Creative Cursing

"Oh me, you juggler, you canker-blossom
You thief of love! What, have you come by night
And stol'n my love's heart from him?"
 --Hermia, A Midsummer Night's Dream

I've recently become very fond of reviewing the four letters we've posted. I seem to be in a pensive, almost reflective mood - that or I'm secretively procrastinating from doing any actual revision work. (gasp, no, am I doing that?)

In any case, I've taken down a list here of the clever words we've used - okay, mostly it's ones that Mirth has used to swear or curse or express her deepest emotions. Anger. Anguish. Fear. Resentment. I've discovered that Ange isn't really the sort of girl who curses or swears. She more the type who will wring her hands together and whine "oh, woe is me". I hope she doesn't come off as too pathetic.

Ange's swearing mainly consist of the following: "Oh bother" "Oh cousin" "oh dear" and in general a lot of "oh" "oh" "oh".

Mirth's are much better: "Insufferable." "Blasted" "Spider's Eyes" (She is very fond of that one.) And "Bugs"

I'm sure there are others I've missed. I should go through the rest of the manuscript and find them all. I'm rather fond of Mirth's colorful language. The fourth letter really nails her voice. The language throughout the letters is a bit old fashioned. Though I'd even call it romanticized. Of course, it's best when the swearing suits the time period. It won't do any good if the girls mouth off like a modern diva or a trash talking hipster. Not that I'm really good at that kind of swearing. I'm much more fond of creative swear words. And in the event that Ange decides to color her language a bit more, I've made a list of the possible words that she might use.

Blast, bell-cry. old bat. Batty. Buck. dung beetle. Drat. Ding dong. Merry. Wretched Knave. Willywisher. Devil. Dox. Doxy. Pie-in-the-sky. Pox. Penny. Pluck. Plucky. Pickle-eater. Fie. Dull. Drum. Posh. Piss. Oh, Spite (Yes, I stole that one from Midsummer Night's Dream, but it's a good one.) Fee Fie Fo Fum. the doldrums. what a lark. Alas. Alack. Flip. Flap. Fury. Frog's legs. Filth. Rip Roar. Flossy. Hog. Tipsy topsy. Tilly. Faith.

Ah, the list could go on and on . . . after all, I'm just making most of them up as I go along. It's quite fun. Have I mentioned before I'm a fan of alliteration? Well, I am.

Letter Number 4

This letter has a quite a few problems. The first being that it is a little long in the tooth. But I'm stuck with what I should cut short and what I should fill in!

The focus of the letter is meeting the Stranger whilst establishing a new sense of place....But cramming all these in makes the letter seem...well Crammed.


But enjoy reading! And I'll keep plugging away at editing!

Splash right in.

Once in ancient days, in a land of myth and lore, two young girls began to write each other letters.

Goosey, a correspondence

Being the adventures of two winsome girls, Princess Ange and Princess Mirth, written down in a collection of letters. Both Ange and Mirth are born into the highest royal status of the land and end up as peasants, one a goose girl, one a simpleton. There are no fairy godmothers to save them, but if they can find the courage and strength in their hearts, they just may find their happily ever after.

Their letters, read by many, tell how they will discover love, face betrayal and survive encounters with pirates, evil wizards, three mysterious women, various livestock and some badly written poetry.

Reposting Letter 3

"What are men to rocks and mountains?"
Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice

I said I would fix the third letter and here it is. Letter 3, one more time.

I've rearranged some of the events a little; drastically cut some scenes. You were right the fitting scene was too long. Of course, I also cut down Falada's scene too, but it felt like I was getting too long winded. How long is this letter? Too long?

I tried to keep the descriptions suited to Ange's perspective. She's very attuned to her wisp, where they are, and what they are doing; as well as to sound. She overhears rumors, or the bells chiming.

Also I used a "devise" to lead into my longer scenes, and since I used it twice in this letter I wonder if that's OK. It's the following phrases:  "I shall explain what happened." and "I know you'd appreciate hearing about her, so I shall do my best to describe her." Next time I'll try to be more original, think of something else clever to say.

Let me know what you think.

Let's Play Perception!

" 'Be what you would seem to be' - or, if you'd like it put more simply -'Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise."  the Duchess, from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

While trying to figure out how to improve letter three, and my writing in general, I read through a Writer's Digest article on POV. (Alicia's Rasley's The Power of Point of View, 2008. Here's her blog: edittorrent.) After all we each have our own personal way of viewing the world, and it makes sense, especially in a first person story, to individualize the POV.

I like to think I do this already, but I could do it better, or at least be aware of it. Sometimes even when talking about Goosey I'll use first person. I become the character. I am Ange. (See my user name is Angelbird, but right now I'm writing as the author.)

Letter Writing

"The three [letters] you wrote me after I had broken of the engagement are so beautiful, and so badly spelled, that even now I can hardly read them without crying a little."
Cecily, The Importance of Being Earnest

Let's see, the last time I wrote an actual letter to someone, I mean a handwritten letter, was . . . maybe a birthday card to my sister last year. It's rare, who can afford stamps these days. 44cents. And what a waste of  paper, unless it is recyclable, (Actually I own some fancy stationary made from banana leaves - there's different kind of a renewable resouce.) But e-mail is so much better, right?

I wonder.

Everyday I come home from work and the first thing I do before I go inside is check the mailbox. I receive a magazine once a week, but other than that I get bills and junk mail. Unless it is birthday cards or christmas cards

I never ever write letters anymore. Actually I don't even send out Christmas cards - I think about sending them - does that count?

The Book Jacket Quest begins . . . and the Gooseyness prize goes to . . .?

goos·y  
goos·y [goossee]
(comparative goos·i·er, superlative goos·i·est) or goos·ey [goossee] (comparative goos·i·er, superlative goos·i·est)
adj
1.  resembling goose: similar to a goose 
2.  having goose bumps: affected by goose bumps or the nervousness or fear that can cause them (informal) 
3.  silly: behaving in what is regarded as a silly or scatterbrained way (disapproving)
Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

I've always been fond of the name Goosey, especially because of the third definition. Or maybe I just like words that end in 'Y'. Lucky. Rosey. Cosy. Posey. Nosy... (I'm making this up as I go.)

Anyway, I thought it was high time to start summarizing this story. I don't mean giving away the ending. Not yet. But I've always had trouble summarizing my stories, and making the summary interesting (and not just a dull, fact explaining sentences, yawn. I do those all the time)