Battle Cry

Through all the world there goes one long cry from the heart of the artist: only give me the chance to do my very best!

--- Isak Dinesen

I think this "cry" is also in Steigan's heart. Maybe it's why his story is so close to my heart.

Plotting and replotting

For the second time I've thrown out several chapters of the book and started again.

The first time I was about chapter 22 when I threw It all out and started again. This time was at chapter 32 and went all the way back to chapter 14, though I did add in a chapter 2.5 and rewrote major sections of earlier chapters.

It's part of that "making the story harder" I spoke of in the last post. I really do love the levels it's getting. It may take being a writer to understand that concept. So many jobs in today's society only have one answer, one necessary outcome. Flip the burger and make sure it's fully cooked. Sell the widget, meet the monthly quota. I could have even written this story once and shipped it to the world.

But you'll love it more because I peeled back the top soil to see what other beastly little plot twists lay wriggling in the dirt.

Making the story stronger

I have a sign in my writing office which reads, "Make your story stronger. Show it slowly. Show it thoroughly. And always show your characters doing the action. Then make it harder for them."

It's that last line that always gets me.

I enjoy making the story harder. If I have to really think through my plot, especially when I keep in mind that everything has to make sense across three time lines, them I know my story is getting deeper. Yes, it already feels bigger than me. It needs to. Let's face it, if it were simple for me then why would I need to be writing an epic fantasy? I want a world that engages the reader and makes you think. So, it's got to be tough for the character.

Then there's the thrill when your character rises to the occasion and proves himself to be he very hero he was created to be. When he devises a way out of the sticky situation. When the writer stands up and cheers in victory with the character. Yes, those are the moments!

A challenge to my hero equals a new level to the puzzle for me which equals a greater thrill ride for the reader. Ah yes, those are indeed the moments.

A Character Comes to Life

As I said in my last post, spam email found me a new name, but what can one do with a name only? Not much.

Laurierant. That was all I knew. Where did he fit? Who was he?

Have you ever heard the saying that to give something a name takes away its power, or makes it less scary? For me, giving something a name is a clue for me to get creative and discover the story. So who was this character? I knew he had to be male since that had been an initial factor.

With a name, the beginnings of a image for the character develop. I saw him as blond. I knew he wasn't too muscular, but he had pizazz and attitude.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Laurierant de Santz, come to grace us with his presence, have ya?" was the first line I heard spoken. Something still didn't feel right, but I was on the right track.

I started to see an elven archer. I've been wanting to write a story about an archer for the last month or so, so I wondered if the time was finally right to get the story. But it still didn't feel right.

Now let me tell you what it's like to write an epic saga. Epic sagas generally have a lot of people in them. I'm still discovering characters and plot twists as I write. A few people have heard me talking about how I'm thinking of breaking the second book into two (it's either that or let the movie studio do it for me when they get their hands on it! Since that's the latest trend in Hollywood as well as my wishful thinking.). Seriously, there is a lot of material and I'm not feeling I'm doing the story justice right now. However, breaking it into two also means more developing of other characters and scenes. Push the story. Make it harder for the characters. Those are the two most important rules of storytelling, in my opinion.

Another thing I always have to be aware of is the plot line continuing into the books that will follow. Even though I have a fair idea of what's going to happen, every time I push the story adjustments need to be made. It's like a big game of chess where you can plot your moves ahead but you might have to adjust based on what your opponent does.

So here I was thinking about book 4. I had already made several adjustments. Looking backwards and forwards at a timeline from several different angles will certainly occupy your brain for a few days! In the end I realized I was going to need more characters.

Brain kicks in and says, "Remember Laurierant?"

How could I forget? He was the reason my subconscious was not working on the right story!

"I beg to differ," the brain argues. "Remember the blond elven archer you wanted in book 4? Hello, that's Laurierent." Please note the change in spelling. Yep, it really did happen that way.

And so Laurierent was born. His evolution remains another matter.

My fan fiction

Last week my boys pulled out my old laptop and were looking around on it (you know, because Windows 95 so retro!)

My oldest son, who has lately become very addicted to Star Trek -- he's such a fanboy, found an old Star Trek story I wrote for a contest. His comments: Wow! How cool. I didn't even see the end coming.

Of course it took a few minutes to catch up to his babbling because I'd forgotten the story and he had to refresh my memory.

My younger son then started to read the story. His comments: So?

So? That's all! I'd gone from one end of the spectrum to the other. So I sat down with Little Thing 2 and asked why he had this reaction when his brother had been all fanboy starry eyed and actually impressed with his mother.

Little Thing 2 proceeded to tell me that The Three Books had quality writing and a better hook. He said I'd grown as a writer since doing the Star Trek story. Of course, Little Thing 1 wouldn't know about that because he rarely reads things I write (with the exception of my Doctor Who fanfic, which he wishes I'd do more of).

Ah, such is the life of a writer, desperately trying to get the public to know what you're doing now!

What I Aspire To

I was reading blogs and came across this video for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel -- two of my favorite shows. I thought I'd also share the video here.

Yes, it's what I aspire to -- to have a story so interesting and compelling that fans become fully invested in the characters. Of course, that starts with me. Can I say I'm a fan of Sacred Knight? Oh yes! After all, I've been working on it for 17 years. You can't work on a story that long without have some connection to it and the characters.

And now, the Buffy/Angel video:

New Video for First Book Posted

I've posted a new video for the first book of the Sacred Knight series. In the video is the cover of the book, which has changed since the last post. Why don't you go watch it now, then I'll have a story.

So, after I announced my book cover to the world, I started asking some more people about the book cover. I really had an issue with the flare on the cover. To me, it made the light source look all wrong. Everyone I asked for an opinion said pretty much the same thing. 

Now, what I found funny was that the males I asked like the flare and the females didn't. Doesn't that pretty much equate to men liking the bling and the women not liking the bling? Yeah, yeah, who said only girls like sparkly sparkles? Anyway, the flare is gone. I'm feeling much better about the cover. 

At least I feel better for this moment in time. I still have another month to change it. Hmm....

If you like the videos, please "like" them and share them with your friends. Let's get the word out. Thank you!

Sacred Knight - story overview trailer

Welcome to the Sacred Knight blog.

How about a quick overview of what the story is all about.

Watch for more videos the the release of the first book in the series (The Three Books) coming April 28th!