Tuesday, 23 March 2004 04:50 pm
Whale of a (fairy) tale
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deckardcanineIs it just like me to put the most effort into the least demanding course?
Only in my last semester of college have I enrolled in an experimental college course, or "exco" as the Obies call it. My exco, Literature of the Fantastic, is taught by a halfway-familiar gamer who shares a philosophy course with me. Not surprisingly, it is the least organized college course I have ever had. Our two-hour weekly sessions, with only three other enrolled students and sometimes the teacher's girlfriend, tend to be at least 50% tangential. Some weeks' readings take a while to get thru -- he once sent the entire "Song of Roland" when he meant to send only an excerpt -- and I don't read fast, but the course remains my favorite this semester, with the possible exception of the philosophy one (The Analysis of Reasoning -- great for the language-oriented).
Anyway, the non-reading homework for full credit consists of four papers, the first of which needs to come before spring break next week. They can be analytic, like most college papers, or creative, like (uhhh) Creative Writing papers. For me, the choice was a no-brainer. Creative writing is probably my prime talent. I would have majored in it if not for the strong competition for upper-level courses that made me settle for English.
When I asked how long my instructor wanted it, he said, "Write to the end, then stop." I suppose it makes sense for an assignment where you can mimic anything from an epic poem to a summarized myth, but a major paper with no prescribed length range was unprecedented for me, at least beyond the junior high level.
So what did I write over the last few days? A fairy tale longer than any writing, creative or analytic, I had ever written. The total that I just submitted (not including my name, the date, the course title or the story title) came to 4914 words, which makes over 16 1/2 pages in Word's Times New Roman 12-point double-spaced. I could easily have made it longer, but I had that much restraint. For the rest, I feel I couldn't help it. The story was writing itself, more complex than I ever thought it would get.
Think what this means to me. Robert Silverberg's "Science Fiction 101" describes four length ranges for short stories, among which fillers take "up to 1500" words and the next level "3000 to 5000" (I think; I don't have it with me). He implies that there is no place in non-juvenile literary magazines for a 2000- or 2500-word story. My longest story for any Creative Writing course, after two revisions that lengthened it, was less than 2700. Now it turns out I have the power after all.
And what's it about? The title is "Tulenor of Sipheros." In my effort to imitate the fairy tales we've read, it's about a prince named Tulenor who falls madly in love with a woman at first sight. His brother King Hadreth also gets a crush on her, but he doesn't say so; instead, he lies that "Iva" wants a very particular sort of man, and the one he describes is superhuman. He advises Tulenor to seek a bargain with a mountain fairy (whom Hadreth thinks is only a rumor) to become all she wants. Tulenor takes off in haste. In the woods, he gets poisoned by a beast which he then slays and takes a fossilized claw. He discovers that the poison painfully gives him the command of telekinesis as long as he holds the claw. The fairy grants his wish, but he must learn and speak the name of her place of origin within five sunsets, lest he and the maiden become hers forever -- or, if he does not have her then, he dies more horribly then by poison. The rest, I leave to your imagination.
You may have noticed a theme out of "Princess Mononoke," which I also understand to be part of "Naruto" and probably other anime. Believe me, I did not realize the adoption until I had already done seven pages.
My mom wishes I'd write creatively more often. So do I. On the occasions that I do, which were much more common before junior high, it's downright therapeutic.
Only in my last semester of college have I enrolled in an experimental college course, or "exco" as the Obies call it. My exco, Literature of the Fantastic, is taught by a halfway-familiar gamer who shares a philosophy course with me. Not surprisingly, it is the least organized college course I have ever had. Our two-hour weekly sessions, with only three other enrolled students and sometimes the teacher's girlfriend, tend to be at least 50% tangential. Some weeks' readings take a while to get thru -- he once sent the entire "Song of Roland" when he meant to send only an excerpt -- and I don't read fast, but the course remains my favorite this semester, with the possible exception of the philosophy one (The Analysis of Reasoning -- great for the language-oriented).
Anyway, the non-reading homework for full credit consists of four papers, the first of which needs to come before spring break next week. They can be analytic, like most college papers, or creative, like (uhhh) Creative Writing papers. For me, the choice was a no-brainer. Creative writing is probably my prime talent. I would have majored in it if not for the strong competition for upper-level courses that made me settle for English.
When I asked how long my instructor wanted it, he said, "Write to the end, then stop." I suppose it makes sense for an assignment where you can mimic anything from an epic poem to a summarized myth, but a major paper with no prescribed length range was unprecedented for me, at least beyond the junior high level.
So what did I write over the last few days? A fairy tale longer than any writing, creative or analytic, I had ever written. The total that I just submitted (not including my name, the date, the course title or the story title) came to 4914 words, which makes over 16 1/2 pages in Word's Times New Roman 12-point double-spaced. I could easily have made it longer, but I had that much restraint. For the rest, I feel I couldn't help it. The story was writing itself, more complex than I ever thought it would get.
Think what this means to me. Robert Silverberg's "Science Fiction 101" describes four length ranges for short stories, among which fillers take "up to 1500" words and the next level "3000 to 5000" (I think; I don't have it with me). He implies that there is no place in non-juvenile literary magazines for a 2000- or 2500-word story. My longest story for any Creative Writing course, after two revisions that lengthened it, was less than 2700. Now it turns out I have the power after all.
And what's it about? The title is "Tulenor of Sipheros." In my effort to imitate the fairy tales we've read, it's about a prince named Tulenor who falls madly in love with a woman at first sight. His brother King Hadreth also gets a crush on her, but he doesn't say so; instead, he lies that "Iva" wants a very particular sort of man, and the one he describes is superhuman. He advises Tulenor to seek a bargain with a mountain fairy (whom Hadreth thinks is only a rumor) to become all she wants. Tulenor takes off in haste. In the woods, he gets poisoned by a beast which he then slays and takes a fossilized claw. He discovers that the poison painfully gives him the command of telekinesis as long as he holds the claw. The fairy grants his wish, but he must learn and speak the name of her place of origin within five sunsets, lest he and the maiden become hers forever -- or, if he does not have her then, he dies more horribly then by poison. The rest, I leave to your imagination.
You may have noticed a theme out of "Princess Mononoke," which I also understand to be part of "Naruto" and probably other anime. Believe me, I did not realize the adoption until I had already done seven pages.
My mom wishes I'd write creatively more often. So do I. On the occasions that I do, which were much more common before junior high, it's downright therapeutic.
no subject
I also love that paper-length assignment: Write util it's done, then stop. You'd be surprised how many people don't stop.