I'm going to behold this novel of yours, as soon as I can! (I was a phd student in early modern history, oddly enough, so how about that for serendipitous simpatico! I dropped out and became an academic librarian instead, though.)
And I'm so glad to hear about the contested nature of heroism and being A Hero, I find it all very interesting. And you're completely right, it is a fantasy project. I'm absolutely loving all the conventions that go along with that genre too, because they're a lot of fun to work within/flout. I love using history for fiction, but I also enjoy the idea of medieval ideas mixing with modern elements. So yes, my project is completely fantasy, but not particularly medieval or anything. Partially rural, mostly urban. Lots of magic.
One of my prime motivations at the moment is thinking about creating a sort of tremendous hero figure, christ figure in a way, who really has no place in society once his world-changing act is complete. And how being that incredibly powerful, important person means losing pretty much everything that would ever be considered normal. And then of course finding how to live diagonally in the horizon between those two binary bookends (normal and Hero). And it's not this Mary Sue-sounding hero that I worry about. It's another one, a supporting character. The prime motivation I'm considering for him is faith. If faith is the thing that makes both the binaries exist (belief in the system), then what makes it possible for a person to see beyond the binaries is also faith, but of a more personal and direct kind. So while I enjoy my Hero, it's the faithful one that intrigues me most.
So there is specialness there, no question. I will ponder that specialness in light of this discussion, of course.
Anyway, blah blah blah! This conversation has prompted me to write up new character sketches from the point of view of a person who hates each character. All the annoying traits, everything that's frustrating. I always write character sketches from a place of a lot of love, but maybe focusing on the negative would actually help me to love them more. :)
Thanks so much for this, I can't even describe how helpful this has all been. And I so appreciate the ear. I really needed that just now.
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momijizukamori
no subject
Date: 2005-09-27 04:27 am (UTC)And I'm so glad to hear about the contested nature of heroism and being A Hero, I find it all very interesting. And you're completely right, it is a fantasy project. I'm absolutely loving all the conventions that go along with that genre too, because they're a lot of fun to work within/flout. I love using history for fiction, but I also enjoy the idea of medieval ideas mixing with modern elements. So yes, my project is completely fantasy, but not particularly medieval or anything. Partially rural, mostly urban. Lots of magic.
One of my prime motivations at the moment is thinking about creating a sort of tremendous hero figure, christ figure in a way, who really has no place in society once his world-changing act is complete. And how being that incredibly powerful, important person means losing pretty much everything that would ever be considered normal. And then of course finding how to live diagonally in the horizon between those two binary bookends (normal and Hero). And it's not this Mary Sue-sounding hero that I worry about. It's another one, a supporting character. The prime motivation I'm considering for him is faith. If faith is the thing that makes both the binaries exist (belief in the system), then what makes it possible for a person to see beyond the binaries is also faith, but of a more personal and direct kind. So while I enjoy my Hero, it's the faithful one that intrigues me most.
So there is specialness there, no question. I will ponder that specialness in light of this discussion, of course.
Anyway, blah blah blah! This conversation has prompted me to write up new character sketches from the point of view of a person who hates each character. All the annoying traits, everything that's frustrating. I always write character sketches from a place of a lot of love, but maybe focusing on the negative would actually help me to love them more. :)
Thanks so much for this, I can't even describe how helpful this has all been. And I so appreciate the ear. I really needed that just now.