I Am Eaten By Sharks

I’m Daphne Moore. From earliest childhood, I’ve loved the fantastical, be it science fiction or fantasy, and I’ve always wanted to write it.
My stories come from weird places; this one came from a fear of fish. Bits of me sneak in as I write. I grew up by an inland sea; I’ve known people who drowned and almost did so myself as a child. I still like to swim, but I don’t like fish.
Alys Xoticos-Quinn, the protagonist of Freedom’s Knife, (my soon to be published fantasy-science fiction novel) shares that fear, despite being tough as nails. She rose from the back of my brain, full of swagger, orneriness, and surprising bits of tenderness on a day full of frustration, irritation, and just plain aggravation.
Once the days issues had been tucked up and I had a few minutes of quiet, I stole time to write. A new story in a new setting popped out as fast as I could type.
First, the character emerged cranky, impatient, prone to violence, curbed by some kind of magic so she doesn’t wander around knifing people…I could feel her excesses of emotion, good and bad. The initial version, posted on Medium, https://medium.com/@daphnekmoore was decent fantasy with a side helping of standard tropes. Fun enough to write a couple more, motivated by bad days, calling them my ‘stabby stories’—since that’s how Alys wanted to solve everything. From snarky people to waiting in line to being attacked by Ridden, zombie like humans- It didn’t matter. Stab ‘em all and sort it out later
Except the things that mattered. Inspiration dried up, I moved on, but the character kept nagging; she wanted a story. And not just fantasy; the world kept evolving in the back of my head, adding science fiction elements as well. And the adversaries in the background…what exactly were Ridden, anyway?
Glorious images in my head.
I belong to a writer’s site, https://www.scribophile.com, and I put the stories up and got a great deal of valuable feedback. Building on that, bit by bit more pieces floated together. I began to refine the world and the stories that just kept coming – the way chaos had overtaken the earth, those brave and tormented characters who had stepped up to the forefront of the war not only against the invading entities, but against human nature itself. Those who laid down the underpinnings for the world that would be and those who defended it.
The Justiciars, for example; not bad guys, but definite antagonists at times, since Silver was very much the boss of Alys, who didn’t like it one bit. How dare he compel her to use her words rather than knifing deserving people! (I found myself in sympathy with her on that thought, often.) More detail emerged on the Justiciars, why they existed, what they did; personalities fleshed out. Alys’ world kept growing, not just wider, but deeper and broader. I discovered a wider cast of characters, and overarching ideas of what brought them together.
Silver started out as a near total jerk and morphed into a more by-the rules ally as the characterization improved and his personality emerged distinct from Alys’s perception of him. As in life, no one is one sided, however easy that might be to write. Sometimes that’s the struggle- I’m lazy, and a one-sided villain/foil lets the main character show off more easily. But I wanted to write something real, so the people in the world had to become real.
The world – our world – is a once-upon-a-time-in-the-future mash up of high technology and ancient magic, of portals that greed opened into other dimensions and other worlds, and which brought into our world evils and wonders, angels and demons, the greatest threats and the called forth the greatest heroism in humanity
Then, the hard part. To write the story, of that woman, in that world, and showcase all its beauty and cruelty. When sometimes, I’m not entirely sure what the journey will be- it’s like swimming in darkness, in a cave, heading toward the light; I know my destinations, but the journey is scary. I love the motion, the creation, but then something brushes my leg.
Be it a low rating, or being stuck, I try to take the Dory view and just keep swimming.
What kinds of characters come to your mind after a trying day? Who do you like to read about? Mention them in the comments (or email me about it at daphnemoore at daphnekmoore.com)
Next blog: A history of the alternate world, part 1