Hey friends! I feel like I can call you guys that a this point. And like any good (or bad) group of friends, I think it's time we talked about that road trip you've always wanted to have. You know the one; at the place you've never been, with the currency system you don't quite understand, and the people whose language you should've learned but never got around to it. But hey, at least you figured out how to ask for the bathroom and the check. And in the end, isn't that what really matters?
My point, and purpose of this post, is to talk about going outside your comfort zone. This might echo some ideas from the Origin Story post but this is more about doing your own thing rather than absorbing entertainment from forces that bank on your nostalgia.
When it comes to creating anything, like art for instance, western culture has a distinct need to do something innovative and original, the likes of which the world has never seen. And that's a great mentality to have however...
I don't mean to step on any dreams (including my own) but part of the reality we live in is that a ton of what we produce today can be traced back to some original rendition thought up long ago, in the before time. Whether it's stories or anything just as creative, it's been done before. But that's not a bad thing, in fact it's pretty impressive. For instance, I once met a girl in college who thought up something incredibly similar to Tron, and another classmate basically invented the Incredibles. Both of them had little to no exposure of the original ideas but thought up the framework all the same. It's like that kid that figures out advanced calculus at the age of five. Sure, we already figured it out but that kid is nothing short of a genius for doing what he did.
If you enter a writing class of some kind you'll more than likely hear the fact that every story has already been told before, we just keep spinning the angles to perceive something new inside it. Or we introduce it with different concepts and values so that our mindsets consider alternative themes or peoples. Some might argue that Snow White and Sleeping Beauty (the Disney versions) outline the same core concept: girl gets put to sleep by witch and is later revived by true love's kiss.
But in my mind, I find the Sleeping Beauty story more interesting because Maleficent comes alive in a way few other early Disney villains ever really accomplished. Even the live action adaption of Sleeping Beauty that came some odd years ago re-titled the film as simply "Maleficent." The writers, producers, and director likely found her presence in the story had the most profound nuance and ran with it.
And likewise, I implore any body wanting to create something even remotely new or innovative to consider going off the beaten path. And the best way to make the most out of that "road trip" is to prepare yourself by asking questions. Where am I going? How long will it take to get there? What needs to be brought and what needs to be left behind? If you're going out of your comfort zone to push some new boundary, make the most of it. Or if you've got in you, create an entirely new comfort zone from scratch.
You can still take inspiration from what's tried and true, because like I say about my stories; they aren't going anywhere. And speaking of my stories (yes, we're at that part now) I want to share with you, a fairy tale I tried to imagine all by my lonesome. About halfway through the original draft, I discovered I accidentally created the framework for a story that was already a classic film. I'll let you guys guess what it is but I hope you enjoy my attempt to go off the beaten path.
Fabled Youth
Hey folks, welcome back, I hoped you enjoyed the read! Like always, if you want to come back to it, that link isn't going anywhere. Alright, last chance to guess what story I accidentally stumbled upon. Got your vote? Great! It's Wizard of Oz. Now I've seen the Wizard of Oz but unlike my other stories, I didn't intend to adapt the story. To be fair, that was in my original version and I've since scrapped that idea to the background of how our cast of characters initially met. North is the equivalent of Dorothy in some ways and he recruits the other seasonal spirits to accompany him in meeting the infamous Dr. Carrier (Oz).
I've since wanted to take the story in bolder directions so they sync up with a coming of age story. In order to really make this distinct, I wanted to answer questions about the collective fairy tale world I've built up. I wanted there to be a fairy tale government so that it could explain how these beings co-exist or how they resist co-existing.
And like North, I wanted to understand what it would take to question the status quo of being a young and bloodied fairy tale character. He wants to take responsibility for his own story but in doing so he is forced to confront the traditional composition of his friends. They're four friends (I use the term loosely on Seth's account) who have banded together because it seems natural. They're the four seasons after all; who better to understand each other then themselves?
Rather than seek a new "wizard" that can take them under their wing, North desires an alternative path. However, doing so requires that he parts from his closest friends and go on a journey of his own. It's not one of his own making but it's one he is called upon to do as part of the deal. North's motivations don't change; he wants a safe place (there's no place like home) for himself and others but indirectly does so through the government.
The obstacles in front of him aren't a wicked witch with flying monkeys but are instead the systematic failings of magical departments. Rather than simply accept his adult reality, North learns to work within the system to get what he wants. This is what I'm talking about when I say we should be asking ourselves questions. If we want to go to new places, we have to flesh them out. If my characters turn right at a fork, I have to know where both roads go. I have to know who built the road and is the road old and rickety. I have to know if the characters would prefer left or right and what that says about them.
It's a lot of work, trust me I know, but it's gotta get done if you want to have your road trip (real or imagined). And ultimately it allowed me to tell a story that the Wizard of Oz didn't. If I can stress anything, it's that amazing things can happen if you spend time exploring someplace new with different people who have different desires. And if at the end of it all, you discover that it wasn't all that different after all, then I consider that an even more important milestone. The merit of a profound thinker is one who considers their opposing argument in a fair context.
Of all the stories out there, thanks for reading mine for however long it took you. If you like what you've heard, follow my blog! If you've got that dream location you've always wanted to visit or if you've accidentally invented the next Big Hero 6 please don't hesitate to post that beautiful comment. We've still got eight more posts like this one (and maybe a special post thrown in here and there) so I hope to see you there!
- Pygmalion
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Monday, May 23, 2016
Cry Havoc and Rage/ Harrowed Hood
Hey folks, long time no post. After some time spent doing adult stuff, I've finally managed to work up another topic on my twelve part series. Just a quick note that with today's short story, I felt the need to rewrite it from the ground up from an earlier adaptation I had written for a college course a year or two ago. It had some good ideas that I've still implemented but I wanted bring something fresh to the table on this topic and not just something I edited like crazy (I had some help doing that this time as well, don't worry).
But onto the main event! Today's topic is about: Violence. And I'm talking about violence as it relates to a form of expression in media and literature. In fact, this post was partially inspired by a YouTube video from one of my favorite channels; Extra Credit. They do really good work so I'll leave a link below to check out the episode in question.
Extra Credit - Hatred
Now, I'm not here as a concerned citizen saying we need to control or censor the amount of violence in the general media or what our younger generations absorbs. As a writer and as someone who's seen a graphic amount of violent depictions in art, I want to talk about the value of expressing what we commonly know as frustration or rage.
There are all kinds of emotion people tap into when we go about our daily lives. Sometimes we listen to soothing music to fall asleep, sometimes we need the coach to get in our face and pump us up, and sometimes we need to think of our happiest memories if we really wanna fly or ward off those unsavory Dementors.
As a writer, I see it as my job to understand where these emotions come from and how to best represent them while also seeming authentic. However, there's been a long standing public decry of letting the community, especially younger generations, receive some of the harsher, grittier facets of human existence.
Now, I'm not saying we should shove our kids in front of a screaming monitor so they have a fuller understanding of what it means to be human... I mean, I'm not saying it like that at least.
I've always been of the mind that no matter how you feel, you're entitled to that emotion, whatever the cause. The actions you perform in reaction to those emotions are a different story. But as humans we all, for the most part, constantly feel things. What good does it do to not shed a tear if we feel sad, or blush if we're embarrassed, or yell if we feel angry? We'd be denying ourselves the right to expression and thereby, doing nothing instead. And doing nothing is boring as well as unhealthy.
When I write about a frustrating scenario, I'm not just putting the characters in that position, I'm presenting the audience with something to consider. Maybe they'll feel the same; betrayed, annoyed, even vengeful. But these moments aren't necessarily valuable in their own right. During my college writing classes, I studied the finer points of creating realistic and gripping conflict. Conflict is exciting and drives events onward when done correctly.
But it doesn't end there. Conflict traditionally exists in stories so it can be hopefully resolved at some point. In real life, constant conflict is unrealistic and exhausting. It also needs to be resolved to find closure in some capacity. Hundreds of stories start with ongoing and deafening conflicts that threaten to do nothing but destroy. And that's where the incentive to read comes in. We don't want to see that happen.
We don't want Helen of Troy to be the face that launched a thousand ships to their deaths, we don't want to see Captain America: Civil War end with the death of a cherished friend. We don't want Red Riding Hood or her sweet grandma to get eaten by the wolf. And that's my transition if you didn't catch it.
Red Riding Hood is the story of this post and I chose it because at it's heart, Red's story has always been about lurking danger and the perils of being exposed to the darker side of human nature. It's just under twenty-five pages long and I hope you guys enjoy my contemporary take on Red Riding Hood if she lived in a more familiar environment where things have been bad for a very, very long time.
Harrowed Hood
Alright, welcome back. I hope you enjoyed yourself or at least found something worth thinking about. If you didn't get around to reading it but are here anyways, don't worry, that link isn't going anywhere.
So let's play catch up for a second; we did a fair amount of role reversal for this piece. Rose Red is our main character and she's on her way to see grandma... in the middle of the night in an urban neighborhood. We have our big bad wolf in form of a local cop and before we fly off the handle; Brandon Wolfe as a character is meant to represent himself and only himself. But, on the other hand, we do have very real examples of what it's like when individuals with authority abuse their power. The implication is that there varying kinds of danger out there but our big, bad wolf isn't so bad when you get to know him.
In fact, he looks out for Red during the story and offers harsh advice to go back home and avoid danger. He warns of a malcontent woodsman who in many classic versions of the tale, ends up gutting the wolf to save Red Riding Hood. But in this festering timeline where things have gone on for too long, the Woodsman is tired of things never changing. He decides to take fate into his own hands and vent his frustration onto others.
And Granny isn't so sweet and innocent; she's a business woman with some work on the side. People keep secrets, start and end arguments, kill time so they don't die of boredom or anything else when things are at their worst. Sometimes it's a joke and sometimes it's not. The point is, this is a world where bad things happen and people deal with them. Rose Red wants to get out but is grasping at straws so she doesn't end up like everyone else. But sometimes you have to accept the bad if you ever want things to get good.
I'm not a fan of binary morality but understanding the bad of life helps you contextualize the good. Every negative experience I've ever had has helped me resolve new ones or helped me appreciate when something sincerely good happens. There's a saying I adopted, "real art comes from pain." Pain is real, pain is specific, it makes you want something good, makes you want to reexamine what it means to feel angry, or sad, or happy. If I didn't feel rage or yell once in a while, I wouldn't be able to laugh about it later.
And the same goes for our Rose Red. If she ever wants to know what or who is in that pendant, she has to accept that change is sometimes violent. That sometimes, in order to really understand who you are and where you come from, you have to look at the whole bloody and beat up pulp of a picture. Violence is part of our lives and while it isn't always pretty, it can help us channel a wider array of emotions and help us understand why we feel at all.
I hope you guys enjoyed this rather late blog post compared to the first ones but my fourth piece is nearly complete and deals with some coming of age concepts I wanted to play around with. It'll also be the first fairy tale I haven't adapted, it's something I dreamed up all by my lonesome but with a funny story I'll save for when we get there.
As always, thanks for dropping by and spending some time with a writer who felt like sharing! If you've got a favorite show, movie, video game, or book that you think tackles violence in way that makes you think, share in the comments below!
- Pygmalion
But onto the main event! Today's topic is about: Violence. And I'm talking about violence as it relates to a form of expression in media and literature. In fact, this post was partially inspired by a YouTube video from one of my favorite channels; Extra Credit. They do really good work so I'll leave a link below to check out the episode in question.
Extra Credit - Hatred
Now, I'm not here as a concerned citizen saying we need to control or censor the amount of violence in the general media or what our younger generations absorbs. As a writer and as someone who's seen a graphic amount of violent depictions in art, I want to talk about the value of expressing what we commonly know as frustration or rage.
There are all kinds of emotion people tap into when we go about our daily lives. Sometimes we listen to soothing music to fall asleep, sometimes we need the coach to get in our face and pump us up, and sometimes we need to think of our happiest memories if we really wanna fly or ward off those unsavory Dementors.
As a writer, I see it as my job to understand where these emotions come from and how to best represent them while also seeming authentic. However, there's been a long standing public decry of letting the community, especially younger generations, receive some of the harsher, grittier facets of human existence.
Now, I'm not saying we should shove our kids in front of a screaming monitor so they have a fuller understanding of what it means to be human... I mean, I'm not saying it like that at least.
I've always been of the mind that no matter how you feel, you're entitled to that emotion, whatever the cause. The actions you perform in reaction to those emotions are a different story. But as humans we all, for the most part, constantly feel things. What good does it do to not shed a tear if we feel sad, or blush if we're embarrassed, or yell if we feel angry? We'd be denying ourselves the right to expression and thereby, doing nothing instead. And doing nothing is boring as well as unhealthy.
When I write about a frustrating scenario, I'm not just putting the characters in that position, I'm presenting the audience with something to consider. Maybe they'll feel the same; betrayed, annoyed, even vengeful. But these moments aren't necessarily valuable in their own right. During my college writing classes, I studied the finer points of creating realistic and gripping conflict. Conflict is exciting and drives events onward when done correctly.
But it doesn't end there. Conflict traditionally exists in stories so it can be hopefully resolved at some point. In real life, constant conflict is unrealistic and exhausting. It also needs to be resolved to find closure in some capacity. Hundreds of stories start with ongoing and deafening conflicts that threaten to do nothing but destroy. And that's where the incentive to read comes in. We don't want to see that happen.
We don't want Helen of Troy to be the face that launched a thousand ships to their deaths, we don't want to see Captain America: Civil War end with the death of a cherished friend. We don't want Red Riding Hood or her sweet grandma to get eaten by the wolf. And that's my transition if you didn't catch it.
Red Riding Hood is the story of this post and I chose it because at it's heart, Red's story has always been about lurking danger and the perils of being exposed to the darker side of human nature. It's just under twenty-five pages long and I hope you guys enjoy my contemporary take on Red Riding Hood if she lived in a more familiar environment where things have been bad for a very, very long time.
Harrowed Hood
Alright, welcome back. I hope you enjoyed yourself or at least found something worth thinking about. If you didn't get around to reading it but are here anyways, don't worry, that link isn't going anywhere.
So let's play catch up for a second; we did a fair amount of role reversal for this piece. Rose Red is our main character and she's on her way to see grandma... in the middle of the night in an urban neighborhood. We have our big bad wolf in form of a local cop and before we fly off the handle; Brandon Wolfe as a character is meant to represent himself and only himself. But, on the other hand, we do have very real examples of what it's like when individuals with authority abuse their power. The implication is that there varying kinds of danger out there but our big, bad wolf isn't so bad when you get to know him.
In fact, he looks out for Red during the story and offers harsh advice to go back home and avoid danger. He warns of a malcontent woodsman who in many classic versions of the tale, ends up gutting the wolf to save Red Riding Hood. But in this festering timeline where things have gone on for too long, the Woodsman is tired of things never changing. He decides to take fate into his own hands and vent his frustration onto others.
And Granny isn't so sweet and innocent; she's a business woman with some work on the side. People keep secrets, start and end arguments, kill time so they don't die of boredom or anything else when things are at their worst. Sometimes it's a joke and sometimes it's not. The point is, this is a world where bad things happen and people deal with them. Rose Red wants to get out but is grasping at straws so she doesn't end up like everyone else. But sometimes you have to accept the bad if you ever want things to get good.
I'm not a fan of binary morality but understanding the bad of life helps you contextualize the good. Every negative experience I've ever had has helped me resolve new ones or helped me appreciate when something sincerely good happens. There's a saying I adopted, "real art comes from pain." Pain is real, pain is specific, it makes you want something good, makes you want to reexamine what it means to feel angry, or sad, or happy. If I didn't feel rage or yell once in a while, I wouldn't be able to laugh about it later.
And the same goes for our Rose Red. If she ever wants to know what or who is in that pendant, she has to accept that change is sometimes violent. That sometimes, in order to really understand who you are and where you come from, you have to look at the whole bloody and beat up pulp of a picture. Violence is part of our lives and while it isn't always pretty, it can help us channel a wider array of emotions and help us understand why we feel at all.
I hope you guys enjoyed this rather late blog post compared to the first ones but my fourth piece is nearly complete and deals with some coming of age concepts I wanted to play around with. It'll also be the first fairy tale I haven't adapted, it's something I dreamed up all by my lonesome but with a funny story I'll save for when we get there.
As always, thanks for dropping by and spending some time with a writer who felt like sharing! If you've got a favorite show, movie, video game, or book that you think tackles violence in way that makes you think, share in the comments below!
- Pygmalion
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Seducing the Audience/ Tale of the Dead Night
Alright, now that I have your attention with all this talk of seduction, I think it's time we flirted with the idea of romanticizing the idea of romance. Stories have always been way of relating ideas and thoughts to one another and most of us would be lying if we said we didn't think about how we connect to others on more intimate levels.
As sappy as it can be, there are a lot of people who love the notion of intimacy and its presentation in the world of literature. And there are some of us who have been around the block enough times to know a bad love story when we see one. So today, I want to talk about romantic stories and how our preconceived notions allow us to examine, not just romance but the idea of intimacy. After all, reading someone's work is in itself a very intimate act.
Whenever I talk about being a writer with people I'm just getting know, the subject always comes up of what kind of things have I written so far. And of course, sometimes they go so far as to ask if they can read any of it. Now let me be clear about something; I encourage everyone to take an interest in your friend's passions to the point of getting them to go public to some degree with their enthusiasm. Sharing is caring after all and what kind of writer would I be if I didn't let people read my work at some point? I'd be a writer without an audience for one thing, and that's not nearly as fun as someone taking an interest in what you're doing. In stories, the audience is always as fascinating to discover as the person narrating the story.
But at the end of the day, I honestly can't help but get a little coy when someone wants to read my innermost thoughts. To me, it's just too intimate an act to share such early drafts of my work. Maybe it's the perfectionist in me (who only shows up with my hobbies) or maybe it's the introvert in me, or maybe it's the romantic in me who only wants to share how he feels with that special someone.
I know what you're thinking, "But don't you write mostly fiction? How can something made up be an accurate indication of who you are as a person?" The answer to the first question is; yes I do, dear reader, I love making up things all the time. But that doesn't mean those made up ideas don't reflect something about me in the long run. My high school (Go Hawks!) English teacher once told me that everything I would ever write would in some way be, autobiographical. And in a way she was right but you're also right dear reader (Go You!). What I write doesn't necessarily say something about me but authorial intent has always been a popular and demanding portion of every literary review course. I think I speak for a lot of my still in high school friends when I say, "Sometimes the curtains are just freaking blue, that's it, nothing deep here!"
If you haven't already, I'd recommend looking up the book/play, Sex with Strangers (By Laura Eason). She has a fascinating preface that talks about what it's like to share yourself with another person with regards to intellectual intimacy. One of her two characters, Olivia, straight up turns down a chance for someone to read her new novel even though they've just had sex. For me, that really nailed how I've always felt about my writing; it's something special that, good or bad, will always feel like it's a part of me that I'm giving away.
I've recently shared a lot of my work with a really close friend of mine, and honestly, it's a thrilling feeling. She usually has pretty flattering things to say about my stuff but I had to trust her enough to get to that point. And now it's kind of like she's in my head to some degree and that's insanely cool! It was getting pretty quiet up there anyways.
But the relationship a writer has with his/her reader is a tenuous one at best. You shouldn't try to please them all the time but you should be thinking about them when you're writing. In a good mystery, you want to trust your reader is smart enough to figure out all the clues. But you also don't want to give away the mystery before the big climax. I've said it before but its worth repeating; communication is key. A good relationship is based on good communication and you've got to have a fun amount of give and take to keep things engaging.
I have long had a strict rule of thumb when it comes to writing romances. My rule is; I need to make sure the reader wants it to happen long before the romance actually comes to fruition. Like a good horror story; it's about building suspense and like a good mystery; it's also about letting the reader fill in some of the gaps.
If I can make it so the audience desperately wants two characters to be together and time it so perfectly that they end up in each other's arms right when you can't take it anymore, I've succeeded in telling you the first half of a good love story. Because at that point, you as the reader have thought over whether or not these two people should be together and whether or not they can make it. You're making judgments like you would in a real life situation and in an instant you've just found yourself relating to a fictional story.
I know what I'm about to say may sound like beating a dead horse but unfortunately it's my go to example of a love story that could've been so much better in the long run. The Twilight Saga (By Stephanie Meyer) is something that in a lot of ways, lost some real chances for people to relate to a contemporary love story. One of the biggest mistakes Twilight made, in my opinion, was that the first novel was too fueled by a bizarre and somehow instant attraction that didn't feel the need to explain itself.
A vampire comes out of nowhere to meet a lonely Bella Swan and I'm supposed to just believe they've fallen in love within the first half of the movie on the simple basis that he's a vampire and she's... interesting? Bella's most fascinating quality is that other vampire's powers don't work on her and it's hardly ever explained why to a satisfactory degree (in the first novel at least). If you can't explain why two people need to desperately be together, then you're going to have trouble making me believe in the relationship's authenticity.
Show me some attractive qualities that complement the characters and why they enjoy or are otherwise thrown off by those qualities in each other. The first movie just didn't do much to build up the suspense between them. The fact that Edward was a vampire was always more fascinating than his attraction to her and the plot used that as a good enough reason to say he's boyfriend material. Likewise, Bella was "different" from other humans and that's enough to start them on their adventure.
Now, I know they become more nuanced and believable (in some respects) in the later films and books but that's a sloppy way of handling the first half of a love story. I myself have tackled the nuances of romance stories and I'm going to admit; it's by no means easy to produce and make believable. With that being said, I would like to present you, dear reader, with my own short story romance. Since I've said my piece about Twilight, I think it's only fair to see if I've done it any better or worse. And before you ask; yes my story has vampires, and yes I was quite embarrassed that I had accidentally tricked myself into making this kind of story.
But as I provide you with the link to the story, let me say one thing first. When I wrote this, I meant for it to be a story about getting rid of old preconceptions, understanding self-worth, and independence. The romance angle was always secondary to that intention. My door is always open to feedback!
Tale of the Dead Night
Okay, did you read it? See, it wasn't all that scary now was it? If you didn't have time for these 19 pages, no worries, I'll be analyzing it down below and if you like what you hear, that link isn't going anywhere.
So, in my version I've made some changes to the vampire formula we just worked with. The human character is a young man named Gale who was also a former slave of some kind. I've left the era (setting) intentionally vague so it could very well take place hundreds of years ago or in some modern, isolated part of the world that still has slavery. The vampire seductress, Celine, is in charge of her own court where other vampires commune and talk politics. Notice, however, that I never once used the word "Vampire" in the story. If this is a story about preconceptions than I didn't want to color your perception of what "a vampire should be." Take that as you will.
Gale is given an opportunity to be Celine's right hand man because the position is currently vacant. The position is given to humans so that their loyalties aren't ruined before they actually become vampires; makes sense? Like the Cullen family, Celine herself is a omnivore of a vampire (in that she prefers to take animal blood rather than indulge too often in human blood). She's also quite odd in some respects, she enjoys teasing and playing with other people's expectations for her own amusement. She is extremely beautiful and is almost always presenting herself as a seductress (its important to remember that vampire myths have always made them appear as tempting figures of sexual freedom).
As a former slave, Gale never really exerts a will of his own unless Celine asks him to. She encourages him to be more assertive because she sees some potential in him. Celine also lets down her guard more as Gale proves more and more loyal. They flirt but it's never more than playful banter between them.
Like Edward in Twilight, Celine starts delaying Gale's transformation into a vampire but she never says why until near the end. Celine hates courtly life and prefers the more casual side of immortality. In fact, Celine often engages in dangerous activities in order to feel more alive. In this story, sunlight affects vampires by making them more human; they become physically weaker, mentally uninhibited, and more emotionally vulnerable. Celine does this so she can level the playing field between herself and Gale and make them equals. She trusts him while she's vulnerable and indulges in being more like him because she admires his patient mortality.
Gale likewise understands that he feels more liberated with Celine's presence and wants to be more like her and retain their friendship. They're both aware of the tension between them but always acknowledge it. The ending then becomes, not about if they love each other, but about trusting each other. It's about having enough independence and confidence to trust your life with people you normally wouldn't trust. Gale transforms into a vampire at the very end but only because he lets Celine decide for him. They've never claimed to be in love but maybe they need each other beyond that. Maybe that's why Celine ultimately changed him. Maybe he'll become Dracula! Who knows? That's the question behind the second half of a good love story; can they make it?
I admit I was worried about writing this story all in one day, but once it was done, I couldn't deny that I touched upon at least one great truth; you can't write a story about intimacy between two people without understanding where they're both coming from. When it comes to romance, when it comes to reading/writing in general, there's an inherent relationship that has to be fleshed out, interwoven, and built upon so that you can get a more fulfilling product. Stories are intimate things and we use them to relate our thoughts, dreams, and desires. You shouldn't judge one by it's cover without at least looking across the binding, the thing that keeps it together.
Of all the stories out there, thanks for reading mine for however long it took you. If you like what you've heard, follow my blog! We've still got ten more posts like this one (and maybe a special post thrown in here and there) so I hope to see you there! If you've got a book, film, or play that pulls at your heartstrings the right way, post it down in the comments below along with any lingering thoughts! Thanks for stopping by folks!
- Pygmalion
As sappy as it can be, there are a lot of people who love the notion of intimacy and its presentation in the world of literature. And there are some of us who have been around the block enough times to know a bad love story when we see one. So today, I want to talk about romantic stories and how our preconceived notions allow us to examine, not just romance but the idea of intimacy. After all, reading someone's work is in itself a very intimate act.
Whenever I talk about being a writer with people I'm just getting know, the subject always comes up of what kind of things have I written so far. And of course, sometimes they go so far as to ask if they can read any of it. Now let me be clear about something; I encourage everyone to take an interest in your friend's passions to the point of getting them to go public to some degree with their enthusiasm. Sharing is caring after all and what kind of writer would I be if I didn't let people read my work at some point? I'd be a writer without an audience for one thing, and that's not nearly as fun as someone taking an interest in what you're doing. In stories, the audience is always as fascinating to discover as the person narrating the story.
But at the end of the day, I honestly can't help but get a little coy when someone wants to read my innermost thoughts. To me, it's just too intimate an act to share such early drafts of my work. Maybe it's the perfectionist in me (who only shows up with my hobbies) or maybe it's the introvert in me, or maybe it's the romantic in me who only wants to share how he feels with that special someone.
I know what you're thinking, "But don't you write mostly fiction? How can something made up be an accurate indication of who you are as a person?" The answer to the first question is; yes I do, dear reader, I love making up things all the time. But that doesn't mean those made up ideas don't reflect something about me in the long run. My high school (Go Hawks!) English teacher once told me that everything I would ever write would in some way be, autobiographical. And in a way she was right but you're also right dear reader (Go You!). What I write doesn't necessarily say something about me but authorial intent has always been a popular and demanding portion of every literary review course. I think I speak for a lot of my still in high school friends when I say, "Sometimes the curtains are just freaking blue, that's it, nothing deep here!"
If you haven't already, I'd recommend looking up the book/play, Sex with Strangers (By Laura Eason). She has a fascinating preface that talks about what it's like to share yourself with another person with regards to intellectual intimacy. One of her two characters, Olivia, straight up turns down a chance for someone to read her new novel even though they've just had sex. For me, that really nailed how I've always felt about my writing; it's something special that, good or bad, will always feel like it's a part of me that I'm giving away.
I've recently shared a lot of my work with a really close friend of mine, and honestly, it's a thrilling feeling. She usually has pretty flattering things to say about my stuff but I had to trust her enough to get to that point. And now it's kind of like she's in my head to some degree and that's insanely cool! It was getting pretty quiet up there anyways.
But the relationship a writer has with his/her reader is a tenuous one at best. You shouldn't try to please them all the time but you should be thinking about them when you're writing. In a good mystery, you want to trust your reader is smart enough to figure out all the clues. But you also don't want to give away the mystery before the big climax. I've said it before but its worth repeating; communication is key. A good relationship is based on good communication and you've got to have a fun amount of give and take to keep things engaging.
I have long had a strict rule of thumb when it comes to writing romances. My rule is; I need to make sure the reader wants it to happen long before the romance actually comes to fruition. Like a good horror story; it's about building suspense and like a good mystery; it's also about letting the reader fill in some of the gaps.
If I can make it so the audience desperately wants two characters to be together and time it so perfectly that they end up in each other's arms right when you can't take it anymore, I've succeeded in telling you the first half of a good love story. Because at that point, you as the reader have thought over whether or not these two people should be together and whether or not they can make it. You're making judgments like you would in a real life situation and in an instant you've just found yourself relating to a fictional story.
I know what I'm about to say may sound like beating a dead horse but unfortunately it's my go to example of a love story that could've been so much better in the long run. The Twilight Saga (By Stephanie Meyer) is something that in a lot of ways, lost some real chances for people to relate to a contemporary love story. One of the biggest mistakes Twilight made, in my opinion, was that the first novel was too fueled by a bizarre and somehow instant attraction that didn't feel the need to explain itself.
A vampire comes out of nowhere to meet a lonely Bella Swan and I'm supposed to just believe they've fallen in love within the first half of the movie on the simple basis that he's a vampire and she's... interesting? Bella's most fascinating quality is that other vampire's powers don't work on her and it's hardly ever explained why to a satisfactory degree (in the first novel at least). If you can't explain why two people need to desperately be together, then you're going to have trouble making me believe in the relationship's authenticity.
Show me some attractive qualities that complement the characters and why they enjoy or are otherwise thrown off by those qualities in each other. The first movie just didn't do much to build up the suspense between them. The fact that Edward was a vampire was always more fascinating than his attraction to her and the plot used that as a good enough reason to say he's boyfriend material. Likewise, Bella was "different" from other humans and that's enough to start them on their adventure.
Now, I know they become more nuanced and believable (in some respects) in the later films and books but that's a sloppy way of handling the first half of a love story. I myself have tackled the nuances of romance stories and I'm going to admit; it's by no means easy to produce and make believable. With that being said, I would like to present you, dear reader, with my own short story romance. Since I've said my piece about Twilight, I think it's only fair to see if I've done it any better or worse. And before you ask; yes my story has vampires, and yes I was quite embarrassed that I had accidentally tricked myself into making this kind of story.
But as I provide you with the link to the story, let me say one thing first. When I wrote this, I meant for it to be a story about getting rid of old preconceptions, understanding self-worth, and independence. The romance angle was always secondary to that intention. My door is always open to feedback!
Tale of the Dead Night
Okay, did you read it? See, it wasn't all that scary now was it? If you didn't have time for these 19 pages, no worries, I'll be analyzing it down below and if you like what you hear, that link isn't going anywhere.
So, in my version I've made some changes to the vampire formula we just worked with. The human character is a young man named Gale who was also a former slave of some kind. I've left the era (setting) intentionally vague so it could very well take place hundreds of years ago or in some modern, isolated part of the world that still has slavery. The vampire seductress, Celine, is in charge of her own court where other vampires commune and talk politics. Notice, however, that I never once used the word "Vampire" in the story. If this is a story about preconceptions than I didn't want to color your perception of what "a vampire should be." Take that as you will.
Gale is given an opportunity to be Celine's right hand man because the position is currently vacant. The position is given to humans so that their loyalties aren't ruined before they actually become vampires; makes sense? Like the Cullen family, Celine herself is a omnivore of a vampire (in that she prefers to take animal blood rather than indulge too often in human blood). She's also quite odd in some respects, she enjoys teasing and playing with other people's expectations for her own amusement. She is extremely beautiful and is almost always presenting herself as a seductress (its important to remember that vampire myths have always made them appear as tempting figures of sexual freedom).
As a former slave, Gale never really exerts a will of his own unless Celine asks him to. She encourages him to be more assertive because she sees some potential in him. Celine also lets down her guard more as Gale proves more and more loyal. They flirt but it's never more than playful banter between them.
Like Edward in Twilight, Celine starts delaying Gale's transformation into a vampire but she never says why until near the end. Celine hates courtly life and prefers the more casual side of immortality. In fact, Celine often engages in dangerous activities in order to feel more alive. In this story, sunlight affects vampires by making them more human; they become physically weaker, mentally uninhibited, and more emotionally vulnerable. Celine does this so she can level the playing field between herself and Gale and make them equals. She trusts him while she's vulnerable and indulges in being more like him because she admires his patient mortality.
Gale likewise understands that he feels more liberated with Celine's presence and wants to be more like her and retain their friendship. They're both aware of the tension between them but always acknowledge it. The ending then becomes, not about if they love each other, but about trusting each other. It's about having enough independence and confidence to trust your life with people you normally wouldn't trust. Gale transforms into a vampire at the very end but only because he lets Celine decide for him. They've never claimed to be in love but maybe they need each other beyond that. Maybe that's why Celine ultimately changed him. Maybe he'll become Dracula! Who knows? That's the question behind the second half of a good love story; can they make it?
I admit I was worried about writing this story all in one day, but once it was done, I couldn't deny that I touched upon at least one great truth; you can't write a story about intimacy between two people without understanding where they're both coming from. When it comes to romance, when it comes to reading/writing in general, there's an inherent relationship that has to be fleshed out, interwoven, and built upon so that you can get a more fulfilling product. Stories are intimate things and we use them to relate our thoughts, dreams, and desires. You shouldn't judge one by it's cover without at least looking across the binding, the thing that keeps it together.
Of all the stories out there, thanks for reading mine for however long it took you. If you like what you've heard, follow my blog! We've still got ten more posts like this one (and maybe a special post thrown in here and there) so I hope to see you there! If you've got a book, film, or play that pulls at your heartstrings the right way, post it down in the comments below along with any lingering thoughts! Thanks for stopping by folks!
- Pygmalion
Saturday, March 12, 2016
The Origin Story/ Of Ever Old Stories
I think it's safe to say that as a society, we never really get tired of origin stories. Every year there's some new advertisement or trailer that's ready to showcase it's new spin or retelling of that extra special story you grew up with and decided to live your life by (I'm still waiting on Alpha to come along and turn me into the next power ranger. And yeah, I don't mind being the green one).
We see it all the time and sometimes we grumble about the new direction this new director or writer has decided to go in. But you know what? These reboots don't necessarily have to be such awful or contrived attempts at getting our attention. In fact, if it weren't for our friendly neighborhood necromancers resurrecting our favorite stories, it'd be a lot harder for us to translate why these stories touched us in the first place.
Some narratives have no doubt proven that they're able to stand the test of time; Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Homer's Odyssey, George Lucas' Star Wars, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Go over to YouTube and check out all of Marvel's new movies that they probably have scheduled for the next twenty years. Then, go over to Wikipedia and find out how many times those stories have already been told. Spider-man nearly had two separate trilogies over the course of two decades with different people involved with both iterations.
Now, without resorting to a debate over which entry is ultimately the better one (I've cast my ballot anonymously on this one) it can't be denied that audiences worldwide have simply been given two opportunities to get excited about their resident high flying, web slinging hero. Every hero and heroine has to start somewhere and as an audience, we love watching them make their heroic, or even clumsy climb towards their destiny.
If you're reading this then it might be safe to assume you've absorbed enough social media to know how industries love capitalizing on nostalgia. Most everyone can appreciate a compelling narrative that spoke to them at just the right moment in their lives. I'm sentimental enough to have a few of my own well guarded moments of inspiration. So trust me when I say I understand why it seems so important to appreciate something the first time we saw it. But trouble starts brewing when our own origin stories get in the way of someone else's.
Allowing new versions of our favorite narratives to poke their heads around the proverbial corner is great. For the older crowd, it'll drop us into two possible camps. There will be people who hate it and come to understand what captivated them the first time around and then there will be the people who love it and have their faith in humanity's story telling restored. And the younger crowd seeing this new version will get a reason to dig into the history of what made that kind of story even possible.
We won't always see eye to eye but that's why it's important to have a clear picture of what we're getting into when someone stands up and says, "I'm going to tell Peter Pan over again!" There's nothing wrong with that sentence but like any good relationship, communication is key. As a blooming and delicate flower of a writer myself, I've come to understand that as soon as you put your work in someone's arms, you're signing a contract. You've agreed to tell them a story, and they, in their blessed naivete, have agreed to read it. That comes with certain promises, even in fiction. If I tell a story about Captain America, it'd better well be about Captain America, or even a dimension about Captain America that hasn't been explored (I'm looking at all the people who ship Bucky and the Cap'; nice job guys).
Also, if you're going off the rails somewhat, you should be honest about that intention. After all, that's somebody's childhood in your hands, and it's quite delicate so handle with care. And if you're making so many changes and alterations that it barely looks like the original, you should really consider making it its own unique thing; loads of successful of stories have been developed like that.
Hey, remember that guy who stood up and said he wanted to retell Peter Pan? Well, that was me and I'll be honest, I wanted to take it in a new direction that I hadn't seen yet. Some of the names have changed, even the setting and direction of the plot in some ways. But for most part, I tried to make sure it was all still Peter Pan, albeit in a short story version. For the sake of the discussion I'm even going to link it just below so that we have our very own example of a reboot to examine and dissect. Take a second, put up your feet, and see if this version of Peter Pan does anything for your sensibilities.
Alright then, from here on out I'm just going to assume you've processed my literary work. If you have, thanks for reading! I'm always open to comments or critiques. If you haven't, no pressure. I'll fill in the blanks for you and if you like what you hear; that link isn't going anywhere.
So here we have an example of a rebooted children's story about childhood itself. Peter Pan has always been a playful and fascinating coming of age story mixed in with a more innocent version of Lord of the Flies. Now, what are some of the changes I've made? Well for one, we never actually get to see Neverland. That in it of itself, is a pretty big distinction given that its the primary setting of the original story. In this version, Wendy's character is an orphan as opposed to having a wealthy and overbearing family. Wendy's name is also changed, as well as Tinkerbell's and those are only two of the three main characters in this story (minus the Hook Easter egg).
In my defense, I only ever intended to make this a small isolated short story version of Peter Pan. But still, I could've had the story take place in Neverland and kept it just as short. The reason I made these changes are ultimately due to my whims as an author (which normally you'd never get to hear as the audience). But I'm here so I don't mind explaining my thoughts.
Despite being a more dismal setting and taking place over the course of one stormy night, many of the original elements are still in play; Wendy finds Peter at her window, Peter flies around and amazes her dreary existence, and the two bond (even lightly flirt) over the idea of growing up. Peter lacks maturity much like he usually does but he is able to translate some of the misgivings about his life through telling stories to Willow (Wendy). In fact, the subject of stories is vital to this short narrative.
Peter Pan has always celebrated the notion of freedom and our two central characters do that through the escapism of literature, something I think we can all relate to at some level. For Willow and Peter, stories represent a second mode of living that transcends the more dismal aspects of reality; being an outcast, growing up, the struggle of being loved. These are all elements that the original Peter Pan explored as well.
Ultimately, what we have is a version of Peter Pan that's more grounded in contemporary settings while trying to suggest that we don't have to leave home to feel at home. Basically, I've skipped the middle man (sorry Malcolm) and written only the beginning and end of Peter Pan. Wendy goes to Neverland, has her fun, and then goes home. Some other versions of Peter Pan suggest that Peter will also one day return to the real world and find a reason to grow up (Hook 1991).
Willow (Still Wendy, but now through the magic of symbolic imagery i.e. Autumn or turning over new leaves. Never underestimate the power of names, kids) ends up writing Peter's adventures in her book so that he'll be able to remember all the facets of his life; fun or otherwise. It implies the story of Peter Pan lives on despite actually ending differently. It's also open ended to the point where maybe Peter and Willow can have future adventures that parallel Neverland but in the real world.
Nothing about this story defeats our traditional viewing of Peter Pan. Rather, it adds another dimension for us to examine and inspect all the inner workings to see what really makes Peter Pan so fascinating. It still has the dynamic we all know and love but with a swerve that tries to get you thinking. That's what narratives are there for in the end; to get us immersed in a whole other world and let us understand where we might fit in. So long as we don't forget where these stories come from, I don't see the harm in telling some stories over again (Even that horrible movie adaption of The Last Airbender couldn't ruin my love for the original cartoon). I hope my writing has in some way smoothed over the idea of rewriting origin stories, because I'm going to be doing a fair amount of it in this blog to explore various literary techniques and concepts for as long as I can manage.
Of all the stories out there, thanks for reading mine for however long it took you. I plan for this to be the first of twelve posts where I examine a theme or focus of fairy tales and give you an example of my own work to see for yourself. If you like what you've read, follow my blog! And comment down below if you have a nostalgic narrative near and dear to your heart! See you next time folks and thanks for stopping by!
- Pygmalion
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