Creative Perspectives By: Christopher Valentine
For those of you who read my previous post about the valiant knight, you can consider this a sequel. Like my other post, I'll be breaking down another book I'm writing that you can find through the link below. In any case, I can say a lot of the same things I said about the knight about Damara, especially the influence from Superman and DC comics. Still, there are several key distinctions that you have to know. And these distinctions, of course, give the book its own identity. So, read on if you, distinguished art enjoyer, dare to know a tale of the greatest hope and despair.
MY FIRST ENTRY
The first thing you need to know is that Damara was my very first swing at self-publishing. The full history behind my creation's genesis is extremely complicated, with numerous half-starts, do-overs, and failures to launch. It wasn't even the first book I wanted to try, but it just ended up that way.
But, needless to say, I still love it dearly like my other works. Looking back, I was so confident in my ideas, almost pridefully so. One of the reasons why I wanted to go with Damara first was because I figured I could learn something from putting my work into the world and apply those lessons to the other stories I wanted to tell. And in that light, I succeeded, painfully so.
I learned many lessons about pacing, character, writing descriptions, and so on. To be perfectly honest, each time someone pointed out a problem with my book, it genuinely hurt. But as one of my literary influences, Viktor Frankl, might say, life is meaningless without some challenge. The challenge for me particularly seemed to be swallowing my pride and practicing perseverance.
Inside the book, you'll find that the protagonist will have to make her way through a grueling sci-fantasy world. And that was always the plan, but I think all the hurdles I went through, trying to put her story out in real life, only heightened the experience, connecting me to her better and hopefully bringing the writing to its zenith.
TOLKIEN
Another influence, like I imagine is the case for a lot of fantasy writers, is J.R.R. Tolkien. However, I didn't directly take ideas from his books, even though a lot of that is still in there. The work I primarily took my inspiration from is a lesser-known piece of his called "On Fairy Stories."
The document is an essay that, if I'm remembering correctly, was originally a lecture he gave to the students of the college where he worked. To give a summarized version of Professor Tolkien's eloquent words, it is about the importance of escapism in storytelling and the crucialness of fairy stories. The professor painted a picture of how a soldier captured by the enemy force would naturally try to escape from such a horrible situation with all their might. So, logically, why should we, audience members and art enjoyers, blame anyone who wants a respite from the difficult circumstances of his or her life? And as I started to look at things through that lens, it thoroughly changed my perspective on art and entertainment.
I find it hilariously, almost painfully ironic that an essay written so many decades ago is so revolutionary in our time. I suppose it's another testament to the timelessness of the professor's writing skills. We are living in an age where writers, mainstream or otherwise, seem frantic to make their works relevant for "modern audiences," ensuring to root the fiction in the real world. The philosophy of Tolkien's essay was unquestionably a product of the difficult times he endured during his era. In fact, I believe a similar case could be made for many of the great optimistic works of fiction, like Jerry and Joe enduring the Great Depression to create Superman, or Gene Roddenberry surviving his service to the navy to make Star Trek. Which, again, proves the truth behind the professor's words.
Still, I must admit, I did include my fair share of real-world elements in my books. However, I'm confident I successfully captured the spirit of his essay. I like to think, if I may be so bold, dear reader, that I'm the next inventor in a line. A person who recognizes the great work that came before him and uses the wisdom of the past to make his own.
STAN LEE
The final influence I would like to highlight here is the great comic artist, Stan Lee. As I keep saying, I am very much a DC guy, but I must admit that I still find my fair share of Marvel characters to be cool. Namely, Spider-Man, Captain America, Daredevil, and maybe...the Hulk. However, that's not the kind of influence I want to talk about here. Like Tolkien, it's something Mr. Lee said outside his work that got me thinking.
It was in an interview where he explained his rationale for making Iron Man. He actively chose to make Tony Stark someone he would disagree with politically in real life to challenge his creative skills by trying to make him likeable to the largest group of people. Once more, to me, such an idea sounded revolutionary because, of course, to push your writing skills to their zenith, you would require a suitable challenge. Furthermore, what better way would there be than to swallow your pride and try to utilize the positives of someone far different than you? It's so childishly simple that I bet most people wouldn't think about it.
It's one of the reasons why I decided to make the protagonist a woman. Spoiler alert, but I'm a man. I wanted, and still do, to become the best writer in the world. So, naturally, I wanted to challenge myself as much as possible.
You can clearly see this way of doing things at work with the other characters he worked on, like Black Panther and Daredevil, since Mr. Lee was neither Black nor blind.
THANK YOU!
Lastly, I would just like to thank everyone who read this post to its conclusion. And, please, if you want to know for sure that I practice what I preach, press the links below.
About the Author:
Christopher is a returning contributor to Feeling Creative?. He is a proud fantasy and sci-fi author from Jamaica who adores the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Visit his website.
Read his previous posts: Here
Patreon: Christopher297
