Karen Azinger's Blog: The Silk & Steel Saga - Posts Tagged "saga"

When I finished reading George Martin’s Storm of Swords, I desperately wanted more, but George takes a long time between books, and I really could not find anything else on the bookstore shelves that satisfied my craving. So I decided to write my own epic medieval fantasy, something similar but different. The first thing I borrowed from George was writing each chapter from the perspective of one point-of-view character. I love this writing style, the way it lets the reader and the author get deep into the character. It makes the story intimate and very personal, where the reader understands the dreams and fears of every POV character. The second thing I borrowed from George was complex plots and strategies. I wanted to write a big sweeping saga full of twists and turns that would surprise, shock, but also delight the reader, grabbing hold of your imagination and never letting go. But there were some things I wanted to do very differently. I wanted more women in the saga, not just women to bed and/or wed, but women that make a difference. From a sword-wielding princess, to a seductive priestess, to a queen who rules by coin and guile, to a silver-haired grandmother who wields knitting needles and knives, I wanted to explore how women gain, keep, and wield power in a medieval world. I wanted my saga to be a fast-paced sword-wielding adventure, but I also wanted it to be full of deeper meaning, so my saga explores the mechanisms of evil, the overarching theme the books. If the avatars of good cannot recognize or understand evil, then they will not prevail. And last but not least, I agree with George that some characters must die to make the risk real…but not all of them. If you love Game of Thrones like I do, I hope you will consider reading The Silk & Steel Saga. I’d love to hear how you think the two sagas compare.

When I first started writing The Silk & Steel Saga, I planned to write a trilogy. I'm the type of author who writes what I most love to read. My favorite books are big sweeping sagas with complex characters and complex plot twists set in a world full of wonder, books like Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Frank Herbert's Dune, and George Martin's Game of Thrones. To me, as a long-time lover of fantasy, that initially meant writing a trilogy. But as I finished writing the second book, The Flame Priest, I realized there was no way the story could be told in a trilogy, so I set my sites on a five book saga. But while I was writing the 'last' book there was still too much story to be told. So I published The Knight Marshal and now it is a six book saga. I think I can finish the story in six books but I still have tons to write. If it gets too long then I will break this book in two as well, but that will finish it. I figure as long as I don't have a single boring chapter, it is okay to keep writing. And Erdhe is so big, with so many cool characters and so many interesting plot twists that I don't want to leave anything unwritten. So I hope you will agree with me that it is the quality of the story that matters, not the number of books in the saga. But I must say, I'm looking forward to typing 'The End'!

I just read some great advice for writing a successful fantasy series and I thought I'd share it with you. The difference between a series and a saga is that the books in a series are stand alone. You can read them out of order or individually, but to really be successful, the author hopes to compel the reader through the entire series. Many authors count on the appeal of their characters to keep readers engaged, but JK Rowling used a better strategy. All of the Harry Potter books had two story arcs, the individual story arc for that book, like discovering the chamber of secrets, and the larger macro story arc that spanned the seven book series. JK Rowling's macro arc was defeating Voldemort. In every book, Harry Potter gains more clues and resources to defeat the dark enemy. This macro story arc draws readers through the entire series, racing to the final confrontation. Most series authors understand the need for compelling story questions for their individual books, but many neglect the greater story arc. The greater story arc is the real key to a super successful series. If you are writing a saga instead of a series, then by definition, the greater story arc spans across all the books. The secret to making a saga work, especially a long seven book saga like Silk & Steel, is embedding strong underlying themes. Strong themes keep the writer focused and on track, they buttress the central story arcs and compel the reader to the last page of the last book. I believe success is in the big picture, in using greater story arcs and powerful underlying themes. If you're courting success, consider the big picture when you write your sagas and series.