Thinking about the obstacles in a story and how they affect the protagonist and other characters has been something I’ve done a bit of this week. In my current work in progress, my main character is jaded due to what he has already endured. That means that his thoughts are already skewed toward the negative. No matter what happens, he doesn’t feel he deserves anything good. He always expect the worst of every situation.
The main character is best positioned to bring about a good ending to the story, but in doing that, he will also need to overcome his tendency toward negativity and mistrust. But he also must start that process early in the story. While that isn’t the most dangerous conflict he will face, it is important.
One thing that I’ve noticed as I write and work my day job is that it’s all about my frame of reference. If I focus on bad or the negative, I see a lot more of it. Sometimes, that’s all I see. On the other hand, if I look for the good things, after a while, I will see them more readily. For my protagonist, it’s kind of the same. He will have to trust others.
I like comparing good stories with my life, and looking for the differences and similarities. Some of the best fiction explores settings and events that I hope to never experience in my life.
Check out my books on Amazon.
My latest book, For All the Stones, takes place in a world that is coming to terms with the rising technology and the waning magic. Even though the magic has faded, some are still after the ancient glories of the mages who once ruled the land.
My book, Collected Lives, takes place near the end of the twenty-second century, with vacations and tourism to Earth by off-worlders controlled by major corporations. The largest corporation, Collected Lives, has several enemies. The story follows the events as four people from different portions of Collected Lives’ process are thrown into the middle of a larger problem.
My fantasy, A Map, a Mage, and a Sacrifice, is set in a world with ancient technology where sacrifice of lifeforce brings magical power. The greater the pain and suffering, the greater the magical energy generated. The Forty mages controlling the empire use voluntary sacrifice of the citizens to generate power they use to protect and defend the empire. But their rule may be coming to a close.
Malignance, my third book in my time travel series that began with Resonance and Dissonance, is on Amazon as a kindle and a paperback. That was a fun series to write, and for now, it is completed. I have also placed all three books from that series into one volume titled The Machina of Time.
If you’re looking for a science fiction story, try my book The Promise of Dust, which takes place in a cloud city floating in the atmosphere of Venus. Or Progenitor’s Legacy: Deceit, which takes place many years in the future on a tidally locked world that orbits a red dwarf and has been reached by humanity in their search for the alien progenitors who seeded the galaxy with nano machines.
If a young adult science fiction is more to your liking, check out my series This New Earth, that starts with Demons of a Dead World and Secrets of a Dead World.
If you are looking for a young adult fantasy, check out my book The Threads Unbound.
DANIEL R. BURKHARD 