Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Weekly Rants: February 27, 2013

Greetings Fellow readers! Welcome to another round of Weekly Ranting. This week is the conclusion of 'Arcana Magi Behind the Scenes - The Four Universes'. Now that you got to know a little about teh Four Gods, it's now time to tell you how I shaped out the Four Universes.


[Arcana Magi Behind the Scenes – The Four Universes Part 2: The Elemental Wheel

     The Elemental Wheel is not entirely new. This is actually something featured in games be it Video or Trading Cards. Basically the idea is that elements would be stronger to one element and weaker to others. I now I know that sounds weird because this is not games but literature. How does this work? For this it is quite simple. Remember last week how the Four Gods reside in four different directions, that made it easy for the Element Wheel to work. To put it simply, Seiryu to the east and Byakko to the west oppose each other and Suzaku to the South and Genbu to the North oppose each other. In fact this was the first image I posted up in Fictionaut when I first created the 'Arcana Magi Universe' Group Section.

           This was made for 'Arcana Magi' Main Series which featured the Sentinels. This is the actual origin to how the layout works. In the Main Series, the idea as to have Alysia, Chisame, Brie, and Danica both oppose and aligned with each based on the Element they represented and along with it their personalities and traits. Eventually, I expanded this into the Universe itself by applying the concept to the stories themselves. Basically each Universe has it's own destinctiveness from its opposing Element and shares traits with other Elements. 
            Here is the Walkthrough, please use the image above as guide to see where everything lies. Please NOTE that writing Four Universes is difficult to upkeep and what originally intended could contradict. I will always do my best to keep up my own rules to assure that all of you will enjoy 'Arcana Magi' to its fullest. Also in this walkthrough, I will scarcely use characters names due to the fact that I can add more stories to each Universe in continuity, hence why there are 2 different stories in 3 universes.

            Suzaku Universe - Arcana Magi

            The Suzaku Universe is influence by the fire element, hence why the main character casts Fire Spells. Fire is an uncontrolled and unpredictable element, and not even so much an element by science standards, but it does have a sense mysticism. But fire is not something that can be contained in a sense nor suppressed. It burns but provides warmth and protection. One could say that fire itself is innocent since it's formed against its will. It never asked to be fire, and yet there are people who try to harness and weaponize it without any understanding of the repercussions that come with it.
             
             Byakko Universe - Arcana Magi Rush, Arcana Magi Divine 

             The Byakko Universe is influence by the earth/metal element. Since technology is made from the earth and metal, this universe utilizes such things to its fullest. It is also a slow universe, and I use the word 'slow' very strongly as the universe progresses storywise. Earth is a patient element and metal is one that tends to represent 'might' in most Fantasy stories. It is also land based and even though I haven't wrote enough in this universe, only 2 Short Stories, when this universe becomes fully realized, it should captivate the imagination of the journey and the wondrous world, if it had not done so already.

            Genbu Universe - Arcana Magi Memorial, Arcana Magi Cross

             The Genbu Universe is influenced by the water element plays on the concept of knowledge, wisdom and the unknown. Water is known to help with healing and has the ability to become anything. It is adaptable, and can be unpredictable. It can even nurtured those in need. People will take the time to learn and understand whatever peaked their curiosity. It can even be aggressive if people push it too far.

         Seiryu Universe -  Arcana Magi Zero, Arcana Magi Pure

         The Seiryu Universe is influenced by the wind and wood. Wind invokes philosophies and thought. Nature is its ally and spirituality is carried by words through the air. Nature is most aggressive in maintaining the purity of life trying to avoid any changes that is forced upon it. Wind itself has the ability to move around spaces and change its movement at a moments whim. It can also promote growth for all of life, how do think some pollen get around the world?

          Yeah so I got a little flowery, but now the comes the fun part. How are they all connected? If you haven't read all of them, I really encourage you all to do so, the universes do share things but when they oppose each other. I could go through the whole the list, but what's the fun in that. This is where you can all get overanalytical and find the similarities and differences. However, I will throw a few examples so you can get an idea of where I am going with the Four Universes. WARNING there will be SPOILERS, so again if you have not read anything, read them now.

          Suzaku Universe <--> Genbu Universe:

          It does come off obvious that Fire and Water oppose each other, but to make it easy on all of you, here's one that makes them different; In the Suzaku Universe the earth knew nothing about the Magi or that Merydia exists and now they are outraged at the end of the story. However, in the Genbu Universe, everyone knows about the Magi and Merydia and everything co-exists, hence Ciel coming from France and having diplomatic immunity. 

          Seiryu Universe<--->Byakko Universe:

          Here is something that should be obvious by now, Seiryu Universe has no robots, but technology reigns supreme in Byakko Universe. There is no magical technology in the Seiryu Universe unlike Byakko. This is more a nature versus technology thing. The Mana rules also stand out in that in Seiryu Universe there is a spiritual sense while in the Byakko Universe does not as seen in Rush. You can go ahead and write out your own theory of what's going in the Byakko Universe until I write more stories for that universe in the meantime.

         Now that you have an idea of how the opposing universe work, now it's time to talk about the Allied Universes. Basically 3 Universe allied with each and share a common things, like areas, people, themes, rules, and so on. I won't get into too much detail because again, SPOILERS. This will be in the form of list rather than explanations. It should be self explanatory.


            Merydia: Byakko Universe, Suzaku Universe, and Genbu Universe

            Madam Karyn Mayweather: Seiryu Universe, Suzaku Universe, and Genbu Universe

            Unstable Mana: Genbu Universe, Byakko Universe, and Seiryu Universe

            Teams/Clans: Suzaku Universe, Byakko Universe, and Seiryu Universe

That's the Four Universes in a nutshell. I want all of you to read all the stories and write your own articles of what is in these universes and over-analyze the heck out of them. Remember to have fun when you're exploring the Four Universes.]

Thank you all for joining me this week and listening to my rants. Next Week is March which mean 'Thoughts on Writing' will be back. Looking forward to seeing you all.

Until Next Time...
See Ya. 

Monday, February 25, 2013

NEWS and NOTES: February 25, 2013

Greetings Fellow Readers. Welcome to another edition of 'NEWS and NOTES'.

NEWS:


- Coming this Friday 8:00 PM EST on Fictionaut.: 'Arcana Magi Pure Vol.3' Chapter 3.

Mayumi visits the Blue Moon Festival, Emi and Nina have a talk, and the three Elders make a shocking discovery.

Check it out this week on Fictionaut.

'Arcana Magi Pure Vol.3' Dates **

Chapter 4 - Friday March 8, 2013
Chapter 5 - Friday March 15, 2013


- Coming soon on Kindle: Free 'Shell' Fridays. Get your free copy of 'Shell' from 'The Geolyth Lore'.

Grab yourself a copy of 'Shell' on your Kindle mobile device.

Official Dates:


March 8, 2013
March 15, 2013
March 22, 2013 


- Wednesday's between 8:00 PM EST and 9:00 PM EST on Blogspot** - The Weekly Rants. Check out info, thoughts, and behind the scenes look on all writings and projects by H-M Brown.

- This week will be Part 2 of Arcana Magi Behind the Scenes - The Four Universes. Now that you are introduced to the Four Gods, learn how they tie into the entire Arcana Magi Universe.

** Dates and times are subject to change pending any scheduling conflicts.

NOTES:

- No NOTES Today.


That's all for NEWS and NOTES today.

Until next time,
See ya.

Friday, February 22, 2013

NEWS and NOTES: February 22, 2013

Greetings Fellow Readers. Welcome to another edition of 'NEWS and NOTES'.

NEWS:


- Now released on Fictionaut.: 'Arcana Magi Pure Vol.3' Chapter 2.

While Mayumi decided to hang out with her fellow Cooking Club members afterschool, Rumiko searches for Emi to find out what happened last night. Meanwhile the elders of the Kitsune, Inu and Higurashi clans join Ren to meet the elder of the Mukado to get the truth.

Click on the sidebar link to check it out.

'Arcana Magi Pure Vol.3' Dates **


Chapter 3 - Friday March 1, 2013
Chapter 4 - Friday March 8, 2013
Chapter 5 - Friday March 15, 2013


- Today on Kindle: Free 'Shell' Fridays. Get your free copy of 'Shell' from 'The Geolyth Lore'.

Grab yourself a copy of 'Shell' on you Kindle mobile device.

Official Dates:


March 8, 2013
March 15, 2013
March 22, 2013 


- Wednesday's between 8:00 PM EST and 9:00 PM EST on Blogspot** - The Weekly Rants. Check out info, thoughts, and behind the scenes look on all writings and projects by H-M Brown.


** Dates and times are subject to change pending any scheduling conflicts.

NOTES:

- No NOTES Today.


That's all for NEWS and NOTES today.

Until next time,
See ya.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Weekly Rants: February 20, 2013



Greetings Fellow Readers! Welcome to another round of random ranting. Today I will be talking about the Four Universes that make up ‘Arcana Magi’. This will be a 2 part series because I want to first start with the backstory as to how I came creating Four Universes and discuss about the Four Gods who play an integral role in the entire ‘Arcana Magi’ Universe. Hopefully, this introduction will give you deeper insight in Arcana Magi and an idea of what to expect to hear about the Four Universes next week. So let us begin. This will also be an official Arcana Magi Behind the Scenes. This will most likely be added to Arcana Magi Universe Group Section in Fictionaut at a later date.

[Arcana Magi Behind the Scenes – The Four Universes Part 1: The Four Gods

The split actually started after I had decided to write a web serial novel of Arcana Magi. At first I was going to follow up Arcana Magi Zero with the main series, but I didn’t like the direction I was going. It was too dark for what I had already established, plus I wanted to expand on the fantasy elements. So I separated both stories as alternate worlds resulting in two Alysias and two Madam Mayweathers. This was from here that I wanted to make more stories in alternate timelines, but I didn’t want to overwhelm myself with hundreds so this is where I decided on four universe, based on the Japanese Mythological creatures, The Four Gods.
About the Four Gods, they’re actually part of Chinese ancient astrology. It was imported over to Japan incorporated into their myths and beliefs.The Four Gods reside in four cardinal directions of East, West, North and South. Now, while in China their is a fifth god, the Yellow Dragon, Huánglóng, in Japan this god is no fifth god, instead replaced with void, which is nothingness, and has no divine god representing it. Each of the Four Gods in Japan, represent one element and one season, and have a very distinct look from each other.
Seiryu - The Blue Dragon represented by Wood and Spring, and resides in the East. Here I usually use Wind in conjunction with the Wood element. This is because of the multi-cultural aspect of Arcana Magi. Also Wood is associated with nature and like the wind, nature is always moving, never stopping.
Suzaku - The Red Bird represented by Fire and Summer, and resides in the South. Fire in Arcana Magi is usually associated with freedom. Birds in some cultures are metaphors for freedom and like fire, freedom is something that is difficult to stop. It can also represent rebirth, Suzaku's western equivalent is the Phoenix.
Byakko - The White Tiger represented by Autumn and Metal, and resides in the West. Like Seiryu, I usually use Earth in conjunction with Metal. It make a lot of sense in that Metal does come from the earth itself. Technology would be more associated with Metal since machinery comes from tempered steel. Here I put emphasis on intellect and knowledge.
Genbu - The Black Turtle represented by Winter and Water, and resides in the North. Fluidity is the key. Water can become anything, as Bruce Lee once said hence a variety of character traits. I try to apply wisdom with this element as opposed to knowledge. Ice plays a secondary part as well.
These four characters, can either be a significant role, or serve as metaphors for the characters of Arcana Magi. Each of the Four Universes gives different perspectives on how they relate and interact with characters. The only drawback is that with four universes, the Four Gods are kind of locked personality wise within their respective universes.]

Next week in Part 2, I will explain how the Four Universes work and what each of the Four Gods have to do with them and what they mean. I look forward to share this wonderful expansive world that I created, and I hope it brings all of you closer to my world and enjoy everything it has to offer.

Thank you for listening to my rants.
Until next time...
See ya. 

Monday, February 18, 2013

NEWS and NOTES: February 18, 2013

Greetings Fellow Readers. Welcome to another edition of 'NEWS and NOTES'. Did you all enjoy Chapter 1 of 'Arcana Magi Pure Vol.3'? Well hold onto your seat because this week is going to get even better.

NEWS:


- Coming this Friday, 8:00 PM EST** on Fictionaut: 'Arcana Magi Pure Vol.3' Chapter 2.

While Mayumi decided to hang out with her fellow Cooking Club members afterschool, Rumiko searches for Emi to find out what happened last night. Meanwhile the elders of the Kitsune, Inu and Higurashi clans join Ren to meet the elder of the Mukado to get the truth.

Check it out this Friday on Fictionaut.

'Arcana Magi Pure Vol.3' Dates **


Chapter 3 - Friday March 1, 2013
Chapter 4 - Friday March 8, 2013
Chapter 5 - Friday March 15, 2013


- This Friday on Kindle: Free 'Shell' Fridays. Get your free copy of 'Shell' from 'The Geolyth Lore'.

Grab yourself a copy of 'Shell' on you Kindle mobile device.

Official Dates:


March 8, 2013
March 15, 2013
March 22, 2013 


- Wednesday's between 8:00 PM EST and 9:00 PM EST on Blogspot** - The Weekly Rants. Check out info, thoughts, and behind the scenes look on all writings and projects by H-M Brown.

This weeks ranting will be about 'Arcana Magi's' 4 Universes and why it was shaped out the it is.

** Dates and times are subject to change pending any scheduling conflicts.

NOTES:

-No NOTES Today.


That's all for NEWS and NOTES today.

Until next time,
See ya.

Friday, February 15, 2013

NEWS and NOTES: February 15, 2013

Greetings Fellow Readers. Welcome to another edition of 'NEWS and NOTES'.

NEWS:


- Now released on Fictionaut: 'Arcana Magi Pure Vol.3' Chapter 1.

As everyone settles down from the events of the Mukado attack, Emi has a meeting that could change the situation.

Check it out this Friday on Fictionaut.

'Arcana Magi Pure Vol.3' Dates **

Chapter 2 - Friday February 22, 2013
Chapter 3 - Friday March 1, 2013
Chapter 4 - Friday March 8, 2013
Chapter 5 - Friday March 15, 2013


- Kindle: Free 'Shell' Fridays. Get your free copy of 'Shell' from 'The Geolyth Lore'.

Official Dates:

February 22, 2013
March 8, 2013
March 15, 2013
March 22, 2013 


- Wednesday's between 8:00 PM EST and 9:00 PM EST on Blogspot** - The Weekly Rants. Check out info, thoughts, and behind the scenes look on all writings and projects by H-M Brown.


** Dates and times are subject to change pending any scheduling conflicts.

NOTES:

- No NOTES Today.


That's all for NEWS and NOTES today.

Until next time,
See ya.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Weekly Rants: February 13, 2013

Greetings Fellow Readers! Welcome to 02/13/2013. It's a shame there aren't twenty months in a year, it would look like this, 20/13/2013. Any way, I have some Thoughts to share this week, so let's get rolling.

'Thoughts on Writing'

[Fight Scenes

      Today, I am going to talk about Fight Scenes, not Action Scenes or Stunt Scenes, but Fight Scenes specifically. This is the portion on some of my stories where the protagonist and antagonist have their big battles. All of this really stems from a lot film and video games. I feel like this is where I shine in terms of writing. It is not easy to do and it can come off as a laundry list. This is also where Show and Tell can get blurred. It can also be a weakness as I have noticed in a lot of my earlier unpublished works, in that the fighting can last three to five chapters pending on how big a scale I built up on it. You probably may have felt it in 'Arcana Magi' at the end for almost a chapter or two, but in my earlier works they can last long.
       I try my best to make fighting as epic as possible and amazing. I take advantage of the environments around the characters, like objects and walls. I also try to be as close to realism as possible, because let's face, you can't get into a fight and walk away injury free if Die Hard hasn't taught me anything. Fighting also has stunt work and I do my best to detail it without padding it. And it is a fun thing to so.
      The trick to doing fighting without going stale is of course special powers, be magic, supernatural, or robotic. It is very important to have some of these things to help kept the fight scene interesting, but don't force them to drag it out to long. The last I would want is to overwhelm my readers. To really throw a good turn for the better, is tiring out the characters in the fight or have characters throw object at each other. Star Wars The Empire Strike Back did a good job using it's environments during battle. One minute Luke and Vader clash lightsabers, the next Vader is using the force to throw large objects at Luke. Fighting should always be 3 dimensional.
      One of the things I had to be careful with was writing 'John threw a punch. Bob blocked and threw a punch himself.' Not very exciting and it looks like the characters are taking turns rather than actually fighting. Hockey is a good example of a fight. While it may look like the hockey players are taking turns to throw punches, their fighting is in fact is fluid because both player are doing something in their battle outside of punching. Like pulling their shirts over their heads. Spinning in a circle. Sizing up their situation. Falling on the ice. I would encourage those of you wanting to write fight scenes, look at a hockey fight, their are plenty on You Tube and write out in narrative what you see on the video. I think this is a good idea for those of you looking for a climatic battle, to get good feel of how to write it out. Hockey fights have everything you need to get a narrative fight.
       Ultimately, fighting is one of those exciting climatic finishes to a story, if well done, will bring an epic level of awesomeness for readers. BUT, it is a double edged sword that cripple your story and ruin the experience. Fight scenes can be done with practice and repetition, and in the end will be fun to write and share with everyone.]

So that concludes my 'Thoughts on Writing' this week. There will be no more 'Thoughts on Writing' for the month of February, I'll have a new a couple to talk about in March. There will be Weekly Rants, of course, but it might not be much to talk about.

Thanks again for hearing my rants.

Until next time...
See ya.

Monday, February 11, 2013

NEWS and NOTES: February 11, 2013

Greetings Fellow Readers. Welcome to another edition of 'NEWS and NOTES'. Well I am on Twitter now. I know it's not much but you're more than welcome to join me there.

NEWS:


- Coming this Friday, 8:00 PM EST** on Fictionaut: 'Arcana Magi Pure Vol.3' Chapter 1.

While Mayumi enjoys life away from the Magi, Emi receives a tip that could change their situation.

Check it out this Friday on Fictionaut.

'Arcana Magi Pure Vol.3' Dates **

Chapter 2 - Friday February 22, 2013
Chapter 3 - Friday March 1, 2013
Chapter 4 - Friday March 8, 2013
Chapter 5 - Friday March 15, 2013


- Kindle: Free 'Shell' Fridays. Get your free copy of 'Shell' from 'The Geolyth Lore'.

Official Dates:

February 22, 2013
March 8, 2013
March 15, 2013
March 22, 2013 


- Wednesday's between 8:00 PM EST and 9:00 PM EST on Blogspot** - The Weekly Rants. Check out info, thoughts, and behind the scenes look on all writings and projects by H-M Brown.

This weeks ranting will be a 'Thought on Writing'. Subject to be determined once again.

** Dates and times are subject to change pending any scheduling conflicts.

NOTES:

- I just want to apologize about last week's 'Thoughts on Writing'. I completely forgot that I did do a subject on 'Characters', it's been a very tiring week, I should have a paid attention. This week I'll make sure the topic is completely new and different.


That's all for NEWS and NOTES today.

Until next time,
See ya.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Weekly Rants: February 6, 2013

Greetings Fellow Readers! Welcome to another round of random ranting. This week I have another 'Thought on Writing' and would like to share with you.

[Character Retrospective

     The beings that pretty much are the central focus of a story. They're the ones we writers ask readers to invest their time into. To root for and look forward to win, or look forward to getting a comeuppance if we deliberately made them bad people. What makes a character good or bad is always up to the reader. As a writer I can only make the characters as best as possible, and as logical as possible, especially within Speculative Fiction. It's not easy making a character due to the fact that these characters will come with complexities that is hard for the reader to understand. After all the reader is not living the characters life. Unless that character is human, writers will tend to project human qualities onto the non-human character in order to help the reader grasp the situation. For instance, a reader does not understand how a robot lives unless we project human qualities into it which then the reader can try to understand where it comes from. Which is what makes Issac Asimov's Robot Series amazing.
      Characters come in all sorts of manifestations, from humans, to aliens, to toasters, to animals, it's pretty limitless. Characters can genuinely captivate our imagination as we watch them live a life at time may not be able to. Like what is the world of Thomas the Tank Engine like when talking trains co-exist with humans. In Osmosis Jones we get to see life of a white blood cell. Or even the Matrix where we learn how programs themselves, not so much the machines, think of us humans. It really creates interesting perspective of the human condition that we might see from our own human characters.
      As for human characters, well I've been trying to figure out how to discuss this part. As of now I have written and erased this particular paragraphed 5 times because I don't what to say. There is so much that can be discussed because history of fiction is riffed with awesome characters that we love, and characters that dehumanized people. So the best I can say is this, I write my characters with the intent and purpose of just being who they are as human beings and nothing else, be they good little angels or full on racists.
       I am not a female, but I like using female protagonists because I find them interesting. I like the idea of placing females in situations where they can come out looking awesome in their actions and are fun to read about. I write about other nationalities and their cultures, particularly Japan, because they are awesome people and their culture is just as awesome as America's. But there is also one other reason why I like to use them in my stories, if the world is invaded by aliens, or facing an exploding sun, or even a hurricane, are we really going to concern ourselves whether Jane Smith is female AND black? No. No we're not. We will only concern ourselves with surviving and helping others to survive the ordeal as well. That is being human.
      Now you see why I had a hard time writting this paragraph 5 times over.]

So that's all I have on my mind this week. You all have yourselves a good weekend and look forward to seeing you all on Twitter this Friday. Remember that 'Shell' will be free this Friday if you haven't picked up a copy yet.

Until Next Time...
See ya.

Monday, February 4, 2013

NEWS and NOTES: February 4, 2013

Greetings Fellow Readers. Welcome to another edition of 'NEWS and NOTES'. I have a couple of new announcements.

NEWS:

- Coming this Friday at 8:00 PM EST - The Written Works of H-M Brown on Twitter.


- Coming this Month** on Fictionaut: 'Arcana Magi Pure Vol.3' Short Novel.

Mayumi and Emi are lying low during the Purge threat, but Emi wants to do something about it.

Chapter 1 - Friday February 15, 2013
Chapter 2 - Friday February 22, 2013
Chapter 3 - Friday March 1, 2013
Chapter 4 - Friday March 8, 2013
Chapter 5 - Friday March 15, 2013


-This Friday February 8, 2013 on Kindle: Free 'Shell' Fridays.

Get your free copy of 'Shell' from 'The Geolyth Lore'.

Official Dates:

February 22, 2013
March 8, 2013
March 15, 2013
March 22, 2013 


- Wednesday's between 8:00 PM EST and 9:00 PM EST on Blogspot** - The Weekly Rants. Check out info, thoughts, and behind the scenes look on all writings and projects by H-M Brown.

This weeks ranting will be a 'Thought on Writing'. Subject to be determined.

** Dates and times are subject to change pending any scheduling conflicts.

NOTES:

-No NOTES today.

That's all for NEWS and NOTES today.

Until next time,
See ya.