I've been having the blah's recently. I don't want it is, but I'm having a hard time finding the motivation to write. Maybe it's all the rejection letters that I've been wracking up lately. It's not that I don't have ideas. I have plenty of them. I've just having a hard time picking one. Last year, I wrote two complete manuscripts, and two partials. This year, so far, all I've done is revise one manuscript. I need to start something soon. I just don't know what.
In the meantime, I’ve been searching out new books to read. When I write, I have a tendency not to read within the genre that I’m writing. I’m so afraid that I’ll inadvertently borrow a plot point or a turn of phrase that I just don’t read them. Consequently, I have a huge TBR pile growing in my office of books that I’ve been meaning to get to for the past three years. That includes all the books that I’ve gotten at the last three RWA conferences that I’ve attended.
I’ve always been a huge reader, ever since I was a kid, but every now and again, I have the blahs where I pick up books and turn them over, and nothing grabs me. That’s when it’s time for me to seek out a book in a genre that I don’t often read, or possibly an author that I haven’t read in awhile.
Just recently, I’ve gotten really into reading graphic novels. For me, it’s the perfect combination of story and pretty pictures. I happened to stumble on a series of graphic novels written by Bill Willingham called Fables just because it was recommended to me on Amazon.com. Hey, it turns out it might be a good idea to pay attention to those recommendations! Fables are set in New York City, in a section called Fabletown. All the fairytales or fables that we grew up reading as kids have been forced to leave their mythical homelands when they were taken over by the Adversary.
Every fairytale character that you can think of turns up in the various volumes of Fables, but it’s what Bill Willingham does with the characters that is so clever and delicious. Without giving anything away, Prince Charming is not so charming after all. He has a little faithfulness problem, leading to his divorces from not only Snow White, but also Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. The Big Bad Wolf from The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood is now the Sheriff of Fabletown and Snow White is the deputy mayor.
I’ve always been a huge reader, ever since I was a kid, but every now and again, I have the blahs where I pick up books and turn them over, and nothing grabs me. That’s when it’s time for me to seek out a book in a genre that I don’t often read, or possibly an author that I haven’t read in awhile.
Just recently, I’ve gotten really into reading graphic novels. For me, it’s the perfect combination of story and pretty pictures. I happened to stumble on a series of graphic novels written by Bill Willingham called Fables just because it was recommended to me on Amazon.com. Hey, it turns out it might be a good idea to pay attention to those recommendations! Fables are set in New York City, in a section called Fabletown. All the fairytales or fables that we grew up reading as kids have been forced to leave their mythical homelands when they were taken over by the Adversary.
Every fairytale character that you can think of turns up in the various volumes of Fables, but it’s what Bill Willingham does with the characters that is so clever and delicious. Without giving anything away, Prince Charming is not so charming after all. He has a little faithfulness problem, leading to his divorces from not only Snow White, but also Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. The Big Bad Wolf from The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood is now the Sheriff of Fabletown and Snow White is the deputy mayor.
She's definitely not the Snow White from the Disney cartoon that's for sure. She's got a hard edge, after finding Prince Charming in bed with her sister. And she's spent the past several hundred years feeling bitter about it.
There are eight volumes in the series, and I’ve already glommed onto all but the last two (thanks to the auspices) of the New York Public Library. Each volume is written in a different style. The first volume, Legends in Exile, sets up the story and is written in the style of a Film Noir, dealing with the disappearance and possible death of Snow White’s sister Rose Red.
What makes the series so awesome, is that you can read it on two levels, one just the sheer enjoyment of the stories, but also as an allegory of war and the toll it takes. Fables is just one example of the sheer wealth of stories that are available in graphic novel form. Neil Gaiman has the popular Sandman graphic novels, and Alan Moore with the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (much better than the crappy movie) and From Hell.
There are eight volumes in the series, and I’ve already glommed onto all but the last two (thanks to the auspices) of the New York Public Library. Each volume is written in a different style. The first volume, Legends in Exile, sets up the story and is written in the style of a Film Noir, dealing with the disappearance and possible death of Snow White’s sister Rose Red.
What makes the series so awesome, is that you can read it on two levels, one just the sheer enjoyment of the stories, but also as an allegory of war and the toll it takes. Fables is just one example of the sheer wealth of stories that are available in graphic novel form. Neil Gaiman has the popular Sandman graphic novels, and Alan Moore with the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (much better than the crappy movie) and From Hell.
Now authors like Meg Cabot and Sherrilyn Kenyon are now writing original stories for graphic novels, and Laurel K. Hamilton, author of the Anita Blake series has had her novels adapted in graphic novel form. Not to mention the Harlequin Manga series.
Thanks for reading!
EKM
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