Writing - Characterizations, faults and strengths (was pro/antagonist)

[Joy]

As branch off from the "Are you writing serious fantasy" topic. I am asking, "how do you come up with your antagonist? So far, all my chacters are good. I am just writing the family history right now, but to show that there is warrior-blood in the protagonist, there was to be tests - battles in previous generations, conflicts between chacaters, etc.

Also, how does one begin to create inner conflicts within a character?

[ June 13, 2002: Message edited by: Joy ]

[Veritas]

What is an 'antoganist', and 'protagonist'? I see there are a lot of words I don't know here, maybe that's because I've only got three years English, but I feel so stupid!! (Sorry, I HAD to say that.)

[Birdland]

Only 3 years of English? Wow! (Birdie hangs her head in shame, thinking of her fractured Spanish.)

Protagonist and Antagonist are literary terms for simply put, the "good guy" and the "bad guy".

In LoTR, Frodo is the protagonist, and Sauron would be the antagonist.

[Joy]

Antagonist - 1 : one that contends with or opposes another : ADVERSARY, OPPONENT


Protagonist - 1 a : the principal character in a literary work (as a drama or story) b : a leading actor, character, or participant in a literary work or real event
2 : a leader, proponent, or supporter of a cause : CHAMPION

[Veritas]

Well, three years on school, further, our computer's in English, seeing movies in English, with dutch undertitle, helps a lot.
O, and of course sometimes a dictionary.

*************
Bout the ineer conflict:
I think that you have to give your char a dissision to make, an important one.
Make that question not very important in the beginning, but let the char return often on it, so he/she will think more about it, then turn slowly the char into bad guy, by letting him thinking about the baddest way to solve the question, he finally begins to think the baddest way is the only way, so then he's become bad.
[img]smilies/evil.gif[/img]
I hope this an answer on your question. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

[Raefindel]

Joy,When you say "inner conflict" are you meaning Man against himself, Man against God or man against another man?

[Joy]

A Boromir situation. Then inner conflict that went on in his life, soul, mind. I want the protagonist(s) in the story to have an inner battle to choose good or evil.

I want to create an inner-struggle in each character that leads either to his/her success or to his/her downfall.

As soon as I finish reading RotK again, I am going to go through Fellowship and pick apart the character of Boromir.

Can anyone give me a few more characters from any of Tolkien's work that have this inner struggle, it doesn't matter how they fair.

[Raefindel]

Faramir had to make the same choice as Boromir. So did Gandalf and Galadriel.

[ May 25, 2002: Message edited by: Raefindel ]

[Naaramare]

"how do you come up with your antagonist?

Mine sort of came along with my protagonist. My story came out of musings about how close/clannish my own family is and ponderings on how brutal a fight it would be if we ever were to really have a split/division of opinion. Thus, my antagonist became my protagonist's brother.

So I suppose one's antagonist grows out of one's theme for the story.

As to internal conflict, you first have to set out your character's values, morals and ideals: the things that he's internally in conflict *with*. With mine, for example, it's pride, inner strength and so forth. Then you bring about something that would put him in conflict with that ideal; my protagonist is rather brutally tortured and traumatized because of it. However, culturally, victims of torture are useless things to be killed, so he's constantly in conflict with himself and the trauma he recieved.

Don't know if that helps . . .

[littlemanpoet]

Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam each are confronted with a moral choice regarding Gollum.

I think there are at least four different types of antagonist. Using LotR:
1) Sauron type - larger than life, behind the scenes mover that indirectly causes all the evil the protagonist has to deal with.
2) alter-ego type - Frodo's Gollum; someone who is very similar to the protagonist in many ways, but in one or two key aspects is qualitatively different - maybe made so by choice, but maybe made so by evil not of his/her choice.
3) Orc type - pawns of the larger than life type.
4) Ally who is not wholly trustworthy, for whatever reason - Boromir type.

There may be others.

Inner conflicts for a character arise from seemingly impossible choices with no alternatives. Or the good choice looks bad on the face of it, the evil choice looks good on the face of it. That's overly simple and a bit hackneyed. That's why I prefer the former to the latter.

[NyteSky]

Impossible choices are always good too. Does the hero save his/her most beloved or everyone else? (they did this fairly well in spiderman) Those type of questions can also push the protagonist into evil or insanity which is always fun. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]
littlemanpoet, I like your types of bad guys listed. The only other I can think of is the real behind the scenes guy that they only find out about much later. I can't think of a Tolkien parallel though.
Generally the protagonist and antagonist are the two people that will be affected most by whatever the theme of the book is. They're the ones that have to most to gain or lose. So often they're connected, like Naaramare has it.
Goodluck with your story!

[Raefindel]

Another bad guy- Saruman the betrayer. Someone who is deeply in your confidences.

[Joy]

Thanks all. I'm still stuck in that area for the character Enviyatalis. In my story, he is the first char that is a warrior. He is my great-grandfather, so I want to develop him fully. I have to show that he is a true warrior of goodness, but just to fight for good because it is the right thing to do doesn't make for a strong character. He fights an external battle for good, but first he must fight the internal battle.

[edit] Envinyatalis has been given a "prophecy" from his grandfather that states "As you grow strong and fight long, and there will come one from you who shall break evil’s hold. Stay true to the path that has been chosen for you. Namarié!"

I then continue this with a vision where one comes and tells him "A grace has been given to thee. You have been given the Sword of Bright Light, which shall be yours throughout all generations. There is a holy destiny that lies within you and your line. Stay true to the path that has been chosen for you."

This is the second time that he has been told "Stay true to the path that has been chosen for you." So, with this, I need the char to falter in a decsion concerning the path - exactly what that is, I'm not sure yet [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]. He needs to "almost" turn back, to either be neutral in the situation or either to join the dark side. [/edit]

So, for now, I have stopped writing that section and focusing on my cousins' part - the 7th Age battle. I am working with them to get their char developed and defined. We are in the process of laying out a few details for the "Final Battle" and a good working title.

Our story, as mentioned before, takes place in the 7th Age. I am taking the "Prophecy of Mandos" and brining it to fulfilment. I'm taking a creative license and loosing him from the void, and having him create havoc on Middle Earth before the Battle of the Valar against him.

A couple of titles that we have are

• Edge of Time
• Journey through the Halls
• The Sacrifice of Battle
• Dawn of a New Day
• The Wolf's Claw
  These are some that the boys came up with.
  
• Upon Tirion's Shore
• The Cry of Dawn
• The Precious Jewel
• The Jewel of Battle
  These I came up with.

[ June 12, 2002: Message edited by: Joy ]

[burrahobbit]

If you are looking to write an antagonist you should write about a guy that poos on people for a living. That's pretty antagonistic. Or, you know, something like that.

[Joy]

Burrahobiit, funny, but not quite what I was looking for. I do think that the boys, Tracey (12), Matt (11) and Anthony (almost 12) would appriciate your sense of humor, considering our brainstorm today.

[littlemanpoet]

I think The Jewel of Battle and The Wolf's Claw are the two best and least derivative titles amongst your choices.

These easiest way to falter from one's destiny is that it suddenly becomes much more difficult to go straight, and the hero takes a slightly easier way; conversely, the hero could have an easy way to go, perhaps too easy, and out of pride takes a harder way and gets into all kinds of difficulty he didn't need. Or a the hero lapses into a forbidden (or warned against) pleasure and pays the according consequences. Question: what is your hero's (most likely) flaw? That is probably the best key to the kind of faltering he does.

[Joy]

Thanks Littleman, I think that the characters weakness will either be in his sword - he saw the sword in a vision and then crafted it himself (pride) - or will be his own name. The name Envinyatalis means sweet healer or sweet renewer. He has a conflicting personallity, a warrior and a healer (which I have yet to develop)- mercy and justice conflicts at times.

It seems that he is going to be the most difficult character for me to write.

I think The Jewel of Battle and The Wolf's Claw are the two best and least derivative titles amongst your choices.

Thanks. We were trying to come up with somethings that were relevent to the story, but without giving the end away.

PS. I think that "Upon Tirion's Shore" would be a great chapter heading though! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] Maybe the Last Chapter.

[ June 13, 2002: Message edited by: Joy ]

[Joy]

Looking at a recent post in the RPG room, I saw a thread called "Mary Sue Lithmus test."

I don't quite understand what this term means. If it means that the main character is a woman, then yes, my story is partly a Mary Sue, for there are two sisters who are warriors. But, in my story, it is similar to the Fellowship. It is a combined action of 5 people that help push the antagonist to his final deafet.

Now there will be many other "non-essential" characters that will either try to aid or hinder the story line, but again, the ultimate good wins.

PS. I often will say me when I speak of one of the main characters, for her name is a translation of my own.

PPS. Spoke to the other co-writers last night about my delima with the internal conflict in Envinyatalis. One said a woman. Is this realistic? I don't foresee this as a weakness for him, even though my mother thinks that this would be a good plot twist -the tempting seductress poisioning the heart of a warrior with lust. Honestly, I do think it could work, but I'm the one with the problem. I can't write that type of character. I don't think that way.

I was thinking along the lines of lust too, but in a different form. The lust for battle becoming too strong, so much so that his heart almost becomes hardened so that he can't give mercy. Then I want something to happen so that the char finally breaks. He then becomes wise in justice and mercy, understanding the hearts and minds of men (well elves and dwarves too).

It is almost like I want to combine Boromir and Faramir into one character. Start the character off as innocent and trusting, then build a bitterness and pride in him, then break him so that he comes out pure.

PPPS [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] Also, one last thing, serious [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
I am doing all this on computer, but I have a thousand different thoughts swirling around my head. How can I keep all these things organized?!

[ June 14, 2002: Message edited by: Joy ]

[Elrian]

Here's Losthuniels thread about the subject in Novices and Newcomers. Randon Rant
It seems it is only female miss perfects in every way, and not heroines.

[Joy]

Thanks Elrian. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] You're helpful as always.

BTW, do you have any suggestions or ideas? I need all the help I can get.

[mark12_30]

I read in a writing thread somewhere else (maybe the "are you writing serious fantasy" thread) a suggestion not to be enslaved to cronology-- if you are seeing hte end of the story, write it; if you jump all over the place, write it, and fit the details together later.

That helped me quite a bit. Of course, now I have a huge hole in my story. But I've got a beginning and almost an end... anyway, just a thought.

[The Silver-shod Muse]

Yeah, that's what happens to me too whenever I get to writing. I get bored with character development and jump ahead to the battles or the adventures. It's fun, but tiring when you have to come back and fill the boring but necessary components in. Also, you run the risk of writing incompatibilities into your story. I do it all the time. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[Joy]

Thanks mark12_30 and The Silver-shod Muse.

I don't know if I read this, or it came to me from somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img], but I thought about conducting an interview with my character. Having him tell me about the adventure. I pose questions, then let him explain things.

Weird I know, but maybe that will stimulate my mind into full gear with the character. Has anyone else done this?

[ June 14, 2002: Message edited by: Joy ]

[mark12_30]

Joy,

Not exactly, but I do go for walks and just "watch what happens" in my mind. Guess you could call it daydreaming.

--mark12_30

[Joy]

Mark, or is it Helen. I seem to remember that from another thread, but forgive me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, I'm not that good a picturing things in my head. I do daydreams, but when I do, it's like I'm narrating what I see. I can't just sit here and say, "I will see Envinyatalis walking through the woods," and just have him appear then follow his journey. I have to say, "Through the lush green forest of ---- Envinyatalis walks. Each flower glistening with the morning dew." After I say this, then I begin to see it.

I'm just ready to get Envinyatalis on the road, headed to Rivendell, though I want years to go by and many fights before he gets there.

[The Silver-shod Muse]

Maybe this has something to do with your learning orientation? You know how the powers that be say some people learn faster visually, others numerically, and a few by words. I can remember just about anything so long as I read it or hear it spoken in words.

What I often find myself doing is having a conversation with my character or listening to a conversation my character is having. It can become very interesting and believable, and occasionally I do a bit of role-playing, that is, pretending to be my character so that I can reasonably predict what she/he should or should not do next.
If you're good at narrating things, but not so much at picturing, maybe this will help with the dialogue.

[ June 15, 2002: Message edited by: The Silver-shod Muse ]

[Joy]

Thanks Muse. I will get back to writing on Monday, as I have had a busy weekend - both parents off of work, which is a rare thing.

[Joy]

This is what I have so far. If anyone has any ideas, please feel free to comment here or to PM me.

Chapter 1 – Long Years Ago

As it is written in the Red Book of Westmarch, the Third Age ended with the War of the Ring and the Ring Bearers going over the Sea to the West. With the end of the Third Age, so ended the reign of the Elves in Middle Earth. Yet there were a few who remained, Elladan and Elrohir Halfelven, sons of Elrond and Celebrian of Rivendell, King Thranduil of Mirkwood, and Lord Celeborn of Lothlórien.

With the end of the Third Age and the destruction of Sauron, the Necromancer, the realm of Mirkwood was restored to its splendor and renamed Eryn Lasgalen, the Wood of Greenleaves. This is where my tale begins.

My name is Ainu Alassë, an Elf from the realm of Lindon, on the River Lhûn. This was once the realm of Oropher, the father of Thranduil. My great-great-great grandmother, Lindoameldawen, Beloved Maiden Singer, was the sister of Thranduil. After the departure of Oropher and Thranduil, she stayed in Lindon for her lover, Thronalarca, Swift Eagle. They were soon married and bore three children; a son Furinecco, a concealed spear, and two daughters Rínawilwarin, Crowned Butterfly, and Nyamelissenuruwen, Daughter of my Lover’s Death. She was thus named, for in her birth Lindoameldawen died.

After the passing of Lindoameldawen, Thronalarca departed with the children to the realm of the Wood of Grennleaves, where his Father-in-law reigned. The next few years were trying times. This was the beginning of the formation of the Last Alliance. For the next ten years, it was a battle to keep Sauron and his forces from attacking the Wood. Finally, in 3441, Sauron is defeated, but at great cost to Elves and Men. For in the heat of the battle, Oropher and two-thirds of his army was lost. But to the gladness of the heart of the Elves of Greenleaves, Thranduil returned to become King. Though he was battle-weary and deeply grieved, he quickly took to him a wife. And thus ended the Second Age.

Many years passed and the children grew strong and healthy. Rínawilwarin and Nyamelissenuruwen married sons of Thranduil’s chief advisor. Yet Furinecco desired to return to his homeland, the realm of Lindon.

Because of the peace between Mirkwood, Rivendell, and Arnor Furinecco’s travels were fairly uneventful. He had a few skirmishes with Orcs, but none too serious. After many days of travel, Furinecco reached the land of Lindon. He was amazed that many of the Elves were now gone. He hadn’t realized what a toll the War took upon the whole of Middle-Earth. He soon learned that the Lord Gil-galad fell in the same battle, along side his grandfather. This brought back many memories, which had caused him to flee the Wood of Greenleaves.

Furinecco wandered the land of Lindon from Forlindon in the North to Harlindon in the South. He even journeyed to the East, into the Realm of Arnor and Fornost. Finally, he settled in Mithlond, The Grey Havens, on the mouth of the Gulf of Lhûn. There he took to himself a wife. She was a very fair Elven maiden of the Noldor. There was a light that shone about her. Her hair seemed to be weaved with purest gold. Her eyes were grey, yet so deep and sad. Silmariën’s (Lady of the silver-crown) mother was a nursemaid in the House of the King.

In the course of time, Furinecco’s heart began to heal from all hurts and he and Silmariën bore a son, so they named him Envinyatalis, which means “Sweet Healer.” After the birth of Envinyatalis, Thronalarca came to Mithlond. He watched his grandson grow strong, a warrior at heart. A great day of sadness soon came, for Thronalarca was ready to depart and sail to Valinor. Before he boarded the ship, he laid his hand upon his grandson’s head and blessed him. He spoke a destiny upon Envinyatalis. “As you grow strong and fight long, and there will come one from you who shall break evil’s hold. Stay true to the path that has been chosen for you. Namarië!” With that, he boarded the ship to Valinor.

Envinyatalis grew stronger, encouraged by Thronalarca’s words. He knew that there was a time coming when he must leave Mithlond and travel to Rivendell, to join the Lord Elrond in protecting the lands. Yet that time was not now. He had much training in the art of warfare to learn. Many years Envinyatalis stayed in Mithlond, yet there was a growing restlessness within him. At times, he could hear the wind calling, calling him to battle.

In a night vision, Envinyatalis saw one come to him in the likeness of the Elf Lord Gil-galad. In the dream, he placed a weapon of strange craft into his hands. It was not an ordinary sword, in the craft of the Noldor, nor a Dwarvish sword. The blade itself seemed transparent yet was sharp as polished iron. The sword appeared to grow lighter in his hands as he wielded it. Then he heard words deep in his heart and they seemed to burn within him. <font color = "red">"Eruanna antanélyë. Antanalyë i makil a kalina rille, ya nauvalyava ter ilya yénillion. En aina maranwe ta mar omi lyë ar nosselya. Erin anwa an i aksa ya has been chosen an lyë.</font color>(Have to correct some). A grace has been given to thee. You have been given the Sword of Bright Light, which shall be yours throughout all generations. There is a holy destiny that lies within you and your line. Stay true to the path that has been chosen for you." From that night on, a fire seemed to be in his eyes, a new strength flowed within him. Envinyatalis was an unconquerable foe.

He began to feel a greater restlessness upon him. He soon left Mithlond and traveled a little ways to Nogrod, the heralded land of Telchar the Dwarf who had forged the great sword Narsil of Elendil and Angrist, the knife of Beren. The land was mostly deserted, except for a few dwarves who stayed, in hopes of making Nogrod great again. There he met a dwarf that was of Telchar’s linage. Envinyatalis revealed himself to be the great-grandson of Oropher, who fought alone side of Elendil and Gil-galad.

Rundin Stealthhelm was the lord of the Dwarves that remained in Nogrod. When he heard of Envinyatalis’ linage, he welcomed him. There he remained for some time. He learned the craft of the dwarves in the foundries of Telchar. In his days at the foundries, Envinyatalis oft remembered the words that were spoken to his heart. He still saw the Sword lying upon his hands. How he longed to forge this sword.

He secretly began to gather materials for Kallasil, the Sword of Bright Light. At last, Envinyatalis said goodbye to Rundin and to Nogrod. He then journeyed to Khazad-dûm, and because of the friendship between Durin’s folk and the Elves of Lindon; Envinyatalis was accepted as a friend.

He returned home to Mithlond and there began to forge Kallasil. (Much story about creating the Sword).

Chapter 2 – Battle of the Heart

When Envinyatalis had completed Kallasil he set out on his journey to Imladris.

This is the chapter where I want to introduce the inner conflict and thus one of the main antagonist that he has to face. This chapter,or I might extend it to the next, will culmanate with Envinyatalas becoming a true warrior. He will have been purified through test and finally broken. The next chapter will contain the battle with the Witch-King of Angmar in 1975 3rd Age.

From there, I'm not sure where I'm going, but I have probablly 6,000 more years to write. Just wish I had that long to write it [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img].

[Niphredil Baggins]

My antagonist- well, mine is only hinted at in what I have written so far. The evilness comes from ambition and wrong means to reach power. I have other, lesser antagonists, just as I have many protagonists. The realm of good faces a many-fronted war, one enemy attacking by curse, another by magic, and a third by weapons.

In my other story there is one 'hostile nation', another that gets into trouble by choosing war over diplomacy, and one character in a third realm who is half protagonist and half antagonist - not a gollum-like multiple personality, but someone who means no evil but does no charity either - he wants people to give something in return of his service, thus hindering one protagonist, but helping another.

[The Silver-shod Muse]

I've engineered my story to be impossible to tell who or what the antagonistic force is. It's almost a political novel, with the main character having to choose one of many sides that are violently opposed to each other, but neither is necessarily wrong, like a civil war.

[Yerniel Vénea]

Joy--ok, i'm a little confused...is this more of an account of history or is it to flow like a normal novel? There is little dialogue and What is the purpose for the character Ainu Alassë? If you would like, I can help you with anything you want, I enjoy editing and giving ideas and such. Maybe then you can help me with my fanfic...? I think I need the whole explanation to fully help you with your piece.
**************************
Laita Ilúvatar!

[Joy]

Hi Yerniel, we have chatted several times over in the Language Forum. Good to hear that you are interested in Fan Fiction. I need all the help I can get! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

The basis of our story is that Ainu Alassë and her sister, Laurië Vanima (my 16 yr old cousin), Lerin Sapphire-eye, a dwarf (my 11 yr old cousin), Merimac and Marmadoc Underhill, hobbits (Also my cousins, age 12 and almost 12) will be in the quest to push Morgoth/Melkor to his defeat in Valinor. I will stay true to Tolkien and have Tulkas and Turin defeat him, but I am taking a bit of creative license and loosing him from the Void to reak havoc on Middle Earth before he goes to judgement and defeat.

Prophecy of The Last Battle

Thus spake Mandos in prophecy, when the Gods sat in judgement in Valinor and the rumour of his word was whispered among all the Elves of the West.

"When the world is old and the Powers grow weary, then Morgoth, seeing that the guard sleepeth, shall come back through the Door of the Night out of the timeless void ; and he shall destroy the Sun and the Moon.

But Earendil shall descend upon him as a white and searing flame and drive him from the airs. Then shall the Last Battle be gathered on the fields of Valinor. In that day, Tulkas shall strive with Morgoth, and on his right hand shall be Eonwë, and on his left Turin Turambar, son of Hurin, coming from the halls of Mandos; and the Black Sword of Turin shall deal unto Morgoth his death and final end; and so shall the children of Hurin and all Men be avenged.

Thereafter shall Earth be broken and remade, and the Silmarils shall be recovered out of Air and Earth and Sea; for Earendil shall descend and surrender that flame which he hath had in keeping. Then Fëanor shall take the Three Jewels and bear them to Yavanna Palurien; and she will break them and with their fire rekindle the Two Trees, and a great light shall come forth. And the mountains of Valinor shall be levelled, so that the light shall go out over all the world. In that light the Gods will grow young again, and the Elves awake and all their dead arise, and the purpose of Iluvatar be fulfilled concerning them.

But of Men in that day the prophecy of Mandos doth not speak, and no Man it names, save Turin only, and to him a place is given among the sons of the Valar.

Thus everyting dies
but only mortals die forever
the others watch and wait
eternally in the shadows.

The reason that it looks like a telling of history, is that right now, I am writing Alassë and Laurië's family history, so as to prove their right to be a part of the battle, not a Mary-Sue or a Larry Lou - read the thread in the Freestyle room. We will not actually fight Morgoth in any way, just his army.

Each character will have to "prove" his family line in battle to show that they are "true" warriors. They will not just have warriors in the family, but they will have to have "righteousness of heart", each one must pass the test that is put in front of them where they struggle with the decision of right or wrong. The choice will not be easy, some will falter at first, then prove righteous, and some will start off true, then falter along the way.

After the first few chapters, dialouge will begin, as Alassë and Laurië are born. Then a few chapters later, Lerin is introduced. His character accompanied Merimac and Marmadoc's grandfather on a quest, which we haven't decided yet. A little later, we will introduce the hobbits. We will discuss their life in Tuckbourgh, interact with friends and neighbors. Then in 56 7th Age, the team meets up somehow(???). Then in 57, we set out to battle.

I don't know how all this will work in the end, because it is a joint venture of 4 other people. I do hope that we will be at least able to complete it and make some sense out of what we write. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

BTW, the main reason I am doing this is for the boys. The 11 yr old(Lerin) is in 5th grade and reads at a 1st grade level. The other two, the 12 yr old is his brother (Marimac), pick on him a lot. The boys do not have good conflict resolution skills, nor act their age. The two brothers have no mother, she left when they were 5 and 6 respectfully. She now lives over 300 miles away from them and only calls them every 4 months or so. She hasn't seen them in 2 yrs nearly. I have become a second mom to them. Their dad is illiterate and doesn't spend time with them. These two are primarily left on there own to fend for themselves.

[Joy]

Guys, I'm not sure how to write this, but I'm thinking that the breaking point for Envinyatalis will possibly be – in midst of battle, heavy killing, he hears a newborn crying, mother hiding in brambles holding the baby. – Maybe child is wounded or either mother is close to death.

How does this sound? Would this work? Does this seem too unbelievable?

[NazgulNumber10]

remember too to give every character a fault. My protagonist not only contends with a greater antagonist, yet can but his own antagonist. There are battles with in him, as darkness deuls light. Remember that we aren't all good or all evil, we are but shades of grey.
[img]smilies/evil.gif[/img]

[NyteSky]

Hmm. The whole battle idea sounds pretty good to me, but maybe a little melodramatic. All depends on how you write it tho.
"After the first few chapters, dialouge will begin" This is a matter of personal preference of course, but it's usually best to throw something in to grab attention right at the start. Then you can introduce the needed information more slowly, throughout the story. Some very good authors have used this and I think it worked very well.
In what way are the characters based on your cousins? Do you go just with looks or personality or both or what? I'm doing the same thing in a book I'm writing with a few characters but I'm still not sure how far to go with it. Goodluck with the story, it sounds really interesting!

[Joy]

My cousins (the boys) wanted to do a group project. It first started off as creating a character for themselves when we go to the Two Towers movie. They want to have their own name and a little history, so they could introduce themselves to the people.

Amber is a good writer, mostly poetry, but she has done some fiction before. She wanted to be a part of the TTT event, so she got pulled into the story line too. She has always called me "sister", so that's how she became my sister in the story.

Matt thought that the dwarves looked interesting and liked the fact that they battled with an axe. He actually wanted to be Lurtz or the "blue guy", as he calls him.

Tracey and Anthony has read the Hobbit and fell in love with that race of Middle Earth, so they decided that they would be brothers, as they are very close cousins.

About two weeks into deciding our characters, Anthony asked me if we could write a story that brought these characters into today's time, but kept it based on Tolkien and asked if we could be involved in some type of battle. I thought about it and suggested that we do the Last Battle and bring in the Prophecy of Mandos. They didn't know what that was about, so I explained it, and they all agreed.

So that's how the cousins are involved and how the story got started. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

[The Silver-shod Muse]

That sounds like a lot of fun! I wish my cousins were that interested. I had to do something rather like that for two of my little sisters who went crazy for Tolkien after seeing the movie (they're going to dress up for TTT also), but all of my cousins think that LotR is unlikely and silly, and they are convinced that my sisters and I are hopelessly obssessed. Ah, perhaps someday they will understand [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] .

[Yerniel Vénea]

Hmmmm...I agree that the child in the bushes thing is a bit dramatic...but it could prove to be interesting! What exactly do you mean "the breadking point for Envinyatalis"??? Maybe I missed that somewhere? I suggest making a list of ideas for your story, even if two ideas contradicted each other, that way you can decide which you like better. Then, make an outline as best as possible, with room to change things around a bit. Pieces of literature can always be improved even after publication, the editing process goes on infinitely!

Have a great day!
*********************
Laita Ilúvatar!

[Joy]

Yerniel, the "breaking point" means this "I want something to happen so that the char finally breaks. He then becomes wise in justice and mercy, understanding the hearts and minds of men (well elves and dwarves too).

It is almost like I want to combine Boromir and Faramir into one character. Start the character off as innocent and trusting, then build a bitterness and pride in him, then break him so that he comes out pure."

This is a form of inner conflict in the character that causes him to struggle with himself. I want to build bitterness and hate in him, then have something come up that causes him to re-evaluate his life, to the point of becoming pure in heart, loving and just.

[Yerniel Vénea]

I see...what makes him "evil" in your story? Maybe if you want to use the child idea, then he could be the one trying to kill it and the innocence within the child's eyes can speak to his heart. Or he could for some reason have a very innocent person always around him and they could change him by their actions and words. Just a thought...