Barbara Eberhard's Blog, page 8
December 24, 2022
Making the Case for Maverick
I'm calling my father's biography (tentatively - don't hold me to it) A Maverick for the Built Environment. There are different aspects of being a maverick, though. And in many ways, they all apply.
Oxford defines maverick as "an unorthodox or independent-minded person". I've interviewed a bunch of his old colleagues from various jobs. I've got his papers - well, most of them. There's no question this definition fits. Although trained as an architect, and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Dad didn't design after 1958. Instead, he was interested in "systems thinking" and research. I have testimony he gave before Congress in 1972 about the need to understand how people use buildings, not just to design them.
Dictionary.com defines maverick: "a lone dissenter, as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates." This definition also applies in that Dad challenged the AIA, including taking a small niche shell part of the AIA and turning it into a $60m organization he called the AIA Research Corporation.
Vocabulary.com has this definition: " A maverick is a rebel, someone who shows a lot of independence". In 1985, I went to work for a company - now defunct - called Codeworks Corporation. Our goal was to create a database of building codes across the country for architects to use if they were designing a building in a jurisdiction where they didn't usually. There I met an architect named Bill Brenner, who was my boss and is still my friend. He knew my father, though mostly by reputation. He was the first one who said to me, "Your father is someone that you either love or hate." What he meant was that Dad challenged the conventional thinking of architects and "rebelled" against those who were more interested in design than in the architecture my dad defined as the intersection of art, engineering, and science.
"If you describe someone as a maverick, you mean that they are unconventional and independent, and do not think or behave in the same way as other people." (Collins English Dictionary)
Yup, that's my dad.
Oxford defines maverick as "an unorthodox or independent-minded person". I've interviewed a bunch of his old colleagues from various jobs. I've got his papers - well, most of them. There's no question this definition fits. Although trained as an architect, and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Dad didn't design after 1958. Instead, he was interested in "systems thinking" and research. I have testimony he gave before Congress in 1972 about the need to understand how people use buildings, not just to design them.
Dictionary.com defines maverick: "a lone dissenter, as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates." This definition also applies in that Dad challenged the AIA, including taking a small niche shell part of the AIA and turning it into a $60m organization he called the AIA Research Corporation.
Vocabulary.com has this definition: " A maverick is a rebel, someone who shows a lot of independence". In 1985, I went to work for a company - now defunct - called Codeworks Corporation. Our goal was to create a database of building codes across the country for architects to use if they were designing a building in a jurisdiction where they didn't usually. There I met an architect named Bill Brenner, who was my boss and is still my friend. He knew my father, though mostly by reputation. He was the first one who said to me, "Your father is someone that you either love or hate." What he meant was that Dad challenged the conventional thinking of architects and "rebelled" against those who were more interested in design than in the architecture my dad defined as the intersection of art, engineering, and science.
"If you describe someone as a maverick, you mean that they are unconventional and independent, and do not think or behave in the same way as other people." (Collins English Dictionary)
Yup, that's my dad.
December 3, 2022
Switching to Non-Fiction
In 2020, my parents both died. Separately, but within weeks of each other. As the writer in the family, I'm the one who put together their obituaries. Mom was first, and her obituary was mainly about what I knew of her and the family.
But Dad's was more complicated. Dad was a bit of big deal in his world of research architecture. And so I wanted his obituary to be filled with more about his work. He'd published a book called Extraordinary Events of My Life - mostly for the family - from which I borrowed liberally. I did some quick Googling of his name, and in the process, learned a lot. I knew Dad, as I said, was something of a big deal. But I had no idea, really, how much.
I began to understand how much when the obituary I wrote and published on Ever Loved, the same website we'd used for Mom, was picked up by numerous publications. It was used by the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) in their moving tribute to their founding president, John Eberhard. It was used by the State University of New York at Buffalo in a piece on the founding dean of their School of Architecture. It was used by the American Institute of Architects in their piece about Dad's passing as he had been both a Fellow of the AIA (FAIA) and the 2003 Latrobe Prize winner (to found ANFA). In short, it ended up in a bunch of places.
Realizing that Dad was something of a bigger deal than even I knew, I thought he belonged in Wikipedia. Thus began a 1-year process of actually getting Dad's bio in Wikipedia. My original obituary was "too flowery" for them, too many adjectives, too many accolades. Then, I was told Dad just wasn't notable. Which was patently absurd given how many institutions had published about his passing. I finally whittled the article done enough for one of the Wikipedia editors to note the awarding of the Latrobe Prize, and to give Dad a status as "notable" based on that.
By then, I'd done a lot more research, trying to find something that would make Dad notable enough for Wikipedia. And we'd gotten some amazing pieces published by ANFA and some of Dad's AIA colleagues about the great things that Dad had done.
And so, I decided to write a biography of my father. I've never written a biography. I write fiction, though I do call some of my novel fictional biographies. Still, writing non-fiction is a very different thing than writing fiction. For one thing, it requires actual facts. Which means research and footnotes and things like that. It's a daunting idea.
But I'm giving it my best. I have lots of papers from Dad's estate. I have the research I've already done. And I've now interviewed eight of his colleagues, with others to come, I'm sure.
So, for the short term, I'm switching from fiction to non-fiction. The tentative title is Maverick for the Built Environment: A Biography of John Paul Eberhard. We'll see how this goes.
But Dad's was more complicated. Dad was a bit of big deal in his world of research architecture. And so I wanted his obituary to be filled with more about his work. He'd published a book called Extraordinary Events of My Life - mostly for the family - from which I borrowed liberally. I did some quick Googling of his name, and in the process, learned a lot. I knew Dad, as I said, was something of a big deal. But I had no idea, really, how much.
I began to understand how much when the obituary I wrote and published on Ever Loved, the same website we'd used for Mom, was picked up by numerous publications. It was used by the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) in their moving tribute to their founding president, John Eberhard. It was used by the State University of New York at Buffalo in a piece on the founding dean of their School of Architecture. It was used by the American Institute of Architects in their piece about Dad's passing as he had been both a Fellow of the AIA (FAIA) and the 2003 Latrobe Prize winner (to found ANFA). In short, it ended up in a bunch of places.
Realizing that Dad was something of a bigger deal than even I knew, I thought he belonged in Wikipedia. Thus began a 1-year process of actually getting Dad's bio in Wikipedia. My original obituary was "too flowery" for them, too many adjectives, too many accolades. Then, I was told Dad just wasn't notable. Which was patently absurd given how many institutions had published about his passing. I finally whittled the article done enough for one of the Wikipedia editors to note the awarding of the Latrobe Prize, and to give Dad a status as "notable" based on that.
By then, I'd done a lot more research, trying to find something that would make Dad notable enough for Wikipedia. And we'd gotten some amazing pieces published by ANFA and some of Dad's AIA colleagues about the great things that Dad had done.
And so, I decided to write a biography of my father. I've never written a biography. I write fiction, though I do call some of my novel fictional biographies. Still, writing non-fiction is a very different thing than writing fiction. For one thing, it requires actual facts. Which means research and footnotes and things like that. It's a daunting idea.
But I'm giving it my best. I have lots of papers from Dad's estate. I have the research I've already done. And I've now interviewed eight of his colleagues, with others to come, I'm sure.
So, for the short term, I'm switching from fiction to non-fiction. The tentative title is Maverick for the Built Environment: A Biography of John Paul Eberhard. We'll see how this goes.
October 29, 2022
Hard to Stop
As I wrote last time, I'm getting to the end of the Jewels and Gods trilogy. I'm now two chapters away. I think. Today's writing added a couple of chapters.
I can feel the end. I want to continue writing.
But I am not going to. Tomorrow is another day.
And I have to prioritize life. My life. And that includes stopping for today.
Even though it's very hard. I can see the end.
But the end will still be there tomorrow. And who knows? Maybe a new revelation will come in my dreams. It wouldn't be the first time.
I can feel the end. I want to continue writing.
But I am not going to. Tomorrow is another day.
And I have to prioritize life. My life. And that includes stopping for today.
Even though it's very hard. I can see the end.
But the end will still be there tomorrow. And who knows? Maybe a new revelation will come in my dreams. It wouldn't be the first time.
October 23, 2022
So Close! So Far! So Scary?
In this weekend's writings, we finally meet the last of the Jewel Keepers, Damir, the Amborian Jewel Keeper. Now that the Jewel Keepers are complete, they can fulfill the quest to quell the gods.
Damir also has the last piece of the puzzle. Where exactly do they need to go to fulfill the quest? The prophecy has called it "the place of no gods". And no one knew where that was. But Damir knows. And he has a map!
As I write these last few chapters, I'm excited to almost be done with this trilogy. It's been in the planning for a while now, and I'm so close to the end!
And yet, still so far. I have at least three more chapters to write. I wrote the penultimate chapter a while ago, the one where they actually quell the gods. But of course, I'll have to revisit it once I've written everything up to that point. To make sure it holds up. I think it will. But still.
And then, I will write the denouement chapter, wrapping up the trilogy post-quest.
At least one - possibly two - of the chapters to come will be scary, though. I mean, as scary as I write (I'm no George R.R. Martin). And the anticipation of the bad things to come, interestingly, is putting some trepidation in my heart. And I know what will happen!
I can only hope that the fear that something will go wrong at the last minute will come across on the pages as I write. It's my experience that you, as a reader, know the quest will come off. You know the good guys will win. But that doesn't lessen the worry and fear that come from the last battles that stand in our heroes' way.
So close - only four or five more chapters.
So far - still four or five more chapters.
So scary - hopefully the final roadblocks give the readers at least a little frisson of fear that things won't go smoothly.
Damir also has the last piece of the puzzle. Where exactly do they need to go to fulfill the quest? The prophecy has called it "the place of no gods". And no one knew where that was. But Damir knows. And he has a map!
As I write these last few chapters, I'm excited to almost be done with this trilogy. It's been in the planning for a while now, and I'm so close to the end!
And yet, still so far. I have at least three more chapters to write. I wrote the penultimate chapter a while ago, the one where they actually quell the gods. But of course, I'll have to revisit it once I've written everything up to that point. To make sure it holds up. I think it will. But still.
And then, I will write the denouement chapter, wrapping up the trilogy post-quest.
At least one - possibly two - of the chapters to come will be scary, though. I mean, as scary as I write (I'm no George R.R. Martin). And the anticipation of the bad things to come, interestingly, is putting some trepidation in my heart. And I know what will happen!
I can only hope that the fear that something will go wrong at the last minute will come across on the pages as I write. It's my experience that you, as a reader, know the quest will come off. You know the good guys will win. But that doesn't lessen the worry and fear that come from the last battles that stand in our heroes' way.
So close - only four or five more chapters.
So far - still four or five more chapters.
So scary - hopefully the final roadblocks give the readers at least a little frisson of fear that things won't go smoothly.
October 16, 2022
Getting Back To It
I was on vacation last weekend, and I didn't get a chance to write at all. And yesterday, although Saturday, was a working day (today, too, in part, but that's a whole other blog). So, today - Sunday - as I wrote again, I had to remind myself where I was.
And I had to revisit a decision - now that I'm getting toward the end of writing - that I had made 2-1/2 books ago.
That's the thing about taking a day or two away. It gives you some new perspective. I had been pushing the story toward the direction I had set almost three years ago when I started writing.
But things had happened along the way. And some of that ending no longer made sense. It had been bothering me for a while. But I couldn't see what to do.
Until I had some time away. And I realized that there was another way to get to the same conclusion - getting the additional complication into the mix in a slightly different way, but a way that is in keeping with what has happened.
I could have continued down my original path. I could have made it work. But it would have been forcing the plot. I would have had to do one of the things I like least in writing - change one of the basic parameters under which I had been writing. And the "rules" of my fantasy world. That's what I had been struggling with. I was trying to find a way to keep my original idea in without violating any of the rules or subsequent plot points. And I just wasn't finding a way.
Until I abandoned that original plot point for another one. It accomplishes the same goal. But in a more elegant, less forced way.
Getting back to it - and revisiting it. Perspective gained.
And I had to revisit a decision - now that I'm getting toward the end of writing - that I had made 2-1/2 books ago.
That's the thing about taking a day or two away. It gives you some new perspective. I had been pushing the story toward the direction I had set almost three years ago when I started writing.
But things had happened along the way. And some of that ending no longer made sense. It had been bothering me for a while. But I couldn't see what to do.
Until I had some time away. And I realized that there was another way to get to the same conclusion - getting the additional complication into the mix in a slightly different way, but a way that is in keeping with what has happened.
I could have continued down my original path. I could have made it work. But it would have been forcing the plot. I would have had to do one of the things I like least in writing - change one of the basic parameters under which I had been writing. And the "rules" of my fantasy world. That's what I had been struggling with. I was trying to find a way to keep my original idea in without violating any of the rules or subsequent plot points. And I just wasn't finding a way.
Until I abandoned that original plot point for another one. It accomplishes the same goal. But in a more elegant, less forced way.
Getting back to it - and revisiting it. Perspective gained.
October 2, 2022
They Did It Again
One of the things I'd heard about writing was that sometimes the characters have a mind of their own. I've read several books written by authors about the writing process. And almost without exception, the writers mention this phenomenon. When a character takes control of the plot and writes their own story.
Jude Deveraux - possibly my favorite romance writer - has talked about this. She talks about inventing two main characters - a man and a woman - and then they take the story where they want it to go. I suspect it's not quite that simple.
But I get it. Because it happened again today.
The first time I experienced it was in my first fantasy trilogy, Reunion. There was a strong female character, Keela. She was the younger sister of Aidan, one of my leads. She had invited herself along on the quest. She didn't really have a function originally. There were other mages, and it turned out - a twist I hadn't originally envisioned - that each was a specialist in a different form on elemental magic. Aidan needed to learn them all as the Keeper of the Pink Amulet. His friends explained their magic to him, and he learned more elemental magic from each, along with his instructor, Dorjan. This was a plot point that I hadn't entirely planned either. But to me, this was more of a pleasant twist that came out of my brain as I was writing. It wasn't a character taking over. Not in the way I thought of from Jude and others.
But Keela did. She completely changed her path. One day, while I was writing, she went from being just Aidan's little sister to being a bad-ass mage who destroyed the cabal that was trying to kill Aidan and Sorcha. It turned out the prophecy had intended this all along. But I didn't know this until Keela told me about it. Along with Aidan and Sorcha.
In today's writing, it was Nyomi who took over. The Jewel Keepers - at this point in the trilogy - are in Karba, in Amboria. They need to get to Batca, where the last Jewel Keeper - the Amborian one - is waiting. But Karba is a merchant town. And so, though it's on a river, and that's the fastest way to get to Batca - down the Timi River - there are no pleasure boats, no boats that accept passengers, that travel the river from Karba. And then - out of nowhere - Nyomi mentions that they should ask Princess Miale for help. Princess Miale rules Amboria. They don't know her. No problem, Nyomi insists. They know people who know her - Kircha's parents, the former Keepers - the aforementioned Aidan and Sorcha. And suddenly, not only did Nyomi solve a plot point for getting the Jewel Keepers from Karba to Batca - they talk to Ido, Princess Miale's chief of staff, not the Princess herself - but she created a connection to the palace, which is where they find the next Jewel Keeper, Damir, who is one of the many, many princes of Amboria.
None of this was planned. And Nyomi rarely takes charge. But in this case, she got this idea in her head. And wouldn't take no for an answer.
I love that!
Jude Deveraux - possibly my favorite romance writer - has talked about this. She talks about inventing two main characters - a man and a woman - and then they take the story where they want it to go. I suspect it's not quite that simple.
But I get it. Because it happened again today.
The first time I experienced it was in my first fantasy trilogy, Reunion. There was a strong female character, Keela. She was the younger sister of Aidan, one of my leads. She had invited herself along on the quest. She didn't really have a function originally. There were other mages, and it turned out - a twist I hadn't originally envisioned - that each was a specialist in a different form on elemental magic. Aidan needed to learn them all as the Keeper of the Pink Amulet. His friends explained their magic to him, and he learned more elemental magic from each, along with his instructor, Dorjan. This was a plot point that I hadn't entirely planned either. But to me, this was more of a pleasant twist that came out of my brain as I was writing. It wasn't a character taking over. Not in the way I thought of from Jude and others.
But Keela did. She completely changed her path. One day, while I was writing, she went from being just Aidan's little sister to being a bad-ass mage who destroyed the cabal that was trying to kill Aidan and Sorcha. It turned out the prophecy had intended this all along. But I didn't know this until Keela told me about it. Along with Aidan and Sorcha.
In today's writing, it was Nyomi who took over. The Jewel Keepers - at this point in the trilogy - are in Karba, in Amboria. They need to get to Batca, where the last Jewel Keeper - the Amborian one - is waiting. But Karba is a merchant town. And so, though it's on a river, and that's the fastest way to get to Batca - down the Timi River - there are no pleasure boats, no boats that accept passengers, that travel the river from Karba. And then - out of nowhere - Nyomi mentions that they should ask Princess Miale for help. Princess Miale rules Amboria. They don't know her. No problem, Nyomi insists. They know people who know her - Kircha's parents, the former Keepers - the aforementioned Aidan and Sorcha. And suddenly, not only did Nyomi solve a plot point for getting the Jewel Keepers from Karba to Batca - they talk to Ido, Princess Miale's chief of staff, not the Princess herself - but she created a connection to the palace, which is where they find the next Jewel Keeper, Damir, who is one of the many, many princes of Amboria.
None of this was planned. And Nyomi rarely takes charge. But in this case, she got this idea in her head. And wouldn't take no for an answer.
I love that!
October 1, 2022
Breadcrumbs
One of the last things I will do when I'm editing one of my books is look for the breadcrumbs. Those hints of things to come from earlier in this book - and the others - to make sure I've covered them all.
Obviously, the breadcrumbs related to the prophecy will likely be written into the books. After all, that's what has been driving the plot across the trilogy. The prophecy speaks, and things happen. Or the powers-that-be share some news with Lojon, who passes it along to the Jewel Keepers as their prophetess.
But there are other breadcrumbs. Some related to relationships that happen as the books progress. Some related to other events that are tangential to the quest, but important nonetheless.
I have some of these breadcrumbs on the 3x5 cards that walk through the plot of each book. Once I finish writing, I'll go back through the cards to make sure all the ideas I had there are either in the books or were rejected because of other ideas. Because that happens too.
Still other breadcrumbs are in the notes in the chapters yet to be written. Sometimes, as I'm starting a new chapter, I read over my notes and I see a breadcrumb that needed an earlier breadcrumb. Because that's kind of the point - lots of breadcrumbs over the course of the book give the reader an 'aha' moment when he or she puts them together. So, sometimes a later breadcrumb requires going back to confirm that the earlier one was also there. Or it triggers a thought about a breadcrumb to come, which then becomes a note in a later chapter.
I don't think of breadcrumbs as the same as the plot. They may be related to the plot - as they may be related to prophecy and the quest. But sometimes they are just me trying to be clever and, as I said, give the reader something to go 'aha' over when the pieces come together.
Obviously, the breadcrumbs related to the prophecy will likely be written into the books. After all, that's what has been driving the plot across the trilogy. The prophecy speaks, and things happen. Or the powers-that-be share some news with Lojon, who passes it along to the Jewel Keepers as their prophetess.
But there are other breadcrumbs. Some related to relationships that happen as the books progress. Some related to other events that are tangential to the quest, but important nonetheless.
I have some of these breadcrumbs on the 3x5 cards that walk through the plot of each book. Once I finish writing, I'll go back through the cards to make sure all the ideas I had there are either in the books or were rejected because of other ideas. Because that happens too.
Still other breadcrumbs are in the notes in the chapters yet to be written. Sometimes, as I'm starting a new chapter, I read over my notes and I see a breadcrumb that needed an earlier breadcrumb. Because that's kind of the point - lots of breadcrumbs over the course of the book give the reader an 'aha' moment when he or she puts them together. So, sometimes a later breadcrumb requires going back to confirm that the earlier one was also there. Or it triggers a thought about a breadcrumb to come, which then becomes a note in a later chapter.
I don't think of breadcrumbs as the same as the plot. They may be related to the plot - as they may be related to prophecy and the quest. But sometimes they are just me trying to be clever and, as I said, give the reader something to go 'aha' over when the pieces come together.
September 25, 2022
Prejudice
As I've written before, I've tried in my writing to normalize things that are different. My books have LGBTQ+ characters. They have characters of different races and nationalities. I try to make the differences in humans "not a thing". We are all people. And as a cis-gendered, white woman, I try to do what I can to reflect that reality.
This is particularly true in my fantasy books. I have men loving women, women loving men, men loving men, and women loving women. I have peoples of many different complexions, and the only differences they note are that blushes are harder to see with darker complexions. And sometimes facial features are different - like when Sorcha adjusts her nose and Aidan's nose to be more like the Marjibi they are trying to impersonate.
So, I've tried to normalize different ways of being in my fantasy novels. To make the differences between us unremarkable.
But I also - as I've written before - follow Gene Roddenberry's precept of showing how dangerous prejudice can be. In this case, it's against mages.
In the country of Pellent, Petryk - their god - believed magic was evil. He put an interdiction in place against mages. I've talked about this in other blogs. A generation before - during the days of the Reunion trilogy - he removed that curse. It made it so people born as mages in Pellent didn't feel like they had to leave. Because the edict had made magic illegal. And the interdiction from Petryk had made it uncomfortable to be a magical person in Pellent.
But even with the removal of the curse, a generation later, the prejudice of generations before lingered. Mages learned magic in secret, and many were not open about being mages at all. They hid their familiars. They didn't share their talents with the world. Sure, they might practice magic here and there. But it was always hidden.
Only a few were brave enough to be open as mages. They walked the streets with their familiars. They practiced magic in public. They were not arrested - not anymore. But neither were they welcomed.
The Jewel Keepers meet the gods. They tell Petryk that there seems to be some remnants of his curse still in place. Chagrined, Petryk removes the last vestiges of his interdiction.
And suddenly, there are hundreds of thousands of mages in Pellent. And the fear and prejudice against them is gone. The mages who had trained others in secret set up a mage school, so all mages can learn. Publicly. Openly. Unabashedly.
Wouldn't it be amazing if we could remove the last vestiges of prejudice in our world so easily? If only.
This is particularly true in my fantasy books. I have men loving women, women loving men, men loving men, and women loving women. I have peoples of many different complexions, and the only differences they note are that blushes are harder to see with darker complexions. And sometimes facial features are different - like when Sorcha adjusts her nose and Aidan's nose to be more like the Marjibi they are trying to impersonate.
So, I've tried to normalize different ways of being in my fantasy novels. To make the differences between us unremarkable.
But I also - as I've written before - follow Gene Roddenberry's precept of showing how dangerous prejudice can be. In this case, it's against mages.
In the country of Pellent, Petryk - their god - believed magic was evil. He put an interdiction in place against mages. I've talked about this in other blogs. A generation before - during the days of the Reunion trilogy - he removed that curse. It made it so people born as mages in Pellent didn't feel like they had to leave. Because the edict had made magic illegal. And the interdiction from Petryk had made it uncomfortable to be a magical person in Pellent.
But even with the removal of the curse, a generation later, the prejudice of generations before lingered. Mages learned magic in secret, and many were not open about being mages at all. They hid their familiars. They didn't share their talents with the world. Sure, they might practice magic here and there. But it was always hidden.
Only a few were brave enough to be open as mages. They walked the streets with their familiars. They practiced magic in public. They were not arrested - not anymore. But neither were they welcomed.
The Jewel Keepers meet the gods. They tell Petryk that there seems to be some remnants of his curse still in place. Chagrined, Petryk removes the last vestiges of his interdiction.
And suddenly, there are hundreds of thousands of mages in Pellent. And the fear and prejudice against them is gone. The mages who had trained others in secret set up a mage school, so all mages can learn. Publicly. Openly. Unabashedly.
Wouldn't it be amazing if we could remove the last vestiges of prejudice in our world so easily? If only.
September 24, 2022
Rules for Gods
In Jewels and Gods, there are two evil gods, Zyr and Soraya. Soraya is the god of Sodales, while Zyr is the god of Marjiba. As I've written before, there are five other gods - most of whom are classified as good, or at least not evil. A couple are somewhere in the middle - neither evil nor good.
Now, you have to establish rules for the gods (just as there have to be rules for magic and mages). I suppose you could have gods with unlimited powers. But it seems to me, if you do that, then as soon as you have an evil god - one bent on destruction - with unlimited powers, then the story would end pretty quickly. Right?
So, the first rule I decided on is that gods are most powerful in their own countries and mostly limited in their powers in other countries. They can go to other countries. But they can't just make something happen in another country, good or evil.
The corollary of that - the second rule - is that, if a god is behaving badly toward the people of his or her own country, the other gods can't just make everything better. They can try to talk sense into the god who is being bad. But they can't make the evil god do something he or she doesn't want to. And they can't interfere in what the evil god is doing. If people flee the country, the good gods can offer refuge. But they can't go into the country that isn't theirs and just make things better.
Another corollary - the third rule - is that the gods have to see to the destruction physically. Soraya, for example, can't kill the Jewel Keepers when they are in Sodales unless she finds them and physically sees them. Likewise, Zyr can't destroy his enemies from afar. He has to confront them where they are. Then he can kill them with his god powers easily.
The fourth rule is that the gods can't fight each other directly. They can - and have - put barriers up against the incursion of another god, who might be trying to invade, for example. But they can't go to war with another god and confront them god to god. To do so would destroy the world.
Today's writing was about Zyr, the evil god of Marjiba. He'd been put to sleep - semi-quelled - by the former Keepers, Aidan and Sorcha, who were the heroes of the Reunion trilogy. In Jewels and Gods, Sorcha and Aidan have bonded magic, but not the ultimate power of the prophecy. In this trilogy, that power belongs to the Jewel Keepers. And although the Jewel Keepers know that Zyr is evil (and Soraya), they can't quell them. Not yet. They haven't yet found all the Jewel Keepers. In other words, they haven't fulfilled the prophecy. So, Aidan and Sorcha had done what they could to curb Zyr's evil ways by casting a spell to put him to sleep. No one knew how long it would last. But it was the best they could do with their bonded magic.
Now, at this point in the Jewels and Gods trilogy, Zyr wakes up. And he's pissed. Angry at the dark mages who were supposed to protect him. Enraged that the former Keepers have fled his country, so he can't take his revenge on them. And frustrated by the tribal leaders who have tried to deny him his right to rule.
The Keepers have fled. In keeping with Rule #3, Zyr can't do much about them. But he does destroy everything they touched in Marjiba - buildings, inns, parks.
And he can take revenge on the dark mages (Rule #3). He kills the lead dark mage, the one who let the Keepers get into the palace and semi-quell him.
Then, taking the new, sycophantic dark mage with him, Zyr travels around Marjiba and destroys the cities and leaders who would not cooperate with him, who threatened his power. Because...again, Rule #3.
The other gods watch and wish they could do something to help the Marjibi, to save them from their evil god. But they can't. Rule #2.
Then, he tries to invade Amboria, mostly because he just doesn't like Amita, their god. But Amita, though she can't confront Zyr directly (Rule #4), can stop him from coming in with a barrier at the border.
And Zyr can't just take his revenge against Amita or any of the Amborians because of Rule #1.
This is why there are rules for gods.
Now, you have to establish rules for the gods (just as there have to be rules for magic and mages). I suppose you could have gods with unlimited powers. But it seems to me, if you do that, then as soon as you have an evil god - one bent on destruction - with unlimited powers, then the story would end pretty quickly. Right?
So, the first rule I decided on is that gods are most powerful in their own countries and mostly limited in their powers in other countries. They can go to other countries. But they can't just make something happen in another country, good or evil.
The corollary of that - the second rule - is that, if a god is behaving badly toward the people of his or her own country, the other gods can't just make everything better. They can try to talk sense into the god who is being bad. But they can't make the evil god do something he or she doesn't want to. And they can't interfere in what the evil god is doing. If people flee the country, the good gods can offer refuge. But they can't go into the country that isn't theirs and just make things better.
Another corollary - the third rule - is that the gods have to see to the destruction physically. Soraya, for example, can't kill the Jewel Keepers when they are in Sodales unless she finds them and physically sees them. Likewise, Zyr can't destroy his enemies from afar. He has to confront them where they are. Then he can kill them with his god powers easily.
The fourth rule is that the gods can't fight each other directly. They can - and have - put barriers up against the incursion of another god, who might be trying to invade, for example. But they can't go to war with another god and confront them god to god. To do so would destroy the world.
Today's writing was about Zyr, the evil god of Marjiba. He'd been put to sleep - semi-quelled - by the former Keepers, Aidan and Sorcha, who were the heroes of the Reunion trilogy. In Jewels and Gods, Sorcha and Aidan have bonded magic, but not the ultimate power of the prophecy. In this trilogy, that power belongs to the Jewel Keepers. And although the Jewel Keepers know that Zyr is evil (and Soraya), they can't quell them. Not yet. They haven't yet found all the Jewel Keepers. In other words, they haven't fulfilled the prophecy. So, Aidan and Sorcha had done what they could to curb Zyr's evil ways by casting a spell to put him to sleep. No one knew how long it would last. But it was the best they could do with their bonded magic.
Now, at this point in the Jewels and Gods trilogy, Zyr wakes up. And he's pissed. Angry at the dark mages who were supposed to protect him. Enraged that the former Keepers have fled his country, so he can't take his revenge on them. And frustrated by the tribal leaders who have tried to deny him his right to rule.
The Keepers have fled. In keeping with Rule #3, Zyr can't do much about them. But he does destroy everything they touched in Marjiba - buildings, inns, parks.
And he can take revenge on the dark mages (Rule #3). He kills the lead dark mage, the one who let the Keepers get into the palace and semi-quell him.
Then, taking the new, sycophantic dark mage with him, Zyr travels around Marjiba and destroys the cities and leaders who would not cooperate with him, who threatened his power. Because...again, Rule #3.
The other gods watch and wish they could do something to help the Marjibi, to save them from their evil god. But they can't. Rule #2.
Then, he tries to invade Amboria, mostly because he just doesn't like Amita, their god. But Amita, though she can't confront Zyr directly (Rule #4), can stop him from coming in with a barrier at the border.
And Zyr can't just take his revenge against Amita or any of the Amborians because of Rule #1.
This is why there are rules for gods.
September 18, 2022
Imperfect Gods
I've read a lot of fantasy in my life; it's possibly my favorite genre. Many fantasies are essentially a retelling of a hero myth. Someone - or sometimes several someones - has to save the world from evil. Frodo in LOTR. Garion in The Belgariad (David Eddings, if you don't know the series). Reluctantly, usually. But the hero or heroes are the only ones who can do what needs doing.
In today's writing, my heroes - the Jewel Keepers - are confronted by a bunch of the gods, the so-called good gods who are worried about the Jewel Keepers quest's purpose, which is to "quell the gods". There is ambiguity about whether the prophecy intends for that to mean only the evil gods, or all the gods. Hence, the gods' concern about what the Jewel Keepers are trying to do. Because none of them really want to be quelled.
One of the ideas I borrowed from Eddings' epic Belgariad is the idea of gods who are far from perfect. The Greeks, Romans, and Norse had these kinds of gods, as well. But I will say that having imperfect gods makes for some fun interactions.
One of the gods is a bit spoiled. She doesn't like not knowing what is going on at all times. Since the Jewel Keepers - all mages - can communicate telepathically, they can talk without her hearing what they are saying. She HATES that.
Another one of the gods loves her people so much that she had made them insular, thinking they were the only people/country that mattered. In truth, they were the only people that mattered to their god. But there were other gods and other peoples, and one of the things this goddess has to confront is that the other gods and the other peoples have value, as well. She's done that - reluctantly.
But the focus of today's god reformation is the god who used to think all magic was evil. In the old days, he had put a curse over his country, so that any mages would feel his disdain and all magic used would set off alarms. Because magic was illegal - the result of the god's curse. But...there were people in this country born with magic - the mages - just as there were in every other country. These mages either had to hide who they were or they fled the oppression. At the end of my first trilogy, the Keepers (the heroes of that trilogy) and the other gods convince this god that outlawing and condemning magic is actually stupid; it weakens his country relative to the other countries - who have magic and all the benefits of magic - and drives people to leave his country. So, this imperfect god agrees to remove the curse.
But he doesn't quite do all he intends. Magic is legal, yes. But mages still feel a weight being in this country. Many still leave. Others still practice in secret.
Confronted by the Jewel Keepers again, this god recognizes that he didn't quite wipe the slate as clean as he had intended.
When he does, magic blooms. Mages breathe freely. The stigma of the generations gone by is finally eased. And lo and behold, there are dozens and dozens of mages in this country, who had hid who they were. For fear of rejection. Because of the weight of oppression that had been partially, but not completely, removed. Free to be themselves, the mages flourish finally. And the country is the better for it.
Fantasy as morality play? You bet.
In today's writing, my heroes - the Jewel Keepers - are confronted by a bunch of the gods, the so-called good gods who are worried about the Jewel Keepers quest's purpose, which is to "quell the gods". There is ambiguity about whether the prophecy intends for that to mean only the evil gods, or all the gods. Hence, the gods' concern about what the Jewel Keepers are trying to do. Because none of them really want to be quelled.
One of the ideas I borrowed from Eddings' epic Belgariad is the idea of gods who are far from perfect. The Greeks, Romans, and Norse had these kinds of gods, as well. But I will say that having imperfect gods makes for some fun interactions.
One of the gods is a bit spoiled. She doesn't like not knowing what is going on at all times. Since the Jewel Keepers - all mages - can communicate telepathically, they can talk without her hearing what they are saying. She HATES that.
Another one of the gods loves her people so much that she had made them insular, thinking they were the only people/country that mattered. In truth, they were the only people that mattered to their god. But there were other gods and other peoples, and one of the things this goddess has to confront is that the other gods and the other peoples have value, as well. She's done that - reluctantly.
But the focus of today's god reformation is the god who used to think all magic was evil. In the old days, he had put a curse over his country, so that any mages would feel his disdain and all magic used would set off alarms. Because magic was illegal - the result of the god's curse. But...there were people in this country born with magic - the mages - just as there were in every other country. These mages either had to hide who they were or they fled the oppression. At the end of my first trilogy, the Keepers (the heroes of that trilogy) and the other gods convince this god that outlawing and condemning magic is actually stupid; it weakens his country relative to the other countries - who have magic and all the benefits of magic - and drives people to leave his country. So, this imperfect god agrees to remove the curse.
But he doesn't quite do all he intends. Magic is legal, yes. But mages still feel a weight being in this country. Many still leave. Others still practice in secret.
Confronted by the Jewel Keepers again, this god recognizes that he didn't quite wipe the slate as clean as he had intended.
When he does, magic blooms. Mages breathe freely. The stigma of the generations gone by is finally eased. And lo and behold, there are dozens and dozens of mages in this country, who had hid who they were. For fear of rejection. Because of the weight of oppression that had been partially, but not completely, removed. Free to be themselves, the mages flourish finally. And the country is the better for it.
Fantasy as morality play? You bet.
