Mightier than the Sword - A Part of the Aidan Moher Network

Over at NeoGAF (an incredibly dense forum I visit regularly) they hold semi-weekly writing “assignments.” The purpose of these assignments is to get people to step outside their comfort zones and tackle subjects or themes that they normally stay away from.

 I decided to take part in this one at the last minute, and threw a piece together in about 45 minutes. It was a lot of fun and it’s something I think I’ll take part in again. I also thought that you guys might want to have a peak at it. It hasn’t seen any editing, and was written late at night, so just see any typos as, erm… flavour!

You should also know that the piece is completely unrelated to Through Bended Grass, so don’t go making any connections!

 I should warn you that it contains some explicit language, so if you’re sensitive to that sort of thing, watch out!

Enjoy.

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The Office

   There was something brutal about him. Not in the UFC, nail your balls to the wall and then screw your wife kinda brutal; but more of a Simon Cowell, “Hey look at me, I’m a british asshole on TV. Aren’t I soooo fucking endearing?” kinda brutal. He was cute brutal. Fake brutal.

   “Take this shit and rewrite it,” he mumbled at me from across his desk. I watched the little ticker on his iTunes as a tired System of a Down song played its course, muted for my benefit, thankfully. Yeah, he was a System of a Down kinda asshole.

   “The deadline’s in like forty-five minutes…,” I mumbled apologetically.

   “Do I look like the kinda fuck who cares? The articles rubbish. You should’ve written something that reads better than my cat’s ass smells, then you wouldn’t have thirty-fuckin’-minutes to rewrite it. Now fuck off out of my office.”

   I pushed myself up out of the plastic chair and did my best not to tear his balding fucking face off his body. Of course, I was no better than any other pansy in the office, too afraid of his limp combover and the vein that stuck out on his forehead when the steam started pouring form his ears.

   I’m surprised the door didn’t hit me in the ass on the way out.

   Musical shrapnel violated my ears as he took his iTunes off of mute.

“Wake up,
Grab a brush and put a little (makeup),
Grab a brush and put a little,
Hide the scars to fade away the (shakeup)
Hide the scars to fade away the,
Why’d you leave the keys upon the table?
Here you go create another fable”

   I died a little more inside.

   “He seems to be havin’ a good day, eh Lucy?” Brian called from over on the other side of the small corner of the floor we all shared. The one benefit of having to put up with his shit music all day was that we all knew we could say whatever the fuck we wanted and he was oblivious.

   I responded as I walked over to my desk, sitting snugly next to Brian’s, “A right fuckin’ dandy, today. He only wants me to rewrite the entire fucking Coldplay article over again. Upstairs wants it in 30 minutes.”

   “Just send it up anyway, I don’t think he even reads the magazine. I do it all the time?”

   I paused, looking at Brian like he told me he had the cure for cancer or an alternate fuel source to replace gas.

   “That works?” I said slowly.

   “Oh fuck yeah,” a smug smile crept onto his face. “You think the guy’s upstairs give a damn about him? He ran some web site that closed down and had too much seniority to be fired. Hell, there’s a reason he just sits in his office like an asshole and doesn’t write anything.”

   “So just… send it up?”

   “Yep.”

   I slumped down into my chair, it bounced down softly under my weight. I leaned back, as one was wont to do in those chairs, and put my hands over my face.

   Was it really that easy all along? Just ignore him.

   “Why the fuck did I never think of that?” I wondered aloud.

   “Because you hate this place, Lucy. And you’re always looking for more reasons to hate the fucking place. So you write your work and, even though you know it’s the best stuff that comes out of this floor, you submit it to the fat, brutal bastard in the backroom, knowing full well that he’ll take all the anger in his miserable little life and throw it at your work. You want him to tear it to fucking pieces so that when you finally quit this place, you’ll feel vindicated.

   “We all do it.”

   I goggled at him. “Fuck if you shouldn’t have been a shrink,” I said, “or at least start a web site where you solve people’s problems.”

   He simpered, cocky pride beaming on his face.

   “So what the hell are you still doing here, if you have all the answers?” I countered.

   “I like the coffee.”

   “The coffee. That I make.”

   I did make a damn good cup of joe, I’ll admit to that.

   “And the bagel guy’s pretty cute. I’d miss him if I quit.”

   Another good point.

   Brian looked at his watch, “You’ve got 20 more minutes. What’re you going to do?”

   A few flicks of my mouse.

   “Done.”

   Brian gave me a look like I had just deep throated a hotdog, impressed but unsure really how to react. “I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”

   “What?” I felt my heart drop into my stomach.

   “I was just fucking with you. I’ve never sent that shit up there without any regard for the boss.”

   “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I felt a flush of panic creeping up from my chest and spreading over my face. I turn into a bloody tomato when the going gets tough.

   “Well, it’ll, um… it’ll be an interesting experiment.”

   My fingers ran nervously through the curly mop of hair on my head.

   “What’ll be an interesting experiment,” I heard from the door that led to the hall outside.

   “Hey Jess,” Brian called, “Lucy just sent her work upstairs without making the boss’s changes.”

   Jess, a blonde bombshell walked over to our little arrangement of desks. None of us could figure out why someone who looked like her would work with a bunch of folk who look like us. Even I had a crush on her and I was straight as an arrow… or so I thought. I think it was her french accent that sealed the deal.

   She set down her bag and then shrugged in the nonchalant way typical to her, “It’s too late now, right? Just hope for the best.”

   The music in his office shut off, Limp Bizkit put on temporary hold.

   The phone on my desk rang, a double ring indicating someone in the building was phoning me.

   The three of us all turned around and looked through the glass windows of the office, at the lumpy potato sitting in the chair. He had his phone pressed firmly to his ear and was furiously fixing his combover.

   Of course the asshole would phone me into his office when I was fifteen feet away.

   Jess patted me on the back and Brian had the decency to look a slight bit sheepish. I pushed myself up out of my chair, comforted by the familiar creak of the hinges. The few strides to his office door felt like a funeral march.

   I gripped the round door knob, looked back at my work mates, opened the door and stepped through to my silent grave.

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I actually finished Chapter Nine a little while ago (currently halfway through Chapter Ten at the moment), but got so caught up in writing, publishing the excerpt (read it!) and starting a redesign of the web site that I forgot to write about it! Well, it’s a slow day at work and I figure it’s finally time to get caught up on the progress report.

Chapter Nine, titled Four Leaf Clovers and Bended Grass, turned out to be the longest chapter yet, weighing in at a respectable 4011 words. I wasn’t really planning for this to happen, but as the chapter wore on I realised just how much needed to be accomplished and it lengthened. I feel confident that despite the increase in word count, I still managed to create a chapter full of interesting situations, solid pacing and good dialogue

Chapter Nine begins the second act of the novel and sees Rowan back in our world, but having to deal with the fact that she’s very much aware that another world exists out there, her son is still missing, and she’s meant to find someone she has no idea how to find. In a lot of ways I get to take some of the ideas that have been floating around Epic Fantasy – A missing son, an alternate world, magical creatures, a sense of discovery and wonder – and play with them in a new light, getting to put my own spin on things and (hopefully) making a lot of it seem fresh again.

Of course, by no means would I call Through Bended Grass an epic story, quite the opposite actually. Through Bended Grass is a story about people, about relationships (both internal and external), about discovery and, maybe most importantly, about family. It’s not about a quest to destroy an evil-something-or-other (though a certain antagonist certainly tries to fill that role), it’s not even about “good vs. evil”, but rather about the shades of grey found throughout the world. I know that’s a cliche at this point, but I still think it’s an integral part of writing a good novel, Fantasy or otherwise.

One character, who is introduce in this chapter, has surprised me a lot by how much he’s become involved in the story. When I was in the early planning stages he had a single, small role to play and then more or less disappeared. But then I started writing about him, discovering his history and what brought him to where he is during the story, and I began to realize how important he is to Rowan’s story. His role has expanded since then and I expect that by the end of the novel it will have expanded even more. Anymore about him would be spoiler territory, but I certainly can’t wait for my readers to meet him and continue to learn about him just as I have.

Chapter Nine turned out to be a hefty chapter, but I think it adds a lot to the novel and manages to keep up a good pace. The start of Rowan’s real journey begins with this chapter and it doesn’t let down with the wonder, discovery and action until the end of the novel.

Over at Shawn Speakman’s blog (check it out, it rules.) there was a good amount of discussion about the titles of the novels he and I are separately working on. I have great respect for Shawn, his knowledge of the industry and his abilities as a writer, so it’s always a invigorating to get his thoughts on a subject, especially when it concerns something I’m working on.

The problem? He’s not really a fan of Through Bended Grass!

It’s turning into an interesting conversation and I’d love to hear the thoughts of some of you guys who read my blog (though most of you also read Shawn’s). Here’s the exchange:

Shawn:

Aidan: I don’t know if I like Through Bended Grass. I’m not sure what it means, to be exact which I guess is okay, but it doesn’t seem fantasy-ish enough. I like the phrase a lot though; you know me, I like literary titles!The overall series title is The Dark Thorn Cycle:Book One: The Dark Thorn
Book Two: The Kingdom’s Keys
Book Three: The Splintered King

Book Four has no title. It barely has a plot, thankfully! Otherwise I’d probably already be thinking of it.

I respond:

I’ve always been a fan of your titles, Shawn. They always strike a nice balance between poetic and literal. They don’t overwhelm, but they still intrigue.I’m more a fan of The Dark Thorn rather than The Dagda King. I know who The Dagda is, but most people won’t, to them it will just sound like another generic fantasy name.Through Bended Grass is pretty poetic and esoteric, but that’s also how I like my titles! It’s somewhat intentional that it doesn’t sound entirely like a regular fantasy title, which tend to be much more literal, because I’m drawn to titles like The Blade Itself, The Darkness that Comes Before, etc…. Unlike those, however, Through Bended Grass has a direct connection to the plot of the story and will become very clear to the reader as they read on. I like that sort of reward. It helps balance things out.

Of course, I understand that no matter what I name my novel, it will be up to the publisher in the end and I may not have a say. I’d rather have a published novel under another name, but I’d put up the good fight to keep Through Bended Grass.

I’ve got a few threads of my next novel percolating in my head at the moment. It’ll be mostly unrelated to Through Bended Grass, though set in the same universe and will probably have a few overlapping characters, but I try not to let it get too much or else I’ll start neglecting Through Bended Grass for it. It’s nice that you’ll be able to keep using the same characters/world/themes as you move along because it allows you to think so far in the future. I don’t have that luxury, however, as Through Bended Grass is a standalone.

Shawn brings up a good point:

What I like about the titles you posted is their fantasy-ishness (I love making up new words). The words “blade” and “darkness” still have a fantasy quality about them. But your main noun, “grass,” doesn’t. That’s my only grip about the title. Now, if in the novel, one of your characters is talking about a scythe through bending grass as it relates to a retreating army or something, that’d be awesome. Just be readu when a marketing or publicity department points out the noun issue and be prepared with your certain rebuttal! Gotta fight for what we want, ya know?And personally, I don’t think my newer titles have any literary merit whatsoever, just by looking at them anyway. Once the books have been read you’ll see how each title has a double meaning. I wish I could make them more literary but it just isn’t going to happen. All of my energy is going into the book. *sighs*As for your next book, it’ll be nice for you to not have to create a new universe. You’ve already made it with Bended Grass. At least that part will be over with. All of my novels in this cycle will be stand alone, but each does build on the last one as the themes get darker and darker. The great thing about it is I’ve already built the universe, how magic works, the history behind it all, so now I can just sit back and play and have fun.

My response:

That’s a really good point about the non-fantasyness of the noun “grass.” I suppose, however, that that’s what I’m trying to go for in a lot of ways. Through Bended Grass is a fantasy, of course, but it isn’t a fantasy in the same way that The Blade Itself, The Darkness That Comes Before, Lord Foul’s Bane or even The Dark Thorn is (if my assumptions about your melding epic fantasy and urban fantasy are correct.) There are no epic battles, not even close; there is no end of the world at hand, though the antagonist likes to believe otherwise. It’s more a story about people, relationships, family and overcoming struggles – with an interesting urban fantasy setting – more akin to White Apples and The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll, Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn or The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay, than The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan or A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin.From what I’ve read/know of your novels, the titles you’ve picked out worked perfectly for your novels, the story you’re trying to tell and the style of your writing. I’m not sure that a more typical fantasy-like title, littered with fantasy heavy words like “Fey”, “Faerie”, “Sword”, “Hound”, “Spear”, etc… would necessarily fit what I’m writing.

Does all this make some sort of sense?

Like I mentioned earlier, Through Bended Grass has a direct connection to the plot of the novel, first appearing in Chapter Nine, Bended Grass and Four Leaf Clovers, so that’s obviously a benefit for readers, though I’m not sure if that would be enough to convince the marketing department!

When I say universe, I literally mean universe. The next novel I have planned doesn’t take place in Ireland and involves very little of the same themes and plot devices, in fact it’s essentially a standalone novel. I just want to leave things open so that I could connect the two in subtle ways, similar to what Stephen King has done with so many of his novels.

The rules will change as other legends and myths come into play, moving away from the Irish/Celtic mythology and into another area of the world. So in many ways I’ll be back to the drawing board! I’m impressed you’ve already got so much planned for down the road, I can’t wait to get a gander at some of it.

So, thoughts? And don’t feel restricted to just the title of my novels, or Shawn’s, but rather just any thoughts on titles in general. I’m always looking for ways to improve my own writing and a titles is one of the most important things when it comes to convincing someone pick up a novel in the first place.