traits, plus things he customized (tougher
claws and stuff).
Where would that fit in? (He, and others with this ability, have a
talent that gives them an intrinsic understanding of living cells, and
how they work together in a larger organizm. Without that, he couldn't
do this. Built-in again.)
--
Tina
WIR: Magic Earth series.
WISuspension: Seasons & Elements trilogy.
Posted to Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.sf.composition.
.
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- From: Mary K. Kuhner
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