It’s Day 10 of my self-imposed 30-day writing challenge. So far, I’ve spent Day 3 through Day 8 writing a story. That’s 6 out of 10 days actually storytelling. Since my plan was to just write whatever random thought appeared in my head every day, this is a pleasant surprise.
I’m growing more interested in this story, so I thought that I would jot down a few notes for myself. I hope that it will facilitate my storytelling in the upcoming week.
Working Title: I was using “Ravana’s Daughter” at first, but now, I’m not sure if this title applies….. I’ll keep it as a place holder until I think of something better.
Story Location: The basis of this story is an epic tale from India called the Ramayana. Rama is from an ancient land in India that is still called Ayodhya today. India used to be called Bharat. This story takes place in another realm that has an ancient land called Bharat. The land of Bharat consists of many smaller kingdoms, the first of which is called Videha. King Janak and Queen Sunayna are the rulers of Videha. I have an idea how I want to handle their world’s similarity to our own……
In Chapter 1, I’ve already visualized characters knocking each other off for the throne and/or to preserve alliances. (Can anyone say Game of Thrones?). I’m trying to stay as true to Indian mythology as I can, but the characters are starting to take control of the story. So, the names are fairly accurate, but I’ve completely departed from what I expected their characters to be.
Characters: This is what I have so far. I expect the list to grow longer this week.
- Janaka – The King of Videha
- Vyasa – An Royal Advisor to King Janaka; also a childhood friend
- Sunayna – The Queen of Videha
- Sage Mahishasura (Mahish) – The (former) King of Mahishuru
- Pulastya – The King of Lanka
- Sage Vishrava – (Former) Prince of Lanka; Pulstya’s eldest son
- Kaikesi – Vishrava’s second wife; Daitya Princess
- Sumali – Kaikesi’s father; Ravana’s maternal grandfather
- Kubera – Prince of Lanka; Pulstya’s youngest son; Heir to throne?
- Ravana – Prince of Lanka; Vishrava’s eldest son; Heir to throne?
- Maya – Queen Sunayna’s personal maid/servant
THE DEVAS (“Demi-Gods”):
- Janaka – The King of Videha
- Vyasa – An Royal Advisor to King Janaka; also a childhood friend
- Sunayna – The Queen of Videha
- Pulastya – The King of Lanka
- Sage Vishrava – (Former) Prince of Lanka; Pulstya’s eldest son
- Kubera – Prince of Lanka; Pulstya’s youngest son; Heir to throne?
- Ravana – Prince of Lanka; Vishrava’s eldest son; Heir to throne? (1/2 Asura, 1/2 Deva)
THE ASURAS (“Demons”)
- Mahishasura (Mahish) – The (former) King of Mahishuru
- Kaikesi – Vishrava’s second wife; Daitya Princess; Ravana’s mother
- Sumali – Kaikesi’s father; Ravana’s maternal grandfather
- Ravana – Prince of Lanka; Vishrava’s eldest son; Heir to throne?
NOTES TO MYSELF:
Who controls Lanka? I remember reading about Ravana seizing control of Lanka from Kubera in the Ramayana. I wanted to preserve this part of the story because I think disputes between royal brothers over thrones are interesting. However, the question that I make take liberties with answering is how did Kubera get control of Lanka in the first place?
I made him a Prince of Lanka to keep things simple because I have two sets of conflicting information on him. His relationship to Ravana is different in the Ramayana versus the Mahabharata. In the Ramayana, Kubera is Ravana’s half-brother. In another story (Mahabharata), Kubera is Ravana’s uncle. I started by following the Ramayana and maintaining Kubera’s status as Ravana’s older half-brother. But I thought that gave Kubera a stronger claim to the throne of Lanka. I want more conflict regarding ascension rights to the Lanka throne. So I thought that following the Mahabharata on this part of the story would be more interesting. I’m not sure what direction this will go, so I reserve the right to change this direction if I need to!
Whew! That’s a lot to keep track of and I’m just getting started….. I may have to make a map and a family tree to keep all of this straight in my head. Please wish me luck!
A Writing Mama's Journal 