NaNoWriMo Prep Project

2021 - Day 11: Setting: Definitions List

Oct. 11: - Setting: Definitions List

(1) Create a list of definitions (see below) in a format easy to edit and expand.
(2) Optional: Brainstorm and describe an object critical to the plot. Add to definitions list.

In your definitions list, you'll flesh out details that you'll want to remember later for consistency. You won't have to dig through pages of scribbled notes to find whatever you decided about these definitions - they will all be compiled into a neat list / binder / database / note cards / whatever your favorite form of organization happens to be.

Example definitions for the Harry Potter series:
rules of magic
the Ministry of Magic
modes of transportation (apparition, Floo network, portkeys, flying, etc.)
the four Houses at Hogwarts
the sword of Gryffindor (note: this would also make a good plot background story)

Non-speculative examples requiring definitions:
a fictional student organization to which your protagonist belongs
the fictional company or division of the FBI for whom your protagonist works
the disease afflicting your protagonist, which is a real condition you need to research
the antique artifact your protagonist intends to heist


Rooftop garden in Greenwich Village - to grow herbs, vegetables, there is a greeenhouse to house the more tender herbs and plants. Pics in Pinterest.

Rules of magic
Wicca

I collected some Websites for reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft
https://www.britannica.com/topic/witchcraft
https://daily.jstor.org/herbs-verbs-how-to-do-witchcraft-for-real/
LOVE THIS: Language has power in the social world—on that we can agree. People use words to hurt, conceal, soothe, and dominate, to evoke emotions in others. More than that, in certain contexts and conditions, the right words effect real change.
Also from the above reference:
medievalist L.M.C. Weston analyzes the poetic language of The Nine Herbs Charm, a healing spell dating to the tenth century C.E. West also looks at Wið færstice, a popular charm for relieving a stabbing pain. Weston calls them “magico-medical texts… [in which] ritual and poetry combine… to create and enforce an altered consciousness, in which and through which magic can occur.” They use performative language in Old English verse, magical numbers (multiples of 3), and a characteristic rhythm combining the alliterative structure of Old English verse with counter rhythms that index its special status as magical. There is a lot of repetition.

In Wið færstice, Lines 6, 12, and 15 (all multiples of 3), are practically identical in their refrain:

Ut lytel spere, gif her innie sie
Ut lytel spere, gif her innie sy
Ut lytel spere, gif her innie sy

In subsequent verses, says Weston, “The healer speaking the words over an herbal potion and knife (spere)… becomes a warrior under a shield, engaging in archetypal battle with vaguely identified, supernatural enemies.”

Spells have two distinct phases, the first one concentrating on gathering in power, the second on releasing it, with focused intent, in a particular direction. In the case of Wið færstice, this is marked by a change in verb tense from the first to second half of the charm, which signals a shift from potential power to present use, also using the subject “I” to indicate the healer’s agency. The recipient of the charm is also reframed, from the herbs in phase one to the patient in phase two.
The Nine Herbs Charm calls for an assemblage of herbs: chamomile, mugwort, lamb’s cress, plantain, mayweed, nettle, crab-apple, thyme, and fennel. These are crushed and mixed into a salve. The charm is sung three times over each ingredient and again over the patient and chanted as the salve is applied. If properly executed, the Nine Herbs Charm protects the patient from illnesses believed to come from toxins in the air.
I printed this document - 10 pages.

https://purelywicked.ca/?gclid=CjwKCAjwh5qLBhALEiwAioodszULmwl6dfGyDj9xI2GNKYwUm...
This is interesting as a sales of products - which could be something that interests many.

https://faintandfaery.com/

https://sorcerertips.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwh5qLBhALEiwAioods7NjY7C3Ggfg4zs6Wi8hgI-n...
This one is from the above's website:
https://sorcerertips.com/how-to-cast-spells-on-your-own/

https://www.wmagazine.com/story/how-to-become-a-witch-beginners-guide

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-a-witchs-familiar-really-is
A familar - an animal, does it need to be black? Could it be a tabby cat?