1. Alexlayer

    Alexlayer New Member

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    Living in the wild.

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Alexlayer, Sep 6, 2015.

    Ok, so I’ve been thinking of writing a story about a character adapting themselves to live in the wild. Kinda like a female Tarzan of sort, with a small group of sentient animals helping her adapt. But true is, I don’t think I’ve seen enough of this type of stories like to know how to write them. What dangers the characters face and what’s the best ways for them to confront them.

    Thought of reading the original novel, “Tarzan of the Apes”, to see if that could help out, but then I remembered that nearly every story about Tarzan that I’ve seen just barely covers the growth of Tarzan as a human in the wild and instead follows mostly from the perspective of the people discovering him and later taking him into a civilization, so it brings to question whether that’s what I’m really after.

    So… well, dunno if anyone here would really know about “living in the wild”, but if by chance you know, any knowledge you could share would be greatly appreciated. Else, if you know of any show, anime, series, book, fanfic, or any piece of media that explores the idea and does a decent job at its credibility, I’d really appreciate it if you could share it with me.
     
  2. Shadowfax

    Shadowfax Contributor Contributor

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    The whole series of The Island with Bear Grylls covers modern-day men (and women in series 2) being dropped into the wild with minimal equipment.
     
  3. Woof

    Woof Senior Member

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    Tippi Degre's story is nice. I've a feeling it's not the only one I've seen around the internet of 'real life Mowgli's'.

    Guessing you want more of a feel for the practicalities of living wild though? My instinct would be to find a local bushcraft course or group and join up. It's been so en vogue this last decade that there's one practically everywhere, and these groups will attract enthusiasts with lots of research behind them and experience to share. Failing that, there are specialist forums for this, also.

    Try not to shortcut round the research; you'll need some original experience to bring your story to life and give it a unique flavour.
     
  4. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    But Bear Grylls is a mammoth cockhead. I recommend Ray Mears instead.

    Or this:

     
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  5. HelloSweetie

    HelloSweetie New Member

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    Creek Stewart might be a good option to look at as well - he's the survivalist that does Fat Guys In The Woods.



    He's not your standard "Let's do crazy stuff that probably won't ever actually happen" survivalist. He tries to teach the people on his show basic survival stuff - fire lighting, what's safe to eat, basic first aid, etc.
     
  6. Shadowfax

    Shadowfax Contributor Contributor

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    The advantage of Bear Grylls is that he ISN'T teaching you how to survive, he's showing average(ish) guys just trying to do it.
     
  7. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    There's no such thing as an advantage when you're talking about Bear - look at me squeezing a drink out of elephant shit - Grylls.
     
  8. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Oh Yes. Ray Mears!!! I love that guy. He's so genuine, and not at all macho. He's genuinely interested in history and in nature, and it shows.

    @Alexlayer - you mention Tarzan, but does that mean you're setting your story in a tropical jungle? If so, you'll need to gen up on what is necessary to survive in the wild in a similar kind of area. Learning to chop holes in the ice and do fishing through the hole isn't going to be much help if your story is set in Panama. And dealing with fire ants and charging rhinos isn't going to be much help if your story is set near the Arctic circle. So pinpoint the kind of terrain you'll be writing about, then do a lot of research. There is lots and lots of stuff online.
     
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  9. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    Ex-bloody-actly! *

    Ray works with nature, while twatty Bear fights it.



    * That's a tmesis, that is. Hands up those who knew?
     
  10. TopherB

    TopherB Member

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    I find these are all really good examples. There are many people who chose to leave society and move into the woods, you just have to google them. I am trying to find it, but I know there is a man who left about 20 years ago and sometimes does classes in the summer. I forget his name, I will update when I find it.
     
  11. Ms. DiAnonyma

    Ms. DiAnonyma Active Member

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    Jean Craighead George's books all sound like they'd be good creative research for you... she's even got one with a girl protagonist! (though I'm not sure that you're looking at exactly the same scenario as her Julie and the Wolves). But My Side of the Mountain, The far side of the Mountain, and others too I'm sure would be a great sort of example of how you might want to incorporate your research into your story.
     

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