Why I Write about Elves: Terry Brooks at TEDxRainier
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2024
- Prolific bestselling author of epic fantasy literature, Terry Brooks shares what inspires him to write, discusses what writers and readers bring to written works, and explores how fantasy literature can be a domain for resolving challenging questions and issues.
Terry Brooks has been a writer since the age of ten. His first novel, The Sword of Shannara, became the first work of fiction to appear on the New York Times Trade Paperback Bestseller List. He has written thirty bestselling novels, the most recent published in August 2012, as well as a book adaptation of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
This talk was given at TEDxRainier in Seattle on November 10, 2012. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
Sometime in the early 70s I walked into a suburban mall bookstore. Being a young teen male I went directly to the sci-fi section and picked out the one with the best cover art on the dust jacket. It was of course the Sword of Shannara. I've been an elf fan ever since.
It was published in the late Seventies -_-
Pqqqq
And it was fantasy -_-
And yet, niccoardcadia4179's statement is somehow no less true ^.^
Fortunately for me, years of ear infections as a child has left me with the ability to unpop my right ear for built in volume control.
This is why I write fantasy as well. I can't seem to write anything that isn't either fantasy or set in another time period, because it helps me to get perspective on real life issues, just by changing the context in this way. And why wouldn't you want to write about incredible magical stuff? Writing is creating and in our minds we are unlimited! I found this speech inspiring, because I usually think as I become older (although I am still very young) that I am alone in writing fantasy, which of course is not true, but feels very lonely, especially when in short story competitions the jury always chose the realistic stories over and over again. I actually got a prize for a realistic short story I wrote. It was fun, but what I really wanted to write was elves and fantasy! So that's what I am doing now. I am a world-builder. I have been working on my world since I was ten years old. It really doesn't matter if my books are ever published because I enjoy writing them and I love building this world sooo much! It's strange but I can't explain it :) best of luck to all aspiring fantasy-writers out there!!
i'm excited to read about your world, if you ever publish it
Woww I'm the same here.. btw I write about multidimensional travellers and I'm really connected with how you describe your creative process. I'm a very introvert elf living a human life, that's what I feel haha plus I'm also worldbuiding since my 10 years :O maybe someday we will discover more abouy many worlds theory? Maybe all this writers and creators have some kind of acess in the invisible worlds?
Why, thank you, and good luck as well. I know it can be hard to put the final pieces of your own world together, because it takes away the possibility of continuing tinkering it as you like, but I hope that someday you do and are happy of the result.
All writers feel a sense of solitude. Keep writing, for the lonely readers. :)
Agreed. I write about mutants, aliens, gods, superheroes, villains, and epic adventures.
I adore Mr. Brooks. His books saved my sanity growing up in a chaotic household with violence. His talent pulls you into a fantasy world and excitement of heroism. If you have not read his books read Elfstones of Shannara. Sword Of Shannara. I am part elf because of his books.
Terry Brooks is a *MASTER* World Builder and Maestro of the Imagination!!!
A LEGEND!
💖💖💖
I am Empowered by Shannara!
"...you need to go outside" .haha!! My mom used to say stuff like that too! :) I was a reader and a writer too. I still am :) Always will be.
Same here and outside still sucks
I am saying this to my boys too :). I am also urging them to read, I offer them my Shannara books but no, the PC games of today steal all their free time :((
His books are among the best, and have aided me during the dark days of my divorce journey.
I wish you well on your journey. But I also think that since you view it as the journey it truly is, you won't need my wishes and will come through with your own truths intact. Being wiser and stronger because of that journey, and your ability to view it as such. ^-^
Cool hope you are good my man.
Oh wow I can so relate. As a kid, my friend and I made swords out of broken hockey sticks(Canada) and duct tape!
For me, what got me into fantasy was the movie "Dragon Heart." I used to rent it on VHS when my older sister was getting "Follow that Bird." Then, when my grandpa from Scotland started telling me about real castles and the stories from them, I was done. From then on, I adored fantasy.
Cheyanne Murray GO CANADA 😆😆
Fuckin eh
I love my home state of California so much. But with our current political climate here in the U.S. I sure wish I was a Canadian. Not that you don't have your problems too, but at least you have no reason to feel anywhere near as ashamed of your country as we do today in the Divided States. So yea: Go Canada! ^-^
If I didn't see him at the Borders Bookstore in the year 2000, reading a few pages from his new book series the Jerle Shannara series, I would have never been interested. The way he talks about writing got me interested in his work. Now I own over 20 audiobooks and a compilation of the World of Shannara. One of the most fascinating worlds ever created.
I have the Genesis series but not The Word and the Void.
Scott Brick ; )
The first of his books that got me to fall in love with his epic stories and brillaint storytelling, was Scions of Shannaara. I mean it captured my attention and has never let go - all these years later! What's more, I felt so honored to have met him at one of his many book signings!
Terry Brooks is and always has been amazing.
Yes
‘Loved this video!
I’ve met Mr. Brooks a couple of times now and I’ve got to say that the wisdom that comes from this man is truly profound, even though casual conversation (not just scripted presentations).
The first fantasy novel I ever read was The Sword of Shannara and I’ve read every book he’s written since. He’s one of the best authors of our time, in any genre, and I’m so glad he’s shared the worlds he’s created with our world. :)
I too remember adapting stories into play as a kid, both with toys and with friends using fence posts as swords or a stick as a sword or staff. I am 25, at that time I read books, but more than that there were movies and games, so most of what I can remember playing was based on movies I saw and videogames I played. Even seeing a good looking game being played was enough to set my imagination in motion. I believe I was around 12 when I first found Shannara. A friend of mine that I recently found out is a big fan was also 12.
I'm a musician who until recently never thought much about writing words, and instead wrote melodies and chord structures etc. A few years back however, I found myself writing poetry. The biggest question I've had since my early childhood: _"why am I me?"_ Was something I never thought could be the basis for a fantasy novel, until now. Most likely I will never write one, but it just became more likely it will enter into my music as both musical passages and lyrics. Certainly it had already entered my poetry unnoticed by myself.
Cool
This is why I want to get into writing as well. Explore big issues with characters that are larger than life. Maybe get to the bottom of things or inspire others towards a solution.
Good to hear from you Terry Brooks. Love your writing rhythm. Adventure and relationship development is such addiction. I am intrigued by prolific writers - I can not finish anything - so it was cool to hear about the time it took for the first books. It has to feel great to 'be' the storyteller! Thank you for the long nights :).
First book I read was in 6th grade, The Elfstones of Shannara from the school library. I then proceeded to read Wishsong, then Sword finally, and then First King. Then I read the all of the following books from The Scions all the way to Gypsy Morph. Oh and all the Paladins of Shannara short stories. Loved the one about Garet Jax :) What an amazing literary journey that was!
This was really good. And I love how his primary motivation was reading one author and thinking he can do better. I've been there. LOL
Thanks Terry! Just what I needed to hear right now.
Still the only author that made me shed tears from the death of a main character. I will always cherish that memory and his stories. Full disclosure, I was also listening to the Cranberries during that scene so it may have contributed;)
I read "The Sword of Shannara" in Italian translation at the age of 14, and 3-4 other Shannara books around the age of 15. It was one of my favorite readings at that time.
No, J.K. Rowling did not make the world safe for fantasy writers. Tolkien and Lewis did.
My first book at 12 years of was The Sword of Shannara and it was profound.
Oh my goodness, same here! I spent about two months pillaging through it in the seventh grade. I loved every paragraph of it!
Kee Kee I'm in seventh grade I'm reading The Sword of Shannara now
Yeah, I remember finding a beaten up paperback copy of it at a yard-sale 20 years ago for a dime when I was in school, and was hooked after that.
Easter 5460 im in 8th grade currently. If you love fantasy then read A Song of Ice And Fire, or read Mistborn, or The Legend of Drizzt. All of them are fanominal, but ASOIAF is definatly for t he strong minded. idk how advanced you are, but im reading at a junior colledge level.
I loved the Mistborn trilogy
My first fantasy book at 8 was Sword of Shannara, thank you Mr. Brooks.
Terry Brooks and Tamora Piece were the first fantasy authors I became aquainted with, as a youngling.
The Landover books helped me through losing my mom. Thank you so much for the humor in your fantasy novels. I’ve read and re-read them until the books literally fell apart and needed repurchasing. I am 51 and still hope to write as well when I grow up ... eventually. 🤣
We blew up our plastic figures with firecrackers and gave solemn burials. But, play had been very creative. 🙃. Some of your childhood sounds like ours. Growing up in a very rural area, we pulled up stick weeds with heavy, clubbed roots. We would battle in the middle of a forest of thorny trees and rattle our teeth every time we made contact with each blow until we tired or Mama yelled the mosquitoes were going to carry us away. By the by ... We girls love reading fantasy novels. We also played D&D instead of hosting debutante parties and such. My sisters and I still love fantasy and sci-fi. No Harlequin Romance or Hallmark Channel for us. Hahaha !
Being from Oxford, Mississippi, one would think I would have loved Faulkner. I have ADHD and frequently lost my way in his paragraph-long sentences. Maybe I will try reading again just because of your passion and my respect for you as a writer. And, maybe I will finally visit Roanoke instead of just driving by when I visit family. :)
Thank you for such a great Ted Talk. Cheers, sir. Looking forward to your next book and my eventual wheaten named “Abernathy”. ❤️
Yes! Thank you, second-best Fantasy author named Terry, for putting this into words - I had a sort of inkling on why I like worldbuilding and fantasy, but this vocalizes it.
Brooks > Goodkind... Change my mind
Whether you're a lawyer, actor, police officer, nurse, doctor, stunt actor or even a gardener, if you want to write a book you can enjoy, do it.
10/10 video. Me and Brooks had quite a smiliar childhood,weird.
great advice for my right ear
He’s the best! I love the cyclic nature of his world from magic to tech to magic and so on and on 😊 and elves hiding in Oregon the Rose state 😅
Love his books some of my first fantasy reads
Nice
Terry is a Legend, his icon was Tolkein if that tells you anything , Tolkein i think would be proud!
I love fantasy, though have never been a fan of Brooks, but this is a great talk
In a similar theme, most Final Fantasy plotlines are the story of life being destroyed by exploitation of natural resources.
All great fantasy stories are either about saving the climate of a world and it's inhabitants. The same can be said of any other art form too though. That is because nothing is so great as the struggle for freedom and wellness.
And killing gods
@@turtleanton6539 double fine :-)
One of my favorite authors since my dad showed me his books
I am currently reading "The elfstones of shannara" and it is getting so good!
Not to mention, writing about real life issue in a fantastical setting will protect you from real life people who are sensitive about those issues. You can make a fictional government or religion based on a real life one, then criticise or expose the flaws of it in your work without offending members of the real government or religion.
Best books I have ever read..
+Nathan Coffman read literally any other book and you'll change your mind
+eimtu Soooo due to my comment you ASSume they are the only books I have ever read.
Nathan Coffman I have read hundreds of books. Brooks is still at the top. try Alison croggen if you have time, great writer.
My right ear now knows a lot more about elves.
A great Personality. 😊
I seriously doubt we would be on the same side of a (hopefully friendly) political discussion.
But still Terry Brooks is my favorite author.
I knew I was hooked when I started reading his third book, right before bed. But I couldn't stop, and read the whole thing by morning.
As my tastes in reading evolved, I almost quit reading fiction entirely. The only exception is Brooks.
If you want friendly, then *you* have to also be friendly. The practices of the conservative party are anything but friendly to those who are different (ie, anyone who is not also a straight, white, conservative, american, christian). Things like friends, love, respect, trust, et cetera only ever work as two-way streets. And most of us understand that what we put out into the world is what comes back to us even on a personal level.
Compassion = strength. All heroes became heroes because they selflessly helped others in need. Defended those who were less able to defend themselves. The truly great heroes even did their best to save the "bad guys". Compassion = strength. Therefore, the opposite of compassion (selfishness) = weakness.
Be strong, be friendly and helpful to others regardless of their differences. Defend those who are weaker than you in some way. I promise you'll find that goodwill returned to you far more often in this way.
Peace and prosperity to you my fellow Earthling. ^-^
@@aylbdrmadison1051 The practices of many in the progressive camp are anything but friendly, as well. It is definitely a two-way street.
Beautiful. So very wise at the end.
Sword of Shannara was a master piece.
My favorite writer.
I wonder why they never made a movie series based on the magical kingdom of Landover? Would be so cool.
Such a good speaker (and writer).
That is so inspirational.
Currently writing a 100 point English essay and am including the sword of Shannara along side lord of the flies and the poisonwood bible
I can relate to this.
J.K. Rowling doesn't have SQUAT on Landover.
wow I don't know what's wrong with the video but the sound is almost no existent I had to read the captions through the whole thing so that I knew what was being said :(
He needs to do another book like Antrax. That was a mind fry...
“I recreate these stories” no kidding I couldn’t tell lol
Faulkner is amazing.
As a small child I had a small plastic horse...and it could run as fast as I could😉🐎
My left ear is cold
Brilliant
Why is there no volume for this video?
i might be a meaningless snob, but i liked because he mentioned faulkner.
The sound has disappeared!
love Magic Kingdom for sale sold
Awesome book
uh, does anyone know which 6 books he's referring to?
Wow his life story is JUST like mine.
Hi there! I'm actually new to writing fantasy fiction and wanted to ask if you or if you know someone who does book reviews? Thanks
Which are the six books that deal with transgression and redemption, which he keeps referring to without specifying towards the end?
The stories centered around Grianne Ohmsford. She begins as the Isle Witch and eventually becomes the Ard Rhys.
Ilse Witch, Antrax, Morgawr, Jarka Ruus, Tanequil, Straken
And then it sort of continues with Wards of Faerie, Bloodfire Quest, and Witch Wraith, although I doubt Grianne's story is completely done yet. I think Terry will use her at the end in the final four-book series he is writing now.
Guys go read gretel and the dark IT'S SO GOOD
I can't hear the audio for this in headphones on max volume
Search "loudness wars" for the answer to why all this is happening. The volume of this video is of a decent level. whereas most music and movies these days are way to loud to be anywhere near getting a quality sound.
(Source: I'm a recording engineer)
Fix the sound please.
this is my teachers adoptive dad
For some reason I expected him to be more elf like in demeanour! Lol
Perception: Terry, sing with me, did you ever know that your my Elfstones, you are everything I wish I could be, I will always be your Druid, for your my true Elit Druin, did you ever know..... Come and let your favorite airline take you to see Australia's Shady Vale. Conan, who is really Excalibur is dying to be your Sword of Shannara. You are not your own best friend anymore, you belong to a man who is dying to have your love forever. Ask someone you trust in the USPS to find the mailbox in his iron chest.
Why do people who are into the whole fantasy of "elf"-based worlds wind up preferring this sort of reading/wrting to science fiction? What he is talking about here in terms of taking real-world themes and reflecting them through fantasy is what STAR TREK is so often credited as having done, and done well. Doesn't the sf realm---GENERALLY speaking that is----link more readily, more vividly with real world issues than fantasy? I'm just asking. I am trying to understand the choice of using one mode over another. (Maybe I should ask my nephews who are majorly into the fantasy-elf world thing, while I lean toward sf. including satires like NINETEEN EIGHTY FOUR and straight-ish sf "drama" like ON THE BEACH....But maybe there is no real answer to this. I would still like to hear some opinions.)
Everyone I know seems to hate Brooks because the Shannara books are too similar to LOTR. A lot of my friends wonder why the Tolkien estate didn't sue him. Then again he is a lawyer and would probably win any lawsuit against him.
Jason Hillstrom they should read them. there are a few similarities but that pretty well ends with the sword of Shannara trilogy.
Yeah... Like Eragon stole dragons from Harry Potter and Dungeons of Dragons. Smfh
i have read almost ALL his books and Terry's books are very different from Tolkeins , it is like somewhat similear in the VERY basic format but totally different and he deserves to have his credit that is for sure. They are very very loosely based on Tolkein, other than that they are totally different especially all his later books. People need to get a gripp on reality
And much of Tolkein's stories were based on Norse mythology with Elves, Dwarves etc.
J.K Rowling should really do a ted talk
No Sound!
Still no sound.
Are his books worth reading? Is a good writer, or a cliche writer?
Cliche writer. I read his original Shannara series when I was a kid, and worked my way through at least half a dozen others...as an adult, I picked up a dusty copy of one of his old books while renovating a room, and was surprised at the bad prose and how cookie-cutter the fantasy template is. That may be true of a lot of things remembered from childhood -- they don't always live up to our fond memories. However, I don't regret spending time in his world when I was a kid.
GozerTheGozerian
Thank you a lot. Anyone else to suggest? I like fantasy, but I hate cliches.
Hector K - L
No problem. Obviously other people won't share my opinion, as Brooks has his fans, but his work is cut from the Tolkein mold, no doubt about it. TBH I am not big on fantasy because most of it is the same thing, but like practically everyone else in the past decade, my favorite is A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin.
I thought the first several books of the Wheel of Time were good, but that series suffered a massive drop in quality due to the publisher trying to stretch out the series -- and the profits -- so much so that the author died before he could complete the series.
And aside from that, I'm more of a science fiction fan, especially when it comes to authors like Alastair Reynolds and Iain M. Banks.
Hector K - L The Sword of Truth series!
JaxAttacksPoker
I know it. I've also seen the show, but I'm sure the books are much better. Thanks :)
Dose he write about the Elf, like the short rip-off Christmas elves. Or Elves, the elven race like Tolkien wrote in his Amazing books, The Lord of the Rings.
Try some books
I can't hear him speaking 😣😣
Y
7:34 purple shirt asleep or taking notes? lol
I have the wishsong in me
A true baller.
Terry Brooks, one of Earth's best/finest writers. Better than J.R.R. Tolkien. Better than JK Rowling. He never ever got the same level of attention. His words flowed from the page into the imagination so effortlessly. And the latter was no coincidence; he made it that way.
anyone else unable to hear him?
Colin Cruickshank The sound is only on one channel.
elves arent fantasy, they are real. i have three different family stories regardin them. or maybe trolls or gnomes. they have different names. one story was my father and his sister. they were scared to talk about it. now they always leave the lights on in every room and close all cupboards.
Elves are creatures originating from norse mythology along with dwarves
2:05
This dude sounds like an epic troll when he was a child.
Why I rip-off Tolkien*