I've also worked out some of the Royal Household's routines, characters and what they do. I'm hoping later to get some short stories, maybe even another novel out of that, as there is a whole world "downstairs" at the Palace to explore. To date the Brenebourne novels of course have focused on "upstairs" and the Queen's attitude towards Eileen and Jenny. From this, I also wondered what life was like in the Kingdom's villages and how they were run. I think it a good sign when one set of "working out details" leads to others needing to be done. It means my world is connecting up within itself, as it should do.
I think this is important for developing characters, the worlds themselves as well as ensuring the text works well and there's nothing missing. I wanted to ensure I could picture the Fairy Kingdom. If I can't, nobody else is going to! I found working out how the government works gave me a good start as it showed a cross-section of magical society given the Queen wants representatives from the major magical species serving on her Council. It also means she can keep an eye on what they're up to as well. By working out what those species were, why they were the ones chosen to be on the Council, I ended up sketching out those characters' lives at the same time.
I've also worked out some of the Royal Household's routines, characters and what they do. I'm hoping later to get some short stories, maybe even another novel out of that, as there is a whole world "downstairs" at the Palace to explore. To date the Brenebourne novels of course have focused on "upstairs" and the Queen's attitude towards Eileen and Jenny. From this, I also wondered what life was like in the Kingdom's villages and how they were run. I think it a good sign when one set of "working out details" leads to others needing to be done. It means my world is connecting up within itself, as it should do.
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One thing that came about as a result of Eileen's defection to Earth was the fact it brought the Fairy Kingdom's prejudice against non-magical beings, especially humans, out in the open. There had been a lingering prejudice her due to that disastrous monarch, Queen Gwendolyn, attempting to bring humans into the magical world as her paramours. Everyone from witches and wizards to the humblest imp all thought Gwendolyn was letting the magical world down by even thinking about mating with someone with all the magical ability of a gnat on a bad day and the fact she wouldn't listen to their protests exacerbated the situation. Knowing all this led to Eileen going to Earth (there was no way she'd expose her beloved Derek to Kingdom hostility).
Ironically the Kingdom has a divine commission to keep a watching brief on Earth. Eileen always thought it a pity there wasn't a secondary command to treat any study worlds and their inhabitants with respect. Eileen is aware that magical beings of all ilks can be guilty of enormous arrogance due to their skills. She is very aware of her own powers and the damage they can do (though in fairness Jenny is even more aware and whinges about this topic a lot!). The Queen does encourage her Household to cook different dishes from the various worlds the realm has connections with as she thinks this is a pleasant way to discover different cultures but there is no way she'd ever admit any other culture could ever be superior to her own. I love creating characters. I nearly always start out with a trait - in Eileen's case that was being as awkward as possible but also brave, the kind of character that can and do get themselves into trouble on a regular basis. Had Eileen not been awkward, she would not have defected and set in motion the story that forms The Trouble With Mother.
I also like fleshing characters out. In Jenny's case it quickly became apparent she was going to cause her mother significant grief because of the girl's reaction to magic and Eileen's revelation. And Eileen is only too well aware Jenny is the one person who she won't zap. Jenny, like her mother, is quick to take advantage of an opportunity. Anyone else pressurising Eileen would get short shrift. Jenny gets away with it. It willl, I hope, be interesting to see how far Jenny will go in "pushing" her mother. When I first heard Eileen's voice and knew she was an ex-fairy godmother, one who had defected, something never even thought of by any other fairy godmother, I also knew her old world was going to pursue her and that I needed to create a plausible world and give good reasons why Eileen became well and truly fed up with it. I also wanted to show Eileen missing certain aspects of that world (very few places are ever entirely evil).
I started by looking at the form of government my magical world was going to have. The Fairy Queen and her Council are loosely based on the kind of arrangement Queen Elizabeth Tudor would have had and L'Evallier is roughly the equivalent of William, Lord Burghley. The Queen is aware she needs L'Evallier to be a kind of public conscience. He sees it as his duty to keep her to account. This role has become more important since Eileen defected. Eileen admires L'Evallier's honesty and courage but resents the Queen for not listening to her complaints. The Council gave me a means of causing Eileen more trouble as it was their role to hold her to account to and the fact that she does not abide by rules, argues at times when it would be more sensible to be conciliatory and can be her own worst enemy gives the Council plenty of ammunition to use against her. The Council also gave me a means of giving the Fairy Queen grief as they can put pressure on her to take action against Eileen and/or the Witch. And it means if the Fairy Queen wants to get the Council off her own back, it means she will sacrifice someone else to them. All of this gives lots of scope for rivalries (and between individual members of the Council too) and ensures the Queen and Eileen, while still living in the Kingdom, have people that pressurize them. L'Evallier especially feels this is only just given the royals ought to be accountable. |
AuthorI'm Allison Symes and write fairytales with bite, especially novels and short stories. Archives
October 2019
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