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Jan. 28th, 2008 01:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liptonrm_backupThis entire post is me distracting myself from some more bad news that I heard last night. I'm not physically able to speak about President Hinckley's death yet so I'll talk about other things in the interim.
I have three ideas for original fiction that I hope to be able to write some day. Some of them are more fleshed out than others.
The first, and the most fully-formed, is the plague apocalypse, of course. I'm sure that doesn't surprise a one of ya'll. ;-) My personal twist on it, and one I've mentioned before, is the inclusion of "supernatural" powers that begin waking up because of humanity's decimation. And it will all take place in Michigan. It is my dearest dream to one day do for Michigan what Stephen King did for Maine. It won't include a big apocalyptic battle ala The Stand but rather will probably end in life doing what life does, adapting and moving on.
The next most formed story idea is a story of three siblings. It began as a story that would deal with coming home and readapting and since it first sprang into my mind during my BoB days setting it post-WWII seemed simplest. However, I've since decided that I want to deal with more modern characters and issues, that the America they discover is one we all recognize. There will be a touch of magical realism and a journey, both literal and psychological for all three characters. This is, unsurprisingly, the most autobiographical of the stories that are twisting around in my subconscious.
And, finally, we have the story that began as a Mary Sue before I knew what a Mary Sue was. This deserves a little history, mostly because the whole thing amuses me, like, a lot. So, back in the day I read those Wheel of Time books, I read a lot of epic fantasy back then but Wheel of Time was my little fandom of one (a lot of that time runs concurrently to when I was in X-Files fandom online, but that's neither here nor there). At one point I was so frustrated with the actions and attitudes of the main character that I dearly wanted to go into the book and shake him. Of course, that was all it took. Soon I had created a whole character and a whole new civilization and it was tons of fun. For some reason I was thinking about it all a couple days ago (though I'm pretty sure it's all the Winchesters' fault) and I realized that I could lift everything I had imagined out of that milieu and create a whole new story for it. This is equally funny because only last week, or so, I was telling the Baylor Sister that I would never write epic fantasy and now I just might. If it turns into a hero's quest a girl will be the hero, of that I'm certain. She won't be spechully magical but there will be magic/psychic types. However, since human beings weren't meant to have powers like that they have to have non-magic counterparts to balance everything out or else bad things will happen, etc. etc.
See, self inserts and sekrit pretend worlds are awesome. You never know when some bit of craziness might actually turn into something real years later.
I'm pretty sure that any one who eventually reads what I write will have no doubts about my involvement in fandom. We fic writers pick up certain tropes and habits that are pretty unmistakeable, much like romance writers and other niche professionals. If you don't believe me go read the first chapter and a half of Melusine by Sarah Monette and you'll see what I mean.
So, what are some of your crazy or not-so-crazy original fiction ideas? Or maybe your favorite crazy fic ideas? We're all storytellers here, after all. =D
I have three ideas for original fiction that I hope to be able to write some day. Some of them are more fleshed out than others.
The first, and the most fully-formed, is the plague apocalypse, of course. I'm sure that doesn't surprise a one of ya'll. ;-) My personal twist on it, and one I've mentioned before, is the inclusion of "supernatural" powers that begin waking up because of humanity's decimation. And it will all take place in Michigan. It is my dearest dream to one day do for Michigan what Stephen King did for Maine. It won't include a big apocalyptic battle ala The Stand but rather will probably end in life doing what life does, adapting and moving on.
The next most formed story idea is a story of three siblings. It began as a story that would deal with coming home and readapting and since it first sprang into my mind during my BoB days setting it post-WWII seemed simplest. However, I've since decided that I want to deal with more modern characters and issues, that the America they discover is one we all recognize. There will be a touch of magical realism and a journey, both literal and psychological for all three characters. This is, unsurprisingly, the most autobiographical of the stories that are twisting around in my subconscious.
And, finally, we have the story that began as a Mary Sue before I knew what a Mary Sue was. This deserves a little history, mostly because the whole thing amuses me, like, a lot. So, back in the day I read those Wheel of Time books, I read a lot of epic fantasy back then but Wheel of Time was my little fandom of one (a lot of that time runs concurrently to when I was in X-Files fandom online, but that's neither here nor there). At one point I was so frustrated with the actions and attitudes of the main character that I dearly wanted to go into the book and shake him. Of course, that was all it took. Soon I had created a whole character and a whole new civilization and it was tons of fun. For some reason I was thinking about it all a couple days ago (though I'm pretty sure it's all the Winchesters' fault) and I realized that I could lift everything I had imagined out of that milieu and create a whole new story for it. This is equally funny because only last week, or so, I was telling the Baylor Sister that I would never write epic fantasy and now I just might. If it turns into a hero's quest a girl will be the hero, of that I'm certain. She won't be spechully magical but there will be magic/psychic types. However, since human beings weren't meant to have powers like that they have to have non-magic counterparts to balance everything out or else bad things will happen, etc. etc.
See, self inserts and sekrit pretend worlds are awesome. You never know when some bit of craziness might actually turn into something real years later.
I'm pretty sure that any one who eventually reads what I write will have no doubts about my involvement in fandom. We fic writers pick up certain tropes and habits that are pretty unmistakeable, much like romance writers and other niche professionals. If you don't believe me go read the first chapter and a half of Melusine by Sarah Monette and you'll see what I mean.
So, what are some of your crazy or not-so-crazy original fiction ideas? Or maybe your favorite crazy fic ideas? We're all storytellers here, after all. =D
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Date: 2008-01-29 01:01 am (UTC)Aside from the stuff you already know about that I'm doing, I once planned an epic adventure premised on the Tsarevich Alexei surviving (possibly magically) the execution of the Romanovs and his journey from boyhood to young manhood eastward across the globe, from Irkutsk to Shanghai to San Francisco, where the Russian emigre community promises both hope and threat, and the specter of threats both political and supernatural loom at every turn ...
Oh, and my big imaginary project when I was a kid was about immortal incarnations of the four elements and their battles and affairs over the centuries. Mix of elemental stuff plus Highlandler plus Anne Rice themes. I started out with Makarah, avatar of Earth, who was a Paleolithic woman from North America, who raised the land bridge to bring her people from Siberia, who has gone into deep sleep but has now awakened due to the changes in the natural world. Then there's Seth, who used his power over the Wind for power and conquest, resulting in the creation of the Sahara. He's been plotting around ever since. Then Rachael, a Hebrew girl made a concubine by the Pharaoh, with power over Water. Finally, an Occitan bastard boy, Laurent, taken to grow up in a Benedictine monastery by his mother, kicked out after he manifested his apparently demoniac power of Fire, targeted during the Albigensian Crusade... In the near future Laurent and Rachael must put away their bad blood to confront Seth's ambitions as the seas rise and the wind warms and Makarah wakes .... (Yes, I think in blurbs.)
Also had a vampire story, a story about a modern-day hobbit sneaking into Men's Cities, and so forth. But the most important images have been an image -- a small man or tall boy in worn clothes walking alone down a highway; and the name Danny.