Not much to say since this is still in development since August 2020. All I can say that this poetic novel will take place during the Crimean War of 1853 - 1856, when Russia was fighting against Great Britain, France, Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire for political and religious reasons. The War is often overlooked and an underrated part of world history. It was the closest thing to a World War at the time. I've been doing a lot of historical research from all perspectives of the war, not just one, to get a clear understanding of it accurately as possible. There will be a few fictional characters and artistic license in the story, BUT it does not butcher or ruin the historic lore of that time period. The war was famous for the Charge of the Light Brigade, Florence Nightingale, First Trench warfare, First War photos, Telegram Reporting, and much more.
I want it to feel like it's a Space Opera or Epic fantasy, but it's real-life in a poetic way. Imagine your a soldier overseas, you come to Crimea and asks yourself, "what is this strange world, and who are these aliens?" Kind-of get it? I like lore from fictional series but I also want real-life historical lore to be exciting and interesting too. I'm a History Buff. 😜 and there are strange things in real life than fiction.
My inspiration for this project, was from Star Wars, The Lords of the Rings, The Illiad, The Odyssey, FullMetal Alchemist, Halo (yes Halo), some Shakespeare, and many others to see why they are so loved and iconic, but I want it to be realistic, re-memorable, and maybe iconic.
These days you can't trust anyone to make a great original story without being genric or cliche, so like my previous works, I always try to be as original as possible, and every scene and dialogue has a purpose that moves the story forward. I've shown the first part of the book to my editor and absolutely loves it!
My books will not be in the traditional Western form of a 3 act structure, but a 4 act structure called Kishōtenketsu (起承転結), which has been used in Eastern storytelling for many centuries. So, I wanted to use it for this story to make it "refreshing" for Western readers.
The following is an example of how this might be applied to a fairytale.
- Introduction (ki): introducing characters, era, and other important information for understanding the setting of the story.
- Development (shō): follows leads towards the twist in the story. Major changes do not occur.
- Twist (ten): the story turns toward an unexpected development. This is the crux of the story, the yama (ヤマ) or climax. In case of several turns in the narrative, this is the biggest one.
- Conclusion (ketsu), also called ochi (落ち) or ending, wraps up the story.
A specific example by the poet Sanyō Rai (頼山陽):
- Introduction (ki): Daughters of Itoya, in the Honmachi of Osaka.
- Development (shō): The elder daughter is sixteen and the younger one is fourteen.
- Twist (ten): Throughout history, daimyōs killed the enemy with bows and arrows.
- Conclusion (ketsu): The daughters of Itoya kill with their eyes.
Here's a brief excerpt from the introduction of the Project.
(Please note, it's in subject to be changed in the final publication.)
October 16, 1853, the Ottoman Empire has declared war
on the Russian Empire.The reason for this that Russia under
Tsar Nicolas I, who was legally the protector of Christian minorities
and holy sites under the empire, the majority of the Christian
minorities are Eastern Orthodox, the same religion as Russia.
But, Sultan Adulmani I gave that rule to French Emperor Napoleon III
who wanted to rule those Christian lands under Catholic rule.
Russia has found this unacceptable and disputed this
attempted change in authority. Referencing two previous treaties
(one from 1757, and the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca from 1774),
the Ottomans reversed their earlier decision, renouncing the French
Treaty, and declaring that Russia was the protector of the Orthodox
Christians in the Ottoman Empire. Napoleon III responded with
a show of force, sending the ship of the line Charlemagne
to the Black Sea, thereby violating the London Straits Convention.
The upcoming book will be released next year, I was hoping this year but wouldn't have enough time because of its length and structure. Good stories shouldn't be rushed.
But that's all for now folks!
Cheers
Æ
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