Fairy Tale Spotlight: Make Your Own Satyr

Before I begin this spotlight, I want to start by pointing out that, for the last few weeks, I have been doing two Fairy Tale Spotlights a week. They generally get posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Lots of really awesome stuff in these blogs. I know because I wrote them! And with that, let's begin!

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Why make your own Satyr? Why not? Satyrs don't have to be the hedonistic creatures that they were in ancient mythology. But they could be just as well. They can be good or they can be villains. Today, I am going to help you make your own satyr which will fit right there into your imagination. You can do something with him or you can just let him sit there and get bored. Whatever you like!

The first thing you need to figure out is how much man and how much goat. A lot of the early statues and paintings show the satyr to have the torso of a man with a beard. Everything below is like the rear of a horse but with a small tail. But you can choose what you like. He could be simply an anthropomorphic goat with the oddly bent legs of an animal. Then again, he could have a man torso with floppy goat ears. What about a boy? He could look like a boy with goat ears and the cute, furry torso. Horns? He may have horns too! Long ones or curly ones, it doesn't really matter.

This is the part where you simply decide what your satyr is going to look like. You don't have to go by any rules. The basics are simply that he be part human and part goat. How much or how little is up to you. The only real standard is that the bottom half generally ends in hooves.

Does your satyr like to play music? He may not. Not all satyrs in history played musical instruments. But if he does, what instrument is it? Traditionally, it is a set of pipes. However, it can be really anything you like. What abut a violin? A fiddle? I had one friend who went so far as to make him a DJ at a club. I'm not joking! If you don't want him to be musically inclined, don't worry. It's allowed.

So you got his looks down and you gave him an instrument he can play (maybe). Where is he right now? Is he in ancient Greece? Rome? Modern day? Your own world? Try to imagine the place he would be skipping around. It is not necessary that he stays there, but it is always good to have a starting place to help you visualize him. My friend with the DJ satyr had him in modern day and even dressed him in baggy clothing. I thought that was pretty clever! The sky is the limit with this one.

You need to give him a name. Single syllable names are much preferred but they can also be 2 or 3-syllable names. NO MORE! Try to come up with something simple that rolls right off of the tongue. Remember that satyrs are usually musical creatures. Their name needs to sound as pleasant as the music they perform. If this ends up being a bit too hard for you, try visiting this site right here: http://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/satyr-faun-names.php#.WqgT4G3wbIU

Try to pick a simple one! Not everything the site suggests is very easy to pronounce.

The last and likely the most important part is to choose a personality for your satyr. His personality is based upon what is important to him. In this case, we have three traits to go by. They are as follows:

1. Nature
2. Control
3. Lust

You can only pick one of these so I'll break them down for you.

1. Nature
These are the more free spirited and playful sorts of satyrs. You may wish to give them the title of "faun" if you wish. They skip around outside and play music. They are extremely friendly and nice to everyone they meet without being pushy. If your satyr is a sexually open character, as they usually tend to be in lore, they will be very flirty and open to it, but will allow the other to make the decision whether or not to proceed. The nature-loving satyr simply wants to be apart of nature and live among it as the other animals do. They are peaceful and friendly through and through.

2. Control
Some satyrs are more opportunistic. They want to rise up and control their destinies. Marsya of Ancient Greek lore was like that. He was trying to make a name for himself (although it did not work out for him AT ALL!) A satyr seeking control will try to rise up in rank in whatever society he is. He could get into politics or join contests. The ultimate goal is to have power over others. If your satyr is a sexual active creature, he may attempt to own other people for those reasons. Nevertheless, he shall be a charming personality, not out right villainous on the surface. He will scheme his way to great heights by using his own clout to get there.

3. Lust
This represents the most selfish of all the types of satyrs. They literally live life for pleasure. They do so without anyone's interest in mind. Typically a villain, they will use others for their own pleasure and drop them when they grow bored. These satyrs are usually impoverished. They can even be the slaves of others. This is because they are not really opportunists. They are simply trying to seek pleasure in the easiest way possible--with as little work as necessary. These satyrs are extremely flirtatious and can be known to force themselves on others without consent.

Once you have chosen one of these three traits, you should have a good idea what your satyrs will look like and act like. From there, you should be able to come up with the rest. And this brings us to the final portion of this blog: The Assignment.

In the comment section below, I would like you to write as much about your satyr as you can. Describe him entirely based on the sections of this blog. Also remember to mention which of the three traits that was important to him. Those are very big in defining who he will inevitably become. Before I end this blog, here is a look at my own personal satyr that I have used in some of my books:

Name: Zekky (Diminutive version of the name Zek)
Appearance: He looks like a boy with goat ears and the lower half is completely animal-like with a little tail and hooves.
Instrument:A set of pipes with the power to rearrange landscapes as he plays them.
Setting: My own fictional world of Carnetheria.
Personality Trait: Nature
Further Exposition: Zekky was tossed out of his home of Fata Morgana by the one-and-only Pan for being too chaotic. He was also memory wiped as a result. He is extremely friendly to everyone and has a cute innocence about him. Zekky is really open to all possibilities and enjoys making friends on their terms. He lives for love and creation and can fall into a deep depression if such things are taken away from him. He is open sexually but only if someone approaches him. Although his friendly behavior can sometimes seem like flirting, he may not actually know he is doing it.

Let me know what you come up with!

Thank you for reading my blog. I hope you will try out the assignment in the comment section below! You can also email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Thanks!