Conflicted Characters

While reading the first volume of Nura: The Rise of the Yokai Clan, I noticed I'm drawn to characters with conflicted natures.  The main character Nura, Rikuo is three quarters human, one quarter yokai or demon and the story is about how is comes to terms with his demon blood, using it to help humans instead of torment them.  I haven't read much of the story so far, so I don't know much other than this.

Another example of a character at odds within himself, is Lian Hearn's Otori, Takeo. In the beginning of the series Takeo is called Tomasu, raised among a secret sect of religious believers called The Hidden.  As a member of the Hidden, Tomasu is taught, never to take a life, whether that of one's own or someone else.  At the age of twelve, Tomasu's village is burned and he is rescued by Otori, Shigeru, the heir of a predominant samurai clan.  We later discover that Takeo, as Shigeru had renamed him, is not only Shigeru's adopted son, but his nephew.   On top of this, Takeo's father, Imasu, was a member of the Tribe, a secret society of people with special abilities-what ninjas were thought to be.  So Takeo has three different natures waring inside him and I love the way Hearn writes this.

However, as much as I love Takeo, there are characters I wish she'd explored more and I do wish Hearn had stuck with first person throughout the series.  It would have been awesome to really get inside Maruyama Naomi  or even Otori, Shigeko's head because than I could have had lots of examples how to write powerful women in Japanese culture.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Tales of the Otori series, otherwise I would not still be reading, but there are places where I feel Hearn could have expanded and developed several female characters more.  I would have liked to see how Lady Maruyama ran the west back in her day.  We only get glimpses.

The reason I'm saying this is because I'm looking for someone to base my own Hogoshiro Chronicles characters on.  I can't help but feel somewhat disappointed when Hearn switches from first person narrative for Takeo, and third person for everyone else.

Yes, I have got a better grasp on traditional Japanese culture in a fantasy setting by reading this series and the idea of women as rulers is a very interesting addition, but I think I was expecting Hearn to elaborate more on the idea and from a first person point of view of the women involved.

I really am at the point in my writting proces where I need to get a better grasp on who my character are, what their individual quirks are, and on the story itself. 

I know that I want Hibiki to be conflicted, torn between her Oshiro and Shikibu natures and that her journey in the story is to figure out how to resolve that conflict, as several members of the two clans do not get along very well.  Have to keep the bloodlines pure now don't we;) ?  Hibiki is more of a scientist, like her father, Akihito Shikibu, but also has the legacy of the Oshiro kaikimushi with which she was born and her mother, Misaki's bull-headedness, plus her father's impatience.  After her mother commits ritual suicide, the telepathy she inherited from her father activates.  Hibiki will be the Takeo of my story.

I know that Rin, the main kitsune in my story, has a weird fasination (for a kitsune that is) with human technology and that she has more of a girly-girly personality to Hibiki tomboyish one.  Rin is more playful than Hibiki.  She is a fox shapeshifter afterall.  She will be Hibiki's conpanion and one of her lovers in the story.  And yes, Rin will get at least one more tail before the story is finished as she helps rescue her brother (yet to be named) from the clutches of the evil Dr. Takahashi and avoids getting sold as a slave on the black market.

Kakashi Shikibu, one of my human to creature telepaths is Hibiki's mentor and uncle.  He helps take care of and study all the creatures and humans in the Mt. Kumotori hogoshiro.  He is the main scientist at the Mt. Kumotori hogoshiro.  I liken Kakashi to Shigeru in personality.  He is very calm and knowledgable.  I haven't quite figured out quite what some of his quirks are yet, but I'm sure as time goes by and dwell on it more, they will come.

Shikibu, Akihito is Hibiki's father and Kakashi's older brother will be the most Western influenced of all my characters.  At first we will only get to "meet" him through Kakashi's flashbacks and Hibiki's reading of his journal.  He won't physically enter the picture until after Hibiki's telepathy awakens.  Of course, everyone except Rin, Misaki and the Oshiro elders think he is dead.  He has entrusted Rin to keep his fake death a secret from both Kakashi and Hibiki until the time is right (Misaki's suicide).  He is a bit of an "open canon" if you will.  More carefree but high strung than his younger brother; he has had some anger management issues in the past and can be impatient at times.  However, he is capable of being serious when he needs to be.

My fifth core character will be Nakamora, Hideo.  He is a healer with eyes that can detect "chi" or living energy.  This is his clan's special ability.  Knowledgable in many healing arts, including accupuncture, he could just as easily be an assassin.  He is one of the characters I don't know as well and need to develope more.

Another character I need to get to know better is Oshiro, Miki, Hibiki's grandmother.  She's strong and set in her beliefs, yet compassionate and caring.  Firm, but loving.  I feel I don't really have a good example of her to work from yet and don't know how to write her as a result.  There's a scene that I still haven't written coming up between Miki and Hibiki in reguards to preparing for Misaki's funeral where I really have a chance to develope the relationship between grandmother and granddaughter, but I don't have a good enough grasp on Miki yet to write it.

And then, there's the supporting characters and the feel of the hogoshiro itself that needs more developement.  Your readers need to get a good idea of what life is like at Mt. Kumotori before the major characters loose that life to really empathize with them.  I believe I have a opening scene worked out that will do this better, but of course I won't really know until it's written.


Any suggestions are always welcome.
Sayonara!

Collections of quotes from Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori - Part 1

Right now, I'm going through and reading all the books from Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori series.  So far, I've read Across the Nightengale Floor, the first book of the series and the prequel, Heaven's Net is Wide  Both books are excellent examples of how to write in a Japanese cultural setting using the English language, which is exactly why I'm working my way through the whole series.

I don't think you can expect to write in a foreign culture without having read examples of how to do so beforehand.  Well, I suppose you could, but your editors and/or readers might have a field day with you and I'm pretty sure I don't want that.  Hence, why research is so important and why I've started to take notes on how Hearn describes various situations.  For example, in Heaven's Net is Wide there are at least three exquisite passages when she illustrates Otori, Shigeru (pronouced Oh-tow-ree, She-geh-roo) crying.  Note, the Japanese put the surname first followed by the given name.  Therefore, Hearn does the same when the character is first introduced or in using formal language.

p.275:  "The smoke stung his eyes and he let them water, the moisture running unchecked down his cheeks . .  ."  Here Shigeru has just been humiliated at the hands of Iida, Sadamu in the fierce Battle of Yaegahara.  Shigeru's supposed allies the Noguchi have betrayed him and he clan, the Otori, have now lost most of their land to the Iida.  What I like most about this passage is how Hearn shows that men, especially of the samarai class, don't "cry" perse.  They let their eyes water. 

In another paassage, twenty pages later, Hearn again shows the differences between how men and women "cry"

p.295:  "he crashed his fist down down on it as though he could split the stone, and tears spurted from his eyes like fountains."  Again, the language Hearn uses implies that Shigeru's only crying because he lost control.  He didn't will the tears to come, they just came.  This quote also shows how physical activity usually accompanies grief with men.

I'm sure there were more examples such as these and will be more to come in the other books, but I will leave it at that for now.  There is however, one last quote from Heaven's Net is Wide, I would like to share with you.  It's a description of a memorial service for one of the dead from Yaegahara.  I figured since, I will have a memorial service (funeral/wake) for one of my own characters in The Hogoshiro Chronicles, I might as well make note of it for future reference.

P. 400-401: "The service was held in the small shrine in the garden and tables with the names of the dead man and his sons were placed before the altar . . . smoke from incense rose straight upward in the still air, mingling with the sharp scents of autumn."

Sayonara

Learning Japanese

Learning Japanese is not easy and I'm learning it doesn't help to when you don't have your own computer.  Why am I learning Japanese?  For several reasons, but the main one right now is beause I wish to better understand the culture I am trying to place my first novel The Hogoshiro Chornicles in.  You guessed it!  Japan.

A writer friend of mind suggested I read Lian Hearn's Across the Nightingale Floor because my story reminded her of the book.  I recently finished the book and I have to agree.  The time period is incorrect (I wish to set THC in modern Japan, while AtNF is set an alternate feudal Japan, but Hearn's book shares many things with the ideas I have for THC.

Anyways, back on topic.  I was looking through Hearn's website lianhearn.com, and read her post on writing in different cultures.  She strongly suggested you learn the language of the culture you are trying to write in.  In both our cases:  Japanese.  If you learn and understand the language, you can than read works from said culture in its own native language.  Nothing can get "lost in translation" if you will.  Since, reading is such an important part of becoming a good writer, I figured it would be important to take the time to learn Japanese.

I've tried looking for continuing education classes at all the local colleges here in Madison, but can't find any that are in my price range. MATC has one for $72.76, but I wouldn't be able to get aid for it.  Besides, there are other free resources out there such as tofugu.com and textfugu.com.  Okay, so textfugu is only partly free (the first 6 lessons of "season 1"), but I'm finding them to be pretty damn good lessons.  Textfugu also has a list of other resources for studying Japanese, most of them with at least some free parts.

Being interested in modern (and ancient) Japanese culture helps as well.  Watching anime with English subtitles is another way to supplement your studies.  It's not a great way to learn by itself, but it can help.  If you're actively paying attention, meaning you stop the video and repeat things or read phrases of Hiragana or Katakana, instead of just passively listening.

I've wondered which writing system is best to learn first, Hiragana or Katakana?  Kanji, the system of characters the Japanese "borrowed" from the Chinese, is the most difficult to learn, so I'm not even bothering with those- yet at least.  Several people say that Hiragana is the one you should study first.  Not only because this is the writing system the Japanese first learn themselves, but it will save you time in the long run.  That, and learning Romanji is a waste of time since you already know it.

Sayonara.