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Author’s Advice Pt. 9

by Unknown's avatar

Exposition is out of style and no one likes it.

This is my personal opinion based on what I’ve seen from my readers, as well as myself. There is no bigger turnoff to reading than seeing a huge, page-long, paragraph describing a person, place, or thing. I understand that sometimes they are needed and you do need to break up dialogue and action scenes, no one will argue that. However it is necessary to find a good balance and too often we see long paragraph after long paragraph, most of which can be explained in more entertaining dialogue or in other ways. Allow me to give an example:

Description one:
“The cave was a lengthy one. On the walls were tapestries that appeared to be from the baroque era. They were purple with gold tassels and looked reminiscent of the time period. On the tapestry was a large emblem that was most likely a coat of arms from some ancient royal line that had long since been forgotten. The material was felt and shimmered as though glitter had been spread across it. These were a stark contract to the cold stone wall behind it that was otherwise ordinary.”

Description two:
Tobias shook his head, “Oh man… this hallway goes on forever. Why are these places so big? You would think they would want to make a castle easier to traverse.”
“Perhaps,” Taryn replied, “but at that point, it really wasn’t possible!”
As they walked, Taryn inspected the tapestries hanging from the wall, “Wow… look at these, they’re beautiful! The purple and gold blend very well together.
“What do you think, medieval or baroque era?”
“Definitely baroque.” Taryn replied. “Look at the tassels, and the fabric. These were made with felt during the medieval time period. Also, that coat of arms is definitely not from the medieval time period. It’s far more intricate.”

Which description held your attention? Which just seemed like it droned on? Which is more likely to turn your readers off?

In classic literature, reading through a ton of exposition was normal. Perhaps at that point, people had better attention spans or reading was different, or perhaps it was just a poor translation of oral tradition as in speech, exposition is far more accepted. I don’t know, but in this day and age, what little reading people do has to be more fast-paced and has to hold people’s’ attention far longer. Thus, a lot of exposition is not a good idea.

There is a reason why movies with either long paragraphs of back story at the beginning or narrators who don’t shut up, don’t usually do well.

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+ advice, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Artist, Belief, Book, Characters, fantasy, Fiction, Inspiration, literature, Uncategorized

Character Conversations… Gishan.

by Unknown's avatar

:Hello all, welcome back to Character Conversations! Today we have Gishan Nemog, a dwarven character from the Magnifica Trilogy, with us.

Gishan: Hey.

:Well, thank you for being with us today.

Gishan: Yeah no problem.

: So Gishan, tell us a little about yourself.

Gishan: Well, I’m a geology major with a minor in engineering at Arcanus College. I live in Natick, Massachusetts… GO REDHAWKS!!!

: Geology and engineering, what’s your plan for the future?

Gishan: I’ve been working on a new type of drill that should help revolutionize mining and oil production.

: Really? What’s so different about your design?

Gishan: Heh, like I’m about to give away my secrets.

: Haha, fair enough. So, what’s it like living at Arcanus? Must be a huge change of pace for you since it’s much closer to the city.

Gishan: Eh, it’s not too different. Same group of people. It’s amazing how many people I know from Natick went there.

: That’s right, isn’t your roommate an old friend of yours.

Gishan: Yeah… Toby…

: You sound annoyed.

Gishan: Yeah I don’t know. He’s been my best friend for years. I love the guy like a brother. He and his uncle Jake used to come by our place for a meal with me and my mom, but lately… he’s not the same guy.

: Oh, how so?

Gishan: Ever since he met that elf girl, Lia’na, he’s been totally different. We used to go trolling bars in Boston for women. They’d come and go… but this one… she got her hooks into him.

: It sounds like you don’t like her much.

Gishan: Nah, she’s all right, for an elf. Definitely a cute one, she’s just got him wound up… he barely has time for his old crew now. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. Don’t get me wrong, we still hang out and all, but it’s different now.

: But you have a lady friend of your own too, don’t you?

Gishan: Yeah… a human girl, Giselle… heh… We at the campus bar around the same time Toby met Lia’na. It’s weird… I ain’t seen her on campus  before then. It didn’t even seem like she knew her way around.

: Maybe she’s a transfer student?

Gishan: Don’t know, she won’t say.

: That’s weird.

Gishan: Eh, I don’t really worry about it that much. It’s not the smallest campus, so people can go unnoticed.

: How’s it going with you two?

Gishan: Can’t complain. I want her to meet Toby and Lia’na. I got to give his girlfriend the rundown, it seems only fair that he get to do the same.

: So you mentioned elves earlier, what’s your opinion of them?

Gishan: Well… dwarves and elves don’t exactly see eye to eye on much. I can’t say that I’m a fan of them. Too high-strung for my tastes and our histories aren’t the best. That said, I do think that they get the shit end of the stick in many ways. I mean I met Lia’na when Toby brought her back to our room after… um…

: After what?

Gishan: Ah… never mind, I shouldn’t say anything. That’s kind of private.

:No problem, completely understandable. So a dwarf into mining, isn’t that a little stereotypical?

Gishan: Oh ha ha, very funny! Like I don’t get that any day of my life! If you ever meet a human who can do the same thing with rocks that dwarves can, I’d like to see em try!

: Haha, I’ll let you know if I do. That appears to be all the time we have though. Gishan, it’s been a pleasure.

Gishan: Yeah yeah…

: Tune in next time for another edition of Character Conversations! Thank you for tuning in! Up next today, the trials of the elves and where the remaining 900 go from here, on 60 minutes!

+

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Vampires Suck!?!?

by Unknown's avatar

First there was high fantasy… elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, and the race of man… people saw it and were pleased. (1970s)
Then came the aliens craze, starting with horror, and moving into action and urban fantasy. People saw it and were pleased… (Late 70s-1980s)
Then came angels. They were sensitive, romantic, and powerful. Drama lovers saw it and were pleased. (1990s)
Now… well…

So as many of my followers know, I’ve been trying to find a new fantasy to read. My writing has regrettably dried up a little recently, so I’ve tried to turn my attention back to reading and hopefully give the creativity engine a little time to refuel. So I decided to trek out to Barnes and Noble with a gift card that I’d received for Christmas. I spent quite a while trying to figure out what to do with it as I don’t do much reading (admittedly), but I was determined to find something.

Well I failed…

Let me preface the next part by saying that I can’t STAND the vampire craze. I don’t even really consider it a vampire craze per se, especially given some of the more recent… euphemistically phrased ‘interpretations’ of that fantasy species.

In the beginning, I thought that the entry into dark fantasy would be a good thing. The angel craze of the 90s was all but dead, the marvel explosion was in its infancy, and everyone was looking for a new focus. Vampires were cool, and at first, the Vampire craze lived up to that. The Underworld series was enduring, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was awesome (until the last few seasons), and Blade is to date one of the best action movies I’ve ever seen… but then sh^t got weird.

With the complete bombing of movies like the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Van Helsing, it looked like the Vampire craze was to be short-lived… then Twilight came out… I saw the movie in theaters (and I still miss the $9 I spent), and I hated it, but I thought… ‘Okay, maybe this is just a one-time thing but it’ll give new life to the craze…

Well… it did, but not in the way anyone who had previously liked vampires wanted it to. Soon, new interpretations of Vampires came about. Suddenly vampires were no longer the unholy horrors most of us fantasy gurus grew up with. They were sensitive, sparkly, pale creatures hiding in plain sight. They had become sex symbols (True Blood), leaving the rest of us going… WHAT THE F***!?

But I digress…

I went to the book store to pick something up, being the old school, hard-copy, guy I am. I immediately hit the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section and… ugh… There was one huge section of Game of Thrones, one huge section of all things Tolkien, and then shelf after shelf of Vampire books! Yes, there was the occasional dragon vs. knight, pirate, viking, or other misc fantasy in the mix, but for the most part, it was all vampires! Every book had the cover of either a sexualized women licking her lips with blood flowing, or a metro-sexual male with his fangs hanging out in a tux with either a gun or a sword.

It doesn’t end there either… vampires have invaded comic books, including series that have NOTHING to do with that sort of fantasy, video games have upped the anti on this. Heck, even high fantasy seems to have accepted both the werewolf and vampire species into their mix of human/elf/dwarf casts.

Speculation was that, with the release of series like the Hunger Games, that the Vampire Craze was going to give way to the strong female lead in a Post-Apocalyptic World Craze, and while that style of fantasy still seems to have a pretty strong following, it now seems to be in open competition with the Vampire Craze… and given the mixed reviews of the latest set of movies… it appears that the trend which the Hunger Games started… is losing that fight.

The Vampire Craze has outlasted every other craze thus far and, despite the fact that no major motion pictures appear to be slated for release, it has found a way to sink its claws into every other medium it can.

This isn’t going away people… not any time soon at this rate…

+ advice, Artist, Author, Belief, Book, Characters, Fairy Tale, fantasy, Fiction, Help, Historical Fantasy, Question, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy

Help!!!

by Unknown's avatar

So on my blog, I’m used to giving advice and offering help, I don’t usually ask for it.

Well now I am…

I’m looking for a new book to pick up and get into. I don’t care if it’s part of a series or not. I’m into a lot of fantasy fiction, as most of you know. Does anyone know of a fantasy adventure that includes a romantic element dealing with an elven female and a human male? (ASIDE FROM LORD OF THE RINGS!!!)

I’ve scanned the bookstore shelves, and the few stories that fit that bill, and weren’t more vampire porn, the likes of which we’ve seen too many times, have the genders reversed.

Any recommendations would be helpful, thanks!

+ advice, Artist, Author, Belief, Book, Characters, Fairy Tale, fantasy, Fiction, Lost, Magnifica, Sequel

Magnifica… the lost sequel…

by Unknown's avatar

This is the 4th installment of my series… or rather part of it. Whether or not it will be published, remains to be seen… Let me know what you think. I could use some encouragement to finish… I have another potential sequel also in the works.

I

I‘ve never been able to get passed what happened. It still seems like something out of a nightmare, but it wasn’t. It happened, I did it. I know I did. I helped him hurt her, and in doing so, I’ve damned myself… More than anything… I want to be forgiven, or at least find a way to redeem myself…

“Tom, snap out of it!” A voice yelled from behind. “What are you doing man?”

Tom turned around to see his friend Jayme standing behind him, “What’s up?”

Jayme brushed her thick brown hair back behind her ear, “I just asked if you were going to lunch. You didn’t answer and had a look on your face like you were a million miles away.”

Tom nodded, “I’m sorry, I was just thinking to myself.”

“About what happened?” Jayme asked in an accusing tone.

“Yeah.” Tom replied. “I still can’t get the look on her face or the anger in his eyes out of my head.”

“You let Michael do a number on that poor elf, and Toby made sure that you paid for it.” Jayme replied. “Look, it’s like I told you before, it happened, you can’t go back in time and change that, all you can do now is learn from it and try to live better. I’d also try to see if you can earn her forgiveness.”

Tom sighed as he spoke, “I know… you’ve said it before. I just don’t know what I can do.”

Jayme shrugged, “You never know.”

Jayme stood near Tom for a few minutes while he compiled his thoughts. After a few moments of boredom, she spoke up, “Are you doing lunch?”

Tom shook his head, “Nah, not today. I think I’ll just head back to my room.”

“Suit yourself.” Jayme replied. “I’m starving, so I’m heading that way. See you later!”

Tom really wasn’t in the mood to eat and needed time to compile his thoughts, “All right, have a good time.”

Jayme nodded and walked away. It was a cool September day. Autumn had just barely begun taking over as classes were once again starting at Arcanus. The trees were still green, but it was a light green that would soon give way to brighter colors.

Tom had been dreading the fall. He didn’t want to see Toby, Lia’na, or Michael. To him, they were nothing more than reminders of an awful mistake he’d made. He knew that what he’d done was wrong, he was suffering on his own for it, and didn’t need to be reminded of what happened.

Tom made his past the main campus center when he heard a n angry voice, “You’ll pay for that sharpy!”

Oh no… Tom thought to himself, recognizing the voice. It was Michael, no mistake about it, and by the sound of things, he’d come across Lia’na. What’s worse, it sounded like Toby wasn’t anywhere nearby.

Tom picked up his pace and began running. He made his way around to the lounge area where he saw Lia’na and Michael. The scene was exactly what Tom had feared.

Michael stood in front of Lia’na as his two friends held her by the arms. Michael balled his fist and was about to strike when his world suddenly blurred. There was intense pressure on his side and chest as he fell to the side.

It took him less than a second to figure out what was going on. Michael had been tackled. Toby was on top of him with his fists clenched. The first blow impacted on Michael’s stomach while the second on his chin.

Tom continued running as the other two guys released Lia’na and tried to help, but the first one got a left hook to the stomach from Gishan. Tom knew that while they both knew how to defend themselves, but Michael’s dwarven friend was still free and closing in on Gishan.

Tom quickly moved in, tackled the third companion, and pinned him to the ground. The dwarf looked up with an angry look, “What the hell man?”

Tom smiled as he held the dwarf down, “Easy there, Griz, don’t do anything stupid.”

After a few seconds, Toby let up on Michael and backed away. The look on his face made Michael’s blood run cold. His face was red with black eyes. Michael struggled to his feet as he was joined by his friend who was released from Gishan’s grip. Michael sneered as he looked at Toby, “Very nice Toby, fucking jump me from behind! I still can’t believe you’re dating that… sharpy!”

Toby clenched his jaw and spoke in an inhuman voice, “Animal… you’ve lead a sheltered life with parents who hate for no reason other than to hate. You know nothing about the world outside of your bubble and you never will!”

Tom released Griz and backed away slowly when he heard Toby’s voice. What the…?

Michael scoffed, “I’m the animal? That sharpy and her people are the ones responsible for us being where we are today. They deserved the disease they got and they should stay on the reservations!”

Gishan shook his head, “That shit is ancient history from long before you or she was even born! She’s as responsible for the collapse of the Alliance as you or I would be.”

Michael wasn’t sure he wanted to say anymore. Toby looked like a ticking time bomb and that demonic voice he spoke with made things even worse, “Oh please Gishan, why should I listen to you? What are you going to do about anything? You want to try to take me on?”

Tom stood up and took a step forward. Michael had been his friend since he first attended Arcanus, but he’d known Gishan for many years before that and was not about to let him get beaten. He stepped out in front of his old friend, “If he doesn’t, I will.”

Lia’na saw Tom and nervously stepped closer to Toby. Michael looked at him in shock, “Tom, since when are you a sharpy lover?”

Tom looked at Lia’na for a second before turning back to Michael, “I’m not, but I’m also not so small that I would resort to assault or rape! Had I known that’s what you were planning, I never would have gone along with it. I’m not much better than you, but I am better. If you try to go after Toby or Gishan, you’ll have to deal with me.”

Gishan looked over at him, “Tom, what are you doing?”

“What I should have done months ago.” Tom replied without looking over.

Michael nodded and turned back to Lia’na, “Someday sharpy…”

Toby‘s hand began to glow black as he bolted forward and grabbed Michael by the throat. He spoke in the same dark voice, “Listen to me very carefully… if you ever… ever try to lay a finger on her… I will make sure you are never found!”

Tom backed away slowly as Michael choked under his grasp, but could not fight away. Toby’s concentration was broken when he heard Lia’na cry out, “Toby, stop!”

Toby released Michael, giving him an opening to get away. Michael ran off, followed closely by his remaining friend. He didn’t bother looking back and just continued running.

Toby was breathing heavily and his skin was still red. Lia’na felt the energy flowing from him. She put her arms around him and whispered gently, “Toby calm down… it’s over. I wasn’t hurt…. Shh…”

Finally the red disappeared from his face and his eyes returned to normal. Tears fell down his cheeks as Lia’na hid his face, “Lia’na… what happened?”

Lia’na shook her head, “We’ll talk later… for now, calm down. It’s over, I’m not hurt. Everything is okay.”

Toby took a few deep breaths as he calmed down. He knew he still had to deal with Tom. When he was ready, he turned to Tom and looked him in the eye.

Tom didn’t move. He stood his ground as the two stared at each other for a few moments. Am I next?

After what seemed like an eternity, Toby faintly smiled, “Thanks for your help.”

Tom nodded, “It was the least I could do.”

He then turned to Lia’na, “I don’t expect you to forgive me for what happened, but please know that I am sorry. Michael won’t bother you again, I promise.”

Lia’na took a deep breath, but couldn’t find it in her to even crack a smile, “I can’t forgive you for what happened… or what almost happened, but I can try to forget… at the very least, I’ll stop pretending you don’t exist.”

Tom smiled, “Good enough.”

Lia’na didn’t respond as she turned to Toby, “We should probably get you home.”

Gishan nodded, “All right… I’ll get you home. Let’s go.”

He quickly looked back at Tom before they parted ways, “Thanks for the backup man.”

“Any time.” He replied as Gishan turned away and guided Toby and Lia’na back to his car.

Tom made his way back to his room, completely shaken by what he’d seen. His head was filled with questions; what was that, why were Toby’s eyes glowing, what did it all mean?

Tom eventually shrugged, there was nothing he could do about it, so there was no point in worrying about it. Whatever happened with Toby, no doubt his friends were taking care of it.

Toby had been acting weird ever since he’d met Lia’na. The glowing eyes, the hands, the unexplainable powers, it all didn’t add up, but again, there was nothing that he could do about it.  He would have liked to have gone and seen Toby at his new place, but he had a feeling that he would most likely not be welcomed there. There was nothing for Tom to do but ignore it and go about his day.

+ advice, Artist, Author, awful, bad, Belief, Book, Characters, chase, desire, Fairy Tale, fantasy, Fiction, Loreena Mckennitt, Music, obsession, Question, The Mummer's Dance

Quests… The Chase… and Inspiration…

by Unknown's avatar

What is it about the chase? What is it about going on a quest that makes the journey as (if not more) enjoyable and rewarding than the prize that hides at the end? Why are we as humans so addicted to such endeavors?
Does it improve our lives? Not always… in fact in many cases, we’re made worse. Often a quest for knowledge or destiny causes us to lose someone or find out something we’d be better off not knowing. This is part of the reason I haven’t always enjoyed stories I’ve read… the characters don’t wind up better off than they were before they started their journey.

As writers, we often are confronted with such stories and we have to weigh out how much our characters can (or should endure). In one of my stories, my loving wife read over a few of my chapters and strongly cautioned me on putting my characters through too much. There is only so much the human mind can take… well she was right, so I reigned in a lot of the things that my lead was going through.

Another theme we have to touch on when deciding how a quest will go is the main characters level of obsession. How far are they willing to go to win? How much time are they willing to donate to it?

Why do I bring this up? Well… because I have to admit to an obsession that was also kind of a hobby for a very long time.

18 years have gone by…

Almost two decades since I heard that incredible song on the radio, but I’ve never been able to identify it. I would whistle it to friends and they would shrug, saying that it sounded familiar, but they didn’t know it. Keep in mind, this was before YouTube and shazam. This was when recreational use of the internet was still in its infancy.

I would give up searching for a while… and then would hear it on the speaker at Wal-Mart or another store. I could never make out any of the lyrics to look it up… all I had, was the tune. Then I hit a breakthrough. The song was featured in a commercial for an upcoming movie:

Ever After… PERFECT!! I had somewhere to start looking. So at that point, I went onto Angelfire and started searching for the soundtrack…

Well… it wasn’t on the soundtrack. Movies in the mid-late 90s loved featuring music in movie advertisements that had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the damn movie!!!

Years went by and I had forgotten the song until I heard it again at a store that was kind of like Spencer’s Gifts… don’t remember the name of the place, but it reignited my desire to find it. By now, youtube still wasn’t around, but google was. I started my search again… unfortunately, by now, I had forgotten which movie it was in. So while I could whistle the tune, all I had was a vague description:
New Age music…
Mid-late 90s…
Featured in a Medieval movie…
Sounded like something Enya would do…
Still, no one knew it. No one could find it. Once again, I’d hit a dead end. On days when I was alone, bored, and had nothing better to do, I’d resume the search, in hopes of stumbling across something, but I never got anywhere with it. I admit to being greatly frustrated.

More years went by… YouTube was now around and thus a new tool to help me in my search. One by one, I resumed my search through soundtracks and new age greatest hits from the time period. Nothing…
Well today, as I lay here completely snowed in, suffering from writers block as my family sleeps, I decided to try one last time. I posted my description on Facebook. One friend suggested using Shazam. So I tried it and hummed the tune… nothing… it didn’t work! The app couldn’t recognize it. I was so mad, I almost tossed my phone across the room.

I continued my search until I rediscovered the above commercial. My heart froze in my chest. THAT’S THE SONG!!! I had it and I wasn’t about to let it get away. I searched the comments to see if anyone had identified it, remembering now that it wasn’t on the soundtrack.

Nothing… no… not again! I was so close, I was not going to give up now! I posted the commercial on my page, but got nowhere. I was afraid that I’d hit another dead-end… then I remembered Shazam! OF COURSE!!! Play the commercial for the app and let it figure out the name of the song! That should work… if it can decipher the song from the talking in the commercial.
Given my history with this mystical song… I didn’t have high hopes. A song came up with an odd-looking background… ‘The Mummer’s Dance’ by Loreena Mckennitt. Ironically, I’d looked through some of her music in my search, but never came across this one. No way… could I have come so close so many times, but just not found it? There was no way. Plus a title like that? There’s no way this song charted. Not expecting anything, I plugged the name into YouTube.

The first video to come up wasn’t anything official… just something someone had put together. Again, not expecting much. I clicked on it… New Age… violins… instrumentals… drums… It could be… no way… It can’t be…

Then the vocals came on. At first it was nothing more than a hum. When Loreena began to sing… my eyes watered and goose bumps traveled down my spine. THIS was my song! I couldn’t believe it! It took almost two decades, but the song had been identified and located!

I quickly (and legally) downloaded it and saved it to my playlist, where it will remain forever on my playlist for when I need inspiration for my writing, or need to be able to relax. It will never escape me again.

Thus ends a quest that has gone on too long. On this night… I found the song that I had been searching for.

+

+ Artist, Author, Belief, Book, Characters, Disney, Fairy Tale, fantasy, Fiction, Graphic design

Dwarves

by Unknown's avatar

So I’ve talked in great detail about one of the main feature races to my story, elves… but what about dwarves?

Physical description. 

So there are various descriptions of them. Most agree that they have long beards, are very stout, deceptively strong, and seem to have an odd fixation with mining. Other descriptions suggest noses and ears that match, or are even larger than those of humans and elves.

Classic literature such as the Elder Edda lists them as being violent creatures not unlike trolls. One might draw that a troll is part of their lineage, or a less-developed member of the same genome, but again, that depends on what version of troll lore you subscribe to. If we’re talking Harry Potter trolls, then forget I said anything.

The females… well there are theories that dwarves are asexual given the lack of reference in almost any literature to females of the species. Personally, I don’t think that this is the case. This is covered somewhat in Lord of the Rings Two Towers movie where Gimili states that the womenfolk are often mistaken for men because they are so similar in appearance. This could account for the lack of female mention, but again that’s just a theory.

Their weapon of choice seems to be a large ax, though many have been known to use crossbows as well. They have no real 6th sense and can’t use magic (that we know of), but they have a keen sense when it comes to geology.

Living environments.

This has been a point on contention for many fantasy writers. While most agree that mountains and/or underground mines are dwarves dwell. They build massive underground cities out of stone. Many stories say that they move so much stone building these cities, that dwarves may have been responsible for many of the mountains that appear in the world.

Here’s where things get hazy; many have said that dwarves are somewhat xenophobic and hide away from the rest of the world. They prefer to borrow deep into their mines. Others even go so far as to suggest that dwarves fear being out in the open because they are afraid they’ll fall off the earth.

We’ve seen the xenophobic mentality in many versions, including much of J.R.R. Tolkien. However, more modern pieces seem to disagree with this take and say instead that while yes the dwarven cities are underground, many prefer to venture out and either conduct trade or become skilled blacksmiths, thus joining the rest of society.

Personality traits.

Dwarves have rather consistently been the comic relief in most modern literature. They drink hard, they play hard, and they swear a lot. They are known for being blunt and not afraid to tell it like it is. Thus they tend to come off as extremely abrasive and poorly mannered.

Diet

Dwarves seem to contrast elves in this manner. While elves consistently tend to prefer lighter, more vegetarian-style means with only the finest wine as their choice of drink, dwarves are the exact opposite. By many accounts, dwarves eat large, and often many, meals in one day. Their primary diet seems to be meat, potatoes, and malt beer. Many have noted their extremely poor dinner table manners and eating habits.

So with all that in mind, what’s my take on them? How have I characterized them in my writings?

Well… I’ve tried to keep close to the source material. Personally, I’ve seen too many people, myself included, who shy away from anything that strays too much.

In my writings, dwarves do not hit 4ft… ever. They are very stout with short arms and legs, but larger torsos. Their facial features are far closer to humans so they are not all that different in that aspect. They are fiercely loyal to their friends.

In many cases, they have left their underground homes and live as equals with human beings as contributing members of society. They share mankind’s disdain for elves and are known to verbally bash them to the point where humans have even become uncomfortable.

Female dwarves are very demanding, yet kind-hearted individuals. They genuinely care about the people around them, even if it means giving someone a slap upside the head when needed.

Though it’s considered stereotyping and a dwarf will take offense if anyone mentions it, dwarves tend to flock to careers such as jeweler, archaeology, appraisals, geology, masonry, construction, demolition, and mining. Pretty much anything that involves stone.

Most of them do not posses the long beards for which they are known. By this point, civilization has evolved and so have they.

Anyway, that’s pretty much it for me on Dwarves. Let me know what you think.

Catch you on the flip side,

Jim

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What makes bad people tick?

by Unknown's avatar

As a writer, this is something that I’ve explored for a long time now. Why does a bad person become bad? Why do they do bad things, what is the motivation?

Just the other day, I was walking to my car from work. I was wearing my normal leather jacket. In Boston it’s very cold at this time of year. As I neared the garage, two girls wearing NE Patriots uniforms, no older than college students passed me by. I don’t know if they were intoxicated or not… though judging by the way they were skipping about, it’s definitely possible. Anyway, I was walking by, one of them looked at me, and in an extremely sarcastic tone said ‘You look really good in that leather jacket’ before skipping off with her friend laughing.

I shook my head and kept walking. ‘Idiots…’

But as I sat in traffic later, I thought to myself… why did she do that? What was it about me that she felt the need to put me down? Would she have said that if I were thinner, shorter, or had a more threatening appearance? What was the motivation or was there even one?

Now in many stories, it’s explained, and explained well… Bad people are bad because of…
Past traumatic experiences,
Mental issues,
Revenge,
Blindly following a faith or political leader,
Betrayal,
Circumstances,

There are a plethora of other issues as well, but those are the general ones that usually explain villains. My question is what about the bad person. The person who wasn’t a good person that bad stuff happened to. The person who is intelligent, lived a good life, and had no explicable reason for becoming what they did. Where is the motivation for it and why?

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Angels

by Unknown's avatar

You will notice that I am hesitant to call angels ‘mythological creatures.’ This is mostly because of my christian belief… so I do actually think they truly exist.

What is an angel?

Simply put, an often-winged creature that is a servant of a God. Their jobs include messenger, voice, soldier, guide, and many more. Unfortunately, most depictions of angels are not accurate per the original descriptions. The angels we see depicted in paintings that look like human adults or babies… with the exception perhaps of the archangels, this is pure fantasy. (I know… I know… I’m criticizing my own writings on angels, I’ll get to that below, I promise.)

So then what do they look like? Well in some accounts, just like humans. In others… um… they’re actually kind of scary.

In Daniel 10:5-6 there is a clear description of a more ‘human’ nature.
“I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.”

Other descriptions vary, giving credence to a variety of difference species perhaps?

For example you have the Cherubs:
“(Ezekiel 1:5) Each of them had four faces and four wings, with straight feet with a sole like the sole of a calf’s foot, and “hands of a man” under their wings. Each had four faces: the face of a man, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle.”

Then you have the Seraphs:
These ones are a little bit harder to classify, so I’ll give you the consistencies… They each appear to have four to six wings; with two covering their faces, and with two covering their feet. The ones with six used the remaining two for flight… yeah weird…

Other descriptions include multiple heads, weird creatures covered in eyes… I could go on all day, but I’m not writing horror novels. At least not yet.

All right, so with all that in mind, where does my story fit in? Well to be honest… I like the fantasy, and since I’m a fantasy writer, that’s sort of what I went with… sort of. My angels are not androgynous, though now that I think about it, giving them sexes is somewhat pointless given that they can’t reproduce. Still, one could argue that giving them human characteristics would make them more sympathetic to humans, and easier for the Most High to deal with as they are close to his own image.

Angels in my stories live in a cast system, so let’s explore each one, what they do, and what they look like, starting from the top:

Archangels: Direct servants to the Most High. They include his voice, the general of his army, his direct messenger, etc. Their word is above reproach and they are unquestionably respected by all others. They appear in red and brown garments with armor as shiny as silver over them. Their two wings sparkle as though their feathers had been polished. They look like humans.

Choirs: 

Seraphs: So far, of the Choirs of Angels, this is the only one in my story that really get’s a physical description, though other angels in my story are mentioned and described, I never really assign them a choir, so take that as you will. Seraphs have four red, fiery wings that are on their backs. They are capable of speeds greater than any other angel, even that of archangels. Their skin glows like gold shining on the sun. They are considered among the highest ranking angels below the archangels.

Duty Angels: Yes even among angels, there is a ‘working class.’ These angels are assigned behind the scenes duties. Among those duties are being the guiding light to souls destined either to Heaven or the underworld, some are servants to the Most High, others are soldiers. They have two large white wings each and appear as normal humans. However, the ones that serve as guiding lights may appear in any form they wish. This is especially useful should a wayward spirit need ‘convincing’ to go to the afterlife he or she has earned.

So I guess one could say that my description doesn’t fray too far as the angels that can appear in other forms could feasibly appear in the very forms listed in the Bible… so I don’t know. Take that as you want.

Dark Angels: These angels fall outside of the angel cast system. Some might say they are demons, but I prefer to keep demons in a separate category, giving them more of an impish appearance. Dark angels are angels that, during the Celestial Wars, sided with Lucifer in his attempt to overthrown the Most High. They believe that their service to the Most High is nothing short of slavery and that they deserved the world that was given to humanity. Their wings are black, indicating that they have been cursed with a heavy burden. This makes it impossible for them to ever return to the Celestial Realm, as to do so would result in them being crushed under the weight of their wings and unable to fly. The more powerful ones have dark eyes and pointed ears. They retain their immortality and divinity, but it has been greatly corrupted.

Though these ones are forbidden to leave the underworld, one or two has been known to make its way into the mortal world and either attempt to hide or wreak havoc on the people.

Anyway, let me know what you think. Feedback is, as always, welcomed and appreciated!

Catch you on the flip side,

Jim.

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Character Interview

by Unknown's avatar

So it is my greatest pleasure to introduce everyone to a character from a new and exciting story, Divinity. Ladies and Gentlemen, Adalyn, the mighty Angel responsible for saving all of existence during the Celestial War and a hero among her people.

Adalyn: Hello, thank you for inviting me.

:Thank you for accepting. We’ll try not to take up too much of your time as we know that you’re a very busy woman.

Adalyn: Well I appreciate that.

:So Adalyn, tell me, how did you get mixed up in the war?

Adalyn: Believe me, I’ve asked myself the same question several times. Well to start off, before the war, I was a duty angel.

:A duty angel?

Adalyn: Correct. In the Celestial World, there are different casts of Angels. They start up at the top with the Archangels, who report directly to the Most High, then you have the Choirs whom each have a specific job, they report to the Archangels, then you have the duty angels.

:So what’s the difference between a choir angel and a duty angel?

Adalyn: Realistically, not much. Duty angels essentially are assigned one task to perform and they don’t deviate from it. Whereas each choir has a specific job, but there’s are often more complicated, unspecific, and often deal with interfering in corporeal matters.

:You mean humans.

Adalyn: Not just… but yes, your race is the one they deal with most.

:So what was your job?

Adalyn: I was the guiding light to damned souls that were lost at sea. They needed guidance to their afterlife.

:You were the angel of death?

Adalyn: (Laughs) No. Realistically there is no true grim reaper or angel of death. No one person runs around collecting souls. Duty angels are assigned to make sure that each soul get’s to its specific destination. Mine was unfortunately the underworld.

:But I’m confused, you said that this was before the war?

Adalyn: There really wasn’t much going on before the war. Angels were being assigned their tasks when the war broke out. At that point, my job was to ferry the souls of those who fell during the Celestial War to their destination.

:That couldn’t have been easy.

Adalyn: No… and I’d rather not talk about it.

:Understandable. So how then did you get tapped to fight in the war?

Adalyn: Well… it was really necessity more than anything. The initial battles had taken their toll on the Choirs to the point where they had lost significant manpower. That and I had friends in the Choirs, my friends Roselyn, Azrael, and Ariel. They pushed for me and so Michael promoted me to soldier angel. I wasn’t a part of any Choir at that point, but at least I was no longer hanging out in the underworld.

:So you were promoted and thrown into the heat of battle?

Adalyn: Not exactly. I only fought in a few major engagements. No, I was assigned to Azrael as his apprentice. They wanted me to learn infiltration tactics and quick strike techniques.

:What for?

Adalyn: The war needed to end, quickly. Angel blood was staining the land and we were fighting to extinction. The Archangels under Saint Michael’s command devised a plan to knock out Lucifer and his leaders. It was his hope that we’d be able to sneak behind their lines, assassinate most of his generals and force Lucifer to surrender. Lucifer was a good warrior, but he was not tactician. He would not be able to lead his men without help.

:The plan worked, I take it.

Adalyn: Not entirely, one of his generals got away, but that’s something we’re still looking into so I can’t elaborate on it.

:No problem. So now that the war is over, what are you doing?

Adalyn: Well for now, I’m still Azrael’s apprentice. I don’t think the Archangels know where to place me at the moment. They seem to still be looking into where I could do the most good…. it’s taken them billions of years just to get everything figured out, but such is the life of an angel. So at the moment, I’m still the guiding light for damned souls.

:Well I hope you the very best in that, but tell me, what is your opinion of humanity?

Adalyn: I can’t say I care for them. I understand why Lucifer rose up, though I don’t think it was the correct approach. Giving a new world to a child race where they can kill and destroy one another as opposed to the people who have served loyally for uncountable generations doesn’t seem fair.

:So if you ever met a human in the flesh?

Adalyn: … I don’t know how I’d react. I’ve encountered their damned souls, but that’s it.

:I see… well Adalyn, I think you for your time. I don’t have any other questions.

Adalyn: Thank you, it’s best I go anyways, Azrael will be meeting with the Most High soon and asked that I be there.

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Prologue

by Unknown's avatar

Hi All, check out this new and exciting online serial!

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Half-elf description

by Unknown's avatar

I’ve looked through the different works and various forms of elves and what their half-breed children are like.

Half Breeds in some stories look like their human parent, almost completely and I’ll explain why below… In other stories, they are mixed, though in most, they have slightly pointed ears, but otherwise look like humans.

So far, there is one consistency; elven genes are recessive when combined with those of humans. Given what we typically see of elves, I can understand that theory. Elves tend to have light skin, light eyes (Blue, green, hazel), and light hair, all of which are recessive traits in humans.

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However, one point of contention that I would make would be the ears. Generally, the most pronounced features of a person would show up on their offspring, and those features tend to be more dominant. So with that in mind, I do believe that the stories that say that half-elf children would still retain SOME of their parents’ features.

In a story I’ve been working on for some time, an elven child can pass for a human as long as they keep their hair long enough to cover the more rounded points on their ears. Other prominent elven features aren’t apparent in the offspring. They have some extra-sensory perception which they receive from their elven parent, but they are nowhere near as powerful nor as easy to control. In most cases, these abilities would manifest as dreams or ‘feelings’ and nothing more.

Their hearing can be trained to be as powerful as their elven parent, but it would take much effort to train their senses and they would need to focus much more than their elven parents to detect faint noises.

Half-breeds would be less susceptible to both human and elven disease, having immunities on both sides, however diseases that affect both would have a stronger impact on a half-elf child.

So do you agree or disagree? I’m not a biology major so I could be way off, but this is my interpretation of inter-species mating. Let me know!

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