Christmas themed blog! WOO!

So it's a little bit early, but since this *may* be the last blog for a awhile, I thought that me and Donald would go all out, that we would have an extravaganza to celebrate Christmas and all the good tidings with it! Great idea right?

Well, maybe not all 'happy' tidings are abound...

Susan Morrison, the author of Home Front Girl, recently did an interview on the Cynsations blog abut her story in which a young girl Joan Wehlen Morrison (her mother) talks about her everyday life in the span of years between the Depression and the years leading up to World War II. Since my class Writing for Children is covering nonfiction, I thought I'd explore her experiences in covering Joan's life, especially since she would explore the fundamentals on what makes an interesting story, something I've been exploring every blog post. Susan was inspired by her mother's unique personality that's portrayed even through deep and complicated entries: her mother is "a vey smart girl, who reads a lot, is witty, self-ironic, and philosophical." This perspective explores the "political situation as war is brewing in Europe" being "totally riveting"since it's coming from this teenage girl that isn't writing from a European perspective but a U.S. home front one. 

Of course, the book covers a multitude of themes that the teenage mind would muse upon: "the war and politics; romance (plenty of necking!); nature; speculations about the meaning of life and God; literary musings; and just beautifully written passages." Joan's life is much different than the one today's children experience, with no television or internet, but even so, there are many similarities on an emotional level [not to mention, Joan did go to movies].  Susan even incorporates some of the drawings that her mother sketched on her diary entries. 

Susan also believes that diary keeping can be very fruitful in training children to become stronger writers: "often you can have your most profound insights on days devoid of action where you are just thinking and daydreaming." I agree that this is true: it's very important to ponder things in silent moments. But the hook in Susan's story is an 'ordinary' teenage girl coming of age, trying to gain her own footing in a world that is about to collapse. But I would imagine there is a ton of character development in the story, since diaries are often intimate and show a variety of musings. I think character development is a missing ingredient in many movies and television shows--many shows focus on being 'edgy' or 'action-packed' or even 'witty' but miss what having a soul can mean to a show. But I think making a character "larger than life", making them quirky and imperfect and complex is the key to making a story reach the reader. 

Now, who wants to set up the tree?

Light and darkness...

So I'm hanging out with Donald. He's a lot quieter this week, I wonder why...

So anyways, I was checking out the Cynsations blog and stumbled across a guest entry Sarah Beth Durst about her new story Conjured. She describes the novel as her "darkest" with an atmosphere of "disorientation and ominous chaos." Though the story deals with complex topics such as magic wielding serial killers and blocked out memories, the story carefully interjects humor into the story. But the story also creates a clash theme wise as it adds 'light' to the darkness of the story. In one page, there's a discussion about the deliciousness of bacon, but even in such a light-hearted moment there's horror as the main character recollects more traumatic events. Sarah, the author, feels strongly about "contrast...darkness is meaningless without light." She elaborates: "but from a sheer writerly standpoint, lightness-- be it kindness, happiness, humor, even anger disguised as humor-- can be a powerful tool...it can add meaning to the dark...it can increase the reader's emotional investment...it can be used to deflect, defuse and disarm, to charm and seduce, or to belittle and crush...it can be used to hide and reveal."

Of course, it is a difficult balance: "too much light in a thriller, for example, and you run the risk of sapping away the suspense...too little light, and you run the risk of being unrealistic and melodramatic." I certainly agree: I think in many ways the trend in television in particular is filled with dark and gritty shows (many Netflix hits such as Arrow, Continuum, House of Cards, etc) all focus on darkness to hook the viewer. Then there's like Supernatural that incorporate a bizarre humor throughout the show event though much of the episodes center on a lot of violence and relationship ending disputes. Personally, my favorite shows are the ones that incorporate a lot of humor, that don't take themselves too seriously, but do have their share of serious moments. One of my favorite shows, Chuck, is more of a comedy than a drama at many points: the protagonist is quirky, witty, self-deprecating, but there's always a 'hook' in the story, always plenty of action and high stakes whether it's own his life or the people around him in danger. One of the most popular and beloved animes, One Piece, features a protagonist named Monkey D. Luffy that barely is serious at all: he is always poking humor at his surroundings, is dimwitted and clumsy, but it's these quirks that makes the anime so unique and makes him one of the most beloved anime characters ever. And it also makes it more special when Luffy is completely serious: when he stops smiling and grows angry, it reels in the audience because they usually admire Luffy's calmness and light-hearted nature. The humor in these characters makes them more unique and 'larger than life' in a sense as they find strength even in the worst moments.

Like the article writer mentions, sometimes humor can almost be haunting and jarring: it can deepen the moment because of the clash between light and darkness. What makes Sarah's comments so interesting and profound is that incorporates 'light' as an entity: kindness, humor, etc. which makes it hard to discuss all of it's facets: but it is true that adding 'light' in the darkest moment in a novel can add uniqueness to a character even if it's about to lead to the catharsis of the story (the most stressful moments that everything had led up to).

Thanksgiving Themed Edition

After taking a break so I could regain my composure after dealing with Donald Duck's antics, I'm back here to now take a look at some interesting points by my beloved Cynsation's blog. Now since I won't be posting on Thanksgiving, I figured I should at least add a shallow Thanksgiving theme to this post and add a few unflattering pictures of Donald. Yay!

I don't know where this picture came from or who uploaded it originally...I don't want to know.

Upon reading some of the interview with Ron Bates on October 23rd (on Cynsations), I wondered about some of his points: he asserted that first person allowed his main character the most freedom to showcase his personality, and thus, much easier to insert humor into it rather than in third person, where it relied on an unknown voice. This struck me, because in many works I've used third person from an unnamed point of view. It was very interesting, especially since I had just read over many parts of one of my favorite stories, Daisy Miller by Henry James. In this book, though it primarily focuses on Winterbourne's thoughts and attitudes towards the world around him, the account of the story is told by a gossiper who is sharing with the audience this 'scandal' that unfolds. I think this kind of storytelling is effective because it adds an extra layer: the reader doesn't know how much is truth, yes, much is assumed to be truth, but it also adds more 'wood to the bonfire' so to speak because it enforces the haunting nature of gossiping and making judgments from it. 

Of course, this is a different scenario than Ron Bates, but it does make me wonder how much of the narrator's identity should be made known in third person, or how much it can be 'played with' as in the novella Daisy Miller. Ron writes: "I let my main character, Howard Boward, tell his story...it changed everything...Howard was someone I knew--I could see his face, I could hear his voice." Upon reading this quote, it made me almost experience the excitement Ron must have felt when he was able to channel the voice of Howard by using first person. Now, after reading this quote, I did disagree with it somewhat: I thought that voice could still be utilized in third person, but it did get me wondering how much authors can 'twist' the conventions of each perspective, and if third perspective could be freshened in different ways. While I'm not sure if third person 'characters' are necessary, or first person is necessary even for comedic pieces, it did make me wonder about the liberation there can be in shifting perspectives. 

Now, to enjoy some Thanksgiving feast...