A review on 2/3rds of the of The Women of Troy Series

I have read a large variety of Greek Mythology retellings and though I would not consider myself an expert on the subject, I do think my opinions are decent. When I read retellings, especially feminist retellings, there are a few things I look for;

1. A female main character, of course

2. At least four other interesting and complex female characters. Note, they do not have to be likeable, only interesting.

3. A male character for *balance* (really more to show the dynamic between men and women, but saying *balance* is funnier)

4. A narrative that more explores a female's mentality and choices, rather than telling you if they are good / bad 

The Silence of the Girls and it's sequel, The Women of Troy, follow Briseis after her capture during the falling of her city and her life as Achilles' war prize. Briseis reminded me a lot of some of the interviews Elle Fanning did when she played Aurora in Maleficent, in that Briseis is a very kind individual. She is full of an incredible kind of rage (as any woman would be) that simmers and stays with her throughout both books, but Briseis is not the type to pick up a sword and try to kill her captors. That does not make her any less strong or capable or rebellious. Briseis is quiet and clever in her rebellion, and she remains more focus on keeping girls alive than killing the men around her. There is strength in her resilience, gentleness, and compassion that cannot be overlooked, and though I am a very big fan of the modern age love for badass women, I feel it gets to a point where it's too much. 

To go on a little bit of a tangent, female characters in media tend to lean one of two ways; either they are a badass dick-kicking swordfighter who refuses all vulnerability until the very last second, or they are sweet and soft and quiet. As time goes on it comes off more and more like we are saying there's only two good types of women; the one who has no traditionally feminine qualities and the one who has only traditionally feminine qualities. I've met a lot of girls in my day, you know how many act like that? NONE OF THEM. Dick-kickers can in fact vocally care about people, and soft speakers can be firm in their beliefs and boundaries. That is something that Barker does beautifully when it comes to Briseis; she is not one thing, she is constantly evolving, advancing, finding cracks to fill and expand within. She is real. 

As for other complex female characters... Well there's Iphis, for one, who cares for Patroclus but is still his slave, and is kind and understanding to Briseis during her adjustment. There are the other prizes of war who Briseis acquaints herself with, who toil and taunt in ways she does not appreciate but, ultimately, are on one another's side. In The Women of Troy we meet Amina and spend a decent amount of time with Helen, Hecuba, and Cassandra, all incredibly interesting characters. I mentioned that I don't have to like the character as long as there is something about them that piques my interest, and Barker achieves this with ease. Even in the girls I do not particularly favor, they are easy to empathize with and to view as real, suffering girls. Take what I said above, about how women should be portrayed to have mixed, occasionally clashing traits all working or fighting with each other, and apply that to every character I already listed. There was substance to each and every one of them, and I liked the fact that we had Briseis' limited view and could only get smatterings of the girls. Even the things she does say, she does not bedazzle the horror stories or make assumptions where she ought not to. She states the things that happen to the girls, cruel and vile, as bluntly as she can, and then moves on without giving us an insight on that woman and her thought process that we have no right to have. Briseis says it herself in one of the books, though I can't remember which one; these girls have had everything stripped from them, the least she can do is allow them to keep some of their privacy. I like the sentiment in that. 

This all ties in to the fourth point on my list, because maybe if we did have more insight into each of these characters and knew exactly why they made the choices they did we would be able to decide for ourselves whether they were good or bad. I prefer that we don't get that choice. I prefer spectating the girls as they are and making our own judgment calls, or better yet, making none at all. We don't know what we would do in that circumstance, and they didn't either until they were in it and had to do something. Who are we to cast blame? 

Now, male characters. Achilles. Let's talk about Achilles. 

This might be one of, if not my absolute favorite adaptation of Achilles ever. 

Achilles is not a good person. Let's start there. I wouldn't say Achilles is an explicitly bad person, but I don't feel comfortable calling him good either. I don't feel comfortable calling Patroclus good, though that might be a little easier. In classical literature we use the word hamartia (ἁμαρτία) to describe a hero's fatal flaw in their tragic tale. Achilles', at least according to my classics professor, was his pride. He took threats to his honor and his name as if it was life or death. In class, we had a discussion about Achilles' rage after the death of Patroclus and why it was so important, and girl behind me said that it was important because Achilles had lost his humanity and was acting like an animal. I disagreed. Achilles had lost some of his humanity, true, but he wasn't acting like an animal. He was acting like a God, and when you take something from a God, I ask you, what do they do? Fuck shit up. Fuck literally everything up for literally everyone. 

That is what Barker portrays in this adaptation of Achilles' tale. In other variations of the story that focus on  Achilles, there is something grandiose, almost awe-inspiring about his rage, and we find a way to connect and sympathize with it. Furthermore, we kind of skip over the whole "he owns people" part of his character. Through Briseis' eyes, (you know, the woman surrounded and subjected to his rage) his behavior is nothing short of terrifying, and, surprise surprise, turns out the people he owns care a whole lot about the "he owns people" part of the program. 

Another thing that really interested me about Achilles is how often he appears as The Silence of the Girls progresses, and how his memory lingers throughout The Women of Troy. On Goodreads, one of the reviews (which I know I shouldn't be reading, but oh well) disliked how much Achilles was mentioned and that there were chapters exclusively in his POV, but I actually really liked it. It is Achilles' story, it is Achilles' world, even, so why wouldn't he insert himself into the story of a girl who's family he murdered? Why would he care about granting a woman the attention and respect she is due? He wouldn't. Golden Achilles physically and emotionally bleeds across Brisies' tale because his hamartia demands it be so. 

I am a chronic overthinker and know that I am analyzing this way more than I should. Don't try to tell me because I already know. But caring too much is better than not caring at all, and God forbid a girl enjoy things.

I have not read the final book in this trilogy, but I have strong plans to do so after I read the four other books I own and have not read yet. So maybe look for an update in a few weeks. Happy writing!

Too Many Tree Analogies; Keeping Motivation in the Face of Rejection

The tree picture will become relevant in a little bit, I promise. 

The thing about sending query letters is that everyone tells you to not lose motivation and to see a rejection as redirection. I am, however, a human being, and as such when I spend several hours a week sending out query letters to literary agents for a book I spent eight years writing and get an automated "yeah, no" in response, if I get a response at all... I fear spirits take a nose dive rather quickly. 

Because of this, I've spent a lot of time recently thinking about rejection letters, as well as the rejections and critiques from other people for my writing, and yours by extension. I can vividly recall a college professor with a genuine nature but an unintentional and unfortunate tone of passive aggressiveness to his speech telling me that my short story was an "adventurous attempt". It still haunts me. I got a 98 in the class but that comment sticks with me like old cheese sticks to a car window. How do you combat harsh critiques and rejections? How do you keep the thirst for writing alive?

Well, you start by ignoring it. 

Nobody knows your story as well as you do. When you're first writing and a story is taking it's first steps, pen to paper is all you should strive for. Even during the first few drafts, don't listen to what other people say unless you're directly asking for assistance. Do what you feel is right for the story and the characters. This is specifically good advice for professors and the like who, as I've heard of in horror stories, will try to discourage you from creating at all and make some baseless claim that you shouldn't be a writer or you should try something else. 

I don't think everyone should be a writer, but that's because I think some would-be authors suck as people and the things they want to endorse should never see the light of day. I will never discourage someone from writing because they're "bad", ESPECIALLY not now as AI writing becomes more common, and anyone who does is probably butthurt about something. I wouldn't let it get to me. 

Remember, this is your story; you're motivation, your dreams, your love. That is what matters. That is what you should fight to protect. Once you lose your love for the topic, you've lost everything. Hold it close, hold it safe, chase after it if it starts to slip away. If it is important to you, lean in closer so you can hear me better, it is important. Write it. 

I'm not saying you shouldn't take critiques at all - in fact, I think most of the time you should! Though it can be framed harshly and it might drastically change the story, a lot of people, especially editors, have your best interest at heart when they recommend you change things! Take them seriously! 

Is that going to hurt? Abso-fucking-lutely it's going to hurt. I have agonized over even the most well-meant critiques many a time because my book is my baby, and how dare you say my baby isn't perfect! What do you know? I know my baby and I know that she's perfect just the way she is, thank you very much!

Now let's look at it in a different way; instead of your critic being a bully trying to insult your child, your critic is a school counselor (who actually does their job, if you can possibly imagine such a fantastical scenario), and they're telling you that your child is struggling and needs extra help. You say "no, they can handle it on their own, you don't know what you're talking about". 

I beg of you, don't be that parent. Don't be the parent that refuses to acknowledge when their child is limping along because they take it as an insult to their parenting. I promise it's not. I used the term "flesh-full" once in a WIP, to which my sister firmly told me I could not, under any circumstances, use again. This does not mean I am a bad writer, it only means "flesh-full" is a stupid phrase. That's all. 

When it comes to rejection and harsh critiques, I like to think of the words of Hozier in a song I probably shouldn't romanticize the meaning of but am going to anyway; "a tree denies itself nothing that makes it grow // no rainfall, no sunshine // no blood upon the snow". (In all seriousness this song is a banger about the harshness of nature, survival, and sacrifice, and is one of my favorite songs ever so I highly recommend giving it a listen if you haven't.)

Sadly, I am not a tree. If I was, I'd like to think I would be a yew tree such as the one posted above - I told you it would become relevant - but that's a different conversation. The bottom line is that no matter how grisly or morose it's beginnings, I am going to use every scrap I can get if it may help me grow larger and wilder. Rejection is redirection. To add to the tree analogy; why insist on building roots through the cement sidewalk on my left when there is a beautifully open field on my right? Why beat a dead horse when there is a perfectly alive one over there? A Friesian, or a Palomino. Maybe a Vanner. Maybe all three, because who am I to limit myself? 

In conclusion; yew do yew, and leave the rest to fall as it will. 

That was three tree puns in one go. Imagine if I allowed someone to discourage me from writing all those years ago, you would've never gotten the chance to read that angel of sentence. Lucky you. 

Happy writing! 

things to consider when naming a character

Picking the name for a character is almost more fun than making the character. Almost. Across a decade of writing I have written a total of 636 characters (yes, I have kept track), and I've learned a lot about my style of naming as well as fun tips and tricks when it comes to naming a character. Here are a few of my favorites!

Y'all remember this? The good ol' bouba and kiki effect. If you haven't heard of this, we can test it out ourselves; of the two shapes above, which one would you associate with the nonsensical word bouba, and which would be kiki? 

Typically, research has found that bouba is associated with the rounder, purple form on the right, while kiki is associated with the sharper orange form on the left. Different letters and sounds are associated with different sensations, regardless of language or culture. We have our soft letters; L, B, D, M, N, R, so on and so fourth. Then we have our sharp letters; T, K, V, and a few others. 

Edgar Allan Poe's female names are a great example; Lenore, Ligeia, Helen, Eleonora, Eulalie, Morella, and Rowena all consist only of soft sounds. They're very smooth, almost somber sort of names (the letter L is often used for "dark academia" names, you'll notice), which fit beautifully with his writing style and content. Poe does use sharper names for women occasionally, like Camille and Jacinta, but he often sticks to these soft, morose sort of names that add to the haunting air of his storytelling. 

Understanding the use of letters and their natural association in the brain can allow you to do some really fun stuff with naming. You can pick a name that is as sharp or soft as the character to amplify their sharpness or softness, or you can pick a name that goes against the character's personality to create a fun sort of dissonance. If you wanted to write a cut-throat assassin who is only on this Earth to exact revenge on those who have wronged her, perhaps name her Lina, a softer more romantic name, or you could name her Lark, which is quicker and sharper. 

Length of names works in a very similar way. Lina is two syllables, and full of soft consonants, whereas Lark is one and ends on a sharp consonant, so it comes off as more aggressive. Lina is sweet and simple, Evangelina is much grander and more regal. Ollie might be a servant, but Oleander is a prince. You could also have a character be named Evangelina but go by Lina, although I'm a strong advocate for not giving characters long names, only for them to be shortened all of the time. Call them the long name! I want to see the long names! Especially with female characters! No more of this "long feminine name but short masculine nickname to show that she's tough" crap! 

(I'm joking. Kind of. I am admittedly bias because I have a deep adoration for long feminine names.)

There's also the matter of how to name characters in fantasy. Personally, I think if you're writing a fantasy world, unless it is all based specifically on one real-world culture or place, different sections of your world should have different ways of naming characters. Think of the difference between Targaryen names and Stark names in Game of Thrones. 

Targaryen: Elaena, Visenya, Viserys, Baelon, Daemon, Rhaena, Rhaenyra, Daenerys, Lucerys, Jaehaerys

Stark: Arya, Sansa, Jocelyn, John, Brandon, Lyanna, Edric, William

Notice the difference? The Targaryen and Stark families have vastly different styles of names, partially because most of the names I chose for House Targaryen were chosen over 150 years earlier than those for House Stark, but also because they have different cultures, customs, traditions, etc. If you're creating a fantasy world, keep some of this in mind, and when you're thinking of commonalities in language and culture to instill into the names, consider the things we've already talked about when it comes to letters and length. 

There are a few other ways to name characters that I want to run through really fast. 

Picking a character name with a meaning that relates to the character - fantastic. Perfect. I will never critique this method. Extra points if it's a name that specifically counters everything they are and stand for. 

Picking a somewhat silly name like Possum or Sparky - DO IT. DO IT DO IT DO IT. LIFE IS SHORT AND THE WORLD IS WIDE. NAMES SHOULD BE FUN IN REAL LIFE AND IN STORYTELLING. GO WILD MY FRIEND. 

Picking a birthname that's dumb and then giving them a different name that they actually go by - I don't mean a long feminine name that they choose to shorten. We've already discussed my feelings on that. I'm talking about making their real name Tulip, so they choose to go by Hope instead (which is an actual book, by the way. It's called Hope Was Here). It adds something very interesting to the character, their relationship with the person who named them, and provides the fun additional adventure, whether on-page or mentioned offhandedly, of them picking a new name. I wish I saw this a lot more, honestly. I think it's fantastic. 

Picking incredibly long and unnecessary full names - I'm looking at you, Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klowolski de Rolo III. I'm looking at you and I love you dearly. Silly little freak boy. 

But seriously. Give characters four names, at least. One of my personal favorite names I've ever created was Riviera Iris Isabeau Swan. Isn't that fun? Bonus points for each name being a different number of syllables. I'm very proud of that. 

I'll give you another example; Neomoira Devoe Onryx Arkkukari. This one is a double whammy for the four names, and the first name which was chosen for it's meaning! Neo means new, Moira means fate, and bam! New Fate. Which leads to my final suggestion!

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MAKE UP YOUR OWN NAMES - Mix names together! Jasper and Soren, congratulations, now you have Jasoren. Do not call him Jason, he doesn't like that. Or you can take a name and then add syllables to the end, that's basically all we've been doing with the name Anna for the last fourteen thousand years. Let's take the name Griffin, add an -or to the end. Maybe switch up the spelling to make it more fantasy-esque. Gryphinor. Beautiful. Switch a letter, Natalia to Natilia. This is a lawless land and I beg you to take advantage of that. 

In closing, there is no wrong way to name a character. Play around. Switch names. Repeat names, for all I care. Ask God to send you a sign for what to name a character (a thing I have actually done). Writing is about creativity and expression, and that starts with names. 

I will leave you with some of my favorite websites for names to help you on your search, starting with my own Pinterest because my lists are superior, obviously. Happy writing!

My Pinterest Page!

Magic Baby Names

Name Nerds Reddit (view at your own discretion, I would never typically recommend reddit for any reason)

Name Berry

Baby Center (Yes I am aware these are all baby name websites... It's not my fault that they're helpful)