Transcript of the show

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Welcome to the finding elara podcast, building worlds with words and sharing those words with the world. A podcast for writers world builders and artists that would like to take a mindful look inside their creations. My name is Dianna and Elara is the world I created for a fantasy novel series. Together we will take a deeper look at the world around us an hopefully find Elara.

Intro

Hello and Welcome back to the Finding Elara Podcast this is episode 4 where we are going to take a deeper look into Christmas. In Australian culture People have strong feelings about the festive season for some it's a highlight in their calendar, others are disillusioned with the lavish expectations set before them and many have no feelings at all and simply skip it.

In this podcast I am going to step back and be mindful of what Christmas is and what parts I would like to include while world building my Christmas short story. In my Buffy night section I am going to talk about what inspired me from misfits this week and in linking to Elara I am going to sum up what I talked about and let you know how it will fit it into the world I have built.

Before I get started though, I thought I would talk about how to review this podcast. I like to say please leave a review at the end of the show until a friend of mine wanted to give me a review and she didn't know how to do it. It really does depend on how you listen to the show. I listen with Stitcher as I have an android phone. The only way to leave a review on Stitcher is to look at it from a web browser, not the app. Apple podcasts have a review tab that you can use. On my Libsyn home page you can review it also. You can also send me an email. I do go through my emails most afternoons and I try to reply to them all. My email address is Dianna that’s with 2 n’s at dlnix dot com. That was Dianna@dlnix.com which is linked to my website dlnix.com.  Or you can look for me on Facebook DL Nix and on twitter @fingelara.

Other than the review query I have had a lot of positive feedback and I assure you that I have big plans going forward, If you would like me to cover any particular subject then you can also email me about that, I have had a couple of requests which have been added to my list. So, thank you to everyone that took the time it is much appreciated. Now on with the show.

*Christmas music*

Now doesn't that make you feel just a little bit festive? As you know today we are talking about christmas. Christmas has a rich backstory, it is extremely objective to each person in regards to world building  not a new phenomenon and it is extremely subjective to each person. Now in regard to world building I am going to take an outside in approach. I am going to develop the where I want my story to be set and then cast my characters into the bones of what I have created.

For this story I am going to break my development into 5 aspects. Just to give you an idea of what I am looking at. Because I am going to base this story in Australia many of the questions will be easy, but others will require more thought.

These are 5 H’s Hamlet, Head, History, Heart, and Home.

1. Hamlet is Geography

That will include location, climate, map making, the clothing they choose to wear, the food that is available to eat, The type of buildings in the area?

1. Head is Science and Magic

Is Magic real or Does everything need to be tested and backed up by science?

1. History

How did the world get to the way that it is now? What events triggered the advent of Santa for example?

1. Heart is the Arts

How to the people choose to express themselves and what do the people do for fun. That will also include sporting activities.

1. Home is Society

What is the family structure? How are people treated? What is the political setting? Are economics a factor to worry about? Is religion an important aspect of daily life?

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When it comes to something like Christmas there is heaps of research material available to work with. I like to dive in head first to get a well-rounded view of my subject, so I can pick an angle that appeals to me. I don’t want it to be anything too obvious or generic because I will get bored as I work through all the phases of the story. In this case I only have a vague idea that it will be a Christmas story I know what I like about other festive tales and what turns me off. I know the history in western culture. I have decided that I am going to stick with a western interpretation as it will take a lot longer to research other countries perspectives.

Now, living in the southern hemisphere my Christmas is hot. I know a white Christmas has been romanticised from our English ancestry, but it doesn’t make any sense to me. So that is one thing that I can work with, it is Christmas in Australia and it is hot. I don’t want the story to be set in a city because, I am not really a fan of the hustle and bustle. I think I will centre the story in the southwest where it is green, like the place I grew up. Or in the wheatbelt where it is dry.

I am not going to look to far into the society aspect just now and I will need to consider who my characters are going to be and work around their needs.

Magic is a big part of Christmas. The magic of bringing the best out in people is only seen at this time of the year. Ghosts that can only visit when the veil is thin. The willingness to give to the poor and less fortunate without expectation of return. The jolly fat man that can travel the whole world in one night.

That is a lot to start with. I want the world to be normal and relatable, but on the same hand, if there is one jolly elf, why can’t there be more?

Putting all the information together my Christmas is going to be based in a small town in western Australia, Since I can’t decide is I want the southwest or the wheatbelt I am going to make a town in the middle and it will be called Gum Valley, or something equally dinky di. I will google to see if that exists though. There is a bit of magic in the air, unexplained events. I did read about the poor being welcome in the homes of the rich during the pre-christian Christmas era, so I might work on something like that. The town is well established with flourishing farmland and a few dark corners to hide in. I will build some backstory to maybe a wishing well? There is a togetherness about Christmas, so I am going to have to think about something that will bring everybody out of their homes. An event to be decided and at this stage maybe. I am considering having the story told by an grandmother’s point of view. An old hard-working grandma that has maybe turned a little batty over time.  

So, if you wanted the five aspect again they are Hamlet, Head, History, Heart and Home. Also known as Geography, Society, Science v Magic, Arts and history.

I do love the Christmas spirit, so I had better finish the show, so I can get writing.

*Music*

Buffy Night Chat

*Buffy sound*

This is the segment that I talk a little about what I watched on buffy night, the only night of the week where I get the big tv in the lounge to watch shows and movies with my friends.

Misfits this week, was the second last episode of the series and they really brought it all together. Season 5 episode 7. In case you haven’t hear of misfits, it is an English show about a freak storm where anyone left out in the weather gained access to a power. It is for a mature audience as there is a variety of human darker natures that would induce nightmares for young. The misfits themselves are a group of characters that are on probation for sundry misdemeanours and the main setting is the community centre.

This episode takes place one year after the storm in which the misfits gain their powers. The kinder half of a character that could split himself in two and a girl that was an imaginary friend come to life both insisted that they were one year old. So, to celebrate they have a party... A pill was given to all the misfits as a present from the split guys darker half, little did he know that the use of such drugs would reverse the powers. One of the characters has the ability to remove the power from another during intercourse. He is a barman and usually would not hesitate in completing that duty. Not knowing that effects of the drug he ingested the pill during the party. This let to drama on many different fronts. A girl that could see through walls went blind and the chap who could collect powers banged his way into releasing them. Now we get to the interesting part. The twist was that instead of releasing just one power back, he released them all into this one girl.

Previous powers included a devil like trance state, the ability to turn things inside out, being really unlucky and clumsy, to name a few that were relevant. This new girl was able to instantly control a large sum of the abilities without having any teething issues, it was natural to her. So, my question is, when it comes to powers who decides what would have the stronger hold on her. If it was a different character would they have reacted differently or is it the powers themselves that have a mind of their own? I was interested in looking a little deeper into power strengths after that because I did wonder. I like to think that there would be a fight for supremacy with the more positive powers, but in this case the demon came forth.

On a lighter note, lets check out one of my good reads’ reviews.

The spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron

I listened to this book on Audible and it looks like I have lost the review. I would have to say that I did Love this book, it starts at an interesting point where the main character was sweet talking to a door. Eli has aspirations of becoming the world’s greatest thief and the story centres around his journey at attempting to accomplish this goal. I really enjoyed the world development in this story, the system of government and religious belief towards wizard kind. It was well thought out by Rachel and I went on to listen to the whole series, which you can get on audible if you are interested or I am sure any good bookstore. I have actually listened to it a few times grasping at a different aspect each time. It is complex yet light hearted and filled with adventure where can you go wrong.

And to end the buffy night section Grrr argh

Linking to Elara

So this is unscripted, I haven't written down everything that I wanted to say in this section so forgive my blundering. But, I haven't set any of my characters on a Christmas journey yet in the novel that I have written or planned to write. I don't know if that's a faux pas on my part but I think I would like to develop a little bit more of the history regarding alternate cultures. Because in Elara it's made up with people who have been shipwrecked and things like that. So there's a lot of different histories melding into one country and people have come there knowing that they can never leave. So it's hard to think that they would have completely abandoned their religious beliefs and their traditions they would have held strong in the past. Mind you, saying that. A lot of the people that have been shipwrecked in the island are from the Victorian era are the older generations. There's not that many new generations coming to the island. Because of exception corp. So I think that if I am going to look into developing a Christmas tale for the Elaran people then it has to be multicultural it has to be relevant to the actual hierarchy in the society so do they have Santa visit them? I'm not sure at this stage. I'm definitely going to have to look in to it. Elara does need something to be happy about so maybe working in some Christmas traditions is just what it needs.

*Music*

That’s all that I have for you today. I downloaded the music royalty free from bensound.com and the carol of the bells music from feels like Christmas.com not affiliate links. But they are both handy sites for music if you ever need it.

Next week I am going to interview Georgia Tingley. Georgia and I are both member of RWA Australia and she has recently released her breakout novel, Justice, Justice is the first book in the Angel Calling series and I know that she had many more in the works. She has recently returned from my dream camping adventure through the centre of Australia, so I am pumped to see what she will share with us.

If you liked the show, please subscribe so you can hear about any more content that I am putting out into the world. If you have any questions, you can find me on my website, DLNix.com, on Facebook as DL NIX and on twitter @findingelara. Thank you for listening to this episode I hope that your feeling a little bit more festive  and got something out of it until next time, keep up the search.