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A Passion for Writing

12/26/2024

As I look back over 2024, my writing and the activities connected to it have gone through at least as many ups and downs and unexpected turns as this blog. I can't say I've been terribly consistent, but if you, the reader, have enjoyed sharing some of my journey with me or have gotten some benefit from a book review or a bit of writing advice, then my work has been worthwhile.

I close out the year with a wish that, whatever your writing goals may be, you will pursue them with passion, for good writing comes first and foremost from the heart. What you love, share. It's as simple as that.

Happy writing in 2025!

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World Building

12/19/2024

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Whether writing a fictional story or a nonfictional writing dealing with history or biography, world building is a necessary part of the work. It is not enough to create or present compelling characters. To know them, and to know why they act (or acted) as they do (did), one must understand the context in which they exist(ed)---a context that includes, but is not limited to, the geography, biota, and climate of the setting; culture; social structures; and prevailing philosophies and intellectual trends. These background factors define the probable limitations of a character's worldview, the questions that character may seek to ask or answer, and the range of experiences that the character may have had.

From an author's point of view, constraints on world building exist on a continuum. When writing fantasy, for example, the author has a great deal more creative work to do but also has much more freedom to put together a world according to his or her vision, so long as it is internally self-consistent. The more you slide over toward historical fiction and history, the more you are constrained by what has actually been, and world building for your narrative is more a matter of research and emphasis than of creation.

Some will doubtless disagree with me, but my opinion is that, if you want to write "history as it should have been," you should confine yourself to fiction. This is for two reasons. First, some otherwise fine writing has been utterly spoiled by 20th- or 21st-century Western attitudes, thinking patterns, and cultural elements being inserted into a historical context in which these elements did not exist or at most existed only in embryonic form. (It is true that some historical personages have made some remarkable leaps ahead of their times, some of which anticipated modern conditions, but these leaps did not occur out of vacuums; part of the work of the serious historian is to show from the available evidence how a person's background, experiences, and previous ideas made it possible for that person to make the jump from the prevailing paradigms of his or her time to a new one.) The second reason is that fiction often allows a much freer exploration of ideas in a form that is not so easily forgotten or dismissed.

Assuming you are writing nonfiction, spending research time on the many elements constituting the background in which your narrative will be set may not seem like much fun, and it certainly adds considerably to the hours you'll spend perusing archives, reference works, and websites. (Writing fiction will not get you out of this entirely, by the way; many top writers of fantasy and science fiction spend a great deal of time researching real-life information that will help them construct believable fictional worlds and cultures.) Nonetheless, there is no subject for doing your homework if you want to capture the flavor of the world in which your subjects were immersed.

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The Logic of Fairy Tales

12/12/2024

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As I play with the Firebird concept, I find myself grappling with the rules of the world of fairy tales, which provide structure but also limitations that cannot be transgressed without losing the elusive flavor that distinguishes a fairy tale---a story bordering on the mythic---from ordinary literature. Some of the rules are relatively easy to discern. The hero or heroine usually begins with some substantial disadvantage. The ultimate task to be accomplished is difficult or obscure and may already have defeated any number of more obvious champions. Fantastical elements, usually in the form of magical creatures, enchanted objects, and spells to be completed or undone, are central to the story. The protagonist must face trials on the way to the ultimate goal and usually conquers by wits or noble character rather than force of arms.

Other rules that distinguish the fairy tale from other stories are more difficult to discern; many come under the heading of "I know them when I see them." J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy smells of fairy tale through and through, as does his novella Smith of Wootton Major; the same author's Farmer Giles of Ham does not, even though it contains such common fairy-tale elements as a magical sword, a giant, and a dragon.

The fairy tale as a basis for more modern fantasies has a long and honorable history, ranging from Andre Norton's Year of the Unicorn (loosely based on "Beauty and the Beast") to Mercedes Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdoms series and Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver (a tale derived from "Rumpelstiltskin"). I'd like to add to that, but the challenge will be spinning a fresh story within the traditions and tropes that define the world of fairy tales. Creating something both old and new is certainly going to stretch my writing ability; I'm hoping it will be in a good direction.

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Flights of Fancy

12/5/2024

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As I continue to wait on some editorial direction regarding my next project, an idea keeps tickling around in my head about writing a fantasy novel. Why not? I've been wanting to do that for ages, and following my own advice about having different writing projects in play at a given time probably isn't a bad idea. It's not as though I can't lay it aside if I need to get rolling on another horse book, it's practice in shaping words and thoughts in a different way, and it's a way to keep practicing the craft of writing without getting stale.

What's been teasing through my mind is a story based on the ancient Russian legend of the Firebird, which brings both beauty and misfortune into the lives of whoever may see it, and especially on the one who dares keep one of its glowing feathers. The legend has several variants, generally falling into either a quest to capture the enchanted bird or a quest to find and bring back a princess somehow linked to the bird. Usually, in true fairy-tale fashion, the hero is the underappreciated third son of a king, who succeeds where his more favored brothers have failed. But what if the prince is a princess, the Firebird is far more than it seems, and the fates of many magics hang in the balance? And yes, I think a magical horse or two will play a role, something also seen in some versions of the Firebird legend.

I don't know if it will all come together or if I'm chasing something as elusive as the Firebird itself. But I'm going to give it a try!

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A Passion for Writing

World Building

The Logic of Fairy Tales

Flights of Fancy

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