Of Battles, Dragons, and Swords of Adamant

Fantasy Reflections: Identity Theft

February 21, 2014 by Gillian Bronte Adams 34 Comments

I’m quite excited about today’s Fantasy Reflection question. (Excuse me a maniacal laugh) Put on your thinking caps, ladies and gents. This one is a real poser.

Tough one, isn’t it?

Fantasy characters tend to have it pretty rough. Rarely is life all sunshine and daisies. It generally leans more toward battle and bloodshed and good versus evil and some pretty nasty dark lords. There is a cruel class of people out there – commonly known as authors – who take a disturbing level of pleasure in subjecting their characters (and readers’ hearts) to trials and torments that would drive any sane man bonkers.

Answering this question is like choosing your own form of torture.

You could choose to be the really cool character … but generally the more special abilities you have, and the higher you rank on the boring to awesome scale, the worse villains you have to face.

Caution aside, I would have to choose Vin from The Final Empire series by Brandon Sanderson. True, her life is a wee bit miserable at the start. And she is fighting a hopelessly losing battle. And well … it can be a bit depressing. But those are minor details! Her Mistborn abilities totally make up for it! ;)

How about you? Who would you choose to become?

As always, you can answer in the comments and please feel free to chat in and amongst yourselves! That’s what makes this whole reflections series fun! If you’d like, you can copy the image to your blog and carry the conversation over there as well. Please just link back to my post. Thanks!

Questology 101: A Quester’s Call to Adventure

February 17, 2014 by Gillian Bronte Adams 9 Comments

I found this missive sitting on my porch when I returned home last night. It’s the first in a series of lectures from the Headmaster of the Warrior-In-Hero-Training School of the Round Table, promised to “grace” this blog with wisdom.

I’m not sure about the “gracing” part, but Sir Galgadin does have a few useful things to say. What do you think?

At the Warrior-In-Hero-Training School of the Round Table, one of our entry level classes is Questology 101. Before a student can graduate as a full fledged hero, he must successfully complete a quest. (Success being determined by several factors including but not limited to time of completion, number of fatalities, civilian casualties, etc.)

Questing is an ancient and noble art. Yet you cannot imagine how many trainees enter this school hopelessly ignorant of the most basic principles of Questology. Thus I find it best to begin a quester’s training at the very beginning.

Questing is not for everyone, nor can every quest be fulfilled by just anyone. Quests tend to be picky critters. It takes the correct combination of a quester’s unique skills in addition to general heroic abilities (plus a dash of plain luck) to solve them. And stumbling into the wrong quest generally ends in disaster for all concerned.

So how does one know if one was called to a specific quest or not? And if one enters into a quest, how can one avoid being waylaid by the perils of the road?

Here are a few guiding principles to bear in mind that will (hopefully) keep you out of the ogre’s den:

Quests are always inconvenient.

Quests always come when you least expect them, at the most inopportune time, and with the greatest level of difficulty possible. It’s their nature. So if a quest appears easy or simple, chances are it’s not the right quest for you.

Should you choose to ignore such wisdom and embark on said quest, I guarantee you’ll wind up walking straight into a trap … or falling off a cliff … or boiling in some giant’s cook pot.

The unlikely hero always succeeds

Questologers all agree that the unlikely hero is most likely to succeed when questing. Numerous examples come to mind: farm boys, servant girls, orphaned children, outcasts, halflings, etc. So if you should feel adequate for the task when considering embarking on a quest, chances are it’s bound to end in disaster.

If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been proof that you were not.
– Aslan, Prince Caspian

Politely decline and head on your merry way. It’s not the right quest for you.

However, you can take comfort in the fact that the same skills and abilities that resulted in your classification as over-qualified for one specific quest, may be completely unnecessary for another, enabling you to fill the position of unlikely hero there.

Never pass by anyone in need of help

Here’s a “no-brainer,” as my trainees put it. If you stumble across someone in need, chances are that you have just been given the call to a quest. Such a call should not ignored … unless you think being shadowed by disaster for the rest of your days sounds fun.

This rule applies to anyone requesting a drink of water, or wandering lost in the wilderness, or begging a night’s lodging or a crust of bread. Such people tend to be either faeries or princes in disguise or true unfortunates in need of aid.

However, it may come as no surprise to you that villains oft employ a plea for aid as a trap to waylay heroes performing their duty to those in need. I will cover the primary means of distinguishing between a villainous trap and a true need in a later lecture.

Regardless, if it is in your power to give aid, you are duty bound as a hero and a quester and a knight errant, to do so.

Shortcuts are a bad idea

Shortcuts make long delays.
– Renowned traveler Peregrine Took, The Fellowship of the Ring

As a common rule of thumb, questers should never choose the path of least resistance. Trust me, it may start out looking all right, but it inevitably leads into a pathless forest, a bottomless swamp, or a troll’s cave. None of which make for pleasant traveling.

Choose the narrow, steep path over the broad, winding way if you value your life. And don’t stray from the path. Shortcuts are bad, detours are even worse, and the scenic route? Gracious me. You might as well carry your life in your hands.

Be wary of the kindly stranger

Only tell them, that She of the Green Kirtle salutes them by you, and has sent them two fair Southern children for the Autumn Feast.
-Lady of the Green Kirtle, The Silver Chair

A quester can never be too cautious. The road is perilous nowadays and one is as like to meet a ruffian as a ranger. Be extremely careful when asked to stop and dine with strangers. Never turn aside from the path to follow a rumor of good lodging. And if someone invites you into their cottage and begs you tarry awhile, express your gratitude and your regret, then ride away with what speed you may.

Kindly strangers rarely have kindly intents.

Come back next time for another lecture from the Headmaster of the Warrior-In-Hero-Training School of the Round Table.

Fantasy Reflections: Pack Your Bag, It’s Moving Day!

February 14, 2014 by Gillian Bronte Adams 37 Comments

Here’s a Fantasy Reflection question to start off your morning.

If you could pick any fantasy world to live in, where would you move?

I always have a hard time answering these right off the bat. So I like to think of the question like coffee. You have to let it percolate for a bit, stewing in the back of your mind, until you can come up with an answer.

Now picking a fantasy world to visit wouldn’t be that tough. There’s scads of places I’d love to visit. But picking one to move to is a wee bit more difficult. So many pros and cons to consider. I mean, there’s usually some sort of major disturbance happening in the fantasy world at the time of the novel, so they’re not always the sort of place you’d want to move a family.

My first thought was the world of Roshar from Brandon Sanderson’s Way of Kings, since I’m reading it right now. It’s a fascinating world, really. Such a unique place, full of interesting people, and the magics of Surgebinding and Shardwielding. Until you get to the part where you discover it’s a world decimated by high storms with hints of a terrible devastation approaching.

Perhaps I’d better not move there.

I’m afraid my answer to this question will have to be a tie between Middle Earth and Narnia. I visited Middle Earth first of all and Narnia soon after, so for me, moving to either Middle Earth or Narnia would feel like returning home after a long absence.

Perhaps I’ll have a winter home in one and a vacation home in the other?

We’re dreaming, so anything is possible. :)

How about you? Where would you like to move most of all?

Answer in the comments! Or if you’d like, you can copy the picture to your blog and start the discussion over there as well. All I ask is that you link back to my blog in your post. Thanks! :)

A Letter from the Warrior-In-Hero-Training School

February 12, 2014 by Gillian Bronte Adams 12 Comments

Every now and then I find something odd sitting on my make-believe desk in my amazing fictitious writing office secreted away in an imaginary attic. It started with a letter from the Spy at the Academy of Ultimate Villainy. From letters it progressed to recordings and transcripts.

Since then, it’s been fairly quiet.

But when I tramped through the door this evening after work, dripping wet and shivering with the cold, I found this propped up on my desk … and no sign of any intruder.

In short, it seems this blog is soon to be graced with posts submitted by the Headmaster of the WIHT School of the Round Table. And no, that’s not a typo, I discovered. It stands for Warrior-In-Hero-Training. Though if it is the most prestigious hero school in the world, I can’t help wondering why I haven’t heard of it before.

One hears about that sort of thing in my line of work.

It’s been a while since we’ve received any news from our Spy, so I am rather intrigued to see what we can glean from Sir Galgadin’s posts on the knightly-heroic side of things. Though to be honest, I’m not quite sure what to expect.

Thoughts?

Fantasy Reflections: Magical Objects

February 7, 2014 by Gillian Bronte Adams 23 Comments

Time for another Fantasy Reflections post. I don’t know about you, but I had loads of fun with the last one.

Once again, you can answer in the comments. Feel free to chat back and forth. And if you’d like the continue the discussion over on your blog, you can copy the image and repost it. Please just link back to this original post.

Gracious me! This is another tough one. There are so many options to choose from … And I thought this question would be easy.

First to come to mind were the Silmarils from Tolkien’s Silmarillion. But owning them never turned out well for anyone. It tended to end tragically. And what do I need with shining gems, even if they do contain the light of the two trees …

Next I thought of Fflewddur Flam’s harp from the Chronicles of Prydain. Until I recalled the fact that I am a storyteller … and storytellers are prone to embellishing the facts. The harp and I might not get along so well. I’m afraid it would be one series of broken strings after another.

So at last, I settled on King Mendenbar’s Sword from The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I have always loved the way his sword is connected to the threads of magic woven through the Enchanted Forest. Other than its tendency to occasionally “leak magic,” I think it’d be a pretty handy magical object to have around.

Best stop there before I can think up a dozen more answers. :)

How about you? What magical object would you choose?

A Novelist’s Classroom

February 6, 2014 by Gillian Bronte Adams 9 Comments

Sometimes I wish I could go back in time, travel to England, sneak in the back door of the Eagle and Child, and grab a seat in the corner among the Inklings.

And maybe … just maybe … if I could gather up enough courage, I might venture to speak before the end of the evening.

But mostly, I would want to just listen. And learn.

To glean wisdom from the masters.

Until time travel becomes a reality, I’m afraid my dreams of sitting among the Inklings are doomed to disappointment. But I can still learn from the masters. That’s the glorious thing about a novelist’s classroom.

You don’t necessarily have to go anywhere or enroll in any specific classes. Nor do you need to follow a syllabus that was obviously written expressly to cause you misery and torment by a devious professor who simply must have graduated with honors from the Academy of Ultimate Villainy.

No, for a novelist, the classroom is all around us. The textbooks are at our finger tips. And the masters walk among us.

After reading certain books, I can’t help sitting there staring off into the distance with the book lying still open in may lap, stunned by the beauty and brilliance of what I just read. There are some amazing authors out there and some books that are truly works of art.

Sometimes, I have to pause in the middle of reading and jot down some new world-changing insight about crafting characters, or foreshadowing, or plot twists.

I love studying the craft of writing. I enjoy reading blog posts and how-to books. I love taking classes at conferences. And if I grit my teeth and force myself to bear the pain, I can also endure critiques of my work in the hopes that I will continue to improve.

But I believe the best way to learn about writing is to read.

Voraciously.

Classes will teach you the rules and mechanics. But only a well-written book can show you how the rules truly work, when they apply, and when it’s okay to break them.

And the truly beautiful thing about the novelist’s classroom is that you never have to graduate. You can keep learning, keep gleaning, keep growing.

Until you become one of the masters.