At Dusk I Reign
Sage
Open a fantasy novel and before too many chapters you'll be presented with a host of individuals you're expected to get to know and quite possibly like. In many cases they'll suffer from a version of seven dwarves syndrome: you'll have the dopey one, the smart one, the sarcastic one, etc. On and on it goes, seemingly without end.
I've recently had time to think about such things, and to ponder the drivel I write. It occurred to me that I've avoided 'grey companies' in anything I've ever committed to paper. My current magnum opus introduces a female character and throughout numerous chapters she remains alone. Companions show up, but except in a few cases they're peripheral, exiting the stage as the story dictates.
It made me wonder, straining several braincells in the process. I'm a solitary individual by nature. I'm not antisocial, but I'm content in my own company. Does this automatically dictate what I write? I'm beginning to think it's a distinct possibility.
My heroine fights her battles alone. This isn't too common in fantasy fiction, however. It seems in many cases that a coterie of sympathetic souls is required for the protagonist to prevail.
So what do you write? Do you assemble a wide cast to help your characters on their way to greater glory, or are you happy for your hero/heroine to slog it out by themselves?
I've recently had time to think about such things, and to ponder the drivel I write. It occurred to me that I've avoided 'grey companies' in anything I've ever committed to paper. My current magnum opus introduces a female character and throughout numerous chapters she remains alone. Companions show up, but except in a few cases they're peripheral, exiting the stage as the story dictates.
It made me wonder, straining several braincells in the process. I'm a solitary individual by nature. I'm not antisocial, but I'm content in my own company. Does this automatically dictate what I write? I'm beginning to think it's a distinct possibility.
My heroine fights her battles alone. This isn't too common in fantasy fiction, however. It seems in many cases that a coterie of sympathetic souls is required for the protagonist to prevail.
So what do you write? Do you assemble a wide cast to help your characters on their way to greater glory, or are you happy for your hero/heroine to slog it out by themselves?
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