The Pulps Made Me Do It

It's been three days now since an idea snuck into my mind, and I won't leave. No matter how much time I just let it sit there, glancing its way every now and then to see if it's gone, it stays there. The idea is waiting. Waiting for me to come closer and inspect it. The insidious little effer is winning, and has moved me to write this.

How Did This Start?

Good Mr. Bryce Beattie from the StoryHack magazine has done a lot of people an enormous favor, and both compiled and edited a series of articles that were written back when the pulps were still selling as well as they should be today. These articles were written by, as Bryce puts it, the greats of yesteryear, referring to the authors whose names were to be recognized back then, of course.

Well, I got those books. I'm still halfway through the first one, and I came across the following words:

By simple story ideas, is meant embryo plots that follow the line of least resistance in unfolding. From these ideas are evolved the plots that form the basis of most short stories less than three thousand words in length.

--Culpeper Chunn

That Which Happened Next 

The whole article is very interesting, but do note the underlined part, if you would.

I have never read a relatively modern tale that's less than 3,000 words. I've read hundreds of fairy tales, which may be even shorter than that, but never have I come across a short story that's as short as 3,000 words or less that was written in the 1900s and onwards.

Yes, this does mean that I need to broaden my scope when it comes to literature. Setting that aside for a minute, I also want to express that I've never written a piece that's less than 7,000 words in length.

I didn't pay much attention to the number, and kept on reading. But the words stayed in my head for whatever reason, and later on, I went back to make sure I'd read correctly.

"Short stories less than three thousand words in length."

That would be direct, to the point, and blunt. As I see it in my mind, there's barely any space in 3,000 words for much. It's more plot than story. It's an incredibly short piece that's going to be read in less than 20 minutes. There would be almost no room to play around with anything, but it's also a whole 3,000 words which would allow you to experiment with the interplay between dialogue, description, narration, and transitions to tell a whole story.

The Little Effer Beckons Me Closer and Closer

At first, I just wanted to let it go. I didn't consider it worth the effort. But three days have passed, and the more I think about it, the more I keep going, "Why not?" in my head.

Why don't I write some short stories that are les than 3,000 words in length? I'd publish them independently, and could write 10. At the very least, I'd learn something from the experience.

And seriously, if anyone reading this has an answer to why I shouldn't do this, I'd love to read it in the comments. While I wait for said comments, and make up my mind about this, make sure you go to StoryHack Action & Adventure. I have a story that'll be published in one of their issues pretty soon. It's about 10,000 words long, and I used to think that was a kind of restrictive.

Until the next post, fellows.

The Dark Powers of Snow White

In the tale, I mean. Not that Snow White was a witch or anything like that.

“Would that I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of the window frame.”

It might be that you’ve never read those lines if you’ve only ever consumed Disney’s version of Snow White. It just occurred to me, in fact, that the beginning of that movie has the magic mirror describe the princess. Not her own mother.

I’m not sure why that was. Sure, the queen pricks her finger, which causes a few droplets of blood to fall onto the snow on the sill of her window. Blood might have been deemed too shocking for kids to see in an animation. And I get that. If that’s the case, however, I’d like to know why they felt it appropriate to animate the queen kicking the head off the skeleton of someone she clearly starved to death…

Let me get back on track here.

So the queen cuts herself. It’s not really specified, but I imagine she was transfixed by a sort of poetic beauty by the colors, and wished to have a daughter with these very passionate and poetic hues.

In the better known version of Grimm story, the queen had such a daughter and, unfortunately, died. Like I mentioned before, probably from natural causes.

The thing is, I’m a writer, and one who enjoys conspiracy theories at that. I don’t believe even half of them, but if we’re being completely honest, coming up with conspiracy theories is a lot like coming up with a story. You have certain scenarios, and you’re trying to connect them in the way that best makes sense.

So when you tell me that this queen made a fantastical wish, that this wish came true, and that she died shortly (or immediately) thence, my brain can’t help but go, “Coincidence?”

“Me thinks not,” I reply. Mostly because I can make it not be a coincidence. Especially since I’m writing my own enhanced version of Snow-white.

The Ancient Powers

I’ve already talked about the Ancient Powers a little bit in a past post. They’re basically the medium that allows magic to happen in this world. I’m not going to go too much into detail about them, because like I said, I don’t want to define them all that much. Not even for myself. This will allow me the freedom to integrate them as much as possible to this, and possible future enhancements of other fairy tales.

I don’t want them to be a “get out of jail free” card either. I don’t want them to be a cheap resource that I can use when I’ve written myself into a corner. Because of this, I do need to lay down some rules, conventions, or loose guidelines that I can behold myself to. If I do this, I’ll make it hard for myself to abuse this aspect of the world I created.

So let me tell you a little bit about these Ancient Powers.

The Workings of Mystic Forces

“Be careful what you wish for. It might just come true.”

I have a thing for sayings. It amazes me how they impart wisdom and convey a warning in so few words. Even the sayings that are wrong or badly thought out are useful. You just have to think about them, determine why they might be mistaken, and you’re all the wiser for it.

I also think that, as people, we’re full of folly, and have a need for sayings to remind us. That way, we can fight against that folly.

Which made me think, “Why don’t I just embody sayings in this world?”

Thus were the Ancient Powers born.

Anyone can beseech the Powers. People with lore can do it whenever they want. People without lore, however, can only do it when they wish or desire something with true intensity.

Of course, in this world, there are elfs, dwarfs, witches, trolls, ogres, etc, etc, etc. All these beings (or The Others as people call them) know how to entreat the Ancient Powers. Humans can learn, which is where sorcerers and sorceresses come from. All of the beings mentioned previously know that a price is always to be paid when beseeching a favor from the Ancient Powers.

There are those, however, that wish intensely for something, and commit the error of saying it outloud. Those people will have their wishes granted, but the Powers will have their payment.

You might be wondering what kind of currency the Ancient Powers use.

It can be the time you devote to something, or the emotions caused by your feelings. If you’re sad, for example, and bawl, the intensity of that emotion is enough payment for the Powers. The burning of a loaf of bread you were going to eat is good for them too. In the end, they demand sacrifice.

Of course, the moment someone says sacrifice, some people’s thoughts turn dark. And indeed, the Powers are willing to take life and blood sacrifices as well. This dark aspect of the Powers is what originated the cult of the Queen, why the cult is gaining ground, and why the Powers are now seen as evil by most people during Snow-white’s time.

Or at least, that’s what the cult wants the people to believe.

Told you I like conspiracies.

Finally, after dancing around it for a couple of posts, you now know why Snow’s mother dies in my enhanced version of the tale: She wished for a curious daughter too intensely, and outloud. The Powers heard her, and since the queen had not made a sacrifice to them, they took her life.

Don’t worry. Despite what the adherents of the Queen would tell you, these powers aren’t actually dark. They’re just fair. Some people just think that fair is mean.

Since they’re fair, however, they didn’t just make Snow’s appearance odd in exchange for the life of her mother. They also gave her a blessing. It was this blessing that protected her from the huntsman when he tried to kill her, and it’s the reason the animals in the forest didn’t harm her when she fled into the woods.

I’ll keep my lips shut about this one, though. I prefer you find out about it when you read the actual story.

Until then, fellow, I hope the runes fall in your favor.

And remember: Whisper your wishes.

For Your Consideration
Should you like to be notified of when I update this blog, send me an email to longtainjohn@gmail.com. I’ll be glad to add you to my newsletter. If you’d like to see if I can convince you even further to join my newsletter, click right here.

Did You Know the Name of Snow White’s Kingdom?

Me neither, but I’m making it up.

Let Me Tell You a Little Story

There was war once between the four kingdoms of the land. At first, it was violent, massive, and bloody. Neither crows nor wolves would go hungry during these years of bloodshed and screamletting.

Upon seeing how taxing this war was, the four kings changed tactics. They took this war from fields, to courts. The soldiers were now spies, traitors, and assassins. Swords were no longer used to fight this war. Round pieces of metal, coins, took their place.

There soon came a time when no one wanted to be king or queen, due to the high likelihood of an agonizing death thanks to poison. There was also the chance of being stabbed on the back while celebrating your nuptials with your husband or wife. Nothing you said was private. Everyone was privy to everything you did.

The names of these kingdoms changed frequently during these times. But the new king of one of them grew tired of this chaos and summoned the other three to a field. He sent the same letter to his counterparts, saying that he would be there alone with nothing but his side arm, and that he hoped the other three would attend.

The day of the meeting came. The king was there, alone, with nothing but his side arm. The other three monarchs came, each with a unit of 100 men behind them. When they saw the lone king they feared a trap, and mobilized for a fight.

But the lone king simply stood on top of a hill with his arms open, demonstrating his vulnerability. Eventually, the three other monarchs approached. The lone king moved slowly to unsheathe his sword, drive it tip-first into the ground, and spoke to the others.

“Plant your swords into me, if you will. Or plant them into the ground if you prefer.”

Queen Greenwood planted her sword into the ground. Because of this, her kingdom retains her name.

King Greyrein planted his sword into the ground. Because of this, his kingdom retains his name.

King Brownmountain planted his sword into the ground. Because of this, his kingdom retains his name.

The lone king, King Bluesea, sighed with relief and asked, “Who is the proudest among us?”

This was a time when words meant what they meant. A time when they were not played with. There was no doubt as to what he meant. After some deliberation and discussion, it was determined that Greyrein was the proudest of them.

King Bluesea, the one that had summoned the other three, then spoke four phrases. Each in a different language, that of the monarchs before him.

“We are not friends, and may never become so, but peace is not about friendship,” he said in his tongue, that of Bluesea

“Peace is about understanding. Words are meant to be understood. But my people do not speak the words of your kingdom,” he said in the language of Greenwood.

“I will teach my people the language of one of your kingdoms, that they may speak their mother tongue, and an adopted one. That there may be understanding within and without,” he said in the language of Brownmaountain.

“And I propose it be the language of the proudest among us, that he will be at peace, and so will the rest of us,” he said in the language of Greyrain.

“Suppose we disagree,” said queen Greenwood, but in the language of Greyrain.

The other three laguhed.

“Then uproot your sword and drive it into me,” said Bluesea.

But the swords remained planted. The first festival to celebrate the peace took place one year after the meeting. Peoples from all four kingdoms, those that had learned the language of Greyrain, were taken to celebrate.

Food, drink, games, songs, jokes, ideas, and even beds were shared during the five days of the festival. It was called “The Reminder of Peace”, and it was agreed that it would take place every five years.

Even though the swords were never touched, and not a one of them ever tumbled, they rusted. The kings saw this, deemed it improper, and hired seven dwarfs to forge a monument. A monument of four towering swords, thrust into the ground just like the original ones. One was green, the other blue, the other grey, the other brown. This symbol was dubbed “Pride’s Defeat”.

Many years will pass since this time, and the festival will still be celebrated centuries, if not millennia in the future. More than a golden era of peace, this could be called a silver era. No wolves, eagles, or crows shall feed on the flesh of soldiers, but there will always be tension among humans. No wars are fought, but feuds will endlessly take place among the peoples of the four kingdoms.

It is during this festival, however, that Snow White and her Prince shall one day meet. She hailing from Brownmountain, and he from Greenwood.

This is part of the Worldbuilding I came up with for my enhanced edition of Snow-white. More specifically, this is a little bit of background story that, now defined, will help me narrate things as someone who has actually lived through the history of this world. This in turn will make the narrative organic, and it will feel natural to you, reader.

There’s not much more to say, really. The following posts will show you more of this world I’m creating, as well as more instances in which I had to stop writing and “troubleshoot” a bit of “writer’s block.”

Until then, fellow, I hope the runes fall in your favor.

For Your Consideration

Should you like to be notified of when I update this blog, send me an email to longtainjohn@gmail.com. I’ll be glad to add you to my newsletter. If you’d like to see if I can convince you even further to join my newsletter, click right here.

How Self-Hatred Lead to Writing an Awesome Snow White Adaptation

Not really, though. More like a love for my craft.

I’ve come across a few roadblocks as I write my enhanced edition of Snow-white, titled As White As Snow. They were relatively easy to get around, but the one I’m going to write about today…

Well, this one almost made me hate myself.

Trying to Make Things Easy for Myself

Things went swimmingly after deciding on the names for the seven dwarfs…for some chapters at least. I then had to contend with the subject of the prince. You know, that dude that comes out of nowhere in the original tale to acquire a non-decomposing corpse, or that flirts a little bit with Snow-white in Disney’s animation at the beginning.

That’s when I had to stop again, and think. Why? Well, because I was trying to, again, not give myself more work than necessary. If he’s a prince, that meant he was either Snow’s brother, or a prince from another land. Did I want to go through the trouble of creating another kingdom? No. That would mean I would have to come up with the relationship between his, and Snow’s kingdom, their geographical location, would probably have to come up with the Prince’s parents if he and Snow were going to get married by the end…

It was a whole lot of work I wanted to avoid because, again, this was supposed to be a quick, fun, light project.

So I wanted the prince to be the son of one of the king’s lords, as I explained in my previous post. I’d be deviating from the original tale, yes, but it really made no difference. The fact that the prince was a prince did not impact the story at all. I figured I could change that detail and it wouldn’t be such a jarring thing.

There was only one problem.

It’s Not Easy to Come By Easy Things

By the end of the original Snow-white tale, a king passes judgement on the wicked deeds of the evil queen.

Which makes sense, right? Only another king seems “fit” to pass judgement on the liege (liegess?) of another country. He probably shouldn’t, as it’s none of his business what happens in another kingdom, but that’s how this story goes.

Would it make sense for a lord to pass judgement on the queen? After a revolution, perhaps, but that is waaaaaay outside the scope of this tale.

So Snow’s love interest had to be a prince. Which meant I had to come up with another kingdom (or country), which meant I had to come up with the prince’s father, and names for the kingdom so it wouldn’t get confusing, etc, etc, etc. It also made sense that if there were two kingdoms, there would be at least two others that had an impact on their society and economy.

I stopped writing, and thought for a little while. Five minutes at most. I was sure now that if stuff like this was coming up, it would likely just keep coming. And that meant that if I kept going, I was either going to treat this as a serious, full fledged project, or just leave it at that and look for another one that would be fun, light, and quick.

Why did I hate myself so much that I was considering having to do more work than necessary? And work that might not pay off in the end at that.

To be completely transparent with you, as I’m writing this, I again ask why I didn’t just abandon the project. I wonder why I decided to keep goin. I wonder what made me leave it up to chance how many kingdoms there were in this world, pick up an 8 sided die, and roll it.

It landed showing an 8. Eight kingdoms to define and work on just to write an adaptation of a tale that’s originally some pages long at most. I stared at that number for a while, letting my mind process what it was seeing, and the work that lay ahead of me.

I already stated that I was enjoying this project, and that I truly have faith in it. When I sit down to work on it, I lose perception of time and get lost in the flow of it. That, right there, is the surest sign that what you are doing fulfills you.

I care for this project, and I was not going to leave it.

So I stared at that number for a while. Not sure how long, but it wasn’t all that much. Then, a thought. Many things went through my mind in less than a second, and I nodded. Once, twice, thrice…

Fine, I thought with a smile slowly stretching my lips. “Fine, yeah.”

Time to Crack Them Knuckles

Here’s what went through my mind: See, I was already thinking of enhancing more fairy tales. Not only those adapted by Disney, but the ones I liked from the rest of the anthology collected by the Grimm brothers.

So why not create a world where I could do that? The die had come up an 8 for the number of kingdoms. 4 of those could be the home for my “Grimm enhancements”, but what about the other 4?

Well, it occurs to me that fairy tales come from all over the world. I’ve read some of the Arabian Nights, and have been directed to more tales from a variety of different countries.

Those would be future projects, however, since I’m really not familiar with cultures other than the western one. So let’s set those 4 free “kingdoms” aside for a few years, and concentrate on the ones I plan to use for my Grimm enhancements.

By this point, this was a serious writing project. Unintuitively, I was going to have to pause the writing for some days, and work on the foundation of everything. I created a new document in my As White As Snow folder, and titled it Worldbuilding.

I’ll let you know more about it in the next post, fellow. May the runes fall in your favor until then.

For Your consideration
Should you like to be notified of when I update this blog, send me an email to longtainjohn@gmail.com. I’ll be glad to add you to my newsletter. If you’d like to see if I can convince you even further to join my newsletter, click right here.

The Name of Snow White’s Evil Queen

Is this post’s title click baity? Well, I hope so. I did give the Evil Queen a name in the enhanced version of Little Snow-white I’m writing, but the original texts recorded by the Grimm brothers don’t give us a name for them

The bad news here is that I’m experimenting with click-baity titles. I don't really know what I'm doing, so they might not even be all that enticing. The good news is that I’ve found out how to not feel guilty about using them: I’ll address it as the cheap tactic that it is, and attempt to make it humorous.

But let’s assume that you’re interested in that bit I mentioned about writing an enhanced version of Snow-white. Maybe you picked up on the fact that I said I’d given the evil queen a name. If you’re still reading this despite my shameful behavior, I’m going to hazard a guess that you’re interested in reading about it.

I promise to be decent from now on…until I have to come up with another title.

The Second Roadblock as I Wrote My Enhanced Version

Snow-white is the only character that is given a name in the Grimm texts. No one else is ever named, despite what Disney would have us believe. If I’ve gotten you to read the most easily accessible version of this story in a copy of the Grimms’ anthology, then you know that those dwarfs did not have names. And if I remember correctly, it wasn’t even Disney that named them. It was a musical that bestowed names upon those elfs.

And yes, I just called the dwarfs elfs. This is due to the fact that throughout the original tales, and even in ancient nordic texts like The Elder Edda, elf and dwarf are interchangeable.

Anyways, forgive my digression. I wanted to talk about the second roadblock I stumbled upon, and that is, precisely, names. Mainly, who should I name so that the narrative does not get repetitive and confusing?

Villains are, of course, main characters. This led me to name our evil queen. As I sat down to write the chapter in which she made her first appearance, I again had to stop and think. Who else would I be naming?

Even though I had a treatment, or a detailed summary of the book, I wasn’t quite sure who would need a name yet. The king and queen would not need names for reasons that will be apparent when you read my finished story.

The prince? I wasn’t sure. Heck, I wasn’t even sure he would be a prince. For some reason, I thought he might be the son of one of the king’s lords. Politically, at least, I thought that would be a better move for the king. To have a member of a family already subjected to him elevated to king, instead of some foreigner.

But my biggest concern was whether I would have to name all seven dwarfs. This meant having to give each one a detailed and realistic personality, which meant having to stop my writing, and work on the character profiles for the dwarfs.

I did not want to do that. This was supposed to be a short, fun, light project, as I said in my last post. Working on seven different character profiles was a much bigger commitment than I was willing to accept for this endeavor. Besides, the dwarfs didn’t even have names originally, and they barely took part in the story. They were, quite literally, treated as a single entity. I didn’t want the extra work, and I wanted to remain as faithful to the original tale as possible.

Looking at the Problem From Afar

I had to step away from the writing, and think over a teapot about this “little” conundrum. The water had not even boiled when I came to the realization that I either did things right, or not at all.

By the time I finished the teapot, I hadn’t made a decision yet. It would actually take the whole day for me to make up my mind. I have faith in this enhanced version of Snow-white. I enjoy working on it.

I was going to do things right.

The following day saw me sitting down not to continue writing the chapter I’d left incomplete, but to think about the conventions dwarfs would use to name their offspring. Then, I wrote down the seven names of my dwarfs, and worked on their profiles.

I hope, fellow, that you soon get to meet the evil queen Revna, and the dwarfs Mat, Tok, Mer, Roc, Carv, Or, and Tun.

Until then, I’ll see you in the next post, and hope that the runes fall in your favor.

For Your Consideration
Should you like to be notified of when I update this blog, send me an email to longtainjohn@gmail.com. I’ll be glad to add you to my newsletter. If you’d like to see if I can convince you even further to join my newsletter, click right here.

Why Did Snow White’s Mother Die?

The story passed on to us by the Grimm brothers never gives us an answer. Natural causes, most likely. Actually, the real reason Snow’s mother died in the version we can all read today is revisionism. I’ll write a whole post about that in the near future, but I want to stay on topic right now. The Grimm version never tells us why she died after giving birth. The fact that, probably, 1 in every 20 women died giving birth during the middle ages is a good enough answer, sure. But I want something more.

Birth Giving in the Middle Ages

As I sat down to write the second chapter of my Snow-white version, I realized I knew nothing about births in the 1500s. Absolutely nothing. This was a problem, since I always imagined Snow’s mom died right after giving birth to her. This meant I had to set the scene, and I had no idea how to even do that.

Research is a big part of writing. So instead of making progress on the story, I took off on another adventure into the internet. Thankfully, long gone are the days where I had to write a research paper and cite my sources. Unfortunately, I still have to make an effort to verify my sources. The internet is a twisting corridor full of misinformation, traps, and false exits. It’s full of ignorance, is what I’m trying to say. I have to admit I sometimes wish all my friends would turn into historians.

Alas, I am historian-friendless. All I can hope is that my narration of the moment in which Snow’s brought into this world is somewhat believable, if not truthful. With that part done, however, I suddenly had a spark of beautiful and elating inspiration.

What if Snow’s mother dies because of the wish she made to have a daughter of white, red, and black? said a voice in my head.

“Ooof,” I said out loud.

Magic in Snow-white’s World

I started making connections in my mind. I’ve read some of the fairy tales collected by the Grimm brothers, and it always struck me as weird that some of them have Christian elements. It’s to be expected, of course, as these tales are mostly based during the middle ages, but the mixture of pagan and Christian aspects is hard to take in stride.

It was this disharmony that gave me an idea in the end. Just as Christianity came to replace older religions, what if there’s a shift happening in the world of my enhanced version of Snow-white? What if people used to believe in certain gods, or powers, but another creed was gaining grounds in the beliefs of the people?

The Ancient Powers, I called them. And that’s what people in this world call them as well. But then came the Queen (of light) to drive away what her adherents are now calling the Dark Powers.

I thought this idea fitting because from the initial planning stages, I wanted magic to have a more prominent part in this world. I didn’t want for the evil queen to be the only one that used it, but the dwarfs as well. The addition of the Ancient Powers was precisely what I needed, and I could introduce the magical part of this world from, practically, the very beginning of the story.

This was still a simple enough project up to this point still. I didn’t have to define, precisely, how the Ancient Powers work. I could keep them as a mysterious force the same way many writers do with their magic systems. I was still workin on a fun, light project.

It wouldn’t last long, unfortunately. Or thankfully, rather. The truth is, I’m excited about everything that came about because of this. And I’ll tell you all about it in future posts.

Until then, fellow, I hope the runes fall in your favor.

For Your Consideration

Should you like to be notified of when I update this blog, send me an email to longtainjohn@gmail.com. I’ll be glad to add you to my newsletter. If you’d like to see if I can convince you even further to join my newsletter, click right here.

Did Snow White’s Parents Love Each Other?

Context

I’m writing an enhanced version of the Little Snow-white story, and you could say this was my first roadblock when I started. I had to define the relationship between the king and queen. Sure, the queen wasn’t going to be around for very long, but she’s the one that started this whole story. She’s the one that made the wish to have a daughter who sported very passionate and poetic colors.

The same goes for the king. In the original story, he doesn’t participate much, and just fades out of existence after he’s mentioned to have gotten married a second time. My very intention in writing an enhanced edition of this tale was to answer questions like that: What happened to him? Or where did he go? This means that I had to write at least some scenes with him.

Which meant that I had to write them together, the king and queen, and show at least a bit of what their relationship was like. Which leads me back to the question at the very top of this post.

Did Snow White’s parents love each other?

This was not a question I’d been expecting, to be honest. When I sat down to write the first chapter of this story, I knew I was going to have the king and queen interact with each other. I just hadn’t considered the question of how. How were they going to treat each other? What was their relationship like, and how would its state affect their interactions?

The page was blank, the cursor blinked, and I just stared at the screen, thinking about this question. It was very likely that their marriage was arranged. Or maybe, they’d actually fallen in love before their marriage was arranged. Or maybe their marriage was not arranged at all. Perhaps they’d chosen to marry each other and their decision had been respected. 

I had to choose between those options, and decided to go with the first one. Their marriage had indeed been arranged, and they did something that is almost never done. Or at least, I’ve never heard anyone talk about this when they decide to open up about their marriages.

They devoted time to learn to care for each other. They didn’t “click”, nor was there a “spark”, and the “chemistry” was not there. But they opened up to the other about themselves, and talked about what was important to the other.

That in itself would be a very interesting story to tell. Heck, I’ve been wanting to write a story about that for a very, very long time now. But unfortunately, this is not their story. It’s Snow-white’s, and her story begins with the queen sewing at a window. She’s already married to the king, and they’ve already gotten to know each other as best they could in the time since their wedding.

And The Writing Began

Having decided that, it was a breeze to write this chapter. Sure, a whole hour had gone by as I thought and pondered about their relationship, but that’s the way of writing. Much of the time flies by as you make decisions, and deal with answering questions that hadn’t come up until you actually sit down to write.

I’d already worked out their personalities. I already knew the king was a noble, responsible, conscious liege. The queen was a caring, wise, patient leader. In my experience, determining that is enough to write the interactions between my characters. What was preventing me from typing away was that I’d forgotten there was history between these two, and I hadn’t established it.

But there it is: An arranged marriage that worked out because of the willingness of the couple to make it work, and their actions to make it so. That’s all I needed to start typing away.

Simple enough, right? I thought enhancing Snow-white’s story would not be such a problem. I thought it would be a quick, fun, light project that I could finish in less than a month. The story had already been written, after all, and I was just adding a detail here or there.

You’ll find out in the following posts that I was very, very wrong.

May the runes fall in your favor, fellow.

For Your consideration

Should you like to be notified of when I update this blog, send me an email to longtainjohn@gmail.com. I’ll be glad to add you to my newsletter. If you’d like to see if I can convince you even further to join my newsletter, click right here.