Ask the Author: William Ray
Answered Questions (7)
William Ray
There are so many greats, the answer changes with my mood! I've found though, that as I've grown older, stories of the meetcute and subsequent courtship are far less appealing than stories subsequent to all that.
The simplest, shortest answer is Gomez and Morticia Addams, of the Addams Family, who have one of the best married romances in fiction - they are two unstable people in a stable yet passionate marriage that each relies upon and each contributes to. It's the romantic choice, but it feels too easy... this is Goodreads, so I should endeavor to be more literary!
Lu Bu and Diao Chan, of the Chinese classics surrounding the Three Kingdoms era spring to mind. She is originally just a lure, but stays with him after her mission is accomplished, and ultimately it is only through the helpless indulgence of his love for her that Lu Bu is defeated. I find it fascinating because of the mystery to it... did she fall in love too, or was she always working to be his undoing? Was she a patriotic martyr or the passionate lover of an unsteady war-lord? He was pushed into political marriages - did she stay his concubine out of affection, or fear, or guile? Many versions of their story have been written, and for some reason it's always a relationship that sticks out in my mind.
And, of course, who could deny the allegorical utility of O. Henry's Jim and Della from "Gift of the Magi"?
If we veer away from 'good' romances, Morn and Angus in Stephen Donaldson's sci-fi novel, "The Real Story" are a well-written couple. Their relationship is horrific, but deeply affecting and a compelling read, even though it makes my skin crawl.
I bear a similar affection for Jan and, well, everyone else, in Jesse Burlington's "The Folly of the World"; the romantic relationships there are compelling, even if none of them are healthy.
The simplest, shortest answer is Gomez and Morticia Addams, of the Addams Family, who have one of the best married romances in fiction - they are two unstable people in a stable yet passionate marriage that each relies upon and each contributes to. It's the romantic choice, but it feels too easy... this is Goodreads, so I should endeavor to be more literary!
Lu Bu and Diao Chan, of the Chinese classics surrounding the Three Kingdoms era spring to mind. She is originally just a lure, but stays with him after her mission is accomplished, and ultimately it is only through the helpless indulgence of his love for her that Lu Bu is defeated. I find it fascinating because of the mystery to it... did she fall in love too, or was she always working to be his undoing? Was she a patriotic martyr or the passionate lover of an unsteady war-lord? He was pushed into political marriages - did she stay his concubine out of affection, or fear, or guile? Many versions of their story have been written, and for some reason it's always a relationship that sticks out in my mind.
And, of course, who could deny the allegorical utility of O. Henry's Jim and Della from "Gift of the Magi"?
If we veer away from 'good' romances, Morn and Angus in Stephen Donaldson's sci-fi novel, "The Real Story" are a well-written couple. Their relationship is horrific, but deeply affecting and a compelling read, even though it makes my skin crawl.
I bear a similar affection for Jan and, well, everyone else, in Jesse Burlington's "The Folly of the World"; the romantic relationships there are compelling, even if none of them are healthy.
William Ray
From the bottom of the deck, wherever possible.
Music helps me, and I've found that on occasion focusatwill.com can work wonders.
Music helps me, and I've found that on occasion focusatwill.com can work wonders.
William Ray
The early part, when the weird clutter of ideas somehow begins to emerge as a cohesive narrative. There are moments where that fog clears away, you see an alien world in perfect clarity, and it is always breathtaking. Everything in the creative writing process is about trying to share that experience with others.
William Ray
Firstly, the secret to doing anything is the 'doing' part. To write, you have to sit down and put in the time. You need to be willing to put in countless hours making something horrible you would never want anyone to see, because until you've done that, you can't send it off to an editor, you can't clean it up, you can't improve, and nothing happens.
Secondly, find a good editor. Not just a friend, but the expensive professional kind who won't give more than a passing mention to grammatical errors because they will focus primarily on telling you why your story is terrible. Even the best story starts off as a terrible one.
Thirdly is marketing. If you figure out the secret to that, let me know.
Secondly, find a good editor. Not just a friend, but the expensive professional kind who won't give more than a passing mention to grammatical errors because they will focus primarily on telling you why your story is terrible. Even the best story starts off as a terrible one.
Thirdly is marketing. If you figure out the secret to that, let me know.
William Ray
I am currently finishing a second novel, in the same setting as Gedlund. It takes place many years afterwards, following Gus's adventures as a detective.
William Ray
Research!
In an immediate sense, what drives me on a momentary basis is often music, to get me into the mood. In a broader sense, research is what really stokes the creative fires. Reading up on similar events or parallel periods of history really helps inspire me.
In an immediate sense, what drives me on a momentary basis is often music, to get me into the mood. In a broader sense, research is what really stokes the creative fires. Reading up on similar events or parallel periods of history really helps inspire me.
William Ray
A number of things inspired Gedlund, but the spark that goes the furthest back is the ending of Lord of the Rings. When I finished Return of the King, the question that haunted me was, "What about all the other stuff?"
The Elves left, they took most of their magic with them, they took the wizards, they took the most magical hobbits, they took a lot... but they didn't take everything. Sauron himself is gone, but surely there were a handful of orcs or trolls or other things that never made it. A particularly lazy dragon might be napping somewhere further afield, or mystical detritus of Numenor like the various other lost seeing stones. Lots of loose ends that don't lead neatly into our modern world.
It probably helped that I next went on to read a bit of Dickens and Jules Verne.
Humans would keep going, so what happens when industrious humans meet ancient magic? Much like armored knights, dragons seem less fearsome once you develop rifles. The ancient mysteries of distant lands become more immediate concerns when you can steam on over in the latest ships.
So much fantasy literature takes place in medieval worlds, and the Verin Empire was an idea developed to explore the question of what happens next in those sorts of places.
The Elves left, they took most of their magic with them, they took the wizards, they took the most magical hobbits, they took a lot... but they didn't take everything. Sauron himself is gone, but surely there were a handful of orcs or trolls or other things that never made it. A particularly lazy dragon might be napping somewhere further afield, or mystical detritus of Numenor like the various other lost seeing stones. Lots of loose ends that don't lead neatly into our modern world.
It probably helped that I next went on to read a bit of Dickens and Jules Verne.
Humans would keep going, so what happens when industrious humans meet ancient magic? Much like armored knights, dragons seem less fearsome once you develop rifles. The ancient mysteries of distant lands become more immediate concerns when you can steam on over in the latest ships.
So much fantasy literature takes place in medieval worlds, and the Verin Empire was an idea developed to explore the question of what happens next in those sorts of places.
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