Merfolk Writer's Guild

[Merman Dylan Zalrian]

Another cliche that bugs is the humans don't know merfolk exist.

In the World of Wayward Tides, humans mostly think Merfolk, Sylph, and Dragons are myths. However, as much as they think they aren't real, the human race in large part wonders if that is true. The story starts after multiple ages of encounters between humans and the other races. So, humans have ancient ruins like Greece or Egypt with evidence of past encounters with other races. They also have object of power left behind as well.

So even though humans haven't seen a merperson for a long time, they are still suspicious of their existence.

I also like the idea of humans knowing merfolk exist.

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[Princess Kae-Leah]

I've thought up a pretty detailed worldbuilding about biology, anatomy, and society of merfolk, although I admit that not all of my ideas are original. Some I've "borrowed" from online writers, and some of it is based on the Disney TLM universe and some of it is based on the fantastic Filipino telenovela "Dyesebel". Feel free to use any of this in any of your writing, as I intend this to be something of an "open source" kinda thing.
Chapter One: Biology and Anatomy of Merfolk

Merfolk biology is quite unique, complex, and fascinating, as despite physically resembling half-human, half-fish hybrids, they are actually very special and magical aquatic creatures that have evolved over millions of years to function in ways that vaguely resemble certain species of reptiles, amphibians, and fish, but is in fact quite different from just about any other known living being.
Merfolk come in various shapes and sizes, with every eye, skin, and tail color imaginable, and can live for as long as a thousand years and generally physically stop aging in their mid-thirties. When a mermaid or merman dies, their bodies transform into sea foam. Because of that, "foaming" is a commonly used synonym for death among them.
They are able to breathe underwater through tiny gill slits on the back of their necks, which is usually covered by their long, thick, luxurious hair. If they are out of the water for a number of hours, they can die from dehydration, and some merfolk have a higher tolerance for dryness than others. Chlorinated water is very difficult for them to breathe.
When a mermaid or merman cries, their tears fall to the sandy bottom of the ocean floor, where they sometimes turn into colored pearls. Pink pearls are tears of joy, yellow pearls are tears of sorrow, and blue pearls are tears of fear.
A mertail is arguably much more elegant in appearance than any fish or marine mammal's fins. It begins right below their belly button, and is blanketed in delicate, colorful scales that shimmer in light. Instead of a single, broad tailfin like so many aquatic animals possess, their long appendage ends in a pair of semi-translucent flukes which appear almost too silky and billowing to be adequately hydrodynamic, but they are capable of swimming up to eighty miles per hour, holding their arms primarily to their sides and letting their flukes propel them forward in feathery, dolphin-like movements. Their vaguely ribbed texture suggests there is some kind of bone and vein structure.
The color of a mermaid or merman's tail is said to coincide with their personality. Merfolk with red tails are supposed to be energetic, confident, passionate, courageous, and strong, and at their worst can be aggressive, rebellious, obstinate, impulsive, and egotistical. Orange-tailed merfolk are said to be sociable, optimistic, enthusiastic, and cheerful, but can also be superficial, insincere, over-bearing, and self-indulgent. At their best, green-tailed mermaids and mermen are self-reliant, dependable, tactful, and compassionate, but they are also capable of being possessive, materialistic, over-cautious, and envious. Merfolk with blue tails are loyal, trustworthy, responsible, and peaceful as well as rigid, self-righteous, weak, and unforgiving. Purple-tailed merfolk are said to be very creative, intuitive, dignified, charismatic, and generous, but also can be immature, impractical, aloof, pompous, and highly eccentric. Mermaids and mermen with pink tails are often romantic, loving, warm, hopeful, and sweet at their best and naive, over-emotional, needy, prone to unrealistic expectations, and lacking in willpower and self-worth at their worst. A silver-tailed mermaid or merman is supposed to be soothing, glamorous, insightful, sophisticated, and gracious on good days and melancholy, indecisive, deceptive, moody, and snobbish on bad days. Gold-tailed merfolk generally have a good sense of self-worth and are incredibly popular with others, but can also be self-centered, demanding, mean-spirited, distrustful, and greedy. Merfolk with white tails are associated with innocence, purity, and fairness, but can also be overly cautious and critical. Black-tailed mermaids and mermen are said to be sophisticated, seductive, mysterious, independent, and determined, but can also be aloof, pessimistic, secretive, overly serious, and intimidating.

One of the most unique biological features of merfolk is the nature of their digestive system. Their spleen is on the opposite side of their body as humans, and their stomachs are much larger than a human being's as it contains six chambers that allow them to digest food much more completely. They also lack a large intestine because merfolk do not eliminate metabolic waste from their bodies the same way that humans and just about all other non-magical beings, including many of their fellow sea creatures, do. Instead, they odorlessly secrete excess nutrients through pores in their scales, almost like sweating. This is basically invisible to the naked eye, but if one put the water around a mermaid or merman into a microscope, they might see bacteria and such.
Part of the reason why their digestive system is so efficient is that they evolved to eat a very specific diet, which is primarily plant-based but is occasionally supplemented with small mollusks such as clams, oysters, and mussels. Large crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters and especially all kinds of finfish, however, are not eaten by them because not only are merfolk able to communicate with them and thus consider them something close to equals, but their stomach would be unable to process them, so they would only end up vomiting or coughing it back up.
As for the age-old question as to how do merfolk reproduce...well, that remains a complete and utter mystery to this day, although it is relevant to note that they obviously do indeed have mammalian breasts and belly buttons.



Chapter Two: Society of Merfolk

Unlike human society, which continues to progress both technologically and socially at an extremely fast pace, merfolk society has remained very much the same for countless centuries. While constitutional democracy is now the norm in many, if not most, places in the human world, merfolk kingdoms are still run as old-fashioned monarchies. Although the vast majority of mermaid queens and merman kings are very benevolent and fair rulers, there have nonetheless been occasional instances of tyrants gaining power.
Due to electricity obviously not working well underwater, there are no computers, televisions, or stereos in the mer-world, although magical "shell phones" are used in place of telephones. Even books and scrolls are relatively rare since it's pretty difficult to read and turn pages under the seas. The most popular forms of entertainment are oral storytelling and live concerts and theatre.
Music plays a particularly important role in merfolk society. While humans cannot speak, much less sing, underwater, the vocal chords of mermaids and mermen have specially evolved to work below the surface. Some kingdoms even use singing as the main form of speech. Almost all merfolk are good singers, but only some of them possess the dangerous magical ability of the "Siren", which means that they can, with the right training, use their beautiful singing voices to hypnotize just about anyone into doing anything.
As a species, merfolk possess incredibly passionate and loving hearts. When a mermaid or merman falls in love, they tend to love more truly and deeply than most mere mortals. They're essentially hard-wired to fall passionately in love only once in their lifetimes, which either means that they live happily ever after if their beloved reciprocates their feelings, or are doomed to never find romantic contentment if their affections are not returned. The only one who is always immune to the magic of a strong Siren is the one they love.

Another major difference between most human cultures and the culture of mermaids and mermen is their attitudes regarding clothing. Most mermen and some mermaids don't wear any clothing at all, other than perhaps a piece of jewelry or a hair accessory. While brassieres made of seashells, pearls, and seaweed are commonly worn by mermaids in some kingdoms, no one would ever be arrested for indecent exposure in the mer-world, as modesty is a human societal construct that most merfolk actually find quite hard to comprehend.

How merfolk view the human world varies depending on the kingdom and the individual. While all kingdoms have laws limiting contact with the surface world, some kingdoms' laws are certainly stricter than others. Some kingdoms encourage rescuing drowning humans, while others punish that with exile or worse. Many merfolk strongly resent the environmental destruction that humankind has wrought on the ocean and its creatures, but some are immensely curious about the world above the sea.

[Mermaid Kane]

I've thought up a pretty detailed worldbuilding about biology, anatomy, and society of merfolk, although I admit that not all of my ideas are original. Some I've "borrowed" from online writers, and some of it is based on the Disney TLM universe and some of it is based on the fantastic Filipino telenovela "Dyesebel". Feel free to use any of this in any of your writing, as I intend this to be something of an "open source" kinda thing.

This is awesome! I'm writing my own little ''tip guide'' myself.

[Satine]

I am in the bucket of I love to write but get easily discouraged and find it hard to beat writers block. I also seriously struggle with spelling, grammar, and punctuation. But some things I want to write are story's with modern day mermaids around modern day technology. Such as water proof cameras, iPods, and drones. I'd also like to ad into the story a real mermaid or merman meets people like us who put on silicone tails and swim.

Prob on stupid lol but it would be a change up !!!

[Satine]

Something I am struggleing with that I don't know how to get past. I want to write a story about modern day mermaids in our world, but I also want to do a Tolkien like story where I make a completely new and different world that has many different races includeing merfolk, but I also want to do a story in a different world with mer folk as the main role. But I can't pick between them.

how do y'all choose witch path to go down?

[Mermaid Kane]

Something I am struggleing with that I don't know how to get past. I want to write a story about modern day mermaids in our world, but I also want to do a Tolkien like story where I make a completely new and different world that has many different races includeing merfolk, but I also want to do a story in a different world with mer folk as the main role. But I can't pick between them.

how do y'all choose witch path to go down?

I personally keep switching and scrapping my work myself for this reason.... like DANG. Whoever answers her, answer me too. xD

[Agent Dragon]

Something I am struggleing with that I don't know how to get past. I want to write a story about modern day mermaids in our world, but I also want to do a Tolkien like story where I make a completely new and different world that has many different races includeing merfolk, but I also want to do a story in a different world with mer folk as the main role. But I can't pick between them.

how do y'all choose witch path to go down?

The real question is not "which one should I do?"; it's "which one should I do FIRST?" I find it easier to commit to a story if I remind myself that I don't have to pick a lone favorite and that the others are just on the back burner for now. As for what to do first... well, whatever gets you most excited is a good one to choose. Just remember to stick to it even when that excitement runs out. Keep writing!


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[Merman Dylan Zalrian]

Something I am struggleing with that I don't know how to get past. I want to write a story about modern day mermaids in our world, but I also want to do a Tolkien like story where I make a completely new and different world that has many different races includeing merfolk, but I also want to do a story in a different world with mer folk as the main role. But I can't pick between them.

how do y'all choose witch path to go down?

The best advice I can give is pick one and really focus on honing your skill. The best and most fulfilling ideas are the ones you create yourself.

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[Merman Dylan Zalrian]

As far as the Tolkien Route is concerned, I think writing a story like that takes an enormous amount of planning. For my story, I have three non-human races, Merfolk, Sylph, and Dragons. Now, for my story, none of these races are 100% like what you can find in a Google search. If you are curious about the specific details as the races are developed. Be sure to become a Champion of Seasafair at least.

You also have to think about history and lore. Every world has a past, present, and future. The World of Wayward Tides has multiple ages before the age the story takes place. For information on the world's history, become a Guardian of Marianous.

Since a lot about creating these worlds are perks for paying patrons, I can't really go into too much detail without cheating my patrons. That being said, I still want to help offer advice where I can. That's what I hope to do in this thread. Of course, have to limit myself for multiple different reasons.

Continuing with world building, you need to think about what your world has in it. Does it have Forests? Lakes? Mountains? Seas? Deserts? What are the cities like? Do certain races build cities while others don't build.

I can say that the Sylph and Dragons do not do a lot of building like Merfolk and Humans do.

How was your world created?
Do any of the races like or hate each other?

Merfolk are often wary of humans. Why?

Writing a good story takes time. You need to pace yourself and give yourself time.

A lot of these questions can be asked about merfolk in our world.

The nice thing about writing about merfolk in our world is that a lot of the world building is done for you. That really helps, but also prevents some of your own creativity unless you take certain liberties. Inside a world you create, you can decide on the natural order of things.

I will say that I get a lot of inspiration from certain stories and video games. There are some concepts that just give me ideas. I NEVER use someone else's ideas.

However, there are things like the lost boys from Neverland that represent children that never grow old. There's just something about that concept that helped me come up with a piece of what the Sylph are. The Sylph are essentially spirits. Their true form is similar to that of a human child. They never age and they have the ability to fly in their true form. Now, any Google search will tell you that Sylphs by definition are air elementals or spirits. The element of air is naturally associated with flight so it isn't me stealing the ideas from Peter Pan. The youth concept isn't exactly all about Neverland either. Sylphs are tricksters...

I could go on, but I think that is enough to give an idea about what can go into the creation of races like merfolk and etc.

It's important to think about what you want to create for the world you are making instead of using someone else's idea. My Sylph or Merperson might not be what your Sylph or Merperson needs to be.

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[Satine]

As far as the Tolkien Route is concerned, I think writing a story like that takes an enormous amount of planning. For my story, I have three non-human races, Merfolk, Sylph, and Dragons. Now, for my story, none of these races are 100% like what you can find in a Google search. If you are curious about the specific details as the races are developed. Be sure to become a Champion of Seasafair at least.

You also have to think about history and lore. Every world has a past, present, and future. The World of Wayward Tides has multiple ages before the age the story takes place. For information on the world's history, become a Guardian of Marianous.

Since a lot about creating these worlds are perks for paying patrons, I can't really go into too much detail without cheating my patrons. That being said, I still want to help offer advice where I can. That's what I hope to do in this thread. Of course, have to limit myself for multiple different reasons.

Continuing with world building, you need to think about what your world has in it. Does it have Forests? Lakes? Mountains? Seas? Deserts? What are the cities like? Do certain races build cities while others don't build.

I can say that the Sylph and Dragons do not do a lot of building like Merfolk and Humans do.

How was your world created?
Do any of the races like or hate each other?

Merfolk are often wary of humans. Why?

Writing a good story takes time. You need to pace yourself and give yourself time.

A lot of these questions can be asked about merfolk in our world.

The nice thing about writing about merfolk in our world is that a lot of the world building is done for you. That really helps, but also prevents some of your own creativity unless you take certain liberties. Inside a world you create, you can decide on the natural order of things.

I will say that I get a lot of inspiration from certain stories and video games. There are some concepts that just give me ideas. I NEVER use someone else's ideas.

However, there are things like the lost boys from Neverland that represent children that never grow old. There's just something about that concept that helped me come up with a piece of what the Sylph are. The Sylph are essentially spirits. Their true form is similar to that of a human child. They never age and they have the ability to fly in their true form. Now, any Google search will tell you that Sylphs by definition are air elementals or spirits. The element of air is naturally associated with flight so it isn't me stealing the ideas from Peter Pan. The youth concept isn't exactly all about Neverland either. Sylphs are tricksters...

I could go on, but I think that is enough to give an idea about what can go into the creation of races like merfolk and etc.

It's important to think about what you want to create for the world you are making instead of using someone else's idea. My Sylph or Merperson might not be what your Sylph or Merperson needs to be.

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are your books for sale on amazon? I'd love to buy them then talk to you about them. They sound awesome

i haven't had time to write anything In ages. So much has been going on in my life I really want to get back to it.

i love humans elves mermaids sprites Pegasus dragons dwarves and goblins, I have thought about what making my world will take.

I also like like the idea of a mer love story to.

[Merman Dylan Zalrian]

are your books for sale on amazon? I'd love to buy them then talk to you about them. They sound awesome

i haven't had time to write anything In ages. So much has been going on in my life I really want to get back to it.

i love humans elves mermaids sprites Pegasus dragons dwarves and goblins, I have thought about what making my world will take.

I also like like the idea of a mer love story to.

My story is not complete, but chapters are available on Patreon for a monthly subscription fee plus tons of extra content depending on whether or not you pay $1, $3, or $5. Basically you get more access if you pay more, but I have plans for increasing the benefits on there like exclusive deals for patrons when I finish the book.

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[Merman Dylan Zalrian]

A chapter is public. I have 4 chapters posted.

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[Merman Dylan Zalrian]

My story isn't intended to be strictly scientific, and it doesn't take place anywhere on Earth because the World of Wayward Tides is a world I created with its own natural order. So, my mentality was and is to create a world excluding a LOT of stuff. Like if I had to explain it, there is no United States, there isn't any of the world history as we know it in our reality, and not everything in science can explain everything in the world this story takes place in. So, that's just kinda my mindset creating my world and everything in it. There is an element of magic.

http://www.patreon.com/posts/7876460

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This is the link to the public chapter. Only a limited number of chapters will be public.

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[Merman Dylan Zalrian]

I wonder what everyone thinks about prophecy.

In my story, dreams exist as a plane of existence. It's a realm within a larger realm.

In our world, Dreams are created by our hopes, desires, emotions, and other feelings as well as memories. Dreams can also be like premonitions for some.

In the World of Wayward Tides, a lot of this is true, but it also takes place in a realm called Solrisa's Dream. A greater dream filled with lesser dreams. Anyways, I have entertained the idea that dreams can reveal certain secrets or give a vision of the future.

What does everyone think about premonitions and prophecies in their stories?

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[Merman Dylan Zalrian]

Merfolk are beings of the sea. As such, they live in an underwater world. Something that fascinates me is how a world can divided up based on various elements. I'll use the World of Wayward Tides for example. The World of Wayward Tides is divided between land and sea. This is because the geography of the deep sea can have many similarities to the land. Now, there is also another realm in my story.
... The Realm of Sleep is a realm that is similar to the Physical World, but it exists parallel to it. I believe something that best describes how a dream is a realm is as follows. Our emotions and memories make up dreams. Existence is reality, and our emotions in a dream are real. What we see in a dream can often actually exist in reality if memories are relived.
These things are interesting in literature, video games, and other stories involving merfolk. Some merfolk have influence over dreams, while other merfolk simply dwell in a body of water without supernatural powers. Some merfolk can acquire legs and walk on land.
While people think of what kinds of merfolk they want to write about, I think it's important to think about the environments inside the world they exist in. What are their limitations in these environments? What kind of environments do you want to include in your story?
If a merperson can never walk on land, but the story centers around a merperson as a lead character, can you include any land environments in your story? If you can, how? If you can't, how will your plot be affected in only an underwater environment?
I could probably ask tons of questions about the development of writing a story with the various environments in the story. The point was to give examples of questions that can be answered. However, any questions related to the general idea here would be fair to ask. I'm curious about what everyone thinks.

[Mermaid Kane]

I usually prefer my merfolk in my writing to be a ''realistic'' species; no legs, no magic. I have sketches and drawings of the practical biology each species of merfolk might have/need to survive and thrive in it's habitat. For instance, my merfolk have axolotl-esque gills behind muscled ears with cartilage and membrane ''fin'' extensions to fan them (so oxygenated water can get to them).
My merfolk are also neutral towards humans. They don't have the social or moral essence of good and evil, and mostly consider their actions towards humans for a purpose. My merfolk don't care about ''saving the ocean''. They don't understand pollution. They do cut fishing nets/pots though... so they can eat the contents inside!
My merfolk are their own species; they do not consider themselves as humans or fish, just merfolk.

[Merman Dylan Zalrian]

It does fascinate me that so many people strive for the realism in writing.

My story is a fantasy adventure with magic and more. Personally, I've never favored the realistic mer over the fantasy mer. However, I still find the interest fascinating.

I do personally feel like the thing that makes a story truly great is an original idea that can stand on its own without following a formula strictly.

I feel like when you write your story. It can be whatever you want it to be. That is the beauty of writing your own original works and not relying too much on someone else's work.

My merfolk are essentially "People of the Sea". That's the meaning of merfolk too. As such, their normal form is the typical half human half fish. Under special circumstances, merfolk can gain legs, but their feet are webbed and the legs have scales. The ears still have the fins. They don't become human once they have legs. One of the sources of inspiration for me are video games like the Legend of Zelda.

Zoras also are fish like, but they are bipedal. There's also the creature from the black lagoon.

Similarly as a second example,

The Sylph were originally Wind Elementals or Wind Spirits.

In my story, the Sylph are spirits that appear to be children. Now, I originally planned for them to be fairies. However, they evolved with development. They look like human children for many different reasons. Deception and Trickery like some fairys in Fairylore, for example. They fly, but they don't have wings. They can fly because they are spirits of the Wind and Forest. They can morph into one particular animal of some kind.

Coming up with the Sylph was a challenge. However, Peter Pan helped inspire me. Something about how the Lost Kids and Peter Pan are so much more capable than expected because they are children, and the Legend of Zelda introduced the Kokiri that were actually partly inspired by Peter Pan too. Now, the Sylph in my story do not equal Peter Pan because the world and environment they live in is not Neverland. I'd like to think that a well developed world can benefit from starting with something you want and then altering them in development.

Back to merfolk,
You have the Creature of the Black Lagoon Style, The Fantasy Style, The Animal Planet Style, H2O Style, Disney Style, and etc. The way I see it, there is no wrong way to create merfolk. The most important thing is making sure things make sense within the context of the world and plot.

Hence the long post about the environments inside your world. A story that has a portion of it on land might actually benefit from merfolk that can change form or naturally have a bipedal form. Your world could also be a totally underwater world. In that case, changes don't matter.

Sometimes I wonder if you should decide on your world's environments before deciding on the kind of merfolk in your story.

Merfolk that can't change form will run into serious conflicts if the story puts them on land at some point.

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[Mermaid Kane]

There certainly isn't a ''wrong way'' to write about anything mythological. That's the beauty of mythology!
I just prefer writing about my mermaids the way I do.

I actually decided to redo my merfolk story. I have the deep need to write a merfolk book, though I'm not sure what about. I'm working on finding out exactly what kind of book I want it to be, then the scape, then the characters.

[Merman Dylan Zalrian]

There certainly isn't a ''wrong way'' to write about anything mythological. That's the beauty of mythology!
I just prefer writing about my mermaids the way I do.

I actually decided to redo my merfolk story. I have the deep need to write a merfolk book, though I'm not sure what about. I'm working on finding out exactly what kind of book I want it to be, then the scape, then the characters.

Well, I think your ideas are still awesome.

You have merfolk like in the World of Wayward Tidss with ear fins and a tail or merfolk in other works with arm fins. I mean, if someone wanted fins on their merfolk's ears I would not mind. It was an idea I decided to roll with after a commission anyways.



You have Disney Merfolk, the Wayward Merfolk are similar in the sense that they can't simply gain legs. A special kind of magic is required to walk among humans.



There are also the Peter Pan Mermaids.


The Animal Planet merfolk that logically fit within what would be realistically possible if they exist.


The creature from the black lagoon possibility.


The Legend of Zelda Zora style


Even the Route 66 mermaid that looks almost entirely human but lives under the sea.


So, when you pick out what you want to do. I hope it helps to know the variety of different kinds of merfolk you can do.

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[Mermaid Kane]

I don't agree with categorizing merfolk, and saying "pick one". In my opinion, my merfolk aren't any of those. You'd have to see my drawings.