Hmmm. Hit a road block on How to Think Sideways. I'm having trouble with my protagonist--figuring out what she wants, how she works--and I'm having this sinking feeling this may be my problem area. Or maybe it's a good thing that I've pinpointed the problem--thing is, I'm not sure how to fix it yet.
Brief Friday snippet. First draft only--please don't quote or repost elsewhere.
In the days when the world was new and djinn still called the deserts their homes, there arose a warrior so pure, so true that even the Emperor, whose life the warrior would have given his own to protect, grew jealous.
"Gaji will become Emperor in my place," the Emperor said in his heart. "I will destroy him."
So the Emperor confiscated Gaji's lands and worldly goods, and sent him to a far land to subdue the infidels with only what he could carry.
Gaji, pure and true and lacking any deceit in his heart, thanked the Emperor for his attention, promised to always honor the Empire in word and deed, and made the far land his new home.
Soon, so well had Gaji performed his duty to the Empire, that stories of his bravery and exploits reached the Emperor's ear.
4 comments:
Hi, Cheryl. I find that Holly's Create a Character Clinic invaluable for helping me past character blocks. I don't know specifically what you're running up against, but what I end up doing is forcing myself to answer non-obvious questions from the character clinic, and to answer them in a way that explains why my character does what he does. This is great for both heroes and villains.
I don't know if I've seen you at the Think Sideways forums. Is this part of Lesson 7 you're working on?
-TimK
I'm cpeugh there, Tim. I haven't posted to the forums much. This is the lesson about the Dot and the Line.
Ah, yes, the Dot and the Line. I guess numerous people have been having trouble with that one. On the forum (in case you missed it), Holly said she is going to rewrite/extend that lesson and repost it, after she finishes writing Lesson 7.
-TimK
P.S. Here's my snippet (just forgot to include it earlier): http://blog.jtimothyking.com/2008/08/22/something-i-would-be-embarrassed-to-be-seen-with-friday-snippet Trying a slightly different writing technique.
I enjoyed your snippet--seems very much like a fable/fairytale beginning. I'd be interested in hearing more about the class too. I couldn't afford to do it this time around.
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