Magic Casements

I will do two posts on Magic Casements, to prolong the agony. This one is on Magic Casements proper, and the other is going to be my memory of what I said on my panel. It seems a nice idea for me to actually know what I say for a change. Alas, I have no record of the jokes. I kept an eye on the audience and when I found a topic that sparked interest, I made a bad joke. One day I will take lessons and learn how to make a good joke.

chrisbarnes did an awesome job as director of Magic Casements. The panels were well run and well balanced and all thoughtful. I wished I could have got to every single one, but it was also the place to be to meet *everyone* so I was continually being diverted to have fascinating conversations in odd corners. For people-watchers, I can give you a list of most people I chatted with, but it would be dreadfully long. I can't tell you what we spoke about, because I can talk and my friends can talk and between us we can all talk an awful lot. Although I admit, it turns out that I talk more than yasminke. Please contain your laughter.

I finally got to put a couple of faces and personalities to names. I notice that one of them has snuck into my flist, which is cool. I have wondered who jack_ryder was for a long time. How could I not have met anyone with such a large presence? I had heard of him a bunch of times. And now I have met him, I have to be polite to him because he reads my blog.

Magic Casements is a bit hard to describe as an event. Have you noticed people on other blogs saying what a great time they had and how wonderfully it was organised, but don't actually explain what it is? Well, we all had a great time and it *was* wonderfuly organised. It was more than that, though. It has a distinct character.

It is not an SF con, but because there are regular con-goers there, it has that friendliness and comfortable feeling. It is technically a writers' festival, but it lacks any sort of pretentiousness or presumption. The writers don't bignote themslves or Make Pronouncements on Literature. They do talk very seriously about writing technique and about what it means to be a spec fic writer. The horror writers talked about other horror writers, but also discussed what it takes to make horror function, for instance. But on the very serious reviewer panel Terry Dowling and Van Ikin mocked themselves and each other.

Wherever I went I ran into the Director of the Writers' Centre, which meant I went to a booklaunch unexpectedly (I had planned to sit on the lawn with the Purplezoners - I joined them for the tail end of lunchtime) and to the short story competition. I normally avoid the short story competition, but I was extremely glad that Irina looked at me and said "Gillian, you are coming, aren't you?" There were some rather nice short-shorts, and the winner turned out to be stevecav. And his story is gorgeous. Very clever.

You don't need to know that I stirred every horror writer I met? It almost goes without saying. Leigh Blackmore was very polite about it. Rob Hood stirred back. And Kaaron Warren is going to get even.

(no subject)

I am like a little child, trying to delay bedtime.

One of my delaying strategies was to check the ASif website for what has happened there while I was away. You should see the list of guests for the Forum for during the year. Damien Broderick, Bruce Gillespie, Martin Livings, and a whole heap of others. A few I knew about, but the whole is rather larger than I expected. I can see I am going to be checking into the Forum throughout the year, just to see who I can stymie with difficult questions. (If you are a Forum person and you want me to be nice to you, I can be bribed with dark chocolate. In fact, I am nice to anyone who gives me dark chocolate ... until the chocolate runs out.)

The Forum is here http://www.asif.dreamhosters.com/forum/index.php and the list of guests is *so* worth the ten seconds it takes to register.

Magic Casements #2

These are the notes I occasionally referred to when I was on the panel on Folktales and Fantasy. I honestly don't know how much I read from these notes and how much I made up on the spot, because my memory of things I say in public fora is almost non-existent. It's as if I enter a different zone when I get on a platform.

1. Fantasy fiction needs folk tales - as David (David Coe - the other panel member) suggested, part of this is storytelling - but it is more important than that. Writers like Jane Yolen and Ellen Kushner demonstrate how much more it can be, by taking folktales to new places without losing their integral identities. David said a lot of important stuff about oral tales and etc - not going to repeat it.

2. The Middle Ages and folk belief: many of the things we think are Medieval aren't (and vice-versa). Examples: 17th-19th century tales, 19th century children's rhymes (Twinkle, Twinkle little star), plus some stuff that survives but has changed eg Swan Knight and maybe Sleeping Beauty.

3. Why do we invest the Middle Ages with folk belief it never had? Why do we turn real people into folktales? eg Thomas of Ercildoune. Because without this we would not have the full rich glory of modern fantasy. Fantasy is so often a repository for our perceived Middle Ages and our folk retelling of the Middle Ages.

4. How does my writing fit into all this?

4a. Medieval Celtic Arthur and Illuminations. My mythology in it. Using chocolate and comic books and tourism to create a parallel folklife for the modern section of the book. Explain the folklore of chocolate and how crucial it is to modern existence.

4b. The Art of Effective Dreaming (no dead morris dancer jokes!). Folk songs and their tales helped me keep my character from knowing if she were dreaming or it her experiences were real, but they also provide a bridge of the familiar to the reader. Using the tales told in folksongs to structure narrative sequences. Talk through some of the songs I drew on.

Folk tales mediate.
Folk tales store.
Folk tales help deepen and structure the stories we tell.
Folk tales give our worlds emotional validation.

*note: The Art of Effective Dreaming is forthcoming. I promise I will do a big announcemnt here when it comes forth.