Crosspost from ericmrozek.com.
The development of the main cast of Destruction came about from an effort to make the fantasy genre as accessible to the masses as humanly possible. While some of my reasoning for it may have been based around profitability, I think that one aspect of fantasy that puts people off of it is the fact that it is often based around an enormous main cast. For instance, I like Game of Thrones as a show, but it represents a prime example of a saga where a vast cast can be detrimental to the story. Some of the characters may be relatable to the audience because we spend a lot of time with them, but others are of questionable importance because they are given scant side stories or plots that are completely dropped out of nowhere.
When crafting Destruction, I felt that the best solution to get around this problem and bring in new fans would be to think small. I wanted to build a small, intimate, and very personal story that is based around a tight cast. Therefore, I developed the concept of a diary that dealt with the lives of our two main characters: Helisah and Aegras Almari.
Like almost every character, Helisah and Aegras emerged primarily from my desire to be challenged when it comes to writing a story, but that is not the only reason why they exist. Since Helisah is our point-of-view character, it made sense to me to develop their relationship as the cornerstone of the novel because we are often defined by our associations with family and friends in the real world. One such example that came to mind for me was how most people may bicker with their siblings, but you know that they will always care about one another through hell and high water. By taking that and mixing it up with a little bit of telepathy, I’d like to think that I created a fantasy version of something that is all too familiar in our day-to-day lives, which helps to reduce the need to suspend disbelief and enjoy the story. Now, as for the supporting cast, that is another story for another time…
To Be Continued in Part 4.