Nano Woes

It is November 15 today, November 15. 


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Let that sink in. It is November 15 and Nano is currently kicking *pardon the language* my ass.

Yesterday I maybe wrote 150 words. No joke. That's it. And now today, is almost over and I've only written about 400. This is a problem. A big problem.

I think the majority of my problem with writing today and yesterday is because family stuff has occurred. And that is very distracting, if you have me on Tumblr, you would know more about that situation.

The story is stalling. It was at this great point; Tay was out but life was overwhelming her, now I need introduce her to Rose--this underground organization of sorts, the ones that helped break her out. But I need more information about them, what they do, there day to day life, and not to mention I need more information on Victorian era fashion. And those that know me, know that when it comes to fashion I am not the brightest.

Oh well, in order to inspire some creativity and motivation to just write--no matter how awful the first draft will be, here are some quotes and images via Pinterest.

Quotes 

To Prompt You Into Writing

"Just like our eyes, our hearts have a way of adjusting to the dark" -Adam Stanley

"Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open." —Natalie Goldberg

Murder Mysteries, Neil Gaiman

Murder Mysteries by Neil Gaiman is a short story I read in the Smoke and Mirrors anthology. The book is on loan from the library, but I wish I owned it. 

To reintroduce the book you can see the previous post and review on the entire anthology, but this story deserved an entire post on its own. Since I will be talking about it pretty in-depth there will be some spoilers.

 So, I didn't really like the beginning  as it started in an unfortunate way, that would (I admit) turn most people off. I should mention here that this book is definitely not recommended for any younger teens out there, mainly for people 18+ depending on the individual. But despite the distasteful opening, this story really REALLY struck me. 

It is a story that takes place while our universe is being created. 

(That enough should have you going '...um...cool.')

It is told by an old man, who swears it's true, as he tells a younger guy, in payment for a cigarette. 

We are led through the story by Raugel, (who's the old man), it starts when he is brought to life by Lucifer (Yes, that Lucifer) as the Vengeance of the Name. And he is instructed to find out who killed Carasel, another angel. We go through the story with him as he attempts to figure out who killed the angel. It isn't easy too really figure out who did it, this story kind of keeps you guessing for a while, and there are times when you think that it was either Lucifer or that Carasel just killed himself. 

Carasel turns out to be a workaholic, and he really throws himself into his work, and at the time of his death he was involved with creating emotions for humans. Being human, I know how messy those can get, and it is easy to see how he would have become overwhelmed by the emotions. 

So it was expected that Carasel would throw himself into the emotions he was working on, and we find out that Carasel, the angel that had died, convinced another angel to work on love with him, in a very intimate way, so together they work on love, and inevitably, end up lovers.  

The other angel falls for him completely, keep in mind, I'm saying he here but there is actually no gender in the angel world, you kind of just guess it by their actions and values, anyways, Carasel's lover turns out to be unable to handle the stress involved with love, and when Carasel begins to work on Death, he kind of just forgets about his lover. Causing massive heartbreak and pain, and his lover, therefore takes his life, hoping that the pain caused by Carasel's neglect will suddenly disappear if he's dead. 

 It doesn't of course.

Anyone who knows even the most basic information about Christianity should know that Lucifer turns into the devil by disobeying--or (as it is stated) disagreeing with god! 

So you may automatically assume that it was him who killed Carasel. The character of Lucifer is so utterly fascinating -I could go on and on about him.

The punishment for killing another Angel is death, which Raugel carries out, as he is the Vengeance of the Name, not many of the angels like it, most are scared of Raugel, even he doesn't like it, but Lucifer questions this! Lucifer is the only one that actually thinks about it. He feels it more wholly than any of the other angels, he believes that Carasel should have been helped, and yet, the Name (God, the Lord, I AM--whatever you wish to call him) the angels expect vengeance to be done, because Raugel, the Vengeance of the Name, was awoken, so it is apparent to the angels that Carasel being killed was just. But Lucifer doesn't believe so. And so starts his fall from grace. But God is there when it begins and when Raugel finds out about God being there, he says: 'Lucifer's journey will be the hardest of all.'

And yet, the character of god turns out to an angel that sits all day and dreams. I'm not joking. And to me it has always been that God as the Christian religion shows him is ludicrous, I've always believe that God was made in the image of man, not the other way around, and Lucifer was the most fascinating of all the characters. 

Raguel, though we're led through the story by him, functions mainly robotic until the very end, when he meets the Name. Lucifer walks outside the boundaries of the Angels Kingdom as we find out, but not because he communes with the voices of snakes that live within them, because he tests himself, everyday, to improve upon his strength and faith, but than at the end he hints at his changed attitude after watching the other angel (the Lover of Carasel) die in honor of the Name. It seems that each angel does what they believe they are supposed to do, yet, Lucifer thinks independently and the Name is just that, a name, an original idea that created all this life--yet it isn't God, in fact, it seems God is just as human as us. 

And, to bring me to the next point, this version of God, AMAZING! A million times better than anything I've read. He's not referred to as "God" (A concept I kind of hate due to many factors). He's referred to as the Name or occasionally Lord, but not as God. And the end version of him, basically as a supreme being, sitting and dreaming up the entire world is so almost humbling, and then when he sympathizes with Lucifer! WOW.

We've got Lucifer, treading the darkness to overcome it, yet we know he's going to fall. And even the Name knows that he will fall--but the thing is what the Name says, 'his path will be the hardest' is something that really struck me as wow. We all know people who have a harder life than what it is supposed to be, some of us, have it, some of us feel that our path is harder than the average person's. But it is also hinted that there is hope for redemption, there is hope as long as you don't loose yourself completely. Lucifer was the strongest of gods angels in folklore, but even the strongest can fall, its what happens after you fall that matters. 

Lucifer wishes to help Carasel's Lover and than questions the Name. 

Raguel, is swift judgement, robotic agreement.

Carasel, creative but oblivious.

Carasel's Lover, hurt, driven mad with pain, and a murderer--ill from pain--then dead.

And if you realize this, you may see that everything above is characteristics that any given person can have--we all have this possibility inside of us but what matters the most how we react to life--or the Name.

There is so much meaning within this story, surprising considering how short it was!

I loved it--so much. Maybe one of my favorites.

First of all, taken at face value, it is a story of archangels, the world they inhabit is as beautiful as it is fantastic  But there is so much more to it than that.

At times, especially since the story of the angels is told by a man asking for a cigarette, it makes you feel that this entire story really could go both ways, sure, it could be that this man was an angel, whatever, it's fantasy sort of, but at the same time, this could be an entire battle happening in his head. Okay, holy sh*t!! 

And, if you link that to what goes on inside an individual's head, you might feel that angel, god, heaven, hell, the devil, ect...all reside inside a human.

I loved this story. 

Smoke and mirrors, Neil Gaiman

In the deft hands of Neil Gaiman, magic is no mere illusion . . . and anything is possible. In Smoke and Mirrors, Gaiman's imagination and supreme artistry transform a mundane world into a place of terrible wonders—where an old woman can purchase the Holy Grail at a thrift store, where assassins advertise their services in the Yellow Pages under "Pest Control," and where a frightened young boy must barter for his life with a mean-spirited troll living beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks. Explore a new reality, obscured by smoke and darkness yet brilliantly tangible, in this extraordinary collection of short works by a master prestidigitator. It will dazzle your senses, touch your heart, and haunt your dreams.

I think that this book was a great collection of short stories by Neil Gaiman. I always love his writing style, as you may or may not know, he's got one of the best voices of the 21st century. This book did contain some stories that me--a nineteen year old girl--didn't really enjoy reading all that much, I think I skipped only one though. For the most part, tried to read them even if they didn't really appeal to me. 

Some of the reviews or notes about each separate story will contain spoilers so just beware. 

To see my thoughts on each separate story look below: BEWARE SPOILERS. 

As well, a post about Murder Mysteries will be up soon. 

The Marriage Present: 

Oh, wow. Okay, so, occasionally, ideas from this story have come back to me. The main one being: giving up. Now to some degree I feel that meaning we find within writing isn’t necessarily what the author intended to created, no matter if they meant to place it within the sentences of a story or not, we find it there. And that is kind of what matters. I finally understand what John Green said about books belonging to the readers not authors. 

I feel that when the MC threw the letter into the fire and 'waiting for the scar to appear' meant that she had given up who she was as a person, it was her, falling and resolving to stay fallen. On the other hand, as it was hinted in the beginning of the story, it could also be that the letter is in fact another reality—the real one, or if it isn’t, it was the wife’s decision which reality to live in, and by her resolving to burn the letter, she was choosing the other reality, where her marriage sucked, but her husband was alive. 

On the other hand, it could be neither of those and it could simply be metaphorical, it could be that when she was waiting for the scar to appear, she was simply waiting to heal from the sudden death of her husband. 

Chivalry: 

This story is a quick little story about the Holy Grail. It is actually kind of funny in its simplicity; this story is about a retired women who buys the Holy Grail at a second hand store, and in turn meets a knight that is on a quest to recover the Holy Grail. It is a quick read—alright. No overly strong feelings towards this story, though quite often it did make me laugh. There is one part where the women who bought it is telling her friends about how she bought the Holy Grail, the cup that caught Jesus' blood, if your Grandma said that to you, you'd probably just dismiss it, yet this actually turns out to be the Holy Grail. The idea is just hilarious because it is something I could actually see my grandma saying or bragging about. 

Nicholas was…: 

This story is the true story of St. Nicholas; a man forced into a form of slavery, forced to conform to the whims of these small creatures that dress him up and shove him in a sled. 

What an awesome take on the whole Santa Clause myth. Haha, your parents lied to you boys and girls. It was funny in the way that it was so unlike anything else I’ve heard about old St. Nick, but also quite tragic if you really think of it. 

The Price:

This was a very cool story—I liked that it wasn’t the women who was obsessed with cats, but the man—it’s different. I like that it was a story about a fierce Guardian Angel cat. I liked the build up to the height of the mystery as well. Also, I was really worried about that poor cat. 

Troll Bridge:

Wildly distributing, this was very good. It is about the Troll that lives under the bridge, I loved the ending as well, did not like the main character until the end actually when he chose to just watch the people—though yes, it was still perverted but better than the alternative—cursing another kid to become the next troll.

Don’t Ask Jack:

This was awesome—one of the creepiest ones within the book I think. About a Jack-in-the-box that holds some special secrets. I’d read more stories following up from this one, it was really good. 

The Goldfish Pool and other stories:

Pretty good—it was partly true, which parts, I don’t really know—your guess is as good as mine—unless you’re actually Neil Gaiman, in which case, you know. 

The White Road and Queen of Knives:

Both were equally disturbing. The White Road was about a Mrs. Fox, a predator who manages to kill an innocent man, though you're led to believe that it is the man that is the fox. The Queen of Knives was about a strange couple—it had a twist at the end, even with the Spoilers warning at the top of this review I don’t want to spoil it, I would like to know who got it though--message me. Both were very good.

Changes:

Meh. Not too crazy about this story. 

The Daughter of Owls:

Such a creepy story but it was so awesome at the same time—loved it and kind of hated it because of what the men from the village wanted to do to the little girl, but at the same time, wish for this instead of what happens in reality.

Shaggots Old Peculiar:

Pretty good—I liked it. 

Virus:

I loved this one, I thought it everything about it was really cool and it can have multiple meanings. Here’s a verse that sticks out to me, I’m hoping it will inspire you to read this, also pay attention to the meaning behind it, and let me know what you think it means. I'd love to hear your interpretations. (God, do I sound like a school teacher? I swear I'm not.) I honestly think that there could be a few different ways it could be interpreted when compared to different aspects of our culture. 

‘Well aren’t you? Aren’t you scared of viruses? 

Even the better protected files corrupt,

And the best protected corrupt absolutely.’

Though taken at face value the meaning is quite clear, to me, this reminds me of how imperfect perfection is. Someone with the seemingly perfect life--beautiful house, kids, wife/husband, ect...can be very corrupted, the passage above reminded me of that--it says something about society as well. You can call me whatever you want for looking into this poem with so much depth, but there was more meaning here than you may think. 

This story was basically about hell being in the internet; hell basically runs the world now, you can even visit any family members who were, either fortunately or unfortunately sent to hell, and watch them receive their punishment. It was quite disturbing and just weird, how the world worked. You could really tell how traumatized the persona of this poem was—he was pretty much scared and distrusting of everything. Which, you know, considering he lives in hell, is understandable. 

The Sweeper of Dreams:

:( I don’t like the sweeper who takes away the castles, the glory and the madness of my dreams—though sometimes waking can be a blessing. 

This kind of makes me want to you know, buy doughnuts for this fictional Sweeper of Dreams. As in, I love you, don't leave me in a world of Nightmares please! 

The man that sweeps up the remains of your dreams demands respect or else he won't come back, and you will live everyday in a nightmare that will never end, locked away in a mental institution. 

Not only is this story really short—it is pretty powerful as well, creepy and borderline scary—just the alternative presented within this story is enough to make anyone want to go out of their way to make small talk with anyone holding a broom. 

Foreign Parts: 

…Ah, yeah….

Not my favorite. Didn't really like it—I guess in some ways it was funny but it was just weird. Maybe a guy would appreciate this more. 

About some guy who gets a STD, is cured and finds out that his parts aren’t his. 

Vampire Sestina:

Really good—beautiful prose and imagery in this. 

Mouse:

Freaky short story—though the guy was a total ass, by ass, I of course mean Donkey. I mean, sure, at first he doesn’t seem too bad—but then the way he treated his wife when she finally started talking? Well, that was just nasty. 

Sea Change:

A story about madness. 

And I loved it. 

When we went to see the end of the world, by Dawine Morningside, age 11 ¼:

This was interesting. A paper written by a small girl who went to see the end of the world with her parents. This was confusing to be honest. 

Desert Wind:

This was a story inspired by a song, I think I would appreciate it more if I knew or had listened to the song beforehand. I’ll probably check it out sooner or later though. 

Tastings: 

Kinda skipped over this after reading the opening paragraph. 

Babycakes:

Humans tested on animals, ate them, devoured them, and were somehow surprised when they left—or disappeared. And in a world without animals what is a human to do? Of course there is sudden mayhem and chaos brought on by people who don’t have what they usually do. No safe products and food, so what do they use? Babies. Yeah, well, what’s so wrong about this is that it actually seems likely—if the events in this story were to take place, somehow the animals were all gone—or dead, what would humans do? Go after the next weakest mammals. 

Murder Mysteries: 

This is my favorite story—it completely blew my mind, so much so that I've dedicated an entire blog entry to it. It was just...well read my post to find out. :) 

Snow, Glass and Apples: 

Haha, what a twist on the tale of Snow White. I love it! 

Book Cross Over 2013: Stardust

Stardust

Neil Gaiman

 

  To find out what a Book Cross Over is, check out this post which just about sums it up. 

Book Cross Over Info

First book of the 

2013 Book Crossover

This book was lyrical, mystical, and completely captivating. 

 “She says nothing at all, but simply stares upward into the dark sky and watches, with sad eyes, the slow dance of the infinite stars.”
― Neil Gaiman, Stardust

“He stared up at the stars: and it seemed to him then that they were dancers, stately and graceful, perfomrming a dance almost infinite in its complexity. He imagined he could see the very faces of the stars; pale, they were, and smiling gently, as if they had spent so much time above the world, watching the scrambling and the joy and the pain of the people below them, that they could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.”
― Neil Gaiman, Stardust

There was so much in this book I loved. I adored the characters, the lack of weirdness regrading this weird world, and the simple, crystaline writing of Mr. Neil Gaiman.

About the book...

In the sleepy English countryside of decades past, there is a town that has stood on a jut of granite for six hundred years. And immediately to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here in the town of Wall, Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. 

One crisp October night, as they watch the sky, a star falls, after Victoria promises him her hand if he can retrive the star, Tristran leaves. This promise that sends Tristran through the only gap in the wall, across the meadow, and into the most unforgettable adventure of his life.

Review

This is a book for fantasy fans. Anyone who enjoys the adventure and oddness of fantasy will love this.

It was strange and wonderful, and mystical and lyrical. The narrator was clear, concise and actually stitched together the past and our present, by slight indications when it came to things like the bag Tristran Thorn had, and what it would one day be called.

Neil Gaiman is a master writer, his story was set up, consistent and whimsical.
I think what I loved so much about this is how strange it was, the little furry creature that helped Tristran in the beginning,  the pirates  (though I did miss the cross-dressing aspect that part, that was in the movie). 




Stardust was, at times hilarious(!), and frustrating.  

It didn't shy away from normal human functions as well, I mean that the characters actually went to the bathroom, which most books skip over--obviously it wasn't detailed or anything, I only bring this up to show you how Mr. Neil Gaiman is able to create such real-feeling journeys. 

This story was an adventure to read, I loved the forlorn feeling, the feeling of being on an adventure completely cut off from everyone--in society today if we just decided to strike out on our own, we'd have cell phones, many ways of finding out information and would still be surrounded by the people we left behind in cyberspace. We'd probably have acess to emergency rooms and hospitals beds. And it is very unlikely that we'd encounter any fellow wanderers. And even if you leave your cell phone at home--it is a choice, there is something very different and definate about not having a choice about whether or not to keep in contact with your family. Which both shows Tritans stupidity and courage in this book.  You can kind of see throughout the story that even when Tristan strikes out on his own he manages to still be conforming to what his society wants for him--his society expects him to marry and have kids, he wants to marry Victoria Forester, so in order to do that, he has to get the star. And yet, when he comes back, he's changed, grown up and says goodbye to his family forver.

This story was also intertwined with others as you can see so plainly in the writing. For example, there a prince that is a squirl, that won't turn back into a Prince until he's found the nut of Wisdom--all these story lines are also in this, Neil Gaiman put work into even the simplist characters.

So, looking for the Star's point of view, this story is also a completely beautiful love story.

Victoria was obviously an annoyance, and every time Tristran talked about her, I was rolling my eyes--it is interesting how reading their stories gives you the ability to see what the characters do not.

Tristran is just a simple boy from the village of Wall who decides to prove his love for the beautiful but cold, Victoria Forester, which meant crossing the Wall (no one crosses it) and entering the unexplored land of Fiarie.

When reading Stardust it actually feels like Neil Giaman is in the room with you narrating the entire story. That is how the book reads, like it is being spoken. 

I loved the tongue-in-cheek humor. 
I loved Tristan's attitude, how he was completely in love with Victoria, to the point of actual frustration. The world Neil presents us with is one of possibility, if you know anything of fairy-lore, you'd recognize the themes within the story but you'd also recognize the beautiful simplicity of the world of Fiarie. Death is either justified or avenged. The rules of this society are quite simple, if someone helps you, you return the favor. 

You could refer to this as a story of growth, along the journey Tristran really grows into himself, granted, his development is sssllloooowwww. But eventually he gets there. 

Some of the characters took longer for growth then others, for example, Tristran took forever to let go of Victoria and his ideal simple life. Victoria never really changed, but she was a detailed-rounded character that I did enjoy reading about her.

The Brothers' Quest
Whoever finds the Power of Stormhold will be the 51st ruler of Stormhold. The seven sons set out to kill one another to obtain the power, but if someone else kills their brother, than there death is to be avenged. Obviously the king had a sick sense of humour. I enjoyed the ghosts as well, as they hovered around their living brothers, I also loved how the environment around the ghosts reacted when they talked. It was haunting and chilling at times. 


OVERALL

I loved this story. It was absolutely beautiful. And it had a slightly sad ending--a real ending, this fact alone is why I loved this so much more than the movie. No ending is ever wrapped up as perfectly as it was in the movie version of this book. I would recommend you read this, it is a complex yet simple book 


“I knowed a man in Paphlagonia who'd swallow a live snake every morning, when he got up. He used to say, he was certain of one thing, that nothing worse would happen to him all day. 'Course they made him eat a bowlful of hairy centipedes before they hung him, so maybe that claim was a bit presumptive.”
― Neil Gaiman, Stardust


Now dear followers, go and check out J.N. Cahill's review of Stardust and see how it compares to this one above, if you disagreed with my review, maybe you'll find you agreed more with her. 



Here is a painting by Charles Vess who has designed one of the covers for Stardust.His paintings are beautiful, completely ring true to the feeling of the book. This particular picture depicts the battle between the lion and the unicorn. Read the book and you'll understand it better.