Tag: Fantasy

Song Of The Benevolents – from “WARAG”

A misty mountain
The beautiful photo is by Ray Majoran. You can view his collection in Compassion Gallery which donates all profits to charity.

THE SONG OF THE BENEVOLENTS

Good people come, hear of the King.

Rejoice with us, break bread and sing.

Dance the merrier free from fear.

For peaceful ones find solace here.

Our town is hidden in the veil,

The King’s legacy to prevail.

His great love is bequest on all

Who seek his grace in Hallowed Hall.

But woe to those who would do ill

For the King is just to do his will.

Hark evil ones with vile intents

The words of The Benevolents.

This song is sung by the people of the Town Of Refuge when they gather together for celebrations and prepare for confrontation with encroaching armies.

Book cover of Warag, a child's fantasy novella by Lynne Collier.
Warag by Lynne Collier

Til next time, remember you are loved by the One who created you in His image. Be safe, be well, be blessed.

Lynne

My New Fantasy Novella

Hello readers. I hope you are all well and safe. I participated in NaNoWriMo last November and I’m excited to announce that my new fantasy short story has just been released! I wasn’t sure I could participate because of a broken arm and shoulder (spiral fractured humerus), but I chose to do a personal challenge of 10,000 words and I made it! If you’ve never broken your dominant arm and shoulder (and I don’t recommend it if you can avoid it) it’s quite difficult typing with the other hand. Even more so while drinking tea.

The story’s about a young Nord farmer who embarks on his Rite of Passage to serve the king and the people of the Town of Refuge as evil encroaches the land.

Book cover of a passage through a gorge.

“With all the courage he could gather in his brave young body, Warag took a deep breath and let out a loud battle cry. He rushed towards the cave entrance and closed his eyes, bracing the void and believing with all the might in his heart for that one moment of defiance. And just as he reached the darkness, he heard the wind.”

Watch for the next book in the series coming soon.

‘Til next time — be safe, be well, and know you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

~ Lynne

Skyrim – Writing Inspiration

Where do you get inspiration for your story’s location? I’m writing a fantasy story for NaNoWriMo this year. I have a broken arm and shoulder so I gave myself a personal goal of only 10,000 words in place of the usual 50,000. This meant I’d be writing a novella (small novel). But I was bereft of ideas for the location to a particular scene until I remembered my son had invited me to play Skyrim with him one night and — ta da — my characters had a home!

Now, understand that when I say “play” I actually mean watch, (haha) and I know as a writer that copyrights are something to be respected for the original creator. With that in mind I joined my son on a Skyrim walkabout to get the feel of the land and take notes for my own fantasy world.

  • Skyrim Whiterun waterfalls
    Skyrim – Whiterun waterfalls
  • Location from Skyrim fantasy game with stone steps alongside a river and waterfalls.
    Skyrim – Whiterun stone steps
  • Skyrim's pool
    Skyrim – Whiterun pool
  • Skyrim Whiterun town centre with a local woman by a large tree surrounded by a circular stream and bridges.
    Skyrim – Whiterun town centre
Images of Skyrim Whiterun

I also took some notes from the landscapes of LOTR and the breathtaking photos by Ray Majoran in Compassion Gallery. His photos from Iceland are spectacular.

Have you found a particular game, movie or real life location an inspiration for your writing? Leave a comment.

Til next time, remember you are loved by the One who made you in His image.

Lynne

Writing Fantasy || World Mapping

 

Mapping Your Fantasy World

When we write fantasy stories we need to decide where the story takes place. This is called ‘mapping’ and can be an artistic rendering of the world where your story lives, or it can be a topography of the terrain drawn like an actual map with all the hills, valleys, rivers, roads and towns. I prefer to collect Pinterest pins, but at some point, I need to discover what components make up my fantasy world and literally how long it would take a Dwarf to get to the Castle Keep. So, a drawn or written map is essential to the span of time for him on his travels.

10 things you need to know about your fantasy world before you begin writing your novel.

If it takes a few days for the journey, then I know to add an adventure, altercation or meeting with someone along the way, because let’s face it, a journey without an event is just plain boring and not at all interesting to your reader. In real life we couldn’t travel three days without meeting a fellow traveller, missing a bus connection or experiencing bad weather. So it is with other worlds. That’s where the storyline unfolds, in the in-between times.If you’ve already decided on a rough outline for your story (more on this later if you haven’t already started one), now is the time to decide how big your fantasy world needs to be in order to incorporate all the events you have planned. Even if you don’t have an outline written down, you’ve probably envisioned an encounter with an enemy, a chance meeting with someone, and a plot twist somewhere. What kind of backdrop needs to be in your world for these events to happen? Walk around in your world a while.

“Far Over The Misty Mountains Cold”, from The Lord Of The Rings (you can see it on YouTube), describes the terrain beautifully and sets the scene for the Dwarves’ backstory and imminent adventure.

Your Hero’s Lifestyle

 “…using real places as a springboard can help you frame elements consistently and with a more grounded result” – Ammi-Joan Paquette, author and literary agent explaining mapping in Writer’s Digest, March/April edition 2016.

Look around your real world. Do you see the potential for mapping your fantasy world based on reality?

I often draw from my childhood memories of the hills and dales of England, where the Bronte sisters gathered most of their inspiration. You can find some of those places on my Pinterest board, West Yorkshire England

10 more things to consider before you write your fantasy story.

Fantasy Inspiration

Who were the authors who shaped your childhood memories of fantasy and make-believe? These are the writers we tend to remember the rest of our lives. My childhood memories of magical and fanciful tales come from four well-known children’s books:

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Magic Faraway Tree and Noddy by Enid Blyton

Rupert The Bear by Alfred Bestall (originally created as a comic strip by Mary Tourtel)

 

Your Next Step

Draw or describe your own fantasy map and copy to your secret Pinterest inspiration board if you’re not ready to share it with the world yet. Here’s a link to my Fantasy Inspiration board which is public, but I have a secret board I’ll share once my novel is published. Or pin your inspiration to a board you’ve created to share your work with your followers. I’ve done this with my Dwarf Book I’m Writing. Another way is to cut out pictures from magazines and actually pin them to your office bulletin wall or stick them to your fridge with a crazy magnet.

Comment on how you were inspired for your creation and where you post/pin/stick your inspirational images/words. I’d love to hear about the world you’ve created.

Til next time, know you are loved by the One who created you in His image and gave us this beautiful world to live in.

Lynne

 

Writing Fantasy || Character Backstory

If you’ve been writing your story along with me, you probably have a pretty good idea of who your hero protagonist, their main sidekick, and the evil antagonist and his henchmen are and what they’re doing when your story starts, but how did they become who they are? Why is your protagonist a charming young female who loves to wander the forests of a mystical land on horseback? Why is her companion an outcast from a faraway land? What led your antagonist to despise all Elves?

What’s the story behind your story?

How do you find out the backstory of your story? As you know, I’m learning this whole process as I go along – like most of you too, I expect, as I write my Dwarf story. Thank you for joining me on this journey.

In my research, I discovered that the best information to start with is the character’s birth. (Duh.)

Sleeping Baby in feathers nest
Sleeping Baby by Tawny Nina on pixabay

I also found as I wrote my first NaNoWriMo novel draft in 2015, it really does help to plot all this before you start writing your novel. I wasted many hours going back to a previous chapter to correct something I didn’t realize about my character until halfway through. Did I mention I switched my focus halfway through the story? Yep, the first half was a superhero and the second half was – well, I’m not exactly sure but it wasn’t a superhero. Something I learned from a fellow NaNo writer was to write all the main characters on sticky notes or in a journal with their own page, then add anything you discover about them as you write so you don’t lose track of information. Scrivener is another, more technical, way to organize your work. (The link goes to their page for a discount).

Let’s start with the protagonist

Where they were born and were there any unusual circumstances surrounding their birth?

  • Was it an easy birth?
  • Was the father present?
  • Were they delivered by a doctor or a travelling healer?
  • Maybe in their realm, they were delivered by supernatural means.
  • How many siblings did they have?

Write as much as you know about the birth of your protagonist.

Then go on to childhood.

  • Did they go to school?
  • Who was their best friend?
  • What was their favourite subject?
  • Did they excel at anything?
  • Did their experiences as a child influence their career choice?
  • Were they homeschooled or sent away at a young age to apprentice with someone?
  • Were they born with all the knowledge they would need in life?
  • How did that happen?

Your protagonist as an adult.

  • What drove them to be in the situation they’re in now?
  • Did they suffer prejudice, health issues or a failed relationship?
  • Write as many life events as you can think of and delete each one as you write.
  • Be open to adding new things you discover about your protagonist as your story unfolds.
  • Let the story evolve and delete any notes that no longer apply.

Then do the same for your major antagonist.

  • Ask why they’re angry, mean, and vicious.
  • People don’t start out that way as a newborn baby so what happened in their past to steer them down that path?
  • Is the antagonist driven by fear, guilt or jealousy?
  • Why do they have metal teeth or wear a mask?

Do the same for a few minor characters. Write only what’s important for your reader to know, not their entire life story.

Take a look at The Watcher by Sara Davison as a great example of backstory for her protagonist,  Kathryn Ellison.  The Watcher on Amazon.And Great Expectations has a wonderfully written backstory for the antagonist, the embittered Miss Havisham. Great Expectations on Amazon.


Also, check out my blog interview with the protagonist, Colin, from the sci-fi novel Singularity.

Singularity on Amazon.

Til next time, know you are loved by the One who made you in His image.

~ Lynne