Writing

I've been writing fiction for most of my life, really. I wrote fan fiction before I even knew what it was, since as a child, before I fell asleep, I used to tell myself stories using the characters from my favorite books. I only found out that it was a real thing that other people did too when I stumbled across the Draco Dormiens trilogy (Harry Potter fanfiction) when I was thirteen or so. It's been a slippery slope from there.

I evolved later to writing mostly original fiction, though even now, I occasionally write a one-shot to some book or tv series I enjoy. It's fun, particularly if one is the type of person who gets inordinately attached to fictional characters. I miss them when the book, the series, the movie is over, and so I enjoy keeping them alive in that way.

I did NaNoWriMo three times in high school. My first novel was a fantasy story about the sunken island of Atlantis, and though it was not the best thing since chocolate, it had certain elements that I still find interesting, such as the question whether gods and goddesses die when nobody is left to worship them. A friend of mine reminded me of that question yesterday, since it's being explored in a book series he is reading, and it made me think of my story. Which had, of course, a tragic ending.

I don't recall what order I wrote my other two NaNo novels in, but one was a historical novel set in 1960s England, starring two characters who had switched identities as teenage girls during the War. They were both French, and one was Jewish and fleeing to Canada (or someplace? I don't even recall) whereas the other was simply being evacuated to England, and they switched identities at a train station. I feel like this was based vaguely on a children's book I once read, but it also featured a murder and a bunch of really messed up secondary characters. I never finished that story, because I fear it was pretty juvenile and uninformed. My intentions were good, but I should have done more historical research. I'm still, however, fond of Sarah Schopenauer, and maybe one day I'll tell her story in another way.

The other book was actually pretty interesting. It mixed three story lines, one set in the 1500s, one set in the 1880s and one set in the 1920s, all three in England. The 16th century narrative dealt with the mysterious death of Lady Amy Dudley, who was the wife of the Earl of Leicester who may or may not have been the lover of Elizabeth I (and, at least at one time, probably was). The other narratives deal with the descendants of a distant relative who came to live with her during her final years. This story really had some potential and I had a good time writing it - it came pretty close to being finished, and I may pick it up again.

I haven't written an original story in a while, but one of my Christmas presents (once again using the Amazon gift card my friend gave me) was a book of fiction writing exercises. I hope to post some of the results on here, if I deem them un-bad enough.