I lost track of what day it was around the one that ends with a ‘y’.
Looking back at my goals, I kind of succeeded at most of them. My son had his tests and quizzes, which we worked hard on studying for. It’s so hard studying for math when compared to other subjects. History, science, and ELA can work primarily off facts and concepts that you memorize. Math requires that you get the formula and steps down then add whatever unexpected numbers are shown. It gets harder with word problems where you have to decipher what’s being asked of you. My son is trying hard on that, but it’s exhausting. Cuts into Pokemon Go time as well, so we tried having him play it in the park while I quiz him on non-math subjects. Aced the history test, which is what we did that with, so I guess it worked.
Work was wild and crazy because it was only 3 days with Wednesday being the Life Skills feast. Tuesday was a half-day as well. So, everyone was off in some fashion. This probably helped in confusing me on the day of the week. Not helped by a few coworkers saying it was an early Friday. The feast was fun, but I didn’t eat much because I knew I’d be having the same on Thursday. That and I just wasn’t that hungry on Wednesday for some reason. Probably stress since there was an unfortunate change in holiday plans that I had no control over. Still, a good short week of work before 4 full ones leading into Holiday Break.
The only writing I did was finish the January blog posts and set up all of the Sundays for the year. This way, I can relax a bit after today when I write the final chapter of Darwin & the Beast Collector. I wrote the ‘final battle’ yesterday after dropping my son off with his mother. It took all of late morning and mid-afternoon to get that right because it wasn’t what I expected. The previous section threw me a few curveballs, so I needed to come up with a new plan. Factoring in all of the ‘new’ personalities, I came up with a rather strange solution. I say strange because it really is bizarre, but it makes sense for a character like Darwin to think it up. My low author self-esteem tells me I suck and I should go back to the fight where all of the character growth is jettisoned. Another issue might be that the main villain comes off as pathetic and lame when you find out their true goal, which irks me. Yet, that’s kind of how they should be considering the overall situation and their motivation. I’ll have to use the first section of the final chapter to have the survivors talk about what happened to clear a few cobwebs since they would have the same concerns I have.
Guess that makes it clear that I’m finishing the book this weekend. What comes next will be tinkering until December 23rd or 24th. I feel like I can make progress on the ‘Phi Beta Files’ after rewriting the outline for Darwin & the Joy Path. I’ll start that book when Holiday Break starts up since my ex-wife gets my son for the first 5 days. After the new year, I’m going to start editing a physical copy of Darwin & the Fate Bracelet. I hope to publish that next year. I have the blurb written on my phone, so I’ll put that up on a January weekend when I’m more in the mindset for it.
Still trying to decide on what to do about the new Amazon category system. Last night, I played around with it for Bedlam, Ichabod Brooks, and the other non-series stuff. Not liking the ones I’m seeing for some books like ‘Women’s Adventure Fiction’ for War of Nytefall. Maybe it’ll be my Sunday project while I do some online courses when I’m waiting for new sections to open up. That 3 category limit is what’s bugging me though because it feels really restrained with a series. Doesn’t help that there is a ‘fantasy series’ category, which I don’t know if I should waste a spot on. There’s ‘action adventure’, ‘coming of age’, ‘epic’, and ‘sword & sorcery’ that all work for Legends of Windemere too. Couldn’t find the ‘vampire’ tag, which might be in horror. I can’t put War of Nytefall in that genre, so it’s stuck with the limited fantasy stuff of probably ‘action adventure’, ‘sword & sorcery’, and a mystery 3rd one. Does every book in a series need the same categories? So confusing.
Nothing else is really planned for this week. I’m doing some stuff at my school for two nights, so those will be busy. There’s a sleep apnea check up too, which I hope shows that I’m doing okay. My numbers are better and I don’t have much fatigue like I used to, but I’ve been jolting awake every now and then. Not sure if I’m sleeping well either because I vaguely remember waking up to adjust the hose then passing out again. Every night requires adjustments to the mask too. Guess we’ll see what happens. Next weekend is a fun father/son time as well, so I have that to look forward to after all of the activity of the week.
Goals of the week?
Finish Darwin & the Beast Collector this weekend.
Start outlining Darwin & the Joy Path.
Complete 2 online courses for professional development.
This feels like a weird topic to end the week on, but I stumbled onto some short videos that brought it up. Ghosts and demons are both able to possess mortals, which makes this a shared ability. Many authors use it the same way for both, but there are those out there who think it shouldn’t be that way. I see their point since ghosts and demons aren’t the same monsters.
Ghost– The spirit of a dead mortal. This person used to be alive in our world and now they are dead. Either out of anger or loneliness or something, they have found a way to take over another mortal’s body. They can be fairly limited in powers since they are considered nothing more than a disembodied soul
Demon– A typically immortal being from Hell or whatever evil dimension is being used. In most stories, they have not spent much time among mortals. They also have a lot more powers and abilities than ghosts since they can be considered magical in nature. If they possess a mortal, it is to cause chaos or bring about an apocalypse.
Now, you can see that they are different creatures and that gives them different motivations for possession. A ghost might want to right a wrong or have a fresh attempt at living through their victim. Maybe they have a message to deliver. Their intentions aren’t always evil and tend to be more on the selfish side. Some even try to protect the body they are in. Demons, on the other hand, possess with no care for the body they have taken and possess as a way to enter our world. They typically are trying to kill a target or commit some act that will allow them to bring their real body over. A lot more malice and sinister intentions there.
The differing power levels and intentions also make exorcism different. One can see how it would be easier to expel a ghost from a body than a demon. You typically have less power to face and there is the chance that you can appeal to their humanity. Demons don’t have that and are written to put up a bigger fight to the point where they are practically using their host as a meat shield. This means that whatever holy power or relics are being used need to be sturdy and potent. Of course, this all depends on the world that the author creates. There are some where ghosts turn into demons after a certain amount of time, but that still increases their threat and power level.
Another thing that I don’t think authors always consider is the stated origin. If a ghost was mortal then they would understand the world. A demon won’t have the detailed knowledge, especially around customs and quirks. Not unless they did extensive research prior to possession. This origin issue also brings about another problem when they are trying to imitate their host. How would they do it perfectly? Sure, you have scenes where things seem off and their loved ones are suspicious. Yet, it’s almost too near perfect or only a mildly flawed impression. A ghost would have trouble eliminating their own verbal tics and adopting new ones. Demons might not understand such things at all and not bother. In my opinion, this is the biggest flaw and challenge when you write a story that involves possession.
Personally, I think people mimic the Exorcist a bit too much when doing possession scenes. It’s become the default even now with head-spinning, guacamole spewing, and spider-crawling. This is how it goes with demons mostly, but I’ve seen it with ghosts in fiction too. So, I’d like there to be more variety.
It really does seem like an easy power to throw into a story and solve a problem. That might be the issue though. Speaking with the dead or any spirits should have some kind of challenge. Otherwise, the characters with this ability or spell will do it every time they can see a use for it. So, what are some guidelines?
Just because a character can speak with the dead or a spirit doesn’t mean they can tell them what to do. The phrase itself notes that you’re only creating a conversation. So, a person with this ability can’t start talking to the ghost of a serial killer and order them to attack an enemy. They’d have to negotiate and argue their points in the same way one would talk to a living person. If you want control then it has to be mentioned in the power or spell, which makes it a lot more powerful than what we’re talking about.
Speaking with the dead is typically used for gathering information. So, heroes who use it will be looking for something specific. They won’t start talking to any spirit they find because that shouldn’t get them the information. Instead, the heroes need to find the proper target for this spell. This could involve traveling to a new location or using a more advanced version to summon them.
Don’t be afraid to add restrictions to using the spell or power. This can be requiring that you have part of the person you are trying to talk to or limit the questions that can be asked. This makes it more of a challenge and gives a reason as to why the characters don’t use it for every information gathering situation.
Decide on if the dead is hanging around the mortal plane or have moved on to the afterlife before summoning. This makes a big difference in what they would know about a situation. If they have remained as a ghost then they are still witnessing events unfold and can answer questions accordingly. If they moved on to the afterlife and aren’t able to watch the world, they won’t know about anything that happened after they died.
If you are using this spell for natural spirits instead of ghosts, you should consider if the summoned beings can speak the same language as the caster. Many stories have it that they can only communicate through body language and wordless noises. This turns it into a game of charades, which can frustrate the spirit if the heroes aren’t too bright. Another option is that they communicate with telepathy if you want to avoid adding too much complication to the situation, but can’t bring yourself to have them speak mortal language.
This doesn’t always have to be done on a battlefield, in an abandoned asylum, or a graveyard. Though, the ambiance helps with the general creepy factor.
Another decision that has to be made about this ability or spell is who is allowed to talk to the spirit. Is it just the person who has the power or can those present for the summoning interact with the spirit? This one seems fairly simply and can lead to a bit of comedy. For example, if only the caster can talk to the spirit, they’ll can be bombarded by suggestions from their friends. This can cause some one-sided chaos, which the spirit will be able to witness and laugh at. Hey, things get boring when your dead, so take your entertainment when and where you can.
Aedyn began like Fritz and Nimby as another player’s character in the game. There was a big difference between him and them. The guy playing Aedyn was more into the mechanics of the game than the character. So, Aedyn wasn’t much of a personality or factor. He was the half-elven priest who healed us when we were in trouble. His name was also Aiden Quinn, which is also the name of an actor. Obviously that had to change because I didn’t want to anger the actor or run into any problems. It’s rather symbolic too because Aedyn had the biggest overhaul of any character. If he was a car, I’d have to gut him and build him back up from scratch. After all, he joined the group in a way that doesn’t work with a book. Nimby debuted by stealing Luke’s dagger in a crowded cafeteria and Fritz debuted by creating an illusionary sheep in the cafeteria. Aedyn just happened to sit next to Luke and grunt a hello, but that was it. It began a series of events where Aedyn just happened to be there when we were doing something. By the third game session, Nimby got fed up and flat out recruited him, which the player took in stride. Still, it meant that I had a character who didn’t do much beyond magic and combat. Fine for a game, but a headache for a writer.
This is what led to the current incarnation of Aedyn Karwyn, which ran to a depth that I didn’t see coming. He became the calm within the storm of Fritz’s womanizing, Nimby’s thief antics, and Luke’s overall recklessness. The stoic straight man that was the voice of reason, which was typically ignored. Truthfully, Aedyn wasn’t supposed to grow beyond this role because (as I’ve said far too many times) he left the game at the same time as Nimby and Fritz. I had no idea what to do with him, but he had an idea of what to do with himself. He influenced a change in the other characters, which tempered there more volatile natures. At the same time, he was becoming more open and friendly until he was joking and drinking with Luke in a tavern. It was rather fascinating to see him grow on the page into a person that I would love to spend time with. The oddest thing was that while Luke and Nimby were becoming best friends, Aedyn and Fritz started to bond in a similar fashion. They became a Laurel & Hardy type of pairing, but they really helped to influence each others’ growth.
It was also through Aedyn that the religions and pantheon of Windemere came to be. He was the first priest of the books, so he set the tone. I had to answer so many questions through him. How do priests get their powers? How influential are the gods? Why do they need mortal champions? How do the pantheons work? I developed the system of having a less knowing character ask these questions, so that Aedyn could answer them. This trait would be adopted by Fritz who was better at it because Aedyn was very concise with his explanations. Though, the answers changed a little when the priest changed because a follower of the sun would think differently than a follower of destruction. Still, some of the nuanced rivalries between followers came out from Aedyn along with the foci of each religion. Maybe this is why Aedyn and Fritz connected so well. Both of them became the archetypes for two of the biggest groups in Windemere.
2023 Thoughts– Not sure what else I can add here. Aedyn did go for a longer distance and evolve more than I expected. To this day, I’m not sure how I came up with his path. It really was that he would die, but I came up with something better. Took a few editing runs of Beginning of a Hero to get him right too. Would I change anything? I probably would like to give him a stronger personality on some level. Not sure if that would work though because Luke, Nimby, and Fritz had really big ones. Aedyn being the mellow and calm member worked and opened the door for Timoran Wrath taking on that role in later books.
