I Don't Write Fiction About Fairies, Faeries, Fay, Fey, Or Any Such Thing. Honest.

[dr_pretentious]

csecooney told me my last post was the beginning of a short story. Just what I needed, I thought, another project to get in the way of the manuscripts that I've been pushing on continually since having my kids. And now the story's haunting me.

I usually stick to third person, past tense, because that's where the magic is. You don't see Homer or the anonymous talespinners collected by the Brothers Grimm telling stories in first person or present tense. And definitely not stream of consciousness. Stream of consciousness is a johnny-come-lately technique, about a century old, and there's a reason nobody bothered to try it on long narratives before that, right? Leave it for short lyric poems, where it belongs.

Okay, little story, you win. Stretch me new. It's been a while.

Comments

[laradionne.livejournal.com]

Oooooh! Can't wait to read a Sarah stream of consciousness story! Of course I'd love to get a shot at reading all of the other manuscripts in progress too =D

[laradionne.livejournal.com]

Plus an afternoon to have a cup of tea/coffee sometime...

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

If you're portable on weekdays and don't mind sharing time and attention with my kids, that could be very easy. It would definitely be wonderful.

[laradionne.livejournal.com]

Pick a day and I'm there! (I will probably need directions though, I think it's been 6+ years since I last visited you.

[violet-moon25.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to reading this one too! As your kids get a little older it gets easier (and I am not that much ahead of you). No-more-kids-under-2-in-the-house is a real milestone.

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

jasminewind suggested there should be an It Gets Better campaign for parents of young children. Oh, man. I'm counting on it. Not expecting easy, but better would be very welcome.

[violet-moon25.livejournal.com]

Speaking of stream of consciousness. This post made me think of your Ria story (any progress lately?) which made me think of Lawnhenge. Then I thought that was too big a project for me but I could do Foamhenge and make the "stones" fabric stuffed with foam on top and beans for weight on the bottom. It seems like the perfect thing for pagan preschoolers.

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

There has, actually, been some progress. When Drollerie was circling the drain, it was hard to get motivated to write a story I figured would only ever sell to the friends, family, and cordial acquaintances I could drum up on my own. Feeling like I was stuck with a non-performing publisher was adding a note of futility to my creative process. Now that I have no idea who, if anyone, will publish the Ria story, I'm actually making more progress. I actually like the freedom of writing on spec, as it turns out.

Foamhenge sounds like a huge amount of fun. And if you found you could make them economically and still enjoy the process, you might find you had more than just a Pagan niche market. Somewhere in the house I've got a Stonhenge pocketwatch, plastic, made in China. I don't remember where it came from, but I've seen them in the Signals catalog since being given mine.

Lawnhenge might migrate into Amber's story. I'm not sure. Amber understands Ria in ways nobody else in the coven does, including some ways Ria doesn't understand herself. There's a lot of stuff going on in the Ria story that can't migrate anywhere else, so if something's got to move, it will probably be Lawnhenge.

Those scenes still make me laugh out loud, and I think I've probably read them fifty or more times by now.

[violet-moon25.livejournal.com]

How are they going? I love the Rugosa coven stories but I'm curious about new story too.