Creating New Characters In A Pre-Existing World
Creating New Characters In A Pre-Existing World
by Stephen Zimmer
A Moment In Eternity introduces a brand new character, Hongvi Shadow Walker, set in a world that has been explored so far through the adventures of two other featured characters, Ragnar Stormbringer and Rayden Valkyrie, over the course of no less than a dozen novellas and three novels.
The introduction of a new character in a pre-existing world offers great opportunities for me as a writer to open up an entirely new area of that world for the reader to adventure within.
With Ragnar and Rayden, the lands that they explore and interact with overlap often. As of the release of A Moment In Eternity, the lands where the tribes including the one that Hongvi belongs to, the Shinumu, have not previously been revealed or explored at all. Even so, there are some basic parameters relating to the world itself that have to remain consistent in the unveiling of the new territory, characters, and other inhabitants within it.
The way that the supernatural and related magic/sorcery operates, to use one example, must be relatable to the prior stories and other lands. In the case of A Moment In Eternity, there are tribal shamans, different gods being venerated, and supernatural aspects, including various kinds of creatures and beings, within it (such as skinwalkers and giants). As a writer, I worked to make sure that these elements were unique, in the context of these new cultures being explored, while also fitting into the greater world that they share encompassing the places explored by Ragnar, Rayden, and those yet to be revealed.
In a general sense, the way that magic/sorcery works will be familiar to readers of the other stories. The shamans of Hongvi’s lands contend with the same limitations that sorcerers and priests in Rayden’s and Ragnar’s lands face. Gods and entities are invoked through rituals, often involving blood sacrifices in the case of darker arts, and they commonly take a toll on the individual wielding these kinds of arts. The trappings and stylization may be very different to the eye, but the dynamics are consistent and similar, leaving nothing jarring to a reader’s suspension of disbelief.
The style of the prose and the feel of the world it describes also had to be consistent with the Rayden and Ragnar stories. A reader going between stories featuring each character will find a familiarity in tone among them, from the amount of description typically employed in scenes, to the overall pacing of primary action sequences, to the hues of dark and light woven into the general narrative, to the depth underlying the cultures, lands, and people depicted in every story.
In many ways, it is not all that dissimilar to being a person living in our world. There are rules that govern life and the way things operate across the entire planet. And there are basic things held in common among the living creatures upon it.
At the same time, within those governing boundaries and shared foundations, there is a wide diversity and unique elements to different regions of the world. The art to writing a new character in a pre-existing world lies in finding that balance between the governing rules and the shared bonds, and the expression of unique elements and reflection of a broader diversity that comes with the introduction of new lands, peoples, and cultures.
It is that fine line of bringing the reader a foundation built with familiar comforts and consistency, while also creating an atmosphere filled with new revelations, geographies, cultures, unique creatures, and the new character being introduced.
If you can walk that line and hold that balance in your storytelling, the introduction will go much smoother, and the reader will connect faster with that new character. The story, overall, will have a “returning to home” feel about it, even if it features an entirely new place and setting. It will give the reader several ways to draw from the things they have read before, set within that same world.
Balance and consistency.
Uniqueness and creativity.
A necessary quartet for the task at hand.
In my writing, I strove to embrace all of these in my introduction of Hongvi Shadow Walker in his debut adventure, A Moment In Eternity. I invite you to read this tale, and may you find that I met all of these aims in bringing you a new character set in a pre-existing world!
Author Links: Website: www.stephenzimmer.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephenzimmer7 Twitter: @sgzimmer Instagram: @stephenzimmer7
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Purchase links for A Moment In Eternity: eBook Links Kindle Version: https://www.amazon.com/Moment-Eternity-Hongvi-Shadow-Walker-ebook/dp/B0BKSVQ8F4/ Nook Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-moment-in-eternity-stephen-zimmer/1142732698?ean=2940186702023
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Stuart Conover is a father, husband, published author, blogger, geek, entrepreneur, horror fanatic, and runs a few websites including Horror Tree!
