Have you thought about how much your healers can do and how? In many fantasy stories and games, it seems that healers can expend a lot of healing energy in order to save the victim from dying or injury. Some of you may have such characters and may have developed a system for the way they are going to be able to heal.
I would really like to hear your thoughts and ideas for creating fictional characters that can heal or even resurrect other characters in your fictional worlds. It would be very interesting to me to learn about the ideas you came up to make healing believable.
Let's face it. We can't expect healers of fantasy worlds to understand and react the same way we would expect them to react in modern day. For medieval fiction, Florence Nightingale, who developed the modern system of nursing, had not been born yet. Even medicine was very different, involving a lot of strange ideas regarding the human body. I have seen historical videos and programs and it's really bizarre and scary to see what doctors used back then.
When I read The Midwife's Apprentice by Caren Cushman, I was amazing by some of the ingredients midwives used. Though it is a fictional tale about a girl who finds work helping the town's midwife, the author added a glossary and some information about what it was like in those days. I was fascinated and I recommend this book to anyone interested in medieval medicine. It is not fantasy, but it is historically based and an entertaining read.
But now back to fantasy fiction healers.
I am currently writing a blog story called Add a Spark of Valor with my friend and co-author, Jack Shepherd. If you have read any of the blog "mini-chapters" here you will see we are getting to a place in the tale where little Audrey and her druid sisters are healing the victims of a ship attack.
As I write the next few posts regarding the healing abilities of my druidesses, I have decided to make the healing spells somewhat draining to the inexperienced. In other words, the less you cast healing spells, the more tired or draining of energy you will feel. Druids who use it often will not feel so tired or drained unless they keep casting for long periods of time. I can imagine a druid healer in a war torn area becoming totally worn out after constantly healing the wounded all around him. So what it boils down to for my fictional characters is that casting spells -- ANY magical spells -- will take energy and leave the caster weak and tired. The caster will need rest and food before they can travel, work or do anything that requires normal strength.
And what do you think about a healer resurrecting the dead? How do you handle this topic in your stories?
A good friend of mine who read my latest story post from Add a Spark of Valor : Crescent Cove Village shared some thoughts with me and our chat went like this:
Friend: one thing I noticed that didn't seem "natural" to me was the sisters talking to folks before rushing to the injured.....EMS here would talk while running to them
Me: Heheheh
Friend: course EMS don't have a chance to res them if they die.
Me: True. Well, they did move on quickly once they met the halfling
Friend: yes....but asked a couple of times if anyone know what happened...no biggie...just how I saw it. Medics rush in where bombs are going off and into machine gun fire to reach wounded soldiers.
Me: You are thinking too modern and remember they can cure anything even death. My druids didn't get formal training.
Friend: At least they didn't stop for a smoke and coffee.
Me: HAHAHA!!!
Let me point out that my druids can't always resurrect the dead. To keep them from becoming too powerful to believe, I made it a rule that the goddess of Tiaera, Astria, has the final say who can be revived and who stays dead. No, I don't roll any D&D dice to decide what my fictional goddess will do, but at least it doesn't make my character too god-like.
Showing posts with label blog stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog stories. Show all posts
Worldbuilding: Holidays for Fictional Worlds
It's October and it's time to break out the boxes of various holiday decorations and feverishly make new ones if I plan to participate in any of the several holiday craft fairs in my city. This thought brought me to wondering if I should create holidays for my fictional world. If you have read some of my previous posts, there is a festival of Wynterfest which is mainly celebrated up in the frozen country of Wynterlande.
The topic today is: Should a writer and world builder bother with creating holidays for their fictional world?
I did a little research this morning and the first place I went to was Middle Ages Holidays. Since Tiaera is basically a "parallel earth" with added magic and planetary differences, I tend to write about Earth's Middle Ages. Something one must consider is religion. Since Tiaera has no Christianity as a religion, I can't use any of the christian practices of the Middle Ages and as I see at that website, most of the holidays were church related. Tiaera is set in the Middle Ages, but it was created by a goddess I made up named Astria. Since she is not historical, I am free to make up any holidays and festivals as I see fit. Oh, this is going to be fun! LOL! But before I can begin this I need to get some ideas and figure out what to do. A writer shouldn't create holidays just because they want to. Holidays should never interfere with your book or story.
If you are building a fictional world similar to earth, you need to ask yourself the following questions:
1. Are you going to keep writing about your fictional world long after the book you're writing is done? It so, then time will pass... months, years, etc... and holidays may work to set the scene of your next story on that world.
2. What period or era are you writing about? Historical? Futuristic? Modern age?
3. Does your world have seasons and is it worth noting this in your writing?
4. Does your world have gods? If it is parallel to earth, are there religions and gods like our own?
5. What kind of holidays should you create? Religious? Meaningful and significant? Seasonal?
6. How are your inhabitants going to recognize such holidays? Festivals? Traditions?
The more I think about Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, the more I have to consider what I will want to use for future blog stories like my current one: Add a Spark for Valor.
As I (and sometimes Jack) continue with the chapters (posts) for this story, it will be fun to work on holidays as the background settings that can add to the plot much like we did in Realmwalkers.
I hope this post makes you think about your fictional world. Do some research and determine if your book or stories would benefit from such events. Soap Operas on TV used the holidays. Internet and video games use them. Books too. Let me know what you think about this. Are you going to add some holidays? If so, feel free to comment and tell me about them. I bet there are some great ideas out there!
The topic today is: Should a writer and world builder bother with creating holidays for their fictional world?
I did a little research this morning and the first place I went to was Middle Ages Holidays. Since Tiaera is basically a "parallel earth" with added magic and planetary differences, I tend to write about Earth's Middle Ages. Something one must consider is religion. Since Tiaera has no Christianity as a religion, I can't use any of the christian practices of the Middle Ages and as I see at that website, most of the holidays were church related. Tiaera is set in the Middle Ages, but it was created by a goddess I made up named Astria. Since she is not historical, I am free to make up any holidays and festivals as I see fit. Oh, this is going to be fun! LOL! But before I can begin this I need to get some ideas and figure out what to do. A writer shouldn't create holidays just because they want to. Holidays should never interfere with your book or story.
If you are building a fictional world similar to earth, you need to ask yourself the following questions:
1. Are you going to keep writing about your fictional world long after the book you're writing is done? It so, then time will pass... months, years, etc... and holidays may work to set the scene of your next story on that world.
2. What period or era are you writing about? Historical? Futuristic? Modern age?
3. Does your world have seasons and is it worth noting this in your writing?
4. Does your world have gods? If it is parallel to earth, are there religions and gods like our own?
5. What kind of holidays should you create? Religious? Meaningful and significant? Seasonal?
6. How are your inhabitants going to recognize such holidays? Festivals? Traditions?
The more I think about Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, the more I have to consider what I will want to use for future blog stories like my current one: Add a Spark for Valor.
As I (and sometimes Jack) continue with the chapters (posts) for this story, it will be fun to work on holidays as the background settings that can add to the plot much like we did in Realmwalkers.
I hope this post makes you think about your fictional world. Do some research and determine if your book or stories would benefit from such events. Soap Operas on TV used the holidays. Internet and video games use them. Books too. Let me know what you think about this. Are you going to add some holidays? If so, feel free to comment and tell me about them. I bet there are some great ideas out there!
Worldbuilding and Tiaera
A good friend of mine asked me the other day about the term "world building." I briefly explained it to him, but this morning I have decided to look into this a little deeper for those of you who read and/or write fiction. This might be useful should you ever decide to try making a fictional world of your own.
What is Worldbuilding?
Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world, sometimes associated with a whole fictional universe.[1] The resulting world may be called a constructed world. The term "worldbuilding" was popularized at science fiction writers' workshops in the 1970s.[citation needed] Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, and ecology is a key task for many science fiction or fantasy writers.[2] Worldbuilding often involves the creation of maps, a backstory, and people for the world. Constructed worlds can enrich the backstory and history of fictional works, and it is not uncommon for authors to revise their constructed worlds while completing its associated work. Constructed worlds can be created for personal amusement and mental exercise, or for specific creative endeavors such as novels, video games, or role-playing games.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World-building
I have seen the term spelled a few difference ways i.e. world building, world-building and worldbuilding.
When Jack and I began writing our novel Realmwalkers, we realized we needed to make a fictional world because this would free us from any problems with reality based on earth and earth's history. We could start from scratch and use anything our minds came up with so long as it was plausible in the minds of our future readers. Since we wrote about science fiction and fantasy, it behooved us to try this in order to present our story in the most realistic way.
Well, Realmwalkers was finally written and has done very well in sales so far. I created this blog about the world of Tiaera to help promote the book. As some of you may have caught on, I came up with the name "Tiaera" which sounds like the Spanish word "tierra" meaning earth or ground. It is a parallel earth with trees, mountains and oceans, but with some differences. What are they? Well, read some of the stories here or read Realmwalkers to find out. Anyway, I realized I really enjoyed adding more details about this fictional planet called Tiaera.
And I am not alone. There are many sites on the Inet where one can go visit a variety of worlds based on books, TV, and games.
The way I started with Tiaera was by making a series of maps using MSPublisher, a desktop graphics program. I didn't have the luxury of a stylus and tablet at that time. Every drawing had to be done by drawing with a normal mouse or by drawing the map, scanning it and enhancing it using Adobe Photoshop. One of my first maps of the new planet looked like this.
I never made a world before so I just made little chunks of outlines to represent countries and Jack helped me determine how big it was going to be so that it made sense to the reader. It turned out it is actually smaller than earth, more like mars. Thanks again, Jack, for helping me with the technicalities of worldbuilding.
Then I experienced the fun of assigning names, much like Adam did when earth was created, and I found it was a lot of fun. I went to various fantasy name generators and tossed around some made-up names with Jack until all the oceans, countries, and islands all had a name. This was really fun to do while I waited for Jack to go over some chapters at his end. Once I had the world done, I began to work on each continent.
There is no end to what you can do when it comes to worldbuilding. Many stories, movies, books and games can limit the amount of information about the world to just a few sentences or go all the way to graphic images and videos. It's up to the author or designer involved. Just remember that too much scenery and description shouldn't overwhelm the story at hand. Use just enough to set the scene and no more.
After the maps were done, I created lists of information about races, transportation, climate, languages and prominent landmarks. I used my previous experiences in games like D&D, Meridian 59 and Everquest 1 & 2. I also used recollections from the many sci fi-fantasy stories and movies. There is nothing wrong with stealing general ideas from others as long as you do not steal a copyright protected character or item. So be sure you research whatever you use that you did not fully create yourself.
I'm glad to have this blog now to further create more stories and invent new items through my creative abilities. I still don't use any special map-making software. I have looked at Dungeonjinni and ProFantasy Software, as well as others, but I decided to use the tools I already had. I still use pencil, ink, scanner, MSPublisher and Adobe Photoshop for maps and graphics. Such graphics may help me with future books or videos. It's a creative process that I really enjoy.
If you are thinking about worldbuilding, here are a few links that might help or inspire you. I've used a few of them for creating the world of Tiaera:
Seventh Sanctum
Pirate Name Generator
io9.com
World Building School
sfwa fantasy-worldbuilding questions
Free Fantasy Maps
Map Making for Authors
Wikipedia
What is Worldbuilding?
Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world, sometimes associated with a whole fictional universe.[1] The resulting world may be called a constructed world. The term "worldbuilding" was popularized at science fiction writers' workshops in the 1970s.[citation needed] Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, and ecology is a key task for many science fiction or fantasy writers.[2] Worldbuilding often involves the creation of maps, a backstory, and people for the world. Constructed worlds can enrich the backstory and history of fictional works, and it is not uncommon for authors to revise their constructed worlds while completing its associated work. Constructed worlds can be created for personal amusement and mental exercise, or for specific creative endeavors such as novels, video games, or role-playing games.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World-building
I have seen the term spelled a few difference ways i.e. world building, world-building and worldbuilding.
When Jack and I began writing our novel Realmwalkers, we realized we needed to make a fictional world because this would free us from any problems with reality based on earth and earth's history. We could start from scratch and use anything our minds came up with so long as it was plausible in the minds of our future readers. Since we wrote about science fiction and fantasy, it behooved us to try this in order to present our story in the most realistic way.
Well, Realmwalkers was finally written and has done very well in sales so far. I created this blog about the world of Tiaera to help promote the book. As some of you may have caught on, I came up with the name "Tiaera" which sounds like the Spanish word "tierra" meaning earth or ground. It is a parallel earth with trees, mountains and oceans, but with some differences. What are they? Well, read some of the stories here or read Realmwalkers to find out. Anyway, I realized I really enjoyed adding more details about this fictional planet called Tiaera.
And I am not alone. There are many sites on the Inet where one can go visit a variety of worlds based on books, TV, and games.
The way I started with Tiaera was by making a series of maps using MSPublisher, a desktop graphics program. I didn't have the luxury of a stylus and tablet at that time. Every drawing had to be done by drawing with a normal mouse or by drawing the map, scanning it and enhancing it using Adobe Photoshop. One of my first maps of the new planet looked like this.
I never made a world before so I just made little chunks of outlines to represent countries and Jack helped me determine how big it was going to be so that it made sense to the reader. It turned out it is actually smaller than earth, more like mars. Thanks again, Jack, for helping me with the technicalities of worldbuilding.
Then I experienced the fun of assigning names, much like Adam did when earth was created, and I found it was a lot of fun. I went to various fantasy name generators and tossed around some made-up names with Jack until all the oceans, countries, and islands all had a name. This was really fun to do while I waited for Jack to go over some chapters at his end. Once I had the world done, I began to work on each continent.
There is no end to what you can do when it comes to worldbuilding. Many stories, movies, books and games can limit the amount of information about the world to just a few sentences or go all the way to graphic images and videos. It's up to the author or designer involved. Just remember that too much scenery and description shouldn't overwhelm the story at hand. Use just enough to set the scene and no more.
After the maps were done, I created lists of information about races, transportation, climate, languages and prominent landmarks. I used my previous experiences in games like D&D, Meridian 59 and Everquest 1 & 2. I also used recollections from the many sci fi-fantasy stories and movies. There is nothing wrong with stealing general ideas from others as long as you do not steal a copyright protected character or item. So be sure you research whatever you use that you did not fully create yourself.
I'm glad to have this blog now to further create more stories and invent new items through my creative abilities. I still don't use any special map-making software. I have looked at Dungeonjinni and ProFantasy Software, as well as others, but I decided to use the tools I already had. I still use pencil, ink, scanner, MSPublisher and Adobe Photoshop for maps and graphics. Such graphics may help me with future books or videos. It's a creative process that I really enjoy.
If you are thinking about worldbuilding, here are a few links that might help or inspire you. I've used a few of them for creating the world of Tiaera:
Seventh Sanctum
Pirate Name Generator
io9.com
World Building School
sfwa fantasy-worldbuilding questions
Free Fantasy Maps
Map Making for Authors
Wikipedia
Remember this?
You may recall in a previous post that I drew a sketch of Audrey and her friend, Karyn. Here it is again.
If you wish to see more of her lovely costumes, find her at Facebook under Pauline Cortez3.
Well, my friend Pauline who is a talented seamstress and who enjoys making period costumes was inspired to make Karyn's outfit. Great job, Pauline! You even used the colors as I indicated in the story as well. I am flattered by your creations.
If you wish to see more of her lovely costumes, find her at Facebook under Pauline Cortez3.
Audrey and Karyn before the Training Session
Last night, I was inspired to do a sketch of the scene where Audrey and Karyn are preparing for the training session (see yesterday's post), but I decided to draw Karyn in her druid gown. In the story, she is dressed like Audrey so she can train also. I tried not to make her look like a nun or like she was wearing pajamas. This would be the type of outfit she would wear on those occasions where she would be seen in public. This was also a good time to show how small Audrey (an adult gnome) stands next to Karyn. Gnomes were often mistaken for human children because of their size and built. At this point in the story, Audrey and Karyn are in their late teens in human years. I will be doing a short article about what druids are like in Tiaera soon.
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