Category Archives: Writings about Writing

Thoughts and tips about the craft

Storytelling Techniques from Babylon 5: Beginning an Epic

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This is part of a series about storytelling techniques for epic fantasy. I’m drawing my examples from the 1990s sci-fi TV show Babylon 5. If you’ve never seen it, that shouldn’t affect the validity or usefulness of my storytelling tips. If you do want to see the show, you can probably find it on Netflix or the DVDs on eBay.

The plot of Babylon 5 was told over five television seasons and a few TV movies. Never mind the ‘90s hair and CGI that’s outdated by today’s standards. The story itself was a sprawling epic fantasy with a space-opera setting, a story that spanned thousands of years and dozens of characters. J. Michael Straczynski was the mastermind behind this dramatic tale of humans and aliens, ancient prophecies and futuristic empires, villains and heroes.

A question that often plagues writers of every genre is “how do I begin the story?” This is more than just a question of choosing the perfect first sentence. It’s about deciding the most appropriate moment of the main character’s life and story to bring in the reader.

This can be especially challenging with an epic story, because, by its very nature, it has a history and long-range repercussions that may not actually be part of the main plot. How do you begin such a long story without giving a boring history lesson?

The Beginning?

The Babylon 5 pilot episode begins with one of the main characters of the series, Londo, giving a brief narration. He explains that this is the beginning of the story of a new space station called Babylon 5, but the audience also learns that it’s really an ending—Babylon 5 is the last of the Babylon stations. Four other space stations and their missions went before this one, and those stories—as yet untold—are the foundation on which the current story is built.

Any truly epic story is always at the beginning, at the end, and somewhere in the middle, because plot threads and characters are intertwined across time or distance. There’s no catch-all answer to the question of “where do I begin my story”—each plot and set of characters are unique. A guideline to consider, though, is beginning with an upsetting of the status quo.

As lovely as it is for real life to pass along without upsets or disasters, it makes for a somewhat tedious story—especially if you’re wanting to tell a long-running saga. Quickly establishing the norm—and upsetting that norm—jumpstarts the action and introduces the audience into the minds of the characters.

In Babylon 5, Londo’s brief narration (notice my emphasis on brief—let’s avoid that boring history lesson) explains that this final Babylon station is dedicated to serving the interests of peace. (This also hints that maybe the previous four Babylon stations didn’t succeed at this mission of peace…but more on foreshadowing in a different post).

Upset the Norm

The norm is established during the first few minutes of the story, through narration and the characters interacting in the setting. This is a space station in neutral territory, serving as a peaceful free port for all cultures, several of whom are rebuilding after long and violent wars. Then the norm is upset—an assassination attempt, cultural misunderstandings, and a surprise attack. Babylon 5’s mission of peace is immediately put to the test. And thus a plot is born.

It should also be noted that while the problem is introduced right away, it is not every problem that ever will be in the plot of the entire epic. In a long saga or a series, there is usually one over-arching plot, and then any number of smaller plots that feed into the main theme of the story. It’s important to establish the main plot fairly quickly. It can then be developed, via subplots, side plots, and other storytelling threads, over the course of the tale.

In this example, the main plot is established immediately—a threat to intergalactic peace. Many other plots feed into this during the course of the series—the Shadows returning after a thousand-year hiatus, the Minbari government crumbling, the enslavement of the Narns, the dictatorship on Earth, and on and on.

But all of these are part of the main plot—war encroaching on peace—and that core concept is the plot that is revealed right away. All of those other plots are not even hinted at right at the beginning. That’s the point of an epic—all of these related plots need time to develop. Upset the status quo as soon as possible, but don’t throw in everything at once. The audience needs time to learn about the characters and situations involved so the impact of each new plot thread will be felt.

I’m not going to discuss world-building in this post, even though that’s a vital element to any fantasy or sci-fi epic. The norm of the world of Babylon 5 is established as quickly as the main theme of the plot. In the first ten minutes of the pilot, we know that it’s in the future, on a space station, and there are humans and aliens from countless cultures all living together. The depth of this world is revealed in more detail as time progresses.

The same can be done in the first few pages of a novel. Establish the basics of the norm—both the setting (world) and the situation. Then when the problem enters the picture, the reader can learn about the world at the same pace that they are learning about the characters and the plot—because both the characters and their world are part of the fixing of the problem.

The trilogy that I’m writing may or may not qualify as an “epic.” And hopefully I’ve followed these guidelines with my own beginning. I guess my critique partners and beta readers will let me know! Keep reading for the next few weeks—I’ll be writing about some more elements of telling an epic story.

“And so it begins.” – Kosh, “Chrysalis”

The Nitty-Gritty of Writing: Homophones

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So what is a homophone anyway, and why should a writer care? Homophones are words that sound the same, but have different spellings and meanings (homo=the same, phone=sound). These are words that are fine when you’re speaking them, but writing them can sometimes be a bit more confusing.

For this post, I’ll highlight three sets of homophones that I see giving people the most trouble. Here are two words that I see misused and mixed up the most often: you’re and your. You’re is a contraction of you are (see my previous nitty-gritty post about the apostrophe). Your is possessive, meaning that the word represents something belonging to you. The best way to break it down and remember which one to use when writing is to break up the contraction of you’re.

Correct:

I think you’re going to enjoy this book. (I think you are going to enjoy this book.)

Is that your book? (Is that the book that belongs to you?)

Incorrect:

Your very pretty. (Your pretty what? What belongs to you that’s very pretty?)

Let’s take you’re car to the store. (Let’s take you are car to the store. Makes no sense.)

Another common homophone mix-up is they’re/their/there. One of these is a contraction, like you’re, so again, you can split it up into its component words to clarify the meaning for yourself. As for the other two words, someone might have an easy to trick to remembering which spelling means what; but, failing that, you’ll just have to memorize them.

They’re is a contraction of they are.

Their is possessive, referring to something that belongs to them.

There refers to a place or location, usually a little farther away than here.

Correct:

They’re running late. (They are running late.)

I love Fluffy, but he’s their cat. (I love Fluffy, but he belongs to them.)

The book is on the table over there. (The book is on the table a short distance away, rather than table here close by.)

Incorrect:

Their running late. (Being possessive, using their makes no sense. What belongs to them that is running late?)

I love Fluffy, but he’s there cat. (Meaning the cat that is there instead of here?)

The book is on the table over they’re. (The book is on the table over they are. Um, what?)

Some other commonly misused homophones:

To/too/two:

To is a preposition, and usually refers to direction or is the infinitive form of a verb. He went to the store.

Too means also. I love pizza with pepperoni and mushrooms—and sausage, too!

Two is the number after one and before three. I was hungry so I ate two burgers.

Hear/here:

Hear means to listen or to be aware of sound. I hear the neighbor’s dog barking again.

Here is similar to there, but usually closer. Sit here on the sofa next to me.

By/buy/bye:

By is a preposition, and usually functions as from or as part of a location. This book is by my favorite author. Come by my house at ten.

Buy means to purchase or accept. I need to buy dog food tonight.

Bye is a shortened form of good-bye, a farewell greeting. Bye, Jimmy! See you in school tomorrow.

Yes, English can be a confusing language, and the abundance of homophones doesn’t make it any easier. If you text your friend that “their running late,” he or she will usually know what you mean and it’s not a big deal. But if you’re turning in a paper for school, or a short story for your creative writing group, or writing a blog post selling your services as an editor, these little homophone mix-ups become a much bigger deal.

If you hear of a trick to help you keep straight which spelling means what, please share! But otherwise, good old fashioned memorization (and maybe another pair of eyes to read over your work) will be your best friends for helping with homophones.

Borrowed Words

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Every language is influenced by other languages. And every language winds up adopting foreign words over time, sometimes adapting them to unique uses in the new language, and sometimes keeping the form and definition the same.

For this blog entry, I thought I’d highlight a few common words that are used in modern English that actually have their origin in another language far removed. Such words are usually called “borrowed words,” which personally I find to be a strange term. The language and its speakers don’t temporarily borrow a foreign word with the intention of giving it back someday. “Adopted words” would be more accurate, in my opinion; but for now I’ll go with the more well-known linguistic term.

Buffet—a self-serve spread of food, often found in restaurants such as an all-you-can-eat cheap Chinese buffet. This word is French, and it originally referred to the sideboard (or side table) where food was laid out to be served to seated diners at the dining table.

Kayak—a narrow one- or two-person boat steered with a two-ended paddle. It’s an Inuktitut word (often spelled “qajaq” in that language). The Inuit and Eskimos of the Arctic used this boat for centuries for hunting and travel before we adopted it for recreational use.

Piano—a musical instrument constructed of keys which use hammers to strike strings to produce the sound. It’s part of a longer word pianoforte, which is Italian for “soft-loud.” It meant that this musical instrument, unlike many others of centuries ago, could be played both softly and loudly.

Sauna—a hot room, either steamy or dry, used for relaxation, rejuvenation, and all manners of sweating. We get the sweat-room concept, and the word, from Finnish. The Finns love their saunas.

Bazaar—a large shopping venue, with many stores or booths selling a variety of merchandise. Bazaar is a Persian word, and us English speakers liked it so much we now use the word for everything from art shows to farmers’ markets to catalogs.

Geyser—a hot spring that erupts from beneath the ground with explosive force, often at regular intervals. Iceland is a land where many geysers can be found, and that’s where the word comes from. “Geysir” in Icelandic is both the general term for this natural phenomenon, and the name of one of the island’s largest geysers.

So there you have it—who knew that English uses so many words that aren’t English? And I could list many others. Anybody else have other suggestions to add to the “borrowed words” list? How about some words “borrowed” into other languages besides English?

The Nitty-Gritty of Writing: That Pesky ‘s

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I’ve decided to create a series of posts to channel my inner Grammar Nazi, and to hopefully help people with their writing. I blog about writing tips of all sorts, but I haven’t yet gotten into that tedious subject of spelling, grammar, and word usage.

It’s not fun, but it’s necessary if you want to move your writing past the rough draft stage. Please note, that if your main concern right now is pushing past your writer’s block, or developing your main character, don’t worry too much about spelling and grammar at this point. But if you’re wanting to put some polish on that story before you submit it, or that essay before you turn it in to the teacher, or that blog post before you hit publish, this might help you.

My subject for today is the apostrophe s. A lot of people seem to get confused about the proper use for an apostrophe, and especially an apostrophe s. So here’s the deal: an apostrophe is that little mark that looks like a single quote mark that appears in words like don’t, I’m, and McDonald’s.

The apostrophe has two functions: it can represent a letter or series of letters that is missing from a word or phrase, and it also can represent a possessive.

In the case of “don’t” and “I’m,” the apostrophe is replacing the missing letter from the pair of words “do not” and “I am,” respectively, thus creating a contraction. In the case of “McDonald’s,” it indicates that something belongs to McDonald—as in, McDonald’s Restaurant.

This possessive apostrophe s is what trips up a lot of people. In English, the plural for a word (usually) has an s on the end, so many people get these two s word endings confused. I’ll lay out some examples:

Correct:

I saw the cat’s toy. (I saw the toy that belongs to the cat.)

The car’s rear window was broken. (The rear window belonging to the car was broken.)

I’m going over to Antonio’s to play video games. (I am going over to the home of Antonio to play video games.)

Incorrect:

I saw the cat’s toy’s. (The toy’s what? The color of the toy? The painted smile on the toy?)

The cars rear window was broken. (“Cars” with no apostrophe is plural, meaning that “was” should be replaced with “were.” And “window” is still singular. But that’s a subject for a different blog entry.)

I’m going over to Antonio’s to play video game’s. (What belongs to the games of Antonio?)

Here are some common misuses of the apostrophe s that I see:

We sell DVD’s! (You sell something that belongs to a DVD? Oh, you mean you sell multiple DVDs.)

The dog shook it’s head. (This translates into “the dog shook it is head,” which makes no sense. And even though “its” would be correct and is possessive, there is no apostrophe. More on the inconsistencies of English in another post.)

Lets go! (Technically, this is an incomplete sentence. It might be the last part of a phrase like “She slides down the rope and then lets go.” But I think what you meant here was a contraction of “Let us go.”)

Grammar goofs and incorrect apostrophes are not a big deal on your Facebook status or your text to your brother. But for a blog post, an article, a report for school, a brochure that represents the face of a company, etc—try to double-check your possessives and your plurals. Get a friend to look over it—sometimes an extra pair of eyes can help.

I hope this grammar rant was helpful to you! English is confusing even to us native speakers. I hope I helped to clear up a little confusion about a language of inconsistencies!

Research for a Fantasy Story

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Yes, I’m writing a fantasy story and yes, I’m doing research. I believe that research to one degree or another is going to come into most any writing project, unless you’re writing a memoir or something that you’re truly an expert on. Roz Morris wrote a fantastic post about ways to do research for a novel, so I’m not going to try to duplicate what she wrote.

Even if you’re writing a realistic work of fiction, you might still need to a bit of research to add that extra touch of realism to something that you know nothing about. What if your main character owns several Great Danes, but you’ve never been near a dog bigger than a Chihuahua in your life? A little research—hands-on or otherwise—might be in order.

Obviously, historical fiction is the most research-heavy genre. Depending on your story and your intended audience, you don’t have to be a stickler for every detail, but general accuracy is good. For example, a historical fiction tale set in medieval London should not make mention of Queen Victoria. Unless you’re trying to weave in time-travel or some other fantastical element, this would be a glaring mistake.

I wrote a blog post a while back about world-building for fantasy and sci-fi, and the use of research. And so, in keeping with my own advice, I’m doing some research for my current fantasy trilogy. Here are three of the main subjects I’m researching:

Musical instruments—specifically, the traditional folk instruments of Finland and other Scandinavian regions.  I’m not trying to be historically accurate, or even accurate with the details of instrument construction or use, because this is a fantasy world. The world is inspired by the mythology of Finland, however, and so I want the musical instruments—like the jouhikko, the kantele, and the mouth harp—to reflect this. YouTube has been my primary research tool—ancient Finnish folk music is alive and well today, and YouTube lets me both see and hear the instruments in action.

Reindeer—specifically, the reindeer and their herders in Finland. This has required the most research (since two of my main characters are reindeer herders from modern-day Finland). My main source of information has been internet searches, but I’ve read some books, too (both fiction and non-fiction) that involve reindeer and the Sami people.

Even when I deem my research complete and publish my stories, there will probably be inaccuracies. But since my intended audience is the average North American/Western European reader of fantasy adventure books, I’m not too concerned with every detail. I want enough of the setting/culture/details of the animals to be accurate enough to give the reader a flavor of this very real yet very foreign lifestyle.

Northern Lights—specifically, what aurora scientists right now are studying and how they’re doing it. Again, this is a research-intensive topic, and one where I will probably wind up with inaccuracies despite my best efforts. The internet has been my only source of information about this, with my main focus being the websites of universities that have aurora programs. My next step, if I feel I need more detailed information, would be to contact some of the people at these universities to ask specific questions. Again, though, like with the reindeer, I’m writing my stories for readers of fantasy—not aurora experts or astronomers. I want the reader to feel convinced, but if I get one little jot of technobabble wrong, I don’t consider that a big deal.

Any other writers of fantasy or sci-fi out there? What sort of research have you done for your stories?