If Connor is Jesus, a Christian audience will expect him to be sinless (as defined by Catholics) although one can probably make allowances for the period between when Connor starts his journey and the end of book one, when he learns who he is. Nevertheless, I have most of that mapped out in my head. His primary opportunity to cause trouble is the acts of revenge which he may be responsible for at the beginning of the book. After that, his course is set by the Church. They send him to the Holy Land to protect him from the Antichrist and to hopefully jog his memory of Himself. From that point on, he's reacting to events as they come at him. He's not in control of his journey, although the reader will see how he handles himself during the trip. He'll also be moody at times because he can't remember, even though he's two years older than Jesus when the latter first showed any signs of being God.
1,901 2018-07-30 05:07:13
Re: How to create a compelling character who is supposed to be all good? (22 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
1,902 2018-07-29 19:04:43
Re: How to create a compelling character who is supposed to be all good? (22 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
You might want to make the supernatural attacks on Conner's enemies ambigous as to origin. Did he do it, like Morbius in Forbidden Planet, who didn't realize that the Krell monster was an objectification of his own Id? Or is there Someone else involved. If so, who?
In fact, the way to make any compelling character is to introduce conflict. The conflict beween using and misusing supernatural power is a great one to play with. In most people, there is a moral evolution--from good and evil based on fear to the few (like Jesus) who base it on loyalty to being. Why not make part of the story turn on Conner's moral development into a truely good man?
The vague origins of the supernatural attacks is what I settled on in an earlier post. However, for book one, I have to be vague about who Connor really is. It's revealed at the end of the book. The trilogy is his journey.
1,903 2018-07-29 18:58:46
Re: How to create a compelling character who is supposed to be all good? (22 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
If memory serves, Jesus cast out other demons without sacrificing animals.
1,904 2018-07-29 18:41:39
Re: How to create a compelling character who is supposed to be all good? (22 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Dirk B. wrote:Thank you all for your input. Ponder your suggestions, I will.
Rachel, I love your list. His innocence does make him enemies, but he doesn't back down. He gets beat up a lot at the orphanage, where one of the priests who doesn't like him turns a blind eye. I can then have events transpire that could be attributed to Connor. However, since there are supernatural forces at work in this story, it may just be them conspiring either for or against him (i.e. they either act to protect him or to get him in trouble).
Again, the story of Jesus, looked at biographically and not Christologically gives a model. There were lots of supernatural forces at work in his story--from the temptation by Satan to his raising from the dead. For the young Connor, you might look at the Infancy of Christ, a collection of scriptures that didn't make it into the Bible (for good reason, I might add). Jesus used his supernatural powers in ways I'm sure would make the adult Jesus wince. It made me wince, anyway.
I read about some of them a while back. I want Connor to maintain an angelic aura, so my best course is probably to have events occur at the orphanage that seem to be someone attacking Connor's foes. As noted earlier, it could be someone working to defend him from his bullies or someone working to get him blamed for revenge-like acts that happen to his bullies and to the priest who doesn't like him. I'm not sure yet how far to take it. It's a supernatural thriller, so a murder at the orphanage isn't out of bounds, although I don't plan to use much gore, since the target audience is Christians. The Catholic Church plays a large role throughout the book.
My thanks to everyone for their ideas. This was very helpful.
1,905 2018-07-29 16:48:33
Re: How to create a compelling character who is supposed to be all good? (22 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Thank you all for your input. Ponder your suggestions, I will.
Rachel, I love your list. His innocence does make him enemies, but he doesn't back down. He gets beat up a lot at the orphanage, where one of the priests who doesn't like him turns a blind eye. I can then have events transpire that could be attributed to Connor. However, since there are supernatural forces at work in this story, it may just be them conspiring either for or against him (i.e. they either act to protect him or to get him in trouble).
1,906 2018-07-29 05:48:25
Topic: How to create a compelling character who is supposed to be all good? (22 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
In planning my next book, I have a character named Connor whose primary character trait is that he's supposed to be all good all the time. Connor may be Christ returned in the flesh and, until now, I had envisioned him as an angelic figure who doesn't sin. It's a Christian story, so I may have some leeway about creating a character who is sin free. The idea is that he is being pursued by the Antichrist, and there will be plenty of rabid dogs and suicidal crows chasing him. I should add that he will be traveling the Holy Land, where the Church hopes that he'll be able to jog his memory of his past life, assuming he had one. While there, he's able to see auras of Jesus in places where He went. What's missing is a character arc. While he will accomplish a few miracles I'm not sure he's compelling enough.
Suggestions?
Thanks
Dirk
1,907 2018-07-28 16:17:45
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,461 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I just came across this thread, and yes, it sounds delineated. Context is all important and if you stick to that, you should be fine.
Thank you, Rachel.
1,908 2018-07-28 07:56:29
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,461 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Thank you, both.
1,909 2018-07-28 05:49:44
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,461 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Correction: he "sees" auras but "experiences" visions. I'll stick to those terms consistently.
1,910 2018-07-28 05:29:02
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,461 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
What do you all think of this?
Connor suffers from inexplicable visions that are emotionally and physically painful to him. In book one, they're Old Testament visions. In book two, they cover the past two millennia. In book three, they cover the Book of Revelation. Nice, orderly progression so far.
However, in much of book one, Connor is travelling the Holy Land in Jesus's footsteps because the Church wants to know if he is Christ returned and they're hoping to jog his memory of his former life, of which Connor has no recollection. I should point out that in one of the verses of the New Testament, 12-year-old Jesus already knew to a limited extent that God the Father was His father. Connor is already 14.
In addition to his OT visions, he will also see Jesus's former presence along all the stops they make in the Middle East, mostly in the form of an aura of some kind. Unlike the auras, his involuntary visions are more like real life. It's as if he is actually there in history, a participant in the ancient events.
Do you think readers will be able to keep those two kinds of visions straight? I need both for the story to work. I'm just curious whether it sounds particularly complicated. I'll use consistent terminology for the two: auras vs visions, and he'll never see both at the same time. If I can I'll limit these so there's only ever one of the two in each chapter, although that may not always be possible. The true-to-life visions will be in their own scenes, with Connor as the narrator. The auras will only ever occur when I'm in Father Romano's scenes (Connor's chaperone), with Connor relating what he sees about the auras. I may name the visions "experiences" instead, since he seems to be there for them.
Thoughts?
Dirk
1,911 2018-07-27 23:30:58
Re: How to write a story (6 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Thanks for sharing, Suin. But in writing a story, I just follow Hemingway's advice. I start at the beginning and stop when the story's over.
Actually, his stories were completed when the bartender said last call.
1,912 2018-07-27 23:27:59
Re: New Game (16 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
In Space: The Final Frontier. These are the voyages etc.
1,913 2018-07-27 18:21:28
Re: New Game (16 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Star Wars in Space :-)
1,914 2018-07-25 18:08:11
Re: I hope this is okay to post here (15 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Candy and Cane
1,915 2018-07-25 06:22:35
Re: Can eyes express emotions or thoughts? (9 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Twas the Night Before Christmas
...
His eyes -- how they twinkled;
His dimples: how merry,
His cheeks were like roses,
His nose like a cherry...
1,916 2018-07-25 05:19:03
Re: Can eyes express emotions or thoughts? (9 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
LOL
1,917 2018-07-25 00:51:26
Re: Can eyes express emotions or thoughts? (9 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Thank you, Temple. The tricky part is how one can best articulate "the eyes inclusive of the area around them" in narration. It's why I just say eyes.
1,918 2018-07-25 00:46:51
Re: Maiden and other stuff (52 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
LOL. I would never use melancholy eyes; got it from a book. I appealed your rules to the Premium court. See Temple's answer there. It's quite good. I usually use expressive eyes in tense situations when showing is too slow. Admittedly, I also like eyes twinkling with mirth. :-)
1,919 2018-07-24 23:25:11
Topic: Can eyes express emotions or thoughts? (9 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
One of my best reviewers has a thing against expressing emotions or thoughts just by the look of the eyes (e.g., his eyes blazed with fury, his eyes twinkled with mirth, etc.). I've seen this done in multiple books and I l like it. My reviewer considers it lazy and stupid. He's trying to break me of the habit and is starting to wear me down, even though I really like it. My take on it is that readers know it's the whole face that expresses these things. The eyes just happen to be the focal point.
Thoughts?
Dirk
1,920 2018-07-24 20:55:23
Topic: Old books with heavy narration (1 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
I'm currently reading a 100-year-old book called The Lord of the World. It's been updated for modern audiences, although I don't know what changes were made. Nevertheless, it's filled with pages and pages of narration. Doesn't bother my enjoyment of the book one bit. If your story is good, you can break the rules, and if your story is garbage, the rules won't save it.
1,921 2018-07-23 18:41:51
Re: Indenting with Kindle (2 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Thank you, Rachel.
1,922 2018-07-23 18:07:43
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,461 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Thanks, Rachel. Yes, Lehaye is my principle competitor and the primary reason the Protestant Dispensationalist POV dominates the Internet, even among many Catholics. Fortunately, there are 1.2B Catholics in the world who would probably appreciate a Catholic interpretation. I think other Christians might read it too. My story does not follow the Catholic version of Revelation entirely, though. There are plenty of really good study guides if all the reader wants is to understand Revelation. My novels will focus on the Unholy Trinity trying to capture the Church and destroying all three Abraham religions. I still have huge gaps in my outline for books two and the, but book one is coming together nicely. I may put up a trial chapter in a few months, after which I plan to go deep with the rest of my research, probably until early 2019.
1,923 2018-07-23 17:01:20
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,461 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Thanks, Rachel. I settled on The Lord of the Earth after researching over twenty potential titles, all of which were overused on Amazon. The only thing close to mine that I found was Lords of the Earth, which is a different genre. Annoyingly, I read recently about a book called Lord of the World (recommended by Pope Francis), which is a hundred-year-old telling of the Book of Revelation from a Catholic perspective, which is exactly what I'm writing. I didn't know there were any novels on Revelation from a Catholic perspective when I started. I've read half of Lord of the World and, fortunately, my series will be totally unlike that book.
1,924 2018-07-23 13:01:16
Topic: Indenting with Kindle (2 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Does anyone have any experience indenting text inside Kindle? I'd like to indent text from both the right and left, if possible.
Thanks
Dirk
1,925 2018-07-23 12:56:35
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,461 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
The overall real estate worries me, although there will be few names outside famous ones such as Moses, Caesar, and Hitler. I'll try it your way, with a relatively detailed vision in places where I would normally "tell"a vision.