TCWT December 2014: Learning from the Masters

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a tale of two cities, blogging, brian jacques, c.s. lewis, charles dickens, dee henderson, fahrenheit 451, g.a. henty, irene hannon, j.r.r. tolkien, lord of the rings, madeleine l'engle, ray bradbury, redwall, sir arthur conan doyle, story dynamics, teens can write too blog chain, the silmarillion, writing

We’re back again!

I am so sorry, I’m posting this a day late. I had planned to schedule it, but… well, let’s just say that though I know better than to excuse myself to my instructors at college, you guys might actually forgive me if I say that work and college conspired to destroy ANY plans I had for this week. AT ALL. Also, late happy St. Nicholas’ Day and on time happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception!

I know it’s been a while since I posted for the Teens Can Write Too blog chain, but I had good excuses. Crazy college and a new job made me take a hiatus from blogging for a while. I kind-of almost want to change to a history major, but I’m going to hang on with what I have now–I figure that if I want a history degree later, I can get a history degree later by transferring credits and attending part-time. Besides, I don’t think you need a degree to go to history conventions and get in on that conversation. History people are awesome.

Well, that’s enough about that.

On to the prompt!

Over the years, I have learned a lot, mainly by following the example of other authors. Remember how there’s that annoying little thing where your writing tends to mimic the style of the last author you read? Well, that’s part of it. But only part of it.

From The Lord of the Rings and the Redwall series, I learned about style and pacing. In Redwall, the style is very concrete, and the pacing is quick; when you get to the crises of the books, it’s a hard-hitting series of events leading rapidly up to the climax. The Lord of the Rings is paced slower and has a bit more of an ornate style. I have had my style compared to Tolkien’s *glares at Iris, sitting in the audience*, but I tend to prefer Jacques’ pacing.

From Irene Hannon, Dee Henderson, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle I learned the value of not broadcasting your plot twists all over the place. Normally I have intuitions about whodunit, but in these cases I could not see the villain until he was right in my face. Genius.

From G.A. Henty, I learned that it’s okay to take detours. (Okay, Tolkien does that too, but I read Henty first.) Adding in side plots to prolong a quest+character development for side characters=an equation for 300 pages of a good read. (Don’t hate on me. 50k is all well and good, but I like books that are 150k or 200k, even. I read The Lord of the Rings in nine days straight and actually finished reading The Silmarillion.)

From A Tale of Two Cities, I learned the value of keeping up with history and using a cultural and historic background to my advantage. Realism is the name of the game, and while you’re simulating realism, it helps to be knowledgeable about the real history behind it.

From Fahrenheit 451 I learned the importance of keeping calm through criticism. (Don’t ask me how; that’s just the lesson I took away from it. I pick up on odd things sometimes.) I’m not used to being criticized in a negative light. If you’ve been reading my blog, and especially the comments on the posts, it’s only been once or twice that I haven’t received abject praise. I don’t know if that’s because I’m good at what I do or if I have a feel for what my audience likes or if they just can’t find anything to criticize. But it’s hard to be criticized since I’m so used to praise. I just have to find out what’s relevant, and not let the rest get to me.

From C.S. Lewis and Madeleine L’Engle, I learned that it’s okay to write the tough books, the ones that might get you hated on. You might be shocked to see how much criticism gets to me, even if you’ve known me forever, but I learned from reading Lewis’ and L’Engle’s works that you have to just kick fear in the teeth and write it. You’ll be surprised by how much support you garner.

You have to write the book that wants to be written, and if it’s too difficult for adults, write it for children. ~~ Madeleine L’Engle

5^th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/

6^th – http://nasrielsfanfics.wordpress.com/

7^th – https://erinkenobi2893.wordpress.com/

8^th – http://introspectioncreative.wordpress.com/

9^th – http://semilegacy.blogspot.com/

10^th – http://kirabudge.weebly.com/

11^th – http://whileishouldbedoingprecal.weebly.com/

12^th – http://randomosityofeden.wordpress.com/

13^th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/

14^th – http://www.alwaysopinionatedgirl.wordpress.com/

15^th – http://www.juliathewritergirl.wordpress.com/

16^th – http://miriamjoywrites.com/

17^th – http://horsfeathersblog.wordpress.com/

18^th – http://unironicallyexcited.wordpress.com/

19^th – http://theboardingblogger.wordpress.com/

20^th – http://stayandwatchthestars.wordpress.com/

21^st – http://unikkelyfe.wordpress.com/

22^nd – http://fantasiesofapockethuman.blogspot.com/

23^rd – http://lilyjenness.blogspot.com/

24^th – http://oliviarivers.wordpress.com/

25^th – [off-day]

26^th – http://butterfliesoftheimagination.wordpress.com/

27^th – http://missalexandrinabrant.wordpress.com/

28^th – http://www.pamelanicolewrites.com

29^th – http://jasperlindell.blogspot.com.au/

30^th – http://maralaurey.wordpress.com/ and http://theedfiles.blogspot.com/

31st – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ (We’ll announce the topic for next month’s chain.)

Oh, are you still here?

I apologize again for posting late. Don’t stick around here, though! Head right over to the next blog and don’t miss out on their post!

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

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Pirates and Writers and Bedsocks, Oh My!: The Sunshine Award

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a tale of two cities, arthur ransome, award, baroness emma orczy, bbc merlin, bbc sherlock, being christian, bible, blogging, brian jacques, c.s. lewis, castaways of the flying dutchman, catholic culture, charles dickens, christianity, college, doctor who, g.a. henty, humor, insanity, j.r.r. tolkien, john flanagan, lord of the rings, madeleine l'engle, randomness, ranger's apprentice, redwall, robert louis stevenson, roman catholic, sherlock holmes, sir arthur conan doyle, small rants, space trilogy, star trek, star wars, swallows and amazons, the chronicles of narnia, the scarlet pimpernel, time quintet, treasure island, who framed roger rabbit

I hope you are having a bright and happy day. Because this is a bright and happy picture. And I finally figured out how to insert a picture into a post without downloading it onto my computer! Yay me!

Anyway, Proverbs31teen has awarded me with the Sunshine Blog Award. Which is rather unexpected, ’cause the only award I’ve ever received before was the Liebster. (Four or five times, now. I’ve lost count. :-P) For this one, the rules are rather simple. Five facts about you, answering five questions, setting up five more questions, and nominating five other bloggers. From what I can tell, you don’t have to really nominate people with a certain number or less or more than a certain number of followers for this one, so this should be much easier. *crosses fingers, hoping she didn’t just jinx herself*

First of all, the five facts:

1. I snarked above, but unless your computer is not functioning correctly you probably can’t see it. MWAHAHAHAHAH.
2. Apparently my sense of humor is somewhat impaired; my dad thinks Who Framed Roger Rabbit is hilarious and I don’t even find it remotely funny. (All joking aside, if you don’t want your childhood permanently ruined and your innocence prematurely stolen, do not watch that movie! It is evil incarnate!)
3. Hot dogs, bratwurst, and fish fillets all taste different when eaten on a bun. Which raises the question, how much of the taste of your hot dog is the actual hot dog, and how much of it is the disgusting stuff they bake into the bun (and in the hot dog, too, if you bought the cheap ones)?
4. Apparently you have to send your information into this college’s website several times before it accepts you… *sigh*
5. As you can probably tell, my life is defined by job searching and college prep at this point.

And now, to answer the five questions…

1. You’ve got one day left of your life. What would you want to do? I think I would like to go to Mass with all my friends, and maybe meet a few of the people I know on the Internet whom I’ve never met in real life, and spend the rest of the day with my family.
2. Pirates or ninjas, and why? I’m told this is a “thing” now… I’m going with Sherlock on this one. Pirates, I think. Mainly because I mostly don’t know about ninjas, except that they make really popular Halloween costumes, and my only experience of ninjas is really from “Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu” (GO ZANE!), which is probably kind of sad, come to think of it… Besides, on the side of the pirates, I’m a big fan of Robert Louis Stevenson.
3. If you were turned into one of the Avengers, which one would you be most like? Some people I’ve talked to said Captain America. Others said Bruce Banner. I have never seen the Avengers movie, so I don’t really know.
4. What are your top three favorite Bible characters, and why? Oooh, John the Baptist, Moses, and Paul. (Our Lord TOTALLY goes without saying! And the actual apostles!!!) I’m sticking with more “secondary” characters, though, because, well, these people didn’t get much hype compared to the main players. Anyway, all three of them were amazing men who were rather outspoken but very courageous, and each had a message to get out. Moses is awesome because he’s a prefigurement of Christ, John got beheaded for telling Herod “no, you can’t marry your brother’s wife!” (and he also was preparing the world for Christ’s coming!), and Paul was a tireless preacher of the Gospel. (What is it with me and people who were beheaded? *smacks head against wall* Smooth, Erin, real smooth…)
5. (I’m going to be evil, too) What is your favorite book? Do you mean right-now-favorite, long-time favorites, or all-time favorites? (I have a lot…) Of course, the Bible goes without saying. 😉 For all-time favorites (drum roll, please!) it’s a tie between C.S. Lewis’ The Last Battle and Lord of the Rings. I love The Last Battle for its beauty, apocalyptic feel, the resonances with the Book of Revelation (or Apocalypse, which is a totally better name in my opinion!) For shortness’ sake, though, I normally just say “LOTR FOREVAR!” and leave it at that. Probably ’cause LotR has about ten times as many pages… Long-time favorites? All the Sherlock Holmes books, Baroness Emma Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel and its sequels (and Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, because I can’t very well forget Sydney Carton when we’re in the French Revolution, can I?!),  Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons books, Brian Jacques’ Redwall (and Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, which probably would top this list if I were seriously counting,) C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy and Chronicles of Narnia (in fact, anything by Lewis), Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quintet (I think that I like Madeleine L’Engle’s stuff because it reminded me of Lewis, and I have always loved Lewis), and the works of G.A. Henty (though sometimes I just want to re-write the endings because it would have been TOTALLY better with a different happily-ever-after GAH!). For my right-now-absolute-favorite? John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series. (YAY GILAN! AND HALT! AND WILL!!!) What can I say? I couldn’t live without books…

Finally, for my five questions:

1. If you had to choose between the Doctor, Sherlock, Merlin, Luke Skywalker, Matthias, Jim Hawkins, and Sir Percy Blakeney to go on an unexpected and otherwise completely unpredictable adventure with, who would you choose?
2. Who would you be more likely to say “You’re weird!” (complete with exclamation point) to: Obi-Wan, Anakin, Sherlock, Watson, the Doctor, Merlin, or Halt? (If you would be most likely to say “You’re weird!” to Halt, then you have my undying respect. Either you are very brave, or just plain crazy.)
3. Do you wear socks to sleep in? (You’d better bet your fluffy bedsocks you do, young’un, wot?!)
4. What is the best plot you’ve ever had that originated in a dream? (Yes, a sleeping dream. Daydreams don’t qualify. Sorry, Sir Percy.)
5. Have you ever been to Boston in the fall?

And now, I hereby wish to nominate:

Iris, because she’s awesome and encouraging and clever and reckless and everything a best friend forever should be!

Liam, because I couldn’t hit him with any Liebster awards. >:-D (If you were wondering about exactly how many times I’ve received the Liebster award, now, it’s four.)

Rachel Carrerra, because her work is amazing!

Shiekiah, because she deserves it and has written amazing stuff and draws amazing art and I really wanted to say thank-you-for-the-awesome-Bound-to-the-Flame-commissions 😉

Coruscantbookshelf (aka Rosalie), because she got me started blogging in the first place. 🙂

Thanks for reading this post all the way to the end. Thanks for nominating me, Proverbs31teen! Have a great day, everyone, and God Bless!

Liebster Award (Awarded twice in two days… I don’t know if anyone else understands…)

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author, award, barbie, barbie is evil, baronness emma orczy, blogging, c.s. forester, c.s. lewis, dumas, g.a. henty, i have probably been misspelling sheikah's name all along :-p, i'll stop adding tags now lest i add too many, i've added too many tags already, j.r.r. tolkien, merlin, nanowrimo, rule of elevens, sherwood pictures, star trek, star wars, the lord of the rings, the three musketeers, the war of the vendee, writing

Rule of Elevens!!! 😛

Okay, so I was awarded the Liebster Award first of all by coruscantbookshelf (aka Rosalie, or Nasriel if you prefer) of Against the Shadows, and then again, by Sheikiah, of Dark Link/Light Link. And I have no idea who else to award it to, unless it’s okay to award to people on Blogspot? If so, please tell me and I’ll do so. (On second thoughts, I’ll do it anyway. :-P) And I have no idea how many followers most of the bloggers I know have, so forgive me if I accidentally award someone who has more than a thousand.

I guess that since I was awarded twice, I have to answer TWO sets of questions. Okay, here goes.

Since Rosalie awarded me first, I’ll answer her questions first.

1. Which do you prefer: Old or New Republic, and why? (That’s Episodes I-III and IV-VI respectively, for the old people out there.) I think I prefer the Old Republic… mainly because I have only read Jedi Apprentice and Clone Wars-era Expanded Universe, and I don’t quite care for the angle they took the post-Return of the Jedi stories, mostly because (as I’ve said before) I am a biased supporter of the celibacy requirement for the Jedi, just because it made it cool and more like an actual religious order to me. Also I am a history nut. 😛 Which is the probable reason for my bigoted preference… 😛 Also, the prequels had Obi-Wan! 😛 And the “sequels” aren’t likely to! 😛

2. Which do you prefer: Old or New Testament, and why? Oooh… this is a tough one. I don’t think I have a preference. Though I do love Luke and John’s lyrical and symbolic styles, respectively…

3. Who is your favorite actor/actress absolutely of all time? I’m having a hard time choosing. I don’t think I can pick just one. Because, honestly, I’ve seen people who are really good, but I have to say that Paul Reilly, who isn’t even professional, and Alex Kendrick, who is really a minister. Paul Reilly is Jacques Cathelineau in The War of the Vendee from Navis Pictures, and Alex Kendrick plays the protagonists in all the Sherwood Pictures films except for Fireproof. But professional actors… I’m going with Liam Neeson (no surprise there,) Ewan McGregor, and Colin Morgan. (Because the Jedi team of The Phantom Menace was awesome, and Colin Morgan is just brilliant as the title character of Merlin.)

4. This one seems to be part of the rules: Why do you blog? Oh, I don’t know, really. Several reasons–it’s hard to pick a primary one. I think it’s mostly an outlet, in case I need to rant or just yell at the world in general, and people commiserate, which is awesome. It’s also gaining me a reader base, since I want to become a published author. But I think it started when I was over on Wikia, which some of my friends used to connect on–they had a blog option for registered users, which was great. I started posting The Hero’s Dream over there, and then when some of my Nanowrimo friends (thank you Rosalie!) wanted to read it, I started this blog and posted it serially. (Actually, the story is way more complex than that, but I think you want your answers in less than 500 words. If you all want me to post and explain how I began blogging in full, please comment and tell me so!)

5. If you could live anywhere in this world other than where you do, where would you choose? Practicality aside. Ireland. It’s a beautiful country. (Also, I want to learn Gaelic.) That, or New Zealand. They filmed The Lord of the Rings there–how do you beat that?!

6. Favorite dictionary: Oxford, Webster, Cambridge, Chambers, Collins – what? And why? The old edition Oxford–it was clean and got you what you needed to know–and Webster. Because it’s the first, and because it’s American, I guess. 😛

7. For those that write for fun: how many plot bunnies (story ideas) do you have on the go right now? How many do you think will get finished? (For those that don’t, go listen to this to kill time. Utterly epic.) Mmmm… Nine or so, I think. Probably more, if you count my Star Wars stories. Go to my Novels page if you want to see most of them. There’s another original novel brewing, but I haven’t got it clear in my head yet, so it’s not up yet. (Hint: It’s about Mordred! 😉 )

8. What’s your opinion of fictitious superheroes? I don’t really have one. I don’t particularly care for superhero movies, except for The Incredibles (which I absolutely love!), and I’ve never read any books about superheroes. However, I love anything Jedi and most fantasy, so I don’t know. I might like them. Still, I rather enjoy my non-Avengers fan status… 😛

9. What’s your opinion of fictitious everyday heroes? Cynically? People love to hero-worship. Practically? We need people to lead us and be shining examples, both fictitious and real.
Idealistically? I think that fictitious heroes give us something to strive to be, and I really wish they were real.

10. What’s your opinion of factitious everyday heroes? (Do not quote Sherlock!) (Okay, I won’t. :-P) I think that factitious heroes may not be quite the same way people envision them, but I believe that they do exist. For instance, the firefighters and other emergency response teams at the Twin Towers terrorist attack on 9/11/2001 were true heroes.
Ironically, though, I think that most people who have been named heroes by popular acclaim really don’t think of themselves as heroes, just people doing their jobs exceptionally well, or ordinary people trying to help. In this sense, I think anyone who tries to do the best they can to help others, both in the pursuit of duty and on the spur of the moment, is a hero.

11. Have you ever been given this award before? If so how many times? Never. Though I’m about to… 😛

Now for Sheikiah’s questions…

1. Why do you blog/What is your goal for your blog? Well, you know why I blog already. ;-P I already said. 😛 My blogging goal, though, is to just give people some enjoyment in fiction, as well to explain why I fiction. 🙂 (Yes, I used that as a verb. If that is NOT a verb, it should be. ;-D)

2. Out of all the established fictional realms you know of — Middle-Earth, Narnia, etc. — pick one you’d like to live and one you wouldn’t want to live in. Oh, I’d love to live in Middle-Earth, Narnia, the galaxy far, far away… Mostly because the rules are different… and in Star Wars, if you’re a Jedi, you also do not have to worry about the tax paperwork. 😛 (I hate paperwork. I recently started doing some of my own, and I repeat: I hate it! Even though hate is the path to the Dark Side!) But if I had to just make one that I would love to live in… Probably Middle-Earth. And the one I would not like to live in: drum roll, please… the world of the Harry Potter books.

3. Why those two? (I admit this is probably cheating, making this a separate question.) I have not read Harry Potter, but I wouldn’t like to be the one out who had to fight magic-using enemies without magic (or special training.) Same goes for Supernatural. Besides, I don’t feel comfortable with the way that J.K. Rowling reputedly handles the idea of magic in her novels. It doesn’t seem like something I could enjoy in all good conscience. To Harry Potter fans: I’m not attacking you! I’m just saying that I don’t think it would be my cup of tea! And the reason why I’d love to be in Middle-Earth: I’m a scholar. I would absolutely love to study with Elrond or Aragorn, visit all those places… And I’m not bad with a sword, either. 😛

4. Where on planet Earth would you most like to live? Most like to live… Well, I think I like where I do live. ;-P But otherwise… New Zealand (see above.) Mostly because it’s not in such a bad condition, politically, as other countries are… viewing it with my American Constitutionalist lens again here… 😛

5. Which film adaptation do you think is the most faithful to the original book? Why? The Lord of the Rings. Much as I like to whine about how they changed some situations, eliminated Tom Bombadil, etc., it still didn’t mangle the book as badly as some other movie adaptions. *mutters* The Three Musketeers… Barbie… I have a lasting grudge against Barbie. So insipid and sugary.

6. Which adaptation is the least faithful? Why? Well… of the movies I’ve actually seen… the adaption of The Scarlet Pimpernel that stars Richard E. Grant. Much as I love this adaption, it’s very unlike the book. But as a stand-alone movie… *swoons*

7. If you had the chance to make one event in history not-happen, which and why? And don’t say “the Holocaust”, that’s just too obvious. Oooh, this is so hard… The French Revolution in general. It did something similar to France as Hitler did to Germany. I mean, left scars that are still there to this day. (And it’s been longer since, too!) Especially, I would take back the subjugation of the Vendee. Also, I would make the Vendee better remembered. The people there were so gallant and courageous! I hate it that they portray them in some movies and books as making an effort doomed to failure that only makes things worse for them! They were fighting for what they believed in, passionately, against overwhelming odds, and no such gallant action can be called “useless”! Besides, they almost succeeded–they could’ve taken Paris and stopped the Revolution right there, but they had to choose to take Nantes instead.

8. If you were in a band, what would you name it? Unless you ARE in a band, in which case come up with a different name for a hypothetical other band. Dickenson. (I love her poetry. And classical music. :-P)

9. What is your favourite book? Favorite… hmmm… I have way too many. But right now… The Lord of the Rings. I also like Tolkien’s other works, books by Madeleine L’Engle, G.A. Henty, Brian Jacques, C.S. Lewis, Meriol Trever, Constance Savery, C.S. Forester, Baroness Orczy… 😉

10. Of all the characters in your favourite book, whose life would you rather lead? Oohh…. I would rather be Faramir. (Outside of my chosen book, I know that I’d rather be Ahsoka than Obi-Wan, Luke rather than Padme, Eustace rather than Susan, and Charles Wallace rather than one of the twins. ;-P)

11. Kirk or Picard? (If you can’t answer this question, that’s fine. There are those who consider that the RIGHT answer.) I have not seen enough Star Trek to be a good judge.

Eleven random facts about me (wow, this is going to be hard):

1. I don’t particularly like to talk about myself.

2. I have thought about giving politics a try, if only to see their faces at my ideology and idealistic cynicism. (Yes, that is a term… or it should be. :-P) Also to annoy them with my arguments against certain plans that they have for this country.

3. I have been known to make up words as it suits my purposes.

4. I can be extremely sarcastic at times. (Bet you never saw that one coming!)

5. I love cats, but have an allergy to them.

6. I am also allergic to blueberries, cantaloupe, bananas, food coloring, corn syrup, and popcorn. I can eat blueberries and bananas if they are in baked goods. I also have a contact allergy to the adhesives from some Band-aids and stickers. I might just be allergic to hickory, as well. (Not the nuts, but the wood might be the culprit for my hives.)

7. I do not particularly enjoy traveling.

8. I should have done this whole thing earlier, probably.

9. My baby sister seems to be alternately a Jedi Knight and Sith Lady.

10. I know a couple of Sith via the internet ;-P

11. Depriving me of sleep is not a good idea.

I hope that satisfies!!! Now for my questions:

1. Why do you blog? How did you start blogging? (because it’s tradition, I guess)

2. What eats most of your time on the internet?

3. Have you ever attempted to write a novel upwards of 50,000 words?

4. Have you failed writing a novel and never come back to it (yet)? If so, why?

5. What is your biggest impediment to doing what you love? (Mine is my siblings)

6. Which do you prefer: more regular, tended gardens or naturalized ones?

7. What is your favorite season, and why?

8. Do you prefer historical fiction to fantasy, or science fiction to both?

9. Do you ever feel that the language you chiefly work with is confining and should have more expressive words?

10. Would you prefer some form of rodent (gerbil, hamster, rat, etc.) or some kind of bird as a pet?

11. Why do you spend time with your family? (If you don’t feel like answering… *shrug*)

And now, I hereby nominate Rayne Speryll, of Writing in Rivendell, Klarabelle Candy, and the brilliant writers of “Sink Me!” because it’s hilarious. (Don’t blame me for this, most of my friends IRL blog on Blogspot and I have no idea how many followers most of them have.) Since I don’t really feel like tagging people back (you’re off the hook, Rosalie and Sheikah!), I will also nominate Bessie Lark at Firefly (trust me to nominate a restricted access blog! ;-P), and Rachel Carrera (even though I have no idea how many people have followed her.) Congrats, ladies! (It also says something about me that I’m nominating all girls… Shut up, head-voice! Sorry about that. :-P)

Okay, so I’m finally done with this post… three days after I started working on it. Sorry if this is my longest post ever, but I had lots of crazy stuff happen and lots more crazy stuff to say and I definitely feel a lot better now. 🙂

Teens Can Write Too! Blog Chain: I’d like to read more of this, please…

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bbc merlin, brian jacques, c.s. forester, c.s. lewis, castaways of the flying dutchman, classic science fiction, dee henderson, dorothy sayers, dystopian fiction, fantasy, fiction, g.a. henty, historical fiction, immortality, irene hannon, j.r.r. tolkien, lori wick, post-apocalyptic fiction, redwall, romance, science fiction, speculative fiction, steven king, story dynamics, teens can write too blog chain, the hobbit, the lord of the rings, the sword of damocles, time travel, young adult/juvenile fiction

The prompt for this month’s blog chain was “What sort of fiction would you like to see more of?” My first thought would be, all of it! But I had to be more discerning. What sorts of fiction do I love? What sorts of fiction are under-written?

Personally, my favorite genres are fantasy, mystery, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian. I love to write in them. I love reading them. Some of them, though, already have hundreds of books, and though no genre is consistently well-written, some of these genres have more than their share of marvelous stories. But we could still do with more!

Fantasy is probably the oldest of these genres; the only sort of fiction that is older is probably historical fiction, though if you include fairy tales in the fantasy genre, fantasy is undoubtedly older. As such, there is more material in fantasy than in most of my other listed genres. (It has giants like Tolkien, Lewis, L’Engle, and so forth–how are you supposed to beat that?!) Still, I would like to see more well written fantasy, with original themes and ideas. (For instance, in my latest work in progress, Generations, the sequel of Loyalty, the premise is that magic has been locked away from the world in order to protect it.) I would like to see more fantasy along the lines of The Lord of the Rings, in which the power of the Ring threatens to corrupt anyone who holds it; I would like to see the type of fantasy in which it is emphasized that power is often dangerous and can be intrinsically evil, and the answer can be to not use it, rather than the sort of sword-of-Damocles persecution that often falls upon any character with magical powers in modern fiction. (Yes, I am including BBC Merlin in this condemnation.) Some stories can pull the sword of Damocles off well. Others, it just seems cliche.

I would also like to see more fantasy such as the Redwall books and The Hobbit, in which no character has actual magical powers. Bilbo has his ring, true, but barring that, no one is “empowered”, except Gandalf, and he’s not the main character. I also like The Hobbit because the there-and-back-again has a price. About a third of the original company dies (no spoilers; I’m not saying who.) I don’t like the sort of fantasy where there is no price to be paid.

I would like to see more historical fiction that is more focused on event than romance, such as the works of G.A. Henty. Despite the fact that no one often dies (except the actual historical enactors) in Henty’s works, they are still highly enjoyable. I very highly recommend the Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Forester, even though it’s for older readers, and should be partaken of in moderation. I would like to see historical fiction that’s more of a bridge between Henty’s style and Forester’s. I would like to see more French Revolution-era and more centered around the actions of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, especially since much of what there is involving the latter two is biased toward the English rather than the Scots–“the victor writes history.” That may be true, but it takes reading works biased in both directions to be truly balanced.

The Castaways of the Flying Dutchman trilogy isn’t historical fiction, per se; more like a crossover of the best of both fantasy and historical, but I would like to also see more of this sort of story, involving immortality and/or time travel. (Please don’t start with me on Doctor Who. Right now, I just don’t have the time for it 😦 ) It’s a fascinating sort of one-off story that has me intrigued; how would it be if more people took on this sort of premise and actually did well by it?

It would be nice to read more mysteries in the style of Dorothy Sayers, more complex and balanced and well-integrated. Few modern authors can pull off a good mystery as well as the late nineteenth and early twentieth century mystery writers, with the notable exception of Irene Hannon and Dee Henderson (who both classify their work as romance, but whose work also fit into the genres of suspense or mystery.) More on those two later.

Now for sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, dystopian, and speculative fiction. This is one genre in which I won’t particularly lament for the authors of yesteryear. There are a great deal of good authors out there in these genres, and each one of them has fascinating premises. This may be because the genre is comparatively young, and still going strong. It would be nice to see more science fiction in the style known as “classic science fiction,” only meant for younger readers. It can be hard to find good fiction in the young adult/juvenile sections; maybe reading Madeleine L’Engle has spoiled me? ;-P

About romance… Any regular reader of this blog will know that I don’t particularly care for it. It’s not always well-written. Some of it is very unrealistic. And I just don’t feel comfortable writing it. In any book of mine where there is romance, in order so it doesn’t suck I have to make it very subtle and let the action take hold. I’ve been trying to broaden my horizons in that regard, but… meh… with precious little success. However, if Dee Henderson writes more, I will read it. If I can find more by Irene Hannon, I will read it. The other day, because I was bored, I picked up a book by Lori Wick. Just Above a Whisper, I think the title was. It was partly suspense, but mostly romance. What do I mean? Well… I almost stopped reading several times, because the menace from the insane fellow was not close enough. It wasn’t emphasized nearly enough. I didn’t have an urge to keep on reading. The only reason I didn’t put it down was because it was cool in the basement, and I was bored. Call me spoiled, but I didn’t particularly like this book; I couldn’t see why the author was a bestseller. The plot focused more on the heroine’s personal psychological problems, and I didn’t feel the ominous overhang nearly enough. It wasn’t that well integrated and felt almost like a side plot; however, I think it should have been mixed up and made part of the main plot. I felt as if even I, with my lack of talent in the genre, could have done better. It was like a romance with a side of half-baked suspense. Irene Hannon and Dee Henderson don’t have these problems. Nothing important is ever sidelined in their books; the suspense is scary enough to keep you turning pages, but not enough so it keeps you up at night like a Steven King novel (even just a summary!), and the romance is well-balanced and peppy. I want to see more romance that’s well written, even if it’s just for the sake of all the romance fans out there. 😉 I would also like to see more romance that’s based more on commitment and deep friendship rather than shallow passion. Much of what I feel tends to be deep, but I also feel in terms of commitment (if that even makes sense.) Why isn’t there more romance that just speaks to people like me? Forgive me if I’m morbid, but I think this is representation inequality right here. (And I didn’t mean to rant about bad romance. Sorry about that. I don’t mean to bash books, either; I mean, Lori Wick has promise, but I think she needs a good editor and more practice. :-P)

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

May 5th – http://sammitalk.wordpress.com/

May 6th – http://www.nerdgirlinc.blogspot.com/

May 7th – http://nasrielsfanfics.wordpress.com/

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May 9th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/

May 10th – http://randomofalife.blogspot.com/

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May 12th – http://www.fidaislaih.blogspot.com/

May 13th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/

May 14th – http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/

May 15th – http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/

May 16th – http://taratherese.wordpress.com/

May 17th – http://miriamjoywrites.com/

May 18th – http://oliviarivers.wordpress.com/

May 19th – http://afoodyportfolio.wordpress.com/

May 20th – http://magicandwriting.wordpress.com/

May 21st – http://unikkelyfe.wordpress.com/

May 22nd – http://www.brookeharrison.com/

May 23rd – http://eighthundredninety.blogspot.com/

May 24th – http://www.oyeahwrite.wordpress.com/

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May 26th – TheUnsimpleMind (no web address)

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May 28th – http://www.lilyjenness.blogspot.com/

May 29th – http://sunsandstarsanddreams.wordpress.com/

May 30th – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ Announcement of the next month’s blog chain. 🙂

(Oh, by the way, before I go… does anyone know the difference between speculative fiction and sci-fi, if any? Thanks 🙂 )

How to Save a Life (In Which, I Ramble and Chatter Before Telling the Story)

Tags

bbc merlin, bbc sherlock, brian jacques, castaways of the flying dutchman, classics, completed stories, confusing nonsense, g.a. henty, j.r.r. tolkien, jonathan park, long rants, lord of the rings, redwall, rise of the guardians, sir arthur conan doyle, the scarlet pimpernel

Hello again! I’m back 😀

Okay, so everyone knows how I got into BBC Sherlock, right? Okay. Good. We’re all on the same page, then.

Needless to say, Sherlock is the first fandom that I’ve actually written a fanfic for, other than Star Wars. Believe it or not, some of the other fandoms I’m in (BBC Merlin, Redwall and Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, Madeleine L’Engle’s works, Kidnapped and Treasure Island, The Scarlet Pimpernel and sequels, A Tale of Two Cities, Rise of the Guardians, Lord of the Rings, various other books by Tolkien, books by G.A. Henty, the late, great Jonathan Park radio adventure drama, etc., etc.)… they’re not all that conducive to fanfiction. At least, I’m not inspired therein. So Sherlock fanfiction is really a new thing for me–broadening my horizons, so to speak. But, I’m not that good at writing mysteries or crime drama, having a tendency to break the suspense too soon, among other things… Fortunately, Sherlock lends itself well to character studies and character stories. Probably all my Sherlock fanfiction–that is to say, if I ever write any more–will be limited to one-part short stories. But that doesn’t really bother me. After all, the characters are great and fun to work with, and there’s an obnoxious high-functioning sociopath and a jaded ex-military surgeon who is probably also my definition of a good Christian, judging by his actions… what’s not to love? ;-D

Sorry about the long-winded explanation. Please don’t skip this bit.

This story, according to my standards, is a clean story. Knowing the nature of human-kind and the nature of the show itself, there are probably lots of horrible stories out there which involve things that would sicken me. The show itself is a bit dark, as well as sophisticated, definitely not something I would recommend for anyone under twelve. But this is just pure introspection, with no mention of adult themes, except that the good doctor is under the impression that Sherlock really is dead. So I’d rate this one PG, but only because it deals with inferences to suicide. Please bear in mind that I have not seen The Richenbach Fall or the premiere for the third season, so be merciful. ;-P

Oh dear. I didn’t mean to include a whole review of Sherlock in this! Oh well…

This song-fic is written to the marvelous song How to Save a Life, by The Fray. I understand this is a bit of an older song and is often confused with a movie with a similar name (aka the celebrated To Save a Life), but in my opinion it’s a song everyone should hear.

Enjoy!

How to Save A Life

Step one, you say, “We need to talk.”

He walks, you say, “Sit down. It’s just a talk.”

He smiles politely back at you

You stare politely right on through

Some sort of window to your right

As he goes left and you stay right

Between the lines of fear and blame

You begin to wonder why you came

                “We need to have a talk.” John said. Sherlock stopped for a moment.

“A talk?” he asked.

“Yes, a talk. It’s where two people sit down and agree to get things plain, clear and straight, for once.” John said, stressing “straight” in hopes that Sherlock would actually pay attention. If only it were that easy to get things through his thick head…

“So?” Sherlock began to walk away again.

“And we need to have one,” John said, rising quickly and grabbing Sherlock’s wrist. Sherlock frowned at him in annoyance. Though John was shorter, he was strong, and there was little to be gained by trying to escape his grip.

John could practically see the thoughts going through Sherlock’s mind. Sherlock allowed him to pilot him to the couch, though with a scowl that said he was patently not pleased. He could have gone and jumped in a lake as far as that look went, for all John cared.

“Why are we having a talk, John?” Sherlock asked. John fixed him with a steely glare.

“Ah, now that’s the right question.”

Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

                Things were going wrong, badly wrong. John’s phone rang. He scarcely comprehended the conversation. One thing was clear. Horribly clear.

Sherlock was going to jump.

Let him know that you know best

‘Cause after all you do know best

Try to slip past his defense

Without granting innocence

Lay down a list of what is wrong

The things you’ve told him all along

Pray to God, he hears you

And I pray to God, he hears you

                “I think we haven’t been communicating nearly well enough, Sherlock,” John said as he sat down in the armchair across from his friend. “You’ve been shutting me out.”

“Have I?” Sherlock said, his voice level, but instead of the eyebrow that normally would go up challengingly John saw genuine surprise—or at least the Sherlock Holmes version of it—on Sherlock’s face. It suddenly occurred to him that maybe Sherlock wasn’t aware that he had been shutting him out.

“You’ve been… distant,” John continued, somewhat more sympathetically. “And I want to know why.” I want to be there for you. Because that’s what friends do.

And where did I go wrong? I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

                In amidst the anguish of watching his best friend die, John could not help but wonder why he had never spent more of the nights when Sherlock had been awake with his friend. He thought over all the moments he had lost, wishing that he had been less careless. He remembered something his orderly in the army used to say: No one lives without regret.

It was all too true.

As he begins to raise his voice

You lower yours and grant him one last choice

Drive until you lose the road

Or break with the ones you’ve followed

He will do one of two things

He will admit to everything

Or he’ll say he’s just not the same

And you’ll begin to wonder why you came

                “Don’t worry about it, John,” Sherlock said confidently. “It’s all well in hand.”

“But I still want to know about it,” John insisted. Sometimes, it felt like he was driving down a dead-end road. Or maybe he should try another tactic? “Sherlock, I’m your friend. Please, tell me. Other people do this sort of thing all the time.”

“I’m not other people,” Sherlock said.

Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

                Who had Sherlock been kidding? It had never been under control. And now everything was… was wrong.

As John ran around the building to his friend’s side, he couldn’t help but wonder, why?!

Why, Sherlock?!

Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

                Pointless.

How to save a life

                So utterly pointless.

How to save a life

                Like his life, after he had been honorably discharged from the army and before Sherlock.

Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

                As he knelt by Sherlock’s side, searching for a pulse, he couldn’t help but wonder why, again.

They took his best friend—his first friend—his only true friend—away in an ambulance, but John knew the bad news already.

It was as good as taking him away in a hearse.

Sherlock Holmes was dead.

Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

                He left 221b Baker Street for a new place the next day, with a farewell (tearful, on her part) and many thanks to Mrs. Hudson.

He looked at the wall, which was already being repaired and re-papered after Sherlock’s stunt with the smiley face in spray paint and bullet marks. So easy to erase, so quiet…

Unlike his memories.

How to save a life

                Sherlock watched John, for the first time in his life, almost shy. It was finally time to come back… two years later.

He was strangely afraid, curiously awkward, though he couldn’t wait to see John again. He wanted to tell his friend all the things he had never been able to say—and knew he never could. But John would understand anyway. He always did.

He wanted to tell John how it was the thoughts of him, and Mrs. Hudson, and Molly had kept him going.

He wanted to thank him for getting him off the drugs.

He wanted to tell him thank you for never stopping believing in him, even when times got rough.

He wanted to tell him thank you for saving his life.

Because, in so many ways, John had.

How to save a life

                “Hello, John.”