Day: November 28, 2019

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

“They” say timing is everything, which is why it is so fortuitous that today be Thea day. The mythological Thea was the Goddess of the light who gave birth to the sun. Thanksgiving is meant to be a day that brings the light and joy of family into our lives…

Okay, I’m stretching things here and being quite corny and more than a little quotidian in the way I am trying to draw connections and meaning out of thin air. In truth, Thea is another mystery for me to unravel. I absolutely envisioned her as the love interest for Ikrivain in a basic effort to force a love triangle into this silly little story. One of the things I’ve learned about story is the expectations of the reader. B-stories often revolve around the love interest and the love triangle is a familiar way to bring that to the forefront. As the story went on I found myself thinking a linkage with Esme would be more interesting, but perhaps the most interesting thing would be to actually make a female lead into a fully rounded character and not have her rely upon the male leads in order to have purpose or death. So, here we go.

Thea has been through a great deal more than her sister is aware of. She loves her sister and wants to protect her sister, in spite of being a few minutes older chronologically. It was Thea who agreed to the match between the wealthy man and both sisters. She cared little about the optics and wanted instead to know her sister was safe and that she would be with her forever. Thea has never wanted for much more than to be a part of something. That something has always been this bond with her sister–this familial linkage that manifested as them against the world. When Marek came along and showed Esme what it meant to love, Thea began to worry about herself and her future and what that could look like alone. She joined the military out of love and protectiveness for her sister, but once her sister had someone else in her life, Thea decided that she needed something else as well. Early in the story she is forced to pick between that service and her family and she picks her family, leading the next phase of her story to be about reconciling herself with those feelings, trying to mimic companionship and family with those she comes in contact with (she grows attached to the guide I think), and finally realizing that she has all that she needs inside of herself.

This is my recap day.

So I wrote an outline and not a novel. I did so, because I didn’t have a novel in place which I could work up in 30 days. I suppose I will shelf this until next November and write it out page by page during that Nano session. So, at least I will have the shell done. Now that we are close to the end of the process I decided it is best to spend the last few days getting a deeper understanding of the characters and setting and conflicts. Yes, it is going to stay a fantasy zombie novel. I feel the birth of a lich king is kind of a cool idea. Still, it feels like the prequel to some other story.

I do feel like I have workable characters in the four main characters (plus a guide who I want to add color and flavor to before he is killed off).The one character I mishandled the most is Esme. Heck, I couldn’t even remember her name or anything about her at first. I just knew she operated either a crossbow or a long bow and she was entangled with Marek. Part of me wanted her to end up with Ikrivain at the end, given her transformation.

In terms transformation I didn’t do much for her as a person, because I did not know her as a person. So, lets start getting to know Esme.

She is a twin. While not an identical twin the sisters are very similar in stature and demeanor. Esme is dedicated to the pursuit of a life better than she and her sister fled at home. She was meant to be married off. At one point an arrangement was made for her and her twin to be offered to the same eccentric and wealthy suitor. Rather than wait to see if their parents would do such a deal she and Thea fled.

She is a woodswoman. Her dad taught her hunting and fishing and all of the skills necessary for survival. He did not believe in this idea of women not understanding “men’s work’ instead feeling a woman has a greater burden to understand the roles of both genders and to be able to do as they must when needed. As he had no sons he used his daughters in the fields as much as their mother used them to prepare meals. Their academic education was a casualty of this level of work. Only recently has she shown any faint interest in learning to read or write.

Esme wants to settle down somewhere and have a family. She wants to not have to work so hard in life but realizes that hard work now ought to mean less work later, so she takes on these responsibilities of war as an opportunity to earn enough to settle down while exploring a vast world with her future mate.