ditto

a trope i've never written yet always wondered about writing is time travel. out of all plotlines, it seems the hardest to execute, at least to me.

first off: is time travel due to a technological advancement or is it magical? and if so, what are the rules? what can it do (aside from the obvious), what can it not do? what are the dangers one should be aware of before engaging in it? how was it created/found out? 

second off: time paradoxes. how can the protagonist engage with the world without screwing something up? many lies, for one. and then having to keep that up. such would probably be a fun conflict-- trying not to lose themselves in a "different" world and identity. 

third off: relationships. how can the protagonist form relationships then, without feeling so awkward about the idea of it reflecting into the future? letting go would probably be a core theme of the story, so ultimately they would end. but what if the protagonist stays in largely the same place, and then they meet later...??? does magic just do its work, and they think it's a coincidence? i mean, if we add the false identity from above, then it would probably work... maybe...?

anyway. just wondering. a time travel story idea has been rattling around in my brain for a couple of days now, but as it's so new to me, i don't know how i'd go about it. it's actually quite daunting to me. seems so complicated. perhaps i should look for more time travel media. might be fun.