Reflecting on the Past

Today we have a guest post from Paul Carroll.

We come to the close of the tour, today, with a greater understanding on what was done, and how it was done, but there remains a question still be discussed: what was the book actually about?

Balor Reborn is a novella that takes an old Irish story into modern day Dublin. Balor of the Evil Eye, a one-eyed giant with a look that kills (literally), breaks free of his confines in death and enters the life of a mourning widower. In the original story, only Balor’s grandson can kill him, leaving the old giant free to cause as much destruction as he pleases in the meantime. The story of Balor has been rewritten for a modern audience, in a modern city, without losing much of the original feel to it.

Today, I want to discuss how you can do that, too. There are so many myths out there. The ancient religions, those that pre-date Christianity, are full of heroes, villains, monsters and magic, gods and fairies roaming free and unleashing great blessings and terrible darkness on whatever country the stories have been told in. In Greece, the Olympians fought the Titans, causing great volcanoes to erupt and shaping the landscape of the country. In England, Camelot staged great battles that decided the future of the monarchy, and set the country free from the dangers of magical beings. In Mexico, the Day of the Dead still occurs to mark the passing of spirits from this world to the next, taking its roots from Aztec traditions.

But how do you decide what to include in your story? Here are some simple tips to take a story from the past and make it into something new.

1. Note the focus of the story. Balor’s single eye was of great significance, and so ignoring it wouldn’t live up to the myth. As well as that, there was a particular focus on the relationship between Balor and his grandson Lugh; only Lugh could kill Balor. That, too, was something I had to focus on for my book.

2. Note the context of the story. The giant was a king, and a tyrant, leader of the Fomorians. He wasn’t just a lone figure deciding to kill people for the heck of it. Balor wanted to take over Ireland, and he had the means to do it. So, we have a war brewing. With that in mind, we now know that there has to be another side to it, someone to try fight Balor. In the story, this was the Tuatha Dé Danann, the old Irish gods.

3. Note the terminology the characters in the story will have used. My beta reader pointed out to me that Fay is a seldom used, and modern, term for fairies, so I went with the Irish equivalent: Aos Sídhe. This allowed me to keep fairies in the books, and stick to the traditional name for them in Irish folklore.

Is that enough? No. Noting down these areas of a story is only the beginning, but let’s review what I had to draw from the story of Balor of the Evil Eye. He had to have one eye, that killed. Only his grandson can kill him. He was a tyrant, and was starting a war: we now have the Fomorians and the Tuatha Dé Danann to consider. He wouldn’t use an English term, so he’ll use Aos Sídhe when talking about fairies. This is the beginning of how I created my story.

From there, I applied some originality. I wanted Balor to come back from the dead, but he doesn’t technically have a corpse in this world. So his spirit had to come through, before he could reconstruct a body. He needed a host, so we have Stephen.

Stephen has two eyes. It would be cruel to suggest that because he lost his eye he was a suitable host for Balor. With that in mind, he needed to have a darker back story, and the eye had to take on a new form. So, I wrote the eye as being made from gold, and growing from within Stephen’s head. Now, I have an innocent character possessed by rage and pain, with a voice in his head. But what about that grandson?

He had to be a father, at some point. That’s part of his story. Now we know more about Stephen.

When we meet Fionn, the young man told he has to save the country, I had to present a risk to him. Not only is Balor alive, we also have the problem of the Fomorians. If the tyrant is here, naturally they’ll have to follow. This adds risk to the story, and incorporates more of the myth. What are we missing, then?

The Tuatha Dé Danann, for a start. This is the first book in a series, so I wanted to bring them in slowly. They’re gods, after all. Something that powerful on the hero’s side of the battle is too much to handle early on. However, I dropped mentions of them throughout the book. And as for the fairies? Well, they get their mentions, too, but they’re a more cowardly bunch than Balor. He’s been trapped for millennia, and he’s annoyed, so it makes sense that he’ll come on the assault more quickly than them.

And with that, we have Balor Reborn. I threw in more twists of my own, too, but they’re not all directly related to the myth. These form the overarching story. Of course, my way isn’t the only way. There have been a number of stories including the Olympians, and the Egyptians, and countless other deities, and they’ve all done something different with the myths. With so many stories out there, some better known than others (Balor not being an especially well known Irish story), we writers are spoiled for choice. All we need to do is look back on everything that’s happened before us, and doing your own Writing Olympics isn’t so difficult a feat anymore.

Bio



Paul Carroll is a writer from Dublin. He is studying to be a teacher of Religion and English at second level, while working in a bookshop at weekends. His 'free time' is divided among assignments, fiction, poetry, articles and blog posts, as well as college Drama and almost weekly trips to the local cinema.

He has been writing since the age of twelve, with a love of words going back further than he can remember. When he isn't reading or writing, he likes to make use of social media, bake, and talk to friends. Often, he'll watch a horror film alone in the dark for the sheer joy of it.

He can be found online at paulcarrollwriter.com.

About Balor Reborn



Old Ireland is returning, as an ancient evil arrives in Dublin. A single glance from his eye is all it takes to kill.

Stephen Fox is haunted by the memory of his wife, and suffers from guilt at abandoning his new-born son. The spirit of the tyrant Balor has come back to take his vengeance on the country. A hero must rise in the unwilling form of Fionn Murray, a university student with a mysterious past.. As a world of wonder unfolds around him, and with no one but his house mate Michael at his side, he’s left with the choice of running, or facing the evil that could consume the world.

Based on the old Irish myth of Balor of the Evil Eye, Balor Reborn is the first in a series that seeks to revive the magic of Ireland. It was written and published in one week.

It's available to buy on PDF, Epub and Mobi through http://paulcarrollwriter.com/balor/
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008S1FGFW
Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008S1FGFW

The Enhanced Skills Guide for Procrastination Writing

Its crunch time for your literary work of art and the deadline is approaching
lightning fast. Whether it’s for a Blog, Novel, or NaNoWriMo, you’re more interested in a YouTube video of cute and cuddly sloths. It’s no big deal you can get it done later, you’ve got time and besides you work best under pressure so what’s the hurry. Well if you have said I have been there and done that, you have excellent procrastination skills!

Oh I almost forgot I was supposed to write a stint on motivation; not how to procrastinate like a ninja and still manage to get your project done in the nick of time. I guess I will have to save that for another post. Now let’s get down to the dirty scoop on how to be motivated, even though I want to procrastinate and go look at the cute sloths right now… Oh look a shiny new light bulb!

First off procrastination can be used as a means to provide motivation; the trick is to stay on topic. Researching aspects of what you will write is a great way to put depth into your writing, watching videos on the topic can spark some fresh ideas. Talking about what you will write or have written can offer different perspectives that can help keep the creativity magma flowing when it becomes stagnate after looking at cute sloths. The thing is you can procrastinate and keep motivated!

There are so many ways to keep motivated that quite frankly you would be reading for days if I name them all. This is only a small fraction of what you can do to stay motivated and feel free to leave in the comments below of what helps keep you motivated.

1. Motivation is just another word for inspiration. If you are lacking in motivation to write, perhaps you are losing inspiration for your plot, character or theme and maybe you need to revisit those sections and change it up, by maybe killing someone in the plot, or throwing them into an inter-dimensional rift; well at least revisit your work and see if the project you are writing is really the right one for you. If you find things that you’re passionate about, writing becomes easy.

2. One of the things that can kill your motivation to write is expecting too much. Maybe you've set a goal for so many words a day or pages a week and it is too daunting. One of the things that helps get over this is do not think about how much you need to write and just write. It does not need to be perfect. Don’t worry about getting it right…just get it down. First drafts usually suck. That’s why second, third, and eighth drafts exist. Aim for excellent results, but don’t set the bar too high at first. Having a sloppy but finished first draft is far better than having no draft at all Try organizing some ideas on sticky notes, napkins, sugar packets in the middle of a restaurant (Yes I have written an entire poem on sugar packets because I had nothing to write on) post them around so that you can submerge yourself with ideas and motivation.

3. Eliminate distractions, whatever they may be. I deleted my Facebook account because I was too distracted and my writing suffered greatly. This may also apply to those who need to turn off their cell phone and, if possible, their internet connection. Escape from people who demand your attention. Each distraction pulls your focus away from the task at hand.

4. Be accountable for what you write, it’s hard to be unmotivated when you have people eager to read what you’ve written. Join writing circles, attend a silent write in a Goggle+ Hangout, and go out with your local writer’s clubs such as NaNoWriMo and Literary+. Get others to put a bit of friendly pressure on you to help keep the imagination station from stalling. Post your goal on your blog and post regular updates. It’s important that you not just post the goal but also stay accountable with the updates. Encourage people to ask you about your goal if you don’t report your progress.

5. Where you write matters! If you are in a place that you are distracted, too comfortable in the sense it will make you fall asleep such as your bed, or if you are in an atmosphere that does not enable you to write such as a significant other asking every thirty minutes if you’re going to play World of Warcraft with them; not naming names. (Tj) It is impossible to be motivated and inspired. If you are in a quiet space surrounded by nature or books or something of that environment, you will be able inspired and motivated to write!

At the moment the number one thing that has been motivating me to write is the company I keep, and donating most of what I sell (90%) to the MS Society of Canada. The more I write and the more people take notice and donate to me, the more I can donate to a place that holds dear to my heart. I provide proof of where the money goes via online registration and pictures as I am sincere and honest, but it is my driving force that helps me keep going even through the toughest of times when I am unable to write due to pain. My other inspiration to keep writing is to breathe life into my characters as often they become their own entities, and I am the person solely responsible to make sure they have an opportunity to step out into the world.

I shall go look at cute, cuddly and adorable sloths now! And as I always say… “A procrastinator’s work is never done!”

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More about A.K. Flynn:

Salutations! My Name is A.K. Flynn, I'm a 27 year old bright eyed bushy tailed Child and Youth Worker to be, who is very ambitious and absolutely in love with writing all sorts mind perplexing Fiction. I also tend to pour my emotions out on the screen as it is the only thing that keeps my hectic life sane. As of right now my website and second novel seems to be a major focus and writing is my major outlet so it all pans out perfectly. Oh did I mention I was a redhead? Well now you know! So you know my writing has got to be good, because redheads are very spontaneous... (runs off into the distance babbling to herself)

Links:
Blog: Inside The Perplexed Mind of a Dreamer
G+ profile: A.K. Flynn

Literary+ is a writer based project brought together and lead by Shen Hart. It brings together passionate, quality self-published writers to help each other promote their work, bringing more readers to every member. It was sparked by the simple fact that there are many top quality self-published authors being over-looked because they do not have the time and resources to efficiently and effectively market and promote themselves. With ambition and passion, Literary+ will take its members to the heights they deserve through a tight-knit community of like-minded writers.

Batman Killed My Mary Sue - When a Character is Just Too Dark

Today, fantasy author JD Savage will be providing his unique take on things as part of the first ever Literary Plus Blog Tour!

Batman Killed My Mary Sue - When a Character is Just Too Dark

All the world loves a villain. We love to see him revel in his, (or her) own evil-ness. We love to watch, sometimes through parted fingers, the debauchery and vile doings of the world’s most wicked of foes. For, he must be a foe to the hero, someone who is just slightly less powerful, someone who can achieve victory beyond all hope. Someone to save us from this delicious maniac.

The delight in creating a villain is intoxicating. The chance to let go of all of those social rules and moral wrongs is a liberating thing. It allows us as writers to plunge ourselves into the darkest of pits without fear, because we know the stalwart hero will win in the end.

But sometimes, there is a danger in creating the villain that may slip past the unsuspecting writer. That danger is in the making of him. Because a villain must appeal to some part of us. The bad guy must have something about him that makes him relatable, something to anchor him to the reader, even if it’s merely a sense of style. To make the villain so wholly evil as to have no redeeming qualities is just as dangerous as creating the Mary Sue - that character with no flaws, no mistakes in her past and no choice but to do the right thing.

Both become tedious for the reader because there is no surprise. If we know Mary Sue will uncover the bad guy’s plot, we can live with it, as long as there is some question about what she’ll do about it. If we know she will certainly do the right thing… well… why am I reading this again? The same is true for the villain.

Consider this: A henchman brings forth the child, kidnapped as a central plot point. The villain kills the child. There’s no where to go now. The hero must avenge.
But, if the henchman brings forth the child, and offers him up for the slaughter and the villain stabs the henchman, woah! Why? The child has blue eyes, and the villain’s mother had blue eyes. The villain reflects on his mother’s cruelty toward him as a youngster.

Oh, now I want to know more. I’m turning page after page, hoping for more glimpses into his back story as he carves a bloody path through the adults that stand in his way. Why does he do this? If the villain and I share traits, what keeps me from becoming just like him? How close to the edge am I really?

With some aspect of the villain’s character creating doubt about where he sits between good and evil, there is a chance of redemption. Will he take that final step, or will he see the error of his ways? Whatever makes him human, whatever creates that balance between good and evil, no matter how heavily weighted to one side, is what keeps us glued to them and their actions.

That connection is the same for the hero. Comic fans know Batman won’t kill, but it’s his propensity to go right up to that line he won’t cross and lean waaaay out over it that keeps such a character in the pantheon of heroes. It’s the tragic back story that drives him. It’s that drive that creates the tragedies he has endured since becoming who he is. He can’t quit, but he knows he should because of all of the death and cruelty his being a hero has created. And I’m turning pages like they are on fire.

The propensity to write a character as being so evil as to be beyond redemption is strong. For many writers, myself included, I want to create a situation that has the audience cheering for my protagonist. The logical course to take is to make the antagonist so dark, so wholly beyond saving, as to let the reader share my revulsion with him, and cheer his comeuppance. But without that spark, without that pathos or humor or endearing quality, the reader will know the end of your story long before the last page. If that happens, there’s no reason to expect that they will be reading the first page of your next effort.


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Literary+ is a writer based project brought together and lead by Shen Hart. It brings together passionate, quality self-published writers to help each other promote their work, bringing more readers to every member. It was sparked by the simple fact that there are many top quality self-published authors being over-looked because they do not have the time and resources to efficiently and effectively market and promote themselves. With ambition and passion, Literary+ will take its members to the heights they deserve through a tight-knit community of like-minded writers.

"The Seeds"
This is not your grandmother's fairy tale. A fantasy novel that turns the genre on its head, "The Seeds" follows Trooper Angus Mayweather as he is thrust into the conflict faced by twin sisters Dartura & Varia, Generals of the Tarol Nation. As the sisters uncover a new threat from an old enemy, Angus must do what he can to help as the Tarol Nation faces all-out war.