#writing

Satyr

/ JillArcangela / Leave a comment

I see you there –

Dancing

Wild in the life you’ve created

And kissed by the gods

Who designed you

To reflect the beauty

Of their loves

And in their dreams,

A vision brought forth

From a womb of creativity,

Cradled in perfect imagery,

And careening unchained through the earthly fantasies

Of Olympian kings.

Robust and on fire,

Dionysian kin

Compelling me

In life, and art, and sin.

Warm in the sun

And hot on my skin

You give rise to the restlessness within.

An Ampelos to my divining,

A promise of miracle

And intoxication,

A seduction so complete

It lifts the souls

Off their feet –

They go stumbling helpless toward your gaze.

A gift unto me –

A river that flows

Melodically,

Flutes and horns

Of wine and songs,

An orgy of the senses

That plays on my defenses,

Pulling me down to kneel

On my pedestal

Which you have provided.

And so I raise you up,

Like Krotos to the stars.

This muse mused by you –

A king

Crowned in vine

And thrown in skin,

A whisper of the way things might have been

If you and I

Were “you and I” –

But sadly, we are naught,

As you have yet

To come

To me.

 

Deriving The First Novel

/ JillArcangela / 2 Comments

aldous

 

There are certain books that I return to.  I can’t really help it.  There is something about the way they are crafted, the voice that speaks from the pages, or perhaps the world within that I can’t ever completely walk away from.  Like an old friend or an addicting lover, I am drawn to them over and over.  One of those is Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.  It is so potent, so penetrating.  The contrast of raw emotion against spiritual depravity, ladled thick with cutting social commentaries that expose the evils of all outcomes and trap a man between equally undesirable choices…  It defines the human societal experience and challenges conformity, and it is positively brilliant.

When I set out to write the story, I had several goals.  I wanted to create something that was beautiful to envision and engrossing to read, that felt adventurous and “escapist,” but that was also relevant and believable.  I wanted to create a perspective future that was founded in current reality, one that would paint a picture of tomorrow by layering the logically developed consequences of today’s social, political, and environmental issues with pure fiction.

Of course, there is no such thing as pure fiction.  All fiction is based in some kind of reality.  Even in high fantasy, characters experience emotion – something derived from the human experience.  Every leaf connects to a root.  An anchor for every ship.

So, for my first novel, I looked at history to find my fiction.  History and the future are so closely related, despite our present day tendency to ignore such information, thus it made sense to me that history would define this fictionalized future… or futures, as the case may be.  In the fall of one empire, we see the foreshadowing of ruins to come.  In the succumbing of a people, we realize our own dangerous shortcomings.

Predicting the future, however, is a tough business.  I mean, there is, after all, the freewill variable.  People always have a choice, and if history has taught us anything it is that people choose to survive.  This is where I justify the story’s cultural divide, the other place, the other outcome.  In designing this counter, I was able to present an opposing set of values and its contrasting effects.  Not to mention, it – by its very nature – afforded me the opportunity for unbridled creativity and grounds for a tremendous visual experience.

Writing on a common theme (in this case: “two worlds colliding”) comes with unique challenges.  Avoiding cliques, staying on an original storyline, and sidestepping the traps of predictability turn the marathon of novel-writing into an obstacle “ultra” – 50 miles of author hell.  But when a story is demanding to be told, what can you do?…

…You check your laces and get limber.  Aldous did it, and that man was high as a kite.

Whether or not I have succeeded in my endeavor, to write the next standout in the wide and ever-expanding genre of speculative fiction, remains to be seen.  (Querying would be a good first step to finding out.)  Nonetheless, the mission was in earnest, and the inspiration was solid.  If I’m worth my salt as a wordsmith, I should make out ok.  I hope, in any case, that you’ll explore and enjoy what lands here – on my blog.

“Get Back To Writing”

/ JillArcangela / 1 Comment

Lots of successful writers cash in big on memoirs and collections of writing tips, many of which a truly inspired writer wouldn’t want to follow.  In fact, most of them I’m fairly certain were only ever printed on paper so that they could be ceremoniously burned on the pyre of creative license.  But if they are carefully gleaned after taken with a grain of salt, one might be able to garner a few pearls of wisdom that help push projects forward.  I gained a couple from Steven King in his On Writing, the only King book I’ve read.  The most significant of the few gems encapsulated in things I couldn’t agree less with was the advice to “get back to writing.”

King tells a story about being hit by a car and how he eventually came around to the place and time when he sat before his work again.  I have had no such physical peril, but life being what it is has given me my fair share of delays and setbacks.  Nonetheless, I heed the advice of the esteemed master of guts and gore, not because I owe him anything (other than my longstanding fear of clowns and street corner sewer drains) but because it just makes sense.

My page, like my life, is undergoing some major transitions.  Nothing says change like… well, change; and if there is one talent I could claim to have mastered it would be the art of reinvention.  So, here I am, re-emerging from the chrysalis of chaos and ready to accept the fiscally dangerous and potentially woeful reality of my truest form: a writer.  Fortunately for my ego, I have already realized that whether or not anyone reads any of this is largely inconsequential to me embracing my true designation.  A writer writes.  That is what I do.  I make no claims beyond that.

Presently, my first novel is near completion. I’ll be querying shortly – a process that makes me shudder, and they say I should have this thing called social media in check. Apparently, if people care about you on Twitter, they care about you in real life… Well, they care enough to buy your book, anyway. So, here I am – a technologically impaired wordsmith toying with 140 characters and an Instagram account, swimming in an ocean of artists connected on a rather counter-characteristic network, and quickly realizing that – for me – it isn’t so much about how many people are following me as much as it is about me connecting with whomever should glance my way… because aside from how good it feels to notice another artist smiling at your work, it’s healthy.  Artists need each other, like chains of coral clinging together in a stunning display of symbiosis, like restless gypsies in a slow-moving caravan.  The life we live is most beautiful when populated by others of our kind, by those who appreciate our weirdness and originality, by those who admire us like the sun admires a flower – making us grow, and by those that contribute to the collective glow.

So, I’m getting my “platform” organized and pumped full of creative juices, sending out 1,000 colorful tentacles to poke around a world of artists and writers, simultaneously collaborative and competitive. I walk a line between reality and dreams – both invented and aspirational. I goal-set and go-get, and it is changing me. Therein lies the connection between my personal and media evolutions.

As I reach out and stretch myself into this world of aspiring and thriving artists (yes, the worlds are one – believe it or not),  I find an endless stream of art and literature to gape at, to learn, to feel, to expand upon or grow from… and I begin to create more. This place itself is a muse to me. The others here, on this digital plain of modern creative connectivity, are inspiring me to new heights. They give me new vision, fan my flame, and reinforce a clear reality: the world of art is limitless, that a person can make a living here, and that I can hang with the best of them. Knowing that about yourself does something to you.  Confidence is a crazy thing.  You see, once you understand your full potential, it becomes impossible not to fulfill it.

So, after a long hiatus from my humble public view, I’m back; and it’s good to be back – but even better to be tasting the creative stew of the artists’ digital network.

Look for me with the handle “JillArcangela” on Twitter and Instagram, and on Facebook as Jill-Arcangela M. Kopp.  I’ll see you out there.