Any Aspiring Fantasy Authours Out There?

[Ocarina654]

Cool. Good luck on getting it published!

Hey anyone wanna help me make up some original and fictional charcters? it takes me a while to make good ones that i actually like (or dont like, as a person). for a good nemisis you need some1 that you wouldn't really like in real life. Like in my SW one there is this one guy that i would hate in real life, but i like him in my story cause he fits so perfect. Well hope someone can help!

[Liviaine]

I am an aspiring fantasy author. I just can't seem to finish anything.

[Tanoliel]

Heh....I know...finishing stuff is hard. But even worse is when you've got a great beginning, some cool characters, and an awesome end....but no idea how to get there. That really stinks. It happens to me a lot...
-tano

[Elfmaster XK]

Hey Elfmaster XK (or anyone else for that matter), any ideas for plot inspiration?

Okay, here goes.

If you're stuck for ideas then good sources of inspiration are newspapers. If you cut out headlines then hide them for a bit, when you come back to them it gives your mind a kick into gear.

Another option is just to take a day out to think, not forcefully think but go for a walk in a park with a notebook and write down words that come into your mind. Agian this will make your mind see connections between things.

If you have any idea of wht you might like in your story write it all on a piece of paper and try to link up points. If you can do that then you can form a plot around that.

Plot needs to follow the '8 point arc'

1/stasis - where the story is at the beginning
2/trigger - the event that starts it all off
3The quest - revelation about what main character will be doing
4/Surprise - im sure you can get this one on your own!
5/Critical choice - an unexpected block in our heroes quest
5/Climax - main point of quest, critical choices and actions all come to a head
7/reversal - a change of state from how world was in the stasis part of the story
8/resolution - a fresh stasis, a new beginning

Another good way of getting your own plot is to begin with a plot you are familiar with and take that as a starting point. From there if you begin writing then it will be similar to where you started, but as you write it will evolve into your own work. (apparently. I've never done this one though.)

Ocarina - (im scared of your avatar by the way, so if this don't help don't kill me!)
Characters : What characters do makes them interesting, so they need to be capable of surprising the reader. The best way to create a character is to base it on a real person. It is also easier if you can recognise something of yourself in the character. As it is the easiest person to portrey

Now, for a character to seem real they must make mistakes, be annoying sometimes and not know what to do sometimes. You need to think a lot about the character to make them real. If you ask some qu's like do they have a family, what kind of family, rich or poor, are they important ie. lords, what do they like and dislike, what do they look like? etc. This will help you develop them in personality. If you dislike them at the beginning i still recommend doing this, as if you work on their background you can probably work out why you don't like them and appreciate what it is they have done.

Practise doing dialogue between charcters to get their personality across without describing them. Then you'll get more depth in them. Description can be added later.

I'd look at real ppl though for getting charcters. I base them on different pparts of my personality sometimes, as i know myself the best (at least i think i do)

Oh, and thanks for wishing me well hope this is helpful to y'all. if it ain't...eh...i tried. I have more but need to type it up for ya.

[Earniel]

Very useful tips Elfmaster, I'm sure to use some of them.

I'm writing a Tokien fanfictionstory that runs from the silmarillion through the hobbit and ends after LOTR. It started more as a dare but I've been working for 5 years on it now. It's such fun. I've got more material than I need which is as annoying as having no ideas at all. I've only got 8 pages of rough storyline, some poems and a full booklet with scribbled down scenes. I constantly rewrite and rethink and most of it is still in my head. It has already two spin-off stories to use discarded material from the main story. It's never going to be finished, which is good with me because it isn't quality. But it is such a lovely way of wasting time!

[Magicshrivve]

I plan to try and publish em, too.

Finished one, working on sequel, and a separate project also.

[Lalatiel]

Hey! This is my first time on the messageboard, and thank goodness I've found my fellow fantasy writers *pretends to wipe sweat off forehead*. Actually, I'm writing a story right now, I came back to find Elfmaster's tips. You know, I can't seem to make anything really long, like a book. All my stuff happens like one of those TV sitcoms, everything is over in half and hour. I'm trying to put more events in, but I don't know, I can't! My short stories aren't bad though. If you want to see some of my work, contact me at gibstick_rules@hotmail.com, I'd really love to see what you think!

[TinuvielChild]

for those of you having character troubles, here are two good strategies that i use a lot for developing characters:

Branching Out: make a list of characteristics/traits, both physical and personality-wise, to refer back to.

People Soup: take various characteristics/traits from different people and mix them together to create a new character.


hope this helps!

[Tanoliel]

Welcome to the Moot, Lalatiel! I wouldn't worry about trying to make stories longer....if it's meant to be short, it will be. If you're annoyed about that and want a long story, you could try writing a bunch of short stories that all link together somehow....like the story of one summer, with different days told from different characters....or something like that.
I'd love to see some of your work! I like reading stories from fellow writers...
-tano

[TinuvielChild]

people tell me my story is good (i am constantly editing and polishing it), but i am sooo self-conscious about showing it to people. right now, the plot is practically non-existent. and yeah, there's lots of detail. yeah, it may be well-written. but the freakin' characters keep breaking character! i hate when they seem to have a life of their own and i don't mean to put them in a certain scene but i do anyway, or i want them to act this way and they act that way....sometimes i think that they do it just to be perverse. ok, rant over, back on topic. yeah.

[frodosgirlfriend]

legend of zelda? COOL!!!!!!!! i'm trying to beat the water temple boss right now. . i sorta write. i don't really go deep into it though. i'll write about a page, get bored, and thow it away, and then start on something new . i'm writing a lotr movie fan fic, i don't wanna post it here yet cause i'm afraid every one will hate it . maybe someday i'll get up the nerve to poast it.

[Menelvagor]

Thanks Elfmaster! That's some pretty good stuff.

I have some stuff up at fanfiction.net (http://fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=164361) Some of it is good, but some stuff is just drivel. My good stories just generally come to me (with annoying infrequency) and I usually end up scribbling them down whenever they appear (they pick the most inopportune moments too!) and edit them later. Generally the drivel comes when I try to force it. Hm... well, with time maybe I'll get used to it; it's really annoying when your a day behind on you final semester project which is due the next day because you had to spend your class time scribbling story before you forget it.

I'm working on another fanfic right now, kind of a convaluted plot twist thingie, it's interesting to write anyway! *shrugs* If you guys could look at my writing I'd apprciate any criticisms!

[Elfmaster XK]

Heres some more of my words of wisdom, my very looong words!!!

How to get your characters how you want them

Write a characterisation list for your cast, covering the following things: physical attributes and history. Distinguishing features, style of dress, type of education, siblings? Upbringing, influences from others etc. Now if you get stuck in a situation you can refer back and see what traits your chara has and work out what they are likely to do!

Interesting characters need an internal conflict. What sort of conflict could you give your character in context with the plot?

Idiosyncrasies and flaws make them more believable and more sympathetic. Idiolect is a good idea because everyone has a different idiolect. Think about how the character will speak and you will get good dialogue.

What is the change that will happen in the story, and how will this effect the main characters? Will it be good or bad?

What does your character have to do? And so what is it that drives him/her to do this?

In a moment of stress, when the odds are stacked up against you protagonist they must make a critical choice this is when the depth of a character shows or, sometimes the lack of it.

These tips and thoughts to ask yourself all show that it is important for you to know what your plot is before you know everything about the people. It’s easy to shape a character to a plot, but less so to shape a plot to a character. Another thing to think about is names, as they can influence your perception of a character. For example, if I called a character Jane then that would perhaps bring up images of Jane Eyre. If I intended my Jane to be a maniacal arsonist then you might think…hmmm, somehow that doesn’t fit.

One last thing to think about is point of view. Will you use first person, or third? How do you want your narrator to be? For an omniscient narrator knows both the thoughts of you main character and others. If you write in first person then you can only know what your main chara wants and thinks.

An exercise that can help is to take the following samples (or something similar) and write a character study for each one, in about 300 words. What do you expect these people to be like?

1/An old woman is opening a letter from her son. It says she should move to a nursing home but she doesn’t want to go. (third person)

2/A young hobbit girl is driving a cart home late at night when she falls asleep. When she wakes the cart has crashed, the family horse ran away and the goods spread across the roadside. (third person)

3/ (for you Star Wars fans) You are a young jedi who has been training for a while when the trade federation invades Naboo, your home but you are not allowed to return. (first person) Or even better is a jedi who is turning sith. The conflict…mwahhahahaa!! – er…sorry. *beats self over head with foam mallet to return to non-crazy personality*

4/ A girl and a guy meet when the girl is on a year out from university. The time has come for her to return home but she doesn’t want to.

An example from me!!! When writing a profile list as many attributes as you can. And an excerpt of narrative works well too!
(I believe the best way to help is with examples)

I choose #3
Name: Lavina Rassë
Height: 5’6”
Age: 27
Eye colour: Blue
Hair colour: blue
Birthplace: Corellia
Affiliation: (was jedi circle) now sith
Family: two sisters and a brother. Both parents died. No force ability in sisters, brother is of the light side.
Friends: accomplice Xenoia Karris (aka ME!)
Education: jedi training
Likes: being in charge, having power, destroying ppl who follow the ‘light’ path
Dislikes: the jedi circle, large groups of people, political leaders

Her story: When young she and Xenoia are selected for the jedi training. Lavina is learning until she is about 25 when her trainer is killed in an accident. She always had tendencies to lose control, but when the jedi responsible for the accident comes to her she loses it completely and kills him. From here on she follows her own path, and becomes a dark jedi. ( Mwahahahaa!! * Elfmaster taps her fingers together, much like Mr.Burns does, and laughs (see evil laugh) * Oh the fun of evil characters!)

Probably not the best example but eh…if anyone else tries this please post it so we can read it!

For those who think they can’t write enough

Let’s take another example. We’ll say we want to describe a dragon and someone says

‘The dragon was huge! It was red and scaly with sharp claws and a look of malice glinted in its eyes.’

Oversimplifying probably but now I ask, is that enough? What do we know? Yes, it was red, scaly and evil looking. But what more could we know? What was it doing? If it was huge, how so in relation to the place it is occupying? Where is it? Why is it there and who is perceiving it? Does it have a tail? Does it have (I am loathe to say this but…) wings? (NO IT'S OKAY IT'S NOT A BALROG!) Is it making a noise? Does it want to do anything (i.e. eat someone) Get the picture? Here is an excerpt from my own story. (‘he’ refers to the main character)

‘Slightly dazed he looked forwards and there in front of him was an enormous red dragon. It was so large that its head hit the ceiling, and bits of stone fell to the floor around the creature. It had horns all the way up its back, and along its tail right to the tip, on which was a set of double horns. On its feet were long, sharp, black claws that it flexed menacingly as it stretched out its wings and howled. Its demonic eyes were yellow/orange with a black slit for a pupil. It stared hard at Sierin, its nostrils smoking. It suddenly let out an ear-splitting roar and breathed a long jet of fire at the ceiling.’

Better eh? (please say yes! ) Well, basically for description you just need someone to ask you the right questions so you know what else the audience would like to know. If anyone needs help with the ‘right questions’ gimme a shout and I’ll see if I can help.

Sorry it’s so long, but I hope it’s helpful.

The main problem i have is i try to write more than one story at a time and get mixed up. I'm in the middle of my novel, my novel's sequel, my fanfic (serious) my fanfic (completely non serious, humorous) and my completely seperate other novel...EEP!

TinuvielChild, i also am to self concious to show my work to others, i've been working on it so long that if ppl say they hate it i'll have to kill myself!!! The most i've managed is a small excerpt, above!

[Earniel]

And another side of Elfmaster's multiple personalities is revealed....

Quite helpful, thanks.

[Finrod Felagund]

Originally posted by frodosgirlfriend
legend of zelda? COOL!!!!!!!! i'm trying to beat the water temple boss right now. .

I've beaten Ocarina of Time compoletely AND Majora's Mask. I also beat the original NES Legend of Zelda on an emulator on my computer.

The Zelda tale was initially created by my little brother. He was making ideas for Nintendo games and one was a guy named Dan who was just like Link. I noticed and thought, "why couldn't it actually be in Hyrule. So now in my book, Link and Zelda are married and like, 90 years old. An ancient evil creature has escaped this inprisonment and trying to destroy the Deku Tree, (the only one who remembers) of course things get really interesting when Ganondorf returns and gets most of the Gerudos on his side. Dan finds himself a group of friends along the way (Malon's grandson, the new 15 yr. old Gerudo king, Ruto's Grandson and Darunia's great grandson.)

Then Link ends up going out as well and trying to reach Dan and help him. thats as far as I know. Except that a character from Majora's Mask wanders into Hyrule and since time is different in Termina is much younger than Link. It's quite crazy at this point if you don't know Zelda but it's actually quite good, (in my opinion.)

[TinuvielChild]

thanx for the help Elfmaster! now you are not just the Elfmaster, but the Fantasymaster...

[Elfmaster XK]

Originally posted by Eärniel
And another side of Elfmaster's multiple personalities is revealed....

Quite helpful, thanks.

Doesn't it make you wonder how many of us are in here???

thanx for the help Elfmaster! now you are not just the Elfmaster, but the Fantasymaster...

I like that, thanx TC. Soon i will spread so i am master of everythhing hehehe!!!

[Grey_Wolf]

I've been thinking about writing a fantasy trilogy for quite some time. The basic Idea has been there, but not the will and enthusiasm to start.

It's about a denegerate mankind, now called Makhd and there foes, the bipedal Cromando (Lizardpeople whose forebears where comododragons).

The Makd had to find three magical weapons to defeat the Cromando.

The first being The Golden Sword.

The Second The Silver Bow.

The Third The Bronze Axe.

Naturally, these weapons are hidden at secret locations around the former U S A. and only a select few know where.

Alas, the Quest and so on.

//Grey_Wolf

[Finrod Felagund]

Sounds interesting. The Gold-Silver-Bronze thing is a typical (but very effective) fantasy device.

[Grey_Wolf]

Originally posted by Finrod Felagund
Sounds interesting. The Gold-Silver-Bronze thing is a typical (but very effective) thing.

Maybe with some help from other aspiring Fantasy-authors on 'Moot, perhaps we could collectively write the story. I've seen it done on other posts.