Wednesday, December 1, 2010
End of the Year
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
(One)-Shots and Snippets
In Heaven's Despite
Tyrants are not created in a day, but rather over time. Miraz always selfishly took from his brother, forgetting what being a brother truly meant. A look at Miraz's progression from childhood bully to murderous traitor.
From the Attic Poor
from the attic poor to the palace grand, the king and beggar went hand-in-hand. Peter encounters a poor lost little boy on the street, and is determined to help him.
In other news, I was cleaning out my documents earlier today, and I came across a document in my fanfic folder simply labeled "characters". I clicked on it, and I found that it was a bunch of drabbles based on a song challenge I had started and never finished. These drabbles have not been proof-read(or actually, re-read at all) but since I'm never going to post them, I figured I would at least put it here:
2. Turn your music player on and turn it on random/shuffle.
3. Write a drabblet/ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterward! No matter how whacked out your drabble is.
4. Do ten of these, then post them.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Getting Up-to-Date
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Bonds- Commentary
Peter smiled sadly, understanding the deeper meaning behind the words.
“I know, I know, Peter,” Edmund said softly, “You could always fight your own battles.”
Peter stopped walking suddenly, looking down at the bleak and cold concrete street. “I was worried.” He said.
With that, the entire story shifts from "bonds" to "Bond" for me- the brother's amazing, close bond. Because after a lifetime of living and almost dying together, the bonds they have are parallel to none other.
And Peter is right- Edmund has seen too many prisons in his short lifetime, and they do haunt him. Some of them have been physical, like being a captive of the White Witch, while others are much harder to find.
This story is also the story where I first introduced the lines I have the brothers repeat often:
"Protecting you from nightmares, of course."
"Protecting me, or protecting yourself?"
I had to have the story end on a happy, lighthearted note after the brother's heavy discussion, so I thought them waking up late and racing to the breakfast table was a nice light, fluffy way to end the story.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Falls the Shadow
A penny for the Old Guy
I
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;
Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us--if at all--not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.
II
Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death's dream kingdom
These do not appear:
There, the eyes are
Sunlight on a broken column
There, is a tree swinging
And voices are
In the wind's singing
More distant and more solemn
Than a fading star.
Let me be no nearer
In death's dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer--
Not that final meeting
In the twilight kingdom
III
This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man's hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.
Is it like this
In death's other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.
IV
The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms
In this last of meeting places
We grope together
and avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river
Sightless, unless
The eyes reappear
As the perpetual star
Multifoliate rose
Of death's twilight kingdom
The hope only
Of empty men.
V
Here we go round the prickly pear
Prickly pear prickly pear
Here we go round the prickly pear
At five o'clock in the morning.
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow
Life is very long
Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
and the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
For thine is
Life is
For Thine is the
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Bonds-Audio Version
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
"Through Shadow and Fire" playlists
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Quotes that Inspire
Don't believe the lies that they told to you
Not one word was true
You're all right, you're all right,
You're all right
And I have felt the same
As you, I've felt the same
-Simon, Lifehouse-
This song lyric basically inspired the story that is also named "Simon". For the most part, the plot was taken directly from the lyrics. Edmund sees a boy who's been bullied, remembers the feelings, and goes to the rescue. My entire purpose for the story was basically to show how Edmund lived once he was back in England. Short and simple.
Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born.
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.
Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.
-Auguries of Innocence, William Blake
This excerpt from William Blake's poem was basically where "Reassurance" came from, which of course set up a whole three(hopefully one day four) story arc about how each Pevensie finds Aslan in Narnia. I just thought the "some are born to endless night/some are born to sweet delight"- or rather, some live in misery and others in joy, and why, would be an interesting question for Peter to tackle. Of course, Peter can't find the answers, because we don't know them. But he finds the reassurance he needs.
Know how sublime a thing it is
To suffer and be strong
-“The Light of the Stars”, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This excerpt, for me, sumarizes "Through Shadow and Fire", and I thought it was particulary fitting in the chapter in which Rhahar tries to break Edmund's faith.
False enchantment can last a lifetime.- W.H. Auden
What a great quote for the Narnian world. I'm still trying to work it in for a one-shot featuring either Edmund or Rilian. The plot for my Edmund story is much more thought-out, though it's more traditional.
Love seeketh not itself to please
Nor for itself hath any care
but for another gives it ease
and builds a heaven in Hell's despair.
-William Blake
This, to me, is a quote that sums up the essence of the Pevensies, particularly the bond between Edmund and Peter. It's one of my favorite quotes ever and I have a one-shot in the works centering around it.
It only seems like there is no planned because it is all planned.-C.S. Lewis
If I had to only pick one quote to incoporate in my Narnia stories, it would be this one. This particular insight from C.S. Lewis has inspired my stories from Reassurance to Light After Rain.
These, of course, are not the only things I get inspiration from, but without these particular excerpts, I would never have had an idea to write a particular story, and so they hold a special place in my heart.
the shadow proves the sunshine
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tapping on Wardrobes
She’s only sixteen, but she feels so much older than her years sometimes. She helps her Mom get up from her chair and escorts her to the bed. She always has to be so careful because the slightest movement causes so much pain.
“I love you, Mom.” She whispers, holding back the tears that always fight to be let loose. She cannot afford to cry- she must be strong now for her Mother and the rest of her family.
“I love you, too.” The mother replies as she pats her daughter’s hand. The skin has turned brown and wrinkly, and the girl can feel the chemotherapy port still attached. She wants nothing more than to give her mom an embrace, but refrains. Every night is another worry that she will wake up and never have the chance to see her mother again.
As the girl slips off to her own room, on an impulse, she fights through a layer of clothes to the back of her closet. She taps on the white, painted wall to only her the sound of her own knuckles, and she sinks on the floor. I use to do this, myself. As a child, I constantly searched for Narnia in my closet. It was never very magical, as my closet barely fit me even as a ten-year-old and the door has always been broken so that it is constantly open.
She is sixteen, but feels so much younger than her years sometimes. Right now she is the little girl trying to find her place in the world, and feeling as if she never will. Her mind tells her there’s no such thing as a talking lion that comes to save the day or a world in the back of her closet. She just feels like she needs there to be. She desperately seeks this magical land where anything can happen. Where Diggory could bring an enchanted apple back to his dying mother. Where maybe she could do the same. This, to me, seems pretty self-explanatory. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had a sick family member and wondered, if they could just enter that magical land, and find that fruit that restored life to Diggory's mother.
She used to be a Lucy, full of hope and dreams. She could conquer the world. She had enough faith to get her through anything. But know she’s not so sure of herself.
In that moment, it doesn’t matter that Narnia is a fictional world with fictional characters. In that moment, it doesn’t matter she’ll never be greeted with a faun in a snowy wood. All that matters is that she wants to be a Lucy again.Basically, the girl in this part is finding her faith starting to fade. She still holds on to it, she's still sure of it in her mind. . . it just seems dimmer to her than before. And so she will search for it, reaching out to the story we all know and love.
Ironically, even though looking back, the young girl striving to be Lucy's was my favorite, at the time I most enjoyed writing the Susan of my story. I am my own worst critic, but I think out of all of the four, her character is the most real and the one that most meets the standard I had in front of me. Maybe I like her so much because she realizes her own flaws. Of the four people I wrote, she is the only one who resolves "not" to be something. The "Edmund" doesn't want to be how he is, but the words I use are less strong around him and that's for a reason- he is more unsure of his feelings than this Susan is. She knows exactly what she wants-to keep her inner child(reposted below):
She comes home from another day of work to another empty house. She wonders if the children recognize how much she herself needs to hear the story she reads to her class.
She believed in it once- just like them. When she first heard the story of Narnia, she couldn’t help thinking that maybe, just maybe there was an adventure waiting for her between the mothballs in her closet. She had tried for years.
Times changed, and she grew up. She went to University, she got married, she became a teacher in a prominent school. But her marriage shattered in divorce and the edges of her degree turned yellow with age. She sought new work in a small town where all the children she taught were ragged and poor. They had already seen too much of the world at their age, so she read the story to them. I see this woman showing a side of Susan that most people tend to forget: that she was Queen Susan the gentle. So I made this woman not a scarlet woman, like many may choose to portray a "Susan", but just a gentle, hurt, worn soul. Susan, like the woman I wrote about, went through a lot. While I'm not trying to excuse her actions, I wanted to show that she wasn't just all silly frills.
The story, the one that always brought her to belief she once had. Every year, there was at least one child who seem to enjoy the story a little more than the others, one child whose eyes sparkled bright at the happy ending when the new Kings and Queens were crowned, and she wondered if the sparkle matched the one in her own eyes.
But she couldn’t read the story to them forever- everything had an ending. So she would put the book away until the next year, and let her heart sit and grow dusty and cynical. She would reject the child in her for a year.
She read the story today, and as usual afterwards she explores her own closet. She was too old for this, she tells herself, but she keeps pressing onwards anyway. She knows it was futile, but she lets a small hope creep into her heart.
She reaches the back. It is filled with dust and cobwebs, but no snow or trees branches. She, a teacher twenty-eight years of age with more common sense than the rest of the town put together, breaks down into sobs. She promises that no matter how many times this exercise ends in heartbreak, she won’t stop believing.Here is where the difference starts. I believe that if Susan had tried something like this, just to see, she would have taken it as a broken promise, in a way. Whereas for this woman, it just makes her vow annewed.
In that moment, it doesn’t matter this year is just like any other. In that moment, it doesn’t matter that she knows Narnia doesn’t exist. All that matters is that she resolves not to be a Susan.
---
Out of all of them, Edmund's shadow was the hardest to write. I think it's because I was writing from a Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe standpoint, and as much as I love him, we can all agree Edmund is quite the beast in the story. Looking over it, I think I was much to gentle with this boy who seems to be similiar to Edmund. I was hoping that by letting him be the boy who didn't want to be Edmund, I could make my point and yet be a bit nicer to the character. While I still think it does the job, if I was ever to rewrite the story I would be much, much harsher to this young boy. After all, when I first read the books as an eight-year-old, before I had grasped the concept of sacrifice and forgiveness, I hated Edmund for his betrayal. At the time, I think I knew I wasn't doing this character justice, which is why I wrapped it up in so short of a segment:
He is one of three and is constantly overshadowed by his brothers.Looking back, I'm not sure why I gave this young boy two brothers and no sisters. I think I was trying to show the seperation between him and Edmund-they're similiar, yes, but not identical. Whereas with the other characters, I was practically forcing similiarities. He doesn’t really blame them for it- his oldest brother has shining natural talents in music and school, while his slightly younger brother has a charming personality.Something else I changed- the fact he has a younger brother. This would probably be something I would change if I were to re-visit the story. He is not jealous, but he wishes he could find something grand of his own.
He remembers the story his fourth grade teacher read about a magical land, a faun, four siblings, a terrible witch and a great and powerful lion. He knows he is the Edmund in the story.I think part of the reason he's Edmund(because let's face it, he doesn't have a WHOLE lot in common with the character. A fair bit,yes, but not a ton) is because he BELIEVES himself to be. Perception can be extremely powerful.
When he thinks no one is looking, he crawls in the back of the old family wardrobe that is kept in storage. He makes his way through layers of clothes so old they could be considered antiques. When he finds nothing but a solid, wooden back, he sinks to his knees and cries.
In that moment, it doesn’t matter that Narnia is just a series of books written by some long-dead author he has never meet. In that moment, it doesn’t matter that a boy of his age should know better than to cry over something so silly. All that matters is he doesn’t want to be an Edmund anymore.
--
Now this "Peter" of my story. . . he was quite an interesting case. Despite being the first we meet, he was actually the last to be written. I like the character that came out in the end, but he was quite hard to write. I didn't want him to be this absolute golden boy- I wanted him to have flaws. It would have been all to easy to paint Peter's image as a sterling example of a young boy, but then I felt it would have lessened the impact of his longing, if not even make it feel forced:
He is not the strongest, the fastest, or the smartest. He is well-rounded and average, but has never excelled at anything. He wants to set an example. He wants to show his little sister that their family can do anything, despite their poverty and undesirable situations. Here I wanted to set up, in just a few words, the typical "big brother" behavior that Peter so often displays.
He wants to be the ultimate big brother, but he is unsure of himself. He is afraid to promise to always keep his sister safe, because he’s not sure he can guarantee it, though he wants to.
He reads to her before bed sometimes, when their parents are too tired to do the task. Their favorites are the fantasies, especially the ones about Narnia. Ordinary children having extraordinary adventures. She once told him he was Peter. He took the title both as a compliment and as a challenge to live up to.
This night, after his sister falls asleep after an hour of reading, he sneaks from the room. Their house is microscopic and he does not even have a closet of his own. The only thing he has is a pantry.Looking back, I'm not really sure why I decided on a pantry. I just wanted something different from the usual wardrobe/closet set-up. And it made it easier to get descriptive, when I could write about the different aromas of the spices and such. The entire paragraphs are of different textures than the ones that deal with clothes.
The unpleasant aroma of a million different spices drifts towards him as he enters. It is dark, and he cannot see where he is stepping. He overcomes his fear that there may be roaches and rats and makes it to the back.
All he reaches is the wall with its dark paint coming off in chips. Instead of the falling snow he desperately seeks, he is welcomed with falling dust and paint chips from the ceiling above him.
There is no magical land for him to find his own worth in, no land where he could become anybody worth mentioning. Just the back of the pantry and the tears that he lets slip down his face.
In that moment, it doesn’t matter that there is no land where he can fight epic battles. In that moment, it doesn’t matter that there is no talking lion who will remind him to clean his sword. All that matters is that he’s not sure of himself, and desperately seeks to become a Peter.
So, there you have it. The entire story and commentary behind my fanfic "Tapping on Wardrobes."
the shadow proves the sunshine