Sherlock Holmes Meta

Tags

i clearly do not know what i am doing at all, meta, sherlock holmes, sir arthur conan doyle, speculation

In “The Greek Interpreter,” Sherlock claims “Vernet, the French artist” as a relative–a grand-uncle, in fact. However, there are three Vernets who were known artists–Claude Joseph Vernet, his son Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, and his grandson Emile Jean-Horace Vernet. It’s unclear which one is Holmes’ grand-uncle.

However, looking at dates, we can make a pretty fair guess as to which Vernet Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was thinking of when he threw out this allusion.

Here, we’re going to make three assumptions:

1. The Vernet who is Holmes’ grand-uncle and his sister (Holmes’ grandmother) were relatively close in age. The sister was probably younger.
2. Holmes’ grandfather would be about the same age as the Vernet we’re looking for.
3. Holmes is in his late thirties or early forties during A Study in Scarlet, the first of Conan Doyle’s stories, which takes place in 1887. (There is probably something to either verify or reject this assumption somewhere in the canon, but I have never noticed it and can’t be bothered to go looking through well over a thousand pages of short stories for it.)

Emile Jean-Horace Vernet was born in 1789 and died in 1863. Assuming Holmes is in his forties during Study in Scarlet, that would put Holmes’ birth date at around 1850. Estimating generation gaps at about forty or fifty years, this Vernet is one or two decades older than Holmes’ father. (It is more likely, given the seven-year age gap between Sherlock and Mycroft, that it’s more like fifty years between Sherlock and his father.)

Moving backward, Antoine Charles Horace Vernet was born 1758, died 1836. Wikipedia states that this Vernet was the youngest of his siblings. His sister is probably the Holmes grandmother, albeit she’d have to have been in her forties (unusually late for a marriage) before Holmes’ father was born.

Their father, Claude Joseph Vernet, 1714-1789, was also an artist. With a great-grandfather, a grand-uncle, and a first cousin once removed all artists, it must have made for some interesting family reunions.

Quick disclaimer: I am by no means a Holmes scholar, and I am not a member of the Baker Street Irregulars, so I really know practically nothing at all on this topic. Feel free to set me straight.

I hope this has been an interesting read, it really has no bearing on anything I’m supposed to be working on right now. I just did it for fun.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

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TCWT: What’s normal?

Tags

authors, baroness emma orczy, bbc sherlock, brian jacques, captain america: the first avenger, catholic culture, catholicism, christian fiction, christianity, creative writing, dee henderson, disney, dynamic characters, editing, editor, fantasy, frozen, generations, invented religions, jorge luis borges, living life with passion, loyalties, macguffins, magic realism, marvel, novels, o'malley series, paranormal, redwall, religious themes, roman catholic, sherlock holmes, sir arthur conan doyle, spiritual, star wars, story dynamics, story tools, supernatural, t.h. white, the avengers, the scarlet pimpernel, the sword in the stone, uncommon heroes series, urban fantasy, world building, writing

I thought that I would not be doing TCWT again. I’m almost too old to do it. But I decided to come back at least one last time. So, here you go.

The prompt was “What do you think is commonly done well in literature? Done poorly?” I think it depends on the author and genre as much as anything else. Some things are well-done in one genre and horrific in another, or okay in one and marvelous in another.

Religious themes. A character’s religion, how they practice it, if they really live their faith, if they even practice what they preach at all, is a marvelous tool in character development whether you are religious or not. I have never been able to understand why some people neglect it. A character’s beliefs, including their religious persuasion, tells us quite a bit about that character. (This is why, if someone leaves the religion space on their character sheet blank, I often have headcanons about their beliefs.) Some books where this is done well: Dee Henderson’s “Uncommon Heroes” and “O’Malley” series (among the only romance I actually read). Living what you preach is a sign of sincerity, honesty, and sometimes even of courage. Often, it takes courage to say more than “non-denominational” on your forms, and the thing is, these characters don’t overtly try to convert others. It is the way they live that makes others think, “Wow. I wish I had what they have.” A book where this is done poorly: Many books (sadly) in the Christian fiction genre. (Oftentimes, Christian fiction is like romance; you have to be extremely choosy to find the good stuff.)

Religious themes in general: If a character actually lives what they preach, then religious themes in the plot itself are generally a given. Normally, you won’t run into actual angels or demons “on-set”, but the forces of evil vs. the good guys will probably happen. I very much prefer the sort of stories with a fallible main character, who falls and fails and then gets up again and apologizes for it (or, sometimes, doesn’t apologize and then sees the error of his ways.) Everything else just feels like another Christian fiction forgettable Mary Sue.

I also like to see slightly-different versions of real-world religions in stories (such as the world where Christianity developed slightly different, though all the teachings are still the same, the practices are different; some practices never evolved, while some that don’t exist in the real world did.)

Magic Realism. Now and again, I love a good story with spiritual/supernatural themes in the magical realism style, where it’s all strongly realist and then seamlessly in comes a bit of the supernatural. I love it when the plot twist throws me off, but when I look back into the rest of the book, I can see how it was subtly setting it up the whole time. Sadly, many “paranormal” stories tend to be “paranormal” throughout, without any magic realism. For me, it’s not urban fantasy if they don’t have the urban before they have the fantasy. Otherwise, it’s just fantasy.

A few notes on urban fantasy: I have read a couple of very good dystopian/urban fantasy novels where the story was very well-written. One of the biggest shockers, in my opinion, is when something that’s out of our normal experience happens and the characters treat it like a normal occurrence, because in their world, it is normal.

Items with character and/or significance. Now and again, there will be a MacGuffin that really ties everything together; it doesn’t even matter what the MacGuffin is, it is the significance that goes along with it. For instance, in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, it was Padme’s charm that Anakin gave her when they were both very young. (I swear, Attack of the Clones would have been so much better if at some point, Padme had slipped the japor snippet out of the collar of her dress and said quietly, “I still have the amulet you gave me.” I would be shipping Anidala so much harder than I do now, trust me.) In my novel Loyalties, it is the multi-generational hand-me-down amulet, the symbol of a master’s care for his apprentice, which is worn hidden in the French braid across the back of an apprentice’s head (or, alternatively, depending on the circumstances, hung on its ribbon around their neck,) that ties the generations together, as it is passed down from Rynnar to Winter (who tries, upon his leaving active service as a Ranger, to return it, but Rynnar refuses to accept it), and later from Winter to his apprentice Elían, and is constantly there to remind Winter of Rynnar, even in Rynnar’s absence, during the first book. (I’m certainly praying to the Muse that I end up doing it right.)

Martin the Warrior’s sword, in the Redwall series, is a recurring object that serves to both tie the series together, and to remind everyone of Redwall’s first Champion. Another example would be Sir Percy Blakeney’s “pimpernel” signet ring in the Scarlet Pimpernel books (which, though not recurring, was key to the first book–was that a spoiler? I hope not…)

Items that get left behind. In my opinion, many authors these days tend to forget about this. Things get broken and left behind. Things are not overly important, and things should not be overly important to the characters. For instance, someone can and will lose their arrows or throwing knives (which, believe it or not, is a loss that was, in the past, a very hard one, since both were very valuable, especially arrows, which were hard and time-consuming to make by hand and thereby expensive. There will be times when someone rips their shirt or goes swimming and loses it. For some reason, authors these days seem too often to ignore these instances.

On the other hand, a character losing something with sentimental value can be a very emotional moment. It can be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back. Or it can illustrate that at this point, the character doesn’t even care any more, or is just grateful that they got out of there alive. Martin the Warrior loses his father’s sword, which Tsarmina snaps in half, pushing him into vowing vengeance on the wildcat, as it was the only thing he had left to remember Luke by. Someone’s horse dies, and it’s a very emotional moment. Beaumont the hound in The Sword in the Stone (book, not the movie.)

Or, someone escapes a burning building to find that they left their old notebook behind. When the other character offers sympathy, the first just says, “It’s all right. It was only a notebook. I’m just glad we both got out alive.” Or even, “I don’t need it any more,” illustrating a dynamic moment in a character’s journey. Moments like these are a tool that is sometimes sadly neglected. People tend to forget that in a prior era, people would attach value to things using a different methodology than we do today. They would keep things because they were valuable or hard to replace, not because of sentiment, quite so much. In realistic historical fantasy, this is sometimes a stumbling block, though not always. (Kristoff losing his sleigh in Frozen could have been done so much better. At least they weren’t afraid to have people lose their gear in the movie.)

Use of small cues. This is a big one. Some people nowadays seem to want everything to be blatantly obvious and to avoid the search for small meanings and symbolism. This is the reason why some people hate character movies and characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi; they don’t see anything past the not-really-action of the movies or the character’s quiet, unassuming exterior. Forsaking dynamic characters for the sake of flash, some people end up creating Mary Sues.

However, I believe there are authors out there who do this really well (Brian Sanderson, Liam? I think I got that impression,) using small character cues, such as a slight movement, a nervous habit (such as fiddling with one’s sleeves) that recurs throughout the book, and tiny facial expressions that are left open for the readers to interpret to subtly build well-rounded, fleshed-out, dynamic characters. After a while, the reader becomes familiar with a repeated movement (“oh, Halt’s up to something; there’s the eyebrow!” “He’s reaching for his cuffs, even though he’s wearing a short-sleeved shirt. Poor kid.”) and learns to associate it with certain moods or actions. After a while, if you’ve seen The First Avenger, you get to recognize Steve Rogers’ nervous half-smile and distinguish it from his awkward smile, his stage smile, and the genuine article in Avengers. (Did anyone else notice how eerily similar Coulson’s non-offensive “I’m not a threat or even important to the plot at all; take no notice of me” half-smile is to Steve’s awkward smile? Since we know Steve better than we know Coulson, this tiny little fact, whether intentional brilliance on the part of Joss Whedon and whatsisname who plays Coulson or happy serendipity, tells us loads about Coulson as a character.)

Excessive stage drama queens. Basically, some characters just draw attention to themselves when they shouldn’t, detracting from the plot and being blatantly obvious (“don’t be obvious!”–>Moriarty’s best advice ever!), so much so that it’s sickening. This is just annoying. If it fits into the plot and the character, all well and good; it works! (This is why we actually can like Tony Stark.) But if not, then… then what’s the point? Seriously. All you have is an over-made-up actor who can’t even recite his lines properly. BORING. *shoots the wall* Sickening.

For me, most of what annoys me is blatantly obvious or lacking when it should be there. Of course, my pet peeves will be different from other people’s, but I think that all authors should try to improve their work based around these issues.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this listing of things I think are well-done but could be improved in fiction, thanks for reading and God bless you, as always, and don’t forget to drop by the other blogs on the chain through the rest of January! 😉

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

6^th – http://jasperlindell.blogspot.com/

7^th – https://erinkenobi2893.wordpress.com/ (you are here) and http://nasrielsfanfics.wordpress.com/ (this would be Rosalie; I still need to read her post so now I’m done with mine I’m heading over to do that.)

8^th – http://miriamjoywrites.com/

9^th – https://ramblingsofaravis.wordpress.com/

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

11^th – http://kirabudge.weebly.com/

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

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

14^th – http://dynamicramblings.wordpress.com/

15^th – http://theedfiles.blogspot.com/

16^th – https://horsfeathersblog.wordpress.com/  

17^th – http://www.juliathewritergirl.com/

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

19^th – https://gallopingfree.wordpress.com/

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

21^st – https://deborahrocheleau.wordpress.com/

22^nd – http://irisbloomsblog.wordpress.com/

23^rd – https://clockworkdesires.wordpress.com/

24^th – https://introspectioncreative.wordpress.com/

25^th – http://wanderinginablur.blogspot.com/

26^th – https://anotefromthenerd.wordpress.com/

27^th – http://randommorbidinsanity.blogspot.com

28^th – http://unikkelyfe.wordpress.com/

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

(Hey, look! Rosalie and I share a day! Awesome. ^_^)

When Can I See You Again? (Song fic, multi-fandom)

Tags

bbc sherlock, completed stories, completely random posts, rise of the guardians, sherlock holmes, song-related fiction, star wars

Here it is, darling readers, my first multi-fandom song fic!

I’ve done enough depressing stuff recently, so I thought I’d do something happy and fun and upbeat for a change. And I used “When Can I see You Again” by Owl City (from Wreck-it Ralph) because I liked it better than “Here’s To Never Growing Up” and I LIKE IT OKAY. 😛 Just one thing: This isn’t intended to be romantic (though I do have John and Mary and Obi-Wan and Siri in it…) It’s mostly just for fun.

So, why Jack Frost and Jamie, Obi-Wan and Siri, and Sherlock and John? Well… this song fits Jack Frost, and I thought it would be fun to have Obi-Wan and Siri just be teenagers for once, and I’m STILL dealing with the Season Three mood swings from Sherlock. Please, don’t ask me what and why and when. It’s artistic license. 😛 Also, I love these adorable kids. Do I really need a better reason…?

Anyway, enjoy the song fic! 😀

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When Can I See You Again?

When can we do this again?

When can I see you again?

                Jack leaped to the sky, waving goodbye to Jamie. There were other places he had to visit, other children to protect, but Jamie would always have a special place in his heart.

When can we do this again?

When can I see you again?

                Obi-Wan dashed down the alleyway, laughing so hard he could scarcely stand upright. Garen dashed after him. “Come back here, you villain!” he shouted dramatically.

“Not on your life!” Obi-Wan shouted back, still laughing. He leaped sideways and ducked under the edge of a building, flattening himself against the wall and trying his hardest to stifle his chuckles before Garen caught him. A hand grasped his shoulder, and he looked sharply over. Siri was standing right next to him, trying with equal fervor to silence her own amusement.

When can we do this again?

When can I see you again?

                Sherlock and John dashed down an alleyway, and their pursuers rushed by. “If you girls are done playing, the case is waiting,” Lestrade shouted them. John almost laughed around.

“This was fun,” he said. Sherlock seemed surprised to find himself nodding.

Switch on the sky and the stars glow for you

Go see the world ‘cause it’s all so brand new

Don’t close your eyes ‘cause your future’s ready to shine

It’s just a matter of time, before we learn how to fly

Welcome to the rhythm of the night

There’s something in the air you can’t deny

                Jack chased the wind, with Sandy beside him. “I’d forgotten how much fun this is!” he shouted over the wind. Sandy grinned widely. Suddenly, the Sandman’s eyes widened and he pointed down.

Jack stared down, shouting aloud in joy and wonder at the sight of the majestic waterfall below them. They raced over the peaks of mountains, flying as fast as a heartbeat.

They chased the northern lights, toward the sunset, watching as the sky turned to night, sprinkled with countless stars.

It’s been fun but now I’ve got to go

Life is way too short to take it slow

But before I go and hit the road

I gotta know, ‘til then,

When can we do this again?

Oh oh oh oh

When can I see you again?

Oh oh oh oh

When can we do this again?

Oh oh oh oh

I gotta know, when can I see you again?

                “We should do this again sometime,” John smiled. Sherlock smiled back. It felt surprisingly good to see a smile on the former army doctor’s face. He hadn’t even been aware that it had been missing, but it felt so right, now.

Donovan might frown and shake her head behind their backs, but Lestrade shut her up. Who cared what Mycroft thought?

Caring might be a disadvantage, but it was one that he would be glad to assume.

When can I see you again?

                Jack gripped Jamie by the hand. “Come on, you have to see this!”

Scraping the sky, Jamie laughed with exhilaration. He wasn’t afraid at all; he trusted Jack. “Wow!”

Joined at the hip, yeah your sidekick needs you

Life is a trip down the road that leads you

Look all around at all the mountains you haven’t climbed

It’s just a matter of time, before we learn how to fly

Welcome to the rhythm of the night

There’s something in the air you can’t deny

                Obi-Wan smiled up at Qui-Gon. “I was wrong. This was a great idea.” Qui-Gon gave him a silly smirk.

“I told you so, my young apprentice. I am never wrong.” They fell around the hotel room, laughing. It just felt so good to relax like this after so long. “What shall we do next, Padawan?” Qui-Gon asked. Obi-Wan smiled.

“Let’s go find out where Master Adi and Siri are staying and… I don’t know. Maybe just go visit the Old Market?” Qui-Gon grinned.

“That sounds like a good idea, Padawan mine.”

It’s been fun but now I’ve got to go

Life is way too short to take it slow

But before I go and hit the road

I gotta know, ‘til then,

When can we do this again?

Oh oh oh oh

When can I see you again?

Oh oh oh oh

When can we do this again?

Oh oh oh oh

I gotta know,

When can I see you again?

                Sherlock gripped John by the shoulders. “Listen to me. Listen to me, John. I’m back now. I won’t leave again. I promise you.” John took a deep breath.

“Mary, what do you think?” Mary Morstan smiled.

“I think you have incredible friends,” she said. At last, John smiled back. Mary slung her arms around their shoulders. “We should do this again.” To John’s incredulous snort and Sherlock’s “What!”, she replied, “No, not the whole faking deaths thing. I mean, just going out and solving a mystery together, the three of us.”

“You’re right,” said Sherlock.

“We should do this again,” John finished for him.

Don’t close your eyes ‘cause your future’s ready to shine

It’s just a matter of time, before we learn how to fly

Welcome to the rhythm of the night

There’s something in the air you can’t deny

So let me know before I wave goodbye

                “Come on, Kenobi!” Siri gripped Obi-Wan’s arm and dragged him out onto the dance floor.

“Siri, no—”

“Don’t be such a stick in the mud!” Siri laughed, her hair flying in time to the music. Obi-Wan made one last, abortive attempt to escape. Siri recaptured him easily. Obi-Wan glanced pleadingly at the two masters, who were standing by the edge of the square. Qui-Gon made a shooing motion at him, grinning from ear to ear. Obi-Wan made a face at him. Master Gallia was laughing. A moment later, Qui-Gon turned to look at her. Offering her his arm, gallantly, he led her out onto the floor. Shrugging in resignation, Obi-Wan turned back to Siri. She grinned with exhilaration. “You ready, Obi-Wan?”

When can I see you again?

Oh oh oh oh

                Jack perched on the spire, Jamie on his shoulder. Sandy hovered nearby, sending out the soft golden tendrils of dreamsand. Jamie sat open-mouthed, watching. Jack smiled. It wasn’t that surprising. Jamie had only seen this in waking life once before.

When can we do this again?

Oh oh oh oh

                “Just one more song!” Siri whispered as Obi-Wan was about to lead her off the dance floor. Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

When can I see you again?

Oh oh oh oh

                Mary fell asleep in the cab on the way home, her head on John’s shoulder. John glanced over and smiled at Sherlock, and the detective smiled back.

All was well with their world at long last.

When can we do this again?

Oh oh oh oh

                Siri and Obi-Wan slipped out the back way, sneaking away from Garen and back to the Temple. It might be only a game, but they figured that, at least for now, they had a right to play it.

Yeah, it’s been fun but now I’ve got to go

Life is way too short to take it slow

But before I go and hit the road

Tell me when

When can I see you again?

When can I see you again?

Tell me when

When can I see you again?

                As Jack was carrying Jamie back to bed, Jamie sleepily murmured, “Do this again?” Jack grinned at Sandy.

“Of course.”

“Let’s do this again sometime,” Adi said as the four Jedi were heading back to their hotel. Obi-Wan gaped at her for a moment, then Siri poked him in the arm.

“As long as it gets you off your high horse,” she teased.

“Are we doing this again?” Sherlock asked. John smiled, helping Mary out of the cab.

“Definitely.”

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

Tags

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!

Archivist of Selay’uu’s Journal: Goodbye Party

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bbc merlin, bbc sherlock, brian jacques, characters, humor, iris, j.r.r. tolkien, john flanagan, lord of the rings, ranger's apprentice, redwall, sherlock holmes, sir arthur conan doyle, star trek, star wars, technology humor, the silmarillion

My proposal to study in Camelot was accepted! I am so excited. I can’t wait until I get to go! As I write this, it’s Monday (which means that my proposal was approved in one day. That’s quick work for Mistress El’ye, especially considering that she had to contact Merlin, Gwen, Gaius, and Arthur in order to check things through. I had expected to wait at least a week for her to get back to me.) However, it probably won’t be posted until later this week, as there have been a few issues with the internet in the Selay’uu mansion. (The most commonly suspected culprit is Anakin; however, I’m inclined to disagree. He’s affected by the loss of internet the same as the rest of us, and he’s too addicted to posting his Angry Birds high scores on Facebook to actually consider destroying our internet connection. Personally, I think it’s probably the fault of Morgarath and Morgoth, who have also been torturing us with the similarity of their names, and Vilu Daskar. Obi-Wan is working with Quinlan, Sherlock, John and Lestrade to covertly investigate. The perpetrators will probably be put to a punishment so awful they will never ever dare to cross the Council again. Also, the punishment is said to be unspeakable, which is a bit of a paradox, isn’t it?)

Anyway, I can leave as soon as I’m packed, provided that Obi-Wan, or possibly Scotty, can get me over there, but I’m planning on taking the rest of today to say goodbye to all my friends after I pack, and then leave early tomorrow. There’s even an element of uncertainty, because Obi-Wan says that while he’s fairly sure he can get me to Camelot, within a few miles of the city, I may end up anywhere in the realm and have to make my way to the city on my own. Of course, being the reckless adventurer I am, this is only making it all the more exciting for me!

Frodo and Sam, being the sweet people they are, planned a whole farewell party in the courtyard. Pippin turned up rather shamefacedly, apologetically replacing the cake, which he had shared with friends last night by mistake. Will came, and Tug came as well, which Halt found rather annoying. Everyone else thought that the pony was good company, though, and Tug was given an inordinate number of apples over the course of the evening. Every time we gave him one, though, Tug would just give Halt this knowing look, which most of us found hilarious. Halt took it all in his stride. It’s pretty much common knowledge that he is secretly amused by his apprentice’s antics, and occasionally–occasionally–this extends to his apprentice’s pony. I carried away the prize at chalk drawing, narrowly–surprisingly enough, it was Halt who was giving me a run for my money. Also, I think Gilan and Xanatos must be related. I mean, they act nearly exactly alike. Though I think Halt would say, “The world can only bear one of you, Gilan.” Anyway, all of my original characters were there, except that Klis was missing (again.) She needs rescuing so often, it’s not even funny.

And then I realized that for some reason, Captain Kirk had my cell phone. I had to go retrieve it. (Doctor McCoy was quite the help, there.) On second thoughts, it was probably Anakin who left it in his room, and I’m just being too harsh a judge. Still, I risked my life in there… I kid you not. Unlike the dinky little room you see on the Enterprise, there is neither rhyme nor reason to this room. Seriously. It’s like Iris’ mind, times five exponential. Or the room she was living in for the last year or so before she moved, only worse. (For those of you who have never seen Iris’ room, it was right under the eaves and already half-way in use as an attic, for storage. There wasn’t even room for an actual bed–she just put a mattress on the floor and a comforter on top of that and called it good. A certain distance over, there wasn’t enough room for me to stand up straight. And it was like a maze, with the bookshelves and boxes and all.) I suppose Kirk thinks it’s orderly, but honestly? I’m a practical sort of girl. I don’t do mess. Unless it’s my laptop or next manuscript in there, next time, I am never risking going in there again. And if I ever have to go in there again, I’m getting an official reprimand for the Captain. I don’t care what they say about bedrooms being a reflection on their owners. There is no way Kirk’s head is that crowded!

Beginnings: Camp Nanowrimo

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baronness emma orczy, c.s. lewis, camp nanowrimo april 2014, camping, candles, g.k. chesterton, j.r.r. tolkien, madeleine l'engle, nanowrimo, national novel writing month, sherlock holmes, sir arthur conan doyle, story dynamics, t.h. white, the scarlet pimpernel, twysdrns, writing

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All right, I finished Day One of camp with enough words to cover today (though I still plan on working …

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International Cultural Icons: Fandoms Gone Global

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bbc merlin, bbc sherlock, disney, doctor who, frozen, indiana jones, insanity, j.r.r. tolkien, jane austen, long rants, lord of the rings, pixar, robert louis stevenson, sherlock holmes, sir arthur conan doyle, star wars, the clone wars, treasure island

As the Internet and satellite TV become increasingly available, even in third world countries, culture lines become more and more blurred. Sure, you may get shot by crazy (fortunately now also illegal) people in the Middle East if you’re female (like me) and unveiled (no, Taliban, I will not apologize!), but it’s also true that maybe those same insane trigger-happy maniacs like the same stories as you. You’ll meet millions of Tolkienites, Star Wars fans, Sherlockians, Cumberbunnies, and whatnot every single time you walk out on the street, not to mention the internet!

Characters like Indiana Jones and Sherlock Holmes are global cultural icons; the person who has never encountered Frodo or Anakin is increasingly rare. And even as the new fandoms swamp social media sites, older fandoms hold their own. Merlinians are still out there, despite the post-Season Five slump–Whovians, who first came on the scene in the sixties, are still going strong. Austeens and lovers of Treasure Island rub shoulders with Hunger Games fans. The fandom of the classics is alive and well–even if its members are automatically labeled “geeks”.

And yet, people are hesitant to talk about their fandoms in public. Especially girls who love Star Wars. I think that’s the most verboten one–the least taboo subject of conversation would probably be the Twilight books, which I am glad to say I have not read. (I’m not comfortable at all with the subject matter.)

And, if you require more convincing, there is this:

Elsa sings “Let it Go” in no less than twenty-five languages.

And then, a few years back, there was a showing from Jar Jar Binks and Padme, in which the Clone Wars episode Bombad Jedi had been translated into every language imaginable. It was hilarious–even though at points the other actresses didn’t sound like Padme at all. Oddly enough, it seems to have vanished from the web…

Sorry about this post, I just rambled and ranted about a global phenomenon. 😛

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

The Hero’s Companion

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baroness emma orczy, bbc sherlock, brian jacques, characters, friends, j.r.r. tolkien, lord of the rings, madeleine l'engle, redwall, sherlock holmes, sir arthur conan doyle, star wars, story dynamics, the scarlet pimpernel

Going through life would be pretty lonely without friends, Good Samaritans, and (possibly) spouses. So why deprive your protagonist?

Every protagonist needs a good friend, whether said friend is sidekick or equal. Every Sherlock Holmes needs a Dr. John H. Watson. Every Triss needs a Shogg. Every Luke needs a Leia (and possibly a Han as well.) Every Percy Blakeney needs a Marguerite. Here’s a list of good things that should be present with every best friend/spouse/partner:

1. Faithful. Every companion must be faithful, loyal, and committed. It should take more than a little argument to make them go their separate way. A good example of this trait is Doctor John Hamish Watson. Even when everyone else believed that Sherlock was a fraud, John stuck by him. Even when everyone else was condemning Sherlock for killing Magnusson, John was there.
2. Reliable. They must turn up when needed. If you get tired of your main character saving the day, then you can have their companion do it! Here’s where Snips comes in handy… when Anakin is in a jam, Padawan Tano springs in and saves the day.
3. Courageous? Maybe even courageous enough to stand up to their BFF about things the hero has done that they don’t agree with! Obi-Wan Kenobi, definitely. He doesn’t care what Anakin thinks; he will keep on guiding Anakin whether Master Skywalker likes it or not. And bonus! Even when Anakin does something wrong, Obi-Wan is brave enough to stand up to the Council and say “Give him another chance!”
4. Honest, even brutally so. Sometimes a hero just needs to hear the truth, no sugar and no strings attached. Meg Murry. I need say no more.
5. Cheerful. When things are at their darkest, a hero needs cheering up. Who do you call? Gonff, the Prince of Mousethieves!
6. Deadly in battle? Perhaps. If your hero needs help. Samwise Gamgee may be humble, but he’s also quite the fighter!
7. Unassuming. Sollertree the Hedgehog, of Salamandastron fame. He lived as he died, quiet and humble, and jerked more tears out of me than any other Redwall book death except for Cregga’s death in Taggerung, and his death served the double purpose of showing how serious the quest was.

Bear in mind, most of these things are optional, though put most or all of them together and you have a foolproof recipe for a good pal. But be creative! Give your companion a backstory, as well! Or don’t give them any–except for the fact that he was Qui-Gon Jinn’s apprentice, we knew practically nothing about Obi-Wan Kenobi’s background until the Clone Wars came along… and he still managed to fascinate us. Fleeing from the past? Healing the wounds dealt by fate? The companion is a character in his own right–have fun crafting him or her!

Make a whole cast of friends, or just one or two. But give your hero a companion! Your novel will be the more complete for the attention.

Functionally Dysfunctional: Families in Fiction

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bbc sherlock, disney, family, j.r.r. tolkien, lord of the rings, sherlock holmes, sir arthur conan doyle, story dynamics

And, on that cheery note of repeated and unnecessary assonance… 😛

WE WILL TALK ABOUT FAMILY!!! Fathers! Mothers! Sons! Daughters! Cousins! Aunts! Uncles! Nieces! Nephews! Grandparents! Great-grandparents! Great-great-great grandparents! (But only if you’re dealing in Elves, which is rare… sigh) Obscure relations to the fifth degree!!! (If you’re playing with Hobbits. ;-P)

All right, first thing you need to know: Every family is dysfunctional on some level. For instance, sibling rivalry. But not every family is called dysfunctional… don’t ask me why. Talk to CPS about that, okay? Child abuse is not what I’m talking about here…

Or maybe it is? Nevermind…

Though overactive child protection agency social workers pestering an innocent family might make a good plot… MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Second thing you need to know: Families. Are. Important. Family background is one of the first things you should be thinking about when you begin character development. (The second thing is whether they like the Jays or not… shut up, Kysherin… sorry. My muse is a football fan and I’m not. I’d rather be playing it. Though she does have a point–is your character much of a bird watcher? :-P)

Father/son relationships. Mother/daughter relationships. Family dynamic as a whole. Who here is sick and tired of characters with family sob stories? *raises hand* Honestly, disobedient kids get old. REALLY fast. Hence, since so many Disney movies involve them, they are so last millennia! Though if you want to have a disobedient kid, go ahead. I’ll like him better if he has a healthy relationship with one parent at least, though. Anyway, people like respectful kids better than obnoxious brats; it’s a scientifically proven fact. Have your characters have a healthy relationship with at least one family member and you’ll have some background to go on. And someone to punch Sally Donovan in the face when she calls you a freak. (Aren’t kid sisters awesome, Sherlock? If only you canonically had one… sigh)

Besides, the family is not only a tool for pathetic backstory. It’s also a tool that you can use to indicate personality. Characters who are faithful to their families are trustworthy, kind-hearted, and willing. Characters who are not are lying cheats with no principles. This is how you make your villain; just have him stab his dad in the back.

Families also make a good catalyst for conflict. For instance, when family members don’t agree, it causes fiction–even if they do agree to respectfully disagree. And if a character has to make a difficult decision, like having to seemingly betray his/her family in order to save them… delicious.

And there are no happier endings than those that end safe and sound, beside a fire, in a room full of happiness.

With family.

BORED!

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bbc sherlock, boredom, humor, john h. watson, sherlock holmes

So, before we start shooting walls… shall we?

Disclaimer: I only own the editing and meme idea. Nothing else is mine.

Enjoy the madness!