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Loki Seijana
May Member 2021

Loki Seijana

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Quote from page 2:
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You know Eragon? One of the reasons many people dislike is because Paolini used a plot that everybody already knows – Star Wars. This is one thing you should definitely avoid doing.
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You'd be surprised how heavily Paolini's Inheritance books are based on Star Wars. :P The characters are a perfect example of this, as shown below;
Eragon: Luke Skywalker
Roran: Han Solo
Arya: Leia
Murtagh: Darth Vader
Galbatorix: Palpatine
Oromis: Yoda
If you examine the story closely you'll see what I mean. ;)

11-Dec-2008 23:17:31

King Hewer

King Hewer

Posts: 3,044 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
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You know Eragon? One of the reasons many people dislike is because Paolini used a plot that everybody already knows – Star Wars. This is one thing you should definitely avoid doing.
------------------------------
You'd be surprised how heavily Paolini's Inheritance books are based on Star Wars. :P The characters are a perfect example of this, as shown below;
Eragon: Luke Skywalker
Roran: Han Solo
Arya: Leia
Murtagh: Darth Vader
Galbatorix: Palpatine
Oromis: Yoda
If you examine the story closely you'll see what I mean. ;) ===============================
And Star Wars copied it out of "Der Ring der Nibelungen" an Opera by Richard Wagner (although in the story the person that is Luke end up being with Leia)

11-Dec-2008 23:22:01

[#FG08YMCQD]

[#FG08YMCQD]

Posts: 11,632 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
I'd like to make a contribution to this thread, if you're willing to accept it, talking about the importance and the proper use of emphasis in Description.
Emphasis is one of the key features of the description; while not as obvious as the other attributes of a good description, it is a necesity that will add alot to your story. While you might not notice it within a story, you will notice it when it is not there. And this is what makes it necesary. Using emphasis can be hard for new writers, because it involves lots of experimentation, to find the right level of drama. You use it according to the **ructure of the story, or at least, I find that it works best like this. Let me explain.
The main character is in a day-to-day situation. Then, suddenly, his wife dies. He pursues the killer, and on the way, meets somebody who he then teams up with to track down the killer together. Out of the blue, he is then accussed by the court of killing her, the evidence being that the main character was found in posession of a kitchen knife shortly after the murder, which has red stains on it. Also, him and his wife had an argument a few days before her death, which had turned rather serious. The friend - who has a position as a SECONDARY character - goes to the court to defend him. But he does not win the trial. He is taken to prison. And near the end, it turns out that the killer was the friend, the secondary character, who is then promoted to a primary or main character, as he is now an important part of the storyline.
So, reviewing the preceding plot analytically, you'll see that rather than a smooth-flowing storyline, there are twists and turns every time. Emphasis always has to apply to a twist, but on what level depends on the scale of the twist. So, where the man's wife dies has to be sort of big, but not big enough, merely a shocking event which sets the scene and ends the first or second chapter.

13-Dec-2008 22:57:56

[#FG08YMCQD]

[#FG08YMCQD]

Posts: 11,632 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Continued.
Now that the path is set and the storyline develops, the man getting accussed of murdering his wife is a big event, which makes the reader think "Wait a minute, what's happening? Did he really kill his own wife?" The reader knows that the wife dying soon after the start of the story is merely the foundation for the greater storyline, and so thinks "I wonder how this happened, and who did it." Now, the biggest point here will be the friend turning out to be the killer. Because, all this time, he has remained an unimportant character, and now the spotlight is shined on him. It makes a very effective story to have secondary characters become primary/main characters. So this story is based upon three controversial points, each has a build-up before the cli(c)max, and each is bigger than the last. Wife dies. Man accussed of murder. Unimportant character transpires to be killer.
But it is not only important realizing what the most important points are, it is also necesary to work out how to construct these points. Going back to what Capt was saying, the pace of the story is important, and it also helps determine how powerful or dramatic your story will be. If you want to write a chase scene on foot, for example where the main character is being hunted by somebody willing to kill him, then you want to describe it. Not in too much detail, just enough to know how the character is feeling. Keep the character's feelings static, and revolve their ENVIRONMENT around them. For example, describe their terror, their heart racing, the beads of sweat and his dry throat, his exhaustion, his tired legs. But keep the atmosphere constantly changing, take him across a road, then through a park, into the forest, rushing through the trees, maybe even jumping across a river.
And if you want to write a scene where an important character is dying, then you want to make it very slow, very sad, very dramatic.

13-Dec-2008 22:58:09

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