Oor Fictional karakters

 

Ek het vandag amper nie by my Junie-projek uitgekom nie. Nie oor ek tot 4 uur toe gewerk het aan daardie stupid opstel nie. Nie omdat ek ’n deadline vir die local koerant gehad het nie, maar omdat ek uiteindelik die moed bymekaar geskraap het om hierdie week se episode van Game of Throne te kyk. Side note: moenie dit kyk as jy attached raak aan karakters nie, maar as jy GoT kyk is dit ’n weakness wat jy vinnig moet afleer. Ek sukkel self nog daarmee.

Anyway ek het daarvan onthou en hier is waarmee ek op gekom het vir die dag. Ek het ’n foto geneem van die landskap, maar dit was laat en die uitkoms was baie blurry en donker. Hierdie foto het my nie veel geleer nie en ek het die random goed op my lessenaar gekies het nie. Miskien het ek dit maar net gekies het omdat die roos besig was om dood te gaan en dit my laat dink het aan my vars wonde en idiotic tendancies om attached te raak aan karakters.

Bo en behalwe die shocking en grusome twists van ander skrywers, is ek weer na bietjie van ’n lang tyd  aan my eie storie herinner toe ek ’n artikel online gelees het oor Female leads (http://http://thoughtcatalog.com/2013/how-to-write-a-strong-female-lead/). Hierdie artikel het my terug gevat na ’n probleem wat my begin krap het vandat ek besluit het om Smallville weer te kyk my oë gerol het vir hoe annoying Lana was.

Ek dink nie sy was noodwendig sleg geskryf nie, ek het al baie sulke meisies ontmoet. Hulle is so perfek almal wil hulle wees of hê, maar hulle voel so pateties…so fragile.

Dit is beslis nie hoe ek wil hê my karakter moet wees nie. Natuurlik wil jy ’n sterk en relatable vroulike karakter skep, maar aan die ander kant wil ek ook nie ’n karakter soos Lois Lane hê nie. Jy weet daai amper bombastiese tipe vroue wat altyd voor in die koor is nie. Moenie my verkeerd verstaan nie, ek het baie van die karakter gehou, maar dis nie hoe ek my hoofkarakter wil hê nie.

Meestal omdat ek nie so is nie. Ek wil ’n karakter skep wat sterk is sonder dat dit in jou gesig is, iemand wat nie pateties voorkom nie. Ek weet nie of ek dit sal kan reg kry nie. So hier is nog ’n uitreksel uit my boek uit sodat julle kan sien of ek dit regkry.

My hoofkarakter kom dalk nie so sterk hier voor nie, dalk ’n volgende keer:

The four riders were very imposing. Three of them were clad in some sort of armour which seemed very light. It consisted of just a breastplate and plates around the arm. The fourth was only wearing gauntlets of metal. And they were all heavily armed.

The man who had called out to them was riding a little in front of the other. He was riding a great white horse taller than any that walked the earth. It was a magnificent beast. He was tall and had blond hair that curled a little longer and over his ears. He was a giant of a man. That’s what they saw when he pulled his horse to a halt and dismounted. He was extremely tall with broad shoulders and when he had dismounted he pulled his sword from its sheath which was tied to the horse. The other three men had also come to a stop and dismounted.

Peter had watched them for a while and when the leader came forward he spoke, the piece of bark was forgotten. “Have we done something wrong? Is it illegal to camp or to travel on these lands?” He asked. Lyanna had walked slowly back to her brother’s side.

One of the other riders had walked up to the leader’s side. “You should answer when you are spoken to. This land is part of the kingdom of Candalon.” The leader sighed. “Calm down Richard,” he said softly before he continued: “I wasn’t threatening you myself. I simply know what will happen to anyone who tries to damage this forest in any way. It normally ends very badly for them. So it wasn’t a threat, it was a warning.” He said. He sheathed his sword again and made a purposeful effort to release his threatening stance.

Two of the others copied his stance, but the one who had threatened him still seemed aggressive. “By their talk they’re from across the sea.” He said. For a moment a strange look of alarm flashed across the leader’s face. This sounded the alarm for Peter. He gave a slight glance over his shoulder and decided that thanks to the superstition they would probably not be followed into the White Woods. He looked at Lyanna and tilted his head ever so slightly. She didn’t look happy, but she would do it either way.

In a smooth motion he pulled his bow from his back and shot an arrow into them, but he didn’t wait to see that the arrow actually just jumped from a breastplate, because he ran – following Lyanna into the woods believing they wouldn’t follow him. Unfortunately he was wrong.

They hadn’t run far when they were chased down by the leader on the great horse and their path was blocked by him. He came in alone. Lyanna stumbled and fell and Peter knocked and arrow and strung the bow. The man didn’t move, he simply said: “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He said. “Why? You are all alone. You may be wearing armour, but believe me I will still hit and kill you.” Peter replied. “I believe you, but that wouldn’t be wise…Because I’m never alone.”

Behind them they heard a deep growl. And from out of the woods a wolf suddenly appeared. But it was nothing like the wolves of the eastern continent that they were used to. It was bigger, much bigger. It was quite a striking combination of pure black and white and its eyes were shocking blue. It would have been extraordinary beautiful to admire from a distance, but right now its fangs were bared and it approached slowly like it was stalking pray. “Ba Brego” the man said and dismounted while they were distracted by the wolf. Peter was confused. The wolf stalked around them until he was at the man’s side.

“I suggest you put it down.” Aldred said. Peter thought it was probably wise, but he was too terrified to submit to this horrifying creature. Lyanna had gotten up again. Peter reacted instinctively. He shot, very accurately and it penetrated the shoulder plates of the man. He fell back with the force and the wolf yelped and then pounced onto him but before the great fangs could bit down, the man stammered something in a foreign language and the wolf hesitated, but still pinned him down. From where he lay he could see the man standing up and pull the bloody arrow from his shoulder. He was clearly in a lot of pain.

The wolf bent down and growled and he could smell its breath. The man stumbled closer and picked up Peter’s bow. And then in front of peter’s disbelieving eyes, the wooden bow caught flame and turned to ash in the man’s hand.

He threw the ash down and bit his lips from the pain. “I’ll live, I promise. But I can do with you here.” He said softly but Peter heard him clear as day. To who he was speaking remained an open question. Then he spoke in the strange language to the wolf and the animal let him go. He was too frightened to do anything but sit up. Lyanna was hunched against a tree trembling of fear.

“Please don’t try anything like that again. I can’t stop him if I’m dead.” The man said. Peter wanted to stand up, but out from behind the trees shapes came and it took a few moments before they recognized them as men.

No they weren’t men, they were elves. When they came closer you could see their pointed ears. But elves were easy to recognize by more than their pointed ears. They were all tall and they had a distinctly elven air around them, and from their eyes light shone in the colour of their eyes, commonly called Elven Light.

All of them were wearing metal gauntlets and grey cloaks. And they all carried large white bows and elven arrows.

One of them came forward to the leader and the wolf. He had long dark hair and his cloak was pinned with a large jewelled broach which none of the others had.

He and the man spoke in the same language that he used to speak to the wolf. The other elves came to them and held arrows aimed at them. They were captives now.

But a strange thing happened. The injured man took his shoulder plate of and the elf who had spoken to him drew a dagger from his belt. The elf cut a small wound into his own hand and dripped a few drops of his blood into the wound from the arrow. And then after a few minutes the skin healed over.

Peter couldn’t believe his eyes, but the man didn’t seem surprised. He said a word to the elf and then put his armour back on.

He and the elf spoke another few sentences and then they seemed to agree about something. The elf turned to their captors and they pulled him and Lyanna to their feet and indicated for them to walk.

They walked a long time and it wasn’t out of the woods but deeper into it. It was as strange a place as it had looked from the outside. The trees grew tall before it branched out and when they branched out eventually the branches with leaves were so dense that you could not see the sky from the ground.

When they had walked for a few hours the man stopped suddenly and breathed in deeply. There had been no sound or change in the landscape.

Suddenly from behind the trees another wolf came trotting in and greeted the first wolf. It was clearly the same type of wolf, although this one was a little smaller but not much. It was pure white with only a small black mark on its forehead and had the same striking blue eyes. The man stroked the new wolf’s ears in a greeting but he was looking in the direction where it had come from.

And he wasn’t waiting long before a figure emerged from behind the trees. It was a woman and she was an elf.

She was wearing a deep blue dress and the material was lighter than air because it seemed to float around her. She had long blond air that tumbled to her waist and on the top of her head it was decorated with beautiful jewels. And from her eyes there shown a blue light.

She smiled when she came upon the group. Everyone apart from the man and the leader of the elven company bowed their heads to her.

Vir origami het ek probeer om ’n swaan te maak en dit is wat uitgekom het. Dit lyk nie regtig soos ’n swaan nie, maar nou ja. Hopelik gaan dit beter op dag 5.