Writerly blather

[cleolinda]

Change of plans: because of some unsightly chores I got sucked into today, I'm putting the Filminute stuff off until Wednesday. That way we can have a fresh start, uninterrupted by pirate-talking. Arrrr.

Hmm. I have, in fact, started going over my Black Ribbon notes again. The fact that I can even bear to look at it may tell you that the Lamictal (day 17) is having some positive effects. I think I've been terrified of going back to the story, which is, after all, more than three years old, and discovering that it was juvenile crap. I know that it needs to be rewritten; the existing three segments were written very quickly, under a serial deadline just for fun, and I know they need to be fleshed out a bit--they have kind of a roller-coaster quality at the moment that people seemed to like, but I'm not sure it's enough for a publishable novel anyway.

(Another thing that cracked me up: I workshopped the first two chapters in a class I was taking at the time, and everyone kept saying in tones of astonishment, "God, things actually happen in this story! You never see that anymore!" Not in a graduate course in Serious Writing, I suppose.)

For those of you newish to the journal, Black Ribbon was a story I started writing in Julyish of 2003, and thought, oh, it would be cool if I serialized it online. It would have five parts, since there happened to be five weekends in October that year (or I'd start it the last weekend in September, or something like that). It was sort of a Victorian historical thriller--I got several reviews/comments to the effect of, "No one does psychological horror like this anymore!," which was really sweet of the reviewers, but somehow, I doubt the actual truth of the statement. As in, if you look hard enough, I'm sure you can find some. My point is, that's the kind of thing it was. It enters a certain literary subgenre around the third section (the last one online. There's a link on the sidebar here somewhere. ETA: If the Geocities site--webhost of kings!--won't load, try the text-only version at Fiction Press. I think all three chapters are there) that I kind of don't want to specify, because a lot of the buildup is the mystery of what it's actually all about. Unlike Lost, however, you start getting solid answers halfway through, and the rest of the story is about how the main characters deal with a central catastrophe. I'm sure if it ever gets published, this genre point will be first and foremost in the marketing, so, you know, enjoy the surprise while you can. I kind of wanted to reinvent the genre--"reinvent" is a bit strong a word, because it's not like I'm reinventing the wheel, but I wanted to have my own mythology and whys and wherefores and have my own set of causes and effects. So I wanted you to have the same experience as the main character, Rose Hannah--what the hell is going on, what are you talking about, are you serious? That's what this was all about? And you have to learn the rules along with her.

I have it compartmentalized in my mind--it sounds complicated, so I'll use a handy analogy. Black Ribbon is like a basket of oranges. The first "orange," "The Bitter Kiss," is the story in question. It has five chapters, or segments, and mostly takes place in London. The second "orange," the second story or volume or whatever, will have I don't know how many segments (five if I can manage it, just for symmetry), and it's going to take place in Paris. The third orange/story takes place in Romania. The fourth one, according to my current notes, wanders around a bit, but I think it's going to end up in India. That's the first series--the first basket of oranges. That series is "The Black Ribbon." After four stories, the black ribbon of the title will, uh, be no more. The second series, or basket of oranges, will deal with the fallout from the end of the first series. I don't know what it'll be called yet, because I only have a vague idea of what's going to happen--I know the end of the series, what I'm working towards, but I'm trying to leave things loose so that developments as I work on the first series can be incorporated. And really, that's why I'm sketching out all four stories at once--if I want to reach a certain point in the fourth story, I need to make sure I've got all my foreshadowing laid in and all the necessary characters and plot points in place. And when I think of new things for the first story, I need to be able to work them in. I'm a big picture person, after all; I want to lay out my pattern before I start sewing.

(Yes, I named it "The Black Ribbon" because I had the story about the girl with the yellow/green/red/black/[insert variation here] ribbon around her neck in mind. Not in a literal way--nobody's head falls off--but I knew that other people would remember it, too, and the ribbon is, after all, worn around someone's neck.)

I'll tell you one thing, though--I'm desperate to get my hands on Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana, because I consulted his site so much when I was world-building. (He's on LJ around here somewhere...) I wanted kind of a steampunk feel to the whole thing, although I'm trying to back off that as an official description, because I'm afraid it promises more science than I can actually deliver. Unfortunately, getting the book is probably going to have to wait until Christmas, along with a number of others I want to use for research. So I can noodle around on the other three volumes in the meantime, I guess. Today's random point of research: Parisian catacombs on Flickr, for the second orange volume.

Comments

[metonymy.livejournal.com]

Fascinating. I love reading about the writing process for people who can actually write, like, books. (Meaning only that I enjoy writing, but I never produce anything more than about two pages of interconnectedness.)

What's a pirate's favorite craft item?

YARRRRRRRRRRRRN!

[firei.livejournal.com]

I was wondering if you could possibly pimp this site if it takes your fancy. If not, well, I hope you enjoy it anyway. :)

http://www.iheartpluto.com/ (http://www.iheartpluto.com/)

It's still under construction, but, there are t-shirts! New shirts are being added, and the rest of the stuff will be up soon as far as I know.

Thanks.

[firei.livejournal.com]

PS - as I'm avoiding doing my theology homework, I read the Black Ribbon. I hope you do write some more, I'm curious.

Poor Pluto!

[detective13.livejournal.com]

Poor Pluto! We (me, Nancy, and my cousin, Veronica) wish he was still classified as a planet. It's just not right, cancelling his membership like that! >:/

[elisa0984.livejournal.com]

You know I friended the LJ account you made for that so when I had a spare moment I could go read it. (The Geosite either can't or won't load.) The fact that it seemed Victorian in nature was really cool when you spoke about it, but you seemed so excited about it which I think was a big reason why I wanted to read it. When the creator is excited the reader becomes excited as well.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Awww. I'll see if I can't post the existing three chapters on that account or something. Actually, I think at least some of it's on my Fiction Press account: http://www.fictionpress.com/read.php?storyid=1421445

(Oh dear. I got a new debit card earlier in the month--I wonder if I missed the monthly webhost payment.)

[elisa0984.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thank you. (After my comm homework. After.

I don't think Geocities is ever in top form. Opening a page seems to send it flopping to the fainting coach.

[kudzita.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to mention that (although I rarely comment) I was rereading The Black Ribbon yesterday and thinking "Gosh, I love this story...I hope Cleo finishes it someday." Which is not meant to pressure you or anything, just, well, I don't think it's juvenile crap.

And the way you have it set up, with the magazine serial bit, just warms the cockles of my heart. By which I mean, cracks me up every time. It's kind of sad.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Awww, bless. The story is mostly drafted; it just lacks a lot of polish and finish, so it's not a matter of not being sure what happens. Also, I actually have the rest of the Mr. Bennet frame story written and everything.

[kvschwartz.livejournal.com]

What is the story of the woman with a black ribbon around her neck?

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Google for the story, but the short answer is (hilight to read): .

[kvschwartz.livejournal.com]

Huh. It's kinda like a Hawthorne short story. Except really really really bad.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I have a version of the story in a children's lit collection; it's about a page long and very simple, almost folk-tale quality. Which is kind of even more fucked up. Basically, the story goes a little like, "Why won't you take off the ribbon, Jane?" asked John, every day for umpteen hundred years until finally they got married and Jane said, "When I'm on my deathbed, John, I'll tell you." So she's dying, and she says, "You can take the ribbon off now," and her head falls off. It is literally about that long.

[lylassandra.livejournal.com]

It isn't a folktale? It seems like it should count as one-- I can't ever remember actually "hearing" it, it's just one of those playground stories that everyone knew and told when Grown Ups weren't listening...

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

It's funny, but my favorite part Black Ribbon so far (and I like the story overall) is the correspondence between "you" and Primrose Press, or whatever it was called. For some reason those just cracked me up, and I'd love to see you do something more with that part someday.

[delurker.livejournal.com]

Another great story with correspondance between the author (a character in his own right) and the publisher is Steven Brust's The Viscount of Adrilankha book(s) - it's a three-volume novel, comprising of

The Paths of the Dead (http://www.amazon.com/Paths-Dead-Viscount-Adrilankha-Book/dp/0812534174/sr=8-11/qid=1158649542/ref=pd_bbs_11/103-8311945-2067044?ie=UTF8&s=books)
The Lord of Castle Black (http://www.amazon.com/Castle-Black-Viscount-Adrilankha-Book/dp/0812534190/sr=8-13/qid=1158649542/ref=sr_1_13/103-8311945-2067044?ie=UTF8&s=books)
and
Sethra Lavode (http://www.amazon.com/Sethra-Lavode-V-Steven-Brust/dp/0812534182/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b/103-8311945-2067044?ie=UTF8)

There are also wonderful asides from the author from time to time.

The books are a sequel to a previous two-book serious Brust wrote, which have the same "author":
The Phoenix Guards (http://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Guards-Khaavren-Romances/dp/0812506898/sr=8-23/qid=1158649564/ref=sr_1_23/103-8311945-2067044?ie=UTF8&s=books)
Five Hundred Years After (http://www.amazon.com/Hundred-Years-After-Khaavren-Romances/dp/0812515226/sr=8-18/qid=1158649564/ref=sr_1_18/103-8311945-2067044?ie=UTF8&s=books).

They're a homage to Alexander Dumas, and they're so much fun.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

I've read some Brust -- several of his Vlad Taltos books -- but I don't think I've got those in particular. I take it I should keep reading?

[delurker.livejournal.com]

Definitely.

[evilsimon.livejournal.com]

I. I think I need that Encyclopedia of which you speak. Oh dear.

[dreamingreader.livejournal.com]

I'll admit it up front: I'm far too lazy to look up psychological thrillers so do you have any recommendations?

By the way, I love Black Ribbon and I do hope that you finish it one day. It was such a great combination of psychology and humor!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I actually... don't. I mostly read nonfiction (with a smattering of YA fantasy, apparently) for fun. I don't even really have anything I can cite as a stylistic inspiration for the actual "psychological thriller" part--if anything, I probably get a lot of technique in that department from movies, not books. If you see a story as a movie in your head, you end up transcribing suggestive character expressions and gestures rather than just saying, "He thought to himself..." Which may be what people mean when they talk about Black Ribbon. I don't know.

That said, I did read a lot of Victorian-era works, mostly because I just like them, but in a research sense, more for period detail, a sense of dialogue and vocabulary, that kind of thing.

[underalilacmoon.livejournal.com]

If you see a story as a movie in your head, you end up transcribing suggestive character expressions and gestures rather than just saying, "He thought to himself..."

Innteresting! I was in a screenwriting course when I started the first draft of what has become my novel and at first it was very much that short choppy style. I've loosened up into long paragraphs more now, but still do use a lot of visuals, esp. with faces. And floors. For some reason. And hardly use the word "said" at all.... There's so many different ways of doing things!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I actually use just plain "said" a good deal, and I try not to go for too choppy a style--I think it *is* possible to make the beats of a narrative too movie-like. Distractingly so, even. (Actually, I remember people saying that the Da Vinci Code book read like a movie.) You can write in sentences as long as you like; it's more the idea of, rather than tell you, Henry James-style, in long paragraphs what the character is thinking, you use dialogue and a few well-chosen gestures to imply a certain psychological state. Or you use other characters' observations. I mean, you can do all of those things together, too.

Something else people might be talking about in reference to this particular story is that I have a habit of "having things happen," plot-wise, but the story is actually driven by multiple inner conflicts. A lot of the remaining, unposted story is driven by Rose going through this whole crisis of, now that [spoiler] has happened to her, her life has been completely derailed, and how does she deal with that?

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

...I did read a lot of Victorian-era works...

Speaking of which, I updated (http://talesfromthefen.livejournal.com/1442.html) talesfromthefen just now.

[maggiebloome.livejournal.com]

Thanks for explaining the black ribbon thing, I was thinking of the teetotal vampires from Discworld...

[outinthestorm.livejournal.com]

I've always hoped that you would finish "Black Ribbon".

So, is the fiction that you have been working on and researching for "Black ribbon", or is it possible that you have two lots of writing on the go?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Three, actually. ; ) The question I had about theater performers and boarding houses is getting folded into the Black Ribbon universe, however.

[outinthestorm.livejournal.com]

If I had a "Boogying Banana" icon, I would be using it right about now.

I look forward to reading all of them!

[lostieborden.livejournal.com]

The possibility of more Black Ribbon? Oh, frabjous day!

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Twas brillig.

[greyduck.livejournal.com]

Apropos of... er, spelling "apropos" correctly this time: Should I set you up with "Hallo Spaceboy," the Bowie/PSB collaborative track? (Since you're on a Bowie roll, that is. *grin*)

And, dammit. You're making me think seriously about taking writing seriously once again. Stop it. (*cough*ornot*cough*)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Ooo, that would be awesome.

[greyduck.livejournal.com]

Ye have but to be askin', and ye shall be receivin' (http://greyduck.net/temp/DavidBowie.zip). Thar be three ditties tied up all tidy-like, of which at least two ye should be findin' t' yer likin'. Please to be lettin' me know when ye've acquired th' booty so I c'n be hidin' it away once more, safe from th' scurvy rats.

(Sweet mother of all that's holy, this pirate-talkin' is tougher than it looks. I mean, er... Arrr!)

[theonlykow.livejournal.com]

I'd buy all of your oranges. I'm a fascinated, loyal reader!

[yuki-onna.livejournal.com]

Jess is ratmmjess and a really sweet guy. I traded a couple of my novels for a copy of the Encyclopedia--maybe he'd trade you?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

That's it! I recognize his username when I see it, but I can never remember what it starts with.

[elirrina.livejournal.com]

More oranges for the Black Ribbon? Yay!

Based on what you've got so far, I would totally buy this if it were published.

[http://users.livejournal.com/belladonna_/]

The Black Ribbon is actually my favorite thing you do, I'm quite excited that you're taking it up again. Go, Lamictal! :)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hee! Thanks.

(I can't believe it's been, like, three years and people still care about it at all.)

[sea-of-tethys.livejournal.com]

Black Ribbon sounds really exciting. I want it now!!!

[exiledprincess.livejournal.com]

Ooh, more Black Ribbon! Eventually! Yay! *does happy dance*

[carmine-rose.livejournal.com]

The Black Ribbon was actually how I found your lj - I can't remember how I found BR, but I think maybe someone on Fametracker linked to it? And I remember reading it, and loving it and being gutted when I realised it hadn't been updated for like six months.

I still think about it sometimes and I'd definitely read it if you started it again/published it.

[bigeyedrabbit.livejournal.com]

things actually happen in this story!

Hahahaha! You'll be pleased to know that there seems to be an increasing demand for stories where things actually HAPPEN. Seriously, the last couple of rejection letters I've gotten have been all, "Look, we think you're talented, but nothing HAPPENS here." Best of luck with the story -- I find myself all vicariously excited when other people undertake writing projects, even strangers on the Interwebs. ;)

[alankria.livejournal.com]

The Black Ribbon looks fascinating. May have to check out the chapters if I have time.

Would you happen to know of any websites/books I could research Paris in/around the year 1901? Anything about the city, from the layout to the fashion, would help breathe life into a story I'm planning.

[word-herder.livejournal.com]

Please please please write some more in The Black Ribbon story. And if asking nicely isn't good enough, in the immortal words of Samwise Gamgee, "I begs."

[gold-tree.livejournal.com]

I remember that story about the girl with the ribbon very vividly- it was one of the first things I remember reading, and I haven't reread it ever since. Needless to say, it freaked me out completely, because I was the sort of child who believed that those sort of things could actually happen.

As for The Black Ribbon, I'll be another person to admit that that's one of the reasons that I started reading your journal in the first place. I read all of the chapters you had up one night, and was very, very excited when I saw where the story was headed- not because I like the particular genre it was heading toward, but because it was so interesting to see the more Jane Austen aspects of the story inform the, um, more specific late-Victorian Gothic elements of it as the tale unfolded.

I sincerely hope that if/when it does get published it doesn't get classified by default into a specific genre, because I think that it deserves better.

Also, just because I feel like sharing, I think that the visuals that you include with it are extremely important, because they help create the atmosphere of the story in the mind of the reader. In my head, I see this as the sort of book that would have illustrations, probably etchings, with a few color plates interspersed throughout- formatted, essentially, like Victorian books are. Of course, I am interested in reading it any way I can, regardless of the format. :]

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Aww, thanks. I would really like to see a really good artist redo what I tried to do on the website--you know, not using, ah, recycled material found with Google Images. (Mary Pickford, for example, is the "face" of Black Ribbon.) It sounds dumb, but that brown and black combination, the sepia tone, a few well-chosen fonts--that whole visual setup is really important, I think. The Lemony Snicket books grasp that whole aesthetic, so maybe, with some luck, I could find a publisher willing to give it the same care.

[alpheratz.livejournal.com]

Black Ribbon sounds absolutely fantastic and I'm off to read it. Yay Victorian horror.