Lionelson N.Y.'s Blog

Through Their Eyes

Perspective.

It is the single, most defining trait of a story, may it be written or spoken.

Who is telling the story? Is it the hero? Is it his friend? Or is it a higher being that oversees everything, also known as the narrator?

These are all perspectives of how a story could be told. Currently, the first person Point of View (POV) and third person limited POV are the favoured type of perspective that audiences love to read. So what are they?

First person POV refers simply to the telling of the story via the character’s own eyes. As a result, your paragraphs would be filled with “I”s and “My”s. For example, “I walk down the street and I saw the most beautiful woman I have ever met. Is she single?” This is a first person POV.

Now what would a third person limited POV sound like? It is one that is told by the narrator, but with a twist: the narrator, despite his/her omniscience over the story, would only describe events based on the POV of the character! For example, “He walks down the street and saw the most beautiful woman he had ever met.”

You may ask, what’s the difference between this and a normal third person POV? Well a normal third person POV would have a more omniscient tone. Meaning the narrator would describe what everyone in the scene is feeling or seeing. For example, “He walks down the street and saw the most beautiful woman he had ever met. The woman, seeing the handsome man, instantly fell for him as well.”

You see how the POV shifts from the perspective of the man and then suddenly to the woman? This is called head-hopping, which is a big no-no for the modern reader! So be careful when you do third person limited.

So that’s a brief introduction to POVs for beginners. There are whole text books regarding perspective but I just thought that I’d share this simple information so that you may keep it in mind while writing.

I hope this helps and you can make your writing awesomer! All the best in your writing, fellow pen-artists!

 

p/s: check out my fantasy book: The Ocean Hearth.

History made in Malaysia!

Sorry guys, but being a Malaysian, I can’t help but join in the political train right now. Tune in for more book stuffs next week!

So the Malaysian General Election just ended with a bang. For the first time since Independence Day, for about 61 years, there is finally a change in government! Amazing! Many Malaysians have been waiting for this day for years, even decades!

This whole time, we believed that democracy is dead in this country. How could we not when every election was rigged and states were raped of their resources. But now, we see that democracy is very much alive; the people just need to speak out louder!

Thank you all, for your thoughts and prayers. My only wish now is that everything goes well and all the previous corrupt leaders will be thrown away. Times are changing, folks!

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Speaking of the fight against injustice, here’s a soft promo for my fantasy book The Ocean Hearth, which is free in Google Play and on sale in Amazon. Check it out!

Malaysian General Election! – an author’s POV

So for those of you who don’t know, we, Malaysians, will be voting for the future of our nation next Wednesday! And oh, how things are getting hot here!

If you’re familiar with our political situation l, I’m sure you’d be aware of some scandals that made our country infamous. I would elaborated further if I could. But freedom of speech here is slowly deteriorating. Every word that goes against the government’s interest is classified as hate speech. And hate speech against the government warrants punishment. Yeah, so much for democracy.

But I’m not here to campaign about my political affiliations. Rather, I’d like to mention about how the political situation in my country inspired me to write my fantasy book, The Ocean Hearth.

In my book, the Reds of Elmswood, led by Eli Rivergrove, is an opposition party that goes against the tyrant King Velron Allistair. Those people have always yearned for a fairer rule. One that is unbiased, honest and all around good. Turmoils were faced and new alliances were made, all for the sake of freedom and justice.

This is similar to what’s happening now in Malaysia. The political tension here is so strong. And as citizens with an opinion, we can fight for what we believe in through voting. Sure, one may argue that even the election committee is rigged. It’s okay. Exercise your right. Let the parties know that we are not clueless about what we deserve and what we could’ve had.

So I humbly ask all my readers to pray that a positive change comes to our country, regardless of which party wins this election.

With that said, I wish you all a happy weekend. And to my fellow Malaysians, happy voting!

The Moral of the Story

Stories have always been the conduits of moral lessons. Authors have always used them to express their point of views on morality. Some may even use it as a propaganda. I definitely portrayed some lessons into my novella, The Ocean Hearth, as well.

So here are 5 simple steps you could do the same!

List out a few the attitude and behavior that you love and hate about yourself.
List out your ideals as well as your fears regarding the society around you.
With that in mind, give a little bit of both to each of your characters. Meaning, give a hint of good and bad things to each character, including the main character (It’s more compelling to have your characters be more than one dimensional beings.)
With that in mind, design your story so that your characters could potray those traits. Get creative! Just remember that the goal is to show your readers what is good and what is bad, not just a show of ‘badassery’
5. Always let the good qualities triumph over the bad ones in the end. Or go the other way around by showing the consequences of having bad traits.

Books are the best way to create character ideals or at least show people how much of a struggle it is to keep the tennants of morality. Regardless, it is a useful tool to remind your readers what is good and what is bad. It might sound like a “duh!”-worthy kind of thing to say, but we humans are forgetful creatures. It’s good to be reminded.

So I hope you could use these steps in your writing so that your book becomes more than just an art but also be a meaningful message for readers to learn.

With that, I wish you all the best in your writings! Have a nice day!

It’s Time!

Perhaps the most overlooked element in world building is the time setting. The time setting is what the name suggests, a time frame which your story takes place.

In a High Fantasy story, time setting is a lot more flexible. Because High Fantasy takes place in a fictiional world that we could just slap on any number of years there and it would still make sense. George R.R. Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ had his realm stuck in the middle ages for thousands of years! My book, The Ocean Hearth, for example takes place only ten thousand years after creation and somehow the humans already reached medieval times.

But let’s put High Fantasy away for a moment and let’s talk about the time setting in a pseudo-realistic world such as those in Urban Fantasy, Arthurian fantasy and so on.

Time setting is important because a certain population have different norms, culture and behavior over different spans of time. People from the middle ages may be prone to solve conflicts with violence, for example, making intelligence a distinguishable trait for your hero.

So while you are world building, try to think about which time period is your story taking place? What was normal at that time? What is beyond normal? How do people comunicate? What was the social structure of that era? These are important to keep your story realistic and consistent.

Here are a few examples of time settings that I enjoy.

1. Creation

[image error]This one is perfect if you’re making a story about deities and how your world came to be.

 

 

2. Middle ages

[image error]Whether if it’s in this world or if it’s fictional, this is a typical time setting for many fantasy stories. Btw, it doesn’t even have to be in a western-styled middle ages

The White Fount (An update for my work in progress)

Wow, this is the longest I’ve ever been on hiatus. It’s been a busy couple of weeks with my studies and I haven’t got the chance to post my weekly blog. Sorry about that. But despite the hectic student life I own, I never stopped writing behind the scenes. With that in mind, perhaps it is best if I talk about my work in progress

How to Build Characters – An Overview

What makes a good character? It all boils down to four major aspects: strengths, weaknesses, personality and a good storyline. So let’s talk about this for a second.

Strengths

It is important that your main character have some quality that sets him apart from the other characters. Or else, why bother making him the hero, right? Are they the strongest among their peers? The wisest, perhaps? Or maybe simply the kindest? Whatever it is, make it shine!

Weaknesses

A character’s weaknesses are as crucial as their strength. No, I’m not talking about a green rock that magically makes the hero weak. I’m talking about his flaws. Maybe he is careless? Perhaps even a coward. This is important as it gives the readers sense of relatability. But don’t overdo it either or else your character would just end up plain unappealing. Try and be realistic about it.

Personality

Your character would be the strongest man ever but still be a boring character. He needs to have personality. Is he charming? Cunning? Ruthless? Gentle? Whatever it is, explore and express it through the character’s actions and conversations.

A Good storyline

All of the above three points would be in vain if you don’t give the character a good storyline. I prefer to use the hero’s journey story arc as an appealing way to portray all three aspects of the character.

 

I know all of these points are rather obvious, but you’d be surprised by how many amateur mistakes are seen in many self-published books. I’ve read books where the hero is just too overpowered and badass all the time. Then there are books where the characters are just bland and tasteless. That’s why I think these are important keys to remember in developing characters.

I hope this helps you in your character building! Any suggestions on what the next post could be about are gladly considered. Thank you for reading and all the best in your writing!

 

p/s, check out my fantasy book, The Ocean Hearth, which is available for FREE on Google Books and $1.25 on Kindle. Also, follow my blog for writing tips and news about my books!

The City of Eleazar

So this is some background history of my fictional fantasy city, Eleazar. It’s the main setting for my fantasy novella, The Ocean Hearth, which is available for FREE now on Google Play and selling in Amazon for only $1.25. Feel free to support and check it out!

The City Of Eleazar
In the voice of King Velron Allistair, Third Monarch of Eleazar

People used to say the Meridiths were the best voyagers in all of the blade. But on the day my father, King Thremendor discovered Evermorn, the old Allistair emblem of a castle was replaced with that of a ship, for it was our turn to be the voyagers.

Thirty tears ago, we first set foot on a fertile piece of land owned by an indigenous tribe called the Nazari, dark skinned savages of the forest. But my father, seeing that we are humans of equal integrity, was generous enough to offer them stone buildings instead of their straw huts…Taught them to worship Sirium instead of their false animistic ways…taught them to be more contemporary like us Rodenians are. But how did the repay us?

After obtaining enough resources from my father, the Nazarian King led a mutinee against the Allistairs. But surely, no sticks and stones can break our steel. My father drove them all the way out into the desert. This fertile land is not worthy of such incompetence.

So we took that land and named it Eleazar, meaning “land of hope” in the ancient tongue. For my father wanted to build a city upon it where everyone can start over.

It took us 15 good years to finally build it up. My father initially wanted my brother Varthas to be king here. But alas, King Thremendor fell ill of an unknown disease and died young. My brother was reserved for the throne of Rodenheim. As for me…i was a mere adolescent at that time. And my uncle Xanthem Allistair, is a drunkard fool that can never be a good king. He does have a handful of bastards at his disposal, none of which are worthy to be king either.

So my father’s trusted advisor, Sir Saerus Garrinson, persuaded my brother to allow Princess Lilaena Meridith, princess of Meridia and older sister of Lady Quella, to take the throne of Eleazar until I am of age. Why a Meridith out of many noble families in Rodenheim, i shall never know. But i do know that Saerus was quite a poet. Maybe someday i’ll learn why.

Queen Lilaena further developed the city to be more beautiful and rich. Because of all that she’s done in the absence of my family, what started as a “humble service” became a law. A law that stated a cyclical succession of power between Allistair and Meridith, one ruling after the service of another

Finally, after more than a decade, it was Queen Lilaena’s turn in the coffin, murdered by her own husband King Burray Dillyworth…a silly name for a silly man who thought he could steal the throne and make a name for himself.

But his reign was short. My men, led by Commander Torren Black reclaimed Eleazar from him and restored order to the city. And now that I am of age, the throne of Eleazar belongs to me. And I will set my eyes to make this city greater than it ever was.

 

 

Live Life Like a Book

I was once asked a question: I have no time to practice writing or even read a book. What should I do to make sure I can keep improving my writing skills.

For me, the answer is simple. Live life like a book. For me, I love to describe every little detail of my day to day activities even in the simplest of events. Say I was walking down the streets on my way to work. Here’s how I used to think before I started writing:

“Damn, I woke up so early today. Look at all these busy people all rushing to work like I am. It’s gonna be one tiring day.”

But now, here’s how I think most of the time when I’m on my way to work:

“As I walk through these streets, I start to notice the radiant glow of the orange sun hovering over violet skies. Trails of headlights decorated the roads, each car carrying a passenger, rushing his way to work. Perhaps they are like me too: another gear in the machine for another day at the grinder.”

It’s actually the same thing but described more, isn’t it? I know that for some it is tiring. Imagine having to describe every aspect of your day to day experience. But I find it nice to do. I get to distract myself from negative thoughts while also providing a healthy output for it, all while practicing my description skills. Not to mention, you get to appreciate every element of your human experience!

I suggest that every writer, especially those of the fantasy genre, to live life like this as well. Once you master this, all you have to do when you do get to write your book is imagine what your character is doing. From there, you’d be able to describe all his activities in a poetic manner, no matter how ordinary it may seem.

This is just a short tip but I’m sure it is very beneficial if you tried it. I hope that you can find this helpful as an informal writing exercise. All the best, writers!

Blackwood’s Oath – A Poem by Ashosh Ma’al

The Ashosh is the King of the Starbornes in my fantasy book, The Ocean Hearth. Ma’al is his name. So here’s a poem I made in the character’s voice. It tells the tale of a pact made between the Starbornes and the foreign men. Enjoy