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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/3932-Instead-of-Money.html
Fantasy: August 25, 2010 Issue [#3932]

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Fantasy


 This week: Instead of Money
  Edited by: Storm Machine Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

I'm honored to be your Guest Editor this week.

All knowledge is worth having. ~Jacqueline Carey


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

Not every society runs on money. Fantasy is a great genre to expand ideas about different ways to run societies. What does it take to get people to participate in the world they live in?

One thing I've wondered is about the society in Star Trek. They said they got rid of money - that antiquated notion - but I'm not sure I caught what they did instead. How do they stop people from just staying in bed all day doing nothing? They managed to achieve world peace, too, if you can believe the sparkly exterior.

In Extras by Scott Westerfeld, a Japanese city is built on a reputation economy. The two ways to get things for yourself is to build up merits by doing works for the community or by getting a higher face rank. Face rank goes up if something is created, like a shirt someone designed or reading a poem, that is part of the public works.

Take care to work in the details to make the economy work. Find the things the character needs to get motivated to make something of him- or herself. Not every character has the gumption to simply do it. (For a good example of gumption, try Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. She said she just wanted to write about people who had gumption, and others who didn't.) Imagine more than one place in the world you're creating - if all the nobles at the top get everything, who's at the bottom who gets nothing?


Editor's Picks

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#1519912 by Not Available.

 Hermit Open in new Window. (18+)
Ever wonder what the sage does when he's not being cryptic?
#888034 by Waltz Invictus Author IconMail Icon

The Price of Magic Open in new Window. (ASR)
Fantasy about magic's source.
#776627 by Colony Author IconMail Icon

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This item number is not valid.
#303766 by Not Available.

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This item number is not valid.
#559685 by Not Available.

Proof of Life After Death Open in new Window. (13+)
VERY HARSH satire. Delivered with the instruments of sci-fi & horror.
#750924 by Jack Goldman Author IconMail Icon

The Jub-Jub Tree: A Creation Myth Open in new Window. (ASR)
Before Genesis, there was the Jub-Jub Tree. A very different Creation tale...
#804640 by Beauregard Vine Author IconMail Icon

 The Star Eaters Open in new Window. (E)
A 13 billon year old species wanders the universe to find suitable homes for their young.
#714894 by murf Author IconMail Icon

 Future Games 2050 Open in new Window. (18+)
A politically charged tour de farce about coping with a future without a future.
#726094 by Gary L. Quay Author IconMail Icon

 The Doctor Open in new Window. (ASR)
A strange little tale about a strange doctor living in a strange time. Hmm, how strange.
#886588 by Thomas Author IconMail Icon

 
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Word from Writing.Com

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Ask & Answer

Ray Morgan Author IconMail Icon
Hi, thanks for all the newsletters. There really helpful. What works for me with characters is finding there real life look-a-likes. I search dating sites and networking communities for pictures of deferent people, deferent ages, ext. So I have a very big data base of people. Every time I need a new character I start there. If I need a reminder of what they look like, I simple go to there photo. It also helps make them seem more real on paper.

Thanks.

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