Thursday Thoughts

I've been having a fairly horrible week health-wise - this is the fourth day in a row I've felt pretty wretched. So pardon the lower quality of this post.

The word-tumble story concerns me because I have something eight or nine named characters. They're introduced slowly so you can grasp who each is in turn, and I've been careful not to name anything else so you don't have your attention split over other foreign syllable combinations, and it's necessary ... but it's still worrisome to me.

Scylla and Charybdis - I don't know I bother to write character profiles for novels. I am now introducing the third or fourth character who wasn't even mentioned in my original material. But I didn't have this entire plot arc in my head when I started, so it's natural I wouldn't have a character to fulfill it. The individual is a Tweaker (basically a professional jury-rigger of technology) nicknamed Flick.

Journal of the Dead - nothing to report, your honor. Carry on.

Signs ...

... I'm an incurable dork: I traveled today with volume cranked, singing along, practically headbanging, to ... Sondheim's "Into The Woods."

Anyone who happened to read my lips in a neighboring car was going to think I was insane.

Emerald Tales

Just got finished reading the special SF/F/H edition of Emerald Tales #1: Follow the Butterflies. Need to spend a moment here talking about the physical aspects of the magazine, because they impressed me. If you're not going to go in the direction of an ultra-sleek store magazine feel, this is the way to do it. The magazine has an antique string binding and a spackled cover with very adorable stylized butterflies on it. Each page has a faint greyed-out impression of the butterfly, which I first found a little distracting, but it quickly faded into the woodwork (ahem ... pun intended?) and it was nice flavor.

What impressed me most was how many different ways there were to "follow the butterflies." Some of the stories took it literally; one took it as a bellwether of the apocalypse; one as a metaphorical pursuit of beauty ... impressive work with the theme.

I think my favorites were "The End of the World: A User's Guide," "The Return of the Supes," and "How To Mount and Frame Fairies" which is ... morbidly hysterical. I was a little disappointed not to find any secondary world fantasy, but perhaps in future editions ...

I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed most of the poetry, considering that I am usually not very fond of free verse. They definitely have cadence, rhythm and mystery. (I am little concerned about my own poetry sub for the next issue, though. It's structured form, which is my passion in poetry. Hope just the form-i-ness doesn't turn the editor off.)

If I had a critique, I think that White Butterfly might not have been the best opening. It's a short, crisp, clean story - and I enjoyed it - but it's more slipstream than hardcore fantasy, and I sort of feel as if a special issue of SF/F/H needs to start with a, "WE ARE HERE!" to the genre elements. ;-)

This is worth picking up. I only wish it were longer!

Briar Rose, Jane Yolen

I've been wanting to read this book for some time, but because of what I've heard about it, I put it off several times: I needed to read something happy, I needed something light and mindless because I was traveling, I didn't feel up to a "deep" book ... etc.

When I finally got around to it, I was surprised by several things. I'd built up a picture of this book in my head and for the most part, it didn't match said picture.

First and foremost - it's not a fantasy novel. I had assumed since it was printed by Tor (fantasy line) that it would have some cohesive fantastic element. I suppose this is because it comes from Jane Yolen who is well-known in her genre. I kept waiting for something to sneak magic into the story, and it never happened.

Secondly - I always assumed that the story was from the point of view of the character who turns out to be the grandmother, that it was told from inside the camp. Instead, it's the story of her granddaughter unraveling her history.

(Neither of these is a problem or detracts from the book! It just surprised me.)

Now that confusion cleared up, I really enjoyed Becca as a character and the path her search for grandmother took, even the romance side-story that slips in between the lines - very well done for not a lot of words committed to it.

However -- when, with about two-thirds of the book finished, another character finishes the tale with an eye-witness account ... it becomes sort of an anti-climax, despite the intense and memorable images. (It doesn't help that the character is *so* much a survivor-not-hero that after reading about plucky Becky, he irritates by comparision.)

It comes off feeling unfinished somehow. Maybe this is partly because the entire framing fairytale isn't related in the italic chapters interspersed amongst the rest. Maybe because, even as a person who doesn't mind some loose ends, I felt that one question too many went unanswered after such an extended search.

I enjoy Yolen's craft as ever, but this book left me feeling a bit disconnected.

(Next stop: the SF/F/H edition of Emerald Tales #1.)

Thursday Thoughts

I'm now working on what I call a word-tumble story: I come up with a list of random words, jumble them, and start writing, with the mission to fit the next word in each block of 100 words. In this case, all the words begin with H. I've got thirty-some, so at some point I'll have to figure out if I can finish in 3000-some words, or if I need more.

In Scylla and Charybdis -- last Friday, I finally reached the place where the original short story left off. The three sections that comprised it were extended; a fourth section was added before the final question of, "So which way do you turn?" It's only now that I've reached it that I have any specific ideas how I'm going to tackle next part, but I have a good feel for the larger arc, so hopefully it will come out in the wash. Right now, I think I'm looking at a 120 - 140k novel, so the focus in editing is probably going to be paring that down.

Journal of the Dead -- in the middle of Parik's story. I am very fond of this section: it doesn't directly connect to the plot, but it gives the reader the answer to a question they've (hopefully) been asking from early on. It's also a reminder that the targeted suicide that awakens a mage's powers doesn't always work.

Wizards

WIZARDS Anthology - Edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois

I've heard this praised as one of the best anthologies of 2007 - so I figured no one would mind if little ol' me took a crack at evaluating it. Also, I was genuinely hoping for an excellent read.

Neil Gaiman's "The Witch's Headstone" was a wonderful opening to this anthology. It's an intriguing story, steeped in folklore and a sense of timelessness, about Bod (or Nobody) Owens, a boy who meets the ghost of a witch and promises to buy her a headstone. The development of the fantastic angle in the opening is particularly well-handled: it sneaks up on you and yet seems perfectly normal in context with this strange little boy. My only quibble is that I wanted to see more plot and conflict; it seemed that the premise was underused in such a short space.

I had mixed feelings about Garth Nix's "Holly and Iron." The historical setting, intertwined with magic, was immersive and authentic, and follows the struggles of the outcast heir to Ingland to reclaim the kingdom and take revenge. However, I found the main character, Robin, difficult to sympathize with. She seemed selfish and somewhat petulant, making the same mistakes in a tale that was somewhat longer than it needed to be. On a technical level, the opening could be clearer about the distinction between the two types of magic, and the Robin's goal in the later part of the story is made unnecessarily coy. You can read between the lines, but the very vagueness of it made me think something more complex was occurring. Kudos for the weaving of legend and magic, however.

I enjoyed "Color Vision" by Mary Rosenblum, which has a particularly fun opening sequence: an ability is displayed which looks supernatural, but turns out to have a rational explanation. However, it still deftly sets the scene for the real magic and the villain. Melanie has synesthesia and is also a Firstborn, a user of magic. When the new principal's silver words disrupt her world, she must find a way to defeat him. I dislike the gratuituous use of present tense and I think there were some holes in the logic in this story - why don't the Firstborn band together? Why wasn't the solution in the end of the story tried earlier? (and some things that would give away plot points) - but overall, I found it a satisfying read.

I was absolutely delighted with Kage Baker's "The Ruby Incomparable," a fairy-tale style story about the daughter of the tyrannical Master of the Mountain and the Saint of the World - a headstrong girl who surprises everyone. It was beautiful, it was engaging, Svnae sharply defined and fascinating to follow. Even with many years and many adventurers summarized, it holds the attention. (I can even forgive Baker for giving the main character an unpronouncable name.)

"A Fowl Tale" by Eoin Colfer made me laugh. This short, snappy comic tale is about an enchanted dove who must tell a story for his supper. The references to popular storylines - and seven master plots - particularly tickled my fancy. A charming story, well worth the brief read.

At this point, I have to say: if this is representative of the quality of the whole anthology, I will be a very happy reader.

Jane Yolen's "Slipping Sideways Through Eternity" certainly does not break this trend. This is the story of a young Jewish girl who sees Elijah during a Passover and finds herself aiding him. Sometimes humorous, sometimes heart-wrenching, always absorbing, this story follows our narrator through history. I loved how her talent for art, casually woven into the story at first, proved to play a central role - though by contrast, I thought it wasn't expanded well enough for the final conclusion. Still, a thoroughly satisfying read.

I enjoyed the conclusion of Tad Williams' "The Stranger's Hands," but I thought the story took too long to get there, and didn't give quite enough reason for the reader to be interested in waiting. A mysterious stranger appears in a small village and begins granting people their hearts' desires - but why? The question of the stranger and his origins is intriguing, but it is difficult to attach to any of the characters, and the story lacks some tension. I think the last seven pages or so could have been made the bulk of the tale - and like that, it would have been almost flawless.

The style and story of "Naming Day" by Patricia McKillip are light and enjoyable. This is the story of Averil, the best student at her sorcerous school, who can't decide what secret name to take. I sympathized with Averil while seeing her selfishness - a nice bit of work - but I still thought that her mother's response was unfair, and I was disappointed we never do find out what name she chose. (I think the author meant the method of naming to be important enough, but I still wanted the what.) The story also suffered from an unclear setting; it took me a while to be sure that it was in our world rather than a more technological fantasy setting. I did, however, very much like Averil's interactions with Fitch: it could have easily become a cliché, but was perfectly pitched. Cute story, but not one of my favorites.

Elizabeth Hand's "Winter's Wife" is a subtle, under-the-surface story that would have been perfect at a third of its length. As it is, this story about a man who brings back a mysterious wife who is not all she seems - told from the point of view of a teenaged neighbor - is too long, too stuffed with unnecessary details, and takes too long building to what should have been (for the length) an explosive pay-off. Every individual part of the story is well-written, but there is far too much meat on the bone.

At this point, I am really hankering for some solid worldbuilding. Most of these stories are set in our world; others are set in a blurry standard fantasy world. Baker's story included some intriguing setting details, and I did love the mythic-fantastic setting interpolated on Nix's tale, but I'm waiting for a world with unusual magic and an equally unusual sorcerer.

Winner of the longest title, Andy Duncan provides "A Diorama of the Infernal Regions, or The Devil's Ninth Question," which follows the adventures of young Pearl as she steps through a showman's attraction - the diorama of the title - into a house of ghosts and secrets. This is a lively, quirky story with an entertaining tone and some amusing details. However, the elements are puzzling and some of the nonsensical parts - the important ones, as opposed to the just-fun ones you let dart past you - never resolve, leaving the story with an unsatisfying gnaw at the back of the brain.

Peter S. Beagle finally gives me the worldbuilding I crave with "Barrens Dance," a narrated legend of what occurs when the sorcerer Carcharos - master of dance - falls in love with the wife of a shukri trainer. This is a story in the best tradition of fairytales; if it moves somewhat ponderously in the beginning, it is forgiveable. I wish that the shukris had been described properly earlier in the story, but that is the only other complaint I have: the ending contains both a satisfying conclusion and a justification for the frame narration - to say more would be to ruin it.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed "Stone Man" by Nancy Kress, considering it deals with one of the elements of fantasy-into-the-mundane-world that I find the most exasperating: how long it takes a character to suspend disbelief. In this case, Jared, a down-and-out skateboarder, survives a nasty accident through the use of stone magic and must come to terms with his abilities. What makes this tale appealing is the snarky adolescent tone, grown up too fast - and perhaps Jared's generalized suspicion of adults in general makes his ridicule of magic in specific more palatable. This isn't a new story, but it's a good one.

I have a confession to make about Jeffrey Ford's "The Manticore Spell" - I didn't get it. The point of the story completely eluded me, except that is a very poetic, lyrical exploration of - obsession? Mythology? In the tale, the wizard Watkin and his young apprentice seek to perform an autopsy on the last manticore. There is mystery, there is tension, but I'm not even sure there is a real plot … just a string of bizarre images and contradictions resolving into a sense of continuation.

Tanith Lee's "Zinder" is a snapshot of an unfortunate young man named Quacker, who at night has a mystical, all-powerful double-life. And it is just a snapshot: there really isn't a plot here, just the sweeping depiction of a single night. Zinder's attitude towards the world is touching and enjoyable, but the rest of the story seems wanting. Random details can add a perfect touch - but here, the details are just random, and they feel it, inserted to give the eye something interesting to read. (Also - present tense again. Argh. No. Just - no.)

My primary reaction to "Billy and the Wizard" by Terry Bisson was, "What? Huh?" This is the story of young Billy, accused of being a sissy because he still plays with dolls - but his dolls speak to him and have wizardly acquaintances. This story was written in a bald, simplistic style; I kept waiting for it to grow on me, but it never did. This is a disjointed tale with a lot of repetition, little explanation, and only a few brief points of disconnected conflict.

Terry Dowling's "The Magikkers" was a joy to read. Sam has come to train at Dessida, a school for magic, but soon learns that he is a magikker: someone with just enough ability for a single large spell. Is he willing to give that up, and for what? This is a great concept for a story; how Sam reacts to the question posed and the ramifications of his decision are well-illustrated, and the conclusion is simply lovely. I think there were a few small mis-steps - some hidden items that should have been visible earlier; a bit of a cheat in how magic can be transferred between people - but they leave little mark on a satisfying story.

Gene Wolfe's "The Magic Animal" is a unique take on Arthurian legend, with much jumbling of chronology. It begins when Viviane, a contemporary girl who can speak to animals, falls off her horse in the forest and meets a fairy. I thought the reinterpretation of the legend was clever, but I disliked the fact that the protagonist simply followed the directions of the fairy - and sometimes knew what to do without any decent explanation - without having much motivation of her own. Much of the story seemed to have loose ends, episodes whose significance was never revealed. The introduction of the name Merlin into the story made me smile, though.

I approached Orson Scott Card's "Stonefather" with some trepidation, as it fills a little over seventy pages in the anthology. I need not have worried. The story of Runnel, who flees his homeland to the city of the wetwizards, is even-paced and engaging. Its narrator is tough but vulnerable, cocky but endearing, and even though I could see what powers he would discover within himself, I enjoyed the journey. His often prickly interactions with the servant Lark are both real and entertaining. The legend incorporated into the tale is a bit hard to read at first, and I found that the final conclusion still strained my belief, but it was still thoroughly worth the read - and the worldbuilding, since I've mentioned it before, was fabulous. I look forward to a novel in this world.

Overall, I enjoyed most of the stories in this anthology and thought they presented some unique views of the use of magical power. I thought the anthology was paced and spaced well, with a strong opening and finish. Definitely recommended.

Thursday Thoughts

Non-heroic short story: finished. Final word count (pre-edit): 6,660 words. That's not ominous or anything.

I'm becoming concerned with Scylla and Charybdis that my mindset is too archaic for science fiction. I'm an old-fashioned girl: I don't like the constantly-plugged-in aspect of iPhones, cellphones that can cook omelettes for you, etc - I don't even understand the appeal. I think that has been reflected in my treatment of connectivity in my societies. You can be effectively linked twenty-four-seven with a device the size of a dot. However ... a lot of people opt out of being publicly accessible.

I honestly think is realistic: after some decades (maybe a century?) of continuous connectivity, it's going to get wearing, and my personal take is that the trend will swing back towards deconnectivity as a way of re-establishing private space. But maybe this is hopelessly old-fashioned. I just don't know.

I should've written this novel two decades ago when this wasn't even an issue, I think.

I'm midway through my Journal rewrite and I just want to say again that I love Razentis. He's such a thoroughly odd man. Fear a savvy politician who has nothing to do except amuse himself.

Thursday Thoughts

Working on a new story for the fantasy-writers.org monthly challenge. This time, the challenge is to write a story where the main character is not a hero. This was inspired by a discussion on the forums, and I decided to interpret it as a story about a character who catalyzes everything (or almost everything) in the story, but doesn't actually have any heroic motivations or take any heroic actions.

Surprisingly, I've actually managed to come up with a good plot for this, and a character I hope people will identify with. Much of the focus of the tale is around a romantic relationship. I'm finding that sometimes, the MC's self-image (which is important to his non-heroic...ness) cuts a little too close to home ...

Scylla and Charybdis - I'm feeling as if the action is in a lull. There's not a lot of tension, and I worry that someone might just put the book down ... but the breather is a necessary component of the action to follow. I also just did a shameless info-dump on how the two societies developed, but since I'm thirteen chapters / forty thousand words / @ 160 pages in, surely one can forgive an author a little relation of information that cannot be found out any other way.

Journal of the Dead - this is taking a long time, darnit. Am very pleased with the introduction of Oliun, one of the central antagonists; he comes off (I hope) very chilling and yet very real. Mostly, though, feeling antsy: I just want this novel edited and out there already.

Novels

This quote was on my page-a-day calendar, and it amused me:

"I can't understand why a person will take a year to write a novel when he can easily buy one for a few dollars." -- Fred Allen

Why, indeed? ;-)

The Herd Mentality

Last night (or rather, early this morning) I finished what I hope will be the final edit on "The Herd Mentality" in preparation to start submitting it. This is a contemporary fantasy story involving psychic vampire unicorns, dragons, and virgins. I set it in the midwest, so I got a chance to poke fun at my hometown.

This one has been a long haul. When I first went to review it, I had it in my head that I wasn't going to submit it - I thought it had come out too weird. When I actually sat down to read it, I found that the mood was more surreal and off-beat -- a pitch I don't hit often, and I was rather pleased with it. However, there was another problem: a couple motivation holes in the latter part of the story.

I struggled with these. I probably changed my mind how to handle it three times, each edit spaced out over months. Finally - finally! - I think I've got it worked out in a way that matches the mood and makes sense, while still leaving things vaguely unsettled ... which was part of the original ending. (I also managed to get it under five thousand words, which was a nice bonus.)

Now, of course, watch editors hate it. ;-)

Thursday Thoughts

Lately, I've had the odd experience of being called "literary." My recent story on fantasy-writers has received comments about allusions, thinking on a higher plane of thought, the whole thing being unconventional ...

... and I think, "What?"

There was no grand plan or structure behind the story. I just poured a few concepts into a mythology pool and splashed around like a hyperactive three year old. I worked to make sure it was cohesive, of course, but I never set out to have a specific message ... though it did amuse me to work in some irony that might be hard to catch if you're not very conversant with the Greek mythos.

To all this, I don't understand "literary." To me, literary is more about an intent than a result: you set out to write something that is educational, illuminating or, at least, more than "just entertainment." And for me, it's always been exclusively about the story. I have fun (a lot of it); I just hope the reader does, too.

Part of it may be the Greek mythology aspect. My issue is that I practically teethed on Greek myths - D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths is one of the first books I can remember reading obsessively - and I don't think of them as classical literature, much less intimidating. To me, they're comfortable, snuggly stories - just like a fairy tale that's been Disney-ized. So it's really hard for me to understand some people's approach to them.

I try not to be insulted by "literary," honestly, because I know people don't mean it as an insult ... but the whole idea is counter to my writing philosophy. So it really does feel like a slap.

Mistress of the Art of Death

As some of you know, I read a fair number of mysteries on top of my speculative fare. I just finished this book, by Ariana Franklin, and overall, I very much enjoyed it.

It's set in mid-twelfth century England, a few decades after the Cadfael era and sends Adelia - a female doctor from the medical school at Salerno - as one of a pair of investigators to discern who killed four children in Cambridge ... and absolve the Jewish population, which would otherwise be profitable to the king.

The historical detail and the way it is conveyed is fantastic. It all seems to flow; I never had the sense that I was being lectured. It all feels very sharp and authentic. This extends into Adelia's perception of herself in the male world (it's pleasant to see a confident period female character who doesn't come off strident or too modern), the way disease is handled, and everyone's attempt to understand the idea of a serial killer.

I did have some significant issues with the book. What probably annoys me most as a writer is the headhopping. Franklin can't seem to stay in one character's thoughts for the duration of the scene, and it's confusing to track where she's switched without the scene breaks. It also makes it hard to tell who the main character is supposed to be when the book opens, which is not where I want to be.

More on the issue of the actual plot, a few things: I guessed the killer less than halfway through the book, so I can't think that it was very well-disguised as I stink at guesswork. ;-) I also found the romance sort of "forced" - it springs up out of nowhere. The way it's played out is entertaining, but I was sort of exasperated by the whole, "Oh, instantly when he's absolved of suspicion she's going to realize she's fallen for him," tact.

I was amused by how much it feels like "medieval CSI" without actually breaking that sense of being in-period. Really, the crime is solved by committee, and there are a handful of supporting characters who help Adelia out immensely. I appreciated this aspect - so many mysteries are lone detective, or detective + batty sidekick.

Anyhow, overall it gets my stamp of approval.

Thursday Thoughts

It's Thursday again? Where does the time go?

This past week was much more relaxing for me. Last night, I even had enough spare time to feel restless. My writing bug still seems to bite me late at night, so when I get to the hours I ought to be pondering bed, I keep squeezing myself up longer to get a little more written.

I've been writing flash fiction off quotes, both as part of F-W challenges and with some help from folks on my personal journal. The former have been 100 words + quotes; the latter, I limited myself to 200 words including the quote. Some of the shorter ones, I felt, lacked just a little bit of clarity due to skipped transitions, emotional states missed, etc - so I rounded them out. Thinking of posting them for critique when I've got a baker's dozen.

People are talking about NaNoWriMo again. I really have no idea if I'm going to do it. It will depend heavily on the progress I make with my current novels ... and whether I can complete my worldbuilding before I start. I've discovered that, while I usually write novel plots by the seat of my pants, I can't do the same thing with characters and world. I need to have a clear idea of those before I begin. (Not so much the characters - they seem to do a good job of inserting themselves when the situation calls for it.)

Pretty sure I'm going to increase my transcription rate for Journal of the Dead from two manuscript pages at a time to three. I still can't tell if rewriting from hand helps at all and it's driving me batty. I think the conclusion is going to be it worked well for this project, but in the future, I can discipline myself to edit more strenuously without re-typing everything.

Process

I just posted this on F-W, and I think it describes a part of my writing process pretty well:

Personally, I don't think my characters so much have a mind of their own as I do a lot of my thinking (and this includes plot elements) on a subconscious level. There's threads moving under what I'm doing that my brain doesn't think the lowly pilot in the cognitive area actually needs to KNOW about. So when I realize this isn't fitting or I feel that a character "wants" to do something ... it isn't the character running amok so much as it's that second author surfacing and letting me know that I'm contradicting myself.

Thursday Thoughts

Since returning from Grandfather Mountain, I've written with new vigor, despite possibly / probably having picked up a case of strep throat down there. To some extent, my own darn fault for not packing more warmly, but you expect the temperature to stay somewhat up there in summer in the south - even in the mountains.

I received a challenge on f-w.org to write a story about a light that doesn't give off light and someone who can see in complete darkness. For this I decided to take a loose interpretation of "see" and borrow an old concept of a character who (despite being perfectly able to see) never used his sense of sight, rather relying on scent - sound - touch. And interdimensional lampposts serving as beacons to travelers. It really is just a bit too much for flash fiction, and I'm fairly sure I'll write a normal-length sequel once I finish my monthly challenge (different story).

Yep, F-W does provoke a lot of writing out of me.

With regards to Journal of the Dead, I've reached the second half of Ihseye's backstory. I really wonder if the spirit comes off as dislikeable and unreasonable - and realize that's all right. There are plenty of flaws to go around in this novel.

The current scene I'm in is the scene where the headman where Rhiane is now staying delineates the heart numbers of her spirits. I don't think numerology permeates the storyline in the way I would have liked it to, but this is a fantastic scene, exploring the diaphanous nature of numerology. Note to self: add some further numerical commentary later. (Ironic that I didn't get this into the editing notes.) Rhiane doesn't really believe in it, but it works nicely for flavor.

Scylla and Charybdis, the stage is still set in New Athens. I am trying my best to make this section roughly equivalent in length to the section in Eastwood. There's a sense of mirroring in that there are more or less three incidents here (as there), but it plays out with a different flow and build, so it should be reminiscent but not (hopefully) an obvious example of, "Oh, the author is trying to compare / contrast."

By the By ...

There were no Thursday thoughts last week because I was en route to Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina and had no internet access. Also, I did absolutely no writing (though some brainstorming!) until last night when I got home.

Gasp. Horror. But there's a good reason: I was judging the harp competition at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, and I was hoppin' the whole time.

Now it's back to the grind.

The Last Unicorn

What a lovely, wonderful, moving book.

Here there is also whimsy and child-like simplicity, and here it works, evolving from fairy tale into truth. There are passages that are simply beautiful - and make sense on a metaphorical, magical level even if they don't make sense on a literal level. It's an intriguing look at love, immortality and humanity. It manages to explore fairy-tale tropes, often with direct references, without feeling meta-fictional (at least, not for long) or losing its sense of reality.

Want my own copy.

(... library book, for those just tuned in. Did NOT steal it. ;-))

Speechless

The title of this post is the title of the story I just finished. Because I want to delve into the fantasy-writers.org monthly challenge (and hopefully another challenge) soon, I resolved to finish it, and did so yesterday ... well after 3am.

I knew the flashbacks would make it longer, but I wasn't aware how long that would be. The completed length of the story currently is about 8,600 words. It turned out that I used several points from my idea exercise, though I dropped a few. For instance, I had given my MC a necklace from an old lover she claimed was her daughter's father; in the story, I never used the necklace and the issue of the other half of her daughter's parentage is only brushed past.

I'm not totally sure of the strength of the story. I used vessels that trapped spirits could be placed into to be reborn - but how satisfying is it to be given a limited, artificial body? A reader has to believe this is worth doing, or the motive of the narrative begins to fall apart in multiple places.

One part I am very pleased with is that you don't discover until a third of the way through the story why, exactly, Nariv needs to reclaim her sword so desperately. The mystery falls into place through the flashbacks. I hope it creates dual lines of tension instead of diffusing it.

I continue to have a horrible time writing the last few paragraphs of a story. I'm never quite sure precisely where to break and how to finish on a sentence that creates a strong conclusion. I don't remember always having this problem; it seems to have developed. Maybe I'm more picky? Hope so, as the alternative is I'm getting worse ...

The Once and Future King

Yes, it took me this long to finish the next book in my classics review. I have been madly busy ... and it is a very thick book.

I remembered enjoying The Once and Future King more the first time I read it, many years ago. I'm not sure whether this is the blurring of time, or whether there is something in the book that spoke to me then that seems different now. There is a youthful (I hesitate to say childish) humor, a simplicity to the book that makes me feel removed from it now; the anachronisms were distracting, was as perhaps before, I simply accepted them. It's a thoughtful exploration, a satisfying take on ancient legend, but it just didn't hit me in the same spots.

(Now I really want to read the portions of the Mabinogion that reference Arthurian legend, having touched upon it in two retellings. Do this soon?)

I have The Last Unicorn left yet, and I hope to finish it before I depart to judge the harp competition. Considering this is NOT a 600+ page book, this might actually be doable.

Thursday Thoughts

It's July! When did that happen?

Scylla and Charybdis is exhibiting the behavior that makes novels so much fun to write - and why I'd never write events out of chronological order. I don't outline when I write a novel, but I do have a general sense of the flow, shape and some of the pieces which ought to come into play. Thus, I am always surprised and delighted when things just seem to flow naturally into the narrative that I didn't picture, fall outside those lines - but fit perfectly. Right now, I've got my main character asking for a lawyer in much the same uncertain fashion as someone squinting at the Sphinx going, "Ah, are you going to tell me a riddle before you eat me?"

I am pretty solidly convinced that I am writing science fiction like a fantasy writer, and it's not a bad thing. My sense of metaphor and description just lends itself to a very fantastic atmosphere. I am trying hard, however, to keep the science in line, as well as the science progress. For instance, I think it's not unreasonable that after centuries of having the successors of cell-phones and electronic money that some people might start having tendencies to retract from these conveniences. We haven't seen a lot of tech backlash in history yet, I think, because higher technology hasn't had sufficient time to endure to that point of exasperation.

Not much to say on Journal except that I think I need a way to speed up the rewrite. I'm not getting very far anyhow fast.

I need to finish my short story ASAP so I can a) edit the last two I completed + my intended next submission and b) start work on the fantasy-writers.org July challenge AND C) possibly be ready to write a shorter story for another on-site challenge. Not necessarily in that order.

It would be amazing if I could think of titles for either of the first two.