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Tuesday 25 January 2011

The Treasures of Carmelidrium Book Tour HERE today

Playing the What If Game.



Today, I am very pleased to welcome N R Williams to my blog



Nancy is here to talk about her exciting new high fantasy book "The Treasures of Carmelidrium." It really is a great read with a well judged blend of action, suspense, romance and humour.

Over to you Nancy ...

Thank you Dominic for allowing me to grace your post in my blog book tour for, “The Treasures of Carmelidrium.” I appreciate it.


Playing the What if Game. You’ve probably heard of this even if you’re not a writer. I’d like to say that a set of dice are involved, but unless you’ve created a board game called 'The What if Game', I’m afraid not.


The what if game is simply asking yourself, 'what if'. What if Harry Potter was a real person? A child raised by an aunt and uncle who should have taken parenting classes. Would he have really turned out as compassionate as he did in the books? Or maybe, Harry was raised by a wealthy family and lavished with gifts. Harry’s mother or father survived and lived to raise him as a single parent. No one in Harry’s family had any magical gifts including Harry. What world leader would Harry have to find and kill in order to save those he loved and himself? Why?


In your book, your character has a dilemma. What is the dilemma? What type of personality does the character have? What type of world does the character live in? Who is the character’s helper and who is the villain?


These are critical questions and the reason an author plays the what if game.


In “The Treasures of Carmelidrium,” I wanted a unique villain. That’s a tough challenge. Every possible villain has been created and re-created endlessly in countless books. I also didn’t want a “god.” There was a period recently in fantasy, where all the villains were “gods.” I hated those books. Mostly because the villain can’t help it. They were what they were. There weren’t any decisions that could have been different for them. To me, the creepiest villain is a man or woman who has chosen to go into a life that most of us would classify as evil. Their decisions are based on their code of right and wrong. Remember, the villain is the hero of his/her own story.


So what is Renwyk’s personality? He is domineering and wants world dominance. A tried and true villain type that we sometimes run into on the street, sad to say. You know, the boss who wants you to do fifty things at once with a smile on your face. Or the abusive partner. This personality is well defined. So now I must play the 'what if' game.


What if Renwyk is born with special abilities? What if Renwyk has an abusive childhood? How would these two things combine to shape him? Why does he want what he wants?
Renwyk is an abusive, dominating man who believes he is justified in his actions and that everyone owes him something. He is obsessed with, and jealous of, Prince Healden, (pronounced with a silent “a” like Hel-don), simply because Healden is the prince. Renwyk is born with the ability to communicate and control the symberveen, a monster. (See Creating Monsters at Nicole Zoltack’s blog, Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight).
Because of this talent and the use of black magic, Renwyk can control (literally) people’s minds and bend their wills to his own. (I had this idea before Harry Potter came out so any similarities are coincidental). Do you see how the 'what if' game helped me to craft the villain I wanted?


Another area where I played the what if game is the world of Gil-Lael, my alternate world. It is French. Why? All my life I have been told that the French do not understand us (Americans) because of our Christian morality. Whether this is true or not, I don’t know. It is common knowledge that the French have a different set of moral values that govern their society. I wondered, what if I flip that? What if I have a crisis in their past that has caused them to be over the top in their morality. What would that crisis be and how would it affect their society and the laws that govern them. To find out, you’ll have to read, “The Treasures of Carmelidrium.”
The what if game is a critical tool for every writer.
I think I will get the patent on that game. LOL


N. R. Williams (Nancy)

Thank you Nancy for sharing the 'what if' game with us!

Don't forget to add a comment with your e-mail address so Nancy can enter you into her contest. Nancy is giving away 3 e-books to 3 winners. Drawing is Feb. 1, 2011 after the book tour ends. She will post the winners on her blog (N R Williams) and will email the lucky three people.

Don't forget to sign up to my blogfest and to post your No Fear stories this coming weekend


NO FEAR BLOGFEST - CLICK HERE TO ENTER. $30/£20 TO BE WON

20 comments:

  1. This is a great post-interview with a really thought provoking intro.I like the way NRWilliams plans her characters and stories. Every time I read such accounts it is like another piece to the writing puzzle has been slotted into place :O) madeleine.maddocks@gmail.com

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  2. That's what's so awesome about being an author - you get to play the What If game! I mean, in real life it's pointless to look back and say what if... But in the fictional world... no limits!

    rachelmorganwrites@gmail.com

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  3. Thank you Dom for allowing me to post on your blog during my book tour for "The Treasures of Carmelidrium." I am grateful.

    Madeleine, your comment is so true. It is interesting to read how different authors play "the what if game," and come up with some interesting ideas.

    Rachel, it's so true that playing "the what if game," is pointless in real life but so creative in the writing process.

    Thank you both for leaving a comment and you both also left your email address. Hurray, I have you entered into my contest.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, fantasy author

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  4. It's almost 30 years since I tried writing fiction, and now I found out where I went wrong.
    There was no what-if game in my writing process. Yes, I could write: I could write well enough to get to the point of discussing my book on the phone with a large publishing house.
    But I could not plot. I had written 50,000 words, and the editor at the publishing house wanted me to make it 90,000 words. Sure, I added 40,000 more words, but my plot wouldn't hold up.
    That, I think now, is the difference between writing skill and writing talent, at least as far as fiction is concerned.
    Thanks for letting me know, Nancy. Now I can stop beating myself over the head with that long-ago novel.
    Thanks, Dom, for having Nancy join in your blog.
    -- K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  5. Oh Kay, that's so sad. But to have a publishing house interested in your manuscript means that you are a good writer. There are books on plot, and sub plots which are so important to help carry the book forward to the end. I am planning on doing a special series on plot on my blog starting the 3rd week in February. I hope you can join me there.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, fantasy author

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  6. Hi Nancy. I think the 'what if' approach is a great one for exploring new ideas for character, plot and sory world. There is a huge amount of literature being written all the time, and it's increasingly hard to come up with something 'new'. I think newness often comes in the treatment of the subject as well as the subject itself. Thanks for your post.
    bcd_tony@yahoo.com

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  7. Great post Nancy!

    I play a what if game too. In fact, the entire crux of the Doorways series is what if people decide to do something?

    I like how you worded the game.

    Still waiting to win my book. :-P

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  8. Hi Nancy, Hi Dominic,

    The 'What If' game has so much value! I agree that villains can be tricky and so often clichéd. I had a nasty piece of work in my NaNo novel and found that, by delving into her psyche and asking questions, I had a much more rounded and believable character.
    margo.benson@yahoo.co.uk

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  9. I agree with you Tony. You left your email address so I have entered you in the contest again.

    Misha, thanks for stopping by. The drawing is on Feb. 1, but you must leave your email address to be entered. You can enter multiple times.

    Hi Margo, I love playing the what if game. It generates so many possibilities. You also left your email and you are entered into the contest again too.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, fantasy author

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  10. You can play the What If? game in any genre of fiction writing, but I can see from your post how important it is in yours. Very interesting!

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  11. HI, Nancy, and HI DOM! I missed you at my blog....

    Love the "what if" game. Not only does it shape our writing it shapes our lives...

    Endless possibilities.

    Wonderful post, Nancy, further enticing the reader to rush to read your book...

    You won't be disappointed.


    Michael

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  12. Thank you Helen.

    I hope they do rush to buy my book Michael. Since you've read it, your encouragement is wonderful to receive.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, fantasy author

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  13. The What If game seems like an excellent way of discovering so many possibilities in a story--very interesting post!

    Thanks for hosting, Dominic! And thank you, Nancy, for another great post in this blog tour.

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  14. Thank you Golden. It is a fun game to play while building your story. And it can even help when you get bogged down in the middle.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, fantasy author

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  15. It's tomorrow already, so I will say good night and thank you Nancy for popping along regularly to join in the comments. It has been a real pleasure hosting you. All the best for the remainder of your tour

    :Dom

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  16. Thank you Dominic. I enjoyed being at your blog today. I will continue to stop by a couple more times tonight in case anyone else leaves a comment.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, fantasy author

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  17. Hi! Your Line about the villain being the hero of his own story is eye opening. Can't wait to pick up your book.

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  18. Thank you Kari, I'm glad I was able to help you see the villain a little differently. I hope you grab the book, that would be great.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, fantasy author

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  19. You've played the 'what if' game and brought it to exciting conclusions Nancy. He sounds like a well thought out villain!

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  20. Thank you L'Aussie. And thanks for reading my book.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, fantasy author

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