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Sprite's Wonderland

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sprite
Active Ink Slinger
Posting #1

Yes, this is a bit of a vanity thread, i won't deny it. That said, i hope it starts off a sucession of similar threads by those of you writing stories or even prose here. i think we are all curious at times what goes on 'behind the scenes' or in the head of various authors and how often do we get a chance to ask those questions, such as 'why did you do that' or 'what was the inspiration for this?' Also, it's a good way for me to think out loud about what works and why it works and the motivations behind certain things. i find that, as i edit my chapters for this site, i am making changes, some small, but some rather signicant. For one, just labeling it as a horror story made me realize in needed to bring those elements more into play, so much so, that Lucy's 'friends' have been brought more to life in some of the scenes where before they were just sort of present, Now they are much more real.

Btw, this is an open thread, if you have questions, comments, criticisms, bring it on. Hey, you can even derail it if you like, as long as you keep it civil. mostly, i'm sort of going to blunder around and talk about how a story that is very near and dear to my heart.

The beginning: for those of you not aware, i am slightly (ok, less then slightly) ADD. i have been writing since i was old enough to yield a crayon, and i have managed just fine in the realm of poetry, prose, and short stories. That said, my novels, of which i have many, seem to run out of steam before they are finished. i just find something else, lose the thread, and feel the need to move on.

2 years ago, almost to the day, i decided to try my hand at NaNoWriMo. i didn't have a clear concept of a story line. all i knew was that i should stick with what i enjoyed. i am obsessive about Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. If you look carefully, you will find tidbits, some very obscure, in almost everything i write, my characters, or in my art work.

(a good example of this... Lucy Davenport was orginally Lucy Sherwood.... LS or Alice and Alice's surname was Davenport. At somepoint i interchanged the last names. telling you why would be a spoiler of sorts, so i'm keeping my mouth shut! oh, i should also point out that if you leave out the name Alice, you are left with the letters LSD... Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. ;) that's for all you Beatle's fans out there.)

So i decided to roam around in Wonderland for my month long writing venture. It all began with the line, the very first line in the story, "My life is complicated."

It was an amazing motivation. i simply set aside everything and let it be known that i was going to write like mad for month. My g/f was very understanding and even encouraging and the raw form of the story, somewhere between 60-70k words, was done thus. Sadly, it wasn't quite done - i'd realized that Alice needed a voice too and that was harder, having spent so mucy time in Lucy's head. So i slowly tinkered with Lucy's story, adding Alice's bit by bit, difficult, since to do that, i'd have to read a section of Lucy's tale and then retell it from Alice's POV and when writing Alice, i had to remember to write AS Alice rather then as Lucy. So, that's where i stand. Lucy's tale is done, and i am slowly posting it. Alice's tale is told up until immediately after Mrs. Davenports suicide and, once i have posted all i have, i will begin to write again. simple as that.

xoxo
sprite
ladysharon
Active Ink Slinger
I'll still read your stories!

www.szadventures.com
Ashleigh
Active Ink Slinger
I love your story series, Sprite. As someone who never really got into the Alice in Wonderland phenomena (don't hate me...eek!), I'm finding this piece very refreshing and entertaining! I like the darker aspects, so maybe that's why I'm finding it more thrilling than the traditional AIW story.

Do you find it difficult to switch to Alice's POV and retell the same story? I've read a few novel series where they have done this, and I found that I really enjoyed them. So far, which character's perspective have you enjoyed writing from the most? And do you think that's because the character is more relatable to you as the writer? I always wonder who the author identifies most with in a story series that deals with two different POV's....
sprite
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by Ashleigh
I love your story series, Sprite. As someone who never really got into the Alice in Wonderland phenomena (don't hate me...eek!), I'm finding this piece very refreshing and entertaining! I like the darker aspects, so maybe that's why I'm finding it more thrilling than the traditional AIW story.

Do you find it difficult to switch to Alice's POV and retell the same story? I've read a few novel series where they have done this, and I found that I really enjoyed them. So far, which character's perspective have you enjoyed writing from the most? And do you think that's because the character is more relatable to you as the writer? I always wonder who the author identifies most with in a story series that deals with two different POV's....


omg, so i love you for making me feel like a real writer, enough so that i will forgive you for NOT reading AIW! ;)

ok... the hardest part of writing my story, actually, was the character switch. As i believe i mentioned, i wrote ALL of Lucy's story first, which is most of the entire story. after that, i started with Alice's take on the same story. Yeah, it would have been SO much easier to write in 3rd person, but not nearly as effective. i wanted the stories to come off as if being told my Lucy and Alice. So, Lucy's voice isn't too disimliar to my own normal writing voice, but i wanted Alice's to be noticably different, so that meant finding another voice that stood out, something i think i did effectivly - you'll have to judge for yourself when i post those chapters. thing is, i have to drop into that style when writing for her, rather then my normal style.

what made it even harder, was to get the events right, i needed to read Lucy's take, and then translate it to Alice's POV, so i almost literally am 'changing costumes' back and forth, making it slower to write. as for who is more enjoyable? Lucy is easier, but i kind of like the challenge of writing Alice more, and the revelations that Alice's story brings are... well, there are parts of Lucy's story that become twists in the plot, and some of it is purposefully vague or ambiguous. Alice fills in the holes and makes sense of some things that seem like i might have just messed up and left details out? those are purposeful, so in that sense, i am enjoying Alice more.

i DID worry that i get bored writing the same story over, but i found that seeing it through different eyes is making it a really enjoyable 'chore'. smile

Also, hmm... if i say too much, it will kind of spoil the story, but i will say that Alice's tale is the more up beat of the two.

By the way, both are very relatable to me. my partner has read all of what's written so far, and has remarked on little mannerisms in both girls that are mine, something i wasn't always aware of, which is a little scary!

does that answer your question? or even make sense? :)
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Is there still more of this story coming? Trying to be patient, but I like what I've read so far and cant wait to read more.