mystical places for magical stories, part 1

Tentsmuir Forest, Fife, Scotland ~  wikimedia/Macieklew

The ancient celtic lands are such an inspiration when I begin to form a story, so I thought I'd post a few photographs.

Old Man of Storr, Skye, Scotland ~ wikimedia/Wojsyl

Cliffs, Foula, Shetland ~ wikimedia/Lis Burk

Loch Long, Scottish Highlands ~ wikimedia/Richard Webb

Gogarth Bay, Holy Island, N. Wales ~ wikimedia/Humphrey Bolton

Y Lliwedd, Snowdonia, N. Wales ~ wikimedia/Velela



Next entry will be of the Emerald Isle!

truth, legend, myth and other realities

As a little girl, I read fairy tales and believed they were true.

As a teen, I read mythology stories and believed they were not true.

As a young woman, I read world history and believed it to be true.

As a mature woman, I believe all of it but none of it to be the truth as it is given.

To me, history and myths recorded through the annals of time are intertwined.  For most of us, as we turn from small imaginative children into grown-up "reasonable" people, we come to accept that certain stories belong in "mythology" lessons and others are in "history" class.  Some are fiction, others fact and never the twain shall meet.  But, for most of us, there comes a time when questions arise about these hard drawn lines in the sand.

In my imagination, many lines are blurred regarding these matters; many legends hold more weight with me than most historical accounts.  There are clues all around for a fantasy writer to explore.  But even if one does believe in dragons,  I suppose it's best to keep such topics out of social conversation... unless you don't mind being labeled as "going round the twist"...

Personally, I don't mind much at all.

entering the unknown



Writing fantasy fiction is all about entering an unknown world.  There are no limits as to how the world is structured, who inhabits it, what they wear and eat {or don't wear/eat} and what their lives are like.  These unknown worlds find their way into my mind through various means.

I had the great fortune of living in Ireland for a while and, as a native New Yorker, was indeed entering an unknown world.  Yes, it had been over a decade since I'd departed from city life, but the Emerald Isle was quite an eye opener. 

Staying just down the road from Newgrange {pictured above}, I was awestruck by such an incredibly magical and mysterious site.  Entering the grounds, let alone the chamber itself, was one of those spine-tingling experiences that I'll never forget. 

At five thousand years old, Newgrange and the surrounding carved stones brought me straight into a fantasy story.  Who were these people and what were they like?  Everything was foreign and fascinating {and gorgeously green and round} and, personally, I never wanted to leave.

Particularly because Newgrange was built with intention for "passage", I find places like this very inspiring when writing fantasy fiction; rarely am I concerned with normal life as we know it.  My imaginings of another world flourish when I visit the unknown of this one... either in person or by looking at certain photographs/art, or by reading history and lore.  For me, it wasn't until I visited the British Isles that I truly felt the possibility for magic to occur -- in the past, in the present day, and hopefully in times to come.

photo:  yourirish.com

hero and flaw

They say each character we write is a part of ourselves.

So we want to create a hero, one who will know the answer/solution and have the courage when all is lost and do the right thing and be special and get the girl or guy and live... forever with said girl or guy.

In any given story I guess there always needs to be conflict, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a story... no lessons learned, no growth upon introspection, no inspiration for a better future within ourselves or the world around us.  Although in fantasy fiction a lot of the conflicts are metaphorical {sort of}, for me relating to the conflicts -- and flaws -- of the character makes all the difference in how I respond to the story. 

Back in the day, Clark Kent was a relatable hero because he was a loner and wanted a girl he couldn't truly be with ... but "conflicts" and "flaws" are somewhat different, and I feel that flaws {mistakes?} take us further into the depth of a hero's relatablility.  For instance, a character like The Dark Tower's Roland of Gilead truly inspires when I go to write.

I feel the best heroes make just as many decisions that don't work.  They endure it, they learn and they forgive themselves and they face the next obstacle.  Mistakes made are hard to deal with and might often have serious consequences, but ultimately this all develops the strength of our hero.

I'd venture to say The Dark Tower left a lot of us feeling less than certain of the future, eh?  After all that, he didn't get what he'd hoped for.  But that was what made me admire Roland to the end:  he'd come so very, very, verrrry far, having made so many "questionable" choices, and he remained a true hero, a man of integrity.

dwellings

A fantasy story would not be complete without dwellings.  What would Harry Potter have been like without Hogwarts or the Burrow?

As a fantasy writer, I must confess here and now that although I ADORE The Lord of the Rings trilogy films, I have only read the third book.  {eek!}  I know it's horrid but I was never one of those teens who got into The Hobbit and LOTR... sigh.  I do intend to read them at some point.  Why not soak up some mastery, eh?

Anyway, when I saw the first film I was immediately head-over-heels in love with Bilbo's home, inside & out.  How simple!  How organic!  How adorable!  How utterly perfect for me and my little fairy ways!

I have been exposed to many "alternative" style homes -- I've lived in Taos, NM in an earthship {while dating a guy who lived in a yurt} then later lived {in a funky cabin} just up the road from the infamous Mushroom House in Whistler, BC -- but it wasn't until I imagined ideal homes and communities for my fantasy writing that structures began to take on unique form.  Once the proverbial "box" is broken out of, there truly is no going back.  Let's face it, regular box houses are kind of boring, particularly from the outside.

I encourage you all to close your eyes and, combined with Hobbiton or Rivendell or wherever your heart leads you, imagine the most gorgeous and magical dwelling you possibly can, then see your characters in those rooms, those homes, those realms.  And why not see yourself in there, too?

drawing:  balewatch.com

magical horse

As I continue in my own writing endeavors, I thought I'd share some artistic depictions of various magical horses.  Above is a tragic scene titled Unicorn in Captivity, one of the many famous tapestries in a series, which can be found here on wikimedia.

On a happier note, this is another classic, titled Virgin and Unicorn by Domenico Zampieri.  A common theme has portrayed young women with unicorns, which often symbolized both virility and purity.

Another glorious magical horse being, the pegasus, is shown here by Odilon Redon.  He painted more than one work of this magnificent creature so I'll enter two, again courtesy of wikimedia.

In closing {for now -- there are many more 'fantastic' images I'd like to share in future} here is a "plain ole" horse... because they, too, are magical beyond belief {and click to enlarge the photo, it is truly amazing - courtesy of wallpaper-s.org}



character study: it's all in the details

When I reflect upon my favorite characters of literature, the things that stand out are those few sentences which create "close up" shots.  As a photographer, I like to have a veritable photo album of a character in my mind's eye... it can be flipped through in order to study them in more depth.  As I'm reading, when he or she behaves in a certain way {and hopefully I'm provided with a "close up" of a particular aspect of their facial expression, gesture, breath, etc.}, I then take that snap-shot and place it in my photo album for later ponderings.

In writing, I find there is definitely a fine line between description to enhance the "fleshing out" of a character and when said description slows down the flow of the plot.  Even my favorite writers seem to struggle with this at times, in my opinion.  So I guess I'm in good company when I say this is one of the most difficult parts of writing for me.  I do love the challenge of fleshing out a character, though, and, in both reading and writing, find the perfect detail of jacket or brow to be utterly scrumptious.

daguerreotype:  wikimedia