McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Adapting Myth or Creating New?
Figging Mint:
--- Quote from: Nickeris86 on August 22, 2011, 05:32:56 AM ---Lol yeah I know but you seemed confused by my statement of 13 cataclysms.
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That wasn't "confusion" so much as "open-mouthed staring at something so totally, unabashedly, over the top that it just might work, Cap'n"
Breandan:
I have a toddler who is stronger than a four year old and smarter than some high schoolers. 13 simultaneous cataclysms has NOTHING on her :D
hmmmm... "Toddlergeddon" has a ring to it.
Anyway, back to the subject at hand- another option you might want to look at (the original poster I mean) is to take extant mythological beings, and evolve them in step with how humanity has evolved. Jim has done this to a great extent within the Dresden Files, and I think that is what makes urban fantasy so appealing- making ancient boogeymen and creatures of legend somehow closer to us. Counterpoint to that, if you have a situation where the critters haven't had any exposure to the mortal world in millennia, imagine how badly they would wig out when the hairless monkeys they last saw wielding spears are now coming after them with assault weapons and MBTs :)
Nickeris86:
--- Quote from: Breandan on August 22, 2011, 05:52:49 AM ---I have a toddler who is stronger than a four year old and smarter than some high schoolers. 13 simultaneous cataclysms has NOTHING on her :D
hmmmm... "Toddlergeddon" has a ring to it.
Anyway, back to the subject at hand- another option you might want to look at (the original poster I mean) is to take extant mythological beings, and evolve them in step with how humanity has evolved. Jim has done this to a great extent within the Dresden Files, and I think that is what makes urban fantasy so appealing- making ancient boogeymen and creatures of legend somehow closer to us. Counterpoint to that, if you have a situation where the critters haven't had any exposure to the mortal world in millennia, imagine how badly they would wig out when the hairless monkeys they last saw wielding spears are now coming after them with assault weapons and MBTs :)
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Lol that makes me think of a character a friend of mine created. He was a Raw Head Bloody Bones (old world Freddy Kruger type) but was also a heart surgeon.
Figging Mint:
--- Quote from: Nickeris86 on August 22, 2011, 04:51:16 PM ---Lol that makes me think of a character a friend of mine created. He was a Raw Head Bloody Bones (old world Freddy Kruger type) but was also a heart surgeon.
--- End quote ---
THAT made me think of that series 'The Kingdom'
Bearracuda:
--- Quote from: newtinmpls on August 09, 2011, 01:13:03 AM ---I have yet to meet a male reader who could stand Polgara.
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Honestly, I struggled to get through the entire story. I found just about the entire cast to be obnoxious, with Polgara simply leading the charge. They expect Garion to save the world, but then they grab him by the ear like a naughty boy (even though he's by far the most behaved young character in the whole damned series) and haul him across the land doing everything for him and telling him to shut up. The vast majority of them just abused him for the hell of it and if he tried to respond in ANY way that wasn't silence, (I seem to remember a couple moments where he even got punished for subservience) they'd berate him for his immaturity. It reminded me of my family. -_-
There was nothing Garion could do to prove himself to them, and they found it beneath themselves to even talk to him about what they had planned for his future. I honestly cannot comprehend why he didn't just walk off into the forest one night while they were all asleep and go build a life of his own. I know that's what I did when I was put in his situation, and now only 2 years later, I have stock options. I own a car. I have a job. A rather well paid job considering I only have a high school diploma. ($15/hr) I have my own place to live. I'm doing pretty damned well for myself, and Garion had twice the sheer willpower and motivation I do. It boggles the mind to think what sort of life he could have made for himself, especially when you consider the fact that by following them blindly like a deaf, dumb, and mute slave, he still ended up becoming a king.
And on that note, I hated how Polgara and Belgarath constantly got off to telling Garion how immature he was. All he wanted was basically human rights, and everytime he tried saying something about it, they'd administer a swift and sudden guilt trip to him before he could even finish the sentence. Whereas they not only had human rights, but the fate of the universe in their hands and enough power to make anyone shit themselves if they blinked twice. Yet, what do they do with it? They go save the world, yeah, but they do it in their own completely disrespectful, uppity, high-horsed, narcassistic, abusive ways. All the while using Garion as their punching bag everytime they feel a little frustrated about how it's not working out. Dear god, these are SUPPOSED to be the mentor characters. They're supposed to teach Garion the ways of the world. All they give him is a direct and stunningly clear view into the wide world of Stockholme Syndrome. I mean, every once in a while Belgarath would redeem himself marginally by showing some mild kindness to Garion, but then you turn the next page and he's back to diddling his own peenie and ignoring everyone who wants to know what his plans are. If a character's going to be secretive and mysterious, he has to save the day in the end. Not just save it, but do it in a way that makes everyone's jaws hit the floor so hard they leave skidmarks. Like Dresden, or Sherlock Holmes. And let me tell you, Belgarath was no Sherlock.
I mean, I guess it's a note in the authors favor that I could truly HATE these characters so much. It means they're realistic. You can't hate a cardboard cutout. But if I wanted to double my blood pressure and practice my anger management methods, I'd just show up for Thanksgiving Dinner. I deal with that enough in my real life to read a book full of it.
... And yet, I finished the whole series. >.> I'm not sure if that says more about me or the author... Definitely not gettin' started on that sequel series, though. I'll tell you that much.
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