Origins of the Author

March 7, 2024

I suppose I'll just go ahead and admit that I'm writing this first update to have something to stick in the "update" section of the website that I started putting together. But it can also serve as a good introduction to anyone whose first contact with me ends up being this website via a link on social media or however one might happen to stumble across this messy little hub.

The update section is specifically for things Rhentarri-related, so I reckon I should drop a little meta-history of Rhentarri. Not the history of the world, but rather the history of how I went about creating it -- how it occurred to me.

It all started in a creative writing seminar I took; a few days to take some pointers from a friend who had gotten into the theme. We went over some ideas about the craft and were told to have something produced by the end of the week. The phrase that I remember most from that class is a phrase that's cliché and overused, but one that really did get me started on the next eight years of writing.

"Write what you know."

The main idea of the phrase is to say, "If you don't know about a certain setting or a certain genre or type of personality, then it will be hard to write about that convincingly." It's better to discover something already alive in your heart and a setting and characters you have had experience with. My experience at the time was that of a third-year seminarian. What moved my heart in a profound way was the spiritual experience I had lived. It was something real, powerful and beautiful to me, and I wanted a way to share that with the world.

I started outlining a story about a young man, newly initiated as a sort of chaste mystical knight, who went on a journey, lost everything, but then had the faith to rely on a god that would lead him to a selfless victory. It seemed a good expression of the spiritual life for me, especially after just having my first contact with St. John of the Cross's "way of nada" (the way of nothing).

I fleshed this idea out with an antagonist that I thought met the requisites to bring out the best and worst of my protagonist. I sketched a map and stages of the story. I named the character "Donor", a name that worked in a fantasy context but that was also meaningful for his path of selfless gift.

I wrote the last scene first. I sketched out a storyline. I waited. I talked it over with a few friends. Eventually I started on a first chapter. Those first lines were eventually cut from the final draft, but their echoes remain throughout the three books: "Donor shook awake."

Eight years later I'm still chipping away at the project, but it has been an enjoyable and productive journey. I thank God for the space of expression, and the natural gifts of imagination and constancy to be able to stick with it. I hope it sees the light of day. I hope many can walk through my world and live Donor's journey.