In a previous post, I mentioned how you can take what someone else has created,
and improve on it to make it your own for your campaign world. I think that’s what’s happening with the
bigger fans of A Song of Ice and Fire. I
refer to them as GRRM apologists, because they go through the books and where
other people might see a plot hole, these folks come up with an incredibly
convoluted fan theory that explains what GRRM was thinking and planning about
that thing and they are tell everyone on the internet who will listen that they
have just figured out another device of the “great” GRRM. They promise that as soon as the next book
comes out, it will all be revealed. But
then the next book came out and they weren’t exactly right. Turns out it was a plot hole - maybe one most
people were willing to ignore, but not some clever clue.
The
thing is, I often find the fan theories to be better and smarter than the
actual story. OK, being better than some
of the recent writing for the TV show isn’t that high a bar to beat, but I’m
putting this out now, because I truly believe that the majority of fans are
going to be disappointed. I have
pondered whether he’s intentionally dragging it out, knowing that he probably
won’t live to finish it, so his legacy will be as this phenomenal writer. Any disappointment in the final book(s) would
be blamed on whoever they bring in to finish them. Then again, I really don’t think he’s that
clever, and that’s my point.
Plot
holes happen - they happen in nearly every form of storytelling. Even with seven fat books, some actions taken
by the characters will always seem wrong and perhaps they are. I admit, part of my problem with GRRM is that
he writes like I do, but no one is offering me a five books series. He is really slow and includes way too much
detail about things that people really don’t want to know about. But we all know his ideas aren’t
original. He’s based the whole thing on
the War of the Roses and/or a couple of French interpretations. And he’s admitted that the “big” reveals have
been figured out by the fans already.
Why
do I always harp on this guy? Look, if
you’re enjoying his books or the HBO series - that’s great! With that many words on the pages and that
much time on screen, there has to be some cool stuff that will spark your
creative process. But at least
anecdotally, I’ve heard more people take the stance of “Oh, I could never
create a world like his.” BS - of course
you can! Especially if you were paid to
do it over twenty plus years. Use his
world for examples, both of what you can do and what you shouldn’t do. If you are going to write a world so
complicated that even you can’t remember who everybody is, then give people a
glossary of characters in the front of the book. Don’t involve NPCs in plot lines that run
perpendicular to their stated goals and personality. Don’t utilize unimportant (or maybe just
unlikeable) time traveling characters to screw with the players.
But
most importantly, if you’re using any fantasy world for inspiration - from
Middle Earth to Westeros - go ahead and use the fan theories just as much as
you use the author’s original content.
There’s a fan theory out there about why Gandalf didn’t use the eagles
to fly the ring to Mordor that I absolutely love. It doesn’t have to come from the professional
(originator) in order to give you what you need to create a unique fantasy
world.
Posts
I am a huge user of WattPad, a free online site where amateur and even some professional writers write in every possible genre. Not surprisingly, many books on the site, which doubles as an online reader / browser, are fanfic, but many more are fantasy, sci-fi, and horror. There is this neat feature, if you click on any book, basically, a synopsis like that 'back' of old paperbacks or the inside flap of old hardbacks with discovers. There are literally thousands of these things, some ridiculously derivative, some amazingly unique; again, thousands of synopsis('s?) available, totally free, not to mention, if you want to check a bit further or if one grabs your attention, glossaries, appendices, and names with accompanying pronunciation guides. On top of that, many are in series, so the books aren't often very long, and getting ideas from all over and from every angle is a certainty.
ReplyDeleteThe quality is often lagging, but many books that I have read there have surpassed my expectations and even experiences with traditionally published materials. I would mention White Stag by Kara Barrier, as one, totally upping the ante on the interesting antihero possibilities of dark elves, like you've never read before...all from the view of a captive human. The dark elves are known as 'goblins', beautiful creatures that are apex predators in the 'Permafrost', a land they are magically and spiritually linked to. The cosmology is a Germanic / Norse hybrid, the creatures incredibly cool and revitalized; including the 'goblins', who turn from their otherworldly beauty very quickly into something like a demonic werewolf at the whiff of conflict. No iron, it burns them like it does Fae. Every so often, the 'Erlking' of the 'Permafrost' dies, unleashing the 'Stag Hunt', the winner of which faces alliances and absorbs magical strength and vitality from each kill of their own, until the winner kills the 'Stag' and becomes the new 'Erlking'. The 'Permafrost'borders the human lands on the south, where pioneers keep trying to survive in a bountiful frontier that although holds no magic for the goblins, also provides ample pioneers as slaves. I could go on, and this is only one book, but it would make R.A. Salvatore look like a uninspired romance writer by comparison.
The thing is, there is metric tons of material on WattPad, and there exists content for every type and taste. However, when in comes to Fantasy worlds, characters and plots, it's an absolute goldmine!
A.