David Burrows's Blog, page 72
September 9, 2012
Creating fantasy characters
Kaplyn is my favourite character in the Prophecy of the Kings. He is the lead character and plays a pivotal role. However, he faces more than his fair share of adversity. At Vastra's behest, he gets trapped in a nightmare tower where he is trying to find an Eldric talisman. He is stubborn as shown when Vastra demands the talisman, but Kaplyn refuses to hand it over. Lars' support, although unspoken, is key at this point. Both men know that Vatsra is a sorcerer as he often brags about this. But having summoned the ancient city of Tanel, they know he is truly a power to be feared.
I take Kaplyn's character to the very pit of despair. Things go from bad to worse and he takes the souls trapped in the demon world on his shoulders and again his stubbornness rises to the fore when he takes it upon himself to rescue them. He is also brave, walking alone into Drishnack where, as part of a ritual, he is forced to touch a powerful kara-stone, which awakens the link with his shaol, Shastlan, a guardian spirit. He doesn't realise it, but his shaol is the spirit of a dead emperor who betrayed his own people, summoning dragons to his world.
Kaplyn is a strong character as he must continue his journey in the face of considerable adversity. Madness threatens when he lives Shastlan's life in his dreams. His fear of dragons has caused him to flee CarCamel and Shastlan's memories cause him to doubt his sanity. Of all the characters I have created I feel sorry for Kaplyn. No man, real or otherwise, should ever suffer as much as Kaplyn.
That's the beauty of creating fantasy characters. You can play with their emotional state in a far deeper way than in reality. The enemy is clear cut - dark and brooding and must be killed. No one cares for the krell and grakyn that are killed. They are the enemy and they are evil.
I take Kaplyn's character to the very pit of despair. Things go from bad to worse and he takes the souls trapped in the demon world on his shoulders and again his stubbornness rises to the fore when he takes it upon himself to rescue them. He is also brave, walking alone into Drishnack where, as part of a ritual, he is forced to touch a powerful kara-stone, which awakens the link with his shaol, Shastlan, a guardian spirit. He doesn't realise it, but his shaol is the spirit of a dead emperor who betrayed his own people, summoning dragons to his world.
Kaplyn is a strong character as he must continue his journey in the face of considerable adversity. Madness threatens when he lives Shastlan's life in his dreams. His fear of dragons has caused him to flee CarCamel and Shastlan's memories cause him to doubt his sanity. Of all the characters I have created I feel sorry for Kaplyn. No man, real or otherwise, should ever suffer as much as Kaplyn.
That's the beauty of creating fantasy characters. You can play with their emotional state in a far deeper way than in reality. The enemy is clear cut - dark and brooding and must be killed. No one cares for the krell and grakyn that are killed. They are the enemy and they are evil.
September 2, 2012
What motivated me to write Prophecy of the Kings
There were three motivations to my writing Prophecy of the Kings;
1. As with many folk, Tolkien inspired me, not with Lord of the Rings, but the Silmarillian. That was an excellent tale. After reading it I felt greatly inspired. It's a sweeping tale and unlike Lord of the Rings it covers many generations. If you haven't read it and are a fan of Tolkien - it's well worth a read, although many folk do find it hard to get into. 2. I had an initial scene in mind and I wrote a couple of pages about that scene. I showed this to a friend and every time we met he asked how my book was coming along. After a while I really felt I ought to start putting pen to paper seriously. 3. Having written an initial scene, I wanted to know what happened next. This may seem odd, but I had absolutely no idea how the scene came about nor what came next. This was a real motivator, creating characters and sending them into peril, but then wanting to know what happened next. I hadn't plotted out the tale and so it was a real learning process. I went for months not knowing where the plot was going and stuck at a cliff hanger. It was fascinating when inspiration finally struck and the tale continued to the next sticking point. My initial scene ended up being the end of book 1 in the tale, Legacy of the Eldric. I really enjoyed creating the world and characters and hope you enjoy reading the tale.
David
1. As with many folk, Tolkien inspired me, not with Lord of the Rings, but the Silmarillian. That was an excellent tale. After reading it I felt greatly inspired. It's a sweeping tale and unlike Lord of the Rings it covers many generations. If you haven't read it and are a fan of Tolkien - it's well worth a read, although many folk do find it hard to get into. 2. I had an initial scene in mind and I wrote a couple of pages about that scene. I showed this to a friend and every time we met he asked how my book was coming along. After a while I really felt I ought to start putting pen to paper seriously. 3. Having written an initial scene, I wanted to know what happened next. This may seem odd, but I had absolutely no idea how the scene came about nor what came next. This was a real motivator, creating characters and sending them into peril, but then wanting to know what happened next. I hadn't plotted out the tale and so it was a real learning process. I went for months not knowing where the plot was going and stuck at a cliff hanger. It was fascinating when inspiration finally struck and the tale continued to the next sticking point. My initial scene ended up being the end of book 1 in the tale, Legacy of the Eldric. I really enjoyed creating the world and characters and hope you enjoy reading the tale.
David
What motivatde me to write Prophecy of the Kings
There were three motivations to my writing Prophecy of the Kings;
1. as with many folk, Tolkien inspired me but not with Lord of the Rings, but the Silmarillian. That was an excellent tale. After reading it I felt greatly inspired. It's a sweeping tale and unlike Lord of the Rings it covers many generations. If you haven't read it and are a fan of Tolkien - it's well worth a read, although many folk do find it hard to get into. 2. I had an initial scene in mind and I wrote a couple of pages about that scene. I showed this to a friend and every time we met he asked how my book was coming along. After a while I really felt I ought to start putting pen to paper seriously. 3. Having written an initial scene, I wanted to know what happened. This may seem odd, but I had absolutely no idea how the scene came about nor what came next. This was the real motivator, creating characters and sending them into peril, but then wanting to know what happened next. I hadn't plotted out the tale and so it was a real learning process, finding what came next. I went for months not knowing and stuck, when I wrote the characters into a corner. It was fascinating when, after months at times, inspiration struck and the tale continued to the next sticking point. My initial scene ended up being the end of book 1 in the tale, Legacy of the Eldric. I really enjoyed creating the world and characters and hope you enjoy reading the tale.
David
1. as with many folk, Tolkien inspired me but not with Lord of the Rings, but the Silmarillian. That was an excellent tale. After reading it I felt greatly inspired. It's a sweeping tale and unlike Lord of the Rings it covers many generations. If you haven't read it and are a fan of Tolkien - it's well worth a read, although many folk do find it hard to get into. 2. I had an initial scene in mind and I wrote a couple of pages about that scene. I showed this to a friend and every time we met he asked how my book was coming along. After a while I really felt I ought to start putting pen to paper seriously. 3. Having written an initial scene, I wanted to know what happened. This may seem odd, but I had absolutely no idea how the scene came about nor what came next. This was the real motivator, creating characters and sending them into peril, but then wanting to know what happened next. I hadn't plotted out the tale and so it was a real learning process, finding what came next. I went for months not knowing and stuck, when I wrote the characters into a corner. It was fascinating when, after months at times, inspiration struck and the tale continued to the next sticking point. My initial scene ended up being the end of book 1 in the tale, Legacy of the Eldric. I really enjoyed creating the world and characters and hope you enjoy reading the tale.
David
August 31, 2012
Wheeeeeekend!
Yes, weekend again. Haircut here I come.
August 30, 2012
Bad landing, Cool Pose - Detling photo
Some re-enactors just go too far. Mind you, parking his messerschmitt went wrong! Hee hee
August 29, 2012
Daft things I do
Running in a downpour. Five miles and soaking wet!
Detling photo - German versus Roman
Not something you see every day - a German telling a Roman where they went wrong.
August 11, 2012
The Book of Deacon - Joseph Lallo
This was an interesting book. I nearly gave up at one point when one of the characters proved a little too bizarre. However, it was well written and I kept going. It's worth reading and it's free on Kindle at the moment. The tale is about Myranda, who hates war and is not afraid to say so. She gets thrown out of several towns because of her opinions. The characterisation is good and you do feel for her on her lonely journey. The tale picks up and becomes very good when she finds a hidden band of people, learning magic. The characters here are excellent. There is a master for each magic, earth, fire, water, air, grey, black and white. The masters are excellent creations. It's a very entertaining read.
http://www.bookofdeacon.com/
http://www.bookofdeacon.com/
August 9, 2012
The Queen's Blade - T C Southwell, a review
I read this on holiday. A really good read. I would recommend it. The characterisation is very good and the style is easy to read. Each character has an animal as a familiar, e.g. a snake, a bear etc which is quite novel. Their behaviour is akin to their familiar's. Blade is an interesting and likable character. The plot is interesting. Well worth a read and reasonably priced if you have a Kindle.
http://www.tcsouthwellbooks.com/
http://www.tcsouthwellbooks.com/
August 8, 2012
Holiday in Crete - Hersonnisos
Just back from Crete. Lovely holiday. Went to Knossos to see the Minoan ruins. Really interetsing and dates back to 2000 BC. Also visited Agios Nickolaos which is a very pretty place. 
Managed to go scuba diving and saw some Great Apple Jacks. Quite a big silver fish. Awewsome. Have to admit, though - I liked Stalis, which was only a short walk from the hotel. That's the first photo - above.
