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(Yup, I made an 8th one for those special people. A rondelet is a 7-line poem where the first line is repeated on line 3 and 7. The refrain lines are usually 4 syllables and the other 4 lines are 8. These were tough, so I hope I got them right.)
Are you all sins?
Do you have evil in your veins?
Are you all sins?
You live for every dark act.
Never caring what others think.
You only wish to feel a rush.
Are you all sins?
(Originally posted on July 18, 2013. Don’t think my mindset has changed much. Though, the one comment about my female villains not being whores kind of changes thanks to Desirae Duvall in War of Nytefall. I do think there has been a shift in regards to female heroes since I made this post. I’ve been seeing more female heroes who are designed to be perfect or simply . . . men without the naughty bits. It’s like the uniqueness of writing an evil woman has been replaced by boring, standard ‘evil person’ tendencies.)
One of the big things about Legends of Windemere: Prodigy of Rainbow Tower is the introduction of Nyx and Trinity. They are the female spellcasters for both sides of the conflict and I think they’re badasses. Very powerful and very tough while still retaining their femininity. I’m proud of how they turned out because they are the types of female characters that I love to read. I will mention that I read mostly fantasy and action, so this is going to be a light combat-skewed.
I think of the Mr. & Mrs. Smith fight scenes when I consider this topic. Not because of the banter and the flow of it. Those are good, but I love how there is not a single point where Angelina Jolie’s character felt weak or overpowered. This was done without making Brad Pitt’s character come off as weak. They are even in terms of skill, physicality, and determination. She gives as good as she gets and the movie wasn’t afraid to she her taking a shot. I think female heroes shouldn’t be treated with kid gloves and should be shown taking a hit. More importantly, taking a hit and fighting back. I’m not talking about taking a hit, crying, and then doing a cheap shot. That makes a female character cunning, but rather weak.
Focusing on the giving part of the equation, I love it when a female character can take out a male character without converting to a masculine version of herself. Speed, agility, skill, and grace over power and brawn. Even better if both characters are cunning because that makes either of their victory a lot sweeter. It’s strange how people still do the weak female character or turn them into a tough, heartless bitch that will inevitably be thawed by the male lead. I think I threw up a bit on that one. Give me my Xena’s, Fiona from Burn Notice, and Buffy. Still moments of sensitivity, but they will happily beat the crap out of someone that crosses them.
The third factor of a female character that makes me enjoy her is the retention of her female mentality while still being a badass. I’m not talking beating people up while breast-feeding, which is a scene written by someone in college that I shall never cleanse from my mind. I mean the character can be emotional in a tender, gentle way when the situation calls for it. She doesn’t get confused when a guy hugs her after she’s killed a band of orcs. She hugs him back and makes a joke about getting blood on him. I say this should go for male characters too if you’re aiming for the sensitive hero. Sensitivity does not equal weak, which is an assumption that has to stop.
Finally, I love my female villains to be smart, but still able to fail and not be whores. I’ve noticed a trend with many female villains that they are one of two types. They are either the seductive ho villain or they are so smart and perfect that you can’t believe they’re going to be defeated. It’s like the writers are either misogynistic (that right?) or are terrified to make a female villain that is as bungling as some of the male villains. I’m looking at you Gargamel and Skeletor. I want my female villains to be as realistic as my male villains with the same amount of smarts, evil, confidence, and touch of ineptitude. That might sound strange, but it makes me enjoy the character even more.
Heck, I like it when my female heroes have the same level of ineptitude of a male hero.
That’s why Nyx is about as flawed as Luke Callindor in terms of personality. She might not have his ego and recklessness, but she has that nasty temper.
So, I like my female characters to be smart, flawed, able to take a hit, and able to go toe-to-toe with the male characters. What do you look for in female characters?
Posted on July 22, 2013. I really enjoyed writing this and I stand by it. 😀
So you want to write fantasy. Well, let me load you up on everything you need to get yourself started. Have some elves, dragons, dwarves, gnomes, magic, warriors, spellcasters, medieval weaponry, orcs, trolls, griffins, political intrigue, religious intrigue, thieves, and all the other standards you need.
Have all that? Good. Now throw and alter as much of that as you want. Will it cause problems? Of course it will. People will tear into you for not respecting what came before you. Keep all of it? You can, but people will tear into you for being cliche. Welcome to the genre, kid. Each camp of fantasy fan thinks they’re the modern ones. Kind of funny how they don’t realize they’re all old hat.
What’s the difference you ask? Popularity, kid. It’s whatever is popular now. Give it some years and the other side of the coin will touch the sun. For now, people think politics and religion are the fresh parts of the genre. The truth is that those are being spiced up the best. After all, I remember those types of stories from my youth. Why not jump on the bandwagon? Go right ahead. It depends on what you want to do with your own story because in the end, you have to enjoy what you write.
Let me give you some pointers for both:
Why am I talking all doom and gloom? Because that’s what fantasy writing is these days, kid. You pour your heart onto the page and enjoy the read. Just gotta remember that everyone has different tastes and you’re not going to be enjoyable to a lot of people. If you go against the current trend, you’re fucked. If you follow the current trend, you’re fucked. The goal should be to carve out a fanbase and write what you want to write. Always think of yourself as your #1 fan because if you love what you write, it will show through your words. The naysayers can suck a troll for all you care. You’re not going to use trolls? Your choice, kid. It’s always your choice.
First, happy Labor Day weekend . . . Second, I need a time machine in order to smack myself for that nightmarish post title. This went live on July 19, 2013 and somebody should have told me to rename the post title. I’m only keeping it here because I promised to leave everything intact. It wouldn’t be a revisit if I didn’t connect this with the original one. All that being said, I do think I made a few good points that I have long since forgotten.
Red Sonja (Master of the Chainmail Bikini)
I shouldn’t even have to say this, but people don’t always think in practicality when it comes to character protection. NEVER give a female warrior a chainmail bikini as armor. A bizarre medieval beauty pageant? Maybe. Warrior woman version of lingerie or a specific fetish for your world? Go right ahead. But actual bikini armor is ridiculous and you might as well put her in a dress or naked for all the help a metal studded thong will do. Remember that the key point of armor is protection and not to look sexy. Maybe you can get away with sexy leather armor, but you don’t mess around once you go chainmail or higher on the protection food chain. A bare midriff with platemail is a way of saying ‘this character will be stabbed in the stomach’. Oh and no magic tassels or pasties of protection for EITHER gender!
Remember mobility with armor too. No high-flying stunts in platemail unless it’s magically enchanted to specifically allow for that. If you want a character to be flexible and agile then you need leather or something that is bendable. Know the limitations that come with your armor or you’re going to lose the reader.
That small rant brings me to a small point of fantasy that doesn’t get much attention: Gear Maintenance. I’m only going to go over a few points here that can be seen as pet peeves, but they really are important.
Dents and Dings
As I said, armor and shields are designed to protect. That means they’re taking hits and getting damaged. If your hero has armor on and isn’t getting hit then you’re doing combat wrong. Even without some protection this situation is rather iffy. After a while, the polish wears off and the armor should look like it’s seen better days. Shields can be broken and replaced if hit too often or too hard. For example, I have a character who uses a wooden buckler and he’s already gone through a few of them over the course of a book. These things were designed to take hits and get some wear and tear, so put that into your story.
Here is a quick list of what can happen to armor and shields: dents, dings, cuts, holes, punctures, splintering, slashes, gashes, tears, and whatever else is a type of damage to a surface.
What do you do when the armor is dented or the shield is broken? There’s a person in fantasy settings that is used specifically for this. He or she is called a blacksmith and all you have to do is have a character say ‘I’m going to the blacksmith to get my armor fixed’ or ‘I’m going to the blacksmith to buy a new shield’. You don’t even have to write the scene. Have the warrior leave, focus on the others for a bit, and then have him/her return with repaired gear. A simple ‘look at my new stuff’ line and you’re golden.
Clean Your Sword
Whetstone (Yahoo Image Search)
The above picture is a whetstone, which is used to sharpen a blade that is going dull or is nicked from use. Swords get nicks and gouges in their blades when striking anything. If it is not taken care of then the weapon will shatter at the worst possible moment. That moment would be in battle when you prefer to keep your vitals non-punctured. A whetstone and sword oil is very easy to include. After a battle, have your warriors sitting around a campfire and write ONE sentence about them sharpening their blade. Examine it for nicks and issues then you’ve done your part. The hero’s blade has now been fixed and maintained to add a little more reality to them. You can always overlook this by having time pass, but there is one thing that irks me. I’m probably guilty of it too without realizing it.
CLEAN YOUR BLADE! There’s a scene in ‘The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe’ where Aslan tells Peter to clean his blade after killing a wolf. The comedy of the scene in the movie is that the blade was already immaculate, but it’s Disney so shut up. I’ve read and seen a lot of scenes where the hero stabs someone with their sword. Then they sheathe the blade without cleaning it. I always want to yell ‘No! Clean your blade! Use a rag, your glove, the face of your slain enemy! Anything!’ The reasons for this is simple. Blades can rust and dried blood is disgusting. Even worse is the idea that the sheathe is now coated in blood, which will erode the blade. Easy way to fix this is to have your character carry a rag and clean it. You don’t even have to do it a lot. Set up the habit in the beginning of the story and then people will assume that the hero does it later on, so you don’t have to write it.
Those are some helpful armor and maintenance tips. Hopefully they help and remember . . . chicks in chainmail only work for a calendar spread. In battle, they’re about as useful as curvy scarecrows.
Well, the summer is over since it’s Labor Day Weekend. I mean, I went back to work last week, but only for meetings. The students come back this week and that pretty much brings the summer to a close. It was busy with summer school, but I managed to get a little progress done on Darwin & the Joy Path. Got to go on a trip with my son and then hope over to a family vacation for the rest of the week I had him. I shouldn’t complain since the summer started with Pokemon Go-Fest and I had my son during that event.
So, how was everyone else’s summer?
Well, summer break is pretty much over. I know I have Labor Day Weekend, but my school had its Superintendent Conference Days this past week. That pretty much signals an end to the break. Not that I had a long one since I worked this summer. Had 1.5 weeks off, which is similar to Holiday and Spring Break. So, what exactly did I accomplish or endure?
First of all, this coming school year is going to be rough. There are a lot of challenges being set up for our students and ourselves. I’m probably going to end every day exhausted. The little energy I have left will be used to spend time with my son for homework and Pokemon Go. On days I don’t have him, I’ll want to get some fresh air as well, but I might not be pushing myself that much once the weather gets cold. Hopefully, things run smoother than it looks and not only from a teacher assistant perspective. I have the parent side of school to handle as well.
My son’s schedule isn’t as crazy as it was last year. Geometry is done and he gets a lunch every day. The stress is going to be coming from two arenas. New York has banned all student cellphones in school, so my son is annoyed that he has to keep it in his locker. It does mean he can’t be sent reminders for later in the day. We will have to go back to putting notes on his Chromebook, which had another wrinkle. That would be a certain someone deciding to put notes on it solely for the sake of putting a note on there. This resulted in him ignoring the ones that were important. Bringing me to the second issue of the school year, which is that my ex-wife and I are not really on speaking terms. We communicate in a way that one would call childish and ridiculous because things just fell apart over the summer. You can tell it’s bad since I’m flat out saying it on a public forum and no longer care about decorum. I’ve come to realize people that tell you to be secret about this stuff fall into one of two categories:
Anyway, all of those messes are going to make it difficult to write Darwin & the Joy Path. I did finish the prologue and chapter 1, which is great. I could really only muster one section per day instead of 2-3. It wasn’t Pokemon Go, but a bunch of other things that had to get done. Writing also wears me down, so I get tired easily and have trouble mustering the energy to do more. I’ll be playing it all by ear because it could change on weekends where I don’t have much else to do. Weekdays are probably not going to happen unless since something is always going on. There might be the occasional Thursday when I get to do the daily Pokemon stuff before work and have energy by the time I get home. I won’t hold my breath.
In terms of quality of writing, I think I did okay. It was mostly dialogue and setting things up as well as one action scene. My biggest worry was getting Darwin right since he’s very positive and childish. Being stressed out and not feeling great about things puts his personality at risk. Thankfully, I managed to keep all of that away from him, but I don’t think I had him styme as much as in previous books. Part of it might be that he wasn’t put under any stressful situations yet. Honestly, this is the smoothest opening to an adventure for him because he hasn’t caused any chaos. Course, I may have already made a mistake by giving his friend a secret that I didn’t initially plan on. No idea what this secret is going to be. I’m thinking of it being something mild like he lied about something and feels guilty since Darwin is so trusting. Be interesting for someone to fear a small lie being revealed and Darwin is just like ‘we all make mistakes’. It would show great maturing for him, which I do want to demonstrate.
This weekend I have my son, so we’re hanging out and getting things ready for his first day of school. Family is coming over tomorrow. We also have the roads in our development being paved starting on Tuesday, which could cause some issues. They just had to do it during the first week of school. Praying the day they pick for my block is one where I don’t have my son because I’m not getting him out of here at 6:30 am. Nothing else is really going on, but writing won’t be touched until next weekend. Probably only get half of chapter 2 done. If I can write it all then I’ll be happy.
Goals of the week?
Debuting on July 31, 2013, I finally brought any end to the weapon posts. Not saying they were bad, but I didn’t stick to my schedule at all. Looking at the dates, I hadn’t even been blogging for a year and it was clearly still a scattershot operation. I think Prodigy of Rainbow Tower was debuting and that threw everything off. Anyway, this post also told me that there was an armor one as well. I have to hunt that down and I’ll post it up on Sunday just to make sure the set is complete. As much as I still agree with the subject matter and my opinions haven’t changed much, I really was terrible at setting up schedules and post themes. Glad I’m reposting this stuff and putting everything closer together.
One Punch Man
In the midst of my book debut, I’m still going to continue the post series on writing combat. We’ve covered guns, melee, and armor. Means two areas left: hand-to-hand and magic. Obviously, we’re touching the former if you bothered to watch the video. Theatrics aside, the video shows a few points.
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(A rondelet is a 7-line poem where the first line is repeated on line 3 and 7. The refrain lines are usually 4 syllables and the other 4 lines are 8. These were tough, so I hope I got them right.)
Is Pride your sin?
Do you believe yourself a god?
Is Pride your sin?
You will never make a mistake.
Failure is the fault of others.
You are too perfect to take blame.
Is Pride your sin?
Hi SEers! Denise here to talk about something we did often as children, or see things most adults are too busy to notice. This wonder allows the …
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Legends of Windemere 