In the near future, both Phil and I are (most likely) going to be moving some characters from their homes on Steamwheedle over to Wyrmrest Accord. There's a lot of reasons for that, but one happy side-effect is that I get to effectively reboot all my characters' stories. Plus, I get to go into an entirely new server, with no preconceived notions about who the audience is. That means, more RP writing. This is a draft of something I'm writing to introduce my rogue.
Ahh, Ironforge. Home to hundreds of stories, many of which start with: "One time, Magni was so drunk that..." Home to Dwarves. Home to the remnants of the Gnomish Nation, and for the past several years, home to Jillathee von Tvisenklank.
What can we say about Jillathee von Tvisenklank? It's possible to stay mainly at the superficial level - she's petite, even for a Gnome. Why "petite" and not "short"? Even if "short" is technically accurate, anyone who refers to her using that term will quickly find themselves in one of two situations. It's possible that Jill will hop up on whatever's handy with a quick smile and say, "There, now we can make eye contact and you won't hurt your neck." It is also altogether possible that you will find yourself on your knees, eyes watering with pain, with Jill holding a handful of your hair. You can still make eye contact, but this way might hurt a bit more.
So, we can add "mercurial" to our list of adjectives.
Jillathee runs a small shop in Ironforge, the Bent Spoke. When her father ran it, it was a somewhat unremarkable supply shop, catering to the tinkering crowd. These days, it has a more exotic reputation. She still deals in cogs, gears, and reticulated flanges, but she has a fairly liberal policy for special ordering. If you need it, she can get it. Eventually, and somehow. It might cost, but if you have the money, it can be gotten. Fine art? Unobtanium? The tears of an abandoned bride on her wedding day? Many things have passed through this shop since Jillathee took over.
How did someone with such a respectable name (the von Tvisenklanks are an ancient family) come to be living such a shady experience? First of all, Jillathee is only a von Tvisenklank by marriage. Her maiden name is Spokebender, a much more earthy appellation (which also explains the name of her shop). An only child, she grew up among the shelves of the Bent Spoke, raised by her widower father, Klang.
Hmm. I think this is way too much exposition. I'm trying to cram an entire story into a few paragraphs, and do so wittily. Maybe I should dribble it out a little bit more, give each major section - youth, marriage to Thrinwizzle, independence - a fuller treatment.
Here's the cliff notes spoiler: Jillathee was married to Thrinwizzle von Tvisenklank, a crotchety old noble who wanted a trophy bride so much that he had Klang Spokebender's lease bought out and threatened to evict the poor fellow if young Jill didn't consent to be his bride. Mariwocket (my Warlock) will come in as Thrinwizzle's witchy and spoiled daughter (by an earlier marriage), who is resentful of the step-mother she is almost of age with.
After a few years of marriage, her father died and Jill got her revenge (once she didn't have to worry about him anymore). Thrinwizzle died in a mysterious mechanostrider accident shortly thereafter. Jillathee ended up getting nothing in the will (it's rumored that Mariwocket had it changed at the last minute) other than the lease to her father's old shop, which she has re-opened and revitalized. One benefit to having been a Society Wife for a few years is that she now has enough connections to make the Bent Spoke a haven for the gray (if not straight out black) market. Of course, nothing in this world is permanent, and Thrinwizzle ends up being a Death Knight (conveniently).
This gives us the trio of Murdered Husband, Angry Step-Daughter, and Suffering Wife, which is a pretty ripe terrain for storytelling.
Any feedback on either the rough story outline or the prose itself is welcome.
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I tend to handle exposition in context and drag it out. This doesn't always work in short pieces, where you don't have time, but I find it to be more of a conversational approach than a literary one, and I am more comfortable writing dialog-laden pieces than descriptive ones.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, it's a style choice. Do you write in a fantastic style, a period style, or a modern style? A lot depends on whose voice you see telling the story. If the narrative takes place in your character's mind or in converation it will be best-presented in a way much different than if it is being recounted by a bard in the setting itself. The conversational style won't describe these things in detail, but the bardic recount might give it all in advance, with fourishes. Either works, when it is used appropriately.
I like the conversational tone usually. I tend toward third-person in this kind of situation, and I really like it when I can turn a phrase well. But I think this is just too much "just so" in one big clump. I can actually write the stories about how Jill got where she is, instead of writing the recap. That would be better, I think.
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