The Bookish End: A Hodgepodge of Ideas

                

      Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day! I don’t know about you, but I love that holiday for two reasons: It is Irish! Secondly, because I’ve read The Confessions of St. Patrick and St. Patrick’s Breastplate. It’s a great way to share the gospel on that day, ask people if they know who St. Patrick was, and then if they don’t go from him to his message. Anyway, since that was yesterday, this month’s Bookish End is going to be a hodgepodge of Celtic/Medieval/Fantasy inspiration. Ireland was the land of St. Patrick, and also the place that inspired Narnia’s landscape.

Let’s start with Ireland and St. Patrick.

If you haven’t read St. Patrick’s Breastplate you should.

This is just a small piece of this beautiful prayer, and the rest continues with this beautiful message.

Ireland! Goodness, I want to go to Ireland so bad. It is so beautiful there, and the perfect setting for novels. Narnia was taken from Ireland, as I said, so I guess going to Ireland is the closest I could get to stepping through the wardrobe. Perhaps some pictures of Ireland?

Now I’m going to talk a little about some development of a fantasy world.

Now we generally start with lovely gowns, a castle of stone, a dragon or two, a deep green forest and some gleaming swords to match the gleam of the eyes as we look toward our long-forgotten gold (or whatever it is). Then we begin to realize that this one thing here was a little too close to the seventeenth/eighteenth century, and we start to change it. Or maybe there was too much of a Nordic flavor for the story. It is very easy to do, and I greatly respect the authors who can make multiple styles of medieval culture turned fantasy flow together. Then, we get even deeper in. The history that leads up to your story. If you’re anything like me, that history is going to go a long way back into previous battles, fights, and then beyond. I’ve been reading The Silmarillion and been blown away by the history of Middle Earth. Down to the multiple languages and branches of culture and people that Tolkien created. It is astounding. Everything from creating Quenya and Sindarin, and then writing the two languages down in the Tengwar (Elvish alphabet), and then building a masterpiece atop it all.

Anyway, I wanted to give some thoughts and tips that I’ve gleaned from reading and coming up with the history that adds so much to the book.

1.       Do get a lot of information that you won’t include the whole of in the book. Illustrate, write, create collages, explore avenues, make up words. I’ve been doing a lot of this recently, and it is an incredible amount of work, but it is so rewarding. Remember, the more you fill up any voids, the more depth you gain.

2.       Do keep records. I have been putting all the amazing notebooks I got for my birthday to good use! I have about four “volumes” to log information in, and a lovely hardbacked writing journal for any ideas that pop into my head (the notebook I’m holding in my profile picture). Aside from these, there are other folders and such. Keep your writing journal with you at all times. You never know when an idea seed will hit you. I had one hit me a week ago and MUCH information grew from it.

3.       Don’t write any leads without more than the lead behind it. Like, don’t write about the sword of (blank) without giving (blank, blank and blank) to go along with it. Flimsy writing in fantasy is very easy to sniff out and is rather disappointing. You don’t even have to dump all the information, but you MUST KNOW why it is special, even if the reader doesn’t. this also helps to keep from contradicting yourself. This is true for all fiction, but remember that in fantasy, you are the creator of EVERYTHING. You build from the ground up, or sometimes from the sky down.

4.       Take note of how long it takes to travel, where your locations are, and how much time passes, especially if there are two different journeys. This is a killer right here. This is why you need to make a map, discover how long your adventure really takes, and then work your story and solutions around it. Like, it takes this much time to get through Mirkwood and get to Erebor, figure out how much they were delayed, and then you’ll know how much time it takes for Bilbo to get back if he isn’t delayed further. I know this sounds obvious, but it can be a real problem if you do not watch everything like a hawk. If it takes your characters three months to go across the country, the other people shouldn’t take three days. Save yourself some trouble and LOG ALL THE DATES.

5.       There cannot be two great lions in fantasy literature. There cannot be two “Wood Between the Worlds”. There can certainly NOT be two sets of four children, two boys and two girls who come from Spare Oom. I know this can be heartbreaking, but always, always watch your similar elements. Just remember that if your (blank) resembles something else, to evaluate if it can be recycled, or if it needs to be replaced.

6.       If there is a Creator and Redeemer, then watch how the world is created, and watch for how the Redeemer dies. Especially on the second one. People have done all sorts of things, but yours must be unique. One idea is to look at verses, especially prophetic verses that talk about the death of Christ, and then building on that.

Unforgettable Characters: The life of the story.

Can anyone ever hear the word precious again without thinking Gollum? Doesn’t Aslan give us a beautiful picture of Jesus? Sam and Frodo are two of the most gleaming examples of unforgettable characters in my mind. Isn’t this what real friendship is? In some ways, I think this picture captures the essence of why these two characters are so special.

How do we get such great characters though? Sometimes, they’re just so hard to get! Two in my book that I am particularly fond of, are these two: Moryn and Breen. First of all, we have Moryn, son of, well that would take awhile to explain. He can be a bit moody at times, takes himself very seriously, is very determined, and overall, a dark and brooding character. Then there is Breen, our wonderful, passionate, outspoken spitfire. His adoration of Wygan is obvious, and he views him as the epidemy of manhood, while he constantly finds himself at a loss for the perfect insult for Moryn. My siblings love Breen because he is like Moryn in the fact that he takes himself way too seriously, but that usually clashes with Moryn in a fiery dislike.

Some tips on great characters:

1.       Don’t be quick to base your characters off of any other characters. The best characters are the one-of-a-kind characters. If you do have an irresistible inspiration though, from, say, Peter from Narnia, take the three points you love about him, and then rewrite everything else. I say Peter because he is not the most remarkable character of all time. Yes, he is pretty awesome, but I think in some ways, even Eustace is more memorable than he is. However, do note whenever a character is special, and go through the traits that make him or her unique. Just being able to dissect characters.

2.       Give them quirks. Maybe that is why I adore Pippin, because he is always getting into one thing or another, and then paying for it. He doesn’t think before he does, and it usually leads to problems. This makes him a very memorable character. Sam has the best dialogue. “Mr. Frodo, sir” and “Stinker and Slinker” are just a couple of all those simple and sweet things he says. Remember that in dialogue, misspelling and grammar issues are so helpful in creating the distinct flavor of your character if they have some simple quirks. Connexion, ‘appy (happy), m’askin’ (me asking), fell right on ‘er ‘ead.

3.       Serious characters always have to be certain types of serious. Galadriel is solemn yet wise and caring. She is never expressive or gushy, but sometimes she does one little act that lets you know that in all her wisdom, she is still loving and humble. Probably one of my favorites was the motherly kiss on the top of Frodo’s head. That balanced her regality so well. Sometimes just a little act, small smile, word or description goes a long way in character development.

4.       Have twists. There are countless things you can do, but never let a predictable character’s situation be predictable.

5.       Use some unusual descriptions. The kind of thing that would never work anywhere but fantasy. Things like, “Hair the color of milk, and eyes fiery like embers.” “Willow and stream she was, she had the look as if she and the forest were kin.” “In that moment, in the wind on the sea, they saw him standing there, defying the storm as if he himself were a match for the howling tempest.” These sorts of descriptions, think how a storyteller around the fire would describe them. Building up the story and making it all the more beautiful.

Writing Prompts

I put together some writing prompts! Tell me if any of this helps you.

Two sisters? Do they know they’re sisters? What does the girl in red think?

This little girl has personality. Who is she talking to? What were they talking about? What is at stake? She is adorably utterly serious about what she’s talking about.

This is tragic. Now, do you write about the father or the son? Why wouldn’t the son know his father loved him? Is the mother dead? Who is he entrusting the baby to? I actually am brimming with ideas for this.

Who is speaking? Why isn’t (blank) alone? Who is (blank) talking to?

What in the world could she have gotten into? Is she praying or she talking to somebody else, even herself? I’m just wondering who she wronged. Or did she even wrong anyone?

         

I love this picture. A lot. She just seems so unbendable! She isn’t going to let anybody have what they want before they’ve kept their word, but what if other circumstances dictate otherwise?

What do you think? Has anything here inspired you? This was a lot of fun to do!