Understanding the Fundamentals
Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise. – Michael Jordan
When It Is Done Right Masters of the Universe: Revelation
Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. – Mark Twain
Character Portrait James Striken
You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor. – Aristotle
Origins: The Sha’ran Family
Every family has untold stories buried in the fog of the past. – Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Doing It Right: The Last of Us
Purposeful storytelling isn’t show business, it’s good business. – Peter Guber
Character Portrait: Akimoto Satoru
Loyalty, honor, a willing heart, I can ask no more than that. – Thorin Oakenshield (The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien)
When It Is Done Right
Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right or better. – John Updike
The Time Has Come
The time has come for someone to put his foot down, and that foot is me. – John Vernon
“Oh, do grow up 007.”
Success comes from curiosity, concentration, perseverance, and self-criticism. – Albert Einstein
Character Portrait: Nicholas Krain
A writer should create living people: people, not characters. A character is a caricature. – Ernest Hemingway
Character Portrait: Patrice Mirriam
It’s not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It’s our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless. – L.R. Knost
The Stereotype
Not considered an essential story telling element, the stereotype can serve to challenge both the content consumer and creator.
The Historians
Probably one of the most important types of characters in any story, the contrarian, one who provides an unlimited stream of sage advice often laced in some form of sarcasm, is the one who will keep your protagonist from straying too far from their intended purpose.
Character Portrait: Alexis Striken
He is the orchestrator of the Sy’Arrian massacre and main antagonist in The Cradle of Destiny who cares only about one thing; finishing what he started 200 years ago by annihilating his people once and for all.
The Love Affair
Although it is a necessary and often critical step in developing meaningful characters, be sure when cultivating the love interest, you do not have it teeter on the edge of irrelevancy and fits into your characters background properly. Your readers will thank you for it.
Character Portrait: Augustas Mirriam
As the second High Leader of the Sy’Arrians, Augustas Mirriam moved his people from an age of expansion to one of isolation, which only served to hinder their progress and tarnish the legacy of those who had come before him.
Founding Member: Lucas Mirriam
Pragmatism and self-reflection mark the life of man who would use all his accumulated knowledge to save his people and put them on a path towards prosperity.
The Five
A nickname applied to Lourous Mirriam and his four childhood companions, The Five does not merely speak to their ability to utilize Akasha in extraordinary ways. It is an inherent and unbreakable bond they will need to pass on to a new generation if the universe is to survive.
Character Portrait: Cyra Leurn
A familial history rich in science and medicinal arts, Cyra is second to none in her ability to think outside established thinking to provide solutions in the most difficult of situations.
Character Portrait: Norah Brennan
Inherently flirtatious and extraordinarily calculated, Norah Brennan is more than her bounty hunter persona. Adherence to a strict code of ethics guides her actions, while a thirst for justice steady’s her aim.