On writing an Epic
With reference to George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice and Fire
I have been writing The Elements epic since 2007 when I first started. The Elements only really came into being as a concept after that, in 2009…
You can sign up for the occasional Elements newsletter, follow Mark David on Twitter @authorMarkDavid. You can read more about his fiction on The Elements homepage or here on medium.
At times, I compare what I want to create compared to other writers and only one writer comes to mind — just being a different genre.
A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. Here’s some interesting facts about how long it took to make his epic: The first volume of the series, A Game of Thrones, was begun in 1991 and first published in 1996. The series has grown from a planned trilogy to seven volumes, the fifth and most recent of which, A Dance with Dragons, took Martin five years to write before its publication in 2011. The sixth novel, The Winds of Winter, is still being written.
The Elements has grown into a series from one book — my first stab in the dark that soon evolved into a much bigger tale by researching the legends of the past. That research lead to other research and before I even knew it, I was conceiving of a past I needed somehow to bring into the present, defining the premise for a truly unique fiction series where the actions in the present are conditioned by other lives and the deeds of other people we don’t even know in the past.
George RR Martin does not work with such a premise, being fantasy the slate is a little more open: The story of A Song of Ice and Fire takes place on the fictional continents Westeros and Essos. The Element requires in-depth research of real human history. In Song Of Ice and Fire, the point of view of each chapter in the story is a limited perspective of a range of characters growing from nine, in the first novel, to thirty-one by the fifth.
In The Elements, the first release introduces the limited perspectives of a handful characters caught up in events beyond their control. (My first title idea was ‘Beyond’, now called ‘Beyond The Light Of Reason’.) The second release then goes to the beginning of the sequence of events leading to the characters being there in the first place, introducing a vast range of characters but limited to about ten perspectives.
In Song Of Ice and Fire three main stories interweave a dynastic war among several families for control of Westeros, the rising threat of the supernatural Others beyond Westeros’ northern border, and the ambition of Daenerys Targaryen, the deposed king’s exiled daughter, to assume the Iron Throne. In The Elements, three main aspects are interwoven across the time scale of the 20th Century:
– Archaeological discoveries beginning in Egypt in 1917.
– The present timeframe of 1986 and a young female protagonists entry into a Lions den of deception and intrigue.
– The before-present time frame of 1982 and the events of the recent past leading up to the protagonist being sent to Copenhagen from London in 1986.
Martin’s inspirations included the Wars of the Roses and the French historical novels The Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon.
My greatest inspiration is history itself, specifically the little-known facts and could-be facts about some of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world. And, how events in time have kept those discoveries suppressed — because of other people and other agendas, all of which reflect man’s wonderful ability to let the greed of ideology suppress truth.
A Song of Ice and Fire received favorable critique for its diverse portrayal of women and religion, and praise for favoring realism over magic. I hope in tiome to gain praise in time for the intentions stated above, weaving a tale of fiction that enlightens people to understanding the world in a better way than can be done drowning in the vast pantheon of history. Only fiction can reduce history to a story we can understand and reflect upon…
A Song OF Ice and Fire uses an assortment of disparate, subjective and sometimes inaccurate points of view that confront the reader, and the reader may not safely presume that a favorite character will prevail, or even survive. Violence, sexuality and moral ambiguity frequently arise among a thousand named characters. The Elements does the same. It is not intentional to follow the example of A Song Of Ice and Fire, but the approach of Martin’s epic series is the closest example of something comparative to The Elements.
As of April 2015, the books have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide and have been translated into at least 45 languages. I have yet to sell a single copy and will go it alone since I am publishing independently. All I have at my disposal is my web site, the slowly growing communities of people who are a part of my network. Anyone can help me by sharing this community and telling your friends and family about what I hope to achieve. But I need your help to make it a success.
The fourth and fifth volumes of a Song Of Ice and Fire reached the top of The New York Times Best Seller lists upon their releases. Among the many derived works are several prequel novellas, a TV series, a comic book adaptation, and several card, board and video games. I have plans to market The Elements in the future into something more than it is now.
Thanks for reading!
Mark David
Featured image: From wiki commons
The Ice and Fire series was partly inspired by the Wars of the Roses, a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England. Pictured, painting by Richard Burchett portraying Edward IV demanding that his defeated enemies be taken from Tewkesbury Abbey.
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You can sign up for the occasional Elements newsletter, follow Mark David on Twitter @authorMarkDavid. You can read more about his fiction on The Elements homepage or here on medium.
