Sometimes, books require a lot of planning and outlining, and sometimes you just need to start and it ends up revealing itself along the way. Such was the case for author Charlie N. Holmberg, much to her type-A dismay. Follow along in her Big Idea to see how she skipped the outline entirely for her newest novel, The Shattered King.CHARLIE N. HOLMBERG:I literally wrote the book on magic systems.Okay, I wrote a book on magic systems. Charlie N. Holmberg’s Book of Magic, to be precise.But this isn’t about that book. It’s about the book that came from that book.Almost all my novels start with a magic system. Some element, some power, some spark from which plot, character, and setting bloom. I wanted to guide others in finding this spark, so in this Book of Magic, I included a handful of appendices to help people jumpstart their magic systems. One of these appendices is a list of commonly used magic systems in fantasy novels. This list allows the writer to do one of three things: 1) use one of these systems to keep their learning curve shallow, 2) avoid these systems to find something more original, or 3) take one of these systems and put their own spin on it (you know, like Stephanie Meyer did with Twilight).
Source: The Big Idea: Charlie N. Holmberg | Whatever
