Creative Writing The Epic Story.

While in the process of organizing a story of mine, I started thinking about epic stories. Can someone help clarify what it is that turns a story from a good, well written idea into something that is a legend?

One thing that I know is necessary is the Epic Hero. Someone like Beowulf seems to be present in all the epic stories I know (ex: Sigfried from Wagner's Epic opera; Frodo from Tolkin's story; Perseus from the Greek myths &e.).

I guess what I really am getting at is, I am looking to give my story direction. The character's and situations are (almost) all in place; but I really don't know what I could do to turn it into something good. Add to this, I can't figure out an ending either (d'oh). Perhaps somewhere along the line, inspiration will come...

Much appreciated!

 

If most of the characters and situations are mostly in place, then that means you have your story more or less outlined. I would say what you have to think about now is pacing. Introduce things slowly enough that it seems natural but quickly enough that readers don't find moving to the next page a chore.

As for an ending, I wouldn't say it's bad that you don't have them. (Heaven knows I have lots of stories with no endings... ^_^) As long as you have a general idea of what you want to see happen, you could just write what you know for sure. In the process you might start to see things differently. Heck, you may even end up with an overall better story than you started with. It's happened to me a few times (with the same story, no less ).

Oh, and before I forget -- other than an Epic Hero, you need an Epic Villain (or antagonist in general, which can be a person or otherwise). You mentioned Beowulf, Greek myths, and Tolkien's works -- these are all good research materials. ^_~ Good luck!

 

One problem I have with the traditional Epic hero- Epic villan scenerio is, it has been done to death. From cartoons, to stories (good and bad ones) and on through the theater arts, the "foe" is always there and more often than not, has been evil for no really good reason.

The main force behind my story is something new. A new world, new races, different physics and different type of technical wizardry/magic. If it is possible, I would not like to have the Epic Villain if I can help it. So far, the only other (good) alternative is this: Side A (evil) has to attack side B (good) and try to conquer them because side B's defection from side A has created grave problems for side A (alol, maake sense?). I didn't want one side to be evil just for the hell of it, I wanted some reasoning behind it. But could an epic story be an epic story with this kind of plot?

 

The summary sounds epic and interesting enough as it is. XD I see what you mean about hero-villain stories, though. That's why I think I'd rather use "antagonist" instead of "villain" to describe the opposing force. It's not so much the elements as how it's presented in the story. (For example, the movie The Princess Bride is a mostly-stereotypical fairy tale. You don't really know why the villains are evil. But the story is told so well that you don't think about the archetypes -- you just enjoy it and appreciate it for what it is.) Your idea sounds complex at first glance, but maybe in reading the story any confusion will disappear.

Whichever way you decide to go, my best advice is watch your pacing, lest it eat you alive. ^^;

 

Ah, I know that movie [The]. I'm just going to stick with develpoing a new idea rather than just portraying an old idea a different way. Thanks to the help I have gotten, there is already something new on the building blocks.

Could you perhaps explain pacing a bit? It sounds like you know about it, and since i've never sat down and written a story (they are all on file upstairs *points to head*), you probably know something I won't find until it becomes inconvenient :anger: .
Thanks.

 

You probably know about it but just haven't heard it called that. ^^; I know about it only because I have trouble with it, so I'm no authority (or even near-authority, or even REMOTELY-near-authority) on it.

Basically what it means is knowing how much to give away about plots and characters without giving too much or too little. It's about knowing how to keep throwing out the "bait", if you will, that keeps people interested and wanting to know more. That's why I'd suggest outlining your story. It doesn't work for everyone, though. I've read that a story/novel/work doesn't have to be written from start to finish. You can begin anywhere you like, even jump around a bit, just as long as you put in everything you need.

And of course you have to pace yourself. You can't burn yourself out but you also can't become lazy.

I'm a terrible explainer, aren't I? XD If all else fails, I'm sure Writer's Digest has some information on... more than you need, really. ^^ (My advice on reading things from that page is don't take everything to heart. It can be great and inspiring, but if you're not careful it can also be discouraging. *shrug* Every writer is different.)

 

Some suggestions.

If you don't like good / evil division, try including politics in it.

There are always evil guys trying to manipulate the people around them. And they organize angry hordes of people, who will end up hating the GOOD guys because the evil guy manipulated them.

Or who knows, maybe not all the good guys were good...

And don't forget about some good guys who, despites believing the bad guys' lies, try to do thing the RIGHT way.

Or people who after following blindly (with hatred) the bad guy who they consider their "hero", end up discovering the truth. Conflicts in here, like 'don't know what to believe anymore - many branches come out of this - they can turn either uber-good, or uber-filled-with-hatred-and-revenge, or who knows? They might just not be able to take it, and commit suicide. Or simply quit from their mission and leave to become hermits (room for adventure goes here).

Of course, if you do _NOT_ reveal who the bad guys are, you could really make excellent plot twists!

ANd finally... include many, MANY _EVIL_ cliffhangers! MUAHAHAHAHAHAH!!

OK. My 2 cents.

 

My bad for bringing up this old thread, it's just that much has taken place and i'd like to run some concepts by anyone who cares to read and comment.

One concept i've been toying around with for about a year now is how to bring belevolence to both sides in my story (rather than just having a good and a bad side). I wouldn't want one side to be evil just for the heck of it (plus all the things associated with evil tend to include: supression, hate, destruction and/or immorality). My only problem is, i'm used to stories with the evil side just being the opposite of truth and dignity, and this quality gives the good side a form of justification and higher purpose. I don't know how introducing justification to both sides might upset this and make the story have no real reason for conflict in the first place. What also makes this more difficult is that politics, beliefs and customs cannot be responsible for conflict. The only thing I have to work with is misunderstanding.

Now, after watching the final star wars (Episode III) and dwelling on the series as a whole, I came to comprehend a degree of spirituality in it which made the series much more than a glorified space adventure. This whole concept is rather new to me and how it fits into stories. Some stories I've read may, but then again may not have this side to them.

Alright, that's as much sense as I think I can make.
Toodles!