yuletide 2009
Dear Yuletider,
Hi! Thanks so much for signing up and taking my prompts on! It’s my first time doing this and I am super excited and thrilled about this whole thing.
I know this letter is like a million years long. It’s not long because I’m particularly exacting or picky; it’s long because I’ve picked texts I love, and when I talk about things I love I can go on forever. Please don’t think of this as a laundry list of requirements; I’ve thrown everything out here in the hopes that something works for you the way it works for me. I love the source texts, and if you love them too-which I assume you do-I know I’m going to love what you write.
Things I like in fiction:
- stories about myth: the intersection between myth and personality; character/self as fate; inexorable choices; eternal recurrence and variations on a theme.
- women: their power and their kinds of power; women relating to one another; taking apart the illusion of the good woman/bad woman, virgin/whore dichotomy; respect for women that comes from an understanding of their internal complexity; the religious and mythic experience of women.
- love: epic romance and epic friendship; deep mutual respect; balance; people changing for the better; working for it and making it work; the transformative power of interpersonal relationships; love that is not in spite of.
I like fiction that likes its characters and makes them work-for each other, for their resolutions. It doesn’t need to be perfect; I like it better when it isn’t perfect. But the work has to be rewarded in some way-maybe not the way the characters (or the reader) expect, and maybe the work is incomplete or will by its nature be forever incomplete, but what was made mattered, however you define “mattered”
Things I really don’t like:
- the intractability of destiny and the meaninglessness of choice
- reinforcing virgin/whore dynamics
- Powerful man/weak woman
- Textual character bashing
- Putting women on pedestals and calling it respect
- Ignoring the women
- Love cures all ills; easy rides of any kind.
- Despair/the uselessness of personal action.
- Doomed love
- Second person POV all the time and first person most of the time.
Bascially it comes down to love-I don’t like fiction that doesn’t care about its characters or what happens to them.
Okay, on to the specifics!
#1) Arthuriana: Arthur/Gawain/Guinevere/Lancelot
Prompt: I'd be interested in Avalon fic--who's there? what's it look like? How does Arthur exist there and what does he observe? Alternately, I'd be interested in Gawain, esp. as an observer of the doomed love triangle vs. his usual role as the guy who goes around doing stuff.
Expansion: This prompt is pretty general, and can be divided into three possible directions: an origin story, an Avalon story, or an observer story. I only mentioned the second two in the original prompt.
I didn’t mention the origin story in the original prompt, but I'd love to read about the genesis of King Arthur from the boy who was a squire, and that terrible fear and uncertainty and the horror of the loss of innocence. How does his kingdom become his own? He was just a country squire whose purview was bounded by Ector's fences. How does he become King of a country that is falling apart, and how does it become his? How does he relate to the land in the beginning? How at the end? How does he build relationships with Lancelot and Guinevere, and how much do they understand?
I'm also really interested in potential ambiguities of Avalon--Avalon as a place of desolation/stasis and healing/renewal, and the possibilities for eternal recurrence of the same, etc. What is this existence, what does it mean? How does it work?
If High King angst isn't your thing, I also find the role of the observer fascinating. I love Gawain, and I’d like a look at him and his role in . I like the contrast of Gawain, Man of Action vs. his bystandery role in the love triangle. His whole schtick is going out and Doing Stuff, but when it comes down to it, all he can do is watch as these crazy personal dynamics destroy everything he's worked for.
Other stuff: I grew up on Rosemary Sutcliffe’s version of the legend, and it’s the one I always refer back to in my mind. It’s a really easy read (it’s for kids) if you don’t feel like slogging through Malory. Also, I have some thoughts on Arthur here. There's also this post which is about Peter from Narnia, but the two characters are pretty firmly linked in my mind-That post is about My Feelings wrt destined kingship and its accompanying angst, which is a trope I adore.
#2) The Tempest : Miranda
Prompt: Miranda might just be my favourite Shakespeare heroine. I'm not particularly interested in postcolonial aspects/readings of the play, but rather in Miranda as subject and as the play's creative force. The action of the play is FOR her--what does she do with it? how does she shape it? to what extent is she made by the action and to what extent is she a maker?
Expansion: Possibly the most important thing I can say about this is that I really cannot overstate my disinterest in postcolonial readings of the play. I find that a postcolonial focus reduces Miranda to the status of sexual object in an extreme and overt way, and I am deeply uncomfortable with that. I am interested in Miranda as subject-she might be my favourite heroine in all of Shakespeare. I'm fascinated by Miranda's role in The Tempest as the eye of the storm, the centre around which the action revolves and Miranda as "o you wonder"-- both a wonder and the capacity for wonder. How does she make the world and how does it make her? I’d like to read about her during the play and how she relates to the action of the play and the various men in it, and to the absent women. I have a post about Miranda here that basically encapsulates how I feel about her and may give you an idea of what I would like to read.
#3) The Old Testament- Song of Songs: Beloved/Shullamite/Daughters of Jerusalem
Prompt: This is kind of a weird request, but here goes. I love the biblical whores in the old testament, the spectre of the "other" woman, her sexuality and her power, and the contrast of that with the sexuality of the song of songs. Basically, I'd like an extended dance remix of the Song of Songs by way of Thunder, Perfect Mind. Delilah and Deborah aren't so different. Delilah is my favourite biblical whore, and working in Samson and Delilah (either as a frame for the story or just as a reference) might cause me to pass out from joy.
Expansion: I'm kind of obsessed with the Biblical whores. I'd love something that elides the distinction between good women and bad women, between "the honoured one and the scorned one." I've chosen the Song of Songs because I love the merging of eroticism and spirituality. Is the Shullamite that different from Delilah or Jezebel? Delilah is my favourite Biblical whore and I would love if you worked her in (I would have requested Samson and Delilah if it had been possible). For some background on my perspective on this whole issue, this might be of interest to you, though it is only tangentially related.
I’d love a look at this with eternal recurrence in mind, and the intersection of the mythical/spiritual/religious with the everyday/psychological/personal.
Other stuff: Thunder, Perfect Mind is an interesting read and sings a nice counterpoint to the Song. I don't have a preferred Bible translation, though I prefer poetry over accuracy.
#4) Copenhagen: Neils Bohr/Werner Heisenberg
Prompt: "not one, but half of two"--an examination of the relationship (not explicitly sexual or romantic) and mutual half-of-two-ness of Heisenberg and Bohr.
Expansion: I love the complementarity of Bohr and Heisenberg. I’d like something that is pretty gen and deals more with deep friendship than romantic love. Though if you wanted to play with the gradations of emotion and different ways and kinds of love and loving, that would be cool. I’d be interested in the genesis of their friendship and/or the ways it exists and changes as the years go by and circumstances change. Please don’t sideline Margrethe-what I mean by that is respect the validity of her as a character and of her perspective, even if she doesn’t figure prominently in the fic.
To sum up: As much as my rambling may seem like I just want you to write something with a direct line to my brain, mostly I am interested in what YOU think about some of the stuff I've put out here. Hopefully one or two of the ideas/themes/characters/questions I've mentioned pique your interest. Feel free to mix and match things as you see fit. I’m sure I’m going to adore whatever you write. And hey, thanks again! I am definitely looking forward to what you come up with. <3
Hi! Thanks so much for signing up and taking my prompts on! It’s my first time doing this and I am super excited and thrilled about this whole thing.
I know this letter is like a million years long. It’s not long because I’m particularly exacting or picky; it’s long because I’ve picked texts I love, and when I talk about things I love I can go on forever. Please don’t think of this as a laundry list of requirements; I’ve thrown everything out here in the hopes that something works for you the way it works for me. I love the source texts, and if you love them too-which I assume you do-I know I’m going to love what you write.
Things I like in fiction:
- stories about myth: the intersection between myth and personality; character/self as fate; inexorable choices; eternal recurrence and variations on a theme.
- women: their power and their kinds of power; women relating to one another; taking apart the illusion of the good woman/bad woman, virgin/whore dichotomy; respect for women that comes from an understanding of their internal complexity; the religious and mythic experience of women.
- love: epic romance and epic friendship; deep mutual respect; balance; people changing for the better; working for it and making it work; the transformative power of interpersonal relationships; love that is not in spite of.
I like fiction that likes its characters and makes them work-for each other, for their resolutions. It doesn’t need to be perfect; I like it better when it isn’t perfect. But the work has to be rewarded in some way-maybe not the way the characters (or the reader) expect, and maybe the work is incomplete or will by its nature be forever incomplete, but what was made mattered, however you define “mattered”
Things I really don’t like:
- the intractability of destiny and the meaninglessness of choice
- reinforcing virgin/whore dynamics
- Powerful man/weak woman
- Textual character bashing
- Putting women on pedestals and calling it respect
- Ignoring the women
- Love cures all ills; easy rides of any kind.
- Despair/the uselessness of personal action.
- Doomed love
- Second person POV all the time and first person most of the time.
Bascially it comes down to love-I don’t like fiction that doesn’t care about its characters or what happens to them.
Okay, on to the specifics!
#1) Arthuriana: Arthur/Gawain/Guinevere/Lancelot
Prompt: I'd be interested in Avalon fic--who's there? what's it look like? How does Arthur exist there and what does he observe? Alternately, I'd be interested in Gawain, esp. as an observer of the doomed love triangle vs. his usual role as the guy who goes around doing stuff.
Expansion: This prompt is pretty general, and can be divided into three possible directions: an origin story, an Avalon story, or an observer story. I only mentioned the second two in the original prompt.
I didn’t mention the origin story in the original prompt, but I'd love to read about the genesis of King Arthur from the boy who was a squire, and that terrible fear and uncertainty and the horror of the loss of innocence. How does his kingdom become his own? He was just a country squire whose purview was bounded by Ector's fences. How does he become King of a country that is falling apart, and how does it become his? How does he relate to the land in the beginning? How at the end? How does he build relationships with Lancelot and Guinevere, and how much do they understand?
I'm also really interested in potential ambiguities of Avalon--Avalon as a place of desolation/stasis and healing/renewal, and the possibilities for eternal recurrence of the same, etc. What is this existence, what does it mean? How does it work?
If High King angst isn't your thing, I also find the role of the observer fascinating. I love Gawain, and I’d like a look at him and his role in . I like the contrast of Gawain, Man of Action vs. his bystandery role in the love triangle. His whole schtick is going out and Doing Stuff, but when it comes down to it, all he can do is watch as these crazy personal dynamics destroy everything he's worked for.
Other stuff: I grew up on Rosemary Sutcliffe’s version of the legend, and it’s the one I always refer back to in my mind. It’s a really easy read (it’s for kids) if you don’t feel like slogging through Malory. Also, I have some thoughts on Arthur here. There's also this post which is about Peter from Narnia, but the two characters are pretty firmly linked in my mind-That post is about My Feelings wrt destined kingship and its accompanying angst, which is a trope I adore.
#2) The Tempest : Miranda
Prompt: Miranda might just be my favourite Shakespeare heroine. I'm not particularly interested in postcolonial aspects/readings of the play, but rather in Miranda as subject and as the play's creative force. The action of the play is FOR her--what does she do with it? how does she shape it? to what extent is she made by the action and to what extent is she a maker?
Expansion: Possibly the most important thing I can say about this is that I really cannot overstate my disinterest in postcolonial readings of the play. I find that a postcolonial focus reduces Miranda to the status of sexual object in an extreme and overt way, and I am deeply uncomfortable with that. I am interested in Miranda as subject-she might be my favourite heroine in all of Shakespeare. I'm fascinated by Miranda's role in The Tempest as the eye of the storm, the centre around which the action revolves and Miranda as "o you wonder"-- both a wonder and the capacity for wonder. How does she make the world and how does it make her? I’d like to read about her during the play and how she relates to the action of the play and the various men in it, and to the absent women. I have a post about Miranda here that basically encapsulates how I feel about her and may give you an idea of what I would like to read.
#3) The Old Testament- Song of Songs: Beloved/Shullamite/Daughters of Jerusalem
Prompt: This is kind of a weird request, but here goes. I love the biblical whores in the old testament, the spectre of the "other" woman, her sexuality and her power, and the contrast of that with the sexuality of the song of songs. Basically, I'd like an extended dance remix of the Song of Songs by way of Thunder, Perfect Mind. Delilah and Deborah aren't so different. Delilah is my favourite biblical whore, and working in Samson and Delilah (either as a frame for the story or just as a reference) might cause me to pass out from joy.
Expansion: I'm kind of obsessed with the Biblical whores. I'd love something that elides the distinction between good women and bad women, between "the honoured one and the scorned one." I've chosen the Song of Songs because I love the merging of eroticism and spirituality. Is the Shullamite that different from Delilah or Jezebel? Delilah is my favourite Biblical whore and I would love if you worked her in (I would have requested Samson and Delilah if it had been possible). For some background on my perspective on this whole issue, this might be of interest to you, though it is only tangentially related.
I’d love a look at this with eternal recurrence in mind, and the intersection of the mythical/spiritual/religious with the everyday/psychological/personal.
Other stuff: Thunder, Perfect Mind is an interesting read and sings a nice counterpoint to the Song. I don't have a preferred Bible translation, though I prefer poetry over accuracy.
#4) Copenhagen: Neils Bohr/Werner Heisenberg
Prompt: "not one, but half of two"--an examination of the relationship (not explicitly sexual or romantic) and mutual half-of-two-ness of Heisenberg and Bohr.
Expansion: I love the complementarity of Bohr and Heisenberg. I’d like something that is pretty gen and deals more with deep friendship than romantic love. Though if you wanted to play with the gradations of emotion and different ways and kinds of love and loving, that would be cool. I’d be interested in the genesis of their friendship and/or the ways it exists and changes as the years go by and circumstances change. Please don’t sideline Margrethe-what I mean by that is respect the validity of her as a character and of her perspective, even if she doesn’t figure prominently in the fic.
To sum up: As much as my rambling may seem like I just want you to write something with a direct line to my brain, mostly I am interested in what YOU think about some of the stuff I've put out here. Hopefully one or two of the ideas/themes/characters/questions I've mentioned pique your interest. Feel free to mix and match things as you see fit. I’m sure I’m going to adore whatever you write. And hey, thanks again! I am definitely looking forward to what you come up with. <3