Concept and Creation
The series, which started around 2012 and became a more serious matter for me by 2016, has evolved significantly from where I began. The most apparent difference between my initial point and where I am now is probably the theme and style of writing. The story of the series, initially planned as a single book titled ‘Path of Griffin’, had a first-person writing style. Now, I write from a third-person, omniscient perspective. I believe this provides sweeter nuances for both me as a writer and for the reader. The perspective greatly affects how characters perceive and interpret the events around them, the worlds they live in, and the food they eat, varying significantly according to their character traits. Therefore, most of the information is created by me and then filtered through the character before reaching the reader, introducing possibilities for errors or additional contrasts. This sometimes makes me write the character as they want to be written, no matter how challenging it may be.
However, some of the stories I wrote during the years I took a break from the series are still written from a first-person perspective. For instance, ‘The Widow of Mount Neqra,’ ‘Joal the Fox,’ or ‘Acorn King’ stories. Perhaps I could filter them slightly and publish them along with all the other short stories I plan to write, either traditionally or online via Royal Road. I think this would be fun for those who enjoy the series (if there are such readers). Still, there are books like ‘Years of Sunsted,’ ‘Lands of Blood,’ or ‘The Dreamsongs’ that are written from the perspective of characters who live/lived within my fictional universe, narrating the history of this world. Although these books have mostly covered serious ground, I do not intend to share them before at least the second novel is published, as they are still in the writing phase and I am constantly revising them.
From 2016 to 2023, I have been involved with the worldbuilding of this universe. I will share a post later explaining this, including my inspirations, the historical basis, and fictional inspirations. For now, know that this was not an easy process. It’s like your mind is a steam engine that must constantly work to prevent your head from being empty, and the gears behind your skull are always turning, which can be exhausting. That’s why I stopped writing this series at one point; the Forsaken Saga was completely abandoned then. I was convinced that it should be published later, during a period when my writings were seriously being read. Therefore, I started publishing short stories in a fanzine called Fantastika, and later struggled with writing ‘The Fallen Angel Trilogy’. Yet, part of me seemed to exist to write this saga, so I shelved everything else and focused all my attention on it.
I want the theme of the series to be a blend of high fantasy and low fantasy, which are sub-genres of fantasy that contrast each other; of course, I also plan to include elements of dark fantasy, medieval fantasy, and grimdark.
I plan to publish the series (at least the first book) on Royal Road, Wattpad, and forsakensaga.com, both in my native language, Turkish, and in English. However, if I disregard the cost, I am more attracted to traditional publishing because, after all, who doesn’t want to see their own book on their bookshelf? Right? I don’t know what the future holds, but for now, the best thing I can do is just keep writing. I trust my pen, my observations, and my skills, and I hope they will one day truly make me happy with the series.
“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”
― Toni Morrison
