A sound came from Ivan’s right. He turned, and started when he saw a young woman standing next to him. How had she gotten in? He didn’t recognize her – he had never seen anyone dressed as she was. She wore pants instead of larrons, and a long-sleeved shirt with a gray and green pattern that made him dizzy when he looked closely.
“Who are you?” he asked, jumping to his feet.
She took a deep breath. “Wow. I finally get to meet you. My name is Mary – I wrote you.”
“You – what?”
“I wrote you. I’m the one telling your story.”
Ivan had no idea what this girl was talking about. “My story…?”
“You’re my favorite character, Ivan. But I have to tell you that I’m really irritated at you right now.”
Ivan was even more confused – if he had never even seen this girl, how and why should she be irritated at him? He strongly suspected that she was crazy, but she had caught his curiosity, so he ventured to ask “Why?”
“Because you won’t stop feeling sorry for yourself!” she said, startling Ivan with the volume at which she spoke.
“Quiet! I don’t know where you came from, but if anyone hears you they’ll want an explanation.”
“They won’t hear me,” the girl said wearily.
“How do you know?”
Mary shrugged. “Because I said. I can do that. I can say there’s a tree growing in your tent and there will be. See?”
This girl must have been insane. “There is no tree in here.”
Mary stared at a point behind the table. Ivan turned to look – there was a tree growing in the tent!
“How did –“
“Like I said, I’m the one telling the story here. I can do that. But the tree in the tent isn’t the point. The point is that I want to know why you won’t stop feeling sorry for yourself!”
“Feeling sorry for myself…”
“Yes, feeling sorry for yourself! Look, all this stuff that's happened isn't your fault. It was the way the story had to go, and I didn’t have any choice about it either. I don’t like it any more than you do – well, I might, but I’d have to think about it – anyway, the point is it’s not your fault. But you just keep on and on gloomifying all of these otherwise good scenes with your self-pity and I want to know why!”
“Self pity! Young lady, I—“
“Look Ivan,” the girl had softened her voice and her expression. “Look, I know you’ve been through a lot. I know about Lynessa.”
Ivan’s confusion and curiosity grew with everything the girl said. How did she know about Lynessa?
“Ivan, I know how much you loved her, and I know how much you miss her. Really. I do. But you’re not accomplishing anything by feeling sorry for yourself about it! You’re letting what’s happened to you bog you down and damage your usefulness in The Shield’s service!”
“You know of The Shield too?”
Mary nodded. “I serve Him just like you do. Only where I come from He has a different name.”
That made sense, Ivan supposed. The first thing this Mary character had said since showing up that made sense!
“Look,” Mary said, “Ivan I could stay here and talk to you for hours – there are so many things I’d love to ask you. But I’ll figure them out on my own eventually, and I’ve got to go and get on with the story. The main thing I had to say was – sit down first. You’re too much taller than me.”
Ivan was somewhat startled when he actually obeyed the order. He hadn’t intended to at all.
The girl smiled. “I love having that power. Okay, here’s what I wanted to say, and then I’ll be going:”
Ivan jumped when the girl grabbed him by his shirt collar and shook him.
“Adelphia needs you, Ivan, so stop feeling sorry for yourself! There’s a lot that has to be done in this novel before December 31 and your gloom and doom isn’t helping me get it done! I can’t meet this goal without your cooperation, so get your act together and let’s do this, alright?!”
Ivan was completely incapable of speaking.
Mary let go and smoothed out Ivan’s collar, then straightened and took a deep breath. “Good,” she said, smiling, “I think this has been a great help. Thanks for your time. I’ll see you around. Oh – and that message from Reylan on the table? – you’ll want to open that pretty quickly. It’s from the commander, about troops in the north end of the valley. Tell Gabriel ‘Hey’ for me.”
Mary was gone.
Ivan didn’t move for a minute, looking warily around in case she showed up again. But she didn’t.
Well, he thought, taking a deep breath and shaking his head, he couldn’t waste time wondering about it. After all, there was a lot to be done before December 31 … what in Reyem was December 31?
After being away from my ‘Write Like the Pros’ series for a long time, I’m finally back with the next installment – Donita K. Paul.
A couple of years ago I bought the book Dragonspell for my younger brother for Christmas. Since the book was the first in a series, I figured that I had the next year’s birthday and Christmas lined out as far as Caleb was concerned. Wrong. He went out and bought the rest of the series himself. For months all I heard about was “Kale this, Dar that, Fenworth something else…” To hear Caleb talk you’d have thought they were real people.
When I started reading the books for myself, I realized that they almost were real people! I felt like I knew them – especially the main viewpoint character Kale. I knew how she would react to a situation before she reacted. I knew how she would feel about a given person or event before she expressed her feelings.
So how did Mrs. Paul pull that off? By showing the reader the character’s thoughts.
Read Mrs. Paul’s books and you’ll find them loaded with character’s mental decision-making processes, inner struggles, and unspoken opinions. This offers the reader a tremendous amount of insight into who the character really is and gives them the sense that they really know them.
Think of it this way: when you meet someone for the first time, naturally you start with the conversational basics (where are you from, where do you work, what are you studying, etc.). But then you start moving towards learning their opinions and thoughts on a very casual level (what kind of movies do you like, what do you do in your spare time…). Once you get past the ‘stranger’ stage and begin to get more comfortable with the person, you start asking deeper, more ‘thoughtful’ questions (what are your religious beliefs, political views, dreams, personal goals, and so forth). Then you move on to questions regarding current events (the political race, the concert, the terrorist attack, the tornado).
As you learn a person’s thoughts on certain issues, you will be able to determine, at least to some extent, their thoughts on other issues. For instance, I am a conservative Republican and a Christian – that should give you some idea of where I stand on issues such as abortion and cloning.
This is what it means to really know a person. When you can predict their (thoughts, opinion, reaction) regarding an issue or circumstance, and do it with at least moderate accuracy, you know – really know – them.
And this is part of what makes Donita K. Paul’s characters so lifelike, so personal – she writes their thoughts! We know what they’re thinking. We know that even though Kale adores Paladin and truly wants to serve him, she still struggles with feeling unsuited and unworthy. We know that even though Kale has great respect and admiration for Wizard Fenworth’s wisdom, she still gets frustrated with his forgetfulness and painfully long thinking spells.
We know Kale because we know her thoughts. We know what she thinks. We know how she thinks. And we care about her because she feels like a friend.
I know that my own writing is sadly lacking insight into my characters’ thoughts, and I’m sure many of us can afford to put more character thought into our fiction. It can be tough, and it requires a great amount of preliminary character development, but just read Donita K. Paul’s work and you’ll see – the result is worth it!
The fantasy genre can be a controversial subject among Christians. Some will say that all fantasy is wrong, period, while others hold that only certain fantasy, usually a particular book or books, is wrong. Fantasy is like any other genre – there are bad specimens of everything.
The aspect of fantasy that raises the most fuss has to be the common association of fantasy with magic. Face it: fantasy and magic go together. Magic is part of what makes fantasy what it is. I have, pinned to my bulletin board at home, an article from Writer’s Digest on fantasy, and it states: “fantasy always involves some kind of magic”. That’s just the way it stands.
Which poses an interesting problem for Christian writers, since the Bible makes it clear that Christians should have no involvement with magic, witchcraft, or sorcery. Where does that leave those of us who want to write fantasy?
First, it depends on the kind of magic you’re talking about. There are two basic types of magic.
The first one is simply the manipulation of natural laws. For instance, having a character draw energy from a tree to give them enough strength to survive a wound, or allowing them to deflect light waves, making themselves invisible. I don’t have a problem with this kind of magic. In all honesty, we use it ourselves – it’s just a matter of perspective. For example, technology that we take for granted today (Wi-Fi, GPS, Genetic engineering) would appear spectacularly magical to someone from the sixteenth century.
“Mind-speaking” falls into this category. Real-life people can feel another person staring at them. A person paying close attention can feel the mere presence of another person in an otherwise empty room. When my brothers and I were little, our mom could tell whether or not we were telling the truth before we ever said anything. Close friends can often communicate with only their eyes. So really, “mind-speaking” in fantasy is just an enhancement, an exaggeration of a skill that we as humans already possess.
The second type of magic deals with wizardry, witchcraft, and sorcery. Webster’s dictionary defines a wizard as a man with “possession of supernatural power by compact with evil spirits”. A witch is basically the feminine counterpart of a wizard. Sorcery is defined as the use of “evil supernatural power over people and their affairs”. This is the kind of magic I have a problem with.
Magic consisting of superhuman power granted by an alliance with demons or other evil spirits is what Christians have to be careful with. I’m not going to say that your writing should contain absolutely none of this kind of magic, although if you feel that is should that is certainly up to you. In Reyem, the fantasy world where my novel is set, this kind of black sorcery is used very widely, but only by the pagan Moritarcs, the enemies and “bad guys” of the story. The Protected (Reyem’s equivalent of Christians) are forbidden to use magic or sorcery.
Now, they do from time to time accomplish some superhuman feats, but it is with power given to them by The Shield (Reyem’s name for God), not the power of sorcery or witchcraft, and not whenever they choose – they can use it only when The Shield allows them to. It’s no different than the apostles performing miracles in the New Testament, using power that God gave to them. Which brings us to the issue of “good wizards”.
I’m as much a fan of Gandalf and Fenworth as anybody, but considering the definition of the term “wizard”, can Christian writers really have “good wizards” in their stories? I say yes.
According to the dictionary a wizard’s power comes from his alliance with a spirit or spirits. In the case of an alliance with evil spirits, the wizard would be given power in exchange for something. But if the wizard is a follower and servant of the God of your fantasy world, why couldn’t that same God have given him superhuman power to use in His service?
***
Magic will always be a tough and tricky subject for Christian fantasy writers. There will always be questions of where to draw the line. But in essence, it’s not about the power. It’s about what the power is used for, and where it comes from.
I usually get strange looks when I tell people that I want to spread the truth through my writing, considering the fact that I write primarily fiction. How can you share the truth through made-up stories set in made-up worlds?
For a secular writer, that would be a legitimate question. But for a Christian writer, the answer is simple. True Christians are grounded, firmly anchored in the Truth. In John 14:6 Jesus tells us that He is the Truth. So the Truth is in us; it is part of us; the Truth is what saves us. In Matthew 12:34 Jesus said that our words come from what is in our hearts. So if we fill our hearts with the Truth, it will be reflected in our writing … even if we’re writing fiction.
Jesus used fiction to communicate the truth – just read the parables. The Sower, the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, and others – all fiction used to make a powerful point.
Look at the Chronicles of Narnia. How many Christians can read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and say that there is no truth in it?
I’m not saying that your writing should all be allegorical. My novel, Son of the Shield is not allegorical, but it is nonetheless a story of rebellion, repentance, redemption and forgiveness – the forgiveness of both God and Man. There is truth in that.
If the truth – the real truth – is embedded and rooted in your heart, it will come out in your writing.
I love autumn – bright leaves, busy squirrels, brilliant sunshine, and blustery rainy days. A chilly autumn day calls for long hours of writing, and an appropriate desk-side treat. But if you’re like me, you don’t want to spend your long writing hours making the appropriate desk-side treat. The solution: Trail Mix. Quick, easy, and delicious. This fabulous recipe is one of my favorites:
Autumn Trail Mix
~Candy Corn
~Honey-roasted peanuts
~Raisins
Just three ingredients – but a wonderful combination that’s great to keep around, especially in an attractive little bowl within easy reach of your writing spot…
What is your favorite trail mix combination? Be sure to share it in the comment box!We’ve all heard the phrase. I suppose whoever invented it had a point (after all, writing really doesn’t pay that well) but the picture presented is kind of depressing (i.e. you’re unsuccessful, no one appreciates your work, you can’t even make ends meet and afford to buy food, etc.) and the implied self-pity is very annoying.
So, you may ask, why title a blog series “The Starving Artist”? Simple: writing is hard work, and writers need good food to sustain them. And anyway, writing is much more enjoyable when one has a good snack to go with it!
It’s always been a principle of mine, that no one to visit my house leaves hungry. Henceforth, that principle applies to The Lair as well. My ‘Write Like the Pros’ series and other postings will continue as usual, of course, but I’ll be on the lookout for writer-friendly recipes to share with you all from time to time. Feel free to share your own favorite writing treats with the rest of us by posting them in the comment box – the more the merrier!
