Links and meme

[surexit]

Damsel, Arise: A Westboro Scion Leaves Her Church - affecting article about two young women who left Westboro Baptist Church.

The Paris Time Capsule Apartment - fascinating.

Meme? WHY NOT.

Pick any passage of 500 words or less from any story I've written, and comment to this post with that selection. I will then give you the equivalent of a DVD

Comments

[surexit]

“Juliet, Juliet!” Juliet’s coming out of the ring, horses trooping obediently behind her, as the hiss comes from her left. So I did a week of work experience at a circus when I was sixteen, and one image that stuck with me was being 'backtage' (behind the curtains, next to the tent door - the Big Top I was visualising as I wrote this doesn't reallly have a backstage, but what else could I call it?) and one of the clowns in full makeup came up close behind me int he dark. He wasn't trying to be scary, he was just waiting for his entrance and hadn't seen me, but I was really glad at that moment that clowns under normal circumstances do not freak me out at all. She looks to the side, behind the curtain that hides the backstage area, and manages not to scream as Shawn, in full makeup, looms out of the darkness. Behind her, Rocky, the most nervy of her stallions, gives a soft whinny as he notices the tension in her body. I'm picturing Arabian horses here, because they're pretty. And Juliet's in skin-tight sparkly stuff, because she's pretty.

“Shawn, could you not do that when you have your face on, you know how I feel about clowns in dark places.” She keeps moving, there’s a string of five horses behind her. Shawn keeps up, eyeing her. He considers her for a second, and Juliet looks at him again, about to say, “What?” Oh golly, all of this is a bit awkwardly written, isn't it? So, here's a thing I struggle with: moving people around. And actually, generally, most stuff out of dialogue. I lvoe dialogue. Dialogue is great and easy. EVERYTHING ELSE SUCKS. Except he’s pasted a truly alarming sociopath’s smile on his face, which combines in an unutterably horrifying way with his white-painted muzzle and big red nose, and she has to shudder and look away again. I broke off here to do some research on clown faces, which is why I've used 'muzzle', apparenty (according to Wikipedia) the technically correct word, rather than face. Also Shawn would be a terrifying clown. After a second, when she’s collected herself, she says, “What?”

Shawn ducks ahead to lift the tent-flap for her, with a ridiculous sweeping bow that she ignores. “Jules, have you seen the new high wire artist?” I just want to imagine Gus in lycra doing acrobatic tricks for a second. Can we do that?

“No, is he something special?”

Shawn grins, wide and genuine. “Oh, he’s something special, yep.” He leers a little, and Juliet sighs, because she already feels sorry for the new guy.

***

“Juliet.” The slightly plaintive voice calls her from outside the stables. Juliet sighs, and doesn’t stop brushing Marilyn’s coat. Carlton appears in the stable door, with his face still painted a ghostly white. So a common reaction is, "Why is Carlton a clown?" and I'm like, "Why is he not?" the white clown is in charge of the other clowns, he orders them around and is bossy and a bit scary, and the other clowns muck everything up and annoy him as much as possible and probably throw custard tarts at him. How is that not Carlton Lassiter? And he has a fantastic clown's face, and a great body for comedy and just. THIS IS PERFECT. I AM SO PLEASED WITH THIS DECISION, AND NO AMOUNT OF BAFFLEMENT WILL PERSUADE ME OTHERWISE.

[osprey_archer]

I think everyone is envisioning Carlton trying to make audience members laugh, which is like the anti-Carlton, rather than Carlton bossing all the other clowns around, which I can totally see him doing. Maybe he comes from a long line of clowns?

Also I totally agree with you, moving characters through scenes sucks. Clearly they ought to have all their conversations while sitting still and sipping tea, because that would be way easier.

[surexit]

Yes, a long line of clowns! And he doesn't really like people laughing at him. It makes him grumpy.

Which makes him funnier. :D

NOT EVEN SIPPING TEA, because then I'd forget about it and they'd do something with both hands and argh. Just sitting. All the time.

[osprey_archer]

Sometimes I like characters to have a little thing to do with their hands, so they can show if they're nervous or distracted or whatever. But pretty much anything to do with the feet is just killer.

Naturally, I am writing an assassination scene today, so everyone is moving everywhere all the time. There are people up near the ceiling, even. TOO MANY DIMENSIONS.

[surexit]

JUST SO YOU KNOW I CAN'T ACTUALLY WAIT TILL TOMORROW :D:D:D:D:D:D