How I Write - Part I

Was reading someone else's blog the other day and they wrote about how they wrote, beginning with the story idea all the way to the end. Her style was very impressive. Very professional. Very much a different way than my style.

My stories NEVER begin with what I think people want to read. Including me. They begin with a scene which comes to my mind. It can be about anything. Most often it involves one of the stronger emotions, such those associated with love, battle, achievement and failure.

This scene will replay in my mind dozens of times over a period of days or weeks. As it does, I expand it. Who is/are this person/these people anyway? How did they come to be in this scene? What happened next?

That's how Swords of Fire was born. Several unrelated scenes kept playing out in my head. As I developed them in my mind they grew, like ripples expanding in a pond when one tosses a stone. Only I had tossed several stones this time, and as the ripples began to bounce against each other - they melded. I suddenly realized my main character in all the scenes was really the same person. This helped me identify just who he was and how he came to be in all of these scenes.

Each of these scenes became "sticks in the sand". Markers which I could point to from a currently unknown beginning.

That was the hard part! Deciding where to begin the story. I restarted many times before finding myself comfortable with Khirhsa and Kelso standing trial for yet another misdeed. Now I knew where the story began, and I wrote with the markers in mind.

The original story s*cked. I hate admitting that, but I tried reading some of it when I opened The Archives last month. It s*cked. But unlike all previous writing, I didn't drop Swords of Fire and move on to another project. (I did start many other projects. I just didn't drop Swords of Fire.) What I did was learn more about Khirsha's family history, and world history. I learned about who these people were and why things were important to them, and why they were afraid and why they made the mistakes they made. I discovered my "heroes" were far from perfect. (And my "villains" were far from completely bad.) Even those with the greatest knowledge suffered from ignorance. Those with the greatest power suffered from weakness. All of this knowledge helped me write in a manner which (I believe) brought Khirhsa to life. It made his conflict meaningful, and believable.

The story takes place in a fantasy world out in space beyond our galaxy. To be specific, in a star system located in the constellation Perseus, under the string arm. But the fantasy world is not the story. In Traitor, which opens the series, the only thing about the world which would reveal it is different from our reality are a few references to things. Otherwise, the story is in the background.

I think I've kind of veered from this post's original premise, so perhaps it is best if I just shut it down. I've been behind nearly all day. Our sump pump quit working at most inopportune time. We tried bailing the water, but it refilled almost instantly. Had to make an investment into a new sump pump, which we were not able to install, so we had to bring in a plumber. And I've been sick. And, and, and, and, and. Lots of stuff going on today. Not much of it was fun.

FairyHedgeHog had an interesting post this morning.

A Saga Begins

The Great Sea. Final creation of the High King. Stretching beyond the reach of mortals, it harbors a myriad of worlds under the High King's constant vigil. Surrounding the worlds is the Cloud: the Dark Buffer which separates Time. For, by the High King's design, time moves independently in each world. The Cloud itself, however, is not measured in units of time. Within the Cloud there is neither morning nor evening, sun nor stars, wind nor rain. A Twilight Zone of eternal mist it is, leaving all within its clutches at the mercy of the Sea's wayward currents.

The Great Sea. Wild and dangerous. The Peoples of its worlds seldom venture far onto its waves. Few terrors cannot be faced in preference to the Sea. Once out from the security of land, vessels would be exposed to the unpredictable and cruel nature of the expanse. Yet some terrors are better fled from. Even if it means facing the Sea.

The Great Sea. Endless is the reach of its arms and influence. From its depths all worlds sprang, and to its depths all worlds shall again return. The Great Sea. To some: an insurmountable barrier and captor, holding them fast to their world by fear. To others: a highway to freedom.

So, at one time, began the first of the novels to arise from the Swords of Fire saga. This prologue, now thirty years old, is poor at best. Even so, I begin this historical trek through the creation of Swords of Fire with it, despite it having been abandoned many years ago. This is the version which followed the original book's failure to be published way back before my 'great awakening' to what I really wanted to write. If you think the prologue above silly and stupid you should try reading the actual novel. I don't know that I can anymore, although I still have it, tucked away in cardboard boxes down the stairs and hidden in the utility room with the other early efforts. They are quite embarrassing for me to read now. Still, much of what this prologue says remains true through more than three dozen attempts to rewrite from scratch. It is kind of like cornerstone.

The Sea, the Cloud, the High King, many worlds and differences in time are all integral parts of the expanse my characters now call home. I know what it looks like. I know the governing laws by which it operates. Thirty years ago I don't know that I could have said that. But thirty years ago I was far younger and trying to write something completely different than what exists today. This prologue isn't even the original. The original, which may or may not exist in the cases of old writings in the utility room, was over thirty pages long. A good friend, who loved to read, very gently coaxed me into reducing it a little at a time, until I finally got the message and rewrote from scratch three paragraphs to set up what was to happen. That's why this version lasted so long, I think. After thirty pages three paragraphs looked pretty good no matter how ridiculous they read.

The main problem with this prologue, and indeed, the entire original novel, was my youthful effort to sound 'mystical' and 'wise'. It's a tendency I clearly struggle with even today. For me, the writing of Swords of Fire became much more relaxing when I ceased to write about mystical and wise people doing great and wonderful deeds, and I started writing about real people with real problems, who happen to exist in a place which has some fairly fantastic properties. It became much more fun when I admitted it was not a story about dragons, burning swords, time jumps through portals, war or quests or anything like that. It's a love story. I guess that's why I love it. I know now who the main characters are.

Forgive the rambling. I like to do that. You should see some of my first drafts. I once wrote twenty pages describing an important event in Flames of Hatred. When it came time to incorporate that event into the actual storyline, I wrote a single paragraph which said everything. I've kept the twenty pages, though.