#Shakespeared

The Utah Shakespeare Festival is one of my favorite summer getaways. Short of purchasing a ticket across the pond, there's no better way to dip your toes in Shakespeare and/or get thoroughly #Shakepeared.

This summer, Henry V, wasn't enough. It wet my appetite but didn't satisfy. A thick volume in the gift shop called The Friendly Shakespeare piqued my interest and set me on the path to discovery. 

As a source for inspiration, there nothing better than Shakespeare. The plays, from comedy to history, are a superb mix of drama and humor, truth and fiction, prose and poetry, romance and tragedy. Reading or viewing Shakespeare will expose you to:

Heroes who act like villains and villains who act heroically. Prince Hal from Henry IV exemplifies debauchery and heroism as he treads the path from from ale house to throne and prince to king.

So when this loose behavior I throw off,
And pay the debt I never promised,
By how much better than my word I am,
And like bright metal on a sullen ground,
My refomation, glittering o'er my fault,
Shall show more goodly and attract more eyes
Than that which hath no foil to set it off.

Real emotion woven throughout the tales make hundreds of years old feel familiar and relatable. Jealousy, fierce loyalty, true love, infatuation, self-interest, humility, hopelessness. Duke Orsino from Twelfth Night drowns in melancholy due to unrequited love, and like many of us, he wallow in it.

If music be the food of love, play on,
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die...

Relationships of all types--both healthy and unhealthy--are explored. Fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, husbands and wives, sovereigns and subjects, siblings, and the best and worst of friends. Prospero, the magician and one time duke in The Tempest, does much to ensure the happiness of his daughter Miranda.

I have done nothing but in care of thee,
Of thee, my dear one, thee, my daughter, who
Art ignorant of what thou art, nought knowing
Of whence I am, nor that I am more better
Than Prospero, master of a full poor cell,
And thy no greater father.

Some of the most delicious banter ever written. Like a tennis match where each hit is efficiently lobbed back. Petruchio and Catherine in The Taming of the Shrew and Benedick and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing come to mind. I'd love to gift my lovers such wonderful dialogue.

Beatrice: I wonder you will still be talking, Signor 
Benedick, nobody marks you.
Benedick: What, my dear Lady Disdain! are you yet living?
Beatrice: Is it possible disdain should die while she hath 
such meet food to feed as Signor Benedick?

Shakespeare is timeless. His plots, intrigues, epic romances, and tragedies draw us into another world. From Romeo, Romeo to Out damned spot! he captures our imaginations and feeds our need for both beautiful language and wonderful storytelling.

* * *

If you need a bit o' inspiration, there's always some new interpretation to explore. Here are a few of my new and old favorites (complete with links to Amazon):
The Friendly Shakespeare: A Thoroughly Painless Guide to the Best of the Bard, by Norrie Esptein.
The Tempest, featuring Helen Mirren as Prospera
The Hollow Crown: The Complete Series, featuring Tom Hiddleston as Prince Hal/Henry V
Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Kenneth Branagh
A Midsummer Night's Dream, featuring Rupert Everett as Oberon & Michelle Pfeiffer as Titania
Twelfth Night, featuring Imogen Stubbs & Helena Bonham Carter

* * * 

What are your favorites? Leave me a comment and tell me your true feelings about the Bard. (Be warned that if you loathe him entirely, there may be mocking...) I've also embedded links to my own posts on being #Shakespeared through the post. Happy clicking!

World Building for the Literary Challenged

That's right. I'm not afraid to call it that, probably because I fit into the category nicely.

Photo via Unsplash, by Mark Ashtoff

I'm the girl who will never get the gold medal for blocking. (And if I did, Jo Ann Schneider would promptly swoop in and karate chop it out of my hand. (Okay, maybe not. She loves me too much to resort to public humiliation.) But even Jo knows that I think things through before I sit down to a new project. After attending Sara B. Larson's workshop on World Building at LDS Storymakers, I've picked up a bit more on grounding my characters. Granted, I don't require the magic discussion other people do, but there were plenty of items we discussed that are useful in any world, fictional or real.

Don't overdo 
Sometimes authors go overboard with research and world building. Writers need to be thorough, but most of that information will have no place in their stories. It's for their eyes only. Can you imagine if JK Rowling included all the minute details of Quidditch in Harry Potter? (The hardcore Potterheads would have been stoked, but the rest of us wouldn't have made it through Year One.)

Know the basics
Consideration must be made for the customs and architecture of the world. Writers must think about how poverty and wealth affect their civilizations, the environment (rain forest vs. rural Utah) in which they live, how they dress, and what and how they celebrate. Clothes are always a breeze for me because I fall in love with beautiful clothing, shoes, and accessories of any era. Other things are more nebulous at the beginning of a project. Matching the time period with the correct type of housing is always a challenge for me. (It just gives me a reason to Google cool stuff, read more, and watch period movies. Do I look upset about that? Nope!)

Do the homework
Perhaps like me, other writers will find they are weaker in certain aspects of world building. (Please note that I have not touched on the subject of magic and the rules associated with governing it. And I won't. Definitely not my strong suit.) However, there is nothing wrong with reading more books from authors who are fabulous at world building, watching more quality movies, and Googling liberally. In my present story, I'm dealing with lords, ladies, earls, and dukes. You betcha I've been googling the correct usage, correct capitalization, and the correct way to address each of them. Never hurts!

Don't dump
The info dump is the absolute no-no of writing. The world must be revealed as it becomes pertinent to the story and natural to your characters. A big intro on the trade situation at the beginning of your novel will be just right way to get your audience snoozing. No one cares about backstory until they connect with the characters and are drawn in by the twists and turns of an awesome plot. Showcase them and let your world be what it is: the backdrop. Subtlety is the name of the game.

Get writing
Research is all well and good, but it needs to lead to something. Writers must invest the time to create a believable backdrop, but then it's time to get to work! I'd love to tour Europe to gather info for the world my stories are built around, but it's much more important to invest in my characters and storylines. After all, they're they ones who will keep me awake at night if I neglect them.Also, because I rely on other fabulous writers, I find that my writerly friends notice things that I miss. They ask questions and make suggestions that make the writing stronger. Also, I bring a lifetime of research from reading books and watching period movies that I am more than willing to share with them.

Anything I've missed? If you have any tips on World Building, feel free to leave me a comment. And if anyone would LOVE to do (or has already done) a post on magic and the rules that govern magic or any other aspect of World Building, I'd be glad to add a link! Thanks!

The Con

We shall call it research!

I've always been a fangirl. Even when I didn't know what a fangirl was. After establishing an online presence this year, I settled happily into my place among the Whovians, Sherlockians, and whatever you call the people addicted to Downton Abbey. Like Dorothy with her ruby slippers, I realized there's no place like home.

With panels featuring amazing actors and a convention full of colorful characters, it's the perfect setting for a kindergarten teacher to unwind and a writer to gather new ideas. (But yes, a character based on John Barrowman would be larger than life.)

Some words of wisdom from my first Con:

Do good things just to make the world a better place. (Stephen Amell)

Smile when you feel down and choose a happy life. (John Barrowman)

If you haven't found the part that's made for you, keep looking. (Stephen Amell)

People don't love you? Why should you care? (John Barrowman)

The overall message of the Con is clear:

Whatever your passion, let your geek flag proudly and loudly! 

And just to prove I take my own advice...

And yes, I can use the Con experience, the wisdom of talented artists, and my own fangirl passions to inspire future projects. Don't be surprised if a future character is a hunky bow and arrow toting hero. 

Yes, that is Stephen Amell. And yes, appreciating his smoking hot abs does count as research.

* * *

For more on my fangirl tendencies and/or using what you love to fuel your writing, try out Fan Fiction & Fairytales or Embracing the Fangirl Within.  I think you'll enjoy them!