News first. This week I'll be posting a two part Portal 2 review. Well actually the first post will be a review but it will contain NO spoilers. The second part to my Portal 2 posts WILL contain spoilers as it will be my take on the story; so if you want to keep the surprises to yourself do not read the second post until after you have beaten Portal 2. that being said...on we go!
Hello and welcome to my second part of the investigation of Fantasyland. The first part, in case you missed it, was my post on the Geography of Fantasyland. Here I'll be looking at the portrayal of cultures, species, and societies in fantasy stories.
One of the fascinating aspects of fantasy writing is the interaction of different cultures and how that is sometimes mixed with the interaction of humanity with species from it's own mythology. Of course one of the best and most used examples of such an interaction would be between elves and humans. A lot of the fantasy I have read uses elves, dwarves, and various other species. But some do so better than others...well actually I feel that quite a lot of fantasy does not portray other species in a realistic way. To better explain the problem in demography in a fantasy setting, writers often simply create monolithic cultures and societies.
While I enjoy Dungeons and Dragons as much as the next person, that world has lead to a lot of people producing the 'other' as a stereotype. To give a better example; I enjoy reading R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Series, but I do have to swallow the rather entertaining story with a grain of salt (Several actually). Dwarves, elves, orcs, etc, all have similar societies everywhere regardless of geography in the Forgotten Realms world. While I do partly believe that there are inherent characteristics in a species that show across geography, I do not think that would manifest into Scottish accents and a disposition for mining everywhere.
I do however think that if a writer doesn't want to come up with a highly complicated regional history for every branch of culture a particular species has, then he/she can make the fact that a species is a monoculture part of the story. For example in David Weber's Safehold series the entire planet is dominated by a singular religion and main language. But he uses this as part of the story, an obstacle for humanity to overcome if it wants to survive. Another theme (that I will not go into in depth) is the idea of the Singularity, where humanity becomes so advanced that they become one culture and, some would say, one mind.
Transferring this to Fantasyland, I think the best example of a pseudo-monoculture would be the elves and dwarves of Middle-Earth. To really get a sense of this however, you should read the Silmarillion (or failing that check it out on Wikipedia :) ). Essentially the elves spring to life all in one place and start to develop their own culture and language. This is used to 'color' the elves for everything that happens after. However, Tolkien realized quite correctly that time, distance, and influences, would create different subcultures. He showed this variance through language, bloodlines, geography, and certain key plot twists (which were then mostly represented by language, bloodlines, or geography). For example, there re huge differences in culture and language between the elves who stayed in Middle Earth, the elves who journeyed to Valinor, and the elves who later returned to Middle Earth. An even better subject of an well deployed monoculture in Middle Earth would be the dwarves. Their entire civilization sprang from the hand of one of the Valar and remained few in number throughout the stories. As they existed in a limited area, their cultures and languages did not vary much. Wherever someone went in Middle Earth, one could expect dwarves to be similar as they all came from one place.
One interesting result from humans writing these stories is that humans are the only people who have multiple cultures (which are seen, heard, and felt in stories) but other species do not. Now unless the writer gives some compelling reason, pertinent to the story, of why said species is a monoculture, then I would expect a species like dwarves to have many different kinds of cultures that vary just like humans. I would expect there to be different dialects, languages, customs, etc to spring up as the different species expand and progress through time. Quite a number of the fantasy authors I have read have taken pains to stress the variability of human culture and so I do not feel as pushed to harp on that line (although in certain cases it is still a problem). Even in Salvatore's work, there is a sense that humans in one place are different from humans in another.
In my stories set in wonderful Fantasyland I hope to give different shades of the species I include. I do not want my readers to feel like the world is bland. I do not believe (and hope not) that humans are the 'only' sentience capable of having different cultures. I imagine a key aspect to sentient life to be a wonderful ability to grow in different and unexpected ways. It makes sense that new cultures and regional histories develop and that regardless of species, people become different. Wouldn't that be a much more fascinating and exciting world to travel in? Isn't reality amazing because of the same?
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Bonus post: Minecraft Mosques and Broomsticks
I know I said in my previous post that my next would be on the demographic and cultural aspects of Fantasyland, but this dream was so much fun that I couldn't resist posting it.
So it starts with myself flying in the air high above a Minecraft world. For some reason in my dream I don't think that this was a virtual world and in fact thought that it was reality. Below there was this gigantic structure that looked very much like pictures of Mosques I had seen. From a distance it was all blocky and very easily discernible as being a Minecraft creation. It was all browns and blacks though, cut through with green grass. I decide then to fly down and now I noticed my mode of transportation: a broom. Now the flying was not some variation of Harry Potter, all stiff and clunky, this was more like 'Kiki's Delivery Service' flying; It was like being on something like a combination of an ice skate and a kite without wings flying in a windy sky, where every slight touch was responded to by the broom as if it were a part of me.
So there I was flying down to the Mosque-like structure and it began to become more real instead of being simply blocks. As I walked around the courtyard I began to be drawn closer and closer to the main building which again was in all dark grays, browns and blacks. Despite it being sunny out, this place seemed to absorb the light and be perpetually dim. I should point out that I did not feel that this place was scary at all, it was more mysterious than anything. I remember walking up these steps (past a grated and ornately covered well).Inside this initial room there was this metal grating hanging like partitions or like the shelves in a library and it the iron was twisted into this strange language. It seemed to be a combination not of Arabic or Persian, but of Norse, Hieroglyphics, and Sanskrit. And it was not uniform, at some times it would seem to be completely one language and then gradually flow into the next, the middle being a mishmash of two forms. For some reason I felt that it was then time to leave and I noticed that the grating was the same on the coverings of the well I had passed. As I made my way to the center of the courtyard I noticed that there were people filtering in. Their clothing was heavy and thick but somehow I could tell that they were all women. Their clothing actually resembled how the Gondorian Rangers were portrayed in Peter Jackson's LOTR movies (without decoration and greens). They had black cloths over their mouths and wore deep earth brown cloaks over black and dark gray garments. They too seemed to absorb light making them look like shadows. No one was speaking, or making any noise at all. Again I was not afraid or got a sense of fear, I just felt like I had run out of time and should be going. So I got my broom ready and zoomed off through the front gate.
Next thing I knew I was exiting a shopping center near my house that had now turned into a school and it was graduation for something. I remember feeling so happy and that it had something to do with my broom. This, in my opinion was the best part of my dream, and also the shortest. I hopped up onto my broom and then started to fly around the general area gripping the wood tightly with my legs and performing all the aerial acrobatics I could think of. I flew high into the air and dived, zooming at high speeds and narrowly avoiding trucks and cars. I remember flying backwards upside down and as I started to wake up I actually felt like I could control where I was going and what I was doing. I could feel the lightness of my body and the wind on my face as if I weighed nothing at all and became part of the air around me, slipping and sliding above the ground just an inch away from out-of-control. I felt so very happy, and that was driving my flying.
If you have not seen 'Kiki's Delivery Service' by Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli) then I suggest that you do so. It is a wonderful movie and a joy to watch. I hope you had fun reading this, because I definitely had fun writing it.
So it starts with myself flying in the air high above a Minecraft world. For some reason in my dream I don't think that this was a virtual world and in fact thought that it was reality. Below there was this gigantic structure that looked very much like pictures of Mosques I had seen. From a distance it was all blocky and very easily discernible as being a Minecraft creation. It was all browns and blacks though, cut through with green grass. I decide then to fly down and now I noticed my mode of transportation: a broom. Now the flying was not some variation of Harry Potter, all stiff and clunky, this was more like 'Kiki's Delivery Service' flying; It was like being on something like a combination of an ice skate and a kite without wings flying in a windy sky, where every slight touch was responded to by the broom as if it were a part of me.
So there I was flying down to the Mosque-like structure and it began to become more real instead of being simply blocks. As I walked around the courtyard I began to be drawn closer and closer to the main building which again was in all dark grays, browns and blacks. Despite it being sunny out, this place seemed to absorb the light and be perpetually dim. I should point out that I did not feel that this place was scary at all, it was more mysterious than anything. I remember walking up these steps (past a grated and ornately covered well).Inside this initial room there was this metal grating hanging like partitions or like the shelves in a library and it the iron was twisted into this strange language. It seemed to be a combination not of Arabic or Persian, but of Norse, Hieroglyphics, and Sanskrit. And it was not uniform, at some times it would seem to be completely one language and then gradually flow into the next, the middle being a mishmash of two forms. For some reason I felt that it was then time to leave and I noticed that the grating was the same on the coverings of the well I had passed. As I made my way to the center of the courtyard I noticed that there were people filtering in. Their clothing was heavy and thick but somehow I could tell that they were all women. Their clothing actually resembled how the Gondorian Rangers were portrayed in Peter Jackson's LOTR movies (without decoration and greens). They had black cloths over their mouths and wore deep earth brown cloaks over black and dark gray garments. They too seemed to absorb light making them look like shadows. No one was speaking, or making any noise at all. Again I was not afraid or got a sense of fear, I just felt like I had run out of time and should be going. So I got my broom ready and zoomed off through the front gate.
Next thing I knew I was exiting a shopping center near my house that had now turned into a school and it was graduation for something. I remember feeling so happy and that it had something to do with my broom. This, in my opinion was the best part of my dream, and also the shortest. I hopped up onto my broom and then started to fly around the general area gripping the wood tightly with my legs and performing all the aerial acrobatics I could think of. I flew high into the air and dived, zooming at high speeds and narrowly avoiding trucks and cars. I remember flying backwards upside down and as I started to wake up I actually felt like I could control where I was going and what I was doing. I could feel the lightness of my body and the wind on my face as if I weighed nothing at all and became part of the air around me, slipping and sliding above the ground just an inch away from out-of-control. I felt so very happy, and that was driving my flying.
If you have not seen 'Kiki's Delivery Service' by Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli) then I suggest that you do so. It is a wonderful movie and a joy to watch. I hope you had fun reading this, because I definitely had fun writing it.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Geography of Fantasyland
It seems to be that lately I've been neglecting the "Dungeons" part of this blog! I shall rectify this oversight.
This is a two part post. This one will deal with the subject of Geography in the Fantasy novel, and the second post will be on the subject of Demography where I'll write concerning species, cultures, and history. The next post might be later this week or next Sunday, I have not decided which.
One key item to any fantasy story is the subject of geography; Who lives where, what are the distances involved, how does weather act, and a host of other questions. In fact one of the staples of the Fantasy genre has been the inclusion of a map at the beginning of a novel. One unfortunate result of the map tendency has been the story's reliance on the map in place of comprehensive description within the prose itself. Or rather, a dependency on using the map for understanding physical elements in the story. Should a map play such an important role in a novel? Or should the story alone be able to stand independent from such a physical representation. Furthermore, the less hard properties of climate often lack any sort of realism in a fantasy novel (for instance you might find deserts in places where they shouldn't be, tropical areas that seem out of place, or mountain ranges that appear coincidentally to the story etc.).
On my first point of geography I'll use Tolkien as an example of what I believe is one correct way to use maps. As practically everyone knows Tolkien is the main progenitor of the fantasy novel, and of course included a map of Middle Earth. While his map was useful for understanding the travels of the Fellowship, the reader could in fact read the trilogy in its entirety without so much as glancing at the map. Indeed the map served as a simple enhancement to what was written on the pages. If reading carefully a person could easily understand what direction a party was traveling in, how long it would take to get to place to place, and where places were roughly located. Furthermore the descriptions of these physical geographic characteristics in the Lord of the Rings was handled in a very entertaining and poetic way (I would point to the sections describing the Fellowship's journey south to Moria, the description of Lothlorien, and the section describing Minas Tirith and the surrounding countryside). While other books do try to describe travels the same way, often they just do the bare minimum of making sure the reader knows where everything is located and expect the Map to be used rather than as a point of interest. There is a sense that the map is supposed to occupy a key plot point. I can only say that even Tolkien took time to describe the portions of the map that were relevant; if there was a key plot point, it had it's place within the prose of the work. Examples of maps being used in a typical way would include the Dragonlance books and Eregon. Other examples where I feel maps have been used to great effect would be McCaffery's Pern books, R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series, Salvatore's Drizzt books, and of course topping all bout be Terry Pratchet's work.
Now I'll turn to the other part of geography, that of climate. As I pointed out I've read many fantasy books where there are misplaced terrains. Now there isn't exactly a reason why a jungle might be located in particular area it's just that there is no pattern as there is on Earth. I do agree that in a novel that has magic as a key point that certain areas can be magically induced (Lothlorien or Mordor for example) but I would expect that there would be certain patterns that occur; wind patterns, ocean currents, tectonic movement etc. Again to reference Tolkien, he had much of Middle Earth's climate explained by assuming that it was based in northwestern Europe (approximately). Another stunning example of the use of climate in a story would be R.R. Martin's work. "A Song of Ice and Fire" is heavily involved by the unique climate of the world and the terrain actually does follow some sort of pattern. The reader can then expect certain kinds of weather, obstacles, and events in a given area or a reader can guess where a scene is located by the description.
Now what does this say about the use of a map in a fantasy novel? Well it must be said that the use of a map has become cliche to some extent. But I feel that a map can be used in certain circumstances. A map should not be used as an 'accurate' depiction of the world, but more of an approximation. Markers for terrain can be given but always be sure to let there be enough room in interpretation so that the reader can create their own idea of the place described. A map is a tool to give an idea of the boundary and scope of the lands involved. In this way then the map is actually a supplement to the story itself instead of a page that must be constantly flipped back to in order to understand what is going on.
This is a two part post. This one will deal with the subject of Geography in the Fantasy novel, and the second post will be on the subject of Demography where I'll write concerning species, cultures, and history. The next post might be later this week or next Sunday, I have not decided which.
One key item to any fantasy story is the subject of geography; Who lives where, what are the distances involved, how does weather act, and a host of other questions. In fact one of the staples of the Fantasy genre has been the inclusion of a map at the beginning of a novel. One unfortunate result of the map tendency has been the story's reliance on the map in place of comprehensive description within the prose itself. Or rather, a dependency on using the map for understanding physical elements in the story. Should a map play such an important role in a novel? Or should the story alone be able to stand independent from such a physical representation. Furthermore, the less hard properties of climate often lack any sort of realism in a fantasy novel (for instance you might find deserts in places where they shouldn't be, tropical areas that seem out of place, or mountain ranges that appear coincidentally to the story etc.).
On my first point of geography I'll use Tolkien as an example of what I believe is one correct way to use maps. As practically everyone knows Tolkien is the main progenitor of the fantasy novel, and of course included a map of Middle Earth. While his map was useful for understanding the travels of the Fellowship, the reader could in fact read the trilogy in its entirety without so much as glancing at the map. Indeed the map served as a simple enhancement to what was written on the pages. If reading carefully a person could easily understand what direction a party was traveling in, how long it would take to get to place to place, and where places were roughly located. Furthermore the descriptions of these physical geographic characteristics in the Lord of the Rings was handled in a very entertaining and poetic way (I would point to the sections describing the Fellowship's journey south to Moria, the description of Lothlorien, and the section describing Minas Tirith and the surrounding countryside). While other books do try to describe travels the same way, often they just do the bare minimum of making sure the reader knows where everything is located and expect the Map to be used rather than as a point of interest. There is a sense that the map is supposed to occupy a key plot point. I can only say that even Tolkien took time to describe the portions of the map that were relevant; if there was a key plot point, it had it's place within the prose of the work. Examples of maps being used in a typical way would include the Dragonlance books and Eregon. Other examples where I feel maps have been used to great effect would be McCaffery's Pern books, R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series, Salvatore's Drizzt books, and of course topping all bout be Terry Pratchet's work.
Now I'll turn to the other part of geography, that of climate. As I pointed out I've read many fantasy books where there are misplaced terrains. Now there isn't exactly a reason why a jungle might be located in particular area it's just that there is no pattern as there is on Earth. I do agree that in a novel that has magic as a key point that certain areas can be magically induced (Lothlorien or Mordor for example) but I would expect that there would be certain patterns that occur; wind patterns, ocean currents, tectonic movement etc. Again to reference Tolkien, he had much of Middle Earth's climate explained by assuming that it was based in northwestern Europe (approximately). Another stunning example of the use of climate in a story would be R.R. Martin's work. "A Song of Ice and Fire" is heavily involved by the unique climate of the world and the terrain actually does follow some sort of pattern. The reader can then expect certain kinds of weather, obstacles, and events in a given area or a reader can guess where a scene is located by the description.
Now what does this say about the use of a map in a fantasy novel? Well it must be said that the use of a map has become cliche to some extent. But I feel that a map can be used in certain circumstances. A map should not be used as an 'accurate' depiction of the world, but more of an approximation. Markers for terrain can be given but always be sure to let there be enough room in interpretation so that the reader can create their own idea of the place described. A map is a tool to give an idea of the boundary and scope of the lands involved. In this way then the map is actually a supplement to the story itself instead of a page that must be constantly flipped back to in order to understand what is going on.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Bonus post: Maybe William Blake knew the Doctor?
I noticed that if you change just a few words here and there in William Blake's "Tiger" it is quite relevant to the Dr. Who story...eerily so! Just thought it might be interesting to put up.
| TARDIS, Tardis, flashing bright |
| In the forests of the night, |
| What immortal hand or eye |
| Could frame thy fearful symmetry? |
| |
| In what distant times or skies |
| Burnt the fire of thine eyes? |
| On what wings dare he aspire? |
| What the hand dare seize the fire? |
| |
| And what shoulder and what art |
| Could twist the sinews of thy heart? |
| And when thy hearts began to beat, |
| What dread hand and what dread feet? |
| |
| What the hammer? what the chain? |
| In what furnace was thy brain? |
| What the anvil? What dread grasp |
| Dare its deadly terrors clasp? |
| |
| When the stars threw down their spears, |
| And water'd heaven with their tears, |
| Did He smile His work to see? |
| Did He who saved the Earth save thee? |
| |
| Tardis, Tardis, flashing bright |
| In the forests of the night, |
| What immortal hand or eye |
| Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? |
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Building Backgrounds and POV
The past few days I've run into yet another stumbling block on the short story I am working on. It revolves around a problem I actually have fairly often when writing. It focuses around the relationships between characters and character development. I find that to myself, my characters tend to seem very similar to each other and often this becomes a problem. When the characters are all similar then the answers to problems are essentially a given. There is no suspense, sense of growth, or variety. This problem also carries over to character's reactions to events in the story; if they all react the same way then what's the point of writing the story in the first place?
So that brings us to my brainstorm last night. There are two ways that I feel I need to constantly remind myself when writing a particular scene: One is to anchor a scene with a character in mind, and the other is to keep in mind the background of the characters involved. When a scene is anchored to a certain character that allows the writer to easily draw upon that character's insights, experiences, and characteristics and avoids the risk of having a scene become so scattered that the reader loses track of who is the central focus. Now sometimes of course a scene must be written by switching from character to character but if so it should be handled carefully and very clearly. Anchoring a character can also be used as a plot device as you can hide key elements to the story in plain sight or avoid writing a very tedious but key scene elsewhere. In my own case using anchoring in my short story allows me to keep the focus on the main character and her conflict both inner and outer without hopelessly expanding the story to include everyone else. The problem with rich characters is that they too have their own stories begging to be told!
Now anchoring a character also leads to the second item: a good background. When you anchor a scene in a story to a particular character (or set of characters) you then are able to draw upon who that character is and what they represent. This requires a sort of understanding of who they are. Now like any good argument sometimes you do not get around to formulating an argument until all the research is done. Sometimes you do not really know who a character is until you've done the work of working out their defining history. As I said above sometimes my characters have been flat when compared to each other (and I hope this will change). By concentrating on their backgrounds I can then tweek them into a variety of people. I can build the differences into my characters and thus populate my stories with a wide range of personalities that can clash or mesh.
To help with this, a friend of mine came up with a simple format for a story reader that sparked this idea. Simply put you look at the setting(s) of the story, the plot, the characters individually, and then the character's relationships to each other. This allows the writer to see in a condensed and focused format, how the characters interact and fit into the story. This allows you to hopefully see the similarities and differences between characters and how to build them into unique pieces to your story. It forces the writer to really consider what makes their characters different by boiling away all the story around them. By looking at the characters under a microscope their personalities can be clarified and give the writer answers as to how a character will view, react, and feel about a given scene or event. Now I do not mean to say this is the only way to go about this but I have found it useful. And I also do not mean to claim that this will make me (or others) into a perfect writer but it should help organize my thoughts and writing to a finer point. Hopefully whoever reads this will find a similar thought process useful. Any other thoughts or advice would always be welcome. I realize that this is a shorter than usual post, but I feel that the content is something that can really be expanded through commentary. In short I feel that this post (and my posts in general) to be premises for further discussion, tips of icebergs.
So that brings us to my brainstorm last night. There are two ways that I feel I need to constantly remind myself when writing a particular scene: One is to anchor a scene with a character in mind, and the other is to keep in mind the background of the characters involved. When a scene is anchored to a certain character that allows the writer to easily draw upon that character's insights, experiences, and characteristics and avoids the risk of having a scene become so scattered that the reader loses track of who is the central focus. Now sometimes of course a scene must be written by switching from character to character but if so it should be handled carefully and very clearly. Anchoring a character can also be used as a plot device as you can hide key elements to the story in plain sight or avoid writing a very tedious but key scene elsewhere. In my own case using anchoring in my short story allows me to keep the focus on the main character and her conflict both inner and outer without hopelessly expanding the story to include everyone else. The problem with rich characters is that they too have their own stories begging to be told!
Now anchoring a character also leads to the second item: a good background. When you anchor a scene in a story to a particular character (or set of characters) you then are able to draw upon who that character is and what they represent. This requires a sort of understanding of who they are. Now like any good argument sometimes you do not get around to formulating an argument until all the research is done. Sometimes you do not really know who a character is until you've done the work of working out their defining history. As I said above sometimes my characters have been flat when compared to each other (and I hope this will change). By concentrating on their backgrounds I can then tweek them into a variety of people. I can build the differences into my characters and thus populate my stories with a wide range of personalities that can clash or mesh.
To help with this, a friend of mine came up with a simple format for a story reader that sparked this idea. Simply put you look at the setting(s) of the story, the plot, the characters individually, and then the character's relationships to each other. This allows the writer to see in a condensed and focused format, how the characters interact and fit into the story. This allows you to hopefully see the similarities and differences between characters and how to build them into unique pieces to your story. It forces the writer to really consider what makes their characters different by boiling away all the story around them. By looking at the characters under a microscope their personalities can be clarified and give the writer answers as to how a character will view, react, and feel about a given scene or event. Now I do not mean to say this is the only way to go about this but I have found it useful. And I also do not mean to claim that this will make me (or others) into a perfect writer but it should help organize my thoughts and writing to a finer point. Hopefully whoever reads this will find a similar thought process useful. Any other thoughts or advice would always be welcome. I realize that this is a shorter than usual post, but I feel that the content is something that can really be expanded through commentary. In short I feel that this post (and my posts in general) to be premises for further discussion, tips of icebergs.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Have Dreams Will Travel
As I mentioned waaaay back in my blog I will be posting any fun/interesting dreams I have. The main reason I want to and enjoy doing this is because I cant draw...I have really clear dreams that I can picture in my mind clearly. And while they do fade (because I have other things to think about) sometimes I just want to record them; I want to remember them in a descriptive way. So, since I cannot draw I write.
That brings me to the dream I had the night before last. There were various parts of the dream that I had, but the main part, the part I remember the most, is what I will describe. The dream starts with myself picking a lock to a man's apartment. Intuitively I knew I was some sort of detective investigating a criminal's place for evidence. It was night time and the hallway I was in was dark with wood floors. One inside the living room I turned on the lights (for what reason I do not know, seem's like a very stupid thing to do!). The room is set as if it were in the 1910's-20's and very expensive. The walls were blue with white trimming and I remember distinctly an ornate gold chandelier hanging form the ceiling. Eventually I come to the suspect's bedroom and start riffling through his roll-top desk (btw the lighting was gaslights not electrical). While I was searching (I do not know what for) I hear the door open and hear footsteps and a curse. They guy see's the lights on and pulls out a gun. I manage to hide myself inside his closet and hope that my clothing blends in with his, as well as my shoes with his. However some how he knows where I am and I can see his rounded jowly face clearly as he approaches. He's balding with a wisp of black hair still covering the top of his shiny head and he pulls me out. Now he holds the gun on me and starts demanding that we go to the bank right that moment to go withdraw some obscene amount of money. I am surprised and dismayed in my dream that he apparently doesn't realize that banks would be closed at this late hour but he still insists and becomes more and more angry. Finally I manage to come up with some sort of excuse that includes he can lock me up until morning when the banks will be open. So it's almost like a page is turned because the next thing I know we are walking along a cobble stone street with a huge river to our left. It reminds me of pictures/images I've seen of London, and the buildings on my right are big rectangular but with architecture that reminds me of the Buckingham Palace (best way I can describe it since I don't know the right words). There are horse drawn carriages that clatter along, and people walking by in heavy clothing, sometimes coats or even cloaks. When we step into the bank in particular it's amazing. The cavernous room is a warm golden color. The floor is white marble squares outlined in gold leaf. The walls are lined with columns and the lobby furniture is exquisite. The people who use this bank are obviously very rich and even come here to socialize as food and drink are being offered to those waiting on the seats. The place is lit up everywhere and sparkling. The man behind me follows me to the teller and still has his gun on my back. I realize the only person I can count on to rescue me is the lady teller in front of me so I wait for the guy to leave and then try to tell her my situation...only to discover that the guy is behind me again! And that is where it ended...I was interrupted by my cat who decided to act as my alarm clock
The interesting thing is that I remember more than I am even able to write down. If I could draw I could depict it clearly I am sure! And another interesting thing is I remember how everyone else looked exactly, except for myself. I don't know what I was wearing or anything. The whole dream felt as if I was watching a rather bad detective movie or a Sherlock Holmes rip off. Anyways I don't really analyze my dreams I just thing that dreams like this are fun both to describe and to write down. Consider this reading for enjoyment.
That brings me to the dream I had the night before last. There were various parts of the dream that I had, but the main part, the part I remember the most, is what I will describe. The dream starts with myself picking a lock to a man's apartment. Intuitively I knew I was some sort of detective investigating a criminal's place for evidence. It was night time and the hallway I was in was dark with wood floors. One inside the living room I turned on the lights (for what reason I do not know, seem's like a very stupid thing to do!). The room is set as if it were in the 1910's-20's and very expensive. The walls were blue with white trimming and I remember distinctly an ornate gold chandelier hanging form the ceiling. Eventually I come to the suspect's bedroom and start riffling through his roll-top desk (btw the lighting was gaslights not electrical). While I was searching (I do not know what for) I hear the door open and hear footsteps and a curse. They guy see's the lights on and pulls out a gun. I manage to hide myself inside his closet and hope that my clothing blends in with his, as well as my shoes with his. However some how he knows where I am and I can see his rounded jowly face clearly as he approaches. He's balding with a wisp of black hair still covering the top of his shiny head and he pulls me out. Now he holds the gun on me and starts demanding that we go to the bank right that moment to go withdraw some obscene amount of money. I am surprised and dismayed in my dream that he apparently doesn't realize that banks would be closed at this late hour but he still insists and becomes more and more angry. Finally I manage to come up with some sort of excuse that includes he can lock me up until morning when the banks will be open. So it's almost like a page is turned because the next thing I know we are walking along a cobble stone street with a huge river to our left. It reminds me of pictures/images I've seen of London, and the buildings on my right are big rectangular but with architecture that reminds me of the Buckingham Palace (best way I can describe it since I don't know the right words). There are horse drawn carriages that clatter along, and people walking by in heavy clothing, sometimes coats or even cloaks. When we step into the bank in particular it's amazing. The cavernous room is a warm golden color. The floor is white marble squares outlined in gold leaf. The walls are lined with columns and the lobby furniture is exquisite. The people who use this bank are obviously very rich and even come here to socialize as food and drink are being offered to those waiting on the seats. The place is lit up everywhere and sparkling. The man behind me follows me to the teller and still has his gun on my back. I realize the only person I can count on to rescue me is the lady teller in front of me so I wait for the guy to leave and then try to tell her my situation...only to discover that the guy is behind me again! And that is where it ended...I was interrupted by my cat who decided to act as my alarm clock
The interesting thing is that I remember more than I am even able to write down. If I could draw I could depict it clearly I am sure! And another interesting thing is I remember how everyone else looked exactly, except for myself. I don't know what I was wearing or anything. The whole dream felt as if I was watching a rather bad detective movie or a Sherlock Holmes rip off. Anyways I don't really analyze my dreams I just thing that dreams like this are fun both to describe and to write down. Consider this reading for enjoyment.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
The Deepest Motivations - answered? Or left puzzles...
Before I start posting I'd like to point out a tiny item of interest. This is my 14th post. It just so happens though that my 7th post gained a lot of attention as did my first (for obvious reasons). It would be interesting to see if this post follows that pattern, after all the tru7h is out there!.
NOTE: this note was written after writing the blog post > Please excuse me if this post seems a bit of a ramble, disjointed and confusing. In some ways, on the topic I will be discussing, I feel the same way. If you could bear with me, I hope this post will provide something to think bout.
Onto the blog proper. Lately I've found that the sci-fi short story I've been working on has reached a blockage (one that I've been working on and made progress). My short stories (whether sci-fi or fantasy) I set in a larger universe (Separate for SF and fantasy). Thus each time I write a short piece I am not only working on my larger stories as a whole, but I have a framework to use. However this also brings up certain problems. When I write my characters or settings I have to consider them in the larger context of the world(s) in which they inhabit. This means I have to come up with a whole set of factors for why certain characters act certain ways that aren't explicitly revealed in the piece itself (the same goes for setting). For the current piece I'm working on I found myself stumbling on a character's motivation for a certain action. This motivation however is what puzzles me. I can describe from the actual actions the reasons for the actions preceding it....but when I get to the base motivation the true why of a motivation I find myself stumbling.
It goes without saying that when considering the deep motivation of a character or group of characters, I am trying to avoid motivations that have been used before. Before I go on I feel the need to explain why I am not going into specifics; Apart from wanting to keep my ideas between myself, friends, and family, I want to work out a way to understand how to think about motivations. I think the best way for me to come up with them, to put it another way, is to work out a way of thinking about motivations.
What does one consider when working out the deep motivations behind a character's actions? When discussing humans sometimes the answer is easy; It's love, it's anger, it's sadness, it's joy etc. But at other times it can be much more complicated; Politics, religion, duty, insanity. All of these things are hidden in a person's mind. They can in fact be carried to their death without ever being revealed or hinted at except under the greatest scrutiny (emotions are much the same way! Secret love, revenge, jealousy etc.) Interestingly, to point out that these concealed (emotional or otherwise) motivations can be always be layered, without order, depending on the individual. In reality there is never a way we can truly grasp what lays at the bottom of a person's motivations, but should this be the same for a writer? Should a writer leave these deepest motivations in a hole? Or should a writer illuminate what the writer thinks of as the motivations for an action or a life. Insanity is particularly interesting. It has been the subject of much scrutiny (both from within the ranks of psychology and from without). Michel Foucault in particular investigated the political/governmental aspects of deciding who was insane and who was not. While there have been many arguments as to the accuracy of Foucault's evidence and theories, for my purposes I feel that the questions raised are enough to ponder. Psychology has been able to categorize and investigate an all manner of mental conditions, and thus theorize as to their motivations. But the much of the progress they have made has been by the examinations of voluntary subjects. The involuntary ones are interesting because how do we know for sure that what we have discovered has leaded us in the right direction? In fact, how do we know that those who are voluntary in the world of psychology are in fact voluntary and not leading us on?
Of course clever investigators can pick up on the tiniest details in order to reveal more about a person's motivations, but that of course is not a true clear picture. This goes back to my question of the writer, and then to my own puzzle. Some of my favorite stories do not reveal the motivations (or even the identities) of characters in order for the reader to puzzle them out. Each interpretation (based upon the evidence provided by the story) can alter the message of the story as a whole, which provides endless rereading and investigating. But on the other hand, some of my other favorite stories do their best to clarify who characters are, and why they act. This then provides a way for the author to give a message upon a point; to be able to say something about human character or the world in general. But is this limiting? Would this then flatten the characters into beings that aren't entirely real, only able to exist upon the pages of a story?
Any discussion about this would be very welcome.
NOTE: this note was written after writing the blog post > Please excuse me if this post seems a bit of a ramble, disjointed and confusing. In some ways, on the topic I will be discussing, I feel the same way. If you could bear with me, I hope this post will provide something to think bout.
Onto the blog proper. Lately I've found that the sci-fi short story I've been working on has reached a blockage (one that I've been working on and made progress). My short stories (whether sci-fi or fantasy) I set in a larger universe (Separate for SF and fantasy). Thus each time I write a short piece I am not only working on my larger stories as a whole, but I have a framework to use. However this also brings up certain problems. When I write my characters or settings I have to consider them in the larger context of the world(s) in which they inhabit. This means I have to come up with a whole set of factors for why certain characters act certain ways that aren't explicitly revealed in the piece itself (the same goes for setting). For the current piece I'm working on I found myself stumbling on a character's motivation for a certain action. This motivation however is what puzzles me. I can describe from the actual actions the reasons for the actions preceding it....but when I get to the base motivation the true why of a motivation I find myself stumbling.
It goes without saying that when considering the deep motivation of a character or group of characters, I am trying to avoid motivations that have been used before. Before I go on I feel the need to explain why I am not going into specifics; Apart from wanting to keep my ideas between myself, friends, and family, I want to work out a way to understand how to think about motivations. I think the best way for me to come up with them, to put it another way, is to work out a way of thinking about motivations.
What does one consider when working out the deep motivations behind a character's actions? When discussing humans sometimes the answer is easy; It's love, it's anger, it's sadness, it's joy etc. But at other times it can be much more complicated; Politics, religion, duty, insanity. All of these things are hidden in a person's mind. They can in fact be carried to their death without ever being revealed or hinted at except under the greatest scrutiny (emotions are much the same way! Secret love, revenge, jealousy etc.) Interestingly, to point out that these concealed (emotional or otherwise) motivations can be always be layered, without order, depending on the individual. In reality there is never a way we can truly grasp what lays at the bottom of a person's motivations, but should this be the same for a writer? Should a writer leave these deepest motivations in a hole? Or should a writer illuminate what the writer thinks of as the motivations for an action or a life. Insanity is particularly interesting. It has been the subject of much scrutiny (both from within the ranks of psychology and from without). Michel Foucault in particular investigated the political/governmental aspects of deciding who was insane and who was not. While there have been many arguments as to the accuracy of Foucault's evidence and theories, for my purposes I feel that the questions raised are enough to ponder. Psychology has been able to categorize and investigate an all manner of mental conditions, and thus theorize as to their motivations. But the much of the progress they have made has been by the examinations of voluntary subjects. The involuntary ones are interesting because how do we know for sure that what we have discovered has leaded us in the right direction? In fact, how do we know that those who are voluntary in the world of psychology are in fact voluntary and not leading us on?
Of course clever investigators can pick up on the tiniest details in order to reveal more about a person's motivations, but that of course is not a true clear picture. This goes back to my question of the writer, and then to my own puzzle. Some of my favorite stories do not reveal the motivations (or even the identities) of characters in order for the reader to puzzle them out. Each interpretation (based upon the evidence provided by the story) can alter the message of the story as a whole, which provides endless rereading and investigating. But on the other hand, some of my other favorite stories do their best to clarify who characters are, and why they act. This then provides a way for the author to give a message upon a point; to be able to say something about human character or the world in general. But is this limiting? Would this then flatten the characters into beings that aren't entirely real, only able to exist upon the pages of a story?
Any discussion about this would be very welcome.
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