The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

On fantasy

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I’ve always loved genre fiction. When I was in middle school, my walls were lined with fantasy books of the most mundane sort–you know the kind. Sword fights, dragons, damsels-in-distress (and sometimes notso), and of course, the typical medieval, pseudo-Tolkien setting. When I set about my first serious attempts to write novels (more correctly, longer stories), they all had the bland faux-medieval England setting.

As I grew older, I began reading more varied books. High school came around, and with it, Bruce Alexander’s wonderful Sir John Fielding Mysteries. Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin Series followed shortly thereafter. I had enjoyed historical fiction a great deal, but these books through me into the genre even more.

The two genres began to twist about in my head. What if the characters from my typical fantasy story got bumped up to the early  or mid Victorian era? Neither of the series I mentioned take place in that era, but the idea of a hidden society in that stiff period could be interesting.

Which threw me into one of my favorite things to do. Research. I’m not being sardonic, I truly enjoy researching things. More on that in a later post.

Research in fantasy books (at least, amateur ones, and I’m certain some professional ones) is a rareity. We have this set idea of what stereotypical fantasy is in our mind, and we run with it. As a result, we get bland, typical stories.

Even though I am female, the “woman warrior” bothers me. Swords are heavy. Even just using a stage fighting sword for a couple of hours aches and those things are light. Archery isn’t easy (speaking from experience). And shooting multiple arrows at once like Legolas is never a good idea (speaking from observation). The arrows never go where they’re supposed to, and more than one arrow at a time can damage the bow.

Break free from the bonds of convention and have fun.

On smells

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Smells rarely get used in descriptions, or, at least, I’ve never truly noticed any good ones. The smells are usually blandly described, like “acidic” or “acrid” or “nice.”
So, today’s prompt is simple. Describe the smell of the room around you (or one you’ve recently visited). I’ll go first.

As I opened the bathroom door, I was hit with the brutal reek of mint mouthwash. The smell soured my nostrils, but I counted my blessings. It could have been worse–it could have been the heavy, sickly sweet mint masking half-dry vomit.

On inspiration

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I get inspiration from everything, but lately my classes have been knocking me over the head, idea wise. I’m taking one on the Prophets and Prophetic Literature in the Bible, and another on human nature.
I find that my writing and characters are taking on some more religious vibes because of the first course, and a wee bit philosophical because of the latter.
The themes that my religion class explore are really fascinating; the enduring ideas of righteousness and justice (plus fun little things like royal theology and, of course, prophetic poetry). Reading this different kind of literature is interesting: it provides a different way to look at things, and has some wonderful turns of phrase.

Human nature is casting a shadow on my work as well. I’ve learned about the philosophical bigwigs–Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Hobbes, Marx…and their ideas are creeping into my work and thought process. Its easier to create characters with different world views after learning about different philosophies. I may try creating characters that embody different philosophers’ ideas. But that may be a wee bit pretentious of me.

On second drafts

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

My novel’s been sitting as a printed out pile of paper covered in red scribbles for a few weeks. I finished the first draft back in November and set it aside, so I could read the story without too much attachment. And guess what? The first draft was awful.

After several attempts to start the second draft, I feel a bit stuck. I’ve decided to change the time period (moving it from 1970 to 2008), and the point of view (from first person to third). So, essentially this second draft will be a total rewrite of the first.

This is a really daunting experience. I really had a case of, phew, I wrote a novel, now what? which has turned into I wrote a novel, holy crap.

So, any advice for a first time novelist getting through the later drafts?

On firsts

General Geekiness, The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Today the sun was out, the birds weren’t quite singing, and it was warm enough for my mom and me to brave the outdoors.

So we made the first fire of the season. We piled sticks and logs from last winter’s ice storm into our little outdoor fireplace and let it burn. There’s no better way to dispose of dead tree limbs than to burn them.

While we were enjoying our fire, we decided to toast marshmallows as well. I’m now officially a grown up–I made not one, not two, but three perfect, golden marshmallows. The last one was true perfection, the divine come down to earth and made a toasted marshmallow. The outside was the color of toast, and the inside molten.

I can’t wait to make s’mores this summer.

On character developement (part I)

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I found this while traversing about the internet. I’ve divided it up into 10 parts, and will be posting each part on a different day. I’m thinking every Friday.

I will be filling this out for my character Will! As always, my answers are in italics.
Creating Your Character

The Character Physically

1. What is the character’s stature and build? Are they overweight or lean? What is their height and weight?

He is on the short side, 5’7″. He’s lean.

2. How old are they?

19

3. Describe their posture; is it good? Do they carry themselves well? Are they crooked, straight, or handicapped?

His posture is decent and he carries himself well.
4. Are they in good shape or out of condition? Are they muscular, weak, or strong? Any special abilities or super powers?

He is in good enough shape. He goes to the gym, but mostly just to keep weight off. He has defined muscles, but not anything special.
5. How is their health? Any illnesses or conditions?

His health is good; he is allergic to cats, dogs, and the environment, so he sneezes a lot.
6. Are they physically active or sedentary? A fast or slow mover?

He’s a deliberate mover; every movement has a purpose and he won’t go out of his way to do something. For example, if he leaves something in the basement and is sitting in his room, he’s not going to walk down two flights of stairs to get it. He can move quickly when he needs to.
7. Are they clumsy, awkward, or graceful when they move, walk, or run?

He’s actually rather graceful, and blames it on his mother’s attempts to make him the next Fred Astaire when he was in elementary school.
8. Would you describe the character as good looking, pretty, beautiful, average, plain, ugly, disfigured?

He rates his looks as average; he has a “Townshendesque” nose
9. How does the character regard their physicality? Are they proud, ashamed?

He wishes he were taller, and is a bit ashamed of how short he is, especially since his sister is probably going to surpass him in height. All of the men on his dad’s side of the family are over six feet tall.

10. Describe their complexion and skin. Dark, light, clear, marked, tattooed, branded?

He is very pale, and he has a slight acne problem.
11. Describe their hair, coloring, styling. Is great care taken in upkeep, or disregarded as a nuisance?

His hair is wavy, but he wears it short so he doesn’t have to do much. He washes it regularly.
12. How is their dexterity? Do they have good hands? Can they manipulate and create or repair?

He has good hands–he is a pianist.
13. Is he physically tense or relaxed, nervous, controlled?

He is controlled enough, but feels very tense when back home.
14. What part of their body would you notice first?

His nose.
15. How is their eyesight? Wear glasses, blind, going blind? Color?

His eyesight is 20/20, but he says that he will need glasses by the time he’s 30.

So, there you have it. A short questionaire regarding the physical characteristics of your character. This will be helpful in describing how your character moves, how he looks, etc.

Enjoy! I would love to see what everyone else comes up with. Look for the next one on Friday the 20th!