Possesed

I was possessed. Like a wolf on the hunt, I was possessed. Last week, I believe it was Friday, I picked up a copy of Robert Jordan's Towers of Midnight - and I was gone. Lost to this world, syphoned off into another, I had disappeared.

Every second of my free time, up to about 30 minutes ago, was spent with that book. And I enjoyed every second of it. Besides the pleasure of jumping back into a world I've grown to love, traveling through Towers of Midnight let me take a step back and really evaluate the world of Hierarchy. Studying, if I can even call it that, the character development that the Wheel of Time series does so well has set my mind a fire. Ladies and gentlemen, we now have a third protagonist.

So we've got a new character...what else? Towers of Midnight gave me perspective. Something that has plagued my mind for some time has been the question of length - how on gods green earth am I supposed to have enough material for a 300-500 odd page book? Other than describing every single stone in the world of Hierarchy so thoroughly that readers would come after me with flaming sticks and large, ugly looking pitchforks...I had no clue. But now I do!! For a story to be truly encompassing and in order to make a real case for an alternate reality, there needs to be a vast collection of detailed characters. I know...once again I've somehow managed to state the most obvious thing in the world. It's true though...the character thing. Tower's of midnight changed focus every chapter, always switching from one character to the next. By using this technique, not just in Towers but in every single Wheel of Time novel, Jordan made the world believable. I don't just mean his characters believable...I mean his ENTIRE WORLD.

The whole is the sum of its parts, and in order for the whole to really seem complete, all of the parts need to be visible. Hopefully, as I push on and persevere through the darkness of the unknown, through the shadows of Hierarchy, the people I need will show themselves. Random events, unexpected discoveries, and enlightening details are bound to find themselves into my life and with every little tidbit that comes my way, someone new will be born. The main protagonists are all here, all thats left are those in between. And hell, there's a whole bunch of them.

Apocalypse

The four riders of the apocalypse have been galloping around in my head recently....as to why, I'm not totally certain. Premonition? I hope not.

Conquest, war, famine and death usually pop up in epic fantasies at an alarming rate but rarely are they personified. In fact, more often then not these signs of impending doom serve as vehicles for character development and absolute necessities to plot. I know I know.... obvious right? The point I'm getting to is that I've been admiring the IDEA of the four horsemen rather than what they foreshadow, of the four physical entities that serve as a final battalion themselves. Because, in truth, thats what they are - the final wave of cavalry.

This whole business of the four riders translates, as far as Hierarchy is concerned, into a band of enforcers. Thomas Hobbes wrote about the "leviathan" in 1651 and used this idea to illustrate social contract theory - a theory which I am too lazy to fully explain. In short, Hobbes stated that chaos and civil wars could only be avoided by a strong central government or some sort of enforcer - a leviathan.

The Hierarchy needs a leviathan, and its looking like there will be four of them.

Deadlines

In the future, I think I'm going to stay away from saying things like "chapter two will be done by next friday". These things just don't happen. Wishful thinking isn't the word... hopeful isn't either...lets just go with misinformed.

My misinformed self can be somewhat delusional. But no more! A good friend told me to write at my own pace, for these words are my own. This is brilliance. Not to say that I won't be setting goals for myself... I just won't be publicizing them.

Logistics aside, the Wheel of Time series has just released a knew book: Towers of Midnight. I mention this only because this series, written by the late Robert Jordan, was the original inspiration for my writing. The world that Jordan created was so in depth, so interesting, so full of people I wish I could meet... its a world that I have come to know and love. I've reread all 11 of his books on multiple occasions and I can't help but revel in his genius. Not just his genius for story, but also for the voice that he carries throughout his writing.

Torr fantasy put a chapter from Towers of Midnight online about a month ago as a way to reward the multitudes of fans for their support - I've spent hours dissecting this thing and studying just how Jordan writes. Trying to find my voice in my writing, my own fluid style and signature, is no easy feat - I'm hoping that going over Jordan's writing will help guide me.

So far, it's helped, but at the same time its got me second guessing myself every step of the way. Remove this word here, change sentence structure there...delete this and that..start over here and there... it's frustrating. But good. I suppose, in order to grow, I need more practice. I need to write more. And soon! This here is a story itching to spring from my mind to the paper. The skills aren't there quite yet..but they will come with time.