First Advisor

Bovaird-Abbo, Kristin

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Thesis

Date Created

5-2018

Department

College of Humanities and Social Sciences, English, English Student Work

Abstract

This creative research project undertakes the world-building and writing of the first part of a fiction novel with the goal of engaging the reader in a question of priorities. In the story, Elensa, daughter of the king of the dwarves, makes an offer to the dwarves of her father’s kingdom: If they can find their way to the heart of an ancient labyrinth, they will be rewarded with riches, respect, and a chance at being chosen as her husband, the future king of Kulezim. Drawn by Elensa’s promise, many dwarves pursue their desires for power, wealth, and meaning into the labyrinth. Each dwarf enters to gain what he values most, but the perils of the labyrinth may force them all to think twice. What do they treasure above all else? How much are they willing to lose for Elensa? Like the dwarves in Elensa, humans often wrestle with and disagree over the question of what is most important in life. Are riches everything? Friendship? Vitality? The opinions of each person on this question will motivate their decisions and therefore the way they move in the world. Elensa endeavors to provide the reader with time for contemplating what they treasure most through the experiences of the characters in the story. To reach the audience in this way, Elensa needed to be both engaging and meaningful. This required research into how elements of the fantasy world might behave (such as caves, molten rock, blades, etc.) as well as research into the symbolic meaning of certain figures (such as dwarves, jewels, and salamanders.) It also required multiple revisions and re-writings to capture the fantasy world in a way that might grab the reader. This thesis includes a literature review describing how some research was integrated into the project, a methods section overviewing the project process, a final timeline, a bibliography, and the first part of Elensa.

Keywords

Fiction, Creative writing, Fantasy

Extent

170 pages

Local Identifiers

Faour_HonorsThesis2018

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

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