A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! I’ve been visiting family and for one will be more happy to celebrate the end of 2016 than the beginning of 2017. Stay safe.
Opinions
Going With The Goblins
Why goblins?
At first glance there’s really no point to them. They’re the everyman of fantasy antagonists. Generic creatures to fill out the horde of the slightly less generic wizard. If there was ever an overused thing in fantasy aside from knights in shining armor and dragons, it would be goblins. So what’s the point in writing about them? The same point there is in writing about any other fantasy trope. It’s not what they are but how much creative license and personal spin can be applied to them.
All the ‘stock’ things in fantasy are merely a starting point and a loose definition of boundaries. All manner of license can be applied to their details. In the case of goblins, I took the time to consider why as an antagonist they would be a threat to anyone at all. Compared even to medieval humans, they’re technologically primitive, physically weaker, and unable to organize societies the size of kingdoms.
Given this, I started asking questions and went from there. Why would they be a threat or even a nuisance to humans? First, they would have skills, even if those skills were restricted to the neolithic. They would have natural advantages like seeing in complete darkness and prolific birth rates. What they lacked in individual prowess they easily make up in numbers. Their stature and lack of physical strength would restrict their choice of weaponry and tactics, but they would certainly know how to use what they could.
How would they relate to humans? If the humans had better things than they did, they would steal it. As everything the humans created would be better, they would take everything they could. And since the humans meant no more to them than any other animal they would find them edible. Living subsistence lives because they lack the sophistication to do better tends to remove the finicky.
Last but not least, add the personalities. As they are goblins, I had an excuse to mix in the occasional bit of Muppet inspired dark humor. I also took a few cues from rats, ants, and birds. The rest is loosely the goblin interpretation of the caveman. The result is Pencheval’s largest problem made manifest in The Stonemaster series. They may be goblins, but they’re my goblins, and ultimately my take on a little piece of the fantasy genre.
Just a Little Maintenance
I’ve given in to my obsession with blog theme tweaking to make a few adjustments to the site. The one that should interest you most is the ‘Get Your FREE Story’ button in the upper right hand corner. Click it, and you can get a copy of ‘Duel of the Scouts’ there just by subscribing with an email address. PDF, ePub, and mobi files available through the BookFunnel link.
So bear with me, wave away the drywall dust, and ignore the hammering sounds in the background.
The Don’ts Of Action Scenes
Do you know what doesn’t make for good action sequences? Granted, the sum total of my credentials on this are that I enjoy writing action sequences and making them as original as possible. To begin, start by ruling out a few options. It’s worked for me.
Quick note of terms. I like working in ‘near real’ action. Since it’s fantasy adventure it’s not going to be exactly like a real fight. ‘Near real’ means that the fights will be affected by psychology, the environmental considerations, position, tactics, and exhaustion. All sides are limited by their methods and don’t suddenly develop new skills they would not reasonably be expected to possess because they need them to not be dead. The participants will be fighting to win and not to pose or banter. In short, as close to a real fight as it gets with trolls and dragons wandering the countryside.
First thing to note is that in any action adventure, initially the bad guy can win. They are not flaming incompetents and should not be written that way. Nor will there be Swords of Deus Ex Machina floating about on a world waiting to be found so that an enemy can be struck down by one glorious but obvious plot device. It may read well in a Hero’s Journey plot line but if you’re trying for ‘near real’ action that is not going to fly.
Antagonists are not a threat because they mull about being antagonistic and wearing bad fashions. The villains, whoever or whatever they may be, will be perfectly capable of causing whatever calamity they set out to cause or there will be no real menace to them. If an antagonist and whatever minions accompany them were incapable, incompetent, or inept, could they threaten invasions, destruction, or mayhem on any real scale? You have to show that, or again, no real sense of stakes. Give it some thought when you create them, and that means their methods and motivations too.
The hero should not be almighty. Fights take effort or the action sequences will suffer. Granted, if they are exceptional people and meet a gaggle of low level minions, it’s going to be a short fight, but that bit of fun is not something for a finale. If they outclass their enemies it will show. On the flip side, if the antagonist runs into the hero and outclasses them, the opposite will be true. The protagonist will escape, get caught, or be forced into something nasty by the winner to get out of it alive if they don’t simply die outright. Antagonists do not suddenly become losers on contact with the protagonist.
Embracing the concept above has the happy effect of creating more options for fight sequences. Heroes will do more than win or lose because fights are chaos. The best laid plans go awry. They’ll have to improvise ways to defeat opponents. Stalemates occur and can be used as specific purpose tension builders when something else peripheral to the fight cannot be stopped. Escapes may be necessary which result in chase opportunities. Psychology will come into play and cause drama. And most of all, if they win in spite of all the trouble, they look like real heroes.
Are you thinking of a prophesy plot line? Put it down and back away slowly. They’re awful for ‘near real’ action because they make the outcome predictable. Granted, they’re fun to read in some genres but not for the purposes of action sequences.
This should get you started. I’ll opine more about action sequences in the future and talk to you again soon.