Father Figures in Fiction: A Game of Thrones Take

 Fatherhood

in

Fiction

A Game of Thrones

Take

A family cannot survive without a father, and by father I mean a man who puts forth all his effort to see you grow. There are many good father figures in fiction and real life. They are necessary for a positive future and can propel a protagonist to their destiny. A three father figures in fiction are Ned Stark, Tywin Lannister, Robert Baratheon.

Ned was a man of honor and uncompromising loyalty. He not only raised six children but treated those in his service with respect. A lesson he once taught Bran was that those who pass sentence must swing the sword. It means taking full responsibility for your choices, and in my opinion living with them. Despite his gruesome end every last one his children remained safe. It was only after that each ones choice led to where they are now. Amongst all Ned's children the sixth he may or may not be the true father of turned out the best. Jon is like Ned in many ways while still being a child at heart. We don't know quite yet what Jon's true fate is in A Song of Ice and Fire. I'd like to think he will still lead by Ned's example.

Tywin Lannister is another father figure who doesn't compromise. He does what is necessary to keep the Lannister family and name alive. And up until his own rather embarrassing end this remains his mission. Tywin was in a sense a good father because he took great risks. True nearly every risk ended in bloodshed but that's the Warden of the West for you. And amongst his three questionable children though, Tyrion was the only one to turn out well. You may laugh because of what you see on the show and what you've read, but I'm definitely right on this. Tyrion does more for Kings Landing than anyone could have dreamed.

Robert Baratheon is by far the worst father and husband. There is a noble side to him but it is overshadowed by drinking, whoring and hunting. He takes on the role as king but you can see he is uncomfortable with it. During all his reign he doesn't notice or suspect what his queen does. Had he been there for his children they may have turned out different. We know the truth of it all from the show and books, but there is still a nobleness to Robert that could have made a difference. It all depends on time and priorities and he didn't put stock in either.

Fathers must put every ounce of time they can into their children. They must also take full responsibility for their choices and job. Two of these men did that with Tywin being a rather violent exception. I'm not going to end this post by completely trashing Robert. He was a good man and sometimes good men find themselves in places they least expect.  

Stay Positive Whether Published or Not

 Stay

Positive

Whether

Published

Or

Not

I'll admit first that I'm not published yet, but I think its important to project a positive image. I'm not saying to hide what happens in life from the internet. The purpose of this blogpost is to say that posting negativity about your skills as a writer, or negativity as a result of your work being published is a bad idea.

I often see people say they sold no books this week. Some writers will post about their rejections. This is telling everyone you aren't a good writer. It is telling people to not spend their money on you. It is telling publishing professionals you are a bad investment. If you say you were rejected by ten agents then it says to those agents who have your query that maybe your manuscript isn't going to pan out.

You have to project an image of progress and positivity for your work. Post your word count goals. Post how many agents you've queried or that all that querying has resulted in a full request. The more you show your progress and promote a positive image the more you will make others want your work. 

It does you no good to sour a potential writing career by displaying your failures.  

An Extended Update on my Writing Life

 An

Extended

Update

on

my

Writing

Life

2020 was one of the better years for me as a writer but 2021 has been the worst. I'm discovering answers to questions I won't reveal on here but they are sad to think about. None of this will keep me from pursuing my dream of traditional publication or the help I give to other writers. It has just been a let down of a year despite finishing my manuscript The Ignited Moon and beating the virus.

To improve my writer life, I have been trying to establish a good work/writing routine. This has worked to some extent except for one hurtle to clear and everything should balance out. While straightening all of that out focus on high fantasy is key. Its the genre in which brought me to writing in the first place. I've also begun educating myself with YouTube videos and help books. 

As for my current manuscript, its high fantasy with a few of my personal experiences blended into it. I seem to make more progress with industry professionals when the story relates more to me. My novella The Discarded Knight almost had an agent and two small presses. It involved my experience as an autistic person.

Concerning reading. I'm slowly losing interest in comic books and am cutting down my usual list of titles. Comic books used to inspire my writing but are now falling short of that task. It's probably better to read novels as a writer anyway. And for reading novels my decision to read only what I want will stand firm. If  the blurb and first four pages catches me then I'm in.

That's the update. Have a great rest of the year.