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 Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 2:52 pm
It's not meant to be 100% about pirates. The pirates, especially the dashing young man in question, are a part of it all.
Indeed, readers may eventually want to know more about the main character's life. However, there's a lot more to this world. There's a long history in my world, and it involves an ancient civilisation that commands magic like a second nature. Among them are specialist warriors that can summon wings and fly. One could say they are humans with the souls of angels. Seven of them in particular are especially relevant, and with what the story will say about them will prompt people to probably want to know how they started out.
I could tell you so much about my world and the story I am working on right now and not be able to get to the end of it. When I explain one thing in detail, I then have to explain everything else. Like what I mentioned with the spider web analogy. One thing leads to another, and then another, and so on until they all connect with the centre. Everything in this first trilogy is peripheral to the main character, though there are several other main characters (if that makes sense).
It does sound ironic when compared with my fear, but in truth I can stand a foot away from a spider web and be fine. It's when they touch my skin that I go kind of nuts.
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Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2007 5:38 am
*nods* I was just amused at the irony. It's a very apt metaphor!
As soon as I get back from a training session with my horse this morning, I'll post some stuff about my current plot line.
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Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 5:42 pm
OK, well, things obviously got in the way of THAT plan. *grins* Sorry about that! Here's the plot of my current work:
The year is 1495. There have been a number of strange deaths in the area surrounding a small village on the eastern edge of northern Germany (this is an era in which the German border extended into what is now Lithuania), just south of the Prussian border. A student visiting from England, studying at a local Abbey and assisting with the translation of old documents, is caught up in the situation. He is bright, cute, friendly, and fascinated with what is happening. He absolutely exudes "hero" from every pore--in fact if he were a character in a D&D game he'd be a paladin. His interest becomes more focused and less fascinated when a new friend from the abbey turns up dead--and he begins to try and unravel the murders, to deal with his grief and anger.
The area is controlled by the soldiers of the local lord, an extremely mysterious figure about whom much is speculated, but very little known. He rarely comes out of his castle, and then only in an enclosed carriage. Stories about him range from a dark hint that he might be a leper, to the concept that he is a vampire of great power--and pretty much everything in between. He is known only as The Eldest. It is said he has a lady who no one has ever seen, and that they have one grown son. Those of the town who have been guests at the castle speak of great wealth, courtly treatment, sumptuous quarters, and amazing banquets--but they either cannot or will not speak about their mysterious overlord and his family.
While he is investigating, he meets a strange man: tall, slender, pale, very dark hair, piercing blue-grey eyes. The man's English is impeccable and has traces of a definite "local" accent (local to Southern England, that is...), which catches the young investigator's attention immediately--because the man claims to be a native of this far eastern German principality. The man knows all about the murders, is acquainted with at least two of the deceased, and gently but firmly tries to dissuade the young man from his investigation. He tells him that "the authorities" have the situation under control, and that it is best to leave everything to them.
The young man of course is not dissuaded (good thing, cuz we'd have no story... *g*) and continues poking about. After a time he begins to suspect the strange dark man of being involved--and sure enough, one night he encounters the man crouching over the body of the most recent victim. They quarrel, then fight, though the dark man insists he does not want to hurt his young acquaintance from England. He bests the young man, knocking him out.
A day or so later, the young man awakens in the infirmary of the Abbey; his head is bandaged, and he has been treated for a number of fight-related injuries, painful but none of them life-threatening. He is told by the physician that he was brought back to the Abbey by the "captain of His Lordship's guard". When he questions further, the physician can tell him nothing of the dark mysterious man--nor have there been any new murders reported.
The young man becomes obsessed with getting out of the infirmary and continuing his investigation. The physician and the monks and nuns of the Abbey basically come to feel he is off his nut because of the head injury, and that everything he recalls is the stuff of hallucination brought about from being beaten up. He does eventually get out, by subterfuge and lying and trickery that he self-justifies by saying he needs to capture the murderer before he strikes again. He now believes the dark man is the murderer, and sets out to find him.
When they inevitably meet again, the young man is taken prisoner by soldiers under the command of the dark man. They take him to the castle and, to his surprise, he learns that the overlord's seneschal--the man in charge of the place on behalf of the mysterious "Eldest"--is an Englishman of part Welsh extraction named Dafydd (pron. DAH-vith, Welsh for David) Hutchinson. Dafydd will tell him nothing, except that "all things will be clear in time." The young man tries to fight his way out, but is overpowered and dragged off. Instead of being incarcerated in the extensive dungeons of the Castle, he is placed in a beautiful suite of two rooms near those of the noble family--and everything he wants is given to him, except freedom to leave or wander about the place.
What do you think so far? I've left a lot out for the sake of (semi-) brevity... smile
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:48 am
Really good ideas for a plotline. I know you're only outlinine the plot, but I want to know more about this vampire and what he's like. Is he the "dark man" you're referring to? I've been a bit absent-minded recently and feel rather drowsy so I don't think I caught all of it properly. I'll have to have another read when I'm much more attentive, but to elaborate if you can.
I wouldn't mind knowing a bit more about the surrounding area too. Just from reading that snippet there, I automatically sense that it's meant to be a dark and uneasy kind of plot with that general European sense of mysticism and wickedness. Is that the intention?
I'm having some issues again with my writing. I tried to write something the other night and after I shut the computer down and went to bed, I thought...."that was absolute cack!"
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 6:46 pm
The dark man is *a* vampire; he actually turns out to be the "one grown son" of the mysterious Eldest, who is also a vampire. There's a definite twist in things, though, later on in the story. The young Englishman turns out to have been sent by the King of England--Henry VII-- because of the death of an ambassador, and all this will eventually tie together.
The back-story involves the fact that the Eldest was "originally born" (as in born the usual way, not re-born as a vampire) back in the early days of the Bronze Age Greek Ionian League. His real name is only known to his family and is not revealed until rather late in the book. The dark man is known colloquially as "Fitz", a Norman French term meaning "son of" with an incorrect definition as meaning one was born illegitimately (of unmarried parents); his real name is Mikhail (Greek for Michael) and his VERY closest friends and kin call him Mika (pronounced MEE-kah). He is the son of the Eldest by his First Wife, Xanthippe, a priestess of a very strange religious cult; their back-story will come out over the course of the story. She does not appear in this book, though she is a very important character in the planned sequel. smile But the Eldest rules over a wide-spread Family of vampires, some born in his family line and Turned before reaching a certain age, others brought into the Family through Turning them (creating them as vampires, as it were), and this area on the Prussian frontier is their home. Xanthippe is their connection to the area; she once was married to the local ruler, until she met the Eldest and fell in love. She is not Greek, even though her name is; she is actually half German and half Roumanian.
Mika was born before his parents became vampires, but not before they achieved immortality via Xanthippe's activities as a priestess. He had a very rough childhood (which will be alluded to; he has nightmares from time to time...), and is basically a quiet, rather somber person with a rather wry sense of humour and a strong sense of justice. He's a deadly fighter and is the actual hero of the story, not the young Englishman. smile Our young'un becomes a sort of side-kick to him later on.
The murders are happening because there is an equally ancient enemy of the Eldest who wants to take him down, and has attacked in what is basically his inner sanctum--this region and town are his stronghold. The idea is to make people think he is behind the murders. From there, the young Englishman starts getting involved to help Mika solve the murders and catch the bad guy. I have an idea who I want the Englishman to be (in terms of an historical person), but I haven't completely decided yet.
But yes, you're completely right that the atmosphere is meant to be just what you described: "a dark and uneasy kind of plot with that general European sense of mysticism and wickedness." smile
As to the issues: I don't think there's a writer alive who doesn't occasionally have nights like that. Even Faulkner and Tolkien talk about things like that in their letters. Hang in there and keep plugging, you'll get around it!
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 6:51 pm
Oh--and the Hutchinson dude, he is part of a family that has chosen to serve the greater Family as their human agents, making it possible for them to interact with the living/non-immortal. Back during the days of the Norman Conquest, when the Eldest and Mika were fighting on behalf of the Saxons because of a promise made to King Edward the Confessor, Dafydd's ancestor (a Saxon war-lord named Uchensis) was saved by the Eldest from what would assuredly have been a killing blow--and he swore to serve him and his Family "for as long as it takes". They've passed that point by now of course, but the Hutchinsons stay on out of loyalty. Some of their members have been Turned, while others have remained among the living. The Eldest takes very good care of his people.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:28 am
Sounds like something I'd like to read at some point. smile
What do you think of plots that don't have much action/conflict really in the first 3 to 6/7 chapters? At the moment mine seems to be setting things up still and I am on chapter 6 right now. There's a little bit of conflict in chapter 3, but it's not much to be perfectly honest. It just involves two characters fleeing and getting in a brief scuffle before getting away.
I'm getting the feeling it'd put people off, but the story isn't really meant to get an awful lot of action until a bit later on. The first several chapters are meant to be the main character trying to figure out what his dreams are all about and where he's being led to, along with the implication that the other characters are starting to become peripheral to what happens with him.
Let me know your thoughts on this concept.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 8:55 pm
DM_Melkhar Sounds like something I'd like to read at some point. smile Quote: What do you think of plots that don't have much action/conflict really in the first 3 to 6/7 chapters? At the moment mine seems to be setting things up still and I am on chapter 6 right now. There's a little bit of conflict in chapter 3, but it's not much to be perfectly honest. It just involves two characters fleeing and getting in a brief scuffle before getting away. Quote: I'm getting the feeling it'd put people off, but the story isn't really meant to get an awful lot of action until a bit later on. The first several chapters are meant to be the main character trying to figure out what his dreams are all about and where he's being led to, along with the implication that the other characters are starting to become peripheral to what happens with him.
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:36 am
Well I drop a lot of hints as to what's going on, but the main character is still quite oblivious to it all. All he knows is that he's having nightmares that are visions from the past and he doesn't know WHY.
There is evidence of a lot of other things going on, such as:
What some of the bad guys are up to.
What some of the other characters are doing.
A letter being left for the main character (who is a mercenary), stating that he's wanted for hire, but details of the job are refused until he's turned up at the right location.
My vampire character making an appearance, who obviously knows SOME of what's going on through one means or another.
My pirate getting caught up with having to go back to his hometown that will bring him trouble, especially in the future...and I know how he's going to get past that later on.
Other characters fleeing from a group of the bad guys, and they know something about what the "bad guys" are doing as well, and are looking at trying to get word out about it.
Other than that, there's not really anything by means of fighting or significant action per say. The action seems to be quite subtle at the moment. Do I need to add some in within the first few chapters, or start doing a little bit now? It'll be a little while before anything really...well...explodes I suppose.
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 4:32 pm
DM_Melkhar Well I drop a lot of hints as to what's going on, but the main character is still quite oblivious to it all. All he knows is that he's having nightmares that are visions from the past and he doesn't know WHY. Quote: A letter being left for the main character (who is a mercenary), stating that he's wanted for hire, but details of the job are refused until he's turned up at the right location. Quote: Other than that, there's not really anything by means of fighting or significant action per say. The action seems to be quite subtle at the moment. Do I need to add some in within the first few chapters, or start doing a little bit now? It'll be a little while before anything really...well...explodes I suppose.
I do try to put something riveting into the beginning of a story, myself; I've been told that agents at publishing houses look for something to happen "soon-ish". But it doesn't have to be something unbelievably busy, like a battle, or ninjas dropping out of the ceiling, or giant spiders out of the trees. It could be as simple as a couple of lines in italics describing the disjointed images of a dream--not a good one--and your main character sitting bolt upright in bed, stifling an untoward scream. Then you've dropped your reader into the midst of things and given them a hook on which to hang their sympatico toward your hero--and that's always a good thing.
But I still maintain that at this point in your creative process, just writing and not sweating the details is more important. Close your door and act out scenes; write down the results. Pretend you ARE a character, and have an important conversation with another character. Write it down. Go ride the Underground or a bus, take a notebook along, and write down random phrases you hear from passing conversations. See what they turn into; help yourself get dialogue into your ears. It all helps in the end. smile
But above all, have fun with it! Which I strongly suspect you are already doing....
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 9:19 am
Chapter 1 starts off with the main character (a professional and legitimate mercenary/bounty hunter) and his friend (a specific type of mage I created), and they're making their way to a port that will take them to a stretch of islands in the north of the continent they're on. The main character hates pirates *hint* and is setting out to those regions because there will be quite a bit of "work" per say. Obviously things aren't going to pan out as he'd like.
The prologue, however, is about the war that occurred thousands of years earlier that connects to the present. The main character has had dreams about this war as well. So I'm thinking that might be the better way to see to things. I've been told that most people do tend to read the prologue first anyway.
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Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 3:50 pm
I know I do. I tend to read that, and if it catches my interest I start the story. Then I usually get so into it, I sneak to the end to see if characters I like get to survive. smile I hate surprises....
But then I always go back to see what happened along the way.
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Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 3:12 pm
I'm not entirely sure whether my writing counts as 'medieval/renaissance fantasy' - it's usually not set on earth, and the characters may not be humans, although the society is often modeled on one or a mix of historical societies. Clan scotland is one of my favorites, I like castles and mercenary troops, royal courts and the regency 'season' of balls and marriage brokering. I also occasionally draw on Japan's equivalent of the medieval and renaissance periods, and also native american cultures. At any rate my stuff is culturally similar to medieval & other historical stuff because it tends to involve arranged marriages, inheritance and bastardy issues, communal social structures such as the clan/castle/tribe, and smaller-scale military organizations such as mercenary troops and household or city guards.
I'm very interested in discussing plot because it's the area of writing I have the most trouble with. stressed I have no trouble with the romance or humor parts of the plot actually, but the villainous plans and political struggles drive me crazy; it seems like I never have inspirations for them, especially for any kind of climax/ending.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:37 pm
Well, I need a middle, actually. I know what's happening in the beginning, which is very fleshed out. The ending is semi fleshed out, and the middle is currently in no-man's land. If anyone can help me get past this point, I'd be extremely grateful.I see no problem with using characters names as its hard to copyright them anyway. Here's the outline so far: = Mecca tries and fails to capture Arani = Taurus becomes immortal = Aislin imprisons him in a dream = Kora’s trial and conviction = Taurus escapes from the dream = Mecca convinces Taurus that Aislin has murdered Kora (Aislin hasn't) = Taurus vs. Aislin = Taurus sets the Zul’teth on Aislin accidentally = Aislin flees = Thanos recruits the Zul’teth = Taurus and Mecca together imprison the fire god in a prison of the god’s own making These gods are equivalent to the Greek gods pantheon. Here's the difference. Aislin is the Queen of the Gods, and Mecca wants her throne. He'll do anything to get it, even imprison those who were supposed to balance out the chaos gods, which Aislin, Mecca, Taurus and Thanos are. Yet I have no way to build this middle, I'm thinking about basing it on the Trojan War, or even Hercules, but I'm not sure how. Any way you can help? Also, I need to tie it in with the ending. The Zul'teth are creatures of darkness, and are supposed to destroy Kora. At Kora's last breath she must turn into a tree, yet I have no idea how to get her that far. All I know is that the goddess Arani must do this out of sympathy. Any help would be greatly appreciated, PM me if you need to.
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