[x]

Anyways, while I am in the process of deciding what name I'd like to use to publish the JB Chronicles, it got me thinking about pseudonyms, and why people use them. I suppose the main reason is because you don't want someone to know what your real name is. Another one is to disguise gender, and this is one that you tend to see more in publishing.
But why use a pen name to hide your gender? Does it really matter what gender you are if you write something? But it does amaze me how people can be put off reading something by the gender of an author

And not only that, but the gender of the main character

What does it matter if the main character is male or female, or if the author is male or female?

It's the quality of the writing and the story that matters, and gender doesn't make that much of a difference to that

Well, maybe not the quality of writing, but I digress. That's a journal for another day

I have read novels by both male and

Character InspirationA strange thing happened to me the other night.
I had a dream ... no, that wasn't the strange bit

It was the fact that in it I dreamt about a fully formed character, and when I woke up I could remember everything about it

I have no idea if I will ever use this character for anything, but I did write it down just because I liked it, so you never know

But it got me thinking about where the inspiration for characters comes from, and really it can be anywhere. From dreams, from people that you know, or just completely from your own mind. Watching people in the street can be helpful as well, to get an idea about the different sorts of mannerisms that people have.
Of course, in a way, by far the easiest thing to do is to give characters traits that you have, and now that I am in the process of going back over the stories I realise just how much I have

Civil Unrest Much?Maybe I'm paranoid, but damn are there a ton of "F U DeviantArt" journals out there. Maybe it's because the people I watch are as opinionated as I am. Looking outward though, I've seen a good deal of civil unrest in real life also. It seems to be everywhere.
I did once believe that deviantArt was about art, which was my mistake. Anyone that genuinely cares about art and it's wellbeing cannot seriously consider dA as a forum for the art scene, no matter what shiny new features are added. Imagine it like a flowering tree; if the roots are bad the whole thing will come down. What's more, if you do care and express it, you'll be browbeaten into surrendering your standards to the Greater Good. For example, if Unrestricted Stock becomes a fad, MORE people will expect that stock is completely consequence free, forcing the community to come up with a decision on just how important contributing resources is. You are no longer on your terms, you are on dA's terms. And if someone decides to disob

The first single of 'Imaginarium'I've got some exciting news to share!
The name, cover and release date of the first single from 'Imaginarium', will be released next week, at 2nd of September.
Also, a track-by-track teaser and short introduction, for every song, will be released soon after that.
Share your excitement!!

Major vs MinorWow, look at me, I'm finally doing a journal entry

Yeah, I know it's been a while since I've done one, and that has mainly been because of a complete lack of motivation on my part

I had ideas what to write about just not what to write, if you get my meaning

So, apologises for that, and now on to the journal

Today is another one about characters, and their importance. Yes, I know I've already done similar ones to that in the past, but this one is more about whether or not a character should be a major one or a minor one (or a somewhere-in-the-middle one

)
Now, when I started writing, I had no idea how many major characters I would have - except for one that did rather obviously present herself

- but in a way I think that's a good thing. Writing a story is like going on adventure, and writing new characters is like being introduced to someone for the first time: you have no idea what they're going to be like, or even if you're going to like them. Th

Child of MineToday I thought I would delve into the matter of relationships between characters, in particular that between parents nd their children.
I once heard somewhere that on orphan is an excellent protagonist for a story. I can't remember who said it (whoops

) but it was something to do with them being cut adraift from the sense of who they really are. While I do agree with this to a point, I don't see why a character has to be an orphan to not have that sense about themsevles. After all, it is not the parents who ultimately define who someone is, it is the individual themselves. Though saying that, I do feel that your parents play an important role in making someone the person they are, even if it is not what someone ultimately becomes.
Personally, I like books where the protagonist still has their parents. In fact, two of my favourites - Inkheart and Danny, the Champion of the World have protagonists who have been brought up by only their fathers. Looking back, I see how

A Whole New WorldJust another little insight into my views of the magical world of writing - and speaking of magical worlds ...
As a fantasy writer, I have done my far share of creating worlds. As it happens, I am still in the middle of doing so, because there are a lot of worlds in the JB Chronicles (but I'm saying no more about them for now - spoilers

) Basically, if it is something that you intend to do, then it is vital that you do it properly There is an awful lot of things to consider about creating a new world. For starters there's:
1) What sort of races live there?
2) Are there any different languages?
3) What does this world look like?
4) How big is it?
5) Where is it?
The list goes on and on. And all of these things and more need to be considered to make the world really believably. Even if some of the things will never appear in the story it again goes back to the point about the writer knowing more than the reader. It is useful to know that, because you never actually know w

So Many Peoples part IIJust a continuation of this entry

While I stand by what I said about the importance of only sticking to a few main characters, that does not mean that you should forget about the others

A secondary character can have a vital role to play in the story, even if it is not as large as the roles of the main character(s). So, under no circomstances should a character be forgotten. There is perhaps not enough not as much point in developing them behind the scenes, unless you want to of course

Personally, I tend to get a bit carried away and like to know more about the characters than will ever appear in the books

However, that's not a bad thing. Yes, it does take up more time, but once things really get going I find that you never know what's about to come up, and what bitof information is going to be needed when. It's always good to know more than the reader.
Seco

Music and Writer's BlockFor me, I find that music and writing go together very well

Personally, I listen to a lot of music, and all types at that, and I find that it helps kick my creative brain into action. Film soundtracks tend to be good - listening to a piece of dramatic music while writing a dramatic scene can easily intensify it. Also, I find that listening to music that goes against what you're writing can also help. Many times I have been listening to a lively, upbeat piece of music, and had an idea for something that was the complete opposite in my writing

I have read and heard many things that tell aspiring writers that they should rid themselves of all distractions before they start if they want to write something worthwhile. I for one don't tend to agree with that, because all people are different. What is a distraction to one person may well be the thing that helps break through the writers block of another, and there is nothing worse than having writer's block.
The worst case of wr

All in a NameThey are important, after all.
I find that trying to come up with names is one of the hardest parts of creating characters. I know that I could easily be construed as putting too much thought into the process - after all, it could be as simple as finding a name and just whacking it to the character - but I have always felt there is more to finding a name than that. The name is a part of the character, and therefore like everything else about them, I think it should be thought through. Hence why my own characters have gone through such rigorous name changes.
I do feel that you just instinctively "know" when a character name is right. Personally I seem to find that moment harder to come by, another reason why characters of mine can sometimes go through half a dozen name changes. I forget how many times I have changed the name of my main character, Jemima. In her earliest incarnations she was a Jade, and I've even got some versions of her where she was a Hermione (you can guess what I was

The Importance of BackstoryAs I sit here writing out story notes (when I should be doing far more important things) I can't help but find myself marvelling at the importance of backstory. It's right you know - a story doesn't begin on the first page anymore than it ends on the last. There is always a whole world of things going on inside that world that the reader more often than not will never know about, and never need to know about, because it isn't relevant to the "main event" as it were.
However, it is always nice to have a sense that the author knows more about the world they've created than they're letting on, as I believe a certain very famous author once also said. I have to admit, that I don't think I could in all honesty write a story if the only things I had thought about were the ones that I was putting down on to paper, because there is so much more to it than that. Characters are not meant to be flat, one dimensional beings, because real people aren't like that - well, generally. I won't sa

Might not be on DA much longerCurrently being issued for discussion by the UK Government is a bill to enforce that ISP as restrict all "pornographic" material and to insist that the ISP bill payer contact the ISP and have the ban lifted on their account, thereby marking the bill payer on a database somewhere as a "pervert"!
No the bill is not entirely clear on what porn is other than the standard quoted definition, ie "image created to encourage sexual arousal" bollocks. So does it include fine-art nude or fine-art fetish images? I can see that 90% of the internet will be cut off, including a hell of a lot of advertising guff. What about sex education sites? God forbid our kids should become curious and want to learn anything about sex!
Sick and tired of my Government, who I didn't vote in as it happens, treating the UK population like a bunch of kids unable to make their decisions. FFS, if I want to go find a site with some couple banging for their worth in the name of adult entertainment, that's my decision to ma

Elves-of-Tolkien Mega Feature part 2:icontolkienplz: :iconelves-of-tolkien: :icontolkienplz:
In honor of getting 500 members in #Elves-of-Tolkien group, as a founder I decided to choose one work from every member and feature it here!
:iconbigheartplz: Beware of awesome talent and beautiful art! :iconbigheartplz:
I tried it to be all Tolkien, or fantasy related, but some members didn't have that kind of art, or had better other works, so I improvised. When I had to choose one from sometimes 300 deviations, I usually put faith in my own taste of art, so don't be sorry if we haven't choose what you consider your best - we tried to choose what we consider the nicest combination along with other works

List goes from oldest members to newest

Here it goes, 50-100:

:thumb166

Struggle for PerfectionI did want to write this yesterday, but it was one of those ones where you have to think very carefully about what you're going to actually put. If certain people were to read this then I know they would be highly offended, but I've been offended by this myself, and to think it was a member of my own family makes it all the worse.
Basically, yes, it's about my dyspraxia again. This time I think I have felt the full force of just how much people are ignorant about it. We went to visit my nan yesterday. Okay, I will admit it's not something I wanted to do, I never have, and the fact that when we first told her about my diagnosis that the first thing she said was "I'm so sorry you're not perfect any more" just put me off altogether. (I known it's probably bad to speak about your own family in this way, but this is something I will not stand for).
My mother, who has been wonderfully supportive of me in what is a somewhat difficult time, thought it would be a good idea if I had a T-shirt wi

London riots: photographer speaks of mayhemAmy Weston captured image of woman leaping from a burning building in Croydon used on five national front pages.
Read more http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/aug/09/london-riots-photographer-dramatic

Browse More Like This

more ▶

Featured in Groups:

Not currently featured in any groups.

Details

Submitted: December 24, 2011

Link

Thumb

Statistics

Comments: 325
Favourites: 13 [who?]
Views: 19,928 (2 today)

[x]

The Hobbit. Jacksonised or: Pimp my Dwarf!

Journal Entry: Sat Dec 24, 2011, 2:56 AM

Updates

As I read the Hobbit to my son, as Smaug lies buried under the waters of the Long Lake and as Elves, Dwarves, Men and Orcs are drawn to the Lonely Mountain by greed, I stumble over promo photos of the Hobbit [link] and am reduced to disbelief.

Of course, I should have known. The target audience are the "Lotr" fans, the ones who have never read the books (probably tried, but gave up after "Concerning Hobbits"), who can't even be bothered to spell out the title of what they call their favourite book (or movie), who whooped with glee when Legolas surfed down the stairs of Helm's Deep on a shield or when Viggo, Orly and that alcoholic of a Dwarf kung-fu'd their way towards Théoden, and whom Jackson expects to be clamouring for more of the same in The Hobbit. He couldn't have made it a children's movie, no, of course not.

Thus, those lovable, squabbling Dwarves, who have only bread knives (which they lose soon enough after their encounter with the Orcs) and bows and arrows (which they waste shooting after black deer in Mirkwood), are portrayed as literally armed to the teeth. What do they need a burglar for? What do they need Bard for? They can just walk into the Lonely Mountain and bash Smaug on the head with that armoury of theirs, and all his jewel-encrusted armour won't avail him anything.

They don't even look like dwarves. They look as my first RPG game master always imagined them- heavily armed and armoured, grim creatures. Those are D&D Dwarves. They have nothing to do with Thorin and Company.

And Kili? I can already see the slash fic that'll be written about him. Screwing Fili at the Troll cave, in Rivendell (probably as a threesome with Elrond), and of course all the lovely bondage they'll be having with Legolas in the Elven-King's halls - whenever he can spare a moment between washing and conditionering his hair! Expecting the first fanfics in... less than three hours! Hey, those things are quickly written. And the fanart's going to beat Haldir.

Consider this: In the Lord of the Rings, Jackson gave us Frodo, Gandalf, Galadriel, Gollum, and a good handful of other characters exactly as we'd all seen them from the illustrators that had given us Tolkien illustrations for more than half a century. And we loved him for it. And he was confident enough in this to still give them to us like that, and not say, "Everyone sees Gandalf with a blue hat, long grey cloak, long beard and staff! Hey, I'll give him dreads, a full-plate armour and a shaven chin, just to prove how imaginative I am!"

But now he's gone and done exactly that.

Sorry, PJ... but NO. Leave a good book alone, and stay WAY clear of all that disgusting fan service.

I'm sure he'll have moments of greatness in between there, even moments of grandeur as he managed to put into the Lord of The Rings. I'll probably enjoy parts of the movie. I do love the Lord of the Rings movies (a few well-planned toilet breaks at strategic points in The Two Towers help), and when I saw the promo pictures for the Lord of the Rings movies over ten years ago, I was absolutely crazy with enthusiasm. So this is not a routine exercise in book-to-movie bashing.

I wonder what they'll do with the movie title in German. The book is known here as "Der Kleine Hobbit" (The Little Hobbit), and that will definitely not fit for the movie...

PS: Everyone who said that it was necessary to make the movie darker and the Dwarves less Disney please explain Nori and Ori to me. Especially Nori's hair...do.

[link]

Tutorials

TRADITIONAL

Watercolour Tutorial Part 1: Materials [link]
Watercolour Tutorial Part 2: Painting Basics [link]
Watercolour Tutorial Part 3: Tricks of the Trade [link]
Not a watercolour tutorial [link]
Watercolour steps [link]
Chainmail tutorial [link]

DIGITAL

NEW Photoshop tutorial [link]
OLD Photoshop tutorial [link]
My OLD Watercolour/Photoshop technique [link]
Pimp my sketch! (Parchment technique) [link]

FAQ

FAQ: [link]

Commission Info

[link]

Friends

Great friends, great artists, great people:

Tutorials

TRADITIONAL

DIGITAL

NEW Photoshop tutorial [link]
OLD Photoshop tutorial [link]
My OLD Watercolour/Photoshop technique [link]
Pimp my sketch! (Parchment technique) [link]

FAQ

FAQ: [link]

Commission Info

[link]

Friends

Great friends, great artists, great people:

*CSS by *BaB-Jane
*Brushes by =Falln-Stock and ~redheadstock

325 Comments

Mood: Disgust
Listening to: Christmas CD
Reading: The Lord of the Rings

The Hobbit. Jacksonised or: Pimp my Dwarf!by =Gold-Seven

Journals / Personal

~~love 0 0~~

joy 4 4

~~wow 0 0~~

mad 1 1

~~sad 0 0~~

~~fear 0 0~~

neutral 2 2

~Windfeder Feb 2, 2012

Hm. The new dwarfs look interesting in my eyes.

Imagine you have to portray 11 (was there 11 of them?) dwarfs. 11 little men with long beards ... that would be so boring, they will look all the same - so I thouht. Because of that I like the Jackson-Version of them. Every character is something special. Ok, Kili is much too attractive for a dwarf ... but the rest of them - interesting. And they can sing so good!
I am looking forward to the film.

=Gold-Seven Feb 2, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

Imagine you have to portray 11 (was there 11 of them?) dwarfs. 11 little men with long beards ... that would be so !boring, they will look all the same - so I thouht."

Jackson managed to portray dozens of Elves as tall, handsome, and eternally youthful (and they ALL had the same hair!) Okay, he got one slightly overweight one.

/Haldir-bashing

So, I just wonder what got into him between the Trilogy and the Hobbit. He was perfectly fine to stick to general viewing expectations in the Lord of the Rings. To me, it seems like a very unfortunate mix of fan-service and fame going to your head if you suddenly go all creative with Dwarves that everyone, always, has imagined as 13 little men with beards.

~Lonemtnwolf Jan 26, 2012 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

You're inspiring!

) Glad I stumbled across your work. It's glorious!

=Gold-Seven Jan 28, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

Thank you!

~Lonemtnwolf Jan 28, 2012 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

You're very welcome!

~haius Jan 26, 2012

Also, slightly off-topic, but have you perchance seen the HBO Game of Thrones TV series? I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on that.

=Gold-Seven Jan 28, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

*sent too soon*

..., but overall, I really liked it. There were characters who came incredibly close to how I saw them, like Bran, Cersei, Jaime, Littlefinger (!), Robert, and overall, I loved how it was done. It kindled within me a sudden resurge of love for Song of Ice and Fire - and then Dance with Dragons came along and killed all the love instantly, remorselessly, and irrefutably. :/

~haius Feb 10, 2012

I heard that Dance with Dragons was good.... Ugh, I bet he kills off someone wonderful. I just know it. >_<

=Gold-Seven Feb 10, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

Sort of. Somehow, dead people hardly ever stay dead these days. Another thing that really peeves me off with his book of late.

~haius Feb 10, 2012

Eek. Yes, that is a bit offputting. When you build a reputation for killing people off and then start chickening out... *sigh*

Featured in Groups:

Details

Statistics

The Hobbit. Jacksonised or: Pimp my Dwarf!

The Hobbit. Jacksonised or: Pimp my Dwarf!by =Gold-Seven

The Journal Portal

Polls

What is your preferred drawing software?

deviantART [dee·vee·un'nt·ART]

Keep in Touch!

Deviousness

Add Media

Style