Recent entries

Questioner

Lately it seems like a lot of the fantasy novels I’ve been reading fall into the trap of giving the main character some unreasonable ability that is just not realistic for the setting. Do you ever find it hard and/or how do you handle ‘balancing ‘ your characters so no one has an ability that doesn’t really pass the smell test?

Will Wight

One of the things I like to do, is give my characters abilities are reasonable within the rest of the setting. It's not that the main character has the only version of this magic ability. It's something that other people have. You might get an over powered ability, but it's an overpowered ability that exists the magic system as it's understood. That's generally how I do it. I think I've learned a lot about that while writing Cradle and would incorporate some of those lessons...((Will distracted by game, but probably comment about incorporating into books in the future)).

I don't have  a problem with characters that have abilities that are overpowered. I used to want characters that grow into overpowered ability, but not start with them. Now I kind of enjoy it when a character stars with an unusual ability because it's exciting.

Questioner

Have you ever used the subreddit for ideas?

Will Wight

No. I don't need to use anything for ideas. That's one of the things that's interesting is that it's harder to narrow down ideas than it is to come up with ideas. I'm never like "Man I sure am out of ideas! I'd better go find some."

I guess if I could have seen something in the subreddit if I thought it was really cool, but typically the stuff in the subreddit people come up with are stuff they think is going to happen based on what's already in the books... so it's already in the books. So I've typically already at least considered it.

Now what I have done sometimes is when a fan mentions an idea they have, and then they'll pitch it differently or present it in a way that they think it's really cool, and they'll get me to reconsider something I've set aside. So that is something I've done: I've reconsidered something because a fan said it. Or because when they said it and they're like "Yeah, this is probably what's gonna happen," and I've thought... not because they guessed it, but I've thought: "Oh yeah when you put it that way that sounds like a bad idea." So I've done stuff like that.

But it's very rare that anybody comes up with an idea - and that it all fits the series - that I haven't already though of... just because I've spent a long time thinking about this, that's all.

Questioner

We've seen resonance in soulsmithing. Can the techniques on a sacred artist's path resonate with each other? As in, could you have a path where your abilities, when used together, create something stronger than sum of each of the techniques used?

Will Wight

The canon that Lindon uses sometimes operates on the principle of technique resonance, so saying that these techniques work together better than they work separately. So you're asking if there are Paths that do the same?

Yes there are. But it's not something that is typically the foundation of a Path, because it would be like a suicidal technique - not literally suicidal, as in it wouldn't necessarily instantly kill you - but it puts a higher burden on your spirit and your madra channels and your body, than using them separately would.

So typically Paths are not designed like that. But there are techniques that can be used together. One of the problems with that is it's often hard to use two techniques together that are similar, so it's hard to use one striker technique from one hand and another striker technique from another hand - that kind of thing.

Questioner

What program(s) do you write in?

Will Wight

Word, it's always Word. 

Questioner

Have you read Overlord (Light Novel)?

Will Wight

I'm not a huge Overlord fan. The main character is playing an MMO when it shuts down. He's one of the top players in the game when it's shutting down and he wakes up in the body of his game character. He gets the power of a max level character and he ends up being able to explore this fantasy world. And his character is a lich; he's an undead magic user. That's really cool. He's awesome. The people are awesome. The place he finds himself in: the magic dark fortress his guild uses is super cool. 

The problem I have with the series is that because the main character is undead he has no human emotions, feelings, or morality. It's like reading through the perspective of a robot and he doesn't care about anything and doesn't have any goals. He has no resistance and faces no places and doesn't care about anything. So it's hard for me.

A lot of the books are various perspectives around him which I find a lot more interesting. Then again, he's the more colorful character and he's the main character. It's not one of my favorite series.

I've read it and I'm current (at least I was a few months ago). The anime is really good.

What I really like about it is the colorful cast of characters and the colorful setting of his fortress.

Will Wight

((Shows Oreo Easter Egg))

I'm not going to lie to you. It's not that good. It's Oreo cream filling a chocolate Easter egg. The chocolate on the outside overpowers the Oreo cream on the inside. I sound like an Oreo critic, but it doesn't taste like an Oreo. It just tastes like a regular cream egg with crunchy bits in it.

I did notice recently that the Canadian version of Oreos are crispier. I don't know if they're fresher or if they have a different recipe or something.

I've tried different Oreo flavors: dark chocolate and carrot cake. One I really liked was chocolate peanut butter pie.

Questioner

What are the stylistic differences between Chinese, Japanese, and Korean light novels?

Will Wight

I will preface this with: I don't know many of these differences are stylistic differences, how many are cultural differences, and how many are linguistic differences. I know there are few things with Chinese novels, when I started reading them, that drove me crazy that I eventually learned were part of the language.

One of the things I couldn't wrap my head around was, in all these different novels I read they would all use the same turn of phrase. They would use, "the smell of gunpowder was heavy on the air" in a world with no gunpowder, and I was "what is this?". Apparently, they have phrases that are directly translated that way, but have their own meaning in the language that don't mean that. "You are courting death" is another one everyone says and I'm sure is a genre thing.

In my experience, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese novels, just like popular American novels tend to, follow trends at a time. It's interesting to see how many become similar to one another. One of the things I've noticed is that a Korean main character's flaw is being very greedy. I don't know why, but they're considered very materialistic. It's considered a flaw so they aren't saying "you should all be greedy", but that's clearly what the Korean main characters start to do.

One of other things I've also noticed is that a lot of these main characters start - I don't want to say emotionless - very stoic, and in a way that is expressed differently in different cultures. The Chinese stoic protagonist is honorable and ruthless. Where as a Japanese main character will be distant and a loner. The Korean one sets boundaries; if you're fair to me I'll be fair to you. They bleed over each other a little bit. When I noticed that, I also noticed it's common in American novels, but the stoicism is portrayed very differently for American main characters. So you have stoic protagonists like John Wick, or any of the Clive Cussler, or Tom Clancy (TC is sometimes less stoic) are men who just get the job done. They're the growly men who "I only cry tears when a brother of mine dies in the battlefield". It's just interesting how different cultures have interpretations of the same trope.

One of the things I've noticed is that a lot of these cultures, the video game inspired novels have taken over. Those are expressed differently in the different cultures. In Korea there's a lot of trend towards things set in the real world where dungeon portals open up and people get powers and can go into the portals and grind up and come back to the real world. There's a lot of different interpretations of it, but they're all video game inspired which makes sense, I think. It's why LITRPG are really popular now. Video games are popular and they're probably more popular now than they've ever been and we've all grown up playing video games. It's just something that is hear to stay and will evolve and change as literature always does.

Questioner

What are some tips you would have for writing a progression/cultivation fantasy magic system? Andrew Rowe recommended making sure each level or higher advancement had its own unique trait.

Will Wight

Andrew Rowe knows what he's doing; that's a good tip. One of the things I did when I was designing the system: in a lot of these martial arts, cultivation, and advancement, they have levels that are just levels; so like High Gold which is just better than Low Gold, but not as good as True Gold and nothing special. I regret having those. I wish I had removed those and every level had its own distinct feature. It's more memorable and a more concrete way of leveling up. Just being more power is not as easily defined.

Will Wight

Here's a quick tip: have your character run into the peak of the magic system early. In Coiling Dragon, he witnesses Saints in an high-level battle. Which at point in the series is the height of the cultivation series. He sees them fighting toward the very beginning and that establishes for him where they're going to go. You've seen these big experts batting so you know what a high level battle is going to look like. Even though it's going to be a while before you get there, you know where it's headed.

In Unsouled I did that with Suriel and his vision of the monarchs so we know there are people way up and Suriel is higher. I could have done a better job because I could have shown the monarchs and what they're capable of as the pinnacle of the Sacred Arts magic system as opposed to the pinnacle of the universe, which is what Suriel is. Which is literally incomprehensible to Lindon at that point. That's what I'd wish I'd done a little better there and what you can do as you're starting out. You can make sure you can see the height of the magic system early so the reader and the character can know where they're going.

Jesse

Do you think there's any chance for an eventual Graphic Novel adaptation?

Will Wight

Theoretically, sure. Yeah, that'd be great. I would love a graphic novel adaptation. The issue is, I can't do that on my own. So, obviously I would need to work with an artist and I don't know who that would be. So, we'd have to collaborate on that, it's a difficult thing. And if we're doing that and if I have to be involved in it, then I'm not writing a book. So ideally, it would be somebody I could hang on to who could at least get rolling with minimal involvement and produce the graphic novel. It's difficult. But, it'd be very cool.

April

A recruiter from the Abidan shows up at your door. What division are they from? What’s their pitch, and what’s your response?-

Will Wight

So, if a division of the Abidan showed up at my door, what would their pitch be? Well, their pitch would be super easy. I don't know what division it would be, probably the Ghosts because they are the ones that deal with the fabric of reality. And they would show up and be like "Hey, listen. You know all these stories you've been writing? You're actually getting the ideas for them from a real place and we've been channeling them into your mind or you have a unique tapping into the structure of how this multiverse actually works and we are going to recruit you for this unique relationship you have with the Way." And I would be like "Awesome. By all means." That'd be a pitch.

Questioner

What was [your] Underlord revelation?

Will Wight

I can't give you that information. That's way too personal.

Questioner

Do Abidan Sectors reflect location in the Way?

Will Wight

Yes.

Leo

How well would Meira have done in the uncrowned tournament?

Will Wight

I don't know. You'd have to put her in it and see. I would say she would probably have made it to the second round and then it kind of depends on luck at that point because it depends who she runs into. So, I think she would do relatively well in the second round because it's sort of a survival battle royal thing and she's a life artist. It's good compatibility with her powers. But she doesn't have a whole lot of allies.

Questioner

The Nine Cloud Court spirit is said to be nine colors. What are those colors?

Will Wight

Dang it! I can't remember what the eighth color of magic is called. Octarine! It's octarine and nonarine. Those are the eighth and ninth colors.

Questioner

Do Iterations have driving wills that shape their magic systems or is it just the randomness of fate or their unique connection to the Way?

Will Wight

There's different aspects of each iteration that determine... In a way, and I probably will change this terminology, but in a way it's like which icons they are sort of closest to or more attuned to. And then it sort of sorts itself out from there. The actual specific rules of the magic system design themselves. It's not like somebody sits down and does it specifically. But, it starts off a lot more vague but connected to certain broad concepts and then it settles into a set of rules over time. Usually that's how that works.

Questioner

Will Hidden Gnome ever represent other authors to publish?

Will Wight

Potentially, yes. That is something that we are open to. It's not something that we have written off. But, there is a lot of consideration that goes into that. We don't exactly know what the best way to do that would be or how to find the best people or any of that. So, it's not anything we are likely to do very soon, but who knows? Maybe. We are certainly open to it and we intend to do that at some point, but whether that'll be this year or not, I mean, who knows?

Questioner

In Underlord when Eithan gave Lindon the Archstone, had he stolen it from the Blackflame vaults, or negotiated with Naru Huan to get it?

Will Wight

You'll find with a lot of the things that Eithan does, that it's not simply one or the other. Who are we to say whether it was theft, or whether it was clever negotiation, or whether it was simply charm that got him the archstone? I think he would probably say that it was all things.

Questioner

At what level can a royal madra user transfer their power?

Will Wight

That is sort of a weird question to answer because there is really only one line that does that and its the royal line. So, at what level? I mean, they are all Monarchs kind of by default. In order to design a system like that you'd probably have to be a Monarch. I suspect you could do it if you had Sages cooperating, but it would be difficult.

Questioner

Did you read Coiling Dragon?

Will Wight

Coiling Dragon was one of the original cultivation novels I read. I don't know if it was my first, it was one of my first. And I really liked it. It was funny, because it was kind of pitched to its original audience as a more Western style cultivation story, and it abandoned that very quickly. 

Questioner

Do Iterations typically only have 1 habitable planet tying them to the Way or are there multiple in the Iterations' corner of their universe?

Will Wight

Yes. Typically, Iterations only have one habitable planet. No, that's not true. One inhabited planet. So that is typically the case. But that doesn't mean they only have one habitable planet and it doesn't mean that none of them have multiple inhabited planets. So there are some, definitely.