Tandra Page 1091, May 9, 2010

Created on 05/10/2010

by Hanther

Tempest walked on stage pretty much in final form. It were as though she had been standing in the wings fully developed and needed only a formal invitation before making her entrance. As I’ve mentioned previously, her actions and her dialogue generally write themselves. All I need do is faithfully record events as they proceed.

Very few characters are this easy to write. Most need development over an extended period before they are ready for introduction. I need to meet with them and investigate their personalities and motivation before I can bring them into the story. On occasion, there are characters who come to mind that simply do not measure up after the initial interview. Those are sent on their way and forgotten about. You never see them.

Dragonrok, on first appearance long ago with Tandra Pages 259 and 260, is a character I had invested considerable time with developing and believed he was ready for prime time. It was not until I began to draw him on Tandra Page 260 (you only see him from the rear on Tandra Page 259) that he rebelled and told me he refused to be the character as I had conceived him. You see, Dragonrok was planned as the bad guy. Much of the Tandra Saga was to be concerned with the conflict between father David Galon and son Dragonrok.

Dragonrok spoke to me in my head and said the concept of him as villain was not going to fly. A weird experience, that. So I dutifully renegotiated his character to comply with his demands and Dragonrok morphed into a hero. Certainly, he is not the perfect hero with sterling virtues and cleansed of all flaws. Neither, for that matter, is Galon. But, by and large, he remains on the side of the angels.

I had no such rebellion problems with Tempest. She embraced her character without reservation. She never complained about her role in the Tandra Universe. Tempest is comfortable with who she is.

I can’t wait to see what she will do next!

May the sun always shine on your parade!

Next Week; “The Wolf Boy”

Tandra...more than escapist fantasy, it’s a revolution!

Hanther

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