Get ready...get set....GO!

The time is almost near.

The study is stocked, fully ready. Soda pop, coffee, granola, chips, nuts, and cookies all within easy reach. The heating pad is draped over the chair for the times when sitting up is an option; the day bed has all of my favorite back supporting pillows with clean, crisp pillowcases. The kitten's cat bed is tucked under the desk. My mythological source material is lined up on it. Freshly sharpened pencils--number twos both red and black--fill the old ceramic beer stein I use as a pencil holder. Five reams of new paper, six new computer cartridges and a nice whiny new empty file folder on my desktop that is titled simply "Terella."

I'm ready for NaNoWriMo.

My fellow competitors in The Great Tea Debacle are probably ready too. It's actually kind of funny; I'll be following down my normal path of fantasy hackdom and one of them will probably write something that will win a Pulitzer. But, that is the challenge we genre writers face; I'd rather have a Nebula.

Terella is an interesting world. I wrote a backstory for it last night during the FNW at the Dragon's Den. Over 2k in an hour, so I'm up to speed. I wrote a tasty little creation myth that may end up as the prologue to the novel. We shall see. I'll spend some time tomorrow looking for a nifty little word counter for the blog so everyone will know how I'm progressing.

Although NaNo sets a 50k word limit in order to 'win', my personal goal is a bit higher. I want to hit 120k by the first of December. It would be cool if I managed it; I'm going to post the chapters at the Dragon's Den as I go and maybe, just maybe, I'll have a manuscript that I can edit and polish and zip out to be rejected within a couple of months.

Eight more minutes. Wow, am I ready. I've not been this excited to write in a long time. Despite the fun and games involved with the Tea Debacle, it's a privilege to be writing alongside some individuals that I really respect. I'm going to enjoy it.

*evil grin* No, I didn't buy into that either. Let the games begin.

Asphodel Update and Character Notes

All righty then! As per some questioning emails I have received, I'm going to toss out some background information. Let's get down to brass tacks here.

The Asphodel series (both of them--snort!) has a very strong basis in Greco-Roman mythology, with some additional roots in Celtic, Egyptian, Summerian, and Phoenician lore. Whew! Now that I've established my academic bona fides, let's REALLY talk about it.

Asphodel is epic fantasy, pure and simple. I use many of the fantastical archetypes (see Joseph Campbell's work for examples and I promise that's the last brainy thing I'll say) but....and you knew there was a but....I, er, change them.

*grin*

In a nutshell, here's the series premise: what would happen IF you took the prissiest race in standard fantasy (Elves), warped their patriarchal society to suit your feminist needs, gave them a Greco-Roman pantheon at war and many mythological critters to fight (as well as making up some pretty cool new ones if I do say so myself), give them a magic system that's elemental (and kills them eventually) and then force them to refight the Trojan War? Oh but wait--here's the good part! The protagonist is a female...half-breed...very smartass sort of gal who single-handedly manages to revamp the political systems of both the Elven and human kingdoms, learns to lead men to war, and manages to be a dominant personality while surrounded by alpha males?

*bigger grin*

There are lots of fights, I must admit. Hence the title of this blog. After working on this project for five years, my elf-killing is, of necessity, becoming very, very creative. Still fun though.

Tamsen Ka'antira de Asphodel, my MC, is a life's work. My biggest problem with her is that I know her so well sometimes I forget that you guys don't. Hence this note from my editor:

This might be an area to share with the reader the limits of her
abilities...since she can make fire which isn't weather related (strictly) why
can't she make something else would run through a reader's mind.

Well, duh. You don't remember the two-sentence explanation of that in Chapter Two? *grumble, grumble*

Tamsen was designed to be complex. She's neither a stereotypical wringing-her-hands-and-waiting-to-be-rescued sort of fantasy heroine or a Xena wannabe. She's a fairly normal person save for the extraordinary power she's inherited, and she hasn't got a clue what she should do with that power. That's the crux of her character conflict. For the most part, Asphodel is Tamsen's story, and that story is full of duality. For every point there is a counterpoint, a different path, a completely new destiny with all of the ramifications of that.

She does have a sword...eventually. It's not a *magic* sword though, it's just a very pretty sword. She does have a lot of magical ability, a cross between human and Elven magic, but she can't control it and at times it seems to control her. She has an epic quest that she must follow, but that quest is more along the nature of Heracles and his labors than taking the ring to Mount Doom. The duality of her nature, determined by her two heritages, dictates the paths she must follow on her journey. She is essentially human, which infuriates the Elves around her, but as she evolves she must either accept or amend the strictures of the Elven society.

She's also a smartass who can take care of herself--except those occasions when she needs a little help.

I spent a lot of time developing the political and military situations. I will admit right here to swiping some of Caesar's maneuvers in both areas. The mythology and religion was fairly easy for me (thank you National Junior Classical League for appealing enough to my competitive nature to make me retain all of that information!) and after blending my classical knowledge with the rest of my world, the realms of Ansienne, Leselle, and Spesialle are fully developed and have histories of their own.

Go to my website Shoot The Muse! and check out the excerpt from the prologue. Let me know what you think.

More tomorrow.

What? We're Defined?

I'm not certain whether I should laugh or be distraught. Check out this definition I found on Wikipedia:

The definition of a fantasy author is somewhat diffuse, and a matter of opinion
- Jules
Verne considered H. G. Wells to be a fantasy
author - and there is considerable overlap with science
fiction authors and horror
fiction authors. However some notable part of the output of the following
writers leans more to the fantasy end of the spectrum:

Uh................huh?

So Verne considered Wells to be a fantasy author, did he? I wonder, just out of curiosity--what did Wells think of Verne?

Whoa. I could ponder the ramifications of that for hours.

At any rate, did anyone notice that the definition of fantasy author is not actually defined? Apparently, we overlap with scif-fi and horror---and that's it. Wonder what they say about fantasy.

Fantasy is a genre
of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a
primary element of plot, theme, or setting. The genre
is generally distinguished from science fiction and horror by overall
look, feel, and theme of the
individual work, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three
(collectively known as speculative
fiction). In its broadest sense, fantasy comprises works by many writers,
artists, filmmakers, and musicians, from ancient myths and legends to many recent works
embraced by a wide audience today.
The genre of fantasy is generally
distinguished from other works that may use things believed to be impossible by
its internal consistency (the marvels do not alter their behavior without reason
in a work) and its presentation as true in its context.[1]

Oh wait...is that speculative fiction I see thrown in there?

So if fantasy differs from the rest of the speculative realm due to its overall look, feel, and theme then how do fantasy authors differ from their speculative brothers and sisters?

(Pauses while the inevitable comments about my overall look and feel get thrown into the ring...)

I think it may have something to do with "...use things believed to be impossible by its internal consistency...and its presentation as true in its context..." In a nutshell, a fantasy author finds a way to make the impossible credible. Sure, the willing suspension of disbelief must be applied to all speculative fiction if it is going to work, but what about fantasy requires MORE, not only from the author but from the reader as well? I thought about this for a while and this is what I came up with---*snicker*

Okay, the thing that makes true horror work (for me at least) is the sneaking suspicion that it COULD be possible. The psychological horror of a movie like Halloween works for me in that context; I can picture some six-year-old loon like Michael Myers. I can also imagine that somewhere in the world, that psychic link exists between siblings....ergo, the entire premise becomes credible to me.

Science fiction, on the other hand, operates (0nce again, let me toss out the *this is me* disclaimer) on what MAY be possible in the future. Think about it: do any of us really doubt that someday we'll perfect lightspeed technology? I don't. Once they managed to clone a sheep, my disbelief was willingly--and permanently--suspended.

But fantasy---ah, fantasy!---operates from the premise of what we each WISH for. What kid doesn't wish desperately for some magic way to get back at his/her parents or tormentors? I know I did! This hidden vein lies dormant in all of us. Look at the success of Harry Potter. Doesn't it speak eloquently of that wish? By the same token, don't we all wish to influence events around us through the use of mere thought?

Sooooooooooooo---reaching through the broadest spectrum of speculation, perhaps then a fantasy author is one who takes the secret wishes of humanity and makes them into reality.

*grin*

Yeah that works.