Primary theme: World of Aramatir (Setting for The Champion Trilogy) Glossary
Secondary Theme: World-Building Questions and Thoughts
L
Lazi – lizard
creatures of the Dark Sisterhood
Liness – member
of the Dark Sisterhood Coven, and caretaker of the Lazi
Liam – 13th
Prince of Wylandria, and last bearer of the Swan Prince curse
Louras – the
osprey bonded to Odran of the Watch Guard
World Building Thoughts: Building layers into the fictional world gives it authenticity for the reader. Using legends or fairy tales from the real world and blending them into the landscape of the book world is one way to create layers.
For example, in Champion in Flight (and mentioned in Champion in the Darkness), there are thirteen princes who were under curse - forced to live as swans by day and men at night until their sister freed them from the curse by sewing shirts from aster flowers. The youngest prince, Liam, still bears the curse, partially. It's all based on a fairy tale I love, but then taken and re-set in the world of Aramatir, with the Dark Sisterhood lurking in the background.
How do you build layers into your stories? Do you use legends or fairy tales to do it?
10 comments:
I wonder if that's where the writers of the movie Ladyhawke got the idea of a wolf by night and man by day, and a hawk by day and woman by night?
It may have been. :) That's one of my old favorite movies.
I love layering mythologies and the like in my stories, and that's so cool about the legend you came across and how you used it in your stories!
The best are like an onion. I wonder if there were other stories using that inspiration?
Layers make a story so much better, don't they? Great choice for L! :)
I noticed that in your writing, Cherie - it's cool! And Thanks!
Yes, the best are definitely like onions.
Yes, layering makes the world building so much richer.
Both of my girls love the fairy tale about the swan and the princess. I recently wrote a novella that borrowed from the legends about the constellation Ursa Major.
I use a lot of metaphors in my work to help build layers...It's almost Inception-like because I start using metaphors within metaphors. A lot of times, I think of added layers later on, so I backtrack a lot to get new things in :)
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