Now that it’s July, I finally feel like being on my computer again. I’ve got so many assignments to catch up with in my online novel writing class. Thankfully, they’re all grouped into one theme: world-building. That’ll make it easier to focus on all of them at the same time. I’ve got no less than twelve world-building assignments to do. Here are a couple of examples:

1. Write a paragraph or two about how you are going to organize your research. Afterwards list at least five things you think you need to study. You can use this as a handy reference to help remember some of the material you need.
2. Place your characters in some location where you imagine they will spend a lot of time in the story. Even without doing extensive work on the worldbuilding and culture, you will likely have some solid feel for certain locations which resonate for your story — and this, in turn, might help you later develop the type of world and culture you want to make this place real.Your characters know this room, or spot in the garden or whatever other location you want. In a few paragraphs give us a feel for it as well.

Once I get caught up on these assigmnents, I plan to write ahead for The Myth of Merula and then to begin releasing content on a weekly schedule. That way, I can stick to a schedule without writing through writer’s block just to keep the content coming.

Browse all the entries under Myth of Merula, Personal, Writing.

The philosophy wiki will consist of the philosophical insights that Blackbird recalls from her communion with an alien during her Mars journey. Over time, the wiki will become a sort of science fiction encyclopedia of alien philosophies. This will make sense as the story of The Myth of Merula progresses.

The art gallery will begin as the scans and photographs that Alice makes of Blackbirds’ paintings and drawings. It will become over time a museum of alien art. The way that this will fit into the story will also emerge over time as I go along.

The invention section will consist of interactive Shockwave 3D models that Alice makes of the strange inventions that she finds in Blackbird’s house. Blackbird credits the inspiration for these inventions to her alien communion experience.

The stories section will be where Alice archives the stories that Blackbird tells her. These stories will be in multimedia format. They will contain game, web comic and hypertext narrative elements. I had been planning to use Flash, but now I’m going to use Director instead, to benefit from its 3D capability whenever I want it.

The feeling of work becomes more like the feeling of play, day by day. Only the programming and web design aspects still feel like work. I’m looking forward to finishing the first 3D programming entry in the inventions section. Once I get that done, my imagination will really be set free, even more so than it is now. I’ll concentrate for a while on art and storytelling and put programming aside for the time being. I’m so looking forward to doing that.

Browse all the entries under Myth of Merula, Writing.

“If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation that helps us to make a painful rite of passage from one phase of life, one state of mind, to another. A novel, like a myth, teaches us to see the world differently; it shows us how to look into our own hearts and to see our world from a perspective that goes beyond our own self-interest. If professional religious leaders cannot instruct us in mythical lore, our artists and creative writers can perhaps step into this priestly role and bring fresh insight to our lost and damaged world.”

If Karen Armstrong sees artists and writers as playing a priestly role, Daniel Pinchbeck sees them as playing a shamanic role. In Breaking Open the Head, Pinchbeck writes that there are at least ten million people in our culture who potentially fit the shamanic role. It makes sense if you believe that shamanism is a universal human phenomenon, as it is in tribal societies. If you then estimate that one of out of every twenty-five or thirty people “receives a shamanic calling”, it’s but a short leap to the conclusion that millions of people in the Western world are shamanic without realizing it. Pinchbeck doesn’t limit the shamanic role to writing and art but also includes alternative healers and even the mentally ill.

In Pinchbeck’s case, psychedelics, not mythology, receive the emphasis. What both mythology and psychedelics have in common is that they are about transformations in human consciousness. It’s likely that in archaic times they were used together. Hippies reading Gravity’s Rainbow may have known something of the same experience.

To me, these are different, juicier, more ancient perspectives on what a writer’s or artist’s role could or should be. They are refreshing in their simplicity, power and holism.

Browse all the entries under Art, Writing.

There’s also the Bad Boy. Okay, we expected him. He’s not necessarily a meanie. He is often vulnerable underneath his tough exterior – like Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing. And The Charmer. Yeah, he’s easily recognizable in many a book or movie. But the Best Friend? Sure, he makes some womens’ hearts beat faster. Think of almost any Tom Hanks character. The Lost Soul? Of course. Angel is the perfect example. The Swashbuckler – yes, he’s actually a different species than The Chief (otherwise known as the Alpha Male). Could you imagine Indiana Jones climbing the corporate ladder? No way – he’d be bored to death with it. The Warrior, another strong and familiar male archetype, also differs from The Chief in that he sticks up for the underdogs in life, even at his own cost. But The Professor … hmmm. Well, if Spock doesn’t convince you of the potential appeal of this type, how about the guy who studied dinosaurs in Jurassic Park? He was actually a combo of a Professor and a Reluctant Swashbuckler. Read more about the hero archetpyes on All About Romance: We Need a Hero.

What about the heroines? We already know about The Waif. She’s Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and many another fairy tale heroine. She’s not as commonly found in romance novels these days as she was in bygone days. The Boss was a popular character as far back as Katherine Hepburn. Any Princess is likely to be a Boss. Think of Princess Leia. Johanna Lindsey has had more than one Boss character in her novels. Other heroine archetypes that don’t immediately spring to mind as stereotypes but are still quite common are The Survivor and The Spunky Kid. Meg Ryan has played more than one Spunky Kid. Laura Ingalls Wilder in the Little House books and series was a Spunky Kid. The Spunky Kid is an all-american favorite. The Free Spirit is also common. Think of most of Goldie Hawn’s characters. Josephine, the love of Wyatt Earp’s life in Tombstone, was a Free Spirit. As for The Librarian? Shelley Long played a Librarian on Cheers. Laura Dern’s character in Jurassic Park was a combo of a Librarian and a Spunky Kid. The Crusader is close to The Warrior. Buffy and Xena are crusaders. But is she found in romance novels? Sure, Nora Roberts’ Princess Adrianne in Sweet Revenge is an example. Finally, there is The Nurturer. She’s not always a homemaker. Sometimes she’s a psychologist or a doctor these days. Read more about heroine archetypes on All About Romance: The Women We Want to Be.

Browse all the entries under Writing.

The classes follow a simple system that works quite well. Each week’s assignment begins with a description of what you’re being asked to do, along with two examples provided by Lazette. Students each have their own thread for their assigments, and they comment on each others’ threads.

The Forward Motion for Writers community has a lot more to offer than the two year novel writing class. Among other things, it offers crit circles with very clear guidelines on how to critique and how to receive criticism. One guideline is reciprocation. If somebody takes the time to give you thoughtful feedback on your work, you’re expected to return the favor. As I accumulate more writing, I intend to participate in a few crit circles.

If you check out this community, don’t be fooled by the way that the Website looks. The content and community features are a lot better than the design of the site. Expect to have to spend some time learning to navigate the site. Also, remember to scroll down a lot. When you get to a page that you would like to return to later, I suggest that you bookmark it, because you may have trouble finding it again. In spite of all that, the content and community are worth it, and you get used to navigating the site after the first few visits.

Browse all the entries under Myth of Merula, Writing.