I Have Loved the Stars Too Fondly

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a tale of two cities, a wrinkle in time, baroness emma orczy, c.s. forester, charles dickens, doctor who, horatio hornblower, j.r.r. tolkien, madeleine l'engle, original stories, short stories, star wars, the lord of the rings, the scarlet pimpernel

Call this a tribute to all my favorite characters–I was thinking back on all my favorites and I noticed that my very favorite characters all tried and failed at some point, but kept on trying. Their victories were by no means constant, and their successes were not always total.

So here is my tribute to Horatio Hornblower, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Martin the Warrior, the Doctor (though this sounds much more like Eight than like Eleven), Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Charles Wallace Murray, Meg Murray, Sydney Cotton, and all my other favorite characters.

Enjoy.

---

They all pity me. I can tell.

I’ve got all the scars and bruises and broken bones I earned by my trouble, I skirt the edge of madness, and sometimes I seem to be invisible.

Sometimes, they ask me why I’m like this.

“It couldn’t be helped,” I say.

After all, if I told them the full truth, they wouldn’t stop to listen.

Sometimes, when you reach out to touch the stars, you fall and fall hard. Not all your leaps of faith will be successes.

Of course, since they pity me, they’d never see the truth. The truth is this: I tried. I did my best and sometimes it just wasn’t enough. Reduced to this shell of a man as I am in their eyes, they would only see the futility of the struggle. Never its nobility.

The very core of the truth, condensed and concentrated, is that I do not regret one moment.

I do not grudge one bruise, one scar; not the shattered bones or the bleeding knuckles or broken skin. If I had my live to live all over, I’d do it all again. I’d risk it all. I’d step out without knowing if I had a safety net. I’d run farther and fight harder without knowing if I’d win or not. I would seize every chance, take every risk in hope.

I have lived more fully than any of them. The path of least resistance is not one that is by any means enviable. It’s safe, certainly—but it is not satisfying. Not to me, in any case.

I would not give up one second of this. I do not regret one moment of this.

Some things are worth failing for.

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LATE March Blog Chain

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a swiftly tilting planet, a wind in the door, a wrinkle in time, blog chains, characters, doctor who, late, madeleine l'engle, selay'uu (sort of), writing

Go visit Rosalie’s blog, if you’re curious. Unfortunately, I’m in the middle of Dead Week and can’t help you much.

Well… a character who I’ve created who will probably never feature in a novel… Casceny! No, just kidding. The steampunk time-traveler heroine may or may not have a novel in the works. Eventually. So far, the time travelers in the Mind Palace are Charles Wallace Murray and Meg Murray (A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels), the Doctor (Doctor Who), and my own characters, Emrys Williams, Casceny, and a young Hispanic lady who is going by the alias of “Maria” at the moment until I can pick out a better name for her. Emrys is first in line and Maria is second (multi-cultural time travel academy, here we come!) But Casceny is still not eliminated from the running.

But she’ll be in the countdown anyway, since right now she’s more of an interest person and an agent of chaos in the mind palace at the moment.

More seriously, Kysherin. Kysherin is my evil muse. Generally a not-very-nice person. Pesters me to write, and then bothers me while I am writing. If I come up with a wonderous thing, she comes up with a way to corrupt it totally. All angst, posted here and elsewhere, is absolutely 100% her fault. (Okay, except for the sensory-overload type, which is me trying to cope with my overwhelming surroundings.)

There’s also Oliver, who is one of my all-time favorite characters, and who Writefury and I came up with. I probably shouldn’t even be talking about him yet, but I haven’t mentioned what he comes up in, so we’re good… you’ll all probably recognize him when he does, though. Technically he doesn’t count because he DOES exist in a project in what Rosalie terms the Erin!verse (which is a composite of all my ongoing projects at any given time.) But it’s not a novel. I just HAD to post about him, since he’s AWESOME, and let me just say, I can hardly wait. ;-D

And finally, there’s Chaos, who is barred from the mind palace for obvious reasons. Chaos is my artistic vent. She always wants to fight and start minor class wars. She’s a teenaged Marxist and anarchist and I sometimes doodle her getting into well-deserved trouble when I’m particularly hot under the collar about something (mostly politics). Favorite pastimes include random vandalism and Luddite-ing with copies of Das Kapital. Needless to say, I never plan on posting anything featuring her on this blog. If she were here, Chaos would claim that she was created as a caricature of Bernie Sanders, but she is a blatant liar and you should not trust anything she says. Ever. (Caricacturing Bernie Sanders would be giving me far too much credit, and I can’t draw Trump.)

TCWT: Beginnings and Endings (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BILBO AND FRODO!)

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a swiftly tilting planet, a wind in the door, a wrinkle in time, beginnings, book reviews, brian jaques, c.s. lewis, castaways of the flying dutchman, catholic culture, creative writing, endings, j.r.r. tolkien, john flanagan, lord of the rings, madeleine l'engle, ranger's apprentice, reading, redwall, reviews, robert louis stevenson, star wars, the chronicles of narnia, the hobbit, time quintet, treasure island, writing

Hello, everyone!

Now, before I get into the TCWT post, I want to just make one little announcement.

Today is the shared birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins! *confetti flies everywhere* Happy birthday to the Ringbearers!

Okay, now that I’ve said that… 😉

Beginnings and endings. Now this reminds me of a paper I wrote in high school! Which will never see the light of day until it gets a boatload of revising. So don’t ask. Or you can ask, but be prepared for it to not happen for a very, very long time.

Specifically, my favorite beginnings and endings.

Let’s do this by series.

First of all, favorite beginnings and endings for The Chronicles of Narnia.

1. The Magician’s Nephew, both as a beginning to the series, and its own beginning and ending. This. Book. Rocked.
   First of all, we have the story of how Diggory and Polly met, and the fact that they were sent into Narnia by a ruthless pseudo-scientist/magician who was also partly insane (wouldn’t any number of YA authors just love to try their hand at a plot this juicy nowadays?!), but it’s not just that that makes the book great. It foreshadows World War II and people like Mussolini, Stalin, and Hitler. (I would not be surprised to hear that Lewis did not approve of the US’s alliance with the USSR. Good grief, I don’t approve of it. And I’m American.)
   *cough* Anyway…
   Well, this book as a whole is the beginning of Narnia and the Chronicles of Narnia series. But its opening, while modest, is no less of a favorite for me. And its ending! The hiding of the magic rings (we’ll get to Tolkien and the rest of the Inklings later, I promise!), the cure of Diggory’s mother, and the promise of hope.
2. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. The book that began it all. Seriously. Was ever story so well encapsulated? It wraps itself up very well, and smaller elements that were included (especially the Professor, who is–guess who? Diggory Kirk [yes, that is really his last name!], all grown up! and Susan’s horn, which becomes a major point in the plot of Prince Caspian.)
3. The Horse and His Boy. Unlike the rest of the Narnia stories, this one actually does not have anything to do with “our world”, unless you count the presence of the Pevensies (SPOILER! 😛 Who cares, anyway?! Most of you have already read all of the Chronicles of Narnia!) The ending is good, okay, but it’s the ending I really love. This is the one Narnia book that describes Archenland, and it tells us about the people of Archenland, and gives a very satisfying ending.
4. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Okay, yes, I love pretty much all of the Narnia series, but Dawn Treader stands out among the Narnia books. Again, the beginning is not nearly as euphoria-inducing as the ending is. It appears that Lewis may have been playing with the idea of the Seven Friends of Narnia at this point–of course, though, at this point only Lion, Witch, Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and Dawn Treader were written, which means that Diggory was only a flight of imagination, and Polly probably hadn’t ever (in Lewis’ mind) come into Narnia at all yet. The three aforementioned books were intended to be a trilogy, complete in themselves, and it seems that Lewis didn’t plan to write any more books. However, step back and take the series as a whole. If you read them in Narnian-time order, not writing order, then by the end of Dawn Treader there are seven friends of Narnia. (Susan hasn’t left the group yet, remember.) And Dawn Treader and The Last Battle are the most similar in style, and ending as well. Coincidence? Most likely not.
5. The Last Battle. If I have to pick one favorite Narnia book, it is this one. (Dawn Treader is a close second.) First of all, the opening is riveting. An impostor Aslan? Narnia’s King captured? WHAT?! IT DOESN’T EVEN BEGIN IN “OUR WORLD”?! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?! *squees*
   Seriously, though. ❤
   This Narnia book raises the stakes like no other. (I plan on making a list of the top villains who made an impression on me, to show you what I mean.) However, this book is also probably the one which is hardest for a child to read. (You’ve been warned.) It is both heartbreaking, exciting with its call to war, the rage against the lies… It is a true emotional rollercoaster. This one, more than any other of Lewis’s books, made me understand what “passion” really meant. More than any other book, really.
   And now, for the ending. While some people are upset that Susan didn’t get to the “True Narnia” in Aslan’s Country at the end of the series (read more about that here, and I highly recommend the rest of his blog for thought-provoking stuff on theology and popular culture!), I was both saddened by the fact that Susan had made herself not to believe in Narnia (which was, by the way, a recurring theme throughout the book–which is why, now, whenever I hear anyone say anything REMOTELY smacking of “We’re out for ourselves!” [*cough cough* “The Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs!”], I always throw a fit and demolish their argument in a blaze of righteous flurry and the occasional lightsaber-to-their-newspaper), and gladdened by the fact that by the very fact of her leaving the Friends of Narnia she was given a second chance. The problem, really, that we’re talking about here, is the bland/blase reaction of the remaining Friends of Narnia to her exclusion. But you’ll just have to read Malcolm’s post, linked in above, if you want to know what Lewis’s thoughts on the whole “Problem with Susan” issue was. I’m not giving it away to you! You wouldn’t go find his completely awesome blog otherwise!
   Anyway, back to the ending, proper. It is, in my opinion, a very satisfying close to the series. It was a blissful, happy, euphoric ending. It echoed the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse to Tridentine Rite lovers like me). In fact, I am thinking about making myself a T-Shirt that says “The Rapture only happens to people who loved The Last Battle!” (DISCLAIMER: The author of this post does not believe in the Rapture as preached by certain Christian sects. She does, however, believe that reading The Last Battle will bring you pretty freaking close!)

Sadly, I have not read Lewis’s Space Trilogy often enough to include it in the runners. I haven’t even finished it. :’-( Still, enjoy my dear friend Rosalie’s description of Dr. Ransom here. ;-P *notices some people in the crowd gawking at the picture* *bangs them on the head with a newspaper* READ THE DESCRIPTION! NO GAWKING AT THE PHOTO!!! (I don’t care HOW attractive you may find Ewan McGregor, keep the fawning off my blog!)

Next up: Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quintet!

A Wrinkle in Time begins with the cliche beginning “It was a dark and stormy night.” It doesn’t stop there, though. It makes it its own. And in the end, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which vanish in a gust of wind.

However, A Wind in the Door gets the top place on this list, I think. It begins with “There are dragons in the twins’ vegetable garden.” and ends with the unforgettable:

“You were gone long enough. Did you count the stars or something?”

“We don’t have to count them,” Meg said. “They just need to be known by Name.” Calvin’s eyes met hers for a long moment and held her gaze, not speaking, not kything, simply being.

Then she went up to Charles Wallace.

Seriously! BEST. ENDING. EVER!

A Swiftly Tilting Planet, both beginning and ending, is tied up in Mrs. L’Engle’s adaption of St. Patrick’s Breastplate, called “Patrick’s Rune” in the story:

In this fateful hour
I place all heaven with its power
And the sun with its brightness
And the snow with its whiteness
And the fire with all the strength it hath
And the lightning with its rapid wrathAnd the winds with their swiftness along their path
And the sea with its deepness
And the rocks with their steepness
And the earth with its starkness,
All these I place
By God’s almighty help and grace
Between myself and all the powers of darkness.

Does that give you goosebumps? It does to me!

And finally, for the Hobbit  and the Lord of the Rings books. Now, I think that, while LotR’s beginning was interesting enough, it’s not quite the same as Hobbit‘s. “In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.” How’s that for a great opening? It certainly gets questions started as to what a Hobbit is and why it lives in the ground! However, since Hobbit is the prequel to LotR, it makes a lot of sense that way. Frankly, though Hobbit‘s ending is satisfying enough, LotR’s is, in my opinion, the stronger of the two. Both bring about great changes in the world of Middle-Earth. Hobbit sees the return of the King Under the Mountain and the cities of Dale and Esgaroth, while LotR has no less than the return of the King Elessar to both Gondor and Arnor, and the destruction of the One Ring and the overthrowing of Sauron to boot!

In Hobbit, it was Bilbo’s poem that made the greatest impression on me.

Roads go ever on and on
Over rock, and under tree
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass, and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.

Roads go ever on and on,
Under cloud and under star,
Yet feet that have a-wandering gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows greenAnd trees and hills they long have known.

And in LotR, Frodo sums it up best: “We set out to save the Shire, Sam, and it has been saved; but not for me.”

In the end, both the Bagginses go into the West with the Elves, in search of Valinor, and Sam returns home to his wife and children. “Well, I’m back.”

Note to Ranger’s Apprentice fans:

I am so sorry, but RA is not eligible to run. Like the Space Trilogy, I haven’t read it enough to know the beginnings and endings very well.

Now for Brian Jaques’ work.

I especially love Mariel of Redwall for its beginning and ending. The book begins with an amnesiac Mariel arriving on the coast of Mossflower country, promising (as Liam would say) the search for the truth about her past. And it closes with the defeat of Gabool and the departure of Mariel and Dandin to go in search of adventure. However, The Legend of Luke and Martin the Warrior, not to mention Mossflower, were close seconds: Legend of Luke for its opening and closing sequences, detailing the building of Redwall Abbey, Martin the Warrior for its description of Martin’s barely-existent childhood and (SPOILER ALERT!) the cheek to kill off a character we really loved to drive Martin southward, toward Mossflower Country, and Mossflower for the arrival of Martin at Kotir in Mossflower and the closing defeat of Tsarmina, who had enslaved the woodlanders.

And as you’re probably already tired of this, I think I will stop after just one more.

Castaways of the Flying Dutchman trilogy.

WHY MR. JACQUES!? WHY!? *bursts into tears*

Each of these books is complex, detailed, involves a much intenser battle between good and evil (sometimes more openly manifested!) than the Redwall books, and remains vivid in the imagination for days and years afterward. (Why do you think I keep on forgetting and naming yet another protagonist “Ben”?! Hint: It’s not just Obi-Wan’s doing! *Obi-Wan shoots an annoyed glance in my direction*) It’s like… gah! I don’t know what to compare it to! Think Jedi Apprentice (Melida-Daan specifically), only little Obi-Wan has a dog and his destiny is tied to the sea, and gaaah the feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelsss…. *breaks down crying* *Obi-Wan relents and comes over to pat me on the back*

Okay, bad comparison. Let’s see. I think the closest I can get is it’s a bit like Treasure Island (which had a marvelous ending in its own rite,) a bit like what Star Wars would have been if the story centered around Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had survived to train Anakin, and the sorrows the Elves must face when the younger Children of Illuvatar die. It also has strong resonances with Ranger’s Apprentice (shut it with the whatever-apprentice similes, Erin, before you burst into tears again!) It’s the only series with a ‘young’ protagonist (SPOILER the protagonist is eternally fourteen) I’ve ever read where the hero had no permanent mentor. Sure, he has a mentor/father figure who dies, but after that other people mentor him as well… sort of.

The thing about these books is that the endings are always both sweet, and at the same time, heartbreaking, since Ben and Ned (that’s Ben’s telepathic friend, the dog) must wander the world constantly, helping those they come across, and they can’t let anyone know that they’re immortal. I just want to give them both a great big hug.

*sigh* Excuse me, please. I just wanted to make myself reread all those books. (Dare I say, oops?)

Thanks for reading (and especially for sticking through until the end!), and God Bless!

Teens Can Write, Too!: Accidental Self-Insertion?

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a wrinkle in time, baroness emma orczy, bbc merlin, bbc sherlock, c.s. forester, characters, doctor who, dreamworks, horatio hornblower, how to train your dragon, j.r.r. tolkien, john flanagan, kung fu panda, kung fu panda 2, long rants, lord of the rings, madeleine l'engle, oh my what a long post, ranger's apprentice, rise of the guardians, star wars, teens can write too blog chain, the clone wars, the scarlet pimpernel, time quintet, villains, writer, writing

Hello, everyone! I’m taking part in the Teens Can Write, Too! Blog Chain once again. Why? Because it’s fun to connect with other bloggers, that’s why!

This month’s prompt is, “Which characters are you most like?” Well, that’s easy. The calculating, logical ones who don’t really “get” emotions. (Yes, really.) It’s seriously freaky, because people like Obi-Wan and Sherlock could be my alter egos. For some reason, though, girls like this are rare… it’s almost like there’s a stereotype that keeps people from writing girls like this. Unequal representation, I say!

More and more, though, I keep finding that the people I’m really most like (at least in my own work) are the villains. Don’t get me wrong, my own personal goals could not be farther from the villains I love to write. I don’t go around in my spare time planning world domination, or plotting how to turn my friends to the Dark Side (nope, no Palpatine for me, thanks!), or just randomly bumping people off. That’s not me.

I think it’s easiest to identify with people like us, which is why there is such variety in character types (put the Doctor, Obi-Wan, Jack Frost, Sherlock, Anakin, and Doctor Watson in a room together and what do you see?). But more and more, I find that my heroes tend to share only facets of my personality and develop minds and personalities all their own. I think that there must be something of the actor in a writer, something that allows them to take on the role of these characters and play them to the best advantage. It’s a rare ability–and perhaps, becoming rarer–to step into somebody else’s shoes, know how they think and act, and then walk a mile in those shoes. But I believe it can be developed–in the interest of compassion, people should take up creative writing as a hobby!

Villains, though, though painful to write, can be frighteningly easy to portray… basically, all you have to do for a villain is to summon up your selfish side, think of the times you hurt someone, and then transfer your self-hate to the villain on your paper. Though villains are characters too, they are mostly characters who slip where the heroes hold firm, and though we hate them for it, it makes them so horribly, frighteningly human, that sometimes it’s hard not to try to make your villain too sympathetic… (Forgive the rambling. I have the flu at the moment.)

I think that we can write because we are both the heroes and the villains of our own stories. It depends on the point of view of the outsider watching, really.

But as to the prompt itself (sorry for the long ramble that you didn’t ask for and probably didn’t want to read), the characters I think I’m most like (apart from the villains), would have to be the ones whom no one sees or can quite understand without some kind of shared intuition, also the ones who are unusually intelligent (though I don’t think I am myself; my IQ test came back as just “gifted”, nothing more. I just know better ways of thought, I guess?) Thus, I identify very closely with characters who tend to be more intelligent, or think differently than the people around them. Characters like Charles Wallace Murry…

If only we could still call on Asa Butterfield for this one. Gah. I HEREBY DISOWN THIS MOVIE AND DESIRE FOR A BETTER ONE TO BE MADE.

Sherlock…

Okay, not so much with this one, but I have been known to randomly make deductions about people.

Hornblower…

I just had to pick the one with this expression. D’awwwwwwww!

(For those who do not know Mr. Hornblower [and I pity thee!], he’s a British naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars and later, and is known for risky but brilliant strategies. I also identify with him because he consistently self-depreciates in his own mind, and I know just how that feels.)

And last but not least, Obi-Wan (and not just because he’s a misunderstood intellectual–I think I posted about that here… but because of the amount of grief he had to put up with from Anakin and other people besides. He’s sort of the older brother character in Star Wars, and I’m the oldest sibling, and I certainly can relate to all the nonsense he had to put up with.)

Yes, Rosalie, I borrowed your image. MWHAHAHAHAHA.

But there are other characters, too… Merlin, because, well, social awkwardness… need I say more?

Poor Merlin. The Master of Awkward. (Don’t we all feel like this sometimes?!)

Will from Ranger’s Apprentice!

Yes, I know this is certainly someone’s fan art… sawry….

I think I identify with Will because his coming of age story is very much one that we all understand… And I think I have the same sense of humor… Anyone else getting the feeling of deja vu?

No, I couldn’t pick just one. This is awesome fan art. Seriously. (And it doesn’t look like it’s copycatted from Lord of the Rings… wheeeee! ;-P)

Speaking of Lord of the Rings…

Sam is down-to-earth and loyal, and though I’m not really like Sam when it’s the down-to-earth bit, but I try to support my friends the same way he supports Frodo.

Teehee….

The main reason I’m putting this here is because I love the relationship development between Hiccup and his father, but the other reason is because I share Hiccup’s curiosity and eagerness to learn. Maybe not so much his inventiveness and willingness to accept and create new traditions, but still.

Okay, I know I should probably include some girls in here… grrr…

Marguerite Blakeney!

Because! (Actually, this is probably the one female character whom I am most like. She’s bright and intelligent and clever and tries to fix her mistakes and she gets to work with her husband saving lives!!! Okay, I’ll admit it. Percy and Marguerite is my real OTP.)

Ahsoka Tano!!!

“Snips” is the queen of sarcasm, and she’s a teenager who’s a Jedi and growing up in a war and totally gets teenager problems! Seriously. If Marguerite is my grown-up side, then Ahsoka is my teenaged, sassy, warrior-maiden side.

Padme!

Yes, Padme, purple is your color. (I still hate this dress, though.)

Like Obi-Wan, she had to put up with a ridiculous amount of grief, because Anakin is an idiot. (I don’t actually blame her for thinking that she might be able to change that… Whoopsie, unintentional Merlin quote…) I admire Padme because she’s courageous and willing to stand up for things other people don’t stand up for. But like the rest of us, she’s human and makes wrong decisions. And she’s actually a mature person. (Anyone else feel like something was missing from Revenge of the Sith?)

Mary Morstan Watson!!!!

I never did get a good look at this dress…

Talk about strong female characters! Mrs. Watson could quite literally wipe the floor with several of the guys in Sherlock. (I’m not specifying who, though…) Former CIA, assassin… And a lady who makes mistakes, but still tries to rectify them. (Noticing a pattern here?)

And last but not least, Tigress!

Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda II (deliberately taking them as one piece here) was a boon. Not only did it have a better plot than a bunch of other recent movies, it also had female leads (Viper, as well as Tigress) who were strong without overwhelming the male characters (which is a problem, in my opinion, equal to the lack of strong female leads in the first place!), funny without making racy jokes (TAKE THAT, SEXISM!), and, especially in Tigress’ case, had a strong character arc and were good at giving relationship advice, besides! (Added to that, the sequel actually lived up to–and even surpassed–the first movie. Will DreamWorks’ next KFP movie live up to its predecessors? Only time will tell…)

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post!

5th – http:// semilegacy.blogspot.com/

6th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/

7th – http://nasrielsfanfics.wordpress.com/

8th – http://sammitalk.wordpress.com/

9th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/

10th – http://irisbloomsblog.wordpress.com/

11th – http://www.brookeharrison.com/

12th – http://miriamjoywrites.com/

13th – http://uniquelyanonymous.wordpress.com/

14th – https://erinkenobi2893.wordpress.com/

15th – http://novelexemplar.wordpress.com/

16th – http://nutfreenerd.wordpress.com/

17th – http://unikkelyfe.wordpress.com/

18th – http://writers-place-for-you.blogspot.de/

19th – http://roomble.wordpress.com/

20th – https://taratherese.wordpress.com/

21st – http://thependanttrilogy.wordpress.com/

22nd – http://freeasagirlwithwings.wordpress.com/

23rd – http://butterfliesoftheimagination.wordpress.com/

24th – http://theweirdystation.wordpress.com/

25th – http://teenageink.wordpress.com/

26th – http://www.adventuringthroughpages.wordpress.com/

27th – http://randommorbidinsanity.blogspot.com/

28th – http://missalexandrinabrant.wordpress.com/

29th – http://dynamicramblings.wordpress.com/

and http://thelonglifeofalifelongfangirl.wordpress.com/

30th – http://fantasiesofapockethuman.blogspot.com/

and http://www.turtlesinmysoup.blogspot.com/

31st – http://theedfiles.blogspot.com/

and http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ (We’ll announce the topic for next month’s chain)

Father/Daughter Relationships in Fiction: Dysfunctionally Adorable

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a swiftly tilting planet, a wind in the door, a wrinkle in time, brian jacques, characters, despicable me, disney, dreamworks, gru, madeleine l'engle, pixar, redwall, star wars, story dynamics, wreck-it ralph

On some level, every relationship is dysfunctional. I think this is because we’re all human and we all have a very human habit of making hash of things. Some relationships are just more dysfunctional than others. 😉

Today, I’m going to talk about Father/Daughter relationships in fiction. Why? BECAUSE IT’S JUST SO DARN CUTE!!!

First up, we have Gru and the girls from Despicable Me. Margo is street-smart. Edith is funny. And Agnes is just plain precious. Gru is defensive of all three. They were hesitant to accept each other at first, but by the time Despicable Me 2 rolls around, they’ve gained a healthy rapport, and the girls have turned into quite the little warriors (and ninja!), with their jelly guns and nunchucks. (Frankly, the part with little Agnes blasting jelly all over the place was my favorite part of the movie.)

This would have to be a case of little girls converting villain to superdad. It was also extremely cute. Especially with the ballet/modern dance… thing. ;-P And the wedding… *happy sigh*

Next up, we have Ralph and Penelope, from Wreck-it Ralph. Now, on some technical level, while this was not exactly a father/daughter relationship, I’m including it because they were adorable. (I’m also kind of curious as to whether Penelope was later able to leave her game, due to the fact that she’s technically not a glitch, even if she does actually glitch, because she’s been re-plugged into the coding.) While Ralph was at first unsure of what Penelope was up to (recurring theme here, as well as villainy! :-P), he later takes her under his wing, so to speak, and fights for her. What is it with me and these villain/little girl friendships? I’m not quite sure. Maybe I just like redemption stories?

And now, for Darth Vader and Leia, of Star Wars… *looks down at list and does a double take* Wait, Vader and Leia?! Who put this on my list, anyway?! They don’t have any relationship to speak of! Obi-Wan, help–I need to kick Vader out. Leia can stay. *pushes Vader out and locks the door on him, then makes faces at him through the glass* I heard that, Obi-Wan. I am not either immature!

Then we have Mr. Murry and Meg, of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time quartet. (Finally! A pair that doesn’t include villains–self-styled, labeled or otherwise!) Mr. Murry is very affectionate with Meg, despite being imprisoned on Camazotz for the last years of her middle schooling, and helps her through high school. Despite the fact that he only figures largely in two books out of the three (he is away at a conference during A Wind in the Door,) Mr. Murry’s relationship with Meg is an important part of the entire trilogy.

Next up, there is Janglur Swifteye and his daughter, Songbreeze, of Marlfox, by the late Brian Jacques. Song, partly due to her father’s influence, later goes on to become the Abbess of Redwall and a famous warrior.  Also in the Redwall series; Triss and her father, in the book named for the aforementioned swordmaid. While Triss did not have a lot of contact with her father, Roc Arrem, she did inherit his incredible skills with a sword, and she followed in her Father’s footsteps as a protector of the innocent.

Last but not least, there’s Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, of Clone Wars fame. Why not? It is, in all respects, very like a father/daughter relationship. Or maybe an uncle/niece relationship? I have no idea. Family something. He’s sort of like another mentor to her.

That’s one thing we never saw enough of in the Clone Wars–Obi-Wan and Ahsoka working together as a team. Personally, I believe that Anakin’s comment “You never would have made it as Obi-Wan’s Padawan, but you might make it as mine” regarding Ahsoka was untrue. Obi-Wan works well with just about anyone, personal feelings aside.

Now, what do all these people have in common?

Remember that all relationships are dysfunctional on some level. Maybe they have some sort of trans-gender communication flop, or they just plain disagree on some things, or the kid has a chronic case of parental deafness. (For some reason, these kids are rare in fiction… HELLO! EQUAL REPRESENTATION OVER HERE PLEASE! These people happen in real life all the time! Yes, I just pulled a doublespeak on a liberal term. I’m so evil… Thy logic has turnethed against thee.) But in all relationships (unless they’re with someone who is truly evil and not just a rascally scamp like Erin), there is also some measure of affection.

All of these dad/daughter relationships have some form of affection or link to each other. All of them rub off on each other in the attempt to improve each other by their contact. And all of them are willing to fight for each other.

Family is important in fiction. It’s important enough to fight for. Betrayal by family makes an impact. And when the family comes around to help the hero, the bad guy is about to be bashed. Maybe even knocked off. (See Clarissa the hare vs. Zwilt the Shade, The Sable Quean by Brian Jacques.)

Every character needs emotional support of some kind, a hand up when they’re down. And who better to do that than family?

It makes for an interesting role reversal if the dad is the one who’s down and the daughter is doing the comforting… Hmm, neat thought that…

Fathers and Daughters in fiction: Sweet. Loving. Supportive. Adorable. Beautifully imperfect. On some level, dysfunctional, but still loving.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

On Writing Ageless Characters and Tolkien-esque Immortals

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a wrinkle in time, ageless characters, angels, brian jaques, characters, characters with magical or supernatural powers, creative writing, elves, faeries, gods, immortals, j.r.r. tolkien, limits, madeliene l'engle, mary sues, redwall, star wars, story dynamics, the lord of the rings, writing

Recently, Liam, Head Phil (over at This Page Intentionally Left Blank) made a post entitled Ageless Characters. Now, this post was on writing believable children (as in, a twelve-year-old who seemed to be twelve and not sixteen or six), but the title got me thinking.

Occasionally, and especially if you’re writing science fiction or fantasy, you will come across characters who are ancient (like Yoda!), and it will be necessary for the other characters to interact with them as equals (as in Legolas and the way he relates to the rest of the Fellowship.) Yoda is not immortal; Legolas is. However, on both counts, they are far older than anyone else: Yoda is 875 odd years older than anyone in the central cast, except in the prequels, when he’s more like 850 years older. Still, what’s an odd two and a half decades?

Meanwhile, Legolas is probably at least a thousand years older than anyone else in the Fellowship, and most people wind up treating him like an equal. Whereas, everyone respects Yoda. Then, too, Yoda develops over time like anyone else, but he’s been around so long he doesn’t really seem much older. Legolas is the same, to an extent. Yoda seems older than Legolas, but then, elves do not age like mortals.

So, what’s the secret?

I guess it just depends on what you’re writing.

When you’re writing an immortal such as an elf, they will often treat mortal characters (such as humans) as equals. They do not look down on humans, and though they tend to be wise and have heightened senses, these attributes should never be overwhelming. They tend to be humble, and can be overwhelmed. They are also aware of this. Their powers (if any) can not be overwhelming.

Nobody likes a Mary Sue.

When you’re writing an immortal who happens to be a Greek-Pantheon-like god (or other fallible being with more overt power than a human,) it helps for them to be arrogant. And obviously, even painfully fallible. And obviously, and painfully unaware or ignoring of the fact. Perhaps there is room for a character arc here, even if the “god” is not your main character. (Personally, my favorite pastime is pounding sense into the head of some arrogant jackass who styles himself or herself a “god.” Nothing more fun than smacking them into the ground and informing them that power is granted, not earned or owned. Perhaps I sound cynical, but… well, this is the way I see the world. Arrogance is an enemy. There is only one God, and men can not style themselves as gods without retribution for the act.) Perhaps these characters are more powerful than ordinary men. But they must be fallible. If their powers seem infinite and are by nature hard to limit, character flaws are the way to go.

Angels and faeries are more similar to elves than to gods, but they tend to have more power showing than elves. However, unless we’re talking about villains (a corrupted angel is called a demon or devil, by the way,) they will also be humble, and very much aware (constantly!) of their subservience to a higher power.

This is the point where we’re caught between a rock and a hard place. Immortal characters are often difficult to write because they have superhuman–perhaps even supernatural–powers, but, by the Laws of Good Writing, they must not be infallible. No character is perfect. That’s the first rule of world-building and character arcs. Every character must have flaws, and all-powerful characters are no fun. Besides, everyone loves a humble person. (I dealt with this problem in my story Bound to the Flame, with Rowan. He is more powerful–being gifted with magic and having preternaturally honed senses–than any other character in the book, partly by necessity–though I haven’t exactly revealed the reason why yet…. In this view, his disability–his crippled leg–was a boon to me. Not only did it make him seem imperfect–I mean, how many authors nowadays are willing to write a cripple?! He can’t kick behinds in the normal sense!–but it gave me an edge on his character flaws as well. His temperament is quiet and disciplined, without being weak. He’s not a procrastinator. However, partly due to his disability, he can be impulsive, even reckless, and occasionally over-estimates his own strength and gets himself in over his head. He allows himself to be easily provoked in some circumstances, he’s emotionally insecure, and he even picks fights sometimes. And all because, due to his disability, he’s driven to succeed, to prove himself, to prove that he can be more than just a helpless, useless cripple. If he was not disabled, all the character flaws I listed above would be out of character, but due to that one tiny fly in his ointment, they fit perfectly. It adds another arc in besides the character one, too–Rowan learning to physically as well as emotionally live with his limits. The simple beauty and genius of this single plot point awes me. It’s so perfect, I can’t help but question if it’s even mine, poor scribbler of trite drivel that I am.)

Long-lived mortals are a different color of horse altogether. They tend to be rather comical, occasionally–think of older Rollo from Pearls of Lutra or Mrs. Whatsit from A Wrinkle in Time (I know Mrs. Whatsit is not, technically, a mortal, but she is very much like a mortal character with a very long lifespan.) They tend to think along different tracks from younger characters. Sometimes, they tend to sleep a lot. 😛

But they are also wise, and young people should look up to them for guidance. Do they? I don’t know. Perhaps you’re writing a novel about empty-headed young rebels who don’t think enough to know they should listen to their elders’ council.

But anyway, the youngsters who are wise themselves will look up to their elders. Since these elders are mortal, they tend to have an entirely different set of limitations (and don’t often have powers), and due to the fact that they are elders, it’s not as hard to make them less than perfect. Yoda was not infallible. (And he “talks backwards”, too. :-P) Now that would make an interesting story… a character with superhuman/supernatural powers guided by one who doesn’t have those same powers…

After all, as authors we push the borders quite a bit, don’t we?