Some Writing Advice?

[Zahir]

This will sound odd, but I'm just looking for some feedback one way or another.

For a long, long time I've been creating two fictional 'worlds' in my head. One was epic fantasy a la LOTR, while the second was a space opera. For a variety of reasons, I've decided to go whole hog into the space opera, letting the fantasy go (for now, quite possibly forever).

Now, there's a character who was originally intended for the fantasy, one who sprang out of nowhere and is vividly alive in my imagination (for precisely that reason, methinks). I want to transport him into the space opera universe, but in doing so I've lost some of the 'focus' I had originally.

He is most often known by a nickname--The Cat. This not really a compliment, but a comment on both his appearance and his personality. The Cat is very sly, seemingly invisible a lot of the time, utterly swift and ruthless in getting something when he wants it. Few trust him, and fewer still like him, although he has the knack of making himself indispensible to some very influential people. His appearance backs this up--a triangular face, with receding hairline, high cheekbones, an aquiline nose, bright green eyes and a hair lip.

One inspiration for him was Brad Dourif's portrayal of Wormtongue in The Two Towers. I became intrigued by the idea of "What if Wormtongue was actually the good guy in this story?" The Cat is like that--he is not a villain, not at all, but rather a strange kind of hero. He is a far-seeing sort of person, used to being lonely, and fell in love with someone who had zero interest in him.

Almost certainly this character is a member of an intelligence organization like the CIA. And yes, there is a reason why someone in a science fiction setting would pretty much choose to keep a mild deformity (even though in his time, that kind of plastic surgery would be pretty much available in vending machines).

Questions? Comments? Anything spring to mind at all?

[pat5150]

Hi there!

My only true question would be to ask you why you have lost your focus? Of course, the arrival of a new main character that was not even supposed to be in the story will have repercussions. My only advice is to ride that wave, and see where it leads you...

Characters -- at least three-dimensional ones -- have a tendency to take a life of their own. Don't try to force things, but see where THEY are leading you and the rest of the story. You can always make changes...

Patrick
www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com

[Khaliban]

With such characters, if he fit well in the first world but not the second, most likely it is the world to blame. Some trait, some part of the personality of the fantasy universe, fit the character, and the space opera does not have that trait. It is probably something fundamental to the story. Try telling some of the fantasy story or using some of the themes of the fantasy universe in the space opera.

[Zahir]

I think I need to clarify something. The lack of focus to which I refer is the way this character was initially created fit well into the quasi-medevial setting, yet for the moment seems somewhat displaced in the space opera which will now be his home (so to speak). He needs to settle in, as it were.

One reason I began this thread is because I find that discussing characters and the like often sparks new ideas. It is as if the light from another mind reveals details I hadn't seen before.

Soooo...are there any questions that come to mind about this person? Any initial reactions anyone feels like sharing?

Thanks in advance!

[Loredoctor]

Questions? Comments? Anything spring to mind at all?

I see no problems with the character; I regularly harvest ideas from worlds, alien races and characters I create.
As to the deformity issue: make it a character-based decision. Or cultural. Perhaps he is like that because of where he comes from, perhaps someone respects the way he is and the Cat chooses to remain this way.

[Myste]

I guess my questions are sort of basic, and maybe you've already covered them, Zahir, but who knows? Maybe they'll help.....?

--what does The Cat want? I mean, can you translate his goals/motivating force/ambitions from the medieval setting to the space setting?

--what's his favorite way of getting what he wants? Would he rather kill people, or manipulate them?

--is there anything he won't do? Any line he won't cross? How does that fit into the morality of the universe he lives in?

--what does he hate about himself? What does he love?

--I'm guessing in a space opera, there might be a lot of odd-looking (to us) sorts of people. Is there someplace where his "deformity" might go unnoticed or unrecognized? Has he ever been there? Does he want to go there?

Anyway, I hope this helps...

[wayfriend]

You're pillaging one idea to supplement another. Trust your gut - don't do it. If the Cat had made sense in the space opera, he'd already be there; don't force it. One day the fantasy will be written; it's hard to put good ideas into the vault, but you can.

[Zahir]

Frankly, I have the most severe possible doubts I'll ever be returning to that fantasy world. And the more I consider it, the more I believe this guy fits into the Space Opera. As I type this, I even realize who it is he loves, which gives quite a spin on events for the entire series.

I've also realized he works for a government agency that gathers information from various espionage agencies, correlates and analyzes it, then is in charge of disseminating the same. He serves (eventually) as a liason to various government persons, making sure they know certain things--and not others. I kinda like the idea they're called the Data Management Department (DMD or "DaMD"). Or not. We'll see.

Essentially, he has grown up in a society renowned for good manners. But he realized that these manners were in fact a way of avoiding issues and keeping people distant. He's got the kind of piercing intelligence that finds that kind of thing irritating. In his own way, he's loyal to the truth, which is really a way of saying he's loyal to his ability to perceive the truth (and to admit it when he's lying).

The hairlip, btw, was kinda treasured. You see, his family are all clones. He is a clone. But hairlips just happen, and it is simulateously a mark of distinction as well as a brand.

Still working out details, though...

[dANdeLION]

I've also realized he works for a government agency that gathers information from various espionage agencies, correlates and analyzes it, then is in charge of disseminating the same. He serves (eventually) as a liason to various government persons, making sure they know certain things--and not others. ...

Okay, i admit it. I'm the dAN from U.N.C.L.E.