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Mist Rock: A fantasy series
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As I Edit (Mist Rock Chapter 3)
Posted on May 18, 2017 May 19, 2017 by Kyle Malone
I've decided to try give you a better insight into my novel, Mist Rock, as I work on the second draft.
At the moment, I'm editing Chapter 3, "Leaving". I finished work on the Prologue, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 last week, and am finally starting to find some consistency in the process.
That being said, I'll admit that up until now I've had it kind of easy. The prologue, where we find Queen Farelia fighting for her life atop the Arakil Mountains, had been planned in such detail that the chapter almost wrote itself. The same could be said of Chapters 1 & 2, which focus on Marke's decision to leave Mist Rock for the Golden Lance Academy.
Which brings me to Chapter 3, where the plot starts to pick up the pace.
There's far more direct conflict in this chapter. Not only does Marke have to say goodbye to his family, but we start to see just how dangerous the world around him has become. It's a sort of "curtain-raising" chapter, a few thousand words that takes Marke beyond the safety of the walls of Mist Rock while also delving into the great war on the horizon. That, in itself, is the first book in the Mist Rock series summed up too, so deep down I feel this is a chapter I have to get right
We've all had to leave home at some point, and though it definitely isn't the most emotionally charged moment in the story, it's a huge step for Marke all the same. That makes it a huge step for me.
I worked on half the chapter last night-the half that sees Marke say goodbye to his mother (Hylia), sister (Nadia) and father over a few scenes I hope give some feel as to how torn he is. I didn't want them to be melodramatic, which given my flowery style was certainly a risk. Instead, I tried to say more with fewer words.
As the first book is seen solely from Marke's POV, we only meet Hylia and Nadia on a number of other occasions. This concerns me, not least because the Golden Lance Academy is an all-boys institution, and so the opportunities for my female cast suffer. It's doubly annoying as Nadia and Hylia both play major roles as the series progresses. I've considered dropping in a "Nadia POV" at some point, but am wary of disrupting the story.
I'll have to keep it in mind as the editing proceeds.
I'll leave you with some 'rough stuff from the middle of the chapter, where Marke and his father enter the Aelia square.
"Do you think it will be open war, Dad? Does it feel like it did before the Uprising?"
His father made another face. "I'm afraid it does. But back then things were different. We had her, for one thing," he said and gestured to a statue in front of them.
They had just entered the Aelia Square, where kings and queens of old were immortalised in stone. Some of them held swords, others hammers, one a bundle of flowers. The statue his father pointed to was the newest, scarcely two decades old. Even fixed in stone, Farelia Aelia looked impossibly beautiful.
"They still haven't repaired it," Marke said, nodding at the fissure that ran down the front of Farelia's dress. The winter before, a terrible storm had descended on the Mistlands, wreaked the kind of havoc that hadn't been seen since the famous Wailing Storm centuries before.
"They will in time," his father said. "She mightn't have been queen long, but the people loved Farelia. They will remember it before the end."
Marke nodded, surveyed some of the other faces who were worshipped as Gods. One of them was Dia Aelia, who had been queen during the Aelia War, where her cousin rose up against her, gathering support from all over the realm.
Her statue was clear, the stone polished white as snow. But even now masons worked on it, tried to stop it from crumbling. The same hammers rang all year round, so much so that Marke wondered could the damage ever be undone.
Those cracks, he knew, must have been somewhere inside.
Posted in Mist RockTagged creative writing, fantasy, Fantasy novel, fantasy writing, writingLeave a comment
Mist Rock-The Hook
Posted on May 16, 2017 by Kyle Malone
Hi again 🙂
Quick post that came to mind (also check out the homepage it's fresh)
I often wonder, if my dreams came true, and I had to pick one or two lines to try best sell my story, which would those lines be. I've in some ways settled on the end of chapter 8, a chapter entitled "The First of the Thunder".
Perhaps it's fitting it ends on a rumbling note, a warning for the story to come. Enjoy!
Marke returned his gaze to the hill.
Soon, one shadow became clear. It was a solitary mounted figure, silhouetted against the pale ghost-light of a green dawn.
He swallowed.
Alongside him, Damir's expression wavered too, but his eyes never left the hill far-off.
"They are the Exiles," he said.
Posted in Mist RockTagged fantasy, Fantasy novel, fantasy writing, writing3 Comments
How to Create the History of a Fantasy World
I decided to upload a quick post to answer a question I received today. It simply read:
How much history does a fantasy world need?
It's a good question, and one we fantasy writers often ask ourselves at the "worldbuilding" stage. Worldbuilding, which involves creating not only history, but geography, culture, politics, religion etc, can be a tough ask for many authors, especially those who are not well versed in these topics as they relate to the actual world. It can be hard, for example, to imagine the economy of your kingdom if you don't have a basic understanding of the principles of supply, demand, currency and trade. And if your novel is largely set in the bustling streets of a city port, then the research you carry out in this area becomes even more pivotal to the realism of your world, to the overall success of your story.
In order to create the history of a fantasy world, you first have to realise that every aspect of worldbuilding is secretly hidden within it. Trade disputes start wars, weather changes bring famines, and people migrate to find water and food. Every part of your history-whether it be a timeline (my personal favourite), a "lost book" or a series of ancient texts-should follow this guiding principle, a principle that says people react to the world around them. Wars, for instance, do not start because someone steals Helen of Troy; they start because people lust after power, or land, or resources.
Even so, you should remember that history lends romance to these stories. It talks about heroes like Achilles, and quests, and love, even when the reality is far less inspiring. So when you do write a history, remember that oftentimes the victors will twist the words to serve themselves, or erase parts that undermine them. To put it simply: real history lies; the history of your fantasy world should do the same.
As for how much history you should create, that really depends on the story you are writing. If your main character lives in a nomadic tribe, oral history (songs, poems etc) may be quite important, whereas written text may be reserved for religious purposes. On the other hand, if the world your story is set in experienced a catastrophe (e.g. natural disaster, civil war), then some parts of history may have been lost. Many fantasy authors also use this when there has been a change of power or the extinction of a race. It's important to note, this technique should not be abused. It frustrates readers when an author hides history for the sole purpose of creating "mystery" where none should exist. Remember, it only takes one person to share a story; history is not so easily lost.
I personally feel you should only create as much history as your story demands. This can be difficult, because worldbuilding is a joy in itself, but it's also a writer's sinkhole. If you want to get your story down on paper, you have to accept that at some point you have to stop building your world and instead start delving into it. In many cases, writers admit they don't get a feel for their world anyway until they let loose a few characters. So rather than meticulously designing a system of currency, write a scene where your main character explores a market. Shouts, bargaining, thieves running through the stalls-this is all far easier to imagine than a page on taxes and coins.
As I've said, you should try to avoid writing history where it's not needed. If your story hinges on a famous sword, for example, then the history of how it was forged will be crucial to your plot. If, on the other hand, you have a space on your map marked "desert lands", where nobody goes, then perhaps spending hours writing about the culture of the desert tribes isn't the best use of your time. Like I said, such an exercise can be rewarding, but it won't get your story down on paper.
I'll write more about history in another post. But for now, I'm going to leave you with some of my own, which I feel is crucial to the plot which happens 300 years after the event described below. As a result, you'll see here I've explored "The Battle of the Thousand Fields" in quite some detail, switching between an authoritative historian voice and a more poetic first-hand voice as I saw fit.
The pivotal battle is fought outside the ruins of Mistwall. There, in the once-home of Elerend Aelia, the loyalists meet the rebels at the Battle of the Thousand Fields. Queen Dia rides there herself with her husband Owenn Helix, supported by two armies of Mist Rock, the garrison of Cadewall, the troops of Talmoneer, the Nareland King Artador Rakus and his Ember Cloaks, men of the Vaster, and Arlien knights. The rebels, led by Elerend Aelia himself, come in the form of the central Amarin army, Gargrin mercenaries and lesser divisions of Greatbay. All told, the rebel force is said to be over thirty thousand strong. The Queen's force is known to be much smaller.
For the first three days of the battle, there is little fighting; the rebels defeat Cadewall troops and the Arlien knights inflict casualties on the rebel's left flank. On the fourth day of the battle, Elerend tries to catch the Queen early. At the last moment, the Ember Cloaks charger a much larger force of Amarin cavalry, leading to a pitched battle amongst the summer gardens. By sunset, the Amarin army is said to have lost half its light cavalry.
On the fifth and final day of the battle, Elerend Aelia rides out ahead of his lines. He holds a red cloak high above him, waving it at the top of his lance. From her own camp, Queen Dia looks through a spyglass, sees the familiar red cloak of her brother Baylian. Eye-witness accounts tell us what happened next:
"On seeing her dead brother's helmet paraded atop the spear of the Rebel-King, Queen Dia ran for her horse. Her husband, King Owenn Helix III, attempted to stop her. Failing, he called for his own destrier and sword. Queen Dia then rode to the head of the column, her hair flying wild, her own red cloak flapping bold against a pink dawn. And her anger was fierce, her sorrow so deep that all at once the men took up their arms, cheering her name as she turned her steed into the field.
Across the torn gardens, Elerend flew back to his army, the southern hoard screaming as they crawled forward. But our Queen, armourless, drew out her father's sword and charged. Behind her came King Owenn and the knights of the royal guard and the Arlien and King Artador with his brave Ember Cloaks. And those without horses charged too, down the hill into the Thousand Fields where the rebels cowered before them. Though I saw it not, they say Queen Dia broke first on their lines, shattering spears and casting shields asunder as she cut her way to the treacherous member of her house. And there, amid the ruin of his army, Elerend met his end in fear and in regret, as they say before he fell he cried out to his Queen for forgiveness, and then meeting the dirt, was done. Seeing their general fall, the Amarin forces went into rout, turning swords on each other or on themselves.
And before the setting of the sun, the fields beyond the mist-city were silent and Queen Dia was seen walking among the dead and the dying, her head hung heavy in prayer."
I'd love to hear about how YOU approach history. Do you write it first, or create the backstory as you go?
Posted in Mist RockTagged creative writing, fantasy, Fantasy novel, fantasy writing, world building, writing, YA4 Comments
Mist Rock, fantasy and why I want to build a community
Posted on May 9, 2017 May 9, 2017 by Kyle Malone
Have been quiet on the blog front of late. Mist Rock, a fantasy series I am working on, is now in the edit phase and I'm very excited to see that the more time I give to it, the more it starts to look like the world I've imagined.
The first book is a story in its own, centred around Marke and his time at the Golden Lance Academy, but it's also the launch-pad for everything that is to follow. It's no surprise really that I want to call the story "Rise of the Exiles", as it very much is an introduction, while the second book, "The Burning of the South", is exactly the sort of open war that can be expected of epic fantasy.
I'm writing snippets of the latter as I go (yes, it feels like cheating!) solely to try link the two stories as best I can. The second book will involve more characters, more conflict and more of the world I've created, so hopefully it will help.
As I edit, I'd love to start building a community to hear about the other fantasy worlds out there. I want to hear what works for your novel, what doesn't and why you'll probably leave a few of those guilty pleasures in anyway 😉
I'll leave you with one of the excerpts from "The Burning of the South" I mentioned, where Captain Damir approaches the camp of the 27th Legion.
Enjoy, and hope it's a good week in writing! 🙂
"I'm here to relieve Lord Kelvin," Damir said, passing Sir Primus' letter into the man's hand. The sentry quickly scanned the page. "Is he here?" Damir asked.
The watchman looked up at him, gave a faint smile. "He's here alright."
"Well, can I speak with him?"
The man shrugged. "That would depend on the Gods you keep."
Damir furrowed his brows.
The watchman gulped, folded the letter as he'd been handed it. "Evidently, nobody told you that Lord Kelvin is dead." He made a face. "In fact, he's been dead for some time."
"What? How?"
The man cleared his throat. "He died in the field."
Damir blinked. "I wasn't told anything about a battle."
"Forgive me," the man said. "It was…..a different sort of field." His gaze wandered to a place over Damir's shoulder.
Damir turned, stared into the treeline. There was a small clearing in the forest-a patch of earth overgrown with weeds. He squinted, saw the hint of a small mound. A grave.
"You're joking?"
The man swallowed. "He was drunk, Sir. He fell and split his head on a rock."
Damir rounded on the sentry. "Don't call me Sir. I'm a commander, not a knight." He shot a look back to the mound. "Clearly there's a difference." He glanced toward the camp, searched for some sign of life. "Who's second in command?"
The man in front of him gripped his spear, tried to stand a little taller.
Damir sighed. "This time, please tell me you're joking."
Posted in Mist RockTagged creative writing, fantasy, Fantasy novel, novel, publishing, writer, writingLeave a comment
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