If you’re following along you will have noted that you got an article about the unique metal illithimar as oppose to an article about the various heroic figures of Illithiust.  Suffice to say, I drew from my backlog this week.  Continued lifestyle difficulties as I wait for my stuff to arrive in Hawaii combined with a cold in the later half of the week kept me from hitting the work count I was going for and needed to get the intended lore article done.  I don’t want to stick with lore articles for too long and so will be looking to finish up and then edit a drop story for this weekend.

While being sick was no fun, I did have a reminder this week of my joy for self-contained stories.  Short stories have long been an interest to me because I find an appeal in the challenge of creating a full coherent story with a limited word count.  Short stories, especially with a fantasy setting, mean not just creating fulfilling story and character(s) arcs but also completing enough world building to give stakes to the story.  The hints of world building that are often given in a short story, enough for context but not going into full explanation, naturally create an appealing mystery that I find has great potential to make the story stick with a reader.

Short stories aren’t the only place to find intrigue and I find the ability to build a setting and tell a story all in one go in any medium fascinating.  The novel Chalice by Robin McKinley, which I’ve written about before, does a great job of this.  However, what started this line of thought for me wasn’t a written tale but was instead re-watching the movie “The Last Witch Hunter”.  

[Fair warning that some light spoilers, though nothing to the main plot, are ahead for the 2015 film]

I’m not going to say that the Vin Diesel action film is a piece of world defining theater.  I’m pretty sure if anything the Last Witch Hunter is another case of Vin Diesel bringing another one of his DnD characters to the big screen.  However, I do find the world hinted at in the movie fascinating.  In particular, the life of witches in the modern age setting of the film creates a lot of interest.  Witches run bars where they sell potions.  In another case, a witch sells ingredients to create illusions that make maggots appear as the tastiest pastries.  Given that a world ending crisis was averted by killing the witch queen, it’s interesting to see how within the setting of the movie witches have been allowed to exist.  There’s a balance between the power of witches and keeping them from growing too powerful.  One hinted at in the film’s first modern scene when a young witch is shocked that Vin Diesel’s witch hunter isn’t going to kill her.

It all results in some fascinating and visually intriguing set pieces, but not in a way that ever bogs down the story.

I think it’s a good reminder that very often less is more.  That us authors are best served by telling enough of our worlds to fulfill a story, maybe a little extra to give your reader something entertaining, but not so far as waste pages going into the intricacies of a magic system or a history of a herald (All caveats of “most of the time” being applied here).

So, if you’re looking for a novel that sets up but doesn’t over indulge in a fascinating world go give Chalice a read.  Likewise, if you’re looking for a good lazy evening movie night go watch the Last Witch Hunter.  I’m sure it’s streaming somewhere.  When you do, just take a moment to wonder at the world and the what-ifs and open ends that would be fun to explore.  There’s often a path to a story there.

Go forth and do good things,

Sean