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The mask and the mirror: Otherness and fantasy literature
Take some elves, dragons, dwarves, hobgoblins, orcs, fairies, gnomes… (ad nauseum; lather, rinse, repeat) and add a protagonist, a wizard, and a magic weapon then voila: you have a fantasy novel. Other races, other peoples–especially those living in other worlds–typify, for many readers anyway, the very heart of fantasy literature. We want maps, cultures, civilizations, religions, and the oh-so-obvious dichotomies of good and evil. It’s comfortable, from a reader’s perspective, to fall into a world that is familiarly different–not uncomfortably so. The best-selling fantasy series of all time most often adhere into this very pattern. While some “classic” fantasy has fallen out of fashion as far as working writers are…
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Sitting on the curb of the empty parking lot of the store where they let me play the organ…
Central North Carolina wants to be the coast of Britain. Good lord, it has not stopped raining since I landed in RDU last Wednesday. Coupled with the fact that my husband Michael has been away on business all weekend, and my two-year-old has not been outdoors at all since Friday… yes, excitement all around. Writing has been not exactly scarce, but a little scattered. Since I left a week and a half ago, I managed around 10,000 words, which isn’t bad. I’m not precisely sure where the words came from, but I know what Scrivener says, and I have a tendency to believe it rather than my own feelings of…
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Tweeting in the Writing World
For years I had the hardest time writing. It wasn’t that I didn’t have ideas, or inspiration, or even time. As many point out, novel writing isn’t something you have to be unemployed or financed to do. A little bit, every day, adds up very quickly. I started a blog when I finished the first draft of my novel with the assumption that if I had some method of accountability other than myself, I would produce more work. I started podcasting the drafts, asking for feedback from listeners. And it sort of helped. But not really. I was still dawdling editing my draft, still extremely undisciplined and totally erratic. I…
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A Tuesday short story WIP excerpt
But Alice was practically obsessed with exposing the truth and making a name for herself as a journalist, one who plunged into the deepest, darkest corners of the city to expose the maggot-ridden underbelly. She would grab opportunity by the scrotum, and direct it where she wanted to go, never relenting in her pursuit of cold, hard, facts. Of course, first she’d write a few fluff pieces, just to get the papers interested in her work, but then she’d go for the jugular. The instruction card was hand-written, and stamped with a government-issued seal of authenticity. Alice turned it over again in her hands and read the opening paragraph: Congratulations…
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On a hobbity note.
Two days ago I clicked on one of agent Colleen Lindsay’s blog posts, mentioning opinions on Tolkien. I read, and ended up entrenched in a rather heated debate stemming from an essay by Richard K. Morgan. After two really long posts, and kind of working myself up about this, I came to a few conclusions. If you’ve read either of my blogs, you know I often cite Tolkien as an influence–lots of fantasy writers do that. It’s a common link for a lot of us, and I find that I climg more to the texts since the movies (not that I don’t love the movies). So, in a nutshell, here’s…
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Medieval and medievalesque armor @DRB
Medieval suits of armor. – Beautiful, beautiful! I have an unabashed love of suits of armor, which is helpful considering my current project is Arthurian. And although, as is pointed out in the comments, not every single one of these is authentic medieval, they are still one barrel of eye candy. The artistry, regardless of the provenance, is really astounding. What a fun thing to wake up to!
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TV Review: Legend of the Seeker
Let’s clear something up first. I’m not an avid TV watcher. I don’t stake out stations like I used to, planning my evenings around programming. When I watch a show, it’s usually on DVD and most likely cancelled–a la Firefly–or on its way out, like Battlestar Galactica. And my route to the show usually involves someone, like in the case of Lost, insisting to me that this MUST BE SEEN. Because of this filter of friends and a distance from commercial interruption, I think I tend to hit right most of the time. Except with Heroes. What has been seen cannot be unseen. So, it was through the casual mention…
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Living with a writer.
I sometimes wonder what it’s like dealing with me. I mean, being a writer and immersing yourself in imaginary and weird worlds (and sometimes… universes, omniverses, and fractalverses) is by no stretch a “normal” thing to do. My kid, sure, he’s two, and he probably thinks what I do is normal. But how do I explain to him what’s going on in my head? So, in a nod to my husband for putting up with me, here’s some things you might notice if you live with a writer: Incoherent mumbling. This is usually reserved for writers in the process of thinking a novel out. You may hear quips of dialogues,…
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Your Twitter friends
Ah, the wonderful world of Twitter. For the last year or so, I’ve found myself addicted, obsessed, and entertained by this new media darling. But over this time, I’ve also noticed some patterns emerging, and bordering on hilarity. Of course, nothing should be inferred or implied. Any similarity to those living or dead (save for @wilw!) is entirely coincidental. And rest assured, I’m guilty of quite a few of these myself. — The TMIer – This person seemed normal, and you like making new, interesting friends. But a few days into following their feed, and you now know more about their bodily functions and various diseases than you do about…
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A quick word from our sponsors.
Well, hello there. A quick first post. This is my new home on the web, intended to be a little more free-form than my other blog, which of course you can find over at The Aldersgate Cycle. What will you find here? Well, first and foremost this is a blog about writing. Secondly, it’s about being a geek. Thirdly, it’s about being a mom. So you might find quasi-feminist rants about the latest Pages interface design. Or Renaissance recipes. Or D&D discussions on how to balance family and gaming. Or quips of poetry or… well, you get the idea I daresay. If you’ve enjoyed my stuff at the AGC, stick…
