Fantasy Inspiration

As I'm currently writing my own fantasy novel it made me think of all the fantasies I have read and how they may have influenced my writing. If you haven't read any of these books, I recommend you do because they are all brilliantly written and a joy to read.

I suppose the fantasy that it it going to be on nearly everybody's reading list is the one and only Harry Potter series. So, with no surprise it's on mine. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was one of the first books I remember reading and being enthralled by. I zipped through the first three books then had to wait impatiently for the next four. Once they were out I had to then wait for my sister to read them first - luckily she was a super speedy reader. What I love most about Harry Potter is the depth of the characters and how each one develops throughout the series. No matter how many times I have read them, or seen them, there is still so much to talk about. Snape is a particular favourite. Pottermore is also great as it allows you to read the back-story of the secondary characters that you just love, like Lupin and McGonagall.

Although I have only just read the books this year I was in love with Lord of the Rings from the moment I stepped out of the cinema after The Fellowship of the Ring way back in 2001. This is one case where the films don't ruin the books; Peter Jackson is a directing genius. I love the journey that takes place throughout the trilogy, and this has probably inspired my interest in designing maps and intricate landscapes for all my fantasy pieces. I adore the world Tolkien created and how well it transferred into film. The writing task I had to do in year 7, Escape from Kraznir, was a total rip-off of LOTR but I enjoyed it immensely. I like how all the fantastical creatures are included, yet feel very realistic and not cheesy, like cave trolls and Shelob the giant spider.

A massive change from LOTR now. Ella Enchanted was one of my favourite young adult fantasy books, loosely inspired by the fairytale Cinderella. It was like a modern day retelling of a fairytale and as an eleven year old this blew my mind. I didn't know we could retell stories, amazing! Unfortunately, the film missed the point entirely and was comedic disaster, though I do like Anne Hathaway.

I guess in a way my love of fantasy really stemmed from fairy tales. Disney was a big part of my childhood, and princesses and talking animals are some of the conventions of the fantasy world. In my younger years I did prefer more fluffy fantasies, like Goose Girl and Enna Burning by Shannon Hale. Though they did still include political intrigue it was more about a young girls adventure, with a little romance, and no brutal killings, or at least not as much as Game of Thrones...

A Song of Ice and Fire series is brilliant. They may look dauntingly big but they are incredibly easy to read and they're so interesting you never want to put them down. They're not as fantastical as LOTR, there aren't elves or goblins, but they do have dragons, which are awesome! It is more about kingdoms, politics, betrayal and treachery. All very adult stuff, that does sound complicated but it's simple once you start reading, though remains complicated when you try to explain it to someone who's never read it, or watched it. My fantasy novel is a lot like GOT in the fact that I want it to be serious and a little bit gory, and leaves you on the edge of your seat. Most of my other fantasy pieces have been more childish with a strong focus on romance, so this is quite the change.

And after adding these images, I've realised that most of the fantasies I like have been made into movies/tv shows. This is great as one of my dreams is to have one of my novels made into a film. I have a lot more reading to do around the fantasy genre, and I'm really excited about it (My sister has recommended dozens of books, so I'm going to be a very busy reader). However, I'm not excited about having to hold the massive books open while trying to read in bed. That is why Kindles are so great. 

Film Pitch - Tainted Blood

This is a piece that I did last year for Scriptwriting. In a group we had to come up with a film idea and pitch it to our lecturer. It was the first time I had worked in a group at University and it was a nice bonding activity, too. I'm still really close to the two girls, and one of them, Megan, also has a blog, it's called The Student Housewife.

We spent a lot of time on the script and rehearsed constantly, and in the end our efforts paid off as we received a first for it! I was really nervous as I tend to talk very fast and I didn't want to be the one that let the team down. Luckily, we had rehearsed it so much that I read at the perfect pace even if my heart was beating a mile a minute. Since then, however, I am much more confident in my reading aloud, in fact, I read something out loud to my classmates this morning!

During the pitch we all had something to say, and we colour coded our scripts. Megan was blue, I was purple, and Lauren was pink. I thought I'd leave it in colour to liven up my blog a bit, and so you can see how we all contributed.  

We came up with the idea after reading an article about the average life span being longer than it used to be a few decades ago, and I began to wonder what would happen if nobody ever died. In a way, it's very like the film Children of Men, only I haven't actually seen it so in no way did we copy it! 

I really like this idea and maybe one day I'll write it out in full as a book, obviously with Lauren and Megan's permission!

Tainted Blood is an action drama feature film following the lives of separated twins and their struggle to change a world where procreation is banned as the elimination of illnesses leads the human population to soar.

Seth is a young man that has spent most of his life hiding, living in basements, abandoned houses, or even underground, as he is an illegal child, born in a time when procreation has been banned by the Government. This is because after scientists found the cure for all diseases the world has become a dangerously overpopulated place.

His life takes a devastating turn as his girlfriend confesses that she is pregnant. Seth can’t bear for his child to grow up the same way that he did. When Seth was younger his twin brother, Xander, was taken during a governmental raid. These raids were to check for illegal children, and any that were found were sent off to army camps to learn how to fight and then join the ever threatening war over oil supplies. The two brothers were both hidden in a basement, but after Seth made an accidental noise and the Raiders started coming for him, Xander let himself be taken in order to protect his brother.

So Seth, in fear for his girlfriend and his unborn child, sets out to find the mysterious revolutionary movement called the United Forces of the Lost Generation (UFLG), who consist of other illegal children planning to overthrow the government and its regime. He has to disguise himself as an older man to avoid the suspicion of his age or being caught. He manages to travel around Britain hearing more about the UFLG and avoiding the Government, most of the time, but he has a few close calls.

 Throughout his travels he hears more about the group and eventually finds its hidden underground headquarters. Giving a motivational speech at the time is the UFLG leader, who looks exactly like Seth. It is his twin brother, Xander.

Seth manages to meet with Xander and says he wants to join the UFLG. During this meeting Xander explains how after he was taken he fought in the war and has seen many horrific things, but he worked his way into the Government. And now he knows all the ins and outs of the ‘Cure Vaccination Programme’. Xander says that he has a plan to stop the vaccination, therefore stopping over population and leaving Seth’s child to live in a better world.

Xander’s plan involves the use of Seth’s blood. Xander reveals that their father, who died before they were born, had an extremely rare genetic mutation that caused him to be immune to the vaccination. This immunity has been passed onto the twins and now their blood is riddled with many diseases and bacteria, of which the world’s population may not be able to survive. Xander and the UFLG plan to mix Seth’s blood with the vaccination, which has to be given annually to the whole world, in order to cut down some of the population and hopefully put an end to the war. 

The only problem is that the next vaccination is within the month and they need the blood now. And it will probably take all of Seth’s blood and he won’t survive. Seth asks why it has to be his blood and not Xander’s. But Xander tells Seth that he fought in the war and is now a Government official and that he deserves to live, whereas Seth is a nobody, somebody that has been hiding all his life, and not worth anything. Seth is appalled, he doesn’t want to die; he wants to be able to raise his child in a peaceful world.

However, before Seth can escape, Xander uses his followers to overpower him and take him to a secret medical facility. Seth wakes up in a bed with drips and wires coming off him and his blood being taken from him. It’s being put into containers that will be sent all over the world and secretly added to the vaccine. Xander oversees the extracting with grim satisfaction. Seth pleads with his brother, saying he is sorry for him, and sorry that he had to go the war and not him. Xander begins to break emotionally and begins to change his mind about the whole thing. But it is too late. The last of Seth’s blood has been drained and he dies.

Xander is devastated by what he did, but carries on the operation none the less. The blood is successfully mixed, and after the annual vaccination many people become sick and die. The new vaccination manages to wipe out a third of the population and puts an abrupt end to the war.

Now, because most of the Government was wiped out due to the vaccination, Xander starts a new Government to help rebuild the world, but without an ultimate cure, without a ban on procreation and without war. But Xander makes sure that Seth’s girlfriend and child know what a sacrifice he made, and that his legend lives on.