Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes of Fighting Fear

On June 18, 2020, I completed the book Star Wars: Fighting Fear. It was my first fanfic on the original Star Wars trilogy with the characters Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa. It also has a bit of Legends lore incorporated into it. Additionally, it is my first fanfic that boarders around the horror genre, though I promise it's not scary. 

I got the idea for this fanfic in December last year while my family and I were in Palm Desert to celebrate my mom's birthday. I was chilling in our timeshare room, rewatching A New Hope and rereading novels based off of the original movies. It had been awhile since I dived into the originals and I found myself appreciating the character developments more than ever before, especially Han Solo's. 

I don't remember how I got the idea to trap the main characters in a haunted Sith tower where the spirit of Darth Sidious separates them and makes them face their worst fears, but I outlined the entire story that afternoon. I believe I was partially inspired by the Thrawn Trilogy with the plot of the Empire still being around after the death of Vader and the Emperor. If I remember correctly, The Rise of Skywalker was barely released, but I hadn't seen it yet. That could have inspired the "ghost" of Darth Sidious after his death. 

Returning to my notes, I noticed that under "characters" I had added Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda like an afterthought. I don't know what my original idea to bring them in was, but it was a possibility for me at the time. 

Luke's story was to continue his initial struggle with the Dark Side that we see in Return of the Jedi. Sidious wanted him to be the next Darth Vader, which is Luke's worst fear. In The Empire Strikes Back, his vision in the Dark Side cave always confused me, but I interpret it as his fear of becoming an evil machine like Vader. Sidious spends most of his energy on him because Luke is the strongest in the Force and he's still intent on recruiting him. 

Han Solo's story is one of my favorites. From the words of Harrison Ford himself: "The set up is perfect. I'm like the hero's hero. His (Luke's) hero." While Luke Skywalker is the main protagonist of the trilogy, Han Solo is the real protector. His character arc in the series is growing from a selfish smuggler who only cared about his own skin to finding people he would die for. As the series progresses, he becomes very protective of the kid and his love interest. It makes my heart melt. I wanted to emphasize on that. Han's fear is being unable to protect his friends, which is why Palpatine kind of just plops him in a dark maze away from everyone and leaves him there. Han also didn't believe in the Force, and even after he did, he doesn't have it nor want it. But even those who don't have the ability to use the Force can trust in it, which is what Han learns in order to find his friends. 

Leia's story was a bit more complicated. Basically, Leia is disconnected from the Force and her boys: the two people she loves and relies on most in the galaxy. She must remember her own strength to overcome her fear and find her boys. This isn't a feminist arc of Leia realizing that she doesn't need Luke and Han to protect her and she can be strong and brave without them yada yada. This is a personal struggle. Yes, we all know how brave and strong and tough Leia is, especially in the first movie. What I'm getting at is I've noticed how vulnerable Leia gets after she bonds with her brother and Han. To be ripped away from the two people you love most, that's got to be scary. There was also the hate for her biological father, the mystery of her birth mother, and the loss of her entire planet for the Emperor to use to toy with her. 

The bromance between Luke and Han was important for me to emphasize in this story. I love their friendship so much and I wanted to use every opportunity I had to say "Look at them. Bros. Love them." I even wrote a whole other book about their relationship. 

I incorporated a bit of Legends lore into my story. Such as the Ysalamiri. I don't mention them by name because Luke doesn't know what they are. If you were wondering what those Force-resistant creatures were, they're Ysalamiri. Look them up. They're pretty cool. Secondly, there are Luke's powers. He is a lot more powerful in Legends than he is in Disney canon (smh).  In Legends, he has psychometry, which is the ability to hold something and see the past. Notable users in canon are Quinlan Vos, Cal Kestis and Rey. He also has the ability to hot-wire with the Force. It resembles Dark Side lightning, but is purple and ionic energy. 

You know me, I love my references. Most of the references were past quotes from the Star Wars franchise. In the first chapter, I mentioned Captain Rex and the mission on Teth in The Clone Wars film. They must have crossed paths at some point and Rex knew about the relationship between his parents, so I thought it would be a cool thing to point out. In chapter four, a subtle reference is how Luke defeats the MagnaGuards. It's too difficult to notice, but I described the battle as best I could to mirror how Anakin Skywalker defeated four MagnaGuards in Duel of the Droids. In chapter five, Han says "Go to hell," which was a subtle nod to Harrison Ford's other iconic LucasFilm character Indiana Jones. The second sentence of chapter seven is "A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one"; a nod to one of Palpatine's many iconic prequel quotes. In the final chapter, Chewbacca rips off the arms of a MagnaGuard, a reference to the Lego video game and what Han said about Wookiees in A New Hope. Lastly, my favorite quote usage is "I don't know... You're supposed to be the clever one. You think of something." It's a quote from Luke to Han in the second book in the Thrawn Trilogy and it fit beautifully with the dialogue I wrote in the beginning of the story.

Since the beginning, R2-D2 was always meant to save the day. It was the most natural, entertaining and surprising route to go. Wedge Antillies happened to pop in unannounced, but he was allowed to stay. 

This book was really fun to write. I love these characters and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Thanks for reading and I am so happy you guys like it. Hopefully, I'll have new Star Wars projects for you to read soon. 

May the Force be with you!