I have just finished printing out a complete draft of my second Arthurian fantasy -- FOR CAMELOT'S HONOR.
The book is late. The author is exuberent but exhausted. This time the process was more fraught than usual. Not only did my hard drive die on me, but my mother contracted pneumonia and had to be hospitalized, my son got roseola, I got stomach flu, and, and and...
And that was just in the real world. This story would NOT settle down for me and I had to keep going back and tearing it apart again. I realized some of my running notes might provide some insight into the thoght and writing processes of the modern fantasy author, so I'm posting them here.
I suppose in the interests of full disclosure, I should say there are not only spoilers here, there are red herrings.
I need to think about Geraint. Gawain was easy, Geraint’s a little tougher.
He’s the quiet brother. He gets forgotten about. He does what he’s told. He doesn’t even talk much to his older brothers. Gawain regards him as something of a cipher. Agravain thinks he’s another stripe of idiot. Geraint is most attached to Gareth.
It is important that Geraint is the one who inherited their mother’s eyes.
I need to know what happened between Morgaine and Morgause. I think Geraint saw more of this than his brothers. At the very least he saw more of what happened between his father and mother than the others.
Never forget the sister.
What happened to Morgause? When did Geraint come to Camelot, and how did he get there? I think he came with Gareth in tow. Why? Did he come before Agravain did, or afterward? Gawain came first, of course.
Come to that, why did Agravain decide to come to Camelot, when he’s due to inherit Goddodin?
OR IS HE? Sister-son inheritance. WHAT IF MODRED’S IN LINE FOR GODDODIN? Yes? No? Huh.
What happened to Morgause? If she’s still alive, why did she leave her children with Lot? If she’s dead, how’d it happen, and are Geraint and Gareth, and possible their sister the ones who know? If so, why didn’t the tell the other two? Or did they?
Need to work out this family’s story.
Is the reason for his retreat from Gododdin with Gareth the root of Geraint’s need to prove his own honor? Has he never told Gawain and Agravain why he went, and took his brother?
#
I’M STUCK I’M STUCK, I’M STUCK!!!
Okay, now that that’s out of the way
What happens if we give it another night? Day One: Announce and get organized, and feast. Night One: Meet with Geraint, plan to try to steal hawk, overhear suspicious conversation. Day Two: Initial Melee. Night Two: Try to steal hawk and fail. Spell interferes? This spell really sucks. Tell Geraint. Hear another conversation. Spot couple. Day Three: Second Melee. Geraint and nineteen others are left standing. Night Three:
Accusation is made that there are spies from Arthur among the combatants.
“Do you order me to show you who has done wrong?”
“Yes!”
Points finger at accusers.
“She lies!”
“I cannot lie. I speak only as I am commanded. You are the liars and the ones who have done wrong here and none other that I know.”
Okay, do we need the extra night? Day One: Initial melee. Night One: Meet with Geraint, plan to try to steal hawk, overhear suspicious conversation. Day Two: Second Melee. Geraint and nineteen others are left standing. Night Two: Try to steal hawk and fail. Get caught and ordered not to touch hawk. He’s drunk and doesn’t order her to stick around. Falls over. Tell Geraint. Hear another conversation. Get overheard, but can’t tell by who. Geraint contemplates just running for it. Spell takes over and Elen is overcome. Day Three: Final Melee. Becomes pretty obvious that it’s going to be Geraint and one other guy. Elen’s sweating bullets. At break, woman comes running up to Urien with spy accusations.
“What proof have you?”
“Ask your woman there. She met with him by the well. I saw them both. She knows well who this man is.”
“Speak.”
“He told you, his name is Gavan.”
“Does he spy for Arthur? I command you to speak! Tell me who this malefactor is!”
“No, it’s him! It’s him!”
“Let me prove myself on his body,” says Geraint.
#
I’m stuck again. I really don’t know why.
This is where the book gets amorfous, and damn it, I’m not sure there’s enough plot left. We’re just going after the plot coupon. Argh!
And I don’t know what to do about it. I want it to be about temptation and corruption, but I can’t seem to envision how that will happen, without it becomming too much like Shadow. And then, of course, we’ve got to get Geraint and Elen some face time so they can fall properly in love.
Okay. Gwiffert knows they’re coming. He wants them to get there, but he wants to know what he’s up against before they come. Three tests is traditional, but the nature of those tests will determine what happens when they get to the castle.
And how to do this without overshadowing the climactic battle with the giant?
This whole thing is built around a goddamn PLOT COUPON!
All right. How do we get out of that? What’s everybody want here? Elen wants revenge, and her home back. Geraint wants honor, glory and Elen. Gwiffert. What does Gwiffert want? Who is this guy and what’s he really up to?
And why is he the little king, and how’d he get his hands on the spear, and a giant to guard it?
Come to that, how’d he manage to piss off his neighbors enough that they’re willing to tell Elen about the spear?
#
Okay. Gwiffert had some wrong done to his family by the fae. He went in and confronted them, and in recompense received three wishes. The first got him the spear, which can, among other things, kill anybody. The second got him his land which can never be taken by force. The third was that he could never be killed save by his own spear (cause the fae couldn’t make him truly immortal).
After that, he got power hungry. He acquired some magics and used them to find clans under threat from their neighbors. He’d go in, offer to save them, if they’d swear fealty. They would (and he’d go help their neighbors if they didn’t) and given that he had this spear that would hit and kill whatever he aimed at, and instantly reappear in his hand, he’d turn the tide. Then, when the clan did swear fealty, he’d drive his spear into the ground in their midst. They’d fall asleep, and wake up in his country, where they’d be put to work as his vassals. Order is maintained by a very scary group of knights who come to take their master’s share, and anything else they want.
The fae don’t like the way he’s using their gifts, and he’s overrunning some of their territory, so they send Geraint and Elen in to get the spear back at the very least.
Gwiffert’s in something of a bind. If he destroyed the spear, he’d be perfectly safe, but he’d lose a lot of his power. One of the things he finds out while Geraint and Enid are on their way is that she, like he, is deathless. Perfect consort material, and he can offer to gather her people up into his lands where they’ll all be permanently safe. Then there’s the fact that Gwiffert is good looking, suave, understands magic and is really talkative and says he doesn’t think much of Morgaine. He doesn’t waste any time reminding her (or, possibly _telling_ her) that Geraint and consequently Arthur are Morgaine’s close kin.
Okay, how’s this work out from a plot perspective?
Geraint and Elen hit the road as close to Gwiffert’s lands as the fae can get them. Using the hawk’s eyesight, they find the way in. They come to a small village, are given a lavish reception by really nervous people who are very surprised when they ask the way to Gwiffert. They’ve never known anyone to get inside without an invite before, and now they’re really frightened and ask them to get the heck out of there. Our heroes go and spend a night in the rough. Possibly see something ominous (literally).
In the morning, they are met by a group of helmeted knights who don’t say much, definitely don’t take off their helmets (I have a suspicion they’re skulls under there) and take them to Gwiffert, who greets them courteously enough, asking them of their adventures, etc. He always carries the spear with him. They’re up front about what they came for, and he listens and agrees to discuss it with them and offers them beds for the night.
That night, Gwiffert mystically calls Elen, and meets her in his moonlit garden. He flatters her and shows her some of what her powers can now be. Morgaine, he hints, may have unknowingly done her a great favor.
During the day, Gwiffert agrees he’ll take his spear and go with them to kill Urien, if they do something for him in return. He’s got trouble on his borders, and he wants Geraint to go sort it out for him. Geraint agrees to go have a look, although he’s not crazy about leaving Elen alone with Gwiffert. She sends the hawk with him to help him, unaware of how vulnerable this leaves her.
Geraint gets out to the situation and sees what he sees, and refuses to amend it in Gwiffert’s favor. He high-tails it back to the castle to get Elen out of there. Gwiffert continues his seduction. It’s when Geraint attempts to pull her out that Gwiffert tells Elen he’s Morgaine’s kin, and doesn’t want her to have the spear, because he doesn’t want his kin laid low.
If this is how it works, how does she save herself? And how do they get the spear away from Gwiffert?
Geraint’s got the hawk when he comes back. Gwiffert tells Elen he will now show his true colors and give Elen an order, reawakening the geas. Geraint instead gives her back the hawk and leaves, saying something brief, gallant and portentious on the way out. Possibly along the lines of “I have given you no glamor nor power, but neither have I hidden any thing from you. It was you who did not ask.”
This leads to a Mr. Fox scenario where Elen at least sees something Gwiffert didn’t want to show her. Geraint, of course, has gone to get help, probably from the situation he refused to resolve.
How does this get us the spear? Elen, aware this time this leaves her vulnerable sends the hawk after Geraint, who high-tails it back there, with help. Then what? Allows us to have the scene where she yells at him to kill the hawk, but how does she get him the spear to do it with?
What she learns shows her what she has to do is get Gwiffert to throw the spear at the hawk. Figure out the wording later.
#
Okay, dig up the sword. Here come the Grey Men. Chase them through the crevice in the earth. Why? ‘Cause they’ll come back if you don’t. Ride into ambush. Gwiffert saves. Ride hell-for-leather back to his hall. Get introduced. Hear story. Don’t notice tapestries. Worry about Geraint, but agree it’s a good plan. He’s been so honorable and all so far, but still getting funny vibe. Gods, does he let her see a scrying where he finds out who Geraint is? Too damn much like Shadow. How do we do this then?
Why can’t I make this work? What’s still missing for this middle bit here?
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Posted by: Ceinture | May 06, 2013 at 06:19 AM