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Boarders Writing a Novel, Part 9


Gabriele

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OK, so if we're going share our plotbunnies :) , here are some of mine: The Roman series.

A Land Unconquered

Caius Horatius Veranius is a member of Varus' staff and one of the few survivors of the Battle in the Teutoburg Forest where the German tribes annihilated three legions. But when he returns to the forts at the Rhine after having been released from German captivity, he faces treason charges by his rival Publius Cornelius Lentulus and finds that navigating the snares of political intrigue can be more difficult than surviving a battle.

Arminius, leader of the German confederacy and former Roman officer, meanwhile strives to keep the tribes together and win new allies.

Then Rome sends an army to avenge the shame and reclaim the eagles, and the war reaches a new peak when Germanicus leads the legions across the Rhine in a fight that puts not only Romans against Germans, but also friends and brothers against each other.

Eagle of the Sea

Marcus Horatius Aquila wants to make a career in the Roman army. But when he is dispatched to Britannia where the governor Julius Agricola fights against the Caledonians, he has dejà-vus of tribal life he can't explain. During a skirmish, Aquila is taken captive and discovered to be born to the tribes from his mother's side and heir to the leadership of the Epidii.

Torn between conflicting blood ties and allegiances, Aquila tries to adapt to the tribal culture and mediate between the Caledonian Confederacy and the Romans. But some of the tribal warriors don't want peace, the influential patrician Cornelius Scipio accuses Aquila of treason, and the Batavian auxiliaries in Aquila's charge threaten to mutiny.

When his attempts to negotiate peace between the Romans and Caledonians fail, Aquila must decide for one side of his double heritage and become a traitor to the other.

Song of the North Wind

During the invasion of Septimius Severus, the charismatic Caledonian leader Talorcan fights for revenge and the freedom of his people, but his war carries a death toll the Caledonian tribes are no longer willing to pay. Led by Talorcan's cousin and rival, they cast him out, and Talorcan has to hide, an outlaw, in the lands occupied by the Romans.

On the other side of the border, the Roman cavalry prefect Lucius Valerius is ambitious to reestablish the lost honour of his family, only to find his attempts thwarted by his superior Quintus Manlius. When Valerius disobeys an order, his future is at stake if he can't unveil the intrigues behind it, but the man who knows Manlius' past is a member of the Caledonian tribes who may kill Valerius if he ventured north alone.

But peace is fragile and a treacherous plot may lead to the genocide of the tribes and civil war among the Romans. Can Talorcan and Valerius find proof for treason in time, and what role plays a former auxiliary officer turned tribal leader?

Never to Return

The Roman officer Lucius Valerius Aurelianus must fight the demons of his past and his parents' ambitions, and protect the inept emperor Severus Alexander against the discontent legions. Then Severus Alexander is assassinated and Maximinus Thrax elected emperor by the soldiers. He brings with him a man from Lucius Valerius' past the young officer had hoped to never meet again.

The German warrior Ricmar is outlawed for a murder he didn't commit thanks to the schemes of his half-brother. His exile will lead him all the way to the lands west of the Rhenus that are held by the Romans. Maximinus Thrax offers Ricmar a future if he will betray the people that outlawed him; an offer even more tempting when Ricmar learns the truth about his father and his heritage.

The gladiator Velericus has been bereft of his Roman birthright and standing and must now survive in the arena in hope to find a new home with his mother's Germanic tribe some day. The chaos after Severus' death gives him the chance to escape.

When the Romans invade Germania in a punitive expedition, it will not only be a war between the Germanic tribes and the Roman army, but also the culmination of a family feud where brothers fight each other during a battle on the slopes of a mountain in the Hercynian Forest.

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Anyone got suggestions for a good map building software? And tips on names would be nice. What I've been doing is imagining what I'd like characters to look like by region and naming them according to the culture I equate them most too. For example, if I have characters growing up in an area that's similar to the Middle East, I'll pick an Arabic name for them. And so on and so forth.

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Anyone got suggestions for a good map building software? And tips on names would be nice. What I've been doing is imagining what I'd like characters to look like by region and naming them according to the culture I equate them most too. For example, if I have characters growing up in an area that's similar to the Middle East, I'll pick an Arabic name for them. And so on and so forth.

I just do maps by hand, I find it works easier. Then I do a draft in Windows Paint. The way your world looks might affect the story, so you have to think about it.

As for names, it depends on the sort od novel. Is your Robot vs. Beast (was that it? sorry, I forgot) on future earth or another planet altogether? Because if the last, you could change existing names a bit or just stare at the wall and write what pops into your mind.

What you could also try is categorizing letters by region,kinda like GRRM is Essos, i.e.:

West: y, o, u, t, r, i

East: e, a, g, h, l

Someone from the west could be called Troy, and from the east Eagel, just to name something. This works better when you work with more letters and clangs (is that how you say that?) like ch, th, rh. This gives exotic and distinct names.

Hope that helps!

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OK, so if we're going share our plotbunnies :) , here are some of mine: The Roman series.

A Land Unconquered

Caius Horatius Veranius is a member of Varus' staff and one of the few survivors of the Battle in the Teutoburg Forest where the German tribes annihilated three legions. But when he returns to the forts at the Rhine after having been released from German captivity, he faces treason charges by his rival Publius Cornelius Lentulus and finds that navigating the snares of political intrigue can be more difficult than surviving a battle.

Arminius, leader of the German confederacy and former Roman officer, meanwhile strives to keep the tribes together and win new allies.

Then Rome sends an army to avenge the shame and reclaim the eagles, and the war reaches a new peak when Germanicus leads the legions across the Rhine in a fight that puts not only Romans against Germans, but also friends and brothers against each other.

Eagle of the Sea

Marcus Horatius Aquila wants to make a career in the Roman army. But when he is dispatched to Britannia where the governor Julius Agricola fights against the Caledonians, he has dejà-vus of tribal life he can't explain. During a skirmish, Aquila is taken captive and discovered to be born to the tribes from his mother's side and heir to the leadership of the Epidii.

Torn between conflicting blood ties and allegiances, Aquila tries to adapt to the tribal culture and mediate between the Caledonian Confederacy and the Romans. But some of the tribal warriors don't want peace, the influential patrician Cornelius Scipio accuses Aquila of treason, and the Batavian auxiliaries in Aquila's charge threaten to mutiny.

When his attempts to negotiate peace between the Romans and Caledonians fail, Aquila must decide for one side of his double heritage and become a traitor to the other.

Song of the North Wind

During the invasion of Septimius Severus, the charismatic Caledonian leader Talorcan fights for revenge and the freedom of his people, but his war carries a death toll the Caledonian tribes are no longer willing to pay. Driven by Talorcan's cousin Muirtholoic, they cast him out, and Talorcan has to hide, an outlaw, in the lands occupied by the Romans.

On the other side of the border, the Roman cavalry prefect Lucius Valerius is ambitious to reestablish the lost honour of his family, only to find his attempts thwarted by his superior Quintus Manlius. When Valerius disobeys an order, his future is at stake if he can't unveil the intrigues behind it, but the man who knows Manlius' past is a member of the Caledonian tribes who may kill Valerius if he ventured north alone.

But peace is fragile and a treacherous plot may lead to the genocide of the tribes and civil war among the Romans. Can Talorcan and Valerius find proof for treason in time, and what role plays a former auxiliary officer turned tribal leader?

Never to Return

The Roman officer Lucius Valerius Aurelianus must fight the demons of his past and his parents' ambitions, and protect the inept emperor Severus Alexander against the discontent legions. Then Severus Alexander is assassinated and Maximinus Thrax elected emperor by the soldiers. He brings with him a man from Lucius Valerius' past the young officer had hoped to never meet again.

The German warrior Ricmar is outlawed for a murder he didn't commit thanks to the schemes of his half-brother Liutgar. His exile will lead him all the way to the lands west of the Rhenus that are held by the Romans. Maximinus Thrax offers Ricmar a future if he will betray the people that outlawed him; an offer even more tempting when Ricmar learns the truth about his father and his heritage.

The gladiator Velericus has been bereft of his Roman birthright and standing and must now survive in the arena in hope to find a new home with his mother's Germanic tribe some day. The chaos after Severus' death gives him the chance to escape.

When the Romans invade Germania in a punitive expedition, it will not only be a war between the Germanic tribes and the Roman army, but also the culmination of a family feud where brothers fight each other during a battle on the slopes of a mountain in the Hercynian Forest.

I LOVE history and in particular, the Roman and Greek culture, so all of those would interest me, especially the first and last. Have you written anything thus far?

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I get the feeling that some of my characters need to be more distinct from each other, like they're somewhat toobland or similar in certain cases. Does anybody have any tricks or ideas on how to accomplish this?

What I always do for a new character is write down several things about his personality, i.e. this guy is self-centered and certain of himself, and this girl is uncertain and honest. I do that until everybody has five facts that makes them different from another character, but I'm not sure this is enough, as they're all a bit 'me,' I only know how I would react and feel in certain situations, and as such some characters all sound the same through my pen. Does anybody have a solution?

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I LOVE history and in particular, the Roman and Greek culture, so all of those would interest me, especially the first and last. Have you written anything thus far?

None of them is finished, unfortunately. My writing speed is very Martin-esque and I can't stick to one project, either. ;) Plus being a gardener is a bit more difficult with historical fiction. I've tried planning and outlines, but it just doesn't work for me.

A Land Unconquered is the one I've spent most time on, but it's also the most difficult. There has been a ton of new research literature due to the 2000 year anniversary in 2009 and some views have changed considerably compared to what came before. The story was intended to have fictive MCs interacting with the historical persons, but then Arminius stole the book which meant I had to increase the roles of his opponents Varus and Germanicus as well to keep the balance. So by now something planned as military historical fiction in the wake of Cornwell / Scarrow / Sidebottom etc. has turned into something REALLY epic, with multiple POVs both historical and fictive, plots and subplots and whatnot and will likely be more than one book. If I can make my vision come true, it may be something even Martin fans may like and excuse the lack of dragons. But dammit, it ain't easy. :)

Eagle of the Sea has some scenes written and a vague idea about the plot and characters, plus the historical setting. It was born out of two scenes that just came to me (a bit like Martin's direwolf one) which got combined at an early point. The basic research is done but I need to do some detail stuff, and I may try to link it to ALU by some family feud that goes on over some more generations. I also need to think about how to include the backstory in between the books (ALU taking place AD 9-15, EatS about AD 82-85 or so).

Song of the North Wind is a bit similar; it also has some stuff written, and a bit more in the way of character development and plot. I decided to change the time from Hadrian to the later Septimius Severus because that time saw more fighting and I still see myself in the tradition of Cornwell and his ilk and want battles as central focus.

Never To Return is the latest, triggered by the discovery of a 3rd century AD battlefield not far from where I live, but actually the one that has most written (I started it during Nano 2012) and so far it looks the least problematic of the lot, re. both research and plot / characters. I had planned to make ALU my debut, but right now I think NtR stands a better chance and may not turn into a big 'more than one book' monster. Thought it will be a doorstopper nevertheless. :)

And there's also the Tentacled Subplots Monster of Fantasy that keeps me distracted. Just well I don't have fans breathing down my neck. ;)

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I have no idea if this is a good way of doing it, but I tend to take traits both from people I know and characters I've read and love, and incorporate them into my characters.

This is pretty much what I do. I generally try to think of a few notable personality quirks, and then apply them to a certain character. I usually decide what their most prominent skills are (socially, physically, mentally) and then some flaws (self-conscious, arrogant, know-it-all, ignorant, etc.).

It seems like my characters usually come to me in one of two forms: they either develop pretty naturally on their own, without me having to sit and think, "Okay, what is this character like", which is usually the case for the protagonist (s), or the character initially only exists to serve a plot point, and I'll then retroactively develop them further, usually in a way that supports whatever plot-necessary actions they need to carry out. Once it gets to a certain point though, I just let them start to develop naturally, usually by experimenting with their behaviour towards other characters.

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This is pretty much what I do. I generally try to think of a few notable personality quirks, and then apply them to a certain character. I usually decide what their most prominent skills are (socially, physically, mentally) and then some flaws (self-conscious, arrogant, know-it-all, ignorant, etc.).

It seems like my characters usually come to me in one of two forms: they either develop pretty naturally on their own, without me having to sit and think, "Okay, what is this character like", which is usually the case for the protagonist (s), or the character initially only exists to serve a plot point, and I'll then retroactively develop them further, usually in a way that supports whatever plot-necessary actions they need to carry out. Once it gets to a certain point though, I just let them start to develop naturally, usually by experimenting with their behaviour towards other characters.

I do this too. Often in my first drafts I have major characters that are full of life and varied personality traits, alongside very functional personality-less minor characters. I then go back to the secondary characters, look at the scenes they're in, and develop around their personalities so that they are at least somewhat unique. I did this with one of the generals in my army and got so fond of him.... then realised I killed him in a later chapter, and regretted it.

The best advice I'd give with character development is to not over-think it and trust your judgement, even if a Beta questions it from time to time. I often have this with my protoganist (someone told me she needed to agonise over things during my opening battle scene - well, she doesn't agonise over things at the best of times, so she isn't going to do that with a fleet of enemy vessels hurtling her way!). Trust your gut with character development, it's usually right I find.

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(someone told me she needed to agonise over things during my opening battle scene - well, she doesn't agonise over things at the best of times, so she isn't going to do that with a fleet of enemy vessels hurtling her way!).

Most definitely. Nothing kills a good fight description faster than lots of internal musings.

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Try looking at modern psychology. Here's a good primer. The 5 factor model is based on statistical analysis of self-reported personality traits, and shows that there are basic personality types that are remarkably similar to earlier models from Jungian archetypes to Myers-Brigg, even to the personality types of the gods of the ancient Greek pantheon. The advantage of using the 5 factor model is it tells you why people are the way they are. But using ancient archetypes is entirely sufficient and justifiable, since it turns out those ancient Greeks weren't wrong.

The important thing to realize though is that we do move up and down the personality spectrum over the course of our lives. Not big shifts, but usually towards the more positive end of each spectrum. (which are: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism)

Round characters would be those that transform from one type of archetype to another.

Flat characters stay the same archetype, and it's not wrong to use flat characters if you are a plot-centric or idea-centric story.

Layered characters are those that use several types of archetypes, usually 2, with one stronger type and another weaker type within them, perhaps as an ideal of the type of person they want to be other than the person who they really currently are.

Real people are basically layered with all 8 types of archetypes, but for fiction its probably best to stick to 2 or 3 if you are going for layered, because with all 8 types these can look like Mary Sues / Gary Stus.

As for the archetypes themselves, they are labelled many different names by many different people, but the basic archetypes can be defined by their main motivations. People are motivated by 8 things each of which can be found on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Desire for survival and security in a moral / just universe, influence over peers, intimacy & connection with lovers & friends & relatives and tribe, self-esteem and acknowledgement of status and worth, knowledge of the truth, knowledge of one's own abilities, desire for empathy and sympathy, and the impulse to create and envision new things. How your character feels about each of those is enough for a complete understanding of him/her.

A mystery story, for instance, is a quest for truth. You don't have to create a detective or scientist character for it, just someone who values truth above other things, like is willing to upset his lovers, friends and relatives to get to the truth, or go against conventional political or religious authority, and perhaps even risk his/her comfort and survival. It's when they are not willing to make those sacrifices that you create interesting complications for the character.

Different genres of stories can be mapped to any of the basic motivations, and those can be mapped to the types of characters who have those motivations. All you have to start with is an idea of what you want to write.

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Well I've ground to a halt with everything now. I had a goal to have my manuscript ready for new betas by the time I went to Marrakesh, but that isn't looking possible. I'm beginning to accept that my day job has given me depression :-(

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Well I've ground to a halt with everything now. I had a goal to have my manuscript ready for new betas by the time I went to Marrakesh, but that isn't looking possible. I'm beginning to accept that my day job has given me depression :-(

I can only sympathise. I'm currently finding it intermittently difficult to make much progress. Everyday (and maybe moving/maybe not moving) stress is not making me creative and it certainly isn't making me disciplined. Though it would help if I could get myself to just focus on one thing or another; i.e. edit huge current novel; work of getting short stories published; or dedicate time to shorter, simpler novel.

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I can only sympathise. I'm currently finding it intermittently difficult to make much progress. Everyday (and maybe moving/maybe not moving) stress is not making me creative and it certainly isn't making me disciplined. Though it would help if I could get myself to just focus on one thing or another; i.e. edit huge current novel; work of getting short stories published; or dedicate time to shorter, simpler novel.

There's nothing worse than a divided focus, I agree. Stress makes me really indecisive. I jump from one thing to another, diver more often, and doubt my decisions a lot more. At least I have the one novel and only a set number of problems with it that I am hoping to challenge.

I just need a confidence boost, somehow. And head space.

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Good point about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I was wondering how I was going to explain why my protagonist is seemingly able to kill so easy, but it is all for her survival, and her need to see her family safe. So it does make sense.

Well my boyfriend read my very rough, short draft and liked it. So I'm feeling a bit more confident :D

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Good point about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I was wondering how I was going to explain why my protagonist is seemingly able to kill so easy, but it is all for her survival, and her need to see her family safe. So it does make sense.

Well my boyfriend read my very rough, short draft and liked it. So I'm feeling a bit more confident :D

can you make that rough draft available? I'd love to read it.
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