1. gaja

    gaja New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 22, 2017
    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    16
    Location:
    Norway

    Greetings from the far north

    Discussion in 'New Member Introductions' started by gaja, Feb 23, 2017.

    My head is full of stories I'm struggling to get out on paper (or into the computer). English is my second language, but since I use the traditions from all around the Polar circle for my work, much of the world building and character development is done in English.

    Looking forward to exchanging words with all of you.
     
    jannert likes this.
  2. Bill Chester

    Bill Chester Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2016
    Messages:
    153
    Likes Received:
    84
    Location:
    Nova Scotia, Canada
    Hi gaja,

    Welcome. I used to have a bellows with the character in your avatar. He was carved into the wood. Is that a Norwegian icon?

    Bill
     
    gaja likes this.
  3. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2015
    Messages:
    17,922
    Likes Received:
    27,173
    Location:
    Where cushions are comfy, and straps hold firm.
    I did not know the Polar Bears had a language. :superlaugh:

    View attachment 9314
     
    gaja likes this.
  4. gaja

    gaja New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 22, 2017
    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    16
    Location:
    Norway
    When the Norwegian fairy tales (bit of a misnomer there, few pretty fairies in the Norwegian folk tales) were collected, Theodor Kittelsen illustrated them. This is one of his nicer pictures, of an old Troll that is trying to figure out how old it is. He also has some nightmare inducing ones, like this of the Nykk fishing: http://kodebergen.no/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/kittelsen_n%C3%B8kken_2.jpg?itok=WVrem6SP By using shapes that you can easily see in nature, but giving them eyes and sharp teeth, he has made generations of Norwegian children afraid to go swimming in the lakes.

    That is part of the problem; they have several very different ones, from the Scandinavian ones that are quite similar to English, to Finnish with their love of consonants and complex grammar, to the different Inuit languages where one word can be long enough to cover a couple of pages. And then there is Russia. The biggest problem is of course trying to interview the bears, as they will rather eat you than talk to you.

    The same problems are true for the people living along the polar circle.

    (Couldn't open the attachment, BTW).
     
    Some Guy, Bill Chester and jannert like this.
  5. KaTrian

    KaTrian A foolish little beast. Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2013
    Messages:
    6,764
    Likes Received:
    5,393
    Location:
    Funland
    Hi gaja, and welcome to WF! :)

    Nice to see more Nordic folk on the boards. I don't live near the Arctic Circle myself, but I've got enough snow and darkness to worry about here on the south coast of Finland, too, thank you very much. :D

    Do you write fantasy where you use Norwegian fairy tales for inspiration similar to how e.g. Andrzej Sapkowski uses Polish/Slavic mythology in his Witcher books?

    Here's our New Member Quick Start to get you started. See you around!

    -Kat
     
    gaja likes this.
  6. gaja

    gaja New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 22, 2017
    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    16
    Location:
    Norway
    Thank you for the welcome and useful link. Compared to the rest of the world, we both live relatively close to the Arctic Circle. I'm a climate refugee in the south during the winter months, but try to travel north as soon as the sun rises above the horizon.

    I use fairy tales, the Sagas, Edda, and historical sources to build a world where the trolls, fair folk, selkies, werewolves, etc, live side by side with us in the modern world. But I'm also working on retelling the old tales for children and YA books. My main source are the old songs, especially the Faroese kvædi tradition. These stories are less known than the fairy tales we know from the children's books. The movie Troll Hunter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trollhunter) is closer to my world than the stories by Sapkowski appear to be. In my grandmother's tales there were plenty of grey zones, no clear cut good and evil or real monsters. She was convinced her great grandmother's aunt had been a selkie (a nice lady, very pretty, but not the sharpest knife in the drawer), that the people living in the stones and hills could be reasoned with as long as you treated them decently, etc. She once said she preferred the modern life, because it was exhausting trying to remember and adhere to all the rules that came with the traditional beliefs.
     
    KaTrian and jannert like this.
  7. Whitefire_Nomura

    Whitefire_Nomura Member

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2017
    Messages:
    46
    Likes Received:
    27
    Sounds very interesting. Specially if you can find a way to bring the long forgotten legends of ol and breath new life into them.
     
    gaja likes this.
  8. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2013
    Messages:
    17,674
    Likes Received:
    19,889
    Location:
    Scotland
    Oh, I so look forward to seeing what you're writing. I LOVE these kinds of stories. My house is full of books containing folktales from various corners of the world, but my favourites are definitely the ones from northern Europe. And of course that also includes Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark AND Siberia and Russia as well.
     
    gaja likes this.
  9. Commandante Lemming

    Commandante Lemming Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    May 8, 2014
    Messages:
    1,601
    Likes Received:
    1,306
    Location:
    Washington, DC, USA
    WELCOME!
     
    gaja likes this.
  10. Alan Aspie

    Alan Aspie Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2018
    Messages:
    2,641
    Likes Received:
    3,358
    Just ask Sulo how to.

     
  11. Artifacs

    Artifacs Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 21, 2018
    Messages:
    298
    Likes Received:
    273
    Location:
    Spain
    Welcome, :)
    I guess it's cold up there all the time. (Brrrr) ;)
    Hot coffee and a nice fireplace at night sounds like a good writing environment.

    Have fun!!
     
  12. Alan Aspie

    Alan Aspie Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2018
    Messages:
    2,641
    Likes Received:
    3,358
    Nice to hear that tradition with Finnish roots interests you.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice