I’m glad that seagulls don’t have hands and stick to the coast/steak and shake.
My mom said that the smaller the monkey is, the meaner it is.
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Well, hi there 
Same same. But progress is still progress. You’ll get there. You’ll see. Think of this part as trudging up a hill. Soon, you’ll have a great view of the landscape (your story) 
Hmm, Atlia is currently only a city because it’s based off of the lost city of Atlantis, but I’ve come to realize that it has to be part of a country. That country does not have a name yet. It might have to be Greece, in Greek. Idk. Haven’t decided. There’s another country which has been destroyed a thousand years ago called Karishkalia (I finally remembered how to spell it XD ) I have to figure out how much of the country is at war at the moment.
I think…it’s soft. Soft still.
In Atlia live Atlians 
They are water nymphs which turn to humans on dry land. They are a species of sirens and there are ones that only live in the water and they are more like monsters. The water nymphs have a whole civilization.
Monarchy.
Past. I guess. The world exists parallel to ours, but it’s kind of frozen in the past. It’s somewhat not-so-ancient Greece type of era, I think. I have to figure more of the historical setting for Atlia.
Well, the First Atlian Queen (FAQ lol) is the wife of Poseidon. He’s not around because he’s a god, but essentially he created Atlia and gave it to his beloved wife as a gift. No one doubts his existence. The water nymphs also believe in the existence of the monsters of the sea and know that with a gifted power (which is a gem), they can control the monsters in times of need.
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@anon39043209 If someone murders someone else in Alterra, how is it the killer punished and who does the punishing? (Sorry it’s dark, but I’m curious 
)
- About the “infected” ones, depending on how they are infected, do their powers change? How is it determined some get these kinds of powers or some get those kinds of powers?
- Does everyone in the society agree with the infected being ostracized or are there some who don’t think it’s fair? Are they doing anything about it?
- Are there rare powers and common powers? What are they?
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@SayWatt Now to answer your questions…
Kind of like a ancient to modern Greece, I think. I’m still unsure about the actual historical setting here. I had been having the darnedest time trying to get through the chapters taking place in our world, and I just got into Atlia (it exists parallel to our world) XD Since I pants, the only thing I can say is it’s somewhat Greece and it’s got no electricity.
I think you might be remembering Elgana, another world of mine which is an entire planet For Atlia (a city world place), the top of the food chain is the humans turned evil and undead. They have the strongest power at the moment and the poor Atlians, the water nymphs, don’t stand a chance.
For Elgana, I’d say it’s the Sorcerers because they can heal after wounded. But they don’t have much interest in fighting other races. The lowest is the Humans who don’t have magick. Sure, they might have guns, but Sorcerers heal from bullet wounds
For Atlia, this is the entire plot of the story XD The water nymphs (Atlians) are at war with humans. Some of those humans have turned into an evil undead and risen from the underworld to enact revenge and kill Atlians for putting them there thanks to Poseidon.
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Now I’m thinking that they’d advance through biologically enhancing the wildlife, like the Tool Breeders.
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It depends. The laws on the world of Alterra a very wonky.
Crimes against the Sovereign can cause the person to be instantly executed. Since the Sovereign is viewed as a deity, anybody who goes against the Sovereign or tries to harm the Sovereign is dealt with.
However, if someone commits a crime that could start a war on a large scale, that person AND their nation will suffer dire consequences.
If someone robs, kills, or commit some type of crime in their nation that has nothing to do with the Sovereign, then the country that person lives in handles the issues.
That is all I got for now.
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This would be exactly what I would have said. Little moments throughout the story can vaguely brush upon the theme. I have a story where one smaller theme is to not take friendship for granted. That’s touched upon vaguely in the beginning. I don’t hammer it into readers’ heads so often, but I trickle it throughout the story while focusing on the main theme which is self-love and confidence.
@JellyGhost The afterlife? You mean in heaven or some kind of limbo or the underworld? Also, congrats on almost finishing the first draft! 
Atlia exists parallel to Earth, specifically, parallel to a particular fictional state near California I would say there’s not much difference in environments. I’m going for a balmy Greek beach type of vibe. Since my writing has just arrived in Atlia and it’s night at the moment, I haven’t had much chance for characters to bask in the sun and describe scenery, but I hope to get there soon
I wonder XD That’s a cool question and something I thought of introducing in this story. None of my characters in previous stories have pets. I think some kind of water salamander would be nice. Maybe an axolotl-type creature
Well, I would say that it is the fact that the chosen heir to the queen is considered unfit and the weakest sibling among her twenty-seven sisters. Poor main character Pandora has to face dissatisfied Atlians and prove them wrong.
Self-real as in…do the people living there know it’s real?
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That’s one angle to look at it. It’s more a scifi trope, where the world you live in isn’t real, but you are.
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I completely missed this question.
Involves a heck ton of seaweed, shrimp, clams, and other small ocean fish that can’t talk. They won’t eat things that can talk.
Which, of course, made me wonder what Ariel eats in the Little Mermaid if all the fish can talk.
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Pandora immediately has my sympathy. I’m not sure if 27 sisters is normal for Atilans, but that’s a full house.
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Take the cue from the fairy godmother series from Mercedes Lackey: yes, everything can speak to the Godmother, but some creatures had nothing worthwhile to say. The chickens kept awking “greedy, greedy!” accusations at each other while they tried to hog the feed to themselves. Literally nothing of self-awareness for the water to feel guilt over.
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Yes, exactly!
So, when the Gods demanded a sacrificial offer, how did they demand it? Did they give any hints or clues as to what they wanted or were they super vague to give the humans a hard time?
Do all the humans believe in the Gods or are there some humans who think that the other humans are crazy? Along this line, is there conflict among humans around this issue of the sacrifice? Do some believe that maybe there’s simply no hope left and the ones looking for the “proper” sacrifice are crazy?
@AMMeyers Do your characters get to eat food in your story? If so, what do they eat? What do the magical beings eat?
@Novel_Worm What is the name of the world and what is the era for the setting? What’s your favorite part about the setting and why?
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The project I’m working on is my first mainly underwater and by the ocean project taking place mainly in a city called Atlia which exists parallel to a fictional state near California. I am trying to focus on this one, but I have another project that currently I’m going through the comments from my editor 
Just started. Finally 7000 words in. It took weeks to figure out how to begin a dual perspective, but I think I figured something out.
That it’s a seamless merging of 5 or 6 separate ideas that at first I tried to write individually as different projects but neither of them worked out. I also really liked the movie, The Whale Rider, and wanted to do my own spin on the idea—a girl riding a dolphin. Researching on Atlantis’ lore really brought it together and that’s my favorite part. I can finally write a story where a girl rides a dolphin XD
I’m assuming you asked it right back at me XD
Right now, MC Pandora has returned to her homeland, Atlia, only to find that she was too late and her mother had died in a battle after the enemy broke the five-year truce. Pandora is now officially the heir to take after her mother, but she can’t become queen just yet. I haven’t decided, but I think her twenty-seven sisters want to challenge her.
Atlia is a monarchy. The queen rules.
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They are typically born in a pod of tens or twenties. They are water nymphs, and they lay eggs. Like frog eggs or fish eggs. Also she has twenty-eight brothers.
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Full House: Underwater
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I think, not Atlia, but the people living in parallel earth need to question if they are real More often than not, someone ends up slipping through a portal, ending up in a magical, parallel world. So, is the fictional state real? Or is it really actually fictional? 
My brain is too tired to come up with anything else XD
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I have 4 main WIPs at the moment with more wanting attention 
Rise: Book 2 of my high fantasy duology. Don’t really know how to explain it without just explaining book 1 but there are sirens and selkies and dragons and a plague and a magical barrier breaking down…
Tell: Book 1 of an urban fantasy series. The kids of members of a dark witch coven find out their parents sold their souls to an evil spirit. Go on a road trip to track down a lost spell that might save them, encounter witches, spirits, psychic vampires, zombies, and eldritch horrors along the way.
Shelter: Chosen one is killed. Chosen one’s magicless, untrained girlfriend sets out to finish the job instead.
Untitled: Also book 1 of an urban fantasy series. After a witch cursed the people responsible for her death, their descendants band together to break the curse, but one of them is not what they seem.
And as far as yours, who’s your favorite character and why?
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What is the warmest, most comfortable and inviting place in your story/world?
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I have been working on Lone Werewolf for a while now. The world is our world, but with a secretive Bronze Age werewolf culture thriving in Southern Russia. The main character develops from a biting loner to a Peter Pen of sorts, gathering a tribe of outcasts like himself, while trying to stay true to his human soulmate. No juvenile mischief or eternal youth though.
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The Snowpeople’s grand cities are the must-see tourist destination unless you hate the cold.
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It definitely feels very M. Night Shyamalan. He has a bad rep, and his endings don’t always work for me personally, but I always like seeing what he comes up with!
The story actually isn’t even about finding the sacrifice. The sacrifice is found within 2 chapters…and that’s a young child. 
Questions for you 
Is this the first time you’ve dabbled with fairytales? Do you like them? Will you be doing more?
Is it based off of the Cinderella fairytale, or does it have a setup that happens to resemble Cinderella’s, and describing it as a Cinderella story is the most succinct way to get the point across?
Ooh, that’s pretty far along! Awesome Is he going to react well? Is there going to be a class problem? What’s he like? What is she like?
Does she have siblings, or step-siblings? Parents? Step-parents?
Was there anything in particular that felt like they’d be difficult? From some of your other answers around the site I gather you’re really experienced with Erotica!
They began the process by doing a bunch of stuff that happened to prove they were Gods. First, they came to the planet, and restored everything. Think of the Amazon Forest coming back. The oceans are cleaned. Resources of all kinds are abundant, for all creatures on the planet. Those who were adapted to certain areas, re-adapt to the new areas in an instant, magically. Everything is kind of in “perfect harmony” and balance. Then, the Gods asked for the sacrifice, and warned everyone what would happen if they didn’t. After that, they left.
So far, I’m thinking that they told everyone to look for something bearing “their mark”. What is that mark? No one knew. They had to work together and look through history to try to find the answer, and even that took awhile, especially since not everyone was on the same page. After they discover what the mark looks like, those who are trying to find the sacrifice basically go around trying to look at every living creature’s body to find the mark. 
It came to a point where humans would shave animals just to see if there’s something on their skin. People would check their own scalps.
I haven’t decided yet if the Gods told anyone that they had limited time. And, if they did, did they say how much time? I dunno. It’s also not important to the story, however.
I’m thinking planet is kind of a “version” of Earth or something, so the population is about as large as well. No one’s on the same page. So there’s a lot of different responses, and theories.
- They’re Gods, the End of Days has come.
- They’re not OUR Gods, who do they think they are? Our gods will protect us.
- They’re not gods–they’re aliens. Wage war.
- We don’t care who they are, try to reason with them. Contact them somehow.
- They’re not gods and they’re not aliens–it’s a government conspiracy! This is part of the governments across the world attempting to unite under One Nation through fearmongering.
- We shouldn’t sacrifice anything, this is a test. We need to unite as one, in spirit.
- We just need to repent and beg for forgiveness. (What “we” did changes depending on whom is asked. Some think it’s about the damages to the planet, others think it’s about sins with each other, etc)
Things changed when the humans failed to deliver the sacrifice, as they could not find said sacrifice. The Gods unleashed the monsters upon the world, which through their attacks, and contact with other living organisms, spread diseases like wildfire. They have an endless appetite, and have literally been eating the world for years now. Children are especially susceptible to the sicknesses going around, and die by the millions. People soon discover everyone is also infertile and sterile. As this is going on, searches for the sacrifice continue, but people’s tune changed a bit. Many of those who did not believe in higher-powers, turned to the belief out of desperation and dismay. For others, they saw all of this as proof that there is no such thing as a god, but extremely advanced aliens capable of as much, if not more, cruelty than humans.
- They’re angry Gods or aliens.
- They want us to bow down to them. Should we abandon our gods?
- This is a test, never abandon our gods, have faith.
- Our gods weren’t real to begin with. Worship the Gods.
- It’s too late now, we failed to deliver the sacrifice. Now we will see the world be eaten alive, and us along with it.
- We can still deliver the sacrifice. Stall the monsters, and continue our efforts to find the sacrifice. Now that we have millions upon millions of more people who want to find the sacrifice, we can do it. Save humanity at all costs.
Your questions helped me figure out some little details as I was writing my answers. Thank you =3
Questions!
Does that mean Atlia and California exist Atlia being near California end up playing a big part in the story? If applicable, What’s California’s relationship with Atlia like? What does Atlia and California think of each other? Does California know of Atlia? It sounds like maybe Atlia is underwater but if I’ve misread, sorry o-o.
Are there different dimensions? If so, how does one travel between them?
What/who lives in Atlia? Reigning species?
What’s Atlia’s motto? What are their priorities?
How does their social interaction work?
What’s their denonym?
How does Atlia decide on systematic change? Do they like their governing system?
Does Atlia have a flag? What’s their symbol?
What are the 4 things you like most about Atlia as a culture?
Any specific plants that feature in the story? What do they do?
How does a girl riding a dolphin come in to play?
Are dolphins sacred? If so, how did this happen?
What about other sea creatures?
What about whales? Orcas?
Which two people are part of the dual perspective? What are their goals? What motivates this?
What about the families of the two partaking in the dual perspective? What are they like, and are they in good/bad standing with the POV character/s?
Does this change?
Yayy! 
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