Dark Age Fiction: Jeff Blackmer's Blog

Just a few musings and random thoughts today. I think everyone has the desire to know and understand the world and to know and understand themselves. When I finished writing Draegnstoen, a couple of people asked me what the sequel was going to be about. I was stunned because there was no sequel. But I pursued it, and found it. I discovered that Draegnstoen was a cool idea, my “what if” interpretation of several elements of history woven together.

As I began looking for threads of a sequel within my mind, it finally came together. And I’ve come to realize that there is a lot more to it than I thought there was going to be. In some ways the story is my lens, looking at the world. In others it’s mirror into my own mind, experiences, heart, history and ancestry. Its my take on good and evil, heroes and villians, love and duty, friendship and destiny.

There is symbolism and metaphor, intentionally placed into the story, the little touches that make me smile and think, hmmm, that’s not half bad.  And then there is the thrill and awe of discovering even deeper meanings, things not intentional, somehow layered and woven into the story by my subconscious mind.

It’s not done yet. I hoped to have the rough draft done by the end of 2010. I didn’t meet that goal. It’s sitting at about 62,000 words right now and will probably end up at about 90,000. But it’s okay that its not complete yet. The joy is in the journey. It will be interesting to see what other things I learn about myself before I finish.

Check out my interview with Deirdra Eden Coppel. Go to the December 2nd Blog Entry!

http://www.astorybookworld.blogspot.com/

Every story has a main character, usually the “good guy”, the protagonist. In many stories the protagonist is just a regular person, negotiating the challenges of life. But sometimes a story has an actual hero.

Back in the 80’s Bonnie Tyler put out a song called “I Need a Hero”. Some of the lyrics are:

Where have all good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where’s the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?

Isn’t there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and turn and dream of what I need

I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero til the morning light
He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life

Pretty good lyrics, actually. Ah, you’re thinking of going to Youtube to look up the video, aren’t you? Don’t do it, please don’t do it, it’s hideous.

However the lyrics describe what a hero is: a larger than life being who fights against the odds and rescues those in danger, often becoming a sought after fantasy: A white knight on a fiery steed.

 I had a reluctant hero in Draegnstoen, and the idea worked well. When I started Highland King I thought, hey, what if I had a non-reluctant hero? After trying unsuccessfully to wrap my head around that I went looking to see what defines the word.
“Hero” is derived from the goddess Hera, which led me to Heracles, or Hercules. Ah, now we are getting somewhere. The Greek origins of the name point to words like ‘defender’, ‘protector’, ‘preserver’.

The dictionary mentions words like bravery and courage when talking about a hero. What is bravery? What is courage? These words define action in the face of personal danger. So then, a fireman saving someone from a burning building…a hero. Superman saving someone from a burning building…not a hero (unless kryptonite was involved).

So, no danger, no hero. Danger, but no reluctance? Well, maybe that makes for a hero, but it doesn’t make an interesting story.  So, it makes sense then that heroes are reluctant. They are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. They almost always just want to be left alone to live their everyday lives. But, somehow, in some way, they have opportunity thrust upon them. They are given some great thing to do.

So be it. Doncann, from Highland King became the most reluctant hero I could imagine. He’s just a regular guy, a kid who just wants to live his life. Like many heroes, he is pulled into the current of his destiny. He doesn’t see it happening at first and then when he does, he resists. The task seems impossibile, insurmountable. We see self doubt, fear, and the brink of defeat, over and over again. We see faltering courage and the near collapse of bravery, teetering on the edge of dismal  failure. But then, somehow, resolve reappears and steeled determination triumphs. We see victory, sometimes at great cost, but victory nonetheless. And what do we do when we see a hero win? We cheer a little inside. We get choked up. Once again we witness the resilience of the human spirit. And we think to ourselves, if he can do it, maybe I can. The story of a hero inspires us, in some small way…to be a hero.

Many writers think it might be cool to be interviewed about their writing. However, for a writer that isn’t well known, those opportunities may not come along very often. And then, for those who have been interviewed often, the questions may get mundane and tedious. “Why do they keep asking that question? They think they are being clever, but they’re not!” So, why not an “Interview in the Mirror”? Interview yourself, ask good questions, and enlighten those who are interested in your work. Sound weird? Not really, writers speak in many voices already. Our characters speak to us and we write their words on the page. How is this any different? Just think of it as “Frequently Asked Questions…in a narrative format. Imagine, if you like, that the interview is taking place in some exotic location. It’s not a new concept, but it’s the first time I’ve tried it. I hope you enjoy it.

IITM: So, we’re here today to talk about your writing. There’s a rumor that you’ve started a second book, a sequel to Draegnstoen? Tell us about that.

Jeff: Yes, it’s true. After I had written Draegnstoen, it had gotten a lot of positive feedback. One of the first people who read it all the way through was my brother. After he finished, he called me up to tell me how much he enjoyed it and one of the things he said was “You should write a sequel.” I laughed at that, I’d never even considered a sequel to Draegnstoen. Later, after I secured an agent, she also said I should start thinking about a follow up to the first one. That sort of woke me up to the idea. I pondered the possibilities and realized that I hadn’t left myself a jump off point for a sequel. The loose ends had pretty well been wrapped up in Draegnstoen.

IITM: Couldn’t you just continue the story?

Jeff: I thought about that. But I wrote Draegnstoen as Historical Fantasy. It takes place on the edge of history. To continue the story brings us more into the realm of tangible history, rather than fantasy, and starts pushing into many stories that have already been told, such as Arthur. So, what to do? I felt hemmed in. I finally decided to back away from history and move again into fantasy. If I was going to do that, I had to move north.

IITM: North, from northern England into Scotland?

Jeff: Yes. Scotland, in the fifth century was the domain of the Picts, an earlier people who were eventually assimilated by the Scots. But I had used the Picts in Draegnstoen. They were an intriguing people, and there is precious little hard information about them. Their history is sketchy I was amazed how little fiction had been written about them. Very little is known about them and so it was fertile ground for a story. The main character in the second book ends up being the nephew of Coel, the main character from Draegnstoen.

IITM: So, this second book, do you have a name for it?

Jeff: Yes, that evolved slowly as well. The original working title was “The Blue Land”, because when the Picts go into battle, they paint their bodies blue with woad. As time went on, the title seemed lame, and I needed a new one. I meet a couple of times a month with a writing group and so I asked them for suggestions. Cheri, Janie, Dan and Lynds gave me many suggestions. I’m not sure who gave the recommendation, but I settled on “Highland King”. And once I had the title, the story started to fall into place.

IITM: How does that happen for you?

Jeff: It’s a strange process. At first you have nothing. A few ideas start to swirl around, but there is still no substance. Finally, after awhile, some…thing of substance appears. It’s tangible in some way. You leave it, go back to it, and it’s still there. There is something to hold on to, to build on.

IITM: And the writing, do you start with chapter one and work your way through it?

Jeff: That’s mostly how Draegnstoen happened, but I’ve just written Highland King as its come to me. The chapter that makes the most noise gets written first. It’s going to be terrible to put together all the pieces!

IITM: So, briefly, what is the story about?

Jeff: I’ve made various attempts to verbalize it and it always comes out differently…It’s dark, much darker than Draegnstoen, there’s more fantasy, but not really out there fantasy. It’s fantasy that could almost be real. Scotland, almost 900 years before William Wallace.  Okay, here’s a short pitch: It’s the story of a broken kingdom, an invading army and a war that has gone on for hundreds of years, so long that no one remembers the cause. It’s a story of power, betrayal, epic love and epic battles, of heroes and champions, the coming of a legendary king; the magic of women, the power of silver and the stone of destiny.

IITM: Great! Thanks Jeff, we’ll continue the interview in the next blog posting.