My Story
It all began with The Lord of the Rings.
“I have claimed that Escape is one of the main functions of fairy-stories, and since I do not disapprove of them, it is plain that I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which “Escape” is now so often used: a tone for which the uses of the word outside literary criticism give no warrant at all. In what the misusers are fond of calling Real Life, Escape is evidently as a rule very practical, and may even be heroic. In real life it is difficult to blame it, unless it fails; in criticism it would seem to be the worse the better it succeeds. Evidently we are faced by a misuse of words, and also by a confusion of thought. Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls? The world outside has not become less real because the prisoner cannot see it. In using escape in this way the critics have chosen the wrong word, and, what is more, they are confusing, not always by sincere error, the Escape of the Prisoner with the Flight of the Deserter.”
~JRR Tolkien, On-Fairy Stories
Well, if we want to get technical, it began with Harry Potter in middle school. I ate up that series but when there was a substantial pause between the fourth and fifth books (because of the movies, which I had no interest in). I went with my family to see The Fellowship of the Ring in theaters, knowing nothing about Middle Earth or JRR Tolkien, and only vaguely remembering The Hobbit because I saw a play adaptation.
Needless to say, I was hooked, enchanted, and desperate for more. My mother had the books, and the rest, as they say, is history. It turned from obsession to passion to lifestyle, and my adoration and affection for Professor Tolkien’s works never faded. What he managed to do with his mythology, cosmology, and how he mapped something so big and thematic inspired me to try my hand at the same. I wanted to created. I wanted to explore. I wanted to share my wonder with stories with others.
It was almost hard to return to the Harry Potter world. The vastness of Tolkien’s legendarium was incomparable, and those films are rare gems of adaptations. I enjoy regaling my friends about my nerd knowledge (by force if need be), and it’s amusing to see their expressions when I rattle off names and places without hesitation.
(Note to self, get the audiobooks narrated by Andy Serkis to check pronunciation)
Mythology has always been a source of inspiration to me, and if you want me interested in a culture, ancient or modern, tell me their myths and legends. If I could make a career out of comparative mythology and be paid to research and journey places, I would snatch that in a heartbeat. Alas, it wasn’t to be.
When an insurance broker tells you that SF doesn’t deal with the Real World, when a chemistry freshman informs you that Science has disproved Myth, when a censor suppresses a book because it doesn’t fit the canons of Socialist Realism, and so forth, that’s not criticism; it’s bigotry. If it’s worth answering, the best answer is given by Tolkien, author, critic, and scholar. Yes, he said, fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisoned by the enemy, don’t we consider it his duty to escape? The moneylenders, the knownothings, the authoritarians have us all in prison; if we value the freedom of the mind and soul, if we’re partisans of liberty, then it’s our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can.
~Ursula K. Le Guin, The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction
Check out the magnificent art that inspired On Wings of Thunder HERE.
Another major influence on my imagination, creativity, and writing, is dragons. I discovered Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series in Middle School, and it solidified my love and obsession for dragons. I even managed to do my senior paper/project on the question, “What if dragons existed?” I still can’t believe they allowed me to do that. But I amused them if nothing else and got full marks so my teachers were as entertained as I was.
For the longest time, I’d wanted to write a story with a dragon in a prominent role, but I didn’t want just any ol’ dragon story. I wanted epic and cosmic. When I spotted the art above on Deviant Art, I knew this would be my inspiration. I think the story of Asagoroth and his angel (On Wings saga) simmered for a couple of years before I finally wrote it down. It was meant to be a single title, but I couldn’t get those characters out of my head. And now there will be four.
I am a firm believer that telling stories sets us apart as a species. We tell stories for entertainment or to teach a lesson/skill or both. We spend time developing and infusing our stories with meaning and life, to the point where we have to question if the story is fact or fiction. Storytelling, either with words or images, is a beautiful part of what it means to be human. We must nurture the art inside ourselves so we might remember the beauty of life and the satisfaction of a good story with a memorable ending and compelling characters.
However you wish to tell your story, with whatever medium, please do it. For yourself and for someone searching for what only you can tell them.
May dragons guard your dreams,
~M.D. Grimm