Fantasist's Scroll

Okay, this is more “science-fiction” than fantasy, but…
Aw, it’s Friday and I need a cool link for you all. So, here is, thanks to Gizmodo, a link to an article about a moisture ‘vaporator. Yeah, that’s what I said! This compact device pulls water out of thin air, just like, well, science-fiction. So, now, it’s not impossible for me to concieve of water “farmers” on Mars, or even more distant planets. How cool is that?

Cut me some slack! It’s Friday and the link is fun, so click on it!

I need strange, metaphorical symbols.
I’ve been thinking about surreal imagery lately. Things like the anthropomorphic caterpillar from Disney’s version of “Alice in Wonderland” and the dancing mushrooms from “Fantasia” keep popping into my head as wonderful symbols of some strange story that’s hiding just below the surface of the “real” story. And, too, William S. Burrough’s work with the exterminator/giant cockroach theme has been a frightening inspiration as well. Not to mention the “bug” in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”. So, I’ve been thinking about doing something similar. Taking a list of semi-random symbols and imagery and mashing it into a story. And, I’m going for something very Dali-eseque, but in a literary sense. Of course, the challenge is to get the symbols to use. The stranger, the better, I think.
And, now, gentle readers, here is my plea: Give me your wildest ideas in the comments. Suggest the strangest, most disturbing, funniest, most unusual symbolic references you can think of. As long as we keep it “family friendly”, anything goes. But, you have to give me their “true” meaning, as well. For example, “A giant, talking, anthropomorphic caterpillar => The main character’s SuperEgo”. (Actually, that may just be where I start…) So, there we are.
I’m open to suggestions!

Here’s a variation on last week’s writing exercise.
Instead of using a “cliched” title or phrase, use the title from one of your favorite books or authors. Of course, you must write a totally different story than the one associated with your chosen title, but that can be half the fun. For example, you might want to rewrite a favorite story but with your own ideas about what the characters would do. Or, perhaps you want to continue a story where the author left off. Both are fine ways to start, but remember that you’ll need to go back and edit the characters so that they are yours, not your favorite author’s characters anymore. And, keep in mind, that means more than just changing the names!
Another possibility is to take a favorite title and write a story in a totally different genre. As an example, I love Ernest Hemingway and I think his titles are often quite evocative, but I love fantasy and science-fiction. So, perhaps “The Sun Also Rises” might be a good working title for a sci-fi epic! And, “The Old Man and the Sea” might take on some interesting connotations as a fantasy story filled with old gods and high magic.
The point here is to let your imagination run wild. This is meant to be an aid to creativity that gets you writing when you might have some trouble starting. As always, though, remember to change the title to your own and edit anything that doesn’t belong in your final work out before submitting your story for publication.

Or, at least looking like you do!
I’ve always loved sleight of hand and optical illusions, so plans for a gravity-defying room really tickled my fancy. It’s actually an old trick and not more complicated than attaching things to a wall instead of setting them on the floor, but the pictures alone are cool. And, the author gives you some handy hints for ways to make it look good if you want to try this yourself.
Hmm, an upside down room in my house…. Naw, it’d never sell if I had to get out later. But, the idea sure sounds like fun.

Yep, that’d be me.
I did this with a free version of a neat 3-d program called Vue d’Espirit. And, I did it all myself! I’ve really always wanted to do this kind of thing, but, well, personal reasons kept me from getting into it. If I showed too much interest, it was frowned upon by someone I cared about, who saw it as a kind of competition. Which is sad, really, because we could have had fun doing this together. Or, maybe not. In any case, it’s something that has interested me and, when I saw this free version in a magazine, I decided to play around with it. Not bad, considering it took me about an hour and I used nothing but free software.

A working title helps me write.
When I was a kid in grade school, I knew I wanted to be a writer. It was the Fifth Grade, in Mrs. Ploen’s class, that I first started writing creatively and recieving praise for doing so. That was the same year that my older brother got tired of telling me about the science-fiction books he was reading and shoved Ringworld into my hands to read for myself. It was, as you might imagine, a pivotal year.
I still go back to the method of writing that I learned that year. Our teacher would write a title on the board for us and demand a story. I’m sure there were minimum requirements in pages or words or both, though they escape me now. That was our only constraint, however, that title. We could make our story into anything we wanted, as long as it had something to do with the title we’d been given. I managed to take “My Adventure At The Circus” and turn out a fantasy piece about a boy going to an underground kingdom of dwarves where he became the fated saviour of their entire way of life. Not bad for a kid in the Fifth Grade. Heck, there was even a recognizable plot. That’s more than I can say for some of my later work, frankly.
I still go back to that technique because it’s usefull for getting me started. These days, I may change the title when I’m done, but using that kind of working title gets me started, which is often the hardest thing in the world for me. This is a method that can work for you, as well. You can come up with a title in many different ways. You can use my very own Story Starter, or you can simply use a cliche. (Here’s one list of Cliches and Weak Phrases by Jessica Page Morrell to get you started, if you need help.) So, pick a cliched working title and then start to write a story. If nothing else, it will get you started writing something, which is the only way to produce anything. If you’re lucky, it will give you a story that can be worked into something for sale. Just don’t forget to change the cliched title to something that works better before you send it off!

So, what are you waiting for? Get writing!

Why is this fun?
Because, it’s an American military German Phrasebook from World War II and it contains phrases like:
“You will be rewarded”, though they translate it to the German for “I will give you money”.
But it also has, “Don’t try any tricks!”, “Don’t shoot!”, and vocabulary for everything from “goggles” to “undershorts” to “a laxative”.
Yes, indeed, everything that a soldier could need to know in one tidy, little phrasebook.

Where was this when I put together my own conlang phrasebooks? Ah, well, at least it’s out there now. Have fun!

StarTrek tech come to life.
It looks like the promise of “holographic data storage” is coming true. According to this article on ExtremeTech, a company by the name of InPhase is releasing 200GB drives that are based on holographic technology this week. What that means is that instead of using spinning media, they use moving lasers to store data in a fixed matrix. Primarily, this would be Write Once, Read Many data storage, which is used as an ultra-safe backup or for special imaging or archiving applications. The drives which are making their debut this week will be available to customers in early 2006. But, that’s not all….
According to this article on Engadget, they have also been working on rewriteable holographic drives as well. (Okay, I couldn’t find that reference, either, but the original link said it was there somewhere.) And, they’re talking about having a 1.6 TERABYTE drive available by 2009.
Yet another example of how science-fiction is becoming a reality.