Resources for Writers #8

A frequent blog where I share ideas and resources for fiction writers of all genres. Each issue is imagined independently and is intended to invoke inspiration.

Nov 01, 2024

Hello Readers,

It’s been a tough week. My partner went to the ER this morning as she was feeling dizzy while sitting down. They’re keeping her overnight, and they scheduled her open heart surgery even sooner.

Unfortunately, we found out that they plan to have her come home right after surgery, and that her rehab won’t be for another two months after that. It just doesn’t make sense.

Please consider getting her something from her recovery wishlist.

Now, on to the blog!

There’s nothing like being inspired by your pets, and the first ability I mention here was inspired by one of our blind guinea pig rescues.

Innate Abilities

Olfactolocation — I just so happened to be watching Ginny, one of our many rescued guinea pigs in our private sanctuary. She is blind, but doesn’t tilt her head like some other blind piggies. I had given her some hay while she was sleeping, and so she didn’t know it was there. She soon awoke and walked out of her house and somehow noticed that the pile of hay was there, stopping just before it.

She then sniffed around, bobbing her head like she does, similar to Stevie Wonder we like to joke. However, I’m pretty sure that she was gaining a ‘view’ of the pile as she then suddenly walked around it, as though she could see the path between it and the side of her cage, to go to her water bottle that was behind it. Brings new meaning to smell-o-vision.

Denticles — A v-shaped, tooth-like protrusion arranged like scales along a shark’s skin. It aids in their hydrodynamics. They are quite small on regular-sized sharks, but on megalithic-sized sharks and shark-like creatures, they could be large enough to make armor, shields, weapons, and so much more.

Image Source: https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/sharks-rays/biomimicry-shark-denticles

It also makes me think of an advanced wetsuit with rigid denticle-like protrusions that allow for high-speed travel and maneuverability under water. They are actually why sharks can swim so quickly and with such masterful agility.

On a side note, I learned this from Ze Frank on Youtube. He posts really funny, but educational videos about animals on our precious planet.

Clans

Skullhollow Clan — A particularly violent and gruesome clan of orcs that sacrificed their eyes in tribute to their god. After a tumultuous interim, the clan evolved to gain the olfactolocation ability. This then gave them an advantage over others that can’t see well at night. That TV show, See, with Jason Momoa might be a good one to watch to better understand how blind people have to deal with their ‘limitation’.

Morning Glory Clan — What may sound like a benevolent tribe of peoples, is really a strange clan of dwarves that have adapted to the lower montane forests of the mountains in which they once thrived. This is where they found and now overgrow several species of morning glory. You may think nothing of it at first, seeing large swathes of the ivy plant, but the seeds of this plant have a compound very similar to LSD, or lysergic acid. Please don’t eat the seeds!

This particular compound makes for a more agitated high, and mixed with the hallucinations, makes this clan of dwarves incredibly fierce and unpredictable foes. They will hurt themselves to hurt you worse.

On a side note, I learned this from Herbal Jedi on YouTube, and no, that’s not the only place from which I get my information, but it is a good place to start. He covers plants, mostly the ones that can be found in your neighborhood.

Exotic Substances

Red Mercury — I’m sure a lot of you have seen the viral videos of a seemingly mercury-like substance that has a deep red color. For some strange reason, it avoids garlic at all costs. I’m leaning on the side of hoax, but for a fictional setting, I have some ideas.

For a fantasy setting, it could be used to make alloys that take on vampiric traits. Maybe a sword could drain life from its victim and heal its wielder. A set of armor could have an instill fear effect, giving the wearer a vampiric visage. Also, of course, it could be used in potions to give other vampiric abilities, but maybe there are some side effects. Maybe even permanent ones.

For science fiction, I see it being used to be able to measure temperatures below freezing with an analogue thermometer. We all know how electronics don’t like extreme cold. It could also be used in alloys that can withstand extremely cold temperatures, being able to retain some fluidity to resist crystallization. With some heating, it could allow for exploration of extremely cold environments. It could even be used to resist the extreme pressures of the deep ocean.

Writing Prompts

Are we truly the result of a universal quadratic recurrence equation?

What is the secret of this society?

What if a parallel universe has hybrid versions of supers? (She-Hulk and Wonder Woman)

Free-To-Use Images

With the obvious exceptions, all of the images in this blog are free for you to use in your stories or blogs, and I don’t require credit. Let me know if you’d like a larger size. I can make them as big as 8000 x 8000 pixels.

Also, all of them were created using the Dall-E 3 model on NightCafe Creator. If you consider joining, please use my referral link.