Surreality

...and I want to shamelessly promote it.

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...who adore juvenile fiction and quirky, wonderland-esque worlds, there is much rejoicing - for there is now The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, courtesy of the exquisite word-wielding Catherynne Valente, with chapters to appear on a weekly basis.

...which are posted considerably after said adventures have been completed, as I've been caught up with the whole, "Oooh, I'm here - quick, organize everything! Make those lists! Check things off them! Go, go, go!"

( And given the length of this story segment, it has been cleverly put behind the cut. )

And thus are the fantastical continental adventures of jalenstrix and thewronghands. Long live adventuring!

...which took place at the Hippodrome in Baltimore.

Walking in to such a place is like being in another century. The elaborate swirls, elegant lines, multitudinous curlicues - the sheer mass of articulated architecture is simply gorgeous. It reminds me of the feeling I had walking into St. Peter's in Rome - this sense of "Ah...". (Granted, St. Peter's is rather more about the majestic feel of the place. But it's that same sense of being transported.)

And the set designers for this production of Wicked were simply genius. I was enamored of the juxtaposition of the elaborate with the ephemeral to create these fantastical realms where the story takes place. And the colors, oh! Simply stunning. The same for the costumes - this wonderful blend of the Victorian and the modern cosmopolitan.

And, of course, to see the story played out, with the songs my choir will be singing come May - simply glorious! To see the flourishes added here and there, the clear, bright stretching of a note from now till forever, the golden harmonies - simply delightful.

And though I knew the story already, to find myself drawn in so much by it anyway - to want and to hope and to feel my throat grow tight with sorrow for these characters who I only see for so short a time...just brilliant. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

It's experiences like these that convince me the musical is a perfectly fabulous medium for Story.

...or How I Spent Saturday Night through Sunday Night.

( Fanciful Narration of Adventures Within )

...Charles de Lint short stories are so very lovely for me. I think it's really about the sense of the fantastic that they imbue ordinary circumstances with. All the short fiction of his that I've read lately has these almost-possible impossibilities happening in a city landscape. But it's not about cities (though real cities have their magic, of course) or about the particulars of the impossibilities themselves, really. It's about entertaining the notion of the unexpectedly magical, about finding the fantastic in the every day. And perhaps most importantly, about viewing the ordinary through the lens of But what if... until it becomes extraordinary.

...in ballroom dance competition and the motorway vortex of Dooooom (TM) that is New Jersey.

( Once upon a time... )

The last chapter of Storyteller is now up. I am pleased. The story is finished. There may well be other stories within this particular universe in the future, but this one is at an end.

Hurrah!

Yay, vacation writings.

...because it's been a rather creative weekend. Hurrah!

Title: Storyteller
Chapter: 14

Summary: It's fanfiction. Yes, fanfiction. Because the performance given by Jason Isaacs in the 2003 remake of Peter Pan was simply stunning and inspired me to go have fun with that universe.

Comments, suggestions, and critiques thoroughly appreciated (as always).

Hurrah! For I have finished enough writing to post chapter 13 of my creative writing thing.

Yes, it's fanfiction. Yes, it's based off the Peter Pan 2003 remake...because it was frickin' awesome. Especially the portrayal of Captain Hook.

Storyteller, Chapter 13

Comments, suggestions, critiques much appreciated.

So I've just finished reading Harry Potter 6, which I delayed getting until this weekend for reasons financial and work-load-y. What strikes me (besides the plot, which I quite like and think is well-done) is how much I approve of the writing style. There are images, yes, but not many. (The depiction of one of Harry's emotions, for instance, is amusingly visual, if seeming slightly out of place with the tone of the rest of the book for me.) It's written with the decisiveness of a children's book, really, of a fairy tale, of mythology. You get details, yes, but not the flamboyant verbosity of Anne Rice, say. Orson Scott Card has this flavor for me, as well - the fairy tale bone structure, with whatever flesh (science fiction, fantasy, etc.) the author feels like adding for plot.

I've noticed, as well, that whatever author I'm reading at the moment comes out in my Storyteller writings. I wrote a section of chapter thirteen last night, and it had those same, tell-tale fairy tale elements. This contrasts with the section of chapter ten I wrote while reading Anne Rice (the ballroom scene), which has far more fun with imagery than actual plot for a good chunk. I imagine this is why a writer reads other writers' works, of course - to learn what feels good story-writing wise, what moves, and what is off-putting.

Or at least, this is what I tell myself when I procrastinate on my creative writing by reading (or re-reading) a particularly good fantasy/sci-fi novel.