A Study of Fantasy: Lord Dunsany Opens New Horizons

I continue to work my way through the modern fantasy genre chronologically but also slowly. My last post in this series was about William Morris and his novel The Wood Beyond the World. Before that was George MacDonald and Phantastes. I wasn't able to give either of those books very high praise as a reader, though I can see how they were very influential in creating fantasy as a new genre, separate from the traditional fairy story. The next book on my list was The Well at the World's end, William Morris' epic, but given how little I enjoyed The Wood Beyond the World and the fact that The Well is ridiculously long, I decided to skip it.

That brings me to Lord Dunsany, who started publishing an entirely new kind of fantasy story in the early 1900s. I was excited to test out Lord Dunsany since I had read that he was a major influence on my favorite author, J. R. R. Tolkien. I began with "The Gods of Pegana", published in 1905, which is not really a fantasy novel. It is, rather, a collection of very short stories or, more accurately, vignettes. Each one describes a god of Pegana, his characteristics, his sphere of influence, his role in the history of Pegana.

First is Mana-Yood-Sushai (Isn't that a deliciously exotic name?) who created the gods and then fell asleep. A recurring motif of the stories is that all of the lesser gods can run around and have fun in Pegana while Mana-Yood-Sushai is asleep, but one day he will wake and then he will destroy everything that has been made, including the gods, and remake them. Men are not allowed to pray to Mana-Yood-Sushai.

Mana-Yood-Sushai, illustration from the original publication by Sidney Sime

Another particularly interesting figure is Skarl the Drummer whose ceaseless drumming keeps Mana-Yood-Sushai from waking.

Some say that the Worlds and the Suns are but the echoes of the drumming of Skarl, and others say that they be dreams that arise in the mind of MANA because of the drumming of Skarl, as one may dream whose rest is troubled by sound of song, but none knoweth, for who hath heard the voice of Mana-Yood-Sushai, or who hath seen his drummer?

~The Gods of Pegana

 Slid, whose soul is the sea, is the subject of the short "The Sayings of Slid" which I particularly liked.

And the People of Earth said: "There is a melody upon the Earth as though ten thousand streams all sang together for their homes that they had forsaken in the hills."

And Slid said: "I am the Lord of gliding waters and of foaming waters and of still. I am the Lord of all the waters in the world and all that long streams garner in the hills; but the soul of Slid is in the Sea. Thither goes all that glides upon Earth, and the end of all the rivers is the Sea."

~The Gods of Pegana

Slid by Sidney Sime

 His story is told more fully in the short "The Coming of the Sea" which is found in the book Time and the Gods.

I read Time and the Gods after reading The Gods of Pegana because I enjoyed Pegana so much. The first half of Time and the Gods was much like the previous volume. More short stories and vignettes about various gods, though this time also about the people who worship them. The second part is the story of a King who is preparing to make a journey and calls various priests and prophets of different gods to tell him what the end of his journey will be. It quickly becomes apparent that this journey is a metaphor for death, and the king wants to know what will happen to him after he dies. Alas, all of the priests and prophets give conflicting answers (and there are some fantastic images there) and ultimately the king decides to just eat, drink and be merry and then he dies.

The most striking thing about Dunsany is that he is creating a fantasy setting wholly different from the familiar Anglo fairy tale settings. He claimed both the myths of the Greeks and the Bible as inspirations, but these two books of stories are decidedly more exotic in flavor than either. The names in particular give a strong feeling of otherness. They are at once strange and marvelous. Names like "Sardathrion", "Limpang-Tung", "Alhireth-Hotep the Prophet" and "Dorozhand, Whose Eyes
Regard the End". Though admittedly, he does miss the mark sometimes as with "Triboogie, the Lord of Dusk".

 But Dunsany's imagination was amazing. In only these two books you have so much. There are the games of the gods, one of which was creating men. Men trying desperately to find the gods, only to be rebuffed at every turn, or finding certain gods only to find later on that there were other, more great gods further on. The rise and fall of cities and empires. And, of course, the search for meaning beyond death. But Dunsany doesn't draw any conclusions from these little explorations. He leaves you to draw your own.

Ultimately, I have to say that I was thoroughly enchanted by these two books. They swept me right off to distant places that only exist at the World's Edge. They fired up my own imagination more than any contemporary book I've read for a long time. At some point I want to delve into some of his other writings such as The Book of Wonder, The Sword of Welleran and The King of Elfland's Daughter.

I highly recommend Lord Dunsany to anyone who has an interest in fantastic worlds. You can find much of his writing free at Project Gutenberg.

Why Anime is Some of the Best Storytelling

That should probably say "Why Manga is Some of the Best Storytelling" since most animes I have seen were based on manga. However, I don't read manga, but over the past couple of years I have somehow become a huge fan of anime.

(Why, if I love anime so much, don't I read the manga? Isn't the book always better than the movie? Well, I just don't like the graphic novel format compared to the animated series format. And anyway, by all reports, anime tend to follow their manga far, far more closely than any movie ever followed a book.)

It started with InuYasha, a story about 15 year-old Japanese school girl Kagome who goes through a magic well and finds herself in the Feudal Era where she meets and teams up with a half demon called Inuyasha to find all the shards of the Shikon jewel before the evil demon Naraku can use it it make himself more powerful. In one sense it's a pretty straightforward action/adventure fantasy story. There's lots of fighting and lots of people with cool powers. (After watching and loving nearly 200 episodes of InuYasha I still cannot bring myself to swing a sword without shouting the name of Inuyasha's signature move: "Wind Scar!!") But on another level it's the very emotional journey of a group of people whose lives have been irreparably altered by the power of the Shikon jewel which inspires terrible acts of hatred and greed wherever it is found, even just a piece of it. (I highly recommend it.)

That's the great thing about manga/anime. There are always multiple levels.

On the surface anime is generally flashy and fun, down and dirty storytelling. It doesn't mess around. It knows what it is and it isn't afraid to play by its own rules. Those are: 1. all fights are liable to take place over the course of several episodes because all the participants do a lot of talking in between actions. 2. all characters who get into violent conflicts on a regular basis have at least 10x the amount of blood that normal people have. 3. whenever possible, do everything with style. 4. the phrase "less is more" has no meaning here. More is always more. 5. drama and comedy go hand in hand. 6. anything can happen. 7. there tend to be a lot of very, very pretty men and boys and very, very well endowed women and girls.

Eye candy from InuYasha: Sesshomaru

(There are more principles of anime, I'm sure. But that's what I can think of off the top of my head.)

But despite all the style and flashiness, excitement and fun that makes up the top layer of anime, there are many, many other layers to explore. But for heaven's sake let's be simplistic and only talk about a couple of layers today. Let's talk about story in general.

I can no longer think of many movies made by Hollywood in recent years that weren't entirely willing to kick good storytelling to the curb in favor of flashy special effects and stylistic flair. Anime is not. The animes that I have watched so far have all been incredibly well rounded in the story department. Superb visualization and conceptualization of the setting, deep and meaningful characterization, forward moving and compelling plot, and thematically rich.

Over and over again I have been continually amazed to find that the best new stories I have experienced over the last couple of years have been in anime format. I think manga/anime is getting a lot of things right that a lot of people over here in the west have forgotten. I'd like to do some posts where I highlight my favorite animes and the aspects of storytelling that they excel in.

 Have you watched any anime? If so, what are your favorites and what do like best about their storytelling?

Pay it Forward... or Backward? or Sideways?

Considering the number of participants and the fact that this badge is probably all over your dashboard, I doubt have have to explain what this particular blogfest is about. But, let's be honest here, three blogs out of the 200+ blogs that I'm following is an impossible choice to make. It really boggles my mind. So what I've decided to do is recommend the three most useful blogs I follow from professionals in the publishing business. These blogs have changed the way I view everything about publishing. They've given me so much knowledge and insight and helped me to really see a clear path forward. They've helped me immensely so I hope they help you.

If you read just one blog about the publishing industry and all the changes going on, read the blog of Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Every Thursday she writes a post in a series called The Business Rusch and it is, quite seriously, the best thing since sliced bread.

From her most recent post:

In this blog over the past few years, I’ve been detailing the changes as they’ve occurred. I’ve been trying to impart my knowledge as a former (and current) publisher, an award-winning book-and-magazine editor, and a bestselling writer to all you folks as the changes occurred so that you would have the information you need for the choices that you have to make.

Read through her articles and you will learn so much about the history and current state of the publishing industry that it will boggle your mind. This fantastic lady knows what she's talking about, she's been in the industry and seen in from many sides for decades. She's not just a writer who managed to get a few published books, she's a professional who has built a career in publishing. She's a smart and savvy businesswoman.

Ms. Rusch emphasized that the industry is radically different than it used to be. It used to be that there was only one path to getting published. One size fits all. Now there are many paths and every writer has to choose the one which is right for them. But you can't make that choice unless you understand your options, understand the business. She encouraged writers to learn about the publishing business so that they can take their careers in their own hands and make the right choices for themselves.

I know that, having read her blog obsessively for some months now, I certainly feel better armed to faces all the choices and challenges ahead. I can't possibly recommend it highly enough.

My second recommendation, which easily matches my first for usefulness, is the blog of Dean Wesley Smith. He's another industry professional: best selling author, former editor, former publisher. Dean is actually Kristine's husband and it's a wonder that their house doesn't burst into flames from too much collected sense. He writes a few insanely useful series on his blog: New World of Publishing, How to Think Like a Publisher, and Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing. Killing the Sacred Cows is probably my favorite because one could just as easily call it "Debunking the Logical Fallacies of Publishing" and I'm like Spock in my love of logic.

His point is that there's been a lot of faulty thinking perpetuated by the publishing industry over the years, most of which is beneficial to publishers but dangerous to authors. Dean, despite having worked as an editor and publisher, has his loyalty firmly with the writer and so he actively works to help us overcome these illogical ways of thinking that publishing has ground into the writer, hoping to help us step up and take control of our own writing careers, to be smart businesspeople with our writing. I guess he's developed a bit of a reputation as a reactionary in some circles, but as I read his posts I can detect nothing but solid knowledge and experience, good sense, and reasonable advice.

He's a defendant of and advocate for writers everywhere, wanting us to get the most out of our careers that we can, and I appreciate that.

Finally, I recommend the blog of Robin Sullivan, Write to Publish. Robin is another savvy businesswoman. In this case, she was successful in other fields first before becoming a publisher and publicist for her author husband, Micheal J. Sullivan. She worked hard to make him successful in the arena of self-publishing first, but now she runs a small press called Ridan Publishing. I like Robin because she recognizes the worth in multiple paths to publishing success. She's not a self-publishing only advocate, or a small press only advocate, or a traditional publishing only advocate. She works in all those arenas (having secured a nice 6 figure deal for her husband's self published books with a major publisher) and has success in all those arenas.

Her blog offers a lot of practical information and tips. She monitors the market and the industry and often posts her findings in hard numbers. She also offers great tips to authors from how to pick a title, whether to use a pen name, to branding, to how to use social media to increase your author presence and much more. It's definitely a valuable resource for writers.

I really hope that some of you will explore these blogs and get as much out of them as I have. It's because of them that I feel confident about my future as an author, that I know how I want to create my career. Good luck and happy reading!

Progress Report of a Cute and Delusional Writer

I keep saying to myself "it's just one of those weeks", but really, it's just one of those lives. I'm not sure why a mother of four is ever expecting her life to quiet down and become less busy. Probably because she's delusional. Also, apparently, cute. At least, according to Deniz Bevan of The Girdle of Melian who passed this award on to me...

This award asks you to list 5 books, movies or TV shows you've experienced in the last year.

TV show: Farscape. My husband and I just finished watching all four seasons together and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the wrap-up miniseries, The Peacekeeper Wars.

Movie: Ghostbusters. For years my husband was shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, whenever I reminded him that I'd never seen this movie. Finally he brought it home from the library for us to watch together. It was quite good.

Book: The Wise Man's Fear. I was really looking forward to this as I had really loved The Name of the Wind, the first book in this trilogy. But this one was just a major disappointment. It'll take something special in the third book to make me like this series again.

TV show: Castle. I'm not normally a fan of murder mysteries, but we gave this a try because.. well, because of Nathan Fillion. And we were totally surprised, in the best possible way, by the greatness of this show. Can't wait for the show to return in the fall.

Book: The Westing Game. I just reread this kids book yesterday on a whim and it is still as good as I remember it. A really clever murder mystery/ puzzle game.

And I'm passing this award on to Rebecca Kiel, Stephanie Thornton, Michelle Gregory, and Jeanmarie Anaya.

ROW 80 Progress Report

I've made some important strides forward with my world-building this week. My world-building notebook is considerably fuller and I've worked out some of the geographical logistics that were giving me trouble for the story I intend to start writing this week. I intend to dive into the writing of that story tomorrow (1500 words a day for 5 days a week is the goal). It's a story with a "cast of thousands" so today I need to establish a few more of the secondary characters so I don't get stalled on names and such while writing. I think I'll be ready for tomorrow. Beginnings are always the hardest part for me so... *fingers crossed*

I'm really excited to get into it though. This story takes place at the effective beginning of history for the world I'm creating and it's the story that leads to everything else. It opens up the world and with any luck, you'll be able to read it before the year is out. All I need to do is manage to carve out some serious writing time without distractions. Sigh. I am delusional.