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Congratulations, Nambroth!
Sure wish I could afford one of those. And an emerald peacock male & female. And—– 😉
Yes, antiquing for more detail and contrast, that’s what he needs! But I love the deeper, navy blue colour. Or admiral blue, or whatever you call it. 😉
Almost forgot to add… there is an enormous, gorgeous solid-colour golden koi that I’ve seen for sale at a garden centre here in town. Not sure what kind of koi as I am no expert, but it and the similar silver-blue koi always make me think “they look like dragons!” when I see them.
Their body form looks a lot like a ‘standard’ type of koi to me (the kind normally seen in paintings), so if you’re looking for something more special, that might not be the best choice. But the colours are so striking!
The peony is another attractive Asian flower. Apparently, one idea it encompasses is the complementary nature of opposites, and a positive influence on a woman and man living harmoniously together. Or so a quick ‘net search tells me. 😉
XD is a sideways smiley showing eyes squinted and a big grin/laughing… usually means hilarity or excitement
OOAK is “one of a kind”
Yeah I was about to say I would have personally used a darker green, but frankly I am coming to really like how the photo shows a lighter shade. Very regal, in any case.
I love the richness of the browns and the way they blend into the black of the mane. I also love the soft black spots on the white stockings. *G*
Mine is definitely like the shinier, peacockier one. *G* And I notice she’s not flawless like I thought! One chipped off wingclaw on the non-display side. That makes me sad to discover it after all this time. Wonder if I did that? 🙁
Oh well, I got her for $6.00 or so at an antique shop, and she’s otherwise a perfect specimen. Can’t really complain!
Ooh, on the contrary, there have been a number of books written from the viewpoint of the dragon (both third and first person). True it is likely not as common, and is not always about the dragons alone. However “The Halfblood Chronicles” by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey is a well-known series that has a lot of dragon involvement in the third person, and Laurence Yep has a youth fantasy series with a first-person dragon account, for starters. There are also numerous books and series that I have yet to read but that appear to take place almost completely within dragon society.
I think it is more important then to focus on ‘what’ you do with the idea, how you portray your dragons, and what, if any, new thoughts and ideas you want to bring to the table to give readers pause. It’s almost impossible to make something that is completely unique at its most basic level. The idea of a human and dragon adventure story is, in and of itself, a widely visited notion already. What is unique is how each author handles the material and presents their ideas, and what sort of messages they convey. If you can shed new light or a new perspective (ie. ideology or reasoning, not necessarily just a viewpoint) on an old and possibly tired idea, then you’ve accomplished a feat of originality and would be remembered for it. Trying to find that one plot device or technique no one has yet done however would likely turn up fruitless.
I know they’re not really your thing, but I would suggest it might be a good idea to even briefly research other fantasy novels out there to get a good sense of the market and ‘what’s been done.’ Not necessarily that you need to read them all through, but familiarising yourself with the trends and such would be helpful.
Despite your inexperience with the genre though, I feel you nonetheless have the beginnings of an interesting writing style. With some research into things like typical fantasy genre writing techniques, architecture (as you mentioned), plant and animal physiology, and geography/topography/environment depiction, you could make your writings even more believable and authentic than they already are. You can never do too much research in preparing to write!
Oh, and you can never practice writing too much either. Every day, put even your smallest ideas down for your own use, if you can. I say this because I need to do the same. 😉
Good luck, and happy writing!
I like that very much. Burnt sugar wolf! No wait, browned-butter wolf! Mmmm… now, why do I see food in these things? Makes me think of late autumn too (leaves in the later stages of decay, well aged and rich and earthy).
It’s not such a bad thing that you can’t get your drybrushing to work. Your usual style is dramatic and unique and very appealing.
I haven’t had a chance to read through all of it yet (perhaps a little better than halfway through) but it is very interesting indeed! I like the world and characters you’ve constructed. For someone who hasn’t read a lot of fantasy, I think you’re off to a good start.
The only thing I took issue with was the change of perspective from the third-person (limited) with Lamar to Vin’s first-person. It was a bit jarring and I had a hard time remembering who was narrating at times, and where I was viewing the action from, so to speak. In many ways I felt his part could also be written in the third-person, but then there are moments when the first-person would be better. The third-person omniscient would be a good bridge between the two and allow insight into Vin as well as Lamar with one viewpoint (might mean having to write from others’ viewpoints as well, however).
Or perhaps Vin could have short segments all to himself in the story, written in the first-person to give the reader insight into his person and his intentions, with a third-person observation of his words and actions the rest of the time.
These are of course just my own feelings on it and merely a suggestion. Others may not mind at all. It just seems as though there is no intent of switching back to third-person with Lamar, and some greater consistency with the point of view might make an easier story flow.
Other than that however, you have a very nice set of well-defined characters and some interesting and descriptive prose (even more description of places and events would be welcome, of course). I also like the intent of writing an adventure that is different than the rest. I might suggest though to take care in being blatant about your disappointment with other fantasy works however (Vin’s diatribe on the matter was funny, mind you). Having the author’s opinions start to come through clearly in his or her characters can be irritating to some readers as it seems controllative of their response. So long as you keep it subtle, though, no one will notice the difference between what you and your characters are saying.
Ok, I’ve reviewed enough for starters. I’ll take time to read the remainder later. 😉 Thanks for sharing!
