The first chapter of “The Elect Stories” has been available for just a couple of days, but already I have been answering questions about my writing or, more particularly, one word of my writing. One word used repeatedly. “Why so many f-bombs?”
Yes, Timriel, one of our protagonists, has a predilection for the word “fuck” and uses it with great frequency. The reasoning, within the context of the story, is that Timriel has only recently learned Eremoran, the language commonly (assumed to be) spoken throughout the book, and has gravitated to the new word like a child with a new toy. There are practical reasons for this: It allows me to establish in a memorable way that at least two languages are spoken in this world, and that Palm and Timriel are outsiders to the culture that speaks one of those languages. It also allows me to establish Timriel’s peculiar sense of humor and contradictory nature.
I have yet another reason for writing in Timriel’s love of the word “fuck,” though. It may be a silly reason but it is still one of mine. Some time ago, a friend was reading a draft of one of the stories and noted that a character used the expletive “shit.” He suggested that I use a “more archaic word like ‘shite,’ since that is more in the ‘Fantasy’ vernacular.” I appreciated the note, but I was surprised at how vehemently I disagreed. While some elements of the setting – like muskets and cocked hats – echo America of the late 18th century, this is a world where magic exists. It is not any past or alternate version of our world. Who is to say what is archaic there?
So I guess Timriel Jackson’s potty mouth is a planted flag, of sorts. It establishes the tone of the work and the texture of the world quickly and boldly so no further time is invested if you, Reader, aren’t into this kind of thing. If you are, I hope you see my freak flag flying. It is a flag I have wanted to plant for some time.
You see, when I was a kid, way back in the 1970s, there was another F word: Fantasy. This is back before Peter Jackson made “The Lord of the Rings” cool, before “Game of Thrones” made Fantasy sexy, before X-Box and Playstation taught the rest of the world concepts like HP, XP, skill points, and character class. There was a time when playing D&D was not only fun, but a fantastic way to get your ass kicked. And when you tried to explain the attraction to Fantasy, the only mainstream references you could point to were “Conan the Barbarian” and parts of “Willow.” I must admit that I grew up somewhat shy about expressing my love of Fantasy Adventure in all its forms, and that caution might have kept me from sharing “The Elect Stories.”
But fuck it.
These are my stories. I hope you like them.
-John.
