lirazel | Some things of note (or not)

- There was this old British lady on NPR today with the most delicious plummy accent talking about a new biography she's written of Lord Byron. Now, I'm a Keats kind of girl myself, but there is nothing more fun than listening to old British ladies say "licentiousness" and talking about Byron's relationship with Augusta. As I am generally unimpressed by debauchery, I remain convinced that his daughter was way cooler than he could ever hope to be. You go, Ada Lovelace. Inventing computer programming. One of the main characters in the pseudo-Victorian YA fantasy novel I'm working on is named after you! I'm sure you're sitting up there in heaven, all flattered and stuff.

- The beach's vendetta against my legs has not ceased. Now I am peeling profusely and also the places where I got stung by the jellyfish all flared up again. I woke up Saturday morning scratching at my legs thinking, "When did I get mosquito bites? I haven't been outside? Actually, these feel more like chiggers." And then it was the stupid jellyfish sting. Not fun. I haven't taken Benadryl in a while, and I forgot how wonky it can make me feel.

-

xlivvielockex reminded me of how passionately I love Jackie/Hyde, and so I spent pretty much all weekend reading That 70s Show fanfic. I was shocked by how much good stuff there is. Like, really good. It made me want to write some of my own, because it's been a long time since I've written T7S. I still don't understand how I can possibly love some silly couple from some silly sitcom as much as I do those two crazy kids. I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THE WRITERS. Let's take this opportunity to admire my moodtheme. LOVE IT.

- In insanely flattering news,

misskittydu34 has translated my story Prism into French! Isn't that the sweetest thing? You can find it here and here, in case you're interested.

- FALL SEASON OF TV. My favoritest time of the year! But I'm kind of shocked that I only have three shows on my absolutely-must-watch list: The Vampire Diaries, Community, and Being Erica. What am I missing? Has anybody heard of any exciting sounding new shows? TV. MY LOVE.

- I am currently downloading the Emmys because I didn't watch them on TV last night like a normal person. Also, they always make me mad because the stuff I want to win never wins. Let's not even talk about how many different categories Community should have been nominated for. I'm just going to continue to bask in the knowledge that Connie Britton FINALLY got a nomination. I love that woman.

- I hope your Monday was decent, and I also hope to catch up on replies soon. I've been doing a lot better about it lately!

- Now, back to working on my manifesto.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

George Gordon Byron is probably my favorite person in history, top five at least. Got to love all three of the romantic trinity: Keats is clearly the best poet, Shelley's the best thinker, and Byron's the BEST. Person; liver of life; king of Greece that could have been; blood-be-damned seducer of ladies, gentlemen, and possibly bears; what you will. Plus: Don Juan. FAVORITE.

(With bonus Claire Clairmont, who I find fascinating and want someone to write historical novels about. Let me flail at you.)

Ada Lovelace is incontrovertibly a prime BAMF, though. My iPod is named after her. Your nomenclature's more fun. YA novel WIP? Tell me more?

I totally agree about Keats being the best poet. I find Byron really fascinating from a distance and I love his sense of humor, but I just know that if I knew him I wouldn't be able to stand him. However, he's one of those people where I'm just so very glad he existed because it's cool to know that a human being really can be that much LARGER THAN LIFE.

OMG someone must write about Claire Clairmont! Poor woman! I'd forgotten about Allegra until I was listening to the thing today. Gah.

I love that your iPod is named for Ada. That makes me grin.

I've just started working on a YA novel. I want to ~be a writer~, for a living and stuff, but I got so horribly burned out in college doing so much literary theory and criticism (I was an English major) that it's taken me a full year to get to the point where I can write anything that I don't feel is horrible, so I'm just now beginning. So, very rough sketch: it's about these five kids (siblings and cousins) who live in this big crazy house and aren't human and are trying to break free of their evil family and learn how to control their ~powers. Plus, there's, like, a plot and stuff, but it's mostly a MacGuffin that lets me explore the world and characters. I've never been all that good at actual plots, but I'm trying.

It's better than it sounds. I hope.

Claire Clairmont is pretty much amazing. You know the theoretical tea party you organize in your head for your favorite people of all time and history? Mine is basically her and Victoria Woodhull talking about how it feels to be too progressive for their time with spates of less-than-covert giggling about men.

PLOTS. Plots are overrated. Plots were my bugbear forever, and I'm not sure I've ever written plot-based fanfic, so it's still last on my list. Worldbuilding + characters can carry you through. And I like mutants with complicated emotional arcs and dynamics within evil families and pseudo-Victoriana, so it sounds like a party. Also, I have this massive soft spot for YA—reviewed ARCs for seven years at a local bookstore; there's so much badness, but when you get good things, they're such gems and go so neglected. People writing smart things for teenage audiences gives me fuzzy feelings.

I'm inviting myself to your tea party, just so you know. :D

They are overrated! I'm all about the worldbuilding and characters.

And I like mutants with complicated emotional arcs and dynamics within evil families and pseudo-Victoriana That...pretty much sums it up! Though they're Sidhe, not mutants, but it amounts to the same thing. There's a whole backstory that's going to be hugely fun to work out the details of. If this thing ever gets off the ground (I'm notorious for things that don't get off the ground), I'm sure I'll be keeping my flist updated on my progress.

I love YA. I feel like the books I read between the ages of about 9 and 14 are the ones that shaped me the most, and when it was people like Madeleine L'Engle and Robin McKinley and Elizabeth George Speare and L.M. Montgomery, how could it not influence me? There's a lot of good stuff coming out, especially in fantasy, if you can get away from the Twilight-knockoffs. I really am excited about hopefully contributing to that market one day.

Of COURSE. Hypatia, Lucrezia Borgia, and Sei Shonagon are hanging out there, too. Tea, cakes, and disproportionate amounts of feminism for all involved.

Sidhe, gotcha, even more fun. Well—I've read good fae books and bad fae books, but the good ones are STUNNING and it's such a giant gorgeous mythology to play with. Backstory is the best, too. (To wit, in the Buffy realm, I flail ALL OVER THE PLACE about the fanged four. It's an inevitability.) History + mythos + complicated dynamics all in one place = the best thing ever.

I know! I feel like I mostly read books about charming hipsters, but by gosh, there's no one else writing those books! Fantasy's all over the place, though, and some of it's fantastic. Like I'm a Richelle Mead stan: she writes vampire lit with embarrassing covers (YA needs new cover-makers in general), but she's a Russophile and a mythology/religion freak, her worldbuilding is solid, her vampire political system is full of complicated corrupt monarchy, and her heroine is a full-fledged badass. Things to love.

OH FUN! In general my tea party would be mostly awesome lady writers--Eudora Welty and Virgina Woolf and Octavia Butler and Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz--but Faulkner also has to be there, and he's such a drunk! No doubt he'd be rowdy. And John Donne would be preaching or writing bawdy poetry or something--possibly both at the same time.

I actually need to look into more fae mythology because I honestly haven't read a ton of it. But I'm having fun developing my own little mythology.

To wit, in the Buffy realm, I flail ALL OVER THE PLACE about the fanged four.

OH SO MUCH LOVE. I totally agree.

Like I'm a Richelle Mead stan: she writes vampire lit with embarrassing covers (YA needs new cover-makers in general), but she's a Russophile and a mythology/religion freak, her worldbuilding is solid, her vampire political system is full of complicated corrupt monarchy, and her heroine is a full-fledged badass.

Okay, that has immediately gone onto my to-read list. That sounds glorious.

Some things of note (or not)

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