Winds of Change and Visions of Destiny
January 11th 2009 17:43
If these images aren't public domain, I'll take them down. Couldn't find creators
Here I'll introduce my fantasy project/ambition. As far as I know, no one has (at least successfully) attempted to do what I'm trying to do. I'm writing two stories that happen simultaneously, involving two different groups of characters in different parts of the world; what they don't know is they're all part of the same story. Eventually they will meet up and figure out that they're after the same goals and they have the same enemies...but until then, their stories are separate.
The interesting/weird/difficult part of this is that their respective stories are too big to put in the same book, so until they meet up, they will have their own books, the plots of which happen simultaneously in the same world.
Winds of Change is the title of the first group's story; Visions of Destiny is the second group's story. I've planned these stories to be character-driven; the action in the world gets the backburner to what's going on with the characters, their lives and relationships. Every character is three-dimensional and changes with age, with experience, and by being around the other characters. There are no static characters; I don't believe in using static characters as plot or theme devices. While this story does take place in a different world, the humans (and humanoids) all have human emotions, rationality, and idiosyncrasies that help tie the story to the real world.
Winds of Change and Visions of Destiny are the titles of each group's different stories, but when they come together and are all in the same book, those stories from that point on will all be under the title The Frozen Crown. A weird title, but it will be explained and will make (some sort of) sense in the story.
I'm writing this story in the epic fantasy tradition: a different world, fantastical locations and creatures and phenomena that defy real-world biology and physics, and a long, perilous journey with the intent of saving the world from a great evil. Sounds a lot like a certain fantasy trilogy that everyone already loves, right? Well, not really. The method in which these things will play out is quite different, and there are no clear-cut lines between good and evil, friend and foe. Everything's muddled in "the gray area" (which is what the Enemy wants) but as it goes along the white and black will begin to be sifted from the gray.
I've given myself a monumental challenge, because I've never read or heard of any series that has done the parallel novel thing, or that is as long. This is a sweeping epic of cosmic proportions that's been brewing in my mind for years, being refined and tweaked and changed and added to. I have a pretty thoroughly built world, called Argul, complete with all its continents, countries, climate regions, religions, histories, races, political systems, magical systems, and mysteries. I'm even working on making two globes of the world: a "prehistoric" version, and the version in which the characters make their decisions and commence their journeys.
The stories (Winds of Change and Visions of Destiny) begin by examining the everyday lives of the characters. Winds of Change centers around a sort of middle-class couple, Philippe and Maria, being thrust into the center of the political and metaphysical schemes involving a war with their neighboring nation, which is only a front for even more subtle and convoluted cosmic schemes. Philippe is blackmailed into being drafted into the war, and he meets many interesting people, some of whom will introduce him to the larger cosmic story. Maria, left at home, copes with her town's loss of a blacksmith, the loss of her husband, and her budding magical powers at the same time as the birth of her baby boy. When the replacement blacksmith moves into town, everything changes, and events that everyone thought were far off become startlingly close to home. Philippe, Maria, and their friends all have to find their true, strong selves in order to survive the trials that face them.
Visions of Destiny revolves around Stefan, the Prince of an ancient and noble kingdom, and his equally noble cousin Andreas, and their royal tutor and mentor, Cosmar, and the royal family's personal and political troubles. Through a series of elaborately subtle orchestrated miscommunications and misinterpretations, friends become foes, and all are caught up in a devious political and spiritual scheme that will bring the nation to its knees. Lives will be lost, friendships will change, and love will be tested to the breaking point.
Even with all this pre-planning, at this point I only have the first half of the first installment of Winds of Change written, and the first third of the first installment Visions...I've been slacking off, and with an epic like this that begins with humble characterizations and ends with a cosmos-rending apocalypse, I can't afford to procrastinate. In subsequent Sundays I'll talk a little more in-depth about the characters, the world, and the story and how the writing itself is progressing. I'm planning on having a substantial bit of news for each Sunday!
Tomorrow I'll start Magical Monday with a discussion of magic in general in fantasy, and a little of how I've seen it progress over the years, and maybe touch on the basics of magic in the world of Argul. See you tomorrow!
| 35 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
Sounds fun and complicated. Jihad was originally supposed to be one book in which the characters defeat the Crystal God, an ancient enemy for the last time and for good... and now it's turned into nine books. I know how the epic feels.
Procrastination seems to be a common thing among writers; and right now I'm using my exams in a week as my excuse. Heh.
~Dianna