So now I have more of a getting started question...I want to either jump into Sai'le as a youngling being assigned to a master as a prologue, or have the prologue be years in the future after vader kills Sai'le, with Naroh finding Sai'le's lightsabers that the council had kept in their collections after Sai'le went rouge. The first Idea is a lot more straightforward, the second idea Naroh would take the sabers back to his hideout and give them to the young girl that him and Sai'le were training named Viviana. If i don't do this as a segway to the start of the story, I'm going to have it be the epilogue of the last "book"
Any thoughts?
I actually like your secondvstoryboarding option: Prologue-Naroh find's Sai'le's sabers>Body-Main story (and with this you could really begin anywhere: Sai'le as a youngling/established knight/fallen Jedi)>Epilogue-Viviana receives sabers from Naroh. But then again, I like stories that begin
in medias res, you can set up the chapter (in this case: prologue) beginning with an action sequence, securing the reader's attention while simultaneously offering an easter egg or two for the reader further down the narrative
Again, for examples, you need not look further than this very Forum (again, I canNOT recommend enough that you check out the stories written by Karmack, Lord_S_Gray, and Taegin Roan). And--should you feel compelled--I've done a couple myself
Writing your own "character" into the story is probably my forte. :-) If you read through the forumverse, you're going to see Ka'a'Mack of the Mak'Tor showing up a lot I am afraid. I do hope he hasn't become a Mary Sue. He has become very powerful, but he's paid a price for it along the way.
And that's what Dutchman was talking about. Usually a "Mary Sue" is an overpowered character, often the 'avatar' of the author in the story, who is just up-front more powerful, smarter, wiser, and virtually invincible. From what I've seen of your plot notes I don't think you'll have an issue with it. :-)
Janx, thanks for that explanation! And the link! If you haven't put that in the pinned Tips for Writing thread you should! :-)
Karm brings up an EXCELLENT point: his character goes through some power levels in subsequent stories, growing stronger in each one, culminating in "What You Leave Behind." HOWEVER, the very fact that he IS becoming more powerful #1 does NOT make him invincible, #2 is a key plot point within the narrative, and #3 is a source of epic drama in his character arc.
Likewise, Darth Rowan in "Shadow of the Outcast" is another powerful character without being boring as throughout the story his development is an earned part of the narrative (which is similar Sai'le; nicely done
).
The two above examples are how to do the "strong, powerful hero" type when applied to a single character. Now, when applied to a group and culture, look at LSG's Aethans. They are engineered to be powerful but their limited social understandings hamstring them, a poignant aspect that a clever opponent can (and has!) taken advantage of.
Then you can consider my own main character, Zearic. He starts off as less than middling, knowing that he'll never be more powerful than that: mediocre. Part of his motive comes from the inherent drive to protect his family, wishing to become stronger. Well...remember the adage "Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it"
So in Zearic's case, he's given what he'd always hoped for (stronger, both in body and the Force) but the price comes at an incredible cost, one that affects family and friends.
"Strong" and "powerful" characters aren't automatically Mary Sues (special thanks to Janx for his helping to clarify such
). The "test" that Janx provided is an excellent barometer for checking if a character is a Mary Sue. Now, having said that, from what you've told us, Sai'le does NOT seem like a Mary Sue
Another point: having some author self-insertion in their characters is almost inevitable. Case in point: Zearic has more than a few of my idiosyncrasies and D'Aylanna IS my wife
. The trick is to keep them interesting and relatable: they--like me--make mistakes. A LOT of them (again: VERY much like me
). But as I continued writing more and more about them, they developed their own distinct personalities far removed from my original template. This I can attribute to getting comfortable with the characters, responding to the feedback of my fellow authors, and becoming a better writer (or so I hope
)
BUT the most IMPORTANT thing about writing your fanfiction:
HAVE FUN!!!The authors (and artists: I HIGHLY suggest that you check out For Tyeth's saber renderings here
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=40017.msg670197#msg670197 and PsychoSith's saber drawings here
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=41788.msg717613#msg717613) have been absolutely inspirational to my own writing. From the feedback that everyone posts to the drawings that I borrow (with permission
), I cannot tell you how much this has helped my storytelling. More than a few times someone would offer a suggestion/critique that truly improved what I'd intended to write, making the scene/chapter even better than I'd hoped. Which leads me to my final point, one that you've already done: listen to and seek advice. No one has a monopoly on good ideas (goodness knows I don't!
) and often times someone will see or think of something that is superior to what you'd planned. Or even better: you can then incorporate said great idea into your already good story.
Thankfully, this is the perfect venue to take a chance with your writing; everyone here is fantastic
