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rynlingI think we can all collectively agree that italics are difficult to read.
I therefore took away all the italics on the chapter intro sections. I might put them back to demonstrate that these are excerpts from “found sources” (specifically the notes Balthazar is writing) and not part of the narration, but maybe not. I think the character-specific perspectives are clear enough that third-person omniscient narration stands out strongly enough on its own, but we’ll see.
What I definitely decided is that everyone is going to be represented as speaking English. If the viewpoint character (usually Balthazar) can understand what someone is saying, it won’t be accented with italics. Perhaps other characters might comment on the fact that he understands speech they don’t, but I don’t want to play games with fantasy languages.
Speaking of which, I deleted all mentions of fantasy language names. Nobody needs that.
One of my most hated of all sci-fi and fantasy tropes is when a story gluts itself on constructed terminology, especially in lieu of meaningful worldbuilding. I therefore tried to keep fantasy words at an absolute minimum. The crow people have their own name because it would be silly to call them “crow people,” and the concept of a “gaesh” (a type of semi-telepathic soul bond that facilitates magic sharing) is something I want to feel alien to the reader, but I think that’s it.
I actually leaned into this by using common words for elements that are native to the story. Balthazar is not a “demon” in the usual sense of the word, the “gargoyles” are actually bat people, the “artifact” Balthazar is seeking is something very unusual and specific, and the creatures that Balthazar calls “dogs” and “horses” are not dogs and horses by a long shot.
As the story continues, I think it’s going to be fun to start playing with the disconnect between what various characters take for granted as common knowledge, but I want this to remain comfortably in the realm of humor and not venture into the territory of “who knows what secrets at what point in the story.” If anyone asks, you didn’t hear this from me, but plot is overrated.
I therefore took away all the italics on the chapter intro sections. I might put them back to demonstrate that these are excerpts from “found sources” (specifically the notes Balthazar is writing) and not part of the narration, but maybe not. I think the character-specific perspectives are clear enough that third-person omniscient narration stands out strongly enough on its own, but we’ll see.
What I definitely decided is that everyone is going to be represented as speaking English. If the viewpoint character (usually Balthazar) can understand what someone is saying, it won’t be accented with italics. Perhaps other characters might comment on the fact that he understands speech they don’t, but I don’t want to play games with fantasy languages.
Speaking of which, I deleted all mentions of fantasy language names. Nobody needs that.
One of my most hated of all sci-fi and fantasy tropes is when a story gluts itself on constructed terminology, especially in lieu of meaningful worldbuilding. I therefore tried to keep fantasy words at an absolute minimum. The crow people have their own name because it would be silly to call them “crow people,” and the concept of a “gaesh” (a type of semi-telepathic soul bond that facilitates magic sharing) is something I want to feel alien to the reader, but I think that’s it.
I actually leaned into this by using common words for elements that are native to the story. Balthazar is not a “demon” in the usual sense of the word, the “gargoyles” are actually bat people, the “artifact” Balthazar is seeking is something very unusual and specific, and the creatures that Balthazar calls “dogs” and “horses” are not dogs and horses by a long shot.
As the story continues, I think it’s going to be fun to start playing with the disconnect between what various characters take for granted as common knowledge, but I want this to remain comfortably in the realm of humor and not venture into the territory of “who knows what secrets at what point in the story.” If anyone asks, you didn’t hear this from me, but plot is overrated.
