From The Fellowship of the Ring:
"Then if the Ring cannot be kept from him for ever by strength," said Glofindel, "two things only remain for us to attempt: to send it over the Sea, or to destroy it."
"But Gandalf has revealed to us that we cannot destroy it by any craft that we here possess, said Elrond. "And they who dwell beyond the Sea would not receive it: for good or ill it belongs to Middle-earth; it is for us who still dwell here to deal with it."
"Then," said Glorfindel, "let us cast it into the deeps, [. . .] in the Sea it would be safe."
"Not safe forever," said Gandalf. There are many things in the deep waters; and seas and lands may change. And it is not our part here to take thought only for a season, or for a few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world. We should seek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one."
Gandalf would never get elected with that kind of platform.
R.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Mapping a Story
If you are stuck in your story, whether it be conventional writer's block, a lack of motivation, or just need for clarity, making a map of your world can be a useful and fun way to get things going . . . providing you aren't like me and put that in the first couple of steps when you are generating your ideas. Either way it can be an illuminating project.
It doesn't matter what kind of artistic abilities you have. If you don't believe me pull some of those fantasy books off of your shelf (or the library's) and take a gander at what is there. If you enjoy a story you might not have wasted time giving the map a critical look. There are some amazing stories out there with really bad maps. But that's not the point.
The point can be as simple or as complicated as you desire to make it. Consider the following sub points:
1)Geography is culture.
2)There is a saying among historians: Land divides, water unites.
3)For a lot of fantasy fans, exploring the map of your world and wondering how you came to create it so is almost as fun as the story.
If that is enough for you than get your pencil and go to town. If you need more convincing read on and I will elaborate on the sub points.
1)Geography is culture. Whether you are a disciple of nature or nurture, the fact is that where your character grows up is going to impact his people and their culture. Historical examples abound, but I will try to keep it to a reasonable level and not go all crazy-nerd-historian on you. If I can help it.
A dramatic example would be people of the Steppes. From the dawn of written history, conquerors and destroyers can come out of Asian grasslands to reek havoc on civilizations of both the Mediterranean and the Pacific. Military historians like to carry on about everything they did right; sensitive historians get offended and howl about how they never did anything but destroy and never left any lasting contribution to the lands they overcame. Why they conquered, and why they contributed nothing has a lot to do with geography. The Steppe is a great dry stretch of land, exposed to the worst of all dry elements: heat, wind, cold, and constant drought. The nomadic peoples of this land drive their herds back in forth in search of water and good grazing. Their are no recognized boundaries, only millennium of fighting other tribes for the grass and water necessary to survival. The men hunt continually, making an art of it that converts into perfect war tactics from those earliest records right up until the point when the machine gun finally gives civilizations a weapon with greater range and a faster firing rate than the composite bow of the nomads. Bloodshed and death are a fact of life, a daily event. Because the land won't support them, they learn to carry everything they need with them, drinking blood from the veins of their horses when there is no water to be found. Now throw a catalyst in: a severe draught, a push from more aggressive tribes, an ambitious leader bringing unexpected unity. The nomads come out of the Steppe into civilizations made up of farmers whose excess feed ruling, religious, and artistic classes. Perhaps they have an army so strong it makes its neighbors shudder. The outcome is inevitable, or highly likely based on history. The nomads don't have supply lines; they've brought all of their possessions. The nomads don't have an army; every man capable of the hunt is capable of using the same tactics on the far-less-mobile armies of civilization. And killing is necessary for the nomads survival; it is already learned before they ever encountered the future victims.
So they conquer.
But their geography has created a culture of hunting and fighting. Also inevitably they are either swallowed by the culture they conquered or drift back to the Steppe and the life they knew before. The Huns, Mongols, and Turks all went through this cycle to one degree or another.
I do know how to carry on. If you want more examples I am obviously happy to oblige, but for now I will move on to sub point 2.
2) Land divides, water unites. There are many ways to illustrate this point as well. If you look at the empires of the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, and others you will see that they were built on the ring of the Mediterranean. The Egyptian Empires all followed the Nile. The Norse culture at one point was active from Constantinople all the way to Vinland (in Canada), all using water even though they had good footholds on Asia and Europe. Speaking of the Norse, look at how using the north/south rivers of what would become Russia a number of them became the Byzantine Emperor's elite Varangian Guard while the Franks were unknown in Constantinople; the difference being that the Franks had no convenient water path, divided as it were by the land mass that alienated Eastern and Western Christianity in the first millennium AD.
3) You probably know all about this one already if you are a fantasy fan. Take heed and give your fans the map they want and need.
I have throw down a lot of theory about why to do a map. In my next post I will talk about some techniques and approaches, as well as things to avoid, ie. my personal pet peeves in other peoples maps. Feel free to take what helps and completely disregard the stuff that doesn't. Write on.
R.
It doesn't matter what kind of artistic abilities you have. If you don't believe me pull some of those fantasy books off of your shelf (or the library's) and take a gander at what is there. If you enjoy a story you might not have wasted time giving the map a critical look. There are some amazing stories out there with really bad maps. But that's not the point.
The point can be as simple or as complicated as you desire to make it. Consider the following sub points:
1)Geography is culture.
2)There is a saying among historians: Land divides, water unites.
3)For a lot of fantasy fans, exploring the map of your world and wondering how you came to create it so is almost as fun as the story.
If that is enough for you than get your pencil and go to town. If you need more convincing read on and I will elaborate on the sub points.
1)Geography is culture. Whether you are a disciple of nature or nurture, the fact is that where your character grows up is going to impact his people and their culture. Historical examples abound, but I will try to keep it to a reasonable level and not go all crazy-nerd-historian on you. If I can help it.
A dramatic example would be people of the Steppes. From the dawn of written history, conquerors and destroyers can come out of Asian grasslands to reek havoc on civilizations of both the Mediterranean and the Pacific. Military historians like to carry on about everything they did right; sensitive historians get offended and howl about how they never did anything but destroy and never left any lasting contribution to the lands they overcame. Why they conquered, and why they contributed nothing has a lot to do with geography. The Steppe is a great dry stretch of land, exposed to the worst of all dry elements: heat, wind, cold, and constant drought. The nomadic peoples of this land drive their herds back in forth in search of water and good grazing. Their are no recognized boundaries, only millennium of fighting other tribes for the grass and water necessary to survival. The men hunt continually, making an art of it that converts into perfect war tactics from those earliest records right up until the point when the machine gun finally gives civilizations a weapon with greater range and a faster firing rate than the composite bow of the nomads. Bloodshed and death are a fact of life, a daily event. Because the land won't support them, they learn to carry everything they need with them, drinking blood from the veins of their horses when there is no water to be found. Now throw a catalyst in: a severe draught, a push from more aggressive tribes, an ambitious leader bringing unexpected unity. The nomads come out of the Steppe into civilizations made up of farmers whose excess feed ruling, religious, and artistic classes. Perhaps they have an army so strong it makes its neighbors shudder. The outcome is inevitable, or highly likely based on history. The nomads don't have supply lines; they've brought all of their possessions. The nomads don't have an army; every man capable of the hunt is capable of using the same tactics on the far-less-mobile armies of civilization. And killing is necessary for the nomads survival; it is already learned before they ever encountered the future victims.
So they conquer.
But their geography has created a culture of hunting and fighting. Also inevitably they are either swallowed by the culture they conquered or drift back to the Steppe and the life they knew before. The Huns, Mongols, and Turks all went through this cycle to one degree or another.
I do know how to carry on. If you want more examples I am obviously happy to oblige, but for now I will move on to sub point 2.
2) Land divides, water unites. There are many ways to illustrate this point as well. If you look at the empires of the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, and others you will see that they were built on the ring of the Mediterranean. The Egyptian Empires all followed the Nile. The Norse culture at one point was active from Constantinople all the way to Vinland (in Canada), all using water even though they had good footholds on Asia and Europe. Speaking of the Norse, look at how using the north/south rivers of what would become Russia a number of them became the Byzantine Emperor's elite Varangian Guard while the Franks were unknown in Constantinople; the difference being that the Franks had no convenient water path, divided as it were by the land mass that alienated Eastern and Western Christianity in the first millennium AD.
3) You probably know all about this one already if you are a fantasy fan. Take heed and give your fans the map they want and need.
I have throw down a lot of theory about why to do a map. In my next post I will talk about some techniques and approaches, as well as things to avoid, ie. my personal pet peeves in other peoples maps. Feel free to take what helps and completely disregard the stuff that doesn't. Write on.
R.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Conference Call (A Real-life Tale in the Life of Riotimus)
East-coast Corporate Buyer #1 (ECCB1): Welcome to the California District Purchasing meeting. Let's take roll.
(People of various degrees of importance sound off)
East-coast Corporate Buyer #2 (ECCB2): Well . . . since our last call the market has taken a dump.
ECCB1: It is the same on my end. How are things in the Field?
West-coast Store Manager #1 (WCSM1): blah blah blah
West-coast Store Manager #2 (WCSM2): blah blah blah You guys suck. I think you are trying to put us out of business. blah blah blah
WCSM3, 4, & 5: blah blah blah
WCSM1: I think WCSM2 had a good point. What the hell are you guys doing in your high-backed chairs over there?
ECCB1: Do you want to take that ECCB2?
ECCB2: blah blah blah
WCSM4: Why can't you guys just do things right?
ECCB1: We do things right. blah blah blah Some day you will see why centralized purchasing is best for everybody.
WCSM1, 2, 3, 4, & 5: blah blah blah You guys suck! blah blah blah
Entire Staff of Rocky Mountain Purchasing Group (RMPG): zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
ECCB1: Why don't we turn the time over to ECCB3 for some important information.
ECCB3: If you guys would start doing your jobs this whole system would work like a well oiled machine. You can't sit on your thumbs in the California sun and expect for us to be able to do a good job in the Confederacy.
WCSM1, 2, 3, 4, & 5: blah blah blah with rancor
ECCB1: Uh, do you guys in the RMPG have anything today?
RMPG: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . No. No we don't. Thanks for having us on though.
ECCB1: Let's plan on doing this again next week then.
RMPG: (hits the mute button and collectively groans)
Call duration: 1 hour 27 minutes
(People of various degrees of importance sound off)
East-coast Corporate Buyer #2 (ECCB2): Well . . . since our last call the market has taken a dump.
ECCB1: It is the same on my end. How are things in the Field?
West-coast Store Manager #1 (WCSM1): blah blah blah
West-coast Store Manager #2 (WCSM2): blah blah blah You guys suck. I think you are trying to put us out of business. blah blah blah
WCSM3, 4, & 5: blah blah blah
WCSM1: I think WCSM2 had a good point. What the hell are you guys doing in your high-backed chairs over there?
ECCB1: Do you want to take that ECCB2?
ECCB2: blah blah blah
WCSM4: Why can't you guys just do things right?
ECCB1: We do things right. blah blah blah Some day you will see why centralized purchasing is best for everybody.
WCSM1, 2, 3, 4, & 5: blah blah blah You guys suck! blah blah blah
Entire Staff of Rocky Mountain Purchasing Group (RMPG): zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
ECCB1: Why don't we turn the time over to ECCB3 for some important information.
ECCB3: If you guys would start doing your jobs this whole system would work like a well oiled machine. You can't sit on your thumbs in the California sun and expect for us to be able to do a good job in the Confederacy.
WCSM1, 2, 3, 4, & 5: blah blah blah with rancor
ECCB1: Uh, do you guys in the RMPG have anything today?
RMPG: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . No. No we don't. Thanks for having us on though.
ECCB1: Let's plan on doing this again next week then.
RMPG: (hits the mute button and collectively groans)
Call duration: 1 hour 27 minutes
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