Hush, Hush: The Story Behind The Story
ZeldaQueen: So. We've trekked through the story itself, the acknowledgements, the jacket summary, and now it's time for the last bit of fail - Fitzpatrick's account of how she hatched this stinker of a fail tale. We all ready?
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
The Story Behind The Story
The day was February 3, 2003, and the event was my twenty-fourth birthday.
ZeldaQueen: Lady, you're telling us how you came up with a story idea, not how you figured out the Zodiac Killer's identity
After a long debate between Japanese cooking lessons and an eight-week writing class, my husband decided to give me the writing class for my birthday present.
ZeldaQueen: Ah, so this is the point to blame for that book's creation! *makes note for event of time travel*
I have to admit, I was hoping for the Japanese cooking lessons because A) I took one English course in college and my professor threatened to fail me,
ZeldaQueen: Given the prose in this thing, I'm not surprised. "A smile that spelled trouble with a promise", what?
and B) I didn't think I had a story to tell.
ZeldaQueen: *glances at the sloppy, incoherant mess of a "plot"* No comment
But at the same time, I felt a scary and almost magnetic draw to the class.
ZeldaQueen: By now, I think that phrase reliably causes my eye to twitch violently. Fitzpatrick, you were attending a writing class. Stop acting like you were fulfilling some huge destiny by going! And for the love of all things holy, DON'T USE THE SAME DESCRIPTIONS THAT YOU HAD YOUR IDIOT PROTAGONIST USE TO EXCUSE HER RELATIONSHIP WITH PATCH THE DICKHEAD!
When I was eight years old, I watched Romancing the Stone for the first time and promptly announced to my mom that I would grow up to be a writer. Granted, I thought all writers hunted for treasure in Colombia and fell in love with a sexy, mysterious stranger a.k.a. Michael Douglas.
ZeldaQueen: Uh...you were interested in pursuing sexy strangers in jungles when you were eight?!
In the following autumn, I started a new book about a sixteen-year-old girl named Ellie Fairchild (who would later become Nora Grey),
ZeldaQueen: Does "Fairchild" have some meaning I'm not aware of? I'm sure it's coincidence, but that was also the maiden name of Clary's damsel-in-distress mother in the Mortal Instrument series
her backstabbing and manipulative best friend, Vee Sky,
ZeldaQueen: *cheerfully* Well, good to see that part didn't change very much!
and Ellie's sexy bad boy bio partner, Patch (who had a very big secret he’d been keeping).
ZeldaQueen: He was secretly a woman
Thinking I'd write the book and figure out Patch's big secret later, I finished a rough draft in a matter of weeks.
ZeldaQueen: That...explains a lot about the coherency of this thing
I wasn't very happy with 99 percent of the plot, and Vee as a backstabbing best friend wasn't working for me.
ZeldaQueen: Oh, really? Then why didn't you change that in the final product? *pointed stare*
With a lack of workable ideas to fix the story, I decided to shelve it.
ZeldaQueen: Wish it had stayed there. Although I'd like to point out that there were plenty of ideas you could have picked form, most of which involved Nora realizing what a stalkery creep Patch was and getting him arrested
A few months later, I pulled the story out and tried again. I kept the first three chapters but scrapped everything beyond that point.
ZeldaQueen: Does that include the massively inappropriate teacher? And Patch sexually harassing Nora in front of her classmates?
After a brief hiatus, I was hit with an overwhelming desire to pull
ZeldaQueen: - a rabbit out of my ass
out the book and try again. But this time something was different, very different.
ZeldaQueen: (Fitzpatrick) "I felt the oddest sensation, as if I ought to get an editor, refrain from painting Patch's actions in a positive light, and give Nora some agency! The feeling passed, fortunately"
I knew Patch's secret.
ZeldaQueen: Where he hid his Halloween candy, the naughty boy!
He was still the ultimate bad boy...but now I knew that hadn't always been the case.
ZeldaQueen: Really? Could have fooled me, going off of the end product
At one point long ago, he'd been upstanding, and something had caused him to change his ways.
ZeldaQueen: I'm sorry, the notion that Patch was ever in any way upstanding does not compute
As I thought about his progression from good to bad, I couldn't shake the image of falling.
ZeldaQueen: Um...yeah. It's a very obvious and often-thought-of metaphor, given how infamous the whole "fallen from grace" thing is. You want a medal for coming up with such a well-known bit of imagery?
After that, everything fell into place.
ZeldaQueen: *wryly* Fitzpatrick, did you see what you did thar?
I knew Patch was a fallen angel. That realization opened up endless possibilities - I could literally make him anything I wanted.
ZeldaQueen: Um, no. No you can't. You just said you made him a fallen angel. Yes, you could re-imagine what a fallen angel is, but you can't entirely ignore the fact that you chose to make your male hero SOMETHING LARGELY CONSIDERED TO BE A DEMON!
And I did just that.
ZeldaQueen: And did it terribly. I swear, I have no idea how the mythology in that world is supposed to work!
I do hope you enjoy it.
ZeldaQueen: *strained smile* How optimistic!
Becca
ZeldaQueen: I hate you
Onward to: Final Assessment
Back to: The Story
Return to: Table of Contents
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
The Story Behind The Story
The day was February 3, 2003, and the event was my twenty-fourth birthday.
ZeldaQueen: Lady, you're telling us how you came up with a story idea, not how you figured out the Zodiac Killer's identity
After a long debate between Japanese cooking lessons and an eight-week writing class, my husband decided to give me the writing class for my birthday present.
ZeldaQueen: Ah, so this is the point to blame for that book's creation! *makes note for event of time travel*
I have to admit, I was hoping for the Japanese cooking lessons because A) I took one English course in college and my professor threatened to fail me,
ZeldaQueen: Given the prose in this thing, I'm not surprised. "A smile that spelled trouble with a promise", what?
and B) I didn't think I had a story to tell.
ZeldaQueen: *glances at the sloppy, incoherant mess of a "plot"* No comment
But at the same time, I felt a scary and almost magnetic draw to the class.
ZeldaQueen: By now, I think that phrase reliably causes my eye to twitch violently. Fitzpatrick, you were attending a writing class. Stop acting like you were fulfilling some huge destiny by going! And for the love of all things holy, DON'T USE THE SAME DESCRIPTIONS THAT YOU HAD YOUR IDIOT PROTAGONIST USE TO EXCUSE HER RELATIONSHIP WITH PATCH THE DICKHEAD!
When I was eight years old, I watched Romancing the Stone for the first time and promptly announced to my mom that I would grow up to be a writer. Granted, I thought all writers hunted for treasure in Colombia and fell in love with a sexy, mysterious stranger a.k.a. Michael Douglas.
ZeldaQueen: Uh...you were interested in pursuing sexy strangers in jungles when you were eight?!
In the following autumn, I started a new book about a sixteen-year-old girl named Ellie Fairchild (who would later become Nora Grey),
ZeldaQueen: Does "Fairchild" have some meaning I'm not aware of? I'm sure it's coincidence, but that was also the maiden name of Clary's damsel-in-distress mother in the Mortal Instrument series
her backstabbing and manipulative best friend, Vee Sky,
ZeldaQueen: *cheerfully* Well, good to see that part didn't change very much!
and Ellie's sexy bad boy bio partner, Patch (who had a very big secret he’d been keeping).
ZeldaQueen: He was secretly a woman
Thinking I'd write the book and figure out Patch's big secret later, I finished a rough draft in a matter of weeks.
ZeldaQueen: That...explains a lot about the coherency of this thing
I wasn't very happy with 99 percent of the plot, and Vee as a backstabbing best friend wasn't working for me.
ZeldaQueen: Oh, really? Then why didn't you change that in the final product? *pointed stare*
With a lack of workable ideas to fix the story, I decided to shelve it.
ZeldaQueen: Wish it had stayed there. Although I'd like to point out that there were plenty of ideas you could have picked form, most of which involved Nora realizing what a stalkery creep Patch was and getting him arrested
A few months later, I pulled the story out and tried again. I kept the first three chapters but scrapped everything beyond that point.
ZeldaQueen: Does that include the massively inappropriate teacher? And Patch sexually harassing Nora in front of her classmates?
After a brief hiatus, I was hit with an overwhelming desire to pull
ZeldaQueen: - a rabbit out of my ass
out the book and try again. But this time something was different, very different.
ZeldaQueen: (Fitzpatrick) "I felt the oddest sensation, as if I ought to get an editor, refrain from painting Patch's actions in a positive light, and give Nora some agency! The feeling passed, fortunately"
I knew Patch's secret.
ZeldaQueen: Where he hid his Halloween candy, the naughty boy!
He was still the ultimate bad boy...but now I knew that hadn't always been the case.
ZeldaQueen: Really? Could have fooled me, going off of the end product
At one point long ago, he'd been upstanding, and something had caused him to change his ways.
ZeldaQueen: I'm sorry, the notion that Patch was ever in any way upstanding does not compute
As I thought about his progression from good to bad, I couldn't shake the image of falling.
ZeldaQueen: Um...yeah. It's a very obvious and often-thought-of metaphor, given how infamous the whole "fallen from grace" thing is. You want a medal for coming up with such a well-known bit of imagery?
After that, everything fell into place.
ZeldaQueen: *wryly* Fitzpatrick, did you see what you did thar?
I knew Patch was a fallen angel. That realization opened up endless possibilities - I could literally make him anything I wanted.
ZeldaQueen: Um, no. No you can't. You just said you made him a fallen angel. Yes, you could re-imagine what a fallen angel is, but you can't entirely ignore the fact that you chose to make your male hero SOMETHING LARGELY CONSIDERED TO BE A DEMON!
And I did just that.
ZeldaQueen: And did it terribly. I swear, I have no idea how the mythology in that world is supposed to work!
I do hope you enjoy it.
ZeldaQueen: *strained smile* How optimistic!
Becca
ZeldaQueen: I hate you
Onward to: Final Assessment
Back to: The Story
Return to: Table of Contents