Here's the link:
It leads to a series of lectures from one author Brandon Sanderson. He's the writer behind such hits as Elantris and Mistborn. (His website: http://brandonsanderson.com) You don't have to go through the whole thing but if you've got some time and would like to learn a bit more about that crazy world of writing, he has some pretty interesting insights.
Anyway, it was while I was watching this man's lectures that I was struck by an epiphany: Terra Fae is a fantasy novel. Why the heck am I writing fantasy when I don't even read fantasy?! I don't know the first damn thing about it!
THAT's what's been going wrong with my novel the whole time: I wrote something that was not for / from me!!!
OK, I've tried my hand at fantasy with my first series ever. But let's face it: I was a noob. Had no idea what I was doing and I simply wrote down what came to mind. I had read Eragon back then (well, the first novel) and I was tired of epic stories with male protagonists. So I created a female "dragoneer" as some kinda rebuttal :P
THAT's what's been going wrong with my novel the whole time: I wrote something that was not for / from me!!!
OK, I've tried my hand at fantasy with my first series ever. But let's face it: I was a noob. Had no idea what I was doing and I simply wrote down what came to mind. I had read Eragon back then (well, the first novel) and I was tired of epic stories with male protagonists. So I created a female "dragoneer" as some kinda rebuttal :P
But that's it!
I never touched fantasy ever again! EV-E-RY story I've EVER written in my life (before and after my first series) were drawn from the genre I've always read and loved, the genre we call in French "le fantastique". I honestly don't know if there's a counterpart for it in English (if so, please, enlighten me!) but in French, the "fantastique" genre encompasses anything that has its roots in reality but slides into the unbelievable as it goes. Horror, paranormal, a lot of adventure novels, etc. All of those are included in the "fantastique". I'm a reader of "fantastique"! I absolutely love Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King. I've also read countless of times The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and The Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delaney. THAT's who I am, THAT's what I know and love!
They say to write convincing stories, you first have to know yourself, your tastes, your limits and your interests.
They say to write convincing stories, you first have to know yourself, your tastes, your limits and your interests.
So here we go, my name is Valérie and I:
- am a sucker for fairy tales and mythologies;
- hate to do research;
- love the romantic idea of past History from Antiquity to Renaissance;
- like to imagine a whole life to people I walk by in the street;
- love to try and imagine what it might have been like at some turning point in History;
- shelter a fairly bit intense feeling about the Titanic and the Bermuda triangle;
- am terrified of oceans... or lakes... or outer space...;
- am fascinated by oceans... and lakes... and outer space;
- own (and have read) many books about creatures in the world's culture and folklore;
- can't get dates in History or any science's teachings right;
- am talented with languages;
- root for most villains in Disney movies;
- can extract good from almost anything;
- am a realistic dreamer although a lot of people see me as pessimistic;
- have an overactive imagination;
- believe in ghosts;
- can remember my dreams and command them;
- love the night (darkness, dreams and nightmares included);
- have a good sense of humor;
- hate the unnecessary gore;
- can't stand Jackass-type of humor or what my boyfriend calls "stoner movies" (i.e. Pineapple Express);
- fell asleep reading the first thirty pages of The Lord Of The Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien) and never made it to the end of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (J. Verne) because of endless descriptions;
- hated most of my college's literature program's "forced" reads except two: Huis Clos (J.-P. Sartre) and Moby Dick (H. Melville);
- have little to no confidence in myself or what I can produce...
My favorite:
- writer of all time is Edgar Allan Poe;
- poem is Dream-land by E.A. Poe;
- short story is The Masque of the Red Death by E.A. Poe;
- manga / comic is Death Note by T. Ohba and T. Obata;
- MG "fantastique" story is Alice In Wonderland by L. Carroll;
- YA "fantastique" novel is The Spook's Apprentice by J. Delaney;
- YA science-fiction / dystopian novel is Life As We Knew It by S. B. Pfeffer;
- adult horror novel is The Shining by S. King;
- adult fantasy novel is The Princess Bride by W. Goldman;
- adult romance novel is Dracula by B. Stoker;
- fairy tales are Peau d'Âne, Cendrillon, La Barbe Bleue -- all three by C. Perrault -- and The Little Mermaid by H.C. Andersen;
- tale is King Arthur and the Knights Of The Round Table;
- love story is Robin Hood and Lady Marian;
- villain is Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII);
- male protagonist / good-guy character is Ryuzaki / L (Death Note);
- female protagonist / good-girl character is Aeris Gainsborough (Final Fantasy VII);
- ambiguous characters are Sebastian (Black Butler) and Xerxes Break (Pandora Hearts);
- place to visit in the whole wide world is The Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World, Orlando!
There!
That may seem to you like a narcissistic outburst (and maybe that's what it is) but I don't care: I know myself and what I like. With that in mind, I oughta be able to write something good, right? But first, I gotta do some major chopping in my Terra Fae novel and redo a whole lot of outlining.
Phew! Gonna be a lot of work............
Wish me luck! :)
That is such a descriptive list about yourself that I could almost some type of surreal auto-biography film of your life, playing in my head. Do you realize how interesting and deep you are?
ReplyDeleteThat being said, there is such a wealth of imagination in your blog post. It is bursting with different threads of your life and any one of them can be adapted to your novel writing. I believe you are talented enough to turn your fantasy elements into something strange, and not quite tangible...things that could make the reader question without using genres.
I am quite excited to see what you'll do with your novel and how you'll adapt your characters - maybe we could have a whole session on world building and see if we can place your story within a different setting. Could be fun, and give you a new spark to "write something new" while continuing the same novel.
I wish you the best of luck with your studies and enjoy this time of discovering your story!
Wow... Thanks so much for your compliment!
DeleteMakes me see myself through your eyes, kinda! ^_^ I certainly never thought of myself as "deep and interesting"!!! Thank you so much for that! ^_^
You really make it sound super amazing interesting! LOL But you're not far off: there are interesting bits in there that could be adapted into my writing! ^_^
I would totally love to schedule a brainstorming what-to-do-with-Terra-Fae day! :D Let's schedule that!
Thanks so much again! ^_^