Q: What is your inspiration for the different races portrayed in your writings?
A: I love this question! Thanks for asking it! I have several different inspirations when it comes to Inheritance! I’ll separate them all out for y’all! But the TLDR version is: I take inspirations from real life human and animal cultures. I sort of like to distill the way a society functions down to what functions males and females serve. After that, I like to think of what religion the different races have and base the way their kingdoms function on that.
Waifs: The waif’s culture is inspired by some real animal cultures and also some human cultures that exist out there in the real world that represent a sort of hard-leaning, authoritarian right culture. Waifs are nocturnal (animal culture) and they are solitary creatures (they live in close-knit, small packs and don’t interact much with their own race outside their villages nor with other races). Interesting psych fact learned in school: An interesting facet of a truly misogynistic culture is whether women have control over the way they dress. I get more into this in part 3, but you might remember Kori being unable to go outside without being accompanied by a male and without being very buttoned up. In other words, women don’t control their own reproductive rights in this society.
Humans: Humans, are well, humans. XD I like to think of the humans on Yharos as being like… almost enlightened. They’re kind of like what America would have looked like many years back before everyone had their rights and so forth. Men are sort of treated as tools to fight and die in wars, and women are sort of treated as baby-making machines… BUT! At least they are able to fill each other’s roles if they so choose, and all they have to deal with is social (not legal) consequences for doing so.
Elves: Elves are sort of the opposites of waifs. They’re a far left-leaning society where sex, drugs, and general excess is sort of rampant and there’s not a whole lot of… class or manners LOL. There’s a lot of crime in this society, but it’s sort of masked behind a lovely looking land. Mostly based on real-life cultures again. :D
Fairies: By far the wildest creatures on Yharos. Again, the fact that native fairies are so different from Maribel fairies is based upon real-life cultures. Humans tend to adapt to their natural environments and this shapes a LOT of things about them. Including their behavior. For example: A native german is much different from an American-german. Additionally, there are some real plants and animals that change sex in the wild based upon their environment. i.e., if the males far outnumber the females in a harsh environment, the animal will change sex to compensate.
I got way too into it, but again, I love this question. Thanks for asking it. XD
Q: I have to ask because Eory's ears are so big and cute, does it make him hear better? :
A: Absolutely, yes! In fact, part of the reason Eory is so afraid of thunder is because it sounds extra, extra loud in his ears. If he ever has to spy and listen in on someone whispering, it will really come in handy. XD
Q: I have to ask, cause i feel in love with her, even if her story ended how it did. Will we see naomi again, will she be in her right mind??
A: Aw, so glad you like Naomi! Her story was a blast to write! The answer is yes! We will definitely see Naomi again. However, I can’t promise she’ll be in her right mind. You’ll just have to wait and see.
Q Do you approach writing characters to act more as people or as symbols relating to the plot?
A: Fantastic question! The answer is yes. LOL. No, but seriously, I kind of do both. Pollyanna, for example, is like this weird symbol of a woman who was pushed out of her biological role (womanhood) by society and was forced into adopting a very male role that she has convinced herself that she loves. However, she also behaves in a very human way and has her own failings and accomplishments; for example, she used to have some hobbies that she is now too embarrassed to engage in such as dancing and flower arranging. Eory, on the other hand, is almost the opposite. He was forcibly shoved out of his original sex and forced to live as the opposite… however, he kind of finds that he enjoys it and wants to genuinely adopt that role. He’s also naturally just very feminine, so it’s really difficult for him to do so. He has lots of hobbies, too. He likes sewing, writing, and reading. I guess they’re both sort of symbols of incomplete males and females. Of course, there are some creatures/characters in the story who I do intend to just be purely symbols--like the Antlers--but I don’t like talking about them because they’re the type of creatures who are more interesting if you know less about them, hehehe.
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