What? Two posts in 2 days?

Yeah. That's right. I'm here.



I have been thinking about this idea for a book for a long time. Actually, it's a trilogy. Actually, it's a fantasy trilogy a la LOTR. The idea hit me while I was taking a class on George Orwell and his thoughts on the Spanish Civil War. He claimed that that conflict was essentially a war fought as a preview for World War 2, totalitarianism and fascism vs. democracy. Each ideology picked a faction and supported it, all under the guise of aiding a nation under civil duress. Pundits and artists (George Orwell among them) could see that this was happening but the general populace didn't always understand the political undercurrents.



This intrigued me because it was a war strictly being fought for political reasons, the combatants of which didn't know or understand. And while this is true of many wars, it seemed especially poignant as the world became more modern and education more prevalent. It seemed more interesting that citizens and the world remained somewhat ignorant of the deeper ideological differences involved in conflicts and wars.



I have always been a fan of the fantasy setting. I learned to love reading through travelling to Narnia, Middle Earth, and Willy Wonka's factory. As an adolescent, I admired the work of Tad Williams, Robert Jordan and George R. R. Martin. Since I decided to pursue writing, I've dreamed of writing the next great fantasy novel.



So this has been my idea. To take the classic fantasy elements, like elves dwarves and humans living together in general peace, and put modern government ideologies behind them. The elves become a pure democracy like Greek city-states; the dwarves are a form communism/capitalism (I know that doesn't make sense but trust me); and humans are a representative democracy like the United States. The antagonist in the story is a human determined to reinstate an ancient empire and rule with totalitarian authority.



At least that was the beginning, the idea has grown and changed very much over the last 6 years or so. To be honest, I have stagnated lately on shaping and growing this idea so I plan to use this blog to map out my story with more detail.



I'll be doing this mostly between 4 and 6 when Alfredo isn't here so he can't bitch. God, I love being paid to be creative.