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Un-Naming

thetraveler

Minstrel
Thanks everyone. You've given me some new insights and some new questions. Of course, now I thought I something else and I think I'm just being slightly unfocused, however.....

What about this concept - my MC has led an awful life due to the role she would play in the death of the Gods. Since one of the gods (in order to save their own life) bless/cursed her with immortality to allow her to seek vengeance on the gods that tormented her, how about my MC looking to become the one unnamed? Since in my world there is the cycle of life, death, rebirth, she wants nothing more than to die and be done. As she's lived for 10's of thousands of years now - she is wondering if the Fate Goddess she spoke to led her on a wild goose chase and there is no way to be unnamed or the Fate Goddess was trying to show her a way that her immortal cycle could be broken and she can be reborn into a "normal" less prophetic life.

Would people read that? It's seems rather morbid. But I'm wondering if that would make a better "sub-plot" for the MC to be the one that wants to be Un-named versus it be a punishment inflicted on someone else. Hmm....now I've given myself something more to consider.

Thoughts?

I would read that. To me, characters with death wishes are incredibly fun to read/watch, because they have a level of courage/balls that no one else has since they really don't give a care if they die. I like.
 

Rikilamaro

Inkling

As she's lived for 10's of thousands of years now - she is wondering if the Fate Goddess she spoke to led her on a wild goose chase and there is no way to be unnamed or the Fate Goddess was trying to show her a way that her immortal cycle could be broken and she can be reborn into a "normal" less prophetic life.

Would people read that? It's seems rather morbid. But I'm wondering if that would make a better "sub-plot" for the MC to be the one that wants to be Un-named versus it be a punishment inflicted on someone else. Hmm....now I've given myself something more to consider.


Well, this sounds like Durzo in the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks. He dies, but only for a short period of time, until he comes back to life. This happens for thousands of years until life looses it's luster, and he becomes rather bitter until he is given one last life and becomes immortal.

I like it though, and yes I would read it. Think of the changes in history, culture, and technology the character would have seen. It's mind boggling. Think also of the friends she meets and how it must hurt to loose your friends over and over again. What if she had children? Would those children's children know who she was? Does she age or appear to?

I like the idea that this is a great subplot and goal for her to strive for. :)
 
I just wanted to add a little note though it appears you are well on your way.....
What if your characters underwent a sort of memory erase when they became unnamed, but without the social consequences? And people are afraid that someone could just erase them and send them back out into the world without knowing whether what they know is real or not and something happened during one of the rituals, leaving someone aware their memory had been tampered with? I had a character and I thought about doing just that..... erasing her memory, but leaving just enough so she knew she was missing it.

I was actually thinking about wiping the memories from her and "everything else" that happened to her. But like all good stories, I also like the - you seem familiar to me and I know I used to trust you, but me as I am now don't know if I should - attitudes. As a lot of my novel as even me guessing who side everyone is on - it makes for an interesting twist. I'll shall think more on this. Thank you.

it sounds quite effective for a concept, and adds a nice stinger if you first reveal that un-naming is a punishment THEN reveal the MC's goals. I'd definatly read that :)

also, on th idea of someone who wants to be unnamed, it made me think of something else; would it be possible to only partially un-name someone, because I can see lots of tactical uses for someone who's 1/2 unnoticable and intangible as a servant/agent of some sort? just thourying here, but it jumped out at me.

I'm an "in for a penny in for a pound" kinda of writer. Not that I haven't considered partially unnaming - I just don't think the concept works for my world as I don't really have any high stealth/rogue characters that would have this be a "useful" skill to have. But it is something to consider for a future creation - just not the one I'm currently working on.

personally, I'd have a much easier time relating to a character who'd been punished (justly or unjustly) by being unnamed and wanted to get back to life rather than a character who's so old (yet not very wise if she wants to give up on life) and bent on suicide. at that point, she functions more as a goddess herself, being immortal with self-destructive motives that go against human nature - so it is an interesting arc for a character, but I would be careful undertaking such a story. The ending in particular would probably need a twist for me to feel emotionally satisfied once the climax had passed. I wouldn't want her to succeed in dying, but I'd want to see her evolve past her death-wish, maybe going from immortal human to actual goddess.

if she's leading a "prophetic life" it would be more gripping if the prophecy is fulfilled, perhaps in ways totally unexpected; or if it turns out that the prophecy was initially misunderstood and only at the end of the story does your protagonist see the true meaning of the prophecy, and the way of fulfilling it that frees her.

I see where you're coming from. It even made me question the morbidity of reading about someone wanting to commit suicide and actually succeeding at it. Should you feel happy for them - because it's what they wanted? Should you feel disgusted that they didn't find a reason to live? I get it.

In my world (and maybe even in my own reality) I don't know if I would consider her un-wise or that she is wanting to give up on life. There is a motto she lives by and something she says repeatedly to those who are willing to listen. Her motto is "I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul. For I shall sever the chains of fate that bind me." I do have a few converstations about her relunctance to "enjoy life". I think I have them playing a game (which is something my friends and I do) of "if you could have any one thing in the world, what would it be." One of them says - to become immortal - and her retort is "try it sometime." I can even see that it would be amazing to live forever and see every change that happens along with all the history and cultures you would encounter. But at the same time - everyone has their time and every thing as its place. Even the gods (for she is their death). I am still reconciling the position she is in - because she never asked to be part of any major destiny (not that anyone ever does, mind you) and she feels that it was rather unfair of the Fates/Gods to use her the way they did.

But that's neither here nor there - I've got a lot to consider. And like I said - I see your point. I have kind of the same issues.
 

Phin Scardaw

Troubadour
Well, I think that anything can be pulled off, if the writer finds the way to do it. Follow the yellow brick road, see where it takes you.

I know that I've written about both: I have a main character in my novel who commits suicide at the outset of the book, and once he journeys through the afterlife he returns to eventually meet a man who's stricken with unwanted immortality. This turns out to be King Arthur, who as legend has it was brought into Avalon after he was mortally wounded - but he's unable to die because he made a deal with Morgan le Fey to return Excalibur to her; so he's healed and sent back to find the sword that Bedivere made off with. After 1500 years of searching and watching the world give way to corruption, Arthur is sick of it and wants to be given the chance to move on in his natural evolution. He's world-weary and quite plainly wants to die.

It's very possible that a person in that position would want nothing else, and if you feel compelled to explore that, go for it!

But I would have a hard time writing this spent version of Arthur as a main character. I think he works as a secondary character, because as such he can be mysterious and impossible to relate to. He is not even human at that point because a man who is immortal is more god than man. That is very tricky ground to tread - not because it has no literary value, but because readers find themselves drawn to characters they can relate to. That's why most main characters in generic adventure stories aren't already fearless warriors at the outset - because who can relate to that?

Arthur seeks only rest and peace. I mean, he's been on a quest for 1500some years. If your character has a positive attitude about moving on from her life, that's already easier to relate to than suicidal despair. If she knew that in the afterlife, or in the next life, she would be happy, that puts a positive spin on it and allows a reader to accept it as a viable goal.

In my same story, as mentioned above, my main character kills himself. The hardest time I've had with this book is to try to explain why he does this in a way that I know others can relate to. Quite simply, he feels compelled to interact with divine forces and mystical powers - but he has no way of summoning such things. He reasons that the only mystical experience every person is promised is death, and if this is what people fear the most it must also hold the greatest power for those who know how to find it. So he goes on a quest, and in the end he winds up adopting Arthur's quest. Such a heady theme like suicide works best I believe if it is kept as a MEANS and not as an END.

Like Cobb says in "Inception": "Positive emotion trumps negative emotion every time."
 
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Krieger

Acolyte
Madeleine L'Engle used this in A Wind in the Door. But thankfully as there is nothing new under the sun, there's no reason you can't make it your own.
 
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