Using emperors and such has commonly been used in various stories as a villain that needs to be destroyed if there is to be peace and justice throughout the kingdom/empire/the world/etc... However, one thing that writers tend to forget is that an emperor or king cannot rule by himself; he needs supporters both to get power and to keep that power, especially if he usurped political control or is dealing with a rebellion.
Depending on what kingdom or empire you're writing, most power transfers are peaceful. A king or emperor dies or abdicates and leaves the throne to the nearest male relative (though some have transferred power to sons-in-laws or even female relatives), and no one is upset about this. However, sometimes someone rises up to claim the throne. One lone individual cannot fight for this; he or she needs a support base because otherwise they will utterly fail. A few historical examples will suffice:
- Henry Tudor (who later became Henry VII). He had a very weak claim to the throne of England and was only supported by a few people. However, his mother and stepfather were powerful and influential, and he also received aid from France and from Brittany. Because Richard III had lost most of his support, Henry ended up winning the Battle of Bosworth and thus becoming king of England.
-Richard III. Due to a lack of clarity on the party of his brother Edward IV's will regarding his underage heir, turmoil broke out between the queen Elizabeth Woodville's family and supporters and between Richard. However, the Woodvilles were not well-liked by the rest of the nobility, who viewed them as social upstarts, so people switched sides to support Richard's claim to the throne. I will mention more about him later.
-Henry III. Son of King John, he ascended during a period of turmoil when the nobility was rebelling against his father. Because he was underage, he could have easily been tossed aside by the nobility in favor of the French prince, but he got enough support after his regents re-issued the Magna Carta, the document that had started the war in the first place.
So, before your ruler takes the throne, he or she needs support and lots of it. At least enough to get people to turn from another contender or the current ruler or to defeat the enemy army. But that does not end there. Once your ruler has been crowned and is the sole political leader, however, that does not end there. They need to maintain that support if they want to keep their own power. This can be accomplished in a few ways.
First, the ruler needs to keep their supporters happy. Usually through the system of patronage, whereby they give their supporters lands, titles, wealth, etc... in return for their loyalty. If they cannot do this, the supporters will have no desire to be on their side and may switch to another side. This is what happened during the chaos of the late Roman Empire: the military backed generals to take control but, when the generals could not pay their troops' salaries, the troops turned against them and had them killed.
Second, the ruler needs to stay away from major scandals. Rulers have lost their crowns because their support dried up following a scandal of some kind. Richard II of England lost control following scandal regarding how his favourites were managing money. Edward II of England lost control because his wife had a vendetta against him and his suspected male lovers. Edward IV of England lost the throne the first time because he married a commoner and began promoting her family, irritating especially his chief supporter the earl of Warwick. Mary, queen of Scots was forced to abdicate after she married the man who was behind the death of her abusive second husband, though she may have well been involved in that as well. One could even find a contemporary example in the Watergate scandal and President Nixon's departure from the presidency. In short, a ruler of any kind needs to be on their guard about their own activities or those of their supporters because they may lose their popularity and their power.
Third, the ruler must find a happy balance with the other minor rulers. Even an emperor cannot manage every single minor political detail, so he needs loyal men (or women, depending on the story) to handle things for him. Hence the system of patronage. Now, not everyone will agree with the emperor, but the emperor has to keep them from rebelling either through patronage or through threats. In early Medieval history, European kings were very weak, leading to a de-centralized government and a country of knights and nobles running around tormenting each other. Then there were kings like John I, who began infringing on noble power and causing the nobles to revolt. Noble rebellions are a common thread in British history throughout the Middle Ages, but by the time of Henry VIII the nobles were pretty much obedient, probably because it was illegal to speak against the king or because people knew that Henry could easily have them executed. So, if a ruler is in power, he needs to have other men managing some of his affairs, but he needs to keep those men in line through either bribery or through threat of violence. Otherwise, minor political rulers may find support with one another and rebel, or they may blatantly disobey the king (such as when some of Charles I's men did not enforce the collection of a new tax not sanctioned by Parliament, causing him to summon Parliament again).
Having an evil emperor or such is a common plot device, but a writer must also be realistic. Evil rulers also need supporters to keep control, especially if they have a rather long reign, and they need men at the lower levels of society to manage affairs. So if you are writing a story about overthrowing said ruler, you need to make sure that the emperor is not a one-man show but has other followers and supporters that must also be dealt with if you want your rebellion to succeed.
Monday, December 22, 2014
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Music Recommendations
Music can be an important part of writing for some people. I have found this to be very true in my own writing endeavors. Even though I can write with any kind of music going on, if I want a particular mood (like my characters traveling through a dark, haunted forest at night), then I go for a specific genra or sound. Music, for me, also provides inspiration for character or story themes or a particular scene. My recent novel series has especially relied quite a bit on music, which has required me to find new stuff via grooveshark or youtube.
For those of us writers who like using music when they get all creative, I now present a list of certain kinds of music that I hope will benefit you too.
Medieval
Most Medieval music, to me, does not very pleasing to the ear, largely because the music sounds off-key or like the instrument is not properly tuned. However, there are some Medieval-esque bands that do actually sound good and have gotten my creative juices going.
Estampie- This band from Germany has quite a bit of talent in their acoustic Medieval pieces. The songs, some of which are instrumental, are mostly vocal, and the tones can differ from a lively dance to a religious chant to a military march, depending on what you are looking for.
Dead Can Dance- the band has quite a variety (as it will show up in different categories), but the following songs have a Medieval or semi-Medieval feel to them: "The Arrival and Reunion," "Saltarello," and "Orbis de Ignis."
The Soil Bleeds Black- I confess that I have only experience with two of their songs. They can sound a bit off-key, but they nonetheless work for me. Their two songs are: "Kyrie Eleison" and "A Song for Thy Lady."
Now for an individual song: "Stella Splendens" by Vox Vulgaris. This is a beautiful, long instrumental piece that I love to use.
Traditional Celtic
I will freely admit that I am a big lover of Celtic music, especially since some of my stories in the past have been Celtic-inspired (like the use of tartans, family clans, etc...). There is quite a lot out there, but here is what I am most familiar with.
The Chieftains- this band has been in existence for several decades, and it has a strong authentic feel as they use acoustic, traditional instruments and play (or sing) traditional Celtic music .They have varied tones, so you can have laments, marches, or dances among the songs. One of their albums also has a Chinese-esque feel, which is quite interesting, and they have also done collaborations with American bluegrass artists.
Altan- I am not as familiar with this band as I am with The Chieftains. They have a mixture of voices and instrumentals, and they have a variation of tones.
Clannad- this band does several other genras, but their stuff between 1973 and 1981 (the albums Clannad, Clannad 2, Dulaman, Cran Ull, and Fuiam) is a traditional with a few modern influences.
Maggie Sansone- as a child, I loved listening to her "Mist and Stone" album. This album is fully instrumental (mostly the hammered dulcimer with other acoustic instruments) and has dances, laments, and marches to name a few.
The Corrs- mostly this Irish band focuses on pop, but they do have a few traditional-sounding songs. For them, try: "The Minstrel Boy," "Toss the Feathers" (the live acoustic version), "Spancil Hill," "Old Hag", "Haste to the Wedding", and "Rebel Heart."
The album "Celtic Fantasy" by David Davidson- this song is not as traditional as the previous offerings, but it is nonetheless a beautiful album with the theme of prehistoric Ireland and Irish legends/mythology.
The album "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" by Loreena McKennitt- McKennitt is generally is varied, but this album is very Celtic-themed. The first five songs, in particular, are stunning.
The album "The Water Is Wide" by Orla Fallon- Fallon is a harpist and singer, and this is her most traditional Irish album out of her work.
Middle Eastern/ Mediterranean
Most Middle Eastern or Mediterranean stuff that I listen to for inspiration is actually either soundtracks or songs done by New Age or World music artists. Even though I know of some beautiful songs from the genra, unfortunately I have yet to find a story to use them for.
Dead Can Dance- the band, as I said, is varied in its musical offerings, but the following have the flavor: "Indus," "Lotus Eaters," and "Towards the Within."
Arcana- the band is also varied in its sound, but the following sound Middle Eastern or Mediterranean to me: "Nemesis," "Inceptus," and "Medea."
Loreena McKennitt- try her songs "Mystic's Dream", "Marco Polo" (either live or her CD version will do), "Santiago" (this one sounds more Spanish in its feel but still fits into the Mediterranean theme), "Kecharitomene", and "Beneath the Phrygian Sky."
Lisa Gerrard- the female half of Dead Can Dance has a strong Mediterranean feel in her solo work as well. Especially on her songs "Elegy" and "Song of Amergin."
Diane Arkenstone/David Arkenstone- try the following: "Across the Sands of Time" (there is a shorter version from the "Best of" album from Diane, which in my opinion sounds better) and "Seduction."
Gothic/Dark
Sometimes, one needs dark-sounding music for a dark story. The following fit the bill.
Dargaard- this band is a man, a woman, and a synthezier with a very dark, creepy feel. Most songs are sung, though there are a few instrumentals among their four albums. Be careful, though; their music is rather dark, and I can't listen to them for a long time before seeking to lighten my mood.
Artesia- this band is two women who mostly vocalize. They have a dark feel to their music, but it is not as dreary and creepy as Dargaard's. Nonetheless, they have some lovely pieces.
Dead Can Dance- the following two songs fit into the genre: "Host of Seraphim" and "Summoning of the Muse."
Arcana- some of their songs have a gothic feel but don't make your skin crawl. Namely the following: "Calm before the Storm", "Like Statues in the Garden of Dreaming", "Chant of the Awakening," "God of the Winds", and "Dreams Are Made of Sand."
Qntal- the band (which is a side project of the previously mentioned Estampie) is largely metal or electronic, but their album "Silver Swan" has a gothic, orchestral feel to it.
I am still learning more about different artists and their music to help me write. Creating radio stations on the website Pandora has been very helpful in introducing me to several of the mentioned artists. If you find an artist you like, you can also use last.fm to find similar artists and see who is considered like them, and it has come in great handy for me.
I hope the following list helps you find more music fitting to your writing, and I will try to post more music lists in the future.
For those of us writers who like using music when they get all creative, I now present a list of certain kinds of music that I hope will benefit you too.
Medieval
Most Medieval music, to me, does not very pleasing to the ear, largely because the music sounds off-key or like the instrument is not properly tuned. However, there are some Medieval-esque bands that do actually sound good and have gotten my creative juices going.
Estampie- This band from Germany has quite a bit of talent in their acoustic Medieval pieces. The songs, some of which are instrumental, are mostly vocal, and the tones can differ from a lively dance to a religious chant to a military march, depending on what you are looking for.
Dead Can Dance- the band has quite a variety (as it will show up in different categories), but the following songs have a Medieval or semi-Medieval feel to them: "The Arrival and Reunion," "Saltarello," and "Orbis de Ignis."
The Soil Bleeds Black- I confess that I have only experience with two of their songs. They can sound a bit off-key, but they nonetheless work for me. Their two songs are: "Kyrie Eleison" and "A Song for Thy Lady."
Now for an individual song: "Stella Splendens" by Vox Vulgaris. This is a beautiful, long instrumental piece that I love to use.
Traditional Celtic
I will freely admit that I am a big lover of Celtic music, especially since some of my stories in the past have been Celtic-inspired (like the use of tartans, family clans, etc...). There is quite a lot out there, but here is what I am most familiar with.
The Chieftains- this band has been in existence for several decades, and it has a strong authentic feel as they use acoustic, traditional instruments and play (or sing) traditional Celtic music .They have varied tones, so you can have laments, marches, or dances among the songs. One of their albums also has a Chinese-esque feel, which is quite interesting, and they have also done collaborations with American bluegrass artists.
Altan- I am not as familiar with this band as I am with The Chieftains. They have a mixture of voices and instrumentals, and they have a variation of tones.
Clannad- this band does several other genras, but their stuff between 1973 and 1981 (the albums Clannad, Clannad 2, Dulaman, Cran Ull, and Fuiam) is a traditional with a few modern influences.
Maggie Sansone- as a child, I loved listening to her "Mist and Stone" album. This album is fully instrumental (mostly the hammered dulcimer with other acoustic instruments) and has dances, laments, and marches to name a few.
The Corrs- mostly this Irish band focuses on pop, but they do have a few traditional-sounding songs. For them, try: "The Minstrel Boy," "Toss the Feathers" (the live acoustic version), "Spancil Hill," "Old Hag", "Haste to the Wedding", and "Rebel Heart."
The album "Celtic Fantasy" by David Davidson- this song is not as traditional as the previous offerings, but it is nonetheless a beautiful album with the theme of prehistoric Ireland and Irish legends/mythology.
The album "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" by Loreena McKennitt- McKennitt is generally is varied, but this album is very Celtic-themed. The first five songs, in particular, are stunning.
The album "The Water Is Wide" by Orla Fallon- Fallon is a harpist and singer, and this is her most traditional Irish album out of her work.
Middle Eastern/ Mediterranean
Most Middle Eastern or Mediterranean stuff that I listen to for inspiration is actually either soundtracks or songs done by New Age or World music artists. Even though I know of some beautiful songs from the genra, unfortunately I have yet to find a story to use them for.
Dead Can Dance- the band, as I said, is varied in its musical offerings, but the following have the flavor: "Indus," "Lotus Eaters," and "Towards the Within."
Arcana- the band is also varied in its sound, but the following sound Middle Eastern or Mediterranean to me: "Nemesis," "Inceptus," and "Medea."
Loreena McKennitt- try her songs "Mystic's Dream", "Marco Polo" (either live or her CD version will do), "Santiago" (this one sounds more Spanish in its feel but still fits into the Mediterranean theme), "Kecharitomene", and "Beneath the Phrygian Sky."
Lisa Gerrard- the female half of Dead Can Dance has a strong Mediterranean feel in her solo work as well. Especially on her songs "Elegy" and "Song of Amergin."
Diane Arkenstone/David Arkenstone- try the following: "Across the Sands of Time" (there is a shorter version from the "Best of" album from Diane, which in my opinion sounds better) and "Seduction."
Gothic/Dark
Sometimes, one needs dark-sounding music for a dark story. The following fit the bill.
Dargaard- this band is a man, a woman, and a synthezier with a very dark, creepy feel. Most songs are sung, though there are a few instrumentals among their four albums. Be careful, though; their music is rather dark, and I can't listen to them for a long time before seeking to lighten my mood.
Artesia- this band is two women who mostly vocalize. They have a dark feel to their music, but it is not as dreary and creepy as Dargaard's. Nonetheless, they have some lovely pieces.
Dead Can Dance- the following two songs fit into the genre: "Host of Seraphim" and "Summoning of the Muse."
Arcana- some of their songs have a gothic feel but don't make your skin crawl. Namely the following: "Calm before the Storm", "Like Statues in the Garden of Dreaming", "Chant of the Awakening," "God of the Winds", and "Dreams Are Made of Sand."
Qntal- the band (which is a side project of the previously mentioned Estampie) is largely metal or electronic, but their album "Silver Swan" has a gothic, orchestral feel to it.
I am still learning more about different artists and their music to help me write. Creating radio stations on the website Pandora has been very helpful in introducing me to several of the mentioned artists. If you find an artist you like, you can also use last.fm to find similar artists and see who is considered like them, and it has come in great handy for me.
I hope the following list helps you find more music fitting to your writing, and I will try to post more music lists in the future.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Keeping Track of Time 2
One of my earliest posts was about creating a calendar of sorts (even if it's just for your eyes only) to keep track of your story. Now, in lieu of another post about researching for your story to keep it accurate, I will sort of combine the two ideas.
If your story is set in the real world or at least in a semi-realistic form of our world (I'm thinking stories like "Harry Potter" or "Twilight"), you must be aware of when events take place. This will be important in determining seasons and, if your character is in school (whether high school or college) or has a five-day a week work schedule, what your character is up to. So if you say "on May 5th, 2002 Character #1 went to school to take a calculus final," this would be inaccurate because July 5th on that day was a Sunday. So unless your character has an extremely good excuse for being at the school on Sunday, you've made a massive mistake.
This kind of calendar also comes in handy when figuring out what was going in culturally at that time. I discovered this recently when I had a character complaining about the fact that she just had her head shaved. I was going to have her make a reference to Britney Spears. Then I did a quick wikipedia search and realized that the Britney Spears incident actually occurs a year later than the scene and so wouldn't be accurate, so I had to change the comment. Quick wikipedia searches are also handy when discovering exactly when movies, CDs, books, etc... come out so that a character doesn't accidentally get a CD for his birthday that isn't supposed to be released for five more months.
Again, this is not in-depth, and it's certainly not required for a first draft. I generally write a first draft of a story, not caring about the dates, and then in the second draft start making sure everything is accurate and make a calendar (which only I look at, but it comes in great handy). Wikipedia is good for finding release dates, and timeanddate dot com is very helpful in figuring out days of the week and also the moon phases for certain months.
I highly recommend being careful about such dates in your story because keeping them accurate keeps your story accurate.
If your story is set in the real world or at least in a semi-realistic form of our world (I'm thinking stories like "Harry Potter" or "Twilight"), you must be aware of when events take place. This will be important in determining seasons and, if your character is in school (whether high school or college) or has a five-day a week work schedule, what your character is up to. So if you say "on May 5th, 2002 Character #1 went to school to take a calculus final," this would be inaccurate because July 5th on that day was a Sunday. So unless your character has an extremely good excuse for being at the school on Sunday, you've made a massive mistake.
This kind of calendar also comes in handy when figuring out what was going in culturally at that time. I discovered this recently when I had a character complaining about the fact that she just had her head shaved. I was going to have her make a reference to Britney Spears. Then I did a quick wikipedia search and realized that the Britney Spears incident actually occurs a year later than the scene and so wouldn't be accurate, so I had to change the comment. Quick wikipedia searches are also handy when discovering exactly when movies, CDs, books, etc... come out so that a character doesn't accidentally get a CD for his birthday that isn't supposed to be released for five more months.
Again, this is not in-depth, and it's certainly not required for a first draft. I generally write a first draft of a story, not caring about the dates, and then in the second draft start making sure everything is accurate and make a calendar (which only I look at, but it comes in great handy). Wikipedia is good for finding release dates, and timeanddate dot com is very helpful in figuring out days of the week and also the moon phases for certain months.
I highly recommend being careful about such dates in your story because keeping them accurate keeps your story accurate.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Thoughts from a Friend
Recently, an on-line friend of mine (and a fellow writer) posted two blog posts about book covers and what looks appealing. It's given me quite a bit to think about, especially as I consider publishing my own novel in the next year.
I'm posting the first post, and the second one should be easy to find.
Hope it helps!
http://musings-in-a-strange-land.blogspot.com/2013/09/never-judge-book-by-itsnevermind-part-1.html
I'm posting the first post, and the second one should be easy to find.
Hope it helps!
http://musings-in-a-strange-land.blogspot.com/2013/09/never-judge-book-by-itsnevermind-part-1.html
Friday, August 23, 2013
More on Research
Lately, I've been reading stuff from another blogger who's been critiquing "Twilight," and one of her posts got me thinking about something that I think writers sometimes forget about: the occasional need for research.
In one of her posts, someone commented on how Stephanie Meyer didn't do any research on Washington weather because her description doesn't seem to fit with how it works in real-life. In another comment, someone else mentioned that Meyer picked a random date for the start of the story that doesn't make sense given with the timeline (e.g. the starting point almost seems to indicate that Bella first went to school on a Saturday or something like that). These comments got me thinking about research (an occasional hobby of mine) and how important it is for writers, whether it be a little or a lot.
In stories, especially those that have at least some kind of basis in the real world, a writer must be careful not to write something that's very inaccurate, like clearly not knowing what Washington weather looks like. Because otherwise, your story will be full of mistakes, and readers will notice it. An author who does no research at all will look lazy and like they just threw stuff together, but those who at least make an attempt to be accurate will have more realistic stories, plots, characters, locations, etc...
I've had to put this into practice with my current work-in-progress, a fantasy story that's partially set in our world. When I had a character suffering from extreme blood loss, I had to do research on the condition and treatment to make sure that his body was acting accurately and that he could be treated properly, even though magic was involved in his healing. In the same story, I mentioned other characters who were talking about the UK version of X-Factor. However, when I compared the story's timeline to reality, I found that they didn't mesh, so I did a quick wikipedia search and looked up what would have been big in the entertainment industry in that area of the timeline, which turned out to be Doctor Who-related. Another thing I had to do was figure out how long it would take for someone to drive from a village in western Ireland to the eastern side, which also took a quick search. And all this research (and others not mentioned here) took me less than five minutes and mostly involved wikipedia (maybe another website or two if I needed more details for whatever reason); basically, I looked it up, wrote it down in the story, and then moved on with whatever I was doing. It's not that difficult.
However, there are times where you can add things, like a fictional restaurant to a real-life city, but if your restaurant happens to be high-end French cuisine, you should probably do research to make sure that the menu is accurate.
In the end, basic research for a story is not difficult. Looking for accurate details for your story (whether it be knowing what kind of dishes were used in 800 AD or what kind of sword was popular in 1000 BC) helps make it seem more real, and it shows that you're putting effort into it and that you care about what details you put in there.
As an end note, for the blog I mentioned earlier, here's a link.
http://www.anamardoll.com/2011/02/twilight-twilight-deconstruction-index.html
Even though I don't agree with everything the writer says, she does bring up some very valid points about stories that have made me take a closer look at my own.
In one of her posts, someone commented on how Stephanie Meyer didn't do any research on Washington weather because her description doesn't seem to fit with how it works in real-life. In another comment, someone else mentioned that Meyer picked a random date for the start of the story that doesn't make sense given with the timeline (e.g. the starting point almost seems to indicate that Bella first went to school on a Saturday or something like that). These comments got me thinking about research (an occasional hobby of mine) and how important it is for writers, whether it be a little or a lot.
In stories, especially those that have at least some kind of basis in the real world, a writer must be careful not to write something that's very inaccurate, like clearly not knowing what Washington weather looks like. Because otherwise, your story will be full of mistakes, and readers will notice it. An author who does no research at all will look lazy and like they just threw stuff together, but those who at least make an attempt to be accurate will have more realistic stories, plots, characters, locations, etc...
I've had to put this into practice with my current work-in-progress, a fantasy story that's partially set in our world. When I had a character suffering from extreme blood loss, I had to do research on the condition and treatment to make sure that his body was acting accurately and that he could be treated properly, even though magic was involved in his healing. In the same story, I mentioned other characters who were talking about the UK version of X-Factor. However, when I compared the story's timeline to reality, I found that they didn't mesh, so I did a quick wikipedia search and looked up what would have been big in the entertainment industry in that area of the timeline, which turned out to be Doctor Who-related. Another thing I had to do was figure out how long it would take for someone to drive from a village in western Ireland to the eastern side, which also took a quick search. And all this research (and others not mentioned here) took me less than five minutes and mostly involved wikipedia (maybe another website or two if I needed more details for whatever reason); basically, I looked it up, wrote it down in the story, and then moved on with whatever I was doing. It's not that difficult.
However, there are times where you can add things, like a fictional restaurant to a real-life city, but if your restaurant happens to be high-end French cuisine, you should probably do research to make sure that the menu is accurate.
In the end, basic research for a story is not difficult. Looking for accurate details for your story (whether it be knowing what kind of dishes were used in 800 AD or what kind of sword was popular in 1000 BC) helps make it seem more real, and it shows that you're putting effort into it and that you care about what details you put in there.
As an end note, for the blog I mentioned earlier, here's a link.
http://www.anamardoll.com/2011/02/twilight-twilight-deconstruction-index.html
Even though I don't agree with everything the writer says, she does bring up some very valid points about stories that have made me take a closer look at my own.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
A Blurb on Kings
I apologize for the lack of posts on here. I have had trouble coming up with topics, but I have been inspired by my latest history geek-out session (yes, I am a history geek if you haven't figured that out yet).
Over the past several months, I have been doing basic research (which is basically me using wikipedia... good enough for basics; if I want to learn more, I'm sure better books have been written for such things) on various monarchies. I've done Britain, France, and Russia so far, and I'm in the middle of researching Byzantine emperors. One of the interesting things that I have discovered in this research is how each monarchy was vastly different and functioned. We tend to think that kings ascending to the throne is a simple matter of the king's son or otherwise nearest male relative being chosen because of his mere birthright. However, it can be far more varied than that.
In Britain, for example, lines of ascension tend to be pretty easy to follow. All kings of unified England have been descended from Alfred the Great, and so there have been no "peasants" on the throne; even wars for the throne were fought by relatives or at least by people claiming to be relatives; however, there were also no laws preventing women from ruling either, though no female monarchs took the throne until Mary I (not counting Matilda, granddaughter of William the Conqueror, or Lady Jane Gray), and queens after that point never had to struggle to prove themselves worthy of the throne. Russia was pretty much the same way, though the family trees were more twisted and did not follow the usual pattern of father -> son and several claimants to the throne were either murdered or locked up to keep them off the throne, whether they were male or female. France, on the other hand, followed Salic Law, which forbade females from reigning, as well as preventing any rulers from being descended through a female line; this led to constant wars over the throne and a constant jumping around in the branches of family trees for centuries whenever a male line died out. The Byzantines, so far, have also proved to be different in that several early emperors died childless or only having daughters; so the emperors chose their son-in-laws to reign or elected military leaders, or other military leaders not related at all to the imperial or aristocratic families were elected after the fact, so you do not really have family dynasties like you would in England or in France.
My point in this is that as a writer, if you want to be inspired by real-life monarchies when writing your own hereditary government, you do not have to stick to the traditional father -> son model that is generally used. While this is certainly true, at other times it was not the case. You can either use the stuff that I've mentioned here or look it up yourself to get ideas, but you should play around with it in changing how a government chooses a successor. It could be that the king/emperor/whatever you call it can name anyone, even a peasant, as a successor. Or maybe it is the oldest child, whether male or female. Or maybe the ruler has no choice in the matter and a cabinet of sorts chooses the successor. Whatever the case, play with whatever idea suits you. This could also lead to some interesting plot ideas about political power and enable you to create a fascinating world with a new government system that is unlike what most novels nowadays portray monarchies as being.
So, as I said, let your imagination have fun and go at it. Even the most basic of research can give you some interesting ideas that could be prime story material.
Over the past several months, I have been doing basic research (which is basically me using wikipedia... good enough for basics; if I want to learn more, I'm sure better books have been written for such things) on various monarchies. I've done Britain, France, and Russia so far, and I'm in the middle of researching Byzantine emperors. One of the interesting things that I have discovered in this research is how each monarchy was vastly different and functioned. We tend to think that kings ascending to the throne is a simple matter of the king's son or otherwise nearest male relative being chosen because of his mere birthright. However, it can be far more varied than that.
In Britain, for example, lines of ascension tend to be pretty easy to follow. All kings of unified England have been descended from Alfred the Great, and so there have been no "peasants" on the throne; even wars for the throne were fought by relatives or at least by people claiming to be relatives; however, there were also no laws preventing women from ruling either, though no female monarchs took the throne until Mary I (not counting Matilda, granddaughter of William the Conqueror, or Lady Jane Gray), and queens after that point never had to struggle to prove themselves worthy of the throne. Russia was pretty much the same way, though the family trees were more twisted and did not follow the usual pattern of father -> son and several claimants to the throne were either murdered or locked up to keep them off the throne, whether they were male or female. France, on the other hand, followed Salic Law, which forbade females from reigning, as well as preventing any rulers from being descended through a female line; this led to constant wars over the throne and a constant jumping around in the branches of family trees for centuries whenever a male line died out. The Byzantines, so far, have also proved to be different in that several early emperors died childless or only having daughters; so the emperors chose their son-in-laws to reign or elected military leaders, or other military leaders not related at all to the imperial or aristocratic families were elected after the fact, so you do not really have family dynasties like you would in England or in France.
My point in this is that as a writer, if you want to be inspired by real-life monarchies when writing your own hereditary government, you do not have to stick to the traditional father -> son model that is generally used. While this is certainly true, at other times it was not the case. You can either use the stuff that I've mentioned here or look it up yourself to get ideas, but you should play around with it in changing how a government chooses a successor. It could be that the king/emperor/whatever you call it can name anyone, even a peasant, as a successor. Or maybe it is the oldest child, whether male or female. Or maybe the ruler has no choice in the matter and a cabinet of sorts chooses the successor. Whatever the case, play with whatever idea suits you. This could also lead to some interesting plot ideas about political power and enable you to create a fascinating world with a new government system that is unlike what most novels nowadays portray monarchies as being.
So, as I said, let your imagination have fun and go at it. Even the most basic of research can give you some interesting ideas that could be prime story material.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Pronunciation
This post will be largely for those writing fantasy or stories that require you to make up names or your own language.
When I write stories that require me to make up my own names or a semblance of a language, one thing I am reminded of is that I need to be consistent. Languages are tricky, especially when pronunciation can be varied depending on different factors. This is especially true when you are used to saying a certain letter (like e) a certain way but it may be different in another language. I found this to be true when I studied Latin and Spanish in school, and I was also reminded of this recently when working on my latest novel attempt. In my current story, the majority of my characters have names that come directly from the Scottish Gaelic dictionary. However, Scottish Gaelic, you don't pronounce the words as they look; just listen to Gaelic songs by Clannad, Altan, or some other Irish band and look at the Gaelic lyrics, and you'll get what I mean. So, in early drafts of this story, I was mispronouncing the majority of the names.
I wanted to make sure that my characters' and place names were pronounced at least semi-properly (and I don't know Gaelic), so I did a little basic research. Gaelic is a complex language, and it would be nigh impossible for me to pronounce the words correctly. However, because of my story, it is necessary that there be variations between Scottish Gaelic and between the Faerie language of my characters. So, my solution was relatively simple: for letters that have lots of varying pronunciations, pick one and stick with it consistently. So, if the dipthong "dh" has two different pronunciations depending on the surrounding letters, I pick the pronunciation "y" and stick with it consistently throughout the entire story. The difficult thing with this is that this means I have to write down all the names of characters and places and make sure that I know how every single one is correctly pronounced. Then I'll be writing all of them down with the proper pronunciation beside them, so that both myself and any potential readers know how to say the names correctly.
My point in saying all of this is that when you make up names or loosely base your names off of a real, existing language that you need to make sure they are consistent. Both for your sake and for the sake of your readers, so that you can maintain continuity and prevent confusion as to how your names are being pronounced.
When I write stories that require me to make up my own names or a semblance of a language, one thing I am reminded of is that I need to be consistent. Languages are tricky, especially when pronunciation can be varied depending on different factors. This is especially true when you are used to saying a certain letter (like e) a certain way but it may be different in another language. I found this to be true when I studied Latin and Spanish in school, and I was also reminded of this recently when working on my latest novel attempt. In my current story, the majority of my characters have names that come directly from the Scottish Gaelic dictionary. However, Scottish Gaelic, you don't pronounce the words as they look; just listen to Gaelic songs by Clannad, Altan, or some other Irish band and look at the Gaelic lyrics, and you'll get what I mean. So, in early drafts of this story, I was mispronouncing the majority of the names.
I wanted to make sure that my characters' and place names were pronounced at least semi-properly (and I don't know Gaelic), so I did a little basic research. Gaelic is a complex language, and it would be nigh impossible for me to pronounce the words correctly. However, because of my story, it is necessary that there be variations between Scottish Gaelic and between the Faerie language of my characters. So, my solution was relatively simple: for letters that have lots of varying pronunciations, pick one and stick with it consistently. So, if the dipthong "dh" has two different pronunciations depending on the surrounding letters, I pick the pronunciation "y" and stick with it consistently throughout the entire story. The difficult thing with this is that this means I have to write down all the names of characters and places and make sure that I know how every single one is correctly pronounced. Then I'll be writing all of them down with the proper pronunciation beside them, so that both myself and any potential readers know how to say the names correctly.
My point in saying all of this is that when you make up names or loosely base your names off of a real, existing language that you need to make sure they are consistent. Both for your sake and for the sake of your readers, so that you can maintain continuity and prevent confusion as to how your names are being pronounced.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Another Medieval Book
For Christmas this year, I got another book on Medieval culture that I have enjoyed reading and hope to use for future reference for future stories.
This book is called "The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England" by Ian Mortimer, and it will be easier to find, given that the last Medieval book I recommended is out of print (I only discovered this recently). This book only focuses on the fourteenth century (the 1300's) in England, but it is very in-depth. It goes into great detail in describing how towns looked like, what different classes ate, what fashions were and how they changed particularly in that century, disease of the time period, etc... It is a very neat book, and the author is a good writer too. I will give one warning for certain people: the book has some PG-13 content given some of the language used during the time period, the violence, and even some of the "medical" cures for diseases; so while I recommend the book, read at your own risk.
This book is called "The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England" by Ian Mortimer, and it will be easier to find, given that the last Medieval book I recommended is out of print (I only discovered this recently). This book only focuses on the fourteenth century (the 1300's) in England, but it is very in-depth. It goes into great detail in describing how towns looked like, what different classes ate, what fashions were and how they changed particularly in that century, disease of the time period, etc... It is a very neat book, and the author is a good writer too. I will give one warning for certain people: the book has some PG-13 content given some of the language used during the time period, the violence, and even some of the "medical" cures for diseases; so while I recommend the book, read at your own risk.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Medieval Book Recommendation
This post is both for people with an interest in writing historical stories based during the Medieval Period and in writing Medieval-esque fantasy.
Over the weekend, I visited the library and ended up checking out a book titled "The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the Middle Ages" by Sherrilyn Kenyon. This book is short and a pretty easy read. Basically, it is a brief summary about the Middle Ages of western Europe in various aspects of the society and culture. For example, one whole chapter is devoted to what kinds of food were available, silverware and dishes, and spices, and another one gives a look at popular fashions during certain years. There are also other short chapters about Medieval celebrations, the church, family, and even a list of kings of England during the time period. The book is not overly comprehensive, but it provides a good summary; at the end of each chapter, the author gives a list of recommended books on the particular topic that you wish to look further into.
So, if you want to make sure you are writing a realistic story set during the Medieval period or want to make your fantasy story feel more genuinely Medieval, this book is a good tool to have in getting some of the details and providing other sources for further research.
Over the weekend, I visited the library and ended up checking out a book titled "The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the Middle Ages" by Sherrilyn Kenyon. This book is short and a pretty easy read. Basically, it is a brief summary about the Middle Ages of western Europe in various aspects of the society and culture. For example, one whole chapter is devoted to what kinds of food were available, silverware and dishes, and spices, and another one gives a look at popular fashions during certain years. There are also other short chapters about Medieval celebrations, the church, family, and even a list of kings of England during the time period. The book is not overly comprehensive, but it provides a good summary; at the end of each chapter, the author gives a list of recommended books on the particular topic that you wish to look further into.
So, if you want to make sure you are writing a realistic story set during the Medieval period or want to make your fantasy story feel more genuinely Medieval, this book is a good tool to have in getting some of the details and providing other sources for further research.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
More on Romance
Lately, I've been in a period drama mood, both in my writing and in the movies I watch. While I've been grinning like an idiot as I watch certain romantic couples get together for a happily ever after, it got me to thinking of two problems with romance stories that unfortunately do happen in period dramas but also in any kind of story genre.
Awkward Crush Behavior
I noted this one when I recently watched BBC's "Cranford" and its sequel "Return to Cranford" a few weeks ago. In "Cranford," which is basically a set of intertwined stories that all take place in a mid-19th century English town, the new doctor Dr. Harrison develops feelings for Sophy, the daughter of the local rector. For the majority of the series, the two are constantly giving each other silly, knowing grins and generally acting awkward; they have little interaction beyond the occasional conversation or if they are brought together because of a medical crisis, and so to me their romance comes across as shallow and of them being continually twitterpated.
I found the same to be true for "Return to Cranford." *dons armor for protection from screaming fangirls* William Buxton, who comes from a wealthy family, meets Peggy, a girl from a poorer family, and it turns into another quick-paced romance. Like Dr. Harrison and Sophy, their romance is more focused on their awkward, shy glances and interactions. There are a few cute moments between them, but ultimately their love feels more like them being stuck in the early twitterpated stage and never moves beyond that to something deeper.
The issue with those two romances is that there was little substance to them. The two couples remained stuck in the awkward, love-struck stage and had little true, serious interaction with each other. It is important that your romantic characters have interaction with each other, whether it be them spending a lot of time together talking, doing something they both enjoy, going out, etc... Their romance cannot be solely based on shy glances, awkward attempts at conversations, or just being awkward around each other in general.
I Hate you... I love you
I noted this one when I watched BBC's adaptation of "North and South" yesterday. In "North and South," the heroine Margaret Hale quickly butts heads with mill owner Mr. Thornton, accusing him of mistreating his workers and of being a cold-hearted businessman, and so the two don't get along very well. He falls in love with her, but she rejects his proposal, leading him to ignore her afterwards while she gives him longing glances. Even though the end of the series makes me smile, unfortunately there is not enough time given for the couple's relationship to develop. It starts off with both of them giving each other suspicious glances, Margaret becoming very accusatory and critical, she rejects the proposal and claims she would do so again, but she softens up and views him in a different light after that. The issue here is that Margaret changed her mind too suddenly; one day she was content to see Thornton as a greedy mill owner, and the next she believes him to be an honest manager who is not as cold as she thought he was. There was no grand event to change her mind; it was rather sudden. Thornton also does this; he tolerates Margaret, hates her after the proposal and acts coldly towards her, but at other times he acts civil and like he still has feelings for her even though he said his love for her was over. He too abruptly changed his tune about Margaret, and there was no reason given for it.
The issue here is that your two characters cannot rapidly change from "I have a strong dislike of you" to "oh, you are the best man/ woman I've ever met; I love you." No, no. If you are going to have a romance progress from hatred to love, then you need to have plenty of time to let it develop and change gradually, not in the short period of a few weeks with little to no interaction between the two.
The common theme of these two issues is that your characters need to have interaction before they fall in love. Their romance cannot be solely based on awkward glances or actions more reminiscent of a teenage crush, and it cannot progress from hatred to romance for no reason. It is important that the two characters interact, talk of deeper and more sober subjects, do things together, etc... It is also important that you allow for enough time to pass for the relationship to develop and that you allow for the relationship to grow deeper, not stay in the early love-sick stage permanently.
Awkward Crush Behavior
I noted this one when I recently watched BBC's "Cranford" and its sequel "Return to Cranford" a few weeks ago. In "Cranford," which is basically a set of intertwined stories that all take place in a mid-19th century English town, the new doctor Dr. Harrison develops feelings for Sophy, the daughter of the local rector. For the majority of the series, the two are constantly giving each other silly, knowing grins and generally acting awkward; they have little interaction beyond the occasional conversation or if they are brought together because of a medical crisis, and so to me their romance comes across as shallow and of them being continually twitterpated.
I found the same to be true for "Return to Cranford." *dons armor for protection from screaming fangirls* William Buxton, who comes from a wealthy family, meets Peggy, a girl from a poorer family, and it turns into another quick-paced romance. Like Dr. Harrison and Sophy, their romance is more focused on their awkward, shy glances and interactions. There are a few cute moments between them, but ultimately their love feels more like them being stuck in the early twitterpated stage and never moves beyond that to something deeper.
The issue with those two romances is that there was little substance to them. The two couples remained stuck in the awkward, love-struck stage and had little true, serious interaction with each other. It is important that your romantic characters have interaction with each other, whether it be them spending a lot of time together talking, doing something they both enjoy, going out, etc... Their romance cannot be solely based on shy glances, awkward attempts at conversations, or just being awkward around each other in general.
I Hate you... I love you
I noted this one when I watched BBC's adaptation of "North and South" yesterday. In "North and South," the heroine Margaret Hale quickly butts heads with mill owner Mr. Thornton, accusing him of mistreating his workers and of being a cold-hearted businessman, and so the two don't get along very well. He falls in love with her, but she rejects his proposal, leading him to ignore her afterwards while she gives him longing glances. Even though the end of the series makes me smile, unfortunately there is not enough time given for the couple's relationship to develop. It starts off with both of them giving each other suspicious glances, Margaret becoming very accusatory and critical, she rejects the proposal and claims she would do so again, but she softens up and views him in a different light after that. The issue here is that Margaret changed her mind too suddenly; one day she was content to see Thornton as a greedy mill owner, and the next she believes him to be an honest manager who is not as cold as she thought he was. There was no grand event to change her mind; it was rather sudden. Thornton also does this; he tolerates Margaret, hates her after the proposal and acts coldly towards her, but at other times he acts civil and like he still has feelings for her even though he said his love for her was over. He too abruptly changed his tune about Margaret, and there was no reason given for it.
The issue here is that your two characters cannot rapidly change from "I have a strong dislike of you" to "oh, you are the best man/ woman I've ever met; I love you." No, no. If you are going to have a romance progress from hatred to love, then you need to have plenty of time to let it develop and change gradually, not in the short period of a few weeks with little to no interaction between the two.
The common theme of these two issues is that your characters need to have interaction before they fall in love. Their romance cannot be solely based on awkward glances or actions more reminiscent of a teenage crush, and it cannot progress from hatred to romance for no reason. It is important that the two characters interact, talk of deeper and more sober subjects, do things together, etc... It is also important that you allow for enough time to pass for the relationship to develop and that you allow for the relationship to grow deeper, not stay in the early love-sick stage permanently.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Keeping Words in Perspective
A while back, I was working on one of my fantasy stories when I wrote a scene where the main character is being carried in flight over his home forest and where he describes the forest below like an ocean on a stormy day. When I went back to the scene later, I realized something was wrong. My main character lived in a place where it would have been impossible for him to have ever seen the ocean before, and so his description would be very inconsistent with his personal knowledge. This led me to thinking about the use of certain words and descriptions in stories.
Given our modern day today, including an internet that allows you to do quick searches in the blink of an eye and cameras that can take pictures of places that we have never seen before, most people can get some kind of taste of what lies outside our own personal world. However, in the days before instantaneous digital searches, such things did not exist. If you lived on the 19th century American frontier, it was highly unlikely that you had ever seen the ocean. If you lived in the deserts of the Middle East, you likely had never seen a river or forests before. So, if you had never experienced those things, the words "forests," "oceans," or "rivers" would probably not be in your vocabulary.
Related to this is seen in time or culture clashes. I'm currently working on a story where the character comes from a fantasy-esque world and enters our own modern day. His technology is pre-Medieval European, and so he has no idea what cars, modern medicine, phones, etc... are. So when he describes seeing the modern world, I have to describe it using words that he would know but also making sure that the audience gets some small understanding of what I'm describing on paper.
So, when you are writing a story, keep in mind what words you are using. Are they ones that your characters are familiar with? And can you give your audience enough simple clues for them to figure out what you are describing? This is important because it keeps your writing realistic.
Given our modern day today, including an internet that allows you to do quick searches in the blink of an eye and cameras that can take pictures of places that we have never seen before, most people can get some kind of taste of what lies outside our own personal world. However, in the days before instantaneous digital searches, such things did not exist. If you lived on the 19th century American frontier, it was highly unlikely that you had ever seen the ocean. If you lived in the deserts of the Middle East, you likely had never seen a river or forests before. So, if you had never experienced those things, the words "forests," "oceans," or "rivers" would probably not be in your vocabulary.
Related to this is seen in time or culture clashes. I'm currently working on a story where the character comes from a fantasy-esque world and enters our own modern day. His technology is pre-Medieval European, and so he has no idea what cars, modern medicine, phones, etc... are. So when he describes seeing the modern world, I have to describe it using words that he would know but also making sure that the audience gets some small understanding of what I'm describing on paper.
So, when you are writing a story, keep in mind what words you are using. Are they ones that your characters are familiar with? And can you give your audience enough simple clues for them to figure out what you are describing? This is important because it keeps your writing realistic.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Biological Questions
In fantasy, sci-fi, or even paranormal genres, it is not uncommon for the writer to either make up their own race or to do a variation of a race that has already been created, such as vampires or elves. However, when you do this, you also need to keep in mind some of the biology and anatomy of said race. Consider the following examples:
1) Get a basic idea of what the race looks like. Are there any distinguishing features or anything that sets them apart from other races? For several years, I've been developing a race of winged humanoids, and I am currently trying to figure out what their wings look like and how the wings can seemingly disappear when not in use. So, if your race has something like wings or some "non-human" feature then decide what it looks like, if the feature can be hidden at certain times, etc... You don't have to go into insane detail over it, but get enough so that the feature remains consistent throughout the story.
2) How long does this race live? If its people either have longer lives than normal or are immortal, how does the aging process work? Do they age more slowly than people, or do they stop physically aging at or around a certain point? Again, make sure this is consistent in your race.
3) Can this race interbreed with other races? Tolkien let his elves interbreed with humans to form the half-elves, and Stephanie Meyer reluctantly allowed for the existence of half-vampires, which brings me to the main gist. According to Meyer's version of vampires, they cannot have children, but it is possible for them to have children with humans (though it likely results in the death of the mother); however, biologically, this would not be possible because vampires are supposedly sterile, and you cannot expect offspring if one of the partners is supposedly sterile. So, if you decide to have cross-race romance with a child as a result, keep this in mind: either make it possible for both of the individuals to bear children or make it so that both of them together cannot have children. Or, as one friend suggested to me, make the children sterile, unable to have children of their own one day.
4) If the story calls for it, make sure you get some detail on the biological/ anatomical aspects of a race. For example, I've been working on sort of a rewrite/ rebuttal of "Twilight" and the whole paranormal genres. Because of flaws in Meyer's version of vampires, I've tried to improve on them by offering a semi-biological reason for why my vampires heal fairly quickly, why they are largely resistant to illness, and why they all have problems with fertility. I had to do this because, even though I may never state the reasons in the story, I want to make sure that the race remains consistent but also realistic.
Those are just a few considerations that popped in my head, so consider them if you are creating a new race(s) for your story.
1) Get a basic idea of what the race looks like. Are there any distinguishing features or anything that sets them apart from other races? For several years, I've been developing a race of winged humanoids, and I am currently trying to figure out what their wings look like and how the wings can seemingly disappear when not in use. So, if your race has something like wings or some "non-human" feature then decide what it looks like, if the feature can be hidden at certain times, etc... You don't have to go into insane detail over it, but get enough so that the feature remains consistent throughout the story.
2) How long does this race live? If its people either have longer lives than normal or are immortal, how does the aging process work? Do they age more slowly than people, or do they stop physically aging at or around a certain point? Again, make sure this is consistent in your race.
3) Can this race interbreed with other races? Tolkien let his elves interbreed with humans to form the half-elves, and Stephanie Meyer reluctantly allowed for the existence of half-vampires, which brings me to the main gist. According to Meyer's version of vampires, they cannot have children, but it is possible for them to have children with humans (though it likely results in the death of the mother); however, biologically, this would not be possible because vampires are supposedly sterile, and you cannot expect offspring if one of the partners is supposedly sterile. So, if you decide to have cross-race romance with a child as a result, keep this in mind: either make it possible for both of the individuals to bear children or make it so that both of them together cannot have children. Or, as one friend suggested to me, make the children sterile, unable to have children of their own one day.
4) If the story calls for it, make sure you get some detail on the biological/ anatomical aspects of a race. For example, I've been working on sort of a rewrite/ rebuttal of "Twilight" and the whole paranormal genres. Because of flaws in Meyer's version of vampires, I've tried to improve on them by offering a semi-biological reason for why my vampires heal fairly quickly, why they are largely resistant to illness, and why they all have problems with fertility. I had to do this because, even though I may never state the reasons in the story, I want to make sure that the race remains consistent but also realistic.
Those are just a few considerations that popped in my head, so consider them if you are creating a new race(s) for your story.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
On Names
When you start a story, a big thing you have to figure out is character names, something which will enable you and your reader to identify them. I have just a few points today.
1. Keep names simple. I've noticed that some of the most memorable characters in literature, TV, movies, or other mediums are the ones with simple names. Consider characters like James Bond, Harry Potter, Jack Bauer, Frodo Baggins, Katniss Everdeen, etc... Their names are not five syllables long or impossible to pronounce or remember. Now, I'm not saying going for names like "John Doe" or something bland. Find a name for your character(s) that is easy to pronounce, easy to remember, but also something that is distinguishable from other characters, whether your own or other writers'm, and the same thing goes for names you may make up for science fiction, fantasy, or related genras.
2. Make sure the name fits. There are some names that, when combined with a character, just fit perfectly; you can't imagine them having a different name. However, there likely will be times when you just can't find the right name. In one of my stories, my protagonist was called "Agnes" but when I started the second draft I changed her name to "Angelica." I'm still not happy with her name, and I'm still experimenting with other names to find the perfect one, though I'm happy with the names of the other characters in the story. If the name doesn't fit, then keep looking for the right one.
3. Make sure two different characters don't have similar names. Years ago when I was creating tons of names for a fantasy world that I was working on, there were a few names that sounded alike. It took me some time, but I eventually realized that readers would get confused about which character was which, so I started changing a few of the names. Within the past year, I had to do this again in a recent novel attempt, where I had a brother and a sister named Alex and Allie, both of whom had variations of the name "Alexander" or "Alexandra" as their full name. To help distinguish between the two (and to prevent the girl from having a name too similar to the literary character she was loosely based on), I changed the girl's name to Meg, which fits her much better. So, keep an eye on your character names and make sure that they don't sound too alike.
I may think of other tips later, but consider these points when naming your characters.
1. Keep names simple. I've noticed that some of the most memorable characters in literature, TV, movies, or other mediums are the ones with simple names. Consider characters like James Bond, Harry Potter, Jack Bauer, Frodo Baggins, Katniss Everdeen, etc... Their names are not five syllables long or impossible to pronounce or remember. Now, I'm not saying going for names like "John Doe" or something bland. Find a name for your character(s) that is easy to pronounce, easy to remember, but also something that is distinguishable from other characters, whether your own or other writers'm, and the same thing goes for names you may make up for science fiction, fantasy, or related genras.
2. Make sure the name fits. There are some names that, when combined with a character, just fit perfectly; you can't imagine them having a different name. However, there likely will be times when you just can't find the right name. In one of my stories, my protagonist was called "Agnes" but when I started the second draft I changed her name to "Angelica." I'm still not happy with her name, and I'm still experimenting with other names to find the perfect one, though I'm happy with the names of the other characters in the story. If the name doesn't fit, then keep looking for the right one.
3. Make sure two different characters don't have similar names. Years ago when I was creating tons of names for a fantasy world that I was working on, there were a few names that sounded alike. It took me some time, but I eventually realized that readers would get confused about which character was which, so I started changing a few of the names. Within the past year, I had to do this again in a recent novel attempt, where I had a brother and a sister named Alex and Allie, both of whom had variations of the name "Alexander" or "Alexandra" as their full name. To help distinguish between the two (and to prevent the girl from having a name too similar to the literary character she was loosely based on), I changed the girl's name to Meg, which fits her much better. So, keep an eye on your character names and make sure that they don't sound too alike.
I may think of other tips later, but consider these points when naming your characters.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Do Your Historical Homework
In an earlier post, I mentioned that if you are writing historical fiction that you should do some research before diving in. I am currently in the process of proofing a work from that genre, and I have more specific examples of what to research when writing in that genre.
1. Names
When you are writing a story set in historical times and characters that are fictional, you need to make sure that the name existed at that time period because names change over the centuries. For example, in a story that I have been planning for some time, I have a character whose name is Allie; but, since she was born in sixteenth century Europe, I did a bit of research to determine what variations of the name "Alexandra" existed around the time of her birth. A simple search turned up some options, including the name "Alisandre," which I decided to use. Also, you have to keep in mind what kind of names your culture would use. The Scottish people would use different names than someone living in Italy would, and even a similar name would very likely have different spelling depending on the culture and location of the story.
2. Attitudes and Behaviors
Another common misconception in historical fiction is that people back then thought and acted the same way we do today. While to some extent that is true, to another extent it isn't. People in the 18th century thought very differently from people in the 21st century. For example, in a work I recently read, two characters (one of whom is a pre-teen and the other is a young teenager) have a crush on each other that their parents tease them about but otherwise view as innocent. While this would more than likely be true of the 21st century, this is highly unlikely to have occurred in the 18th century. Unless you're Henry IV of England and his first wife in the Middle Ages (which was likely not a romantic marriage anyway), teenagers back then were not expected to have boyfriends, girlfriends, or crushes until they were adults. And certainly not until the man had enough wealth and was settled enough to provide for a family. So a crush happening that young in life back then would have been highly unlikely or at least not mentioned; if it was noticed, I doubt the parents would have tolerated it.
That is one example of attitudes, but it is a reminder to keep people's attitudes and behaviors realistic. Otherwise, your story will be unrealistic.
3. Slang
Another thing that will be different is the slang that people use. In a story I'm reading, the characters use slang like "gosh" and "lots of" very frequently; however, I also doubt that this was very realistic for the time period. So, keep in mind that your characters are living in a different time period and will have different "slang" words, not the ones we commonly use today.
4. Food
When I think of Medieval stories, one thing that I wish writers would remember is that food back then wasn't like it was today. Fridges, stoves, and ovens weren't invented until the late 19th or early 20th centuries. Unless you lived in an extraordinarily cold climate, your meat would quickly spoil, which is why people covered it with salt or spices: to hide the fact that it was bad. Fruits and vegetables had to be dried or eaten quickly if you wanted it to taste good. There were no artificial preservatives, which meant that bread and pastries wouldn't last long either and would likely turn moldy very quickly. Not to mention that stoves and ovens didn't exist until recently, so cooking the food over an open flame would probably result in food that wasn't always cooked properly.
I will probably find other examples, but for now, think about these things if you are writing historical fiction. Do a little research, and it will definitely help you make your story feel more realistic and not like a basic modern story abruptly thrown into a previous century.
1. Names
When you are writing a story set in historical times and characters that are fictional, you need to make sure that the name existed at that time period because names change over the centuries. For example, in a story that I have been planning for some time, I have a character whose name is Allie; but, since she was born in sixteenth century Europe, I did a bit of research to determine what variations of the name "Alexandra" existed around the time of her birth. A simple search turned up some options, including the name "Alisandre," which I decided to use. Also, you have to keep in mind what kind of names your culture would use. The Scottish people would use different names than someone living in Italy would, and even a similar name would very likely have different spelling depending on the culture and location of the story.
2. Attitudes and Behaviors
Another common misconception in historical fiction is that people back then thought and acted the same way we do today. While to some extent that is true, to another extent it isn't. People in the 18th century thought very differently from people in the 21st century. For example, in a work I recently read, two characters (one of whom is a pre-teen and the other is a young teenager) have a crush on each other that their parents tease them about but otherwise view as innocent. While this would more than likely be true of the 21st century, this is highly unlikely to have occurred in the 18th century. Unless you're Henry IV of England and his first wife in the Middle Ages (which was likely not a romantic marriage anyway), teenagers back then were not expected to have boyfriends, girlfriends, or crushes until they were adults. And certainly not until the man had enough wealth and was settled enough to provide for a family. So a crush happening that young in life back then would have been highly unlikely or at least not mentioned; if it was noticed, I doubt the parents would have tolerated it.
That is one example of attitudes, but it is a reminder to keep people's attitudes and behaviors realistic. Otherwise, your story will be unrealistic.
3. Slang
Another thing that will be different is the slang that people use. In a story I'm reading, the characters use slang like "gosh" and "lots of" very frequently; however, I also doubt that this was very realistic for the time period. So, keep in mind that your characters are living in a different time period and will have different "slang" words, not the ones we commonly use today.
4. Food
When I think of Medieval stories, one thing that I wish writers would remember is that food back then wasn't like it was today. Fridges, stoves, and ovens weren't invented until the late 19th or early 20th centuries. Unless you lived in an extraordinarily cold climate, your meat would quickly spoil, which is why people covered it with salt or spices: to hide the fact that it was bad. Fruits and vegetables had to be dried or eaten quickly if you wanted it to taste good. There were no artificial preservatives, which meant that bread and pastries wouldn't last long either and would likely turn moldy very quickly. Not to mention that stoves and ovens didn't exist until recently, so cooking the food over an open flame would probably result in food that wasn't always cooked properly.
I will probably find other examples, but for now, think about these things if you are writing historical fiction. Do a little research, and it will definitely help you make your story feel more realistic and not like a basic modern story abruptly thrown into a previous century.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Kinds of Government
In most fantasy stories today, the most common form of government is either a monarchy or an emperor. To me, it has been very much overdone, as there are so many other forms of government that exist that could be used. Though I admit I broke my own rule for my story "War of Magic," where the setting is in an empire with an emperor, though there are other political or non-political parties involved too.
Nonetheless, here is a short list of some other governments that writers should use for their writing (this list came from The History Guy website):
Anarchy- I don't recall seeing this one very often, but you could have no form of government. It could be a dog-eat-dog world of chaos and lawlessness, which could lead to an interesting setting and/or plot.
Communism- I think American writers generally avoid this one because we associate it with countries like Russia and China and because it's non-democratic. Nonetheless, it could lead to some interesting stories (I think of Orwell's "1984" and Martin Cruz Smith's "Gorky Park when I think of settings with totalitarian communist governments).
Confederacy- This one is not very common, as it's not a common form of government. Because of my Southern heritage and because I sympathize more with the South than with the North (but let's not get into that discussion), I've tried using this form of government before, though none of the stories have succeeded plot-wise. This would be an interesting government because there would be no king or federal government, just local rulers in alliance with each other.
Constitutional- this could be democracy or monarchy, where either the democratic government is limited by a constitution or the monarchy is. I don't see this one much either, but it would certainly put an interesting twist on the traditional view of an absolute monarch.
Oligarchy- basically the government is made up of high-ranking people or those with lots of wealth. Interesting alternative to a monarchy.
Theocracy- this one is not looked upon favorably because of most people's stance on religion today, in how they believe religion and government should be separate. So I don't this one very often. But in a story, it could be done well and in an interesting way, provided it doesn't become preachy.
Dictator- most stories seem to have some form of a tyrant who is a ruler, but it is generally a king or an emperor. Several countries in the world today have dictators in power but aren't kings or emperors, so why not create a fantasy world with such men or women?
This is only a short list of the types of government that exist out there. But don't feel compelled to use the typical monarchy or emperor-rule that most writers do. Perhaps you could try a different form of government, combine a few existing ones together, or even make up your own. There are plenty of options, so take advantage of them.
Nonetheless, here is a short list of some other governments that writers should use for their writing (this list came from The History Guy website):
Anarchy- I don't recall seeing this one very often, but you could have no form of government. It could be a dog-eat-dog world of chaos and lawlessness, which could lead to an interesting setting and/or plot.
Communism- I think American writers generally avoid this one because we associate it with countries like Russia and China and because it's non-democratic. Nonetheless, it could lead to some interesting stories (I think of Orwell's "1984" and Martin Cruz Smith's "Gorky Park when I think of settings with totalitarian communist governments).
Confederacy- This one is not very common, as it's not a common form of government. Because of my Southern heritage and because I sympathize more with the South than with the North (but let's not get into that discussion), I've tried using this form of government before, though none of the stories have succeeded plot-wise. This would be an interesting government because there would be no king or federal government, just local rulers in alliance with each other.
Constitutional- this could be democracy or monarchy, where either the democratic government is limited by a constitution or the monarchy is. I don't see this one much either, but it would certainly put an interesting twist on the traditional view of an absolute monarch.
Oligarchy- basically the government is made up of high-ranking people or those with lots of wealth. Interesting alternative to a monarchy.
Theocracy- this one is not looked upon favorably because of most people's stance on religion today, in how they believe religion and government should be separate. So I don't this one very often. But in a story, it could be done well and in an interesting way, provided it doesn't become preachy.
Dictator- most stories seem to have some form of a tyrant who is a ruler, but it is generally a king or an emperor. Several countries in the world today have dictators in power but aren't kings or emperors, so why not create a fantasy world with such men or women?
This is only a short list of the types of government that exist out there. But don't feel compelled to use the typical monarchy or emperor-rule that most writers do. Perhaps you could try a different form of government, combine a few existing ones together, or even make up your own. There are plenty of options, so take advantage of them.
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Medieval World
Most modern writers and authors, when writing their stories, love to create a world that is very Medieval-esque. I could rant on how much this is overdone, but I will restrain from that and focus on something else. Ever since September, I have been taking a Western Civilization history class, and for the past few weeks the teacher has been talking about the Medieval time period, which has gotten me thinking about Medieval fantasy worlds. My problem with Medieval worlds is that they tend to be more or less stereotypical glances of the real Medieval time period and this makes them vastly unrealistic.
Here are some examples of how writers need to do more research if they want to do a Medieval-esque world.
Monarchies:
Most Medieval fantasy stories focus on a king who is running the political show. The king is usually very powerful and is from a long dynasty, and he generally has few to no rivals. However, looking at the Medieval period, this is not the case. Kings were actually fairly weak in power, and dynasties were quick to rise and fall. Most kingdoms were actually more under the control of powerful noble families, and sometimes these families could completely take over and start a new royal dynasty. Kings also did not have very much power, as the whole "Divine Right of Kings" and absolutism would not show up for a few more centuries. Kingdoms were also not very stable. Nobles were constantly feuding for the throne, especially if a king was deposed or died without an heir; The War of Roses is a good example of this.
But also, people in the Medieval times were semi-independent, relying on the Feudal System's structure. Nobles managed their estates and those of their vassels, taking taxes from them, and kings interfered very little with this. And, as I said earlier, nobles were really the ones in control, not the kings.
In conclusion, Medieval kings were sometimes powerful, but they were also weak. They were constantly battling the powerful noble families, and kingdoms were thus very unstable because of those political structures.
Social structures:
Another common misconception of the Middle Ages is the entire social structure. People imagine the whole system of peasants/ serfs, knights, the church, and noble families, but they don't look more closely or apply it to their fantasy worlds. My history teacher went on a detailed explanation of how men became knights, how the whole gentry system works, and so much more. I could possibly post the entire chart he wrote on the board, but I'll refrain from it. In short, the system was actually more complicated than most writers allow. When they think of Medieval kingdoms, they think of the king, a few noble families, and some peasants, but this is actually different. You have the upper gentry of the knights, those given titles by kings or nobles, the lower gentry of men like yeomens and husbandmen, peasants, the clergy and those associated with the church, paupers, common soldiers, etc... And, not to mention that it was possible for someone to rise up gradually through society, from lower ranks to upper ranks. Society was more complicated and more diverse actually than most Medieval-esque writers admit.
Castles:
Castles are also associated with the Medieval Period. Most of the time, these places are viewed as very grand places to live, but this is far from the truth. Castles were dark, cold (no huge fireplaces or heating systems), dirty, and dreary places. Tapestries didn't show up until later in the Medieval period, and the Crusades later added decorations from the Middle East that made them cheerier and better decorated.
Knights and Chivalry:
Knights and the Code of Chivalry were also big during the Medieval Period. However, knights were not the most honorable or admirable characters. They were required to serve their masters and to go off to war when summoned, but knights were very belligerent and aggressive. They were always looking for fights, and they often helped raid the lands of other nobles. Tournaments were used to let the knights take out their aggression, and the Crusades, no doubt, also helped keep them from going crazy when no wars or battles were going on. Even though knights had a Code of Chivalry, I'm pretty sure they viewed it "more as guidelines than actual rules." So knights were certainly not angelic in the Medieval Period.
There are other areas I'm sure I could touch on, but this is a general look at what the real Medieval world looked like. It was not a clean, proper time period; it was messy, aggressive, and rather unstable. It had a lot of societal complexities which most writers largely ignore in favor of a simpler world. There is only one Medieval-esque writer that I know of who comes even close to capturing the gritty Medieval world, and that would be George R. R. Martin. Martin did a good job of sticking to actual Medieval facts and not stereotypes (though I believe he severely overdid the whole sex aspect that pervades "A Song of Fire and Ice"). Nonetheless, Martin actually did his homework about the Medieval world, and it makes his world of Westeros much more realistic and not a cardboard stereotype.
Here are some examples of how writers need to do more research if they want to do a Medieval-esque world.
Monarchies:
Most Medieval fantasy stories focus on a king who is running the political show. The king is usually very powerful and is from a long dynasty, and he generally has few to no rivals. However, looking at the Medieval period, this is not the case. Kings were actually fairly weak in power, and dynasties were quick to rise and fall. Most kingdoms were actually more under the control of powerful noble families, and sometimes these families could completely take over and start a new royal dynasty. Kings also did not have very much power, as the whole "Divine Right of Kings" and absolutism would not show up for a few more centuries. Kingdoms were also not very stable. Nobles were constantly feuding for the throne, especially if a king was deposed or died without an heir; The War of Roses is a good example of this.
But also, people in the Medieval times were semi-independent, relying on the Feudal System's structure. Nobles managed their estates and those of their vassels, taking taxes from them, and kings interfered very little with this. And, as I said earlier, nobles were really the ones in control, not the kings.
In conclusion, Medieval kings were sometimes powerful, but they were also weak. They were constantly battling the powerful noble families, and kingdoms were thus very unstable because of those political structures.
Social structures:
Another common misconception of the Middle Ages is the entire social structure. People imagine the whole system of peasants/ serfs, knights, the church, and noble families, but they don't look more closely or apply it to their fantasy worlds. My history teacher went on a detailed explanation of how men became knights, how the whole gentry system works, and so much more. I could possibly post the entire chart he wrote on the board, but I'll refrain from it. In short, the system was actually more complicated than most writers allow. When they think of Medieval kingdoms, they think of the king, a few noble families, and some peasants, but this is actually different. You have the upper gentry of the knights, those given titles by kings or nobles, the lower gentry of men like yeomens and husbandmen, peasants, the clergy and those associated with the church, paupers, common soldiers, etc... And, not to mention that it was possible for someone to rise up gradually through society, from lower ranks to upper ranks. Society was more complicated and more diverse actually than most Medieval-esque writers admit.
Castles:
Castles are also associated with the Medieval Period. Most of the time, these places are viewed as very grand places to live, but this is far from the truth. Castles were dark, cold (no huge fireplaces or heating systems), dirty, and dreary places. Tapestries didn't show up until later in the Medieval period, and the Crusades later added decorations from the Middle East that made them cheerier and better decorated.
Knights and Chivalry:
Knights and the Code of Chivalry were also big during the Medieval Period. However, knights were not the most honorable or admirable characters. They were required to serve their masters and to go off to war when summoned, but knights were very belligerent and aggressive. They were always looking for fights, and they often helped raid the lands of other nobles. Tournaments were used to let the knights take out their aggression, and the Crusades, no doubt, also helped keep them from going crazy when no wars or battles were going on. Even though knights had a Code of Chivalry, I'm pretty sure they viewed it "more as guidelines than actual rules." So knights were certainly not angelic in the Medieval Period.
There are other areas I'm sure I could touch on, but this is a general look at what the real Medieval world looked like. It was not a clean, proper time period; it was messy, aggressive, and rather unstable. It had a lot of societal complexities which most writers largely ignore in favor of a simpler world. There is only one Medieval-esque writer that I know of who comes even close to capturing the gritty Medieval world, and that would be George R. R. Martin. Martin did a good job of sticking to actual Medieval facts and not stereotypes (though I believe he severely overdid the whole sex aspect that pervades "A Song of Fire and Ice"). Nonetheless, Martin actually did his homework about the Medieval world, and it makes his world of Westeros much more realistic and not a cardboard stereotype.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Clothing Faux Pas
In stories nowadays, writers do not think about what their characters are wearing nearly often enough. This is particularly laughable in movies or other visual story-telling forms today.
Here are some common costumes that need to be reconsidered seriously.
High heels- in movies nowadays, it isn’t uncommon for the female protagonist to wear heels. This is normally not a problem until a lot of action shows up. In the “Underworld” movie, Selene wear heels as she hunts down werewolves. This is hilarious because clearly the costume designer doesn’t know much about heels. Heels, to me, are uncomfortable and difficult to walk in. They would be impossible to run in or jump around in. So enough about the delusions of women strutting around and kicking butt while they’re wearing heels because it can’t happen.
Capes- people think capes are so cool, and they can be. However, capes are also not realistic. Whenever I think of a villain swishing a cape, I think of “The Incredibles” and Edna’s little thing on capes. It is a hilarious little monologue, but I think it is a pretty accurate look at capes. Long capes, especially if they are swishing around, could get caught in something and slow the character down.
Leather- lately, particularly in more urban or fantasy-esque stories, leather is used to dress the female protagonists so that they look sexy. However, given my knowledge of leather, I would think wearing all-leather clothing would not be very comfortable, especially if your character moves around a lot.
So, when you are thinking up how to dress your protagonist, do give it some consideration. If your character is a hunter or someone who sees a lot of action, then they need to wear clothing that is comfortable and that allows them to move around with getting caught in stuff or having difficulty moving. If your character is going around on a trip in the woods or somewhere in the outdoors, then they need to wear clothing that will be conducive to that trip… unless they are abruptly thrown into the situation without any warning, but even then they should have some ability to alter clothing to fit the situation. So, keep those things in mind as you write.
Here are some common costumes that need to be reconsidered seriously.
High heels- in movies nowadays, it isn’t uncommon for the female protagonist to wear heels. This is normally not a problem until a lot of action shows up. In the “Underworld” movie, Selene wear heels as she hunts down werewolves. This is hilarious because clearly the costume designer doesn’t know much about heels. Heels, to me, are uncomfortable and difficult to walk in. They would be impossible to run in or jump around in. So enough about the delusions of women strutting around and kicking butt while they’re wearing heels because it can’t happen.
Capes- people think capes are so cool, and they can be. However, capes are also not realistic. Whenever I think of a villain swishing a cape, I think of “The Incredibles” and Edna’s little thing on capes. It is a hilarious little monologue, but I think it is a pretty accurate look at capes. Long capes, especially if they are swishing around, could get caught in something and slow the character down.
Leather- lately, particularly in more urban or fantasy-esque stories, leather is used to dress the female protagonists so that they look sexy. However, given my knowledge of leather, I would think wearing all-leather clothing would not be very comfortable, especially if your character moves around a lot.
So, when you are thinking up how to dress your protagonist, do give it some consideration. If your character is a hunter or someone who sees a lot of action, then they need to wear clothing that is comfortable and that allows them to move around with getting caught in stuff or having difficulty moving. If your character is going around on a trip in the woods or somewhere in the outdoors, then they need to wear clothing that will be conducive to that trip… unless they are abruptly thrown into the situation without any warning, but even then they should have some ability to alter clothing to fit the situation. So, keep those things in mind as you write.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Act Your Age
Recently, when I was showing off my recent novel attempt (mentioned in the post below), I got a comment that my eight-year old character sounded too mature for his age. This made me think about some of my own characters and how they have the tendency to act older than they really are. It was a reminder to myself that writers need to be careful when they create characters of a certain age and that they need to keep them realistic.
This character Greg is eight years old. He comes from an impoverished family (think Charles Dickins- era poor) and does have some education, though it would not be a lot because of the area of the city he lives in. He is a good artist for his age, though he still uses crayons and is no Da Vinci by any stretch of the imagination. Thinking about his situation made me think of how he would actually talk. Because of his situation and lack of good education, he would likely not have a wide vocabulary, which eight-year olds generally don't anyway. He wouldn't use big words, and he would probably have bad grammar. He wouldn't be very aware of the grave danger that he's in, but he does have some knowledge of what is right and wrong. This is shown in him drawing a disturbing picture and him freaking out because he doesn't know why he drew it. It will be tricky to make sure Greg is accurate for his age, and I'm thinking of using my seven-year old cousin as a model for age-appropriate behavior.
While I was thinking of how to write Greg more accurately, it made me think of how many other written characters today don't act their ages. I know of one fantasy where a seventeen-year old pair of twins act more like thirteen-year olds (i.e. the whole love-triangle and relationship jealousy, their recklessness, and their general naive behavior), and their peers act the same way too, despite the fact that these young characters are in situations that would require them to be more mature for their age. In Paolini's "Eldest," the elf queen Islanzadi is over a hundred years old, but she acts very foolishly and immaturely, which she herself admits at one point. I've never read the "Twilight" series, but from the movies I've gleaned some information that the Cullen vampires don't act their age; Edward acts like a love-sick teenager even though he's well over a hundred years old, and the other coven members don't give any indication that they have lived for a long time.
Now, there are exceptions to the general rule. Most three-year olds don't have a large vocabulary, but I know of two sisters (not twins) who started talking at a very young age and both of them talk in largely complete sentences that are more advanced for the norm, even though they're both under the age of five. But then I know of a five-year old who doesn't talk very well because her growth has been stunted due to a genetic disorder. There can be exceptions to where a five-year old may talk much better than others his or her own age or act more mature, but you have to offer an explanation for it, whether it be that this child grew up without TV or was well-disciplined from a young age. Another exception, sadly, is college students; most of them whom I've met still act like highschoolers and aren't very mature, though there are a few exceptions.
So, when you start writing down how your character's behavior, keep his or her age in mind. Make sure that they act their age, unless there are very special circumstances like some of the examples given above. This will keep your story realistic and will help define your characters better.
This character Greg is eight years old. He comes from an impoverished family (think Charles Dickins- era poor) and does have some education, though it would not be a lot because of the area of the city he lives in. He is a good artist for his age, though he still uses crayons and is no Da Vinci by any stretch of the imagination. Thinking about his situation made me think of how he would actually talk. Because of his situation and lack of good education, he would likely not have a wide vocabulary, which eight-year olds generally don't anyway. He wouldn't use big words, and he would probably have bad grammar. He wouldn't be very aware of the grave danger that he's in, but he does have some knowledge of what is right and wrong. This is shown in him drawing a disturbing picture and him freaking out because he doesn't know why he drew it. It will be tricky to make sure Greg is accurate for his age, and I'm thinking of using my seven-year old cousin as a model for age-appropriate behavior.
While I was thinking of how to write Greg more accurately, it made me think of how many other written characters today don't act their ages. I know of one fantasy where a seventeen-year old pair of twins act more like thirteen-year olds (i.e. the whole love-triangle and relationship jealousy, their recklessness, and their general naive behavior), and their peers act the same way too, despite the fact that these young characters are in situations that would require them to be more mature for their age. In Paolini's "Eldest," the elf queen Islanzadi is over a hundred years old, but she acts very foolishly and immaturely, which she herself admits at one point. I've never read the "Twilight" series, but from the movies I've gleaned some information that the Cullen vampires don't act their age; Edward acts like a love-sick teenager even though he's well over a hundred years old, and the other coven members don't give any indication that they have lived for a long time.
Now, there are exceptions to the general rule. Most three-year olds don't have a large vocabulary, but I know of two sisters (not twins) who started talking at a very young age and both of them talk in largely complete sentences that are more advanced for the norm, even though they're both under the age of five. But then I know of a five-year old who doesn't talk very well because her growth has been stunted due to a genetic disorder. There can be exceptions to where a five-year old may talk much better than others his or her own age or act more mature, but you have to offer an explanation for it, whether it be that this child grew up without TV or was well-disciplined from a young age. Another exception, sadly, is college students; most of them whom I've met still act like highschoolers and aren't very mature, though there are a few exceptions.
So, when you start writing down how your character's behavior, keep his or her age in mind. Make sure that they act their age, unless there are very special circumstances like some of the examples given above. This will keep your story realistic and will help define your characters better.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Looking for Critics
About a month ago, I finished the first draft of a new novel. Wanting to improve, I've been trying to find some people who can give me honest, constructive criticism. If you are interested, check out the story on figment. I'm only on chapter 16, and I'm adding new chapters as I finish them in the second draft. Constructive criticism is more than welcomed.
http://figment.com/books/130295-War-of-Magic
http://figment.com/books/130295-War-of-Magic
Thursday, September 15, 2011
World Building Fun
I'm a history geek, though I occasionally dabble in other subjects like anthropology or geology, depending on my mood. When I create fantasy-esque stories or those not set in the real world, I really enjoy using those real-life topics to help build new worlds. Right now, I'm in the process of creating a new world that I used in a recently-finished novel of mine.
My story, unlike most others than I write, has a modern-esque, urban setting. I admit that I have little experience with cities, as I rarely visit Atlanta and I try to avoid it when I can. When I visited the northern part of the city last weekend, I took the opportunity to study what I could, looking at the streets, the apartments, and how entire areas were structured. Afterwards, I used google maps to look over the city and then wikipedia to discover the names of the city's different neighborhoods and regions. These things helped me get a better picture of how to structure my urban fantasy city. At some point, I will probably draw a rough map of the city's neighborhoods so that I will be able to track my characters' movements and figure out where certain events take place. Another thing that helped me with my city-building was a book called "Five Points" by Tyler Anbinder, which I read for a history class earlier this year. This book was very informative about that New York City neighborhood during the nineteenth century, and it gave me a detailed look of the poverty and developing culture within that small region; it helped me create the slummy areas of my city where my protagonist and her family live.
But my world-building can't just stop at the city, though it will become less detailed. Because my city is set on an island, I do a bit of wikipedia research on islands to see which one(s) may be the most like the island in my story. I may add a bit more details on the island because the story ends outside of the city (where 99% of the story takes place), and so I'll need to know more about what lies outside that area. I'm also doing a bit of history about the island at the moment so that I know a little more about it and perhaps find some more relevant facts needed in the story.
Because my island is run by an empire, next I will do some sparse world-building on the empire. It will not be in much detail, as I will focus more on the political, historical, economical, and social factors that could contribute to the specific city and to the story's plot. If I choose to go into more detail, then that information is more for my own geekiness and is unlikely to be divulged in the course of the story or anywhere else.
Not everyone has the same interests as myself, but I do believe that writers who do world-building for new worlds should try to get as in-depth in it as they can. This detail will help you keep your world's background details consistent, and it will make it seem more realistic. I'm reminded of George R.R. Martin's world in "Song of Fire and Ice," where he goes into great details about the cultures, origins of certain peoples, etc... and he does it well, even if some of the details aren't directly related to the plot.
My story, unlike most others than I write, has a modern-esque, urban setting. I admit that I have little experience with cities, as I rarely visit Atlanta and I try to avoid it when I can. When I visited the northern part of the city last weekend, I took the opportunity to study what I could, looking at the streets, the apartments, and how entire areas were structured. Afterwards, I used google maps to look over the city and then wikipedia to discover the names of the city's different neighborhoods and regions. These things helped me get a better picture of how to structure my urban fantasy city. At some point, I will probably draw a rough map of the city's neighborhoods so that I will be able to track my characters' movements and figure out where certain events take place. Another thing that helped me with my city-building was a book called "Five Points" by Tyler Anbinder, which I read for a history class earlier this year. This book was very informative about that New York City neighborhood during the nineteenth century, and it gave me a detailed look of the poverty and developing culture within that small region; it helped me create the slummy areas of my city where my protagonist and her family live.
But my world-building can't just stop at the city, though it will become less detailed. Because my city is set on an island, I do a bit of wikipedia research on islands to see which one(s) may be the most like the island in my story. I may add a bit more details on the island because the story ends outside of the city (where 99% of the story takes place), and so I'll need to know more about what lies outside that area. I'm also doing a bit of history about the island at the moment so that I know a little more about it and perhaps find some more relevant facts needed in the story.
Because my island is run by an empire, next I will do some sparse world-building on the empire. It will not be in much detail, as I will focus more on the political, historical, economical, and social factors that could contribute to the specific city and to the story's plot. If I choose to go into more detail, then that information is more for my own geekiness and is unlikely to be divulged in the course of the story or anywhere else.
Not everyone has the same interests as myself, but I do believe that writers who do world-building for new worlds should try to get as in-depth in it as they can. This detail will help you keep your world's background details consistent, and it will make it seem more realistic. I'm reminded of George R.R. Martin's world in "Song of Fire and Ice," where he goes into great details about the cultures, origins of certain peoples, etc... and he does it well, even if some of the details aren't directly related to the plot.
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