We’ve done a lot of talking, and perhaps a lot of complaining about our writing, our characters and our work lives outside of writing. But the one thing we haven’t actually talked about is what we’re actually doing. So, what are we doing? It’s a good question and one that we would probably respond with “writing a series of fantasy novels”. But that would be an overly simplistic response to the question.
In reality, it’s a more complicated response. Yes, we’re writing a series of fantasy books. But at the same time as writing them, we’re creating our own world. Our world, with our own mythology, legends, tales and all of those other wonderful things that come in and create a world. We have continents, we have rulers, we have Kings and Queens and Magicians and Creatures. But most of all, we have prima donna’s for characters.
When we started out, we had a completely different world. This world if I’m honest, we’d taken this world and we’d adapted it for what we needed, in fact we’d set it on the streets and alleyways that exist in this world. Over time it developed, going from that to a continent in this world. But it never quite .. fit with what we were trying to do. There was nothing magical or different about the world, which was when things started to change. There was an AU world of our world created, where we could play around a little more but even that became too restrictive. Until, eventually we had the lightbulb moment of … we need to create our own world. Maybe we should have realised sooner, but we’ve had to work through the processes of creation.
Along with that change, we went from angels and demons, through a variety of different powers and goodness knows what else … to the point that we’re at now. I’d love to say that this is it! We’ve done it! We’ve made it but I’m not going to shout that too loudly. I know what happens. I say that. And there’ll be this voice in my head, or Charlotte’s head that will suddenly say ‘hey … you know this universe, wouldn’t it be great if it existed in the middle of an ever flowing waterfall with pufferfish holding it up’. Okay, that’s an exaggeration and if it ever happened I think we’d both laugh and go ‘no’. But the point’s the same, we don’t take it as given that when we’ve finished something that it’s the final product. We know better than that by now.
So we’ve been through a number of different versions of things over the years, we’ve got rid of more world models, more creatures and more characters than we can keep track of. But we’re at the point now where we have a world that we’re both happy with. We have a world that is balanced (well, sort of if you excuse the chaos and the magical disasters that are currently taking place – but hey, you don’t want to read a book that’s all sunshine and roses, do you?) and that we understand. And perhaps that’s the most important thing, we have an understanding and in a way a respect for this world that we’ve created. After all, it’s been a work and a labour of love, we’ve learned how it works, how it ticks and do what we can to make our world a better place.
This weekend, has been a weekend of creature creating. Building our mythology and our understand and also making sure that we’re coming at it from both sides. You’d be amazed how often we’d sit down and discuss one thing but both have two different viewpoints … until one of us says ‘hang on, you do mean like this right?’ and we’ll laugh and eventually come to a mutual understanding. But we have our Encyclopedia which now has a fully functioning section on beasts and pets and goodness knows what else! It’s one of those little things that we’ve never actually sat down and sorted out, until we’ve had to. Until we’ve had a Realm where we needed to know what’s being hunted because it makes up the staple of their society. And how can you write about their society, their world and their beliefs without understanding that? The short answer is that you can’t. We’ve finally figured that one out!
And that’s what we’re doing. Writing an epic fantasy of sorts. We have a beginning and an end, and we have a history and a world. We’re editing bits and pieces as we go and soon enough we’ll have a middle to sandwich between everything. Or at least that’s the hope … so long as the waterfall, pufferfish world never comes to fruition we’ll get there in the end!
Enough of my ramblings now, I have to get back to writing and sorting. But make sure you check back next week for Charlotte’s update!
~Clara
Charlotte and Clara 