Friday, January 8, 2016

Behind the Scenes: The Silent Blade--part 1

     Okay, so when I asked the questions quite a few of you wanted to hear some "Behind the Scenes" stories. Well, in all honesty, I'm not sure I could actually write out the story behind Dark Storm Rising in a way you could understand. It was all sorta a mix of a few ideas I had, a friend who teased me to no end, and a very interesting character named Finch. Make sense? Haha, yeah. Didn't think so. ;)
     So instead I'm going to give you a behind the scenes of The Silent Blade. This is quite a bit easier to explain because it actually has a rational story behind it.
Around December of 2014, my family watched The Chronicles of Narnia for the first time. Needless to say, after I watched them everything about fantasy and a medieval-like world completely captured my attention! In January or 2015, a friend did a fun writing assignment on her blog. I listened to the music she had given us and immediately I pictured a medieval world. I sat down and within a few minutes I wrote my entry, which was:

Eira crept slowly through the dark corridor. What I wouldn't give to be home! she thought, as she reached and touched the saber that hung at her waist. The smooth metal felt cool to her clammy hands. She grasped it tightly as she felt along the rock wall leading deeper into the cavern.  Suddenly she stopped. She wasn't alone. There was someone else in the cavern as well. Before she could react, a hand was placed over her mouth. She pulled the saber, but before she could get it up, a fist hit her hand knocking it to the ground.
“Relax, Eira. It’s just me.” a voice whispered close to her ear.
Eira nearly collapsed in relief. It was only Casimir, her brother's friend.
“What are you doing here?” she whispered, frantically trying to locate the fallen saber.
Casimir reached past her and picked up the saber from where it had fallen, dangerously close to the edge of the path.
“I’m here to help you. And also to let you know there isn’t much time. Willem sent me to tell you they’ve arrived.”
“What about Willem? He has to get out!”
“Your brother will be fine.” Casimir reassured her. “But we must hurry.”

I had no ideas to turn this into a longer story, so it got buried in my documents folder. In April, a different friend loaned me a few fantasy books by Nicole Sager. I started them and then finished them a few days later. They are all so amazing! After that I really wanted to write something fantasy/medieval, and I remembered the piece I had written back in January. I want back and read it and wrote a rough outline of what I pictured the story to be. Well. . .this scene never made it in the actual book and the outline changed drastically, but the idea and characters had formed for what would eventually become The Silent Blade.
And there you have it! Between The Chronicles of Narnia and an amazing fantasy series, I was inspired to write a story set in a medieval time period. (because I honestly CANNOT write fantasy!) Come back next week for. . .Part 2: The Story Behind the setting of The Silent Blade

12 comments:

  1. Oh, I love learning these sort of things about my favorite books!!!! ;D The Chronicles of Narnia inspired The Silent Blade?? AWESOME!!! My thanks to you, Jack. ;)
    A rational story behind it? You mean some stories actually have rational stories behind them?? Um, let's just say that none of mine do...hehe. B-)

    Thanks for sharing, Jesseca! I really enjoyed this!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, isn't it so much fun?! Now I need to hear the story behind one of MY favorite books, War Tears. B-)
      Yep! Ever wonder why Caismir's name was so close to the name Caspian? It's because I couldn't bear to "steal" Caspian's name-- but I had a minor crush on him after I watched "Prince Caspian" and I knew that my favorite character would have to have a similar name.
      You're welcome and I'm glad you enjoyed!

      Delete
    2. Oh, no... *hides* Actually, I like that idea. ;) But I must warn you, the story behind that story makes absolutely NO sense and just might convince you that I'm crazy. B-)
      Wow, I'd never noticed that!! (But then I'm not all that familiar with the Chronicles of Narnia... ;) ) I like Casimir better than Caspian, for the name anyways. :-)

      Delete
  2. Mine either, Faith. NONE have rational "behind the scenes" stories. I can totally see why the Chronicles of Narnia inspired it. All those types of stories have sparked new writing style interests in me that I hope to live out one day. I loved the post! So excited for part 2!

    Oh, and Faith, did you know that C.S.Lewis's real name was Clive Staples Lewis? Jack was actually a nickname!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did know that! :D I couldn't remember what C.S. was for, but I knew Jack was a nickname. ;) We have C.S. Lewis at War: radio theatre from Focus on the Family. It tells a lot of his story, and it's so amazing! :-)

      Delete
    2. Okay! Cool. I love C.S. Lewis's story!

      Delete
    3. Yeah. . .after watching Narnia I just HAD to have a story with sword fighting!! :D
      I'm glad you enjoyed it!! Part 2 will be here on Friday. . .I think! If I can find enough interesting things to fill a post. ;P

      Hmm, I LOVE radio theater, but I haven't listened to the one about Mr. Lewis. . .I'll have to take a look. ;)

      Delete
    4. Yes, you should, Jesseca! It's really good!! I tells about Mr. Lewis during WWII. *squeals* I think Mom got it from CBD. :)

      Delete
  3. Hi Jesseca! A friend shared the link to your blog post with me, and I'm so humbled and blessed to know Arcrea was an inspiration to you! May God continue to bless your writing endeavors as you make the journey for Him. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Nicole! Your books are so amazing; I enjoy them so much! Happy New Year to you as well!

      Delete
  4. Thanks for sharing the story behind your book with us, Jesseca! I enjoyed reading it! : )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome, Rebekah! So glad you enjoyed it. :)

      Delete