Writing a book... Help?

I didnt know where to post this. What I posted elsewhere:

I am writing a fantasy novel-saga thing and I need as much information on the following as I can get. I want to get the information straight from kin because I figure memories can be helpful for this type of thing.

I need help from dragons mainly on what hatchlings would be called, any other terms for it. I also need to know what would make you leave a lair.

Are there any centaurs in here? I am curious about your culture and what you remember about it, I have a main character that is a centaur.

So heres the main races:

Dragon

Human

Elf

Drae’kyn’adra- the biological splicing of dragons and humans

Sprite/etc

Centaur

Skylldraad- The living dead. they are brought back to life by some form of a necromancer and must fulfill a single task before they are freed.

Mermaids

Draichen- This is a mixture of fire-being and demon. their skin is very sensitive and there is a wet patch where their mouth would be that is permenantly soaked in acid. they have fire-creating ducts behind the patch and spit acidic fire.

Odamaga- A "Giant" race, all over 10 feet tall.

Chraikhen- A mixture between cats and humans with extremely long bodies and fingers, and covered in fur.

Kamarinka- This is more like a pet, as are the ones after it- Felines with wings. Their coloring and type of wings is symbolic of their personality. They can speak telepathically.

Macheron- Horses, red by nature, with large beautiful dragon-type wings, velvety to the touch. They are only visible to orphans who have seen their parents die. (I may change this slightly, its too much like Harry Pothead atm)

Draekyn- These are smaller dragons that speak in chirps.



There is also a Gemstone race I am toying with, whose skeletal structure is made up entirely of some gemstone. Each one is a different gemstone, and the type affects their personality. My synaesthesia given form.


If you remember ANY of these or know anything about them, or have any ideas for me please feel free to help.

I want to get information as correct as possible

This sounds interesting. What's the plot of the book? It looks like typical high fantasy set-up. Is it the bad guy taking over the world, or overly powerful item of impending doom? Those are always fun. ^_^

freelanceangel Wrote:This sounds interesting. What's the plot of the book? It looks like typical high fantasy set-up. Is it the bad guy taking over the world, or overly powerful item of impending doom? Those are always fun. ^_^

Actually, it's more like a build-up of tensions in the land. A secret war, but one nonetheless. Powerful, important knowledge is being kept from the people because the Aristocracy in charge is afraid of opposition and change, so they try to keep the people ineducated.. but there is a secret society that knows all about what is going on. that's the background of the overall world... but this is just one country. The country though thinks they are the only people in the world, and that tales of other beings and faraway lands are just myths.

For different reasons, a bard, a dragon, a peasant girl and her farm-boy friend, a centaur, a princess, a witch/necromancer and a mercenary/ex assassin are all travelling together. (Obviously thats not how it starts out <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_razz.gif" alt=":P" title="Razz" /><!-- s -->) The princess overheard something her parents were saying to someone on their council and was so terrified and disgusted she ran away from home after hacking off all her hair. She wants nothing to do with her family anymore. They find her in a tavern, working as a barmaid. XD

I think I may eventually have one of the gemstone people travel with them for a slight time, and have them run into the cat-people.

But basically, it's an "overthrow the evil government that is trying to crush the people" type of thing.

It's about many things really. Finding yourself, travelling, opening your mind, and taking a stand against evil thingz <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s -->

But ironically, there will only be one race of "demons". And they're pretty rare. I also didnt include any angels. Semi-christian type things will be in there as well as other religions, but ehh.

<!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s --> Now note, thats all I have so far. I'm still working out what the different races are, different cities, different countries, cultures... everything!! It's so much fun! <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s -->

flarablaze Wrote: Now note, thats all I have so far. I'm still working out what the different races are, different cities, different countries, cultures... everything!! It's so much fun! <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s -->

Isn't it? I love my city. ^_^ Of course, I'm working within an urban fantasy setting- that's much easier to manage than creating the high fantasy setting from scratch. It sounds like it'd make an awesome D&D game. (All good high fantasy should become D&D adventures. ^_~) What are your main characters like? Have you developed them beyond the princess? Have you thought about using someone who's not a princess? (Just a quirk of mine- I don't think royalty should be in EVERY high fantasy story.) Possibly someone who works with the royal family, in the castle or along those lines?

flarablaze Wrote:I need help from dragons mainly on what hatchlings would be called, any other terms for it. I also need to know what would make you leave a lair.

Hatchling works for the most part. Fledgling is another term that could work as well (depending on the type of dragon). As for an affectionate slight you can go with “beasties of burden” or “little one”. Though overall just I call anything that is in someway given birth to (egg or live) a temporary uterine tumor (I’m gonna make a great mom one of these days).

AS for what would make a dragon leave their lairs:
Again, it depends on the type of dragon. But overall any of these could do the trick:
Hunger, curiosity, the need to hoard, mating season, to answer a challenge (though some of the more dignified dragons don’t bother unless they feel the challenge is given just so), to protect their territory, or to acquire new territory.
Take your pick or make up some from the inspiration of these and other muses.

Also, I think I might shimmy this over to the Expressions section since your working towards a literary art form.

The thing with a "fantasy novel" is that you don't "Have" any requirement to follow anything "Known" about any race what so ever.

That being said, I don't believe there's a centaur here, but I know one, and the one thing that one can say about centaurs is that they are big on lush amounts of luxury. Everything they do, they to with a passion and lust for life.

freelanceangel Wrote:

flarablaze Wrote: Now note, thats all I have so far. I'm still working out what the different races are, different cities, different countries, cultures... everything!! It's so much fun! <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s -->

Isn't it? I love my city. ^_^ Of course, I'm working within an urban fantasy setting- that's much easier to manage than creating the high fantasy setting from scratch. It sounds like it'd make an awesome D&D game. (All good high fantasy should become D&D adventures. ^_~) What are your main characters like? Have you developed them beyond the princess? Have you thought about using someone who's not a princess? (Just a quirk of mine- I don't think royalty should be in EVERY high fantasy story.) Possibly someone who works with the royal family, in the castle or along those lines?

Yes. I let myself go and discovered a whole thing about Sky-Walkers, a tribe of people similar to the mayans yet also interestingly like otherkin. The Star Queen and her two daughters were killed 1500 years ago (or rather the queen was killed, Raevyn saw it and Selene only heard about it later) and are now reborn in new bodies, in a world overtaken by humans (they are elves) Or rather, so the humans think. I also have gemstone people, in a society across the sea that the humans (They call their country Terrhathla) refuse to accept exists. They also refuse to accept that dragons exist farther south, and that desert people live north-west of their country. They choose to believe everything is abandoned and spread stories of how star-gazing is evil, and that if you go outside of the city "bad things will get you".

I've developed all the characters that I've thought of so far, at least on a personality basis. I have but I don't know that it would work nearly as well. I might use a Lord's daughter though. I want to use some form of royalty though because of the fact that it has more of an impact, and I want the bard (Vara) to look at her and be like "O_O Leilani?? What are you doing here??". The interest of a good story is what brings Vara along with the rest.

The main characters- The overall main characters are really going to shift slightly, it will be more like there are a few main characters and the story itself is about three. Nemontana, a necromancer/witch who is Raevyn reborn (Raevyn is the daughter who took some of the survivors and created the Ravens guild, a secret society that teaches of the Sky-Walkers, and on the surface is for assassins and other not so nice and pretty professions. However, Raevyn reborn is not OF the Raven Guild, nor is she interested in joining, ironically <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s -->)

Then there is Renata/Rae. She is a peasant girl who has the birthmark of a Star Chosen, a Queen for the Sky-Walkers. Kinda cliche, I know. I'm debating shifting this to something else as well, but I think it fits. I may shift the Star Queen role to Phaedra though, who is a Drae'kyn'adra assassin who left her clan and makes as much trouble for them as possible <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s -->

And then there is a Gemstone girl, her gemstone type is going to be Amethyst who is Selene reborn.

The gemstone girl, Nemontana, and Rae are the most important

Phaedra, Nyx, Flint, Leilani, Rowena, Faol are also very important, and so is Vara.

The main important civilizations are going to be the Sky-Walkers (Selene when she left reformed them, after 100 years. The Sky-Walkers were elves. However, they are now called the Star-Watchers), Terrhathla, The Nightmare woods (in the south is where Centaurs and Dragons live) Minnyraal canyon is where they find the gemstone people, there is also the People of the Sea, the Desert people, and the Abandoned. (Exiles and runaways, etc, by Minnyraal canyon on the other side of the sea.

chaitea Wrote:

flarablaze Wrote:I need help from dragons mainly on what hatchlings would be called, any other terms for it. I also need to know what would make you leave a lair.

Hatchling works for the most part. Fledgling is another term that could work as well (depending on the type of dragon). As for an affectionate slight you can go with “beasties of burden” or “little one”. Though overall just I call anything that is in someway given birth to (egg or live) a temporary uterine tumor (I’m gonna make a great mom one of these days).

AS for what would make a dragon leave their lairs:
Again, it depends on the type of dragon. But overall any of these could do the trick:
Hunger, curiosity, the need to hoard, mating season, to answer a challenge (though some of the more dignified dragons don’t bother unless they feel the challenge is given just so), to protect their territory, or to acquire new territory.
Take your pick or make up some from the inspiration of these and other muses.

Also, I think I might shimmy this over to the Expressions section since your working towards a literary art form.

Oh okay thanks, sorry. Okay, but I want Rowena to be lair-less. Like, while she was gone hunting, humans came in and ransacked the place, and then started hunting her or something. Could that work?

Freetha Wrote:The thing with a "fantasy novel" is that you don't "Have" any requirement to follow anything "Known" about any race what so ever.

That being said, I don't believe there's a centaur here, but I know one, and the one thing that one can say about centaurs is that they are big on lush amounts of luxury. Everything they do, they to with a passion and lust for life.

okay, thanks. and yes, I realize that but I'd still prefer some accuracy rather than slap-dash shoving random things together..

BTW, I've also decided to incorporate a few friends in it.