tory Trump nears victory in US election: Update 3 By www.argusmedia.com Published On :: 06 Nov 2024 07:21 GMT Full Article Coal Crude oil Emissions Natural gas Oil products US Energy policy
tory Trump victory raises climate law questions By www.argusmedia.com Published On :: 06 Nov 2024 20:18 GMT Full Article Emissions Renewables US Regulation Energy policy
tory Trump victory ushers in ag trade uncertainty By www.argusmedia.com Published On :: 06 Nov 2024 22:31 GMT Full Article Corn Soybean US Politics
tory US W mining essential after Trump victory: ITIA By www.argusmedia.com Published On :: 07 Nov 2024 15:35 GMT Full Article Metals Non-ferrous Tungsten US
tory What happens when planning and preparation pay off at a time when you need it the most? - John Peden - #NMClientStory By www.multivu.com Published On :: 20 Oct 2014 12:25:00 EDT John Peden - #NMClientStory Full Article Banking Financial Services Insurance Broadcast Feed Announcements MultiVu Video
tory How awareness and thoughtfulness play key roles in planning for difficult times - Michael Jones - #NMClientStory By www.multivu.com Published On :: 17 Nov 2014 17:00:00 EST Michael Jones - #NMClientStory Full Article Banking Financial Services Healthcare Hospitals Insurance Broadcast Feed Announcements MultiVu Video
tory National Home Builder Launches 'Clayton Built� Storytelling' Campaign - Sharing Their Clayton story By www.multivu.com Published On :: 15 Feb 2016 13:15:00 EST Lee and Lucille Allen share the story of how their Clayton Home changed their lives. Full Article Construction Building Multimedia Online Internet Real Estate Residential Real Estate Broadcast Feed Announcements MultiVu Video
tory Stag's Leap Wine Cellars to Release Commemorative Bottling of S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon and Host Celebratory Events in Honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Judgment of Paris - The Judgment of Paris By www.multivu.com Published On :: 03 Mar 2016 17:30:00 EST Stag�s Leap Wine Cellars celebrates the 40th anniversary of The Judgment of Paris, which helped to elevate the esteem of American wine worldwide Full Article Retail Beer Wine & Spirits Beverages New Products Services Broadcast Feed Announcements MultiVu Video
tory Clayton Celebrates a Culture of Craftsmanship - Clayton Factory Family By www.multivu.com Published On :: 15 Mar 2016 14:35:00 EDT Clayton home building group team members share their stories of being part of the Clayton manufacturing family. Full Article Construction Building Real Estate Residential Real Estate Broadcast Feed Announcements MultiVu Video
tory Troy Carter's Atom Factory Set to Welcome Second Cohort to Smashd Labs in Fall 2016 for Startups That Can Influence Culture - Atom Factory Presents: Smashd Labs Season 2 By www.multivu.com Published On :: 27 Apr 2016 09:20:00 EDT SMASHD Labs Season 2 is a 10-week accelerator program based out of Los Angeles talent firm Atom Factory. We are inviting companies at the intersection of entertainment, technology, and culture to work alongside our team to accelerate their growth. Join us and our roster of world-class mentors for a masterclass in hustle. Full Article Computer Electronics Computer Networks Entertainment Internet Technology Multimedia Online Internet Music New Products Services Broadcast Feed Announcements MultiVu Video
tory Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, Mark Kelly And LeVar Burton Host Story Time Event For Elementary School Students - Joining Forces Event at Fort Leonard Wood, MO By www.multivu.com Published On :: 06 May 2016 14:35:00 EDT Joining Forces Event at Fort Leonard Wood, MO Full Article Books Education Television Children-related News Broadcast Feed Announcements Veterans MultiVu Video
tory Family That Overcame Infertility Awarded Educational Grant as Winner of Ferring Pharmaceuticals' 2014 Heart to Heart Video Contest - The Park Family�s Infertility Story By www.multivu.com Published On :: 11 Feb 2015 16:10:00 EST The Park Family�s Infertility Story Full Article Healthcare Hospitals Medical Pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals New Products Services Awards Broadcast Feed Announcements MultiVu Video
tory Trusting Their Plan and Each Other, Family Faces Down Daunting Cost of Care for Son with Special Needs - �Trust� � The Vollmert Family Story By www.multivu.com Published On :: 24 Apr 2015 13:50:00 EDT Trust is critical, especially for a person with autism and their family. Meet the Vollmert family and get a sense of how they approach daily life and planning for a financially secure future with their autistic son, Scott. Learn more: http://u.nm.com/1AQBAsN Full Article Banking Financial Services Healthcare Hospitals Broadcast Feed Announcements MultiVu Video
tory Boston Scientific Receives FDA Approval For SYNERGY Bioabsorbable Polymer Drug-Eluting Stent System - A Technology Development Story: meet the SYNERGY� Stent System engineers By www.multivu.com Published On :: 05 Oct 2015 11:10:00 EDT A Technology Development Story: meet the SYNERGY� Stent System engineers Full Article Healthcare Hospitals Medical Pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals Broadcast Feed Announcements FDA Approval MultiVu Video
tory Autism Speaks And Ad Council Launch New PSAs With 3D And Stop-Motion Animation Inspired By The Story Of A Child With Autism - The World of Autism By www.multivu.com Published On :: 05 Nov 2015 11:15:00 EST The World of Autism Full Article Advertising Healthcare Hospitals Medical Pharmaceuticals Mental Health Not for Profit Children-related News Broadcast Feed Announcements Survey Polls & Research Clinical Trials Medical Discoveries MultiVu Video
tory New online resource available to help parents of a child with hearing loss - Charlene Su shares her daughter�s story By www.multivu.com Published On :: 05 Apr 2016 09:10:00 EDT Charlene Su, mother of a cochlear implant recipient, shares her daughter's hearing loss story. Learn more about hearing loss treatment options at IWantYouToHear.com. Full Article Healthcare Hospitals Medical Pharmaceuticals Medical Equipment New Products Services Broadcast Feed Announcements MultiVu Video
tory Mandatory additional qualifiers in import/export declarations inrespect of Synthetic or Reconstructed Diamonds By www.caclubindia.com Published On :: Sat, 2 Nov 2024 10:54:28 GMT Government of IndiaMinistry of FinanceDepartment of Revenue(Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs)North Block, New Delhi. Dated:30th October, 2024To All Principal Chief Commissioners/Chi Full Article
tory A Book Is a Story — But Which Story Is It?: The Craft of THE CHANGELING, by Victor LaValle By kristincashore.blogspot.com Published On :: Sun, 26 Jul 2020 21:35:00 +0000 Before I start talking about Victor LaValle's beautiful book, a point of housekeeping: Now that an eon has passed, I've finally updated my praise and awards page for Jane, Unlimited. I have a bad habit of never getting around to this task until it's time to start clearing things out for the new book. The nice thing about it is that I get to revisit a book that's dear to me, years after I've stopped thinking about it. Jane is a book that divides readers for sure. I want to thank everyone who got that book and took it into your hearts and brains. If you don't know about Jane, Unlimited, here's a quick intro: An orphan named Jane arrives at an island mansion owned by a friend, then quickly starts to get the sense that strange things are afoot there. At a certain point, when Jane needs to make a decision, the book breaks off into five different decisions she could make — and each decision takes her into an adventure in a different genre. There's a mystery story, a spy story, a horror story, a sci-fi story, and a fantasy. They're all connected and interwoven; and yes, the multiverse exists :). It's a weird book and I'm very, very proud of it! If you're curious, I'll point you to the NYTBR review, which is concise and generous and does a good job expressing its flavor. *** So. Today I want to talk about the craft of using existing, well-known stories to fortify your own story — thus building ready-made narrative magic into your story's foundations. Reimagining a classic story is, of course, an age-old tradition. There was a time when I read all the King Arthur retellings I could find, though this list shows me that I missed a great many. Some of my all-time favorite books come from this tradition: Tam Lin by Pamela Dean, a retelling of the old Scottish ballad that takes place in a fictional college in Minnesota in the 1970s; Deerskin by Robin McKinley, which I held close to my heart while I was writing Fire and which is based on the Charles Perrault fairy tale Donkeyskin; Ash by Malinda Lo, a lesbian retelling of Cinderella. Every writer who goes down this path has their own take on whatever story they're reimagining, disrupting the familiar in their own unique way so that we can get some objective distance and consider the story again in a new light. One of the best things about stories is the way they all change and grow in meaning and significance with every new story that joins the pantheon. Victor LaValle's The Changeling is a modern-day, New York City-based retelling of the old changeling folktale. In the classic version of that tale, fairies steal a human baby and replace it with something else, usually a (creepy) fairy child. In LaValle's retelling, the focus is the emotional journey of the baby's father, Apollo Kagwa, whose wife Emma Valentine starts acting odd after their baby is born. Horror ensues. In the wake of the horror, Apollo must figure out what the heck just happened, and how to move on. LaValle's take on the changeling story is unique in plenty of ways. For example, the way race and gender factor into the power dynamics. The choice to center the point of view around a father. The extreme horrificness of the violence that occurs. The story's broad-ranging modern-day New York City settings, from a fancy Manhattan restaurant to Apollo's home in Washington Heights to an abandoned island in the East River to upscale suburbs and a forest in Queens. These are the sorts of alterations commonly made by writers retelling old stories: time, location, culture, tone. When we know we're reading a retelling, we expect changes in these categories. But LaValle does something else too: he infuses this book with many, many stories that aren't the official story he's retelling. The Changeling is a book positively swimming in story. And one of this book's charms is that as a consequence, Apollo spends a lot of the book making mistakes about what story he's in. LaValle uses stories to illuminate, but also to mislead. I think it makes for a really unique approach to characterization. It also steers Apollo through a character transformation that I find exquisitely touching, for reasons I'll try to explain without spoiling the plot too much. Apollo Kagwa's father, who disappears before his fourth birthday, is a white man from Syracuse. His mother, Lillian Kagwa, is a Black woman, an immigrant from Uganda, who raises him and who recognizes early on that her son lives and breathes stories. Lillian can't find enough books to satisfy young Apollo. He also has a mind for business. When Lillian discovers that Apollo has been selling his books after reading them, she helps him establish a used bookselling business. In due course, he grows up to be a rare bookseller. Unquestionably, this is the story of a man who knows all about stories. As a rare bookseller who spends his time digging through rude and racist people's basements looking for valuable treasures, Apollo deals in stories. He seeks stories out, recognizes their value, owns them, sells them. He also builds stories around himself as protection and comfort, often repeating to himself, in moments of anxiety or fear, the mantra, I am the god, Apollo. I am the god, Apollo. And he uses stories to comfort and ground himself — particularly Maurice Sendak's picture book Outside Over There, a changeling tale that Apollo believes his missing father lovingly left for him. So. Apollo knows stories. And yet, as I said above, as this story plays out, LaValle gives us evidence that Apollo is often wrong about what story he's in. He admires the wrong people in his life as heroes (for example, his father). He misses the incredibly powerful sorcerers right in front of his eyes: his wife Emma; Emma's sister, Kim; Emma's friend, Nichelle; his mother, Lillian. As he moves through the world, he imagines he sees fairy tale traps where there are none, and he misses the huge, important fairy tale turning points, the moments that really matter. The clues are right in front of his face. Sometimes the women in his life even announce them aloud to him, and he still disregards them. Like all of us, the story Apollo tells himself about his own life is flawed and distorted by his own wishes, heartbreaks, assumptions, and biases. Among those biases, by my reading, is the tiniest edge of unconscious condescension to women. Or maybe even that's going too far; maybe it's simply that Apollo fails to see and appreciate the women around him fully. He's a good man. But he doesn't quite get it. And yet, Apollo's story is one of transformation. Over the course of this book, through a great deal of trial and tribulation, Apollo learns to see what story he's in, who the heroes are, and who has the power to create a safe world for him and his family. And who are these heroes? Ultimately, women. What Apollo learns is that he's in a story in which he needs to see and respect the intelligence, insight, and power of women. Black women, specifically. By my reading, this is a tale of a well-meaning, vulnerable, flawed man learning feminism. Maybe you can see why I love it? And I also love how it's done. I love the way this book swirls with stories, and the way both the reader and Apollo are moving along on different paths through the stories, trying to understand which of the stories matter to Apollo's story, and how. It makes me think in a fresh, new way about how to weave other stories into one's story, whether one's story is a retelling, or just a story with narrative influences. There's no end to the creative approaches to this — but if you're imbuing your own story with other stories, I do think it's a good idea to choose a deliberate approach. There's a danger in trying to use other stories in your story as a shortcut for creating mood and meaning. The author who throws lots of existing stories into a book might create the impression of depth, but you want to make sure it's not just an impression. You don't want to use other stories to obscure an empty hole or a weak foundation in your own story, or make it seem like your story has meaning it doesn't have. I say this as a writer who's familiar with that moment when, after trying to shoehorn a known story into something I'm writing, I realize I'm being lazy. I'm trying to make someone else's work do my work. Or maybe I realize that I simply don't know enough about my own story yet, and I'm using those other stories to obscure that fact from myself. If you're alluding to another story in your story, there needs to be a reason. Ask yourself, what structural function are these references performing? What manner of tool are they? What do they accomplish? Why have I chosen the stories I've chosen? There doesn't need to be a profound or complicated answer, but there needs to be an answer. For example, in Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me, Miranda's favorite book is A Wrinkle in Time, for what turn out to be some pretty straightforward textual reasons. In the space of that book, it ends up being a perfect allusion. In the review of Jane, Unlimited I linked to above, the reviewer notes that it turns out there's a reason Jane wears Doctor Who pajamas. Though I wouldn't call Jane my most straightforward book, there are some pretty straightforward reasons I dressed her in those pajamas! You can have simple or complicated reasons for referring to other stories in your story. It can be a reason that's quiet, subtle, and small. It doesn't have to be groundbreaking. But you have to link those stories to yours in meaningful ways, and you also have to make sure that your own story is the biggest and most relevant story in the book. If you find yourself trying to create depth in an insubstantial story by borrowing someone else's story, then I recommend spending some time focusing on the hard work of your own story. And if, in the process, you find yourself jettisoning some of the references to that other story, or even abandoning that other story altogether? That's fine too. One of my current works in progress started out as something of a Peter Pan retelling. It's now come so far from that point that the only remaining allusion is a couple of names — that I'm probably going to change, because the book doesn't need them anymore. That book needed to grow the way it did. J. M. Barrie's book was my path in; my story needed to start with his, then diverge. Another example: Earlier in this post, when I explained that Jane, Unlimited is about an orphan named Jane who comes to a mysterious house, maybe you thought of Jane Eyre. In early drafts of that book, I kept trying to work in versions of actual scenes from Jane Eyre. For example, I tried hard to find a place for a scene paralleling the one where Jane almost gets run over by Mr. Rochester in the dark. Eventually, I let all that go. At a certain point, the needs of my story became a lot more important than strengthening allusions to Jane Eyre (or Rebecca, or Winnie the Pooh, or any of the other texts that Jane, Unlimited references). I found a balance with all the allusions — or I hope I did, the reader is free to disagree! — and tried hard to focus on my story, my versions, my point. I think Jane still swims with those other stories, hopefully in ways that create depth, and part of getting to that point was letting some of it go. Often it doesn't take much to invoke a story that's part of our cultural consciousness. To demonstrate that often it doesn't take much, let's return to The Changeling. I want to show an example of what I've explained about how this book uses stories to elucidate Apollo's failure to recognize his own story. I'll focus on one scene that I think encapsulates the skill with which LaValle layers story over story over story — to tell Apollo's story about misreading his own story. It's also wonderfully written, so that'll be fun to talk about too :). The scene I'm going to look at takes place over the course of Chapters 11 and 12. The setting is a fancy New York restaurant that evokes a fairy tale aura. If you want to read along, you'll find this scene on pages 41 through 51 in the 2017 Spiegel & Grau hardcover edition. Point of view shifts in this book, but these two chapters are told from Apollo's point of view. First, some context: in the scene after this scene, Emma Valentine gives birth to their child. (That's an incredible scene too! It happens in a stopped A train on its way to Washington Heights!) This means that the scene I'm about to talk about is Apollo's last chance to understand his own story before everything changes. As I think you know by now, he fails. He barrels into parenthood still unable to see what's in front of his eyes, and the consequences are catastrophic. But first, he has dinner at a restaurant! Or rather, he doesn't have dinner, because the items on the menu are terrifyingly expensive, so he just fills up on bread — but we'll get to that. Let's start with the opening of Chapter 11. We're on Duane Street, a fancy street in lower Manhattan. Apollo has just been digging through the old, abandoned books of some rude people in Queens. Now he's meeting Emma and Emma's friend Nichelle for dinner at Bouley, which is a real New York restaurant. Or rather, it used to be; it closed in 2017, the year this book was published. Here's how the chapter starts: "Entering Bouley Restaurant felt like stepping inside a gingerbread house. .... when he opened the door and stepped into the foyer, he found himself surrounded by apples. Shelves had been built into the wall, running as high as the ceiling; rows of fresh red apples and their scent enveloped him. The door to Duane Street shut behind him, and Apollo felt as if he'd stumbled into a small cottage off an overgrown path in a dark wood" (41). (By the way, if this room sounds too playful, magical, or wonderful to be true — here's an article that includes a photo of Bouley's apple entrance: "What's David Bouley Going to Do With all Those Apples When He Closes His Flagship Restaurant?") So. With these opening lines, LaValle accomplishes two things: (1) he fixes a real-life restaurant firmly in the world of fairy tale. And (2) he signals to us what story Apollo thinks he's in. Because we all know that when Hansel and Gretel step into a cottage off an overgrown path in a dark wood with walls made of gingerbread, cake, and candies, things do not go well for them. I don't want to take any of the fairy tale references in this book too literally or drag them out too far. Though LaValle can be pretty explicit sometimes about what he's referencing, his touch remains light, and I don't want to beat it to death. But as I said before, Apollo doesn't eat anything but bread during this dinner. He tells himself it's because he's afraid of the bill, but we also know that on some unconscious level, he thinks he's inside the story of Hansel and Gretel. And if you're inside that story, you know damn well that it's not safe to eat the food! Of course, as it turns out, Apollo could eat anything he wants safely, because Nichelle is paying for the dinner. Apollo's wrong: his story isn't Hansel and Gretel. This is a pretty straightforward example of how this skilled writer uses a conscious and deliberate reference to a widely-known story that then shows us that Apollo is a little bit lost inside all the stories of his life. Also, as settings go, this description of the foyer of Bouley is evocative and beautiful. The sentences of this book are eminently readable. It's something I noticed again and again: despite a fair amount of description, my eyes never glazed over and I never struggled to picture what was being described to me. LaValle doesn't use flowery language or waste words. He tells you what it looks like and he tells you how Apollo experiences it. And he attaches it to story spaces we already know, spaces that are part of our cultural language of stories, so it feels familiar and right. For me, at this point in the book, it was enjoyable to be a little bit lost with Apollo, because the language was so lush and the setting so fairy-tale familiar; because I myself, sitting outside the story, could go eat something if I got hungry, without worrying about evil witches; and also because I had some grounding that Apollo doesn't have. Apollo doesn't know that his own book is called The Changeling. He's just trying to survive each new story, whatever it turns out to be, as he steps into it. LaValle does a good job creating sympathy in the reader for Apollo's mistakes and confusions. Consider Apollo's experience as he moves further into Bouley: "The dining room's vaulted ceilings had been laid with eighteen-karat gold leaf sheets, and on top of that a twelve-karat white gold varnish, so the ceiling seemed as supple as suede. The floors were Burgundy stone, overlaid by Persian rugs. If the foyer felt like a woodland cottage and the waiting area a haunted parlor, the dining room became an ancient castle's great hall.….Apollo felt as if he was trekking through realms rather than rooms. If there had been men in full armor posted as sentries, it wouldn't have surprised him. And in fact, when the maître d' reached the right table, there was a queen waiting there. Emma Valentine, too pregnant to stand" (42). This is one of the dangers of being a story man: If your entire life is steeped in story, you're going to see those stories everywhere. Surely that makes it confusing to isolate which story is yours? On the other hand, Apollo totally notices that Emma is a queen — but then he dismisses it. This is another danger of a life steeped in story: you make associations and assume that they're metaphors. Emma isn't like a queen. She is a queen — or if not a queen, some other category of extremely powerful and important woman. Maybe one of Apollo's problems is that he's so steeped in story that he can't get hold of what's real? Or maybe he believes in magic within the context of a story, but he doesn't believe in magic in real life? Or maybe he lives too much inside stories, and needs to wake up and live his real life? This is what good layering does. It leaves the reader with lots of fascinating and fun questions! By the way, Emma has her favorite stories too — and LaValle's choices for her illuminate her character to anyone who's paying attention. The most important movie from Emma's childhood, which she watched repeatedly in her hometown library in Virginia, is a Brazilian movie called Quilombo, "the only movie in the entire library that had black people on the cover. Of course I wanted to watch it!" (28). It's a movie about the slave uprisings in Brazil, and it "shows tons of Portuguese people getting killed by those slaves" (28). At dinner, Nichelle brings it up: "This girl tried to get me to watch a movie about a slave uprising when I was busy trying to figure out how to marry that boy out of New Edition" (47). While Apollo is worrying about eating the food, LaValle reminds us that Emma is engaged in matters of disruption to major power structures. Ding ding ding! Pay attention, Apollo! But Apollo is too hungry and anxious to pay attention. The dinner progresses as dinners do. Apollo, not knowing that Nichelle is buying, becomes more and more horrified as Nichelle and Emma order delicacy after delicacy. Nichelle gets roaring drunk. Emma, who rarely sleeps anymore, is drifting, half-asleep in her seat. "Apollo, meanwhile, had ingested nothing but tapwater and the restaurant bread. While the bread tasted magnificent, it wasn't enough. By dessert, Apollo and Emma had low batteries, but Nichelle seemed wired to a generator" (46). Near the end of the dinner, Emma leaves the table to find the bathroom. She's thirty-eight weeks pregnant and "That flan wants to come back up," she says quietly (47). When she leaves, Nichelle, like any good soothsayer in any good folktale, takes the opportunity to try to tell Apollo what matters. First, she tells Apollo that "There's a nude photo of your wife in an art gallery in Amsterdam." Then she explains that before Emma married Apollo, Emma went to Brazil, where "she had a few adventures" (48). In particular, "Emma met this Dutch photographer down there in Brazil" (49). Nichelle goes on to explain that one day while the photographer was taking photos in an abandoned factory, he needed to pee, so he left Emma alone with the equipment. And she decided to take a picture of herself, setting up the shot with a timer. "She makes the shot in front of a wall that's been half torn down so you can see she's standing inside a man-made building that's gone to the dogs, but over her right shoulder you can see the forest that surrounds this factory. Two worlds at once. Crumbling civilization and an explosion of the natural world. / "Emma walks into the shot, and just before the shutter clicks, she pulls off her dress and takes that photo nude!" What's the photo like? How does Emma look? "Wiry and fierce, naked and unashamed. She's looking into that camera lens like she can see you, whoever you are, wherever you are. She looks like a fucking sorceress, Apollo. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen" (50). So, here's Nichelle, telling Apollo what he's glancingly considered before in a fond, condescending sort of way: Emma is a sorceress. Nichelle is saying this to Apollo in simple, straightforward words: Emma is a sorceress, with a great capacity for adventure. What is Apollo doing during this conversation? He's sitting there thinking to himself, "Dutch photographer? / Dutch fucking photographer?" (49) And when he finally speaks, what does he say? "'And the Dutch guy?' Apollo asked. 'What was his name?'" (59) This moment is, of course, the stuff of everyday real life and the stuff of fairy tales. Jealousy and possessiveness, leading to a character's blunder or misbehavior. In fairy tales, we see jealousy as an archetype — like the queen who decides to destroy the young woman who's usurped her position as the fairest of them all. In Apollo's life, it comes across as fairly typical and annoying sexism. Nichelle's response to this question contains everything. Everything this book is about; everything that leads to catastrophe, and ultimately to Apollo's growth and transformation: "Nichelle watched him quietly for seconds. She narrowed her eyes when she spoke. 'I'm trying to tell you something important, and you are focused on bullshit'" (50). For just a moment, Apollo gets it. He falls "back into his chair as if Nichelle had kicked him" (51). He tells her he's ready, he's finally listening. And then the maître d' appears, sprinting across the restaurant, shouting for Apollo, because the baby is coming. Which means that everything is about to change, and it's too late. Apollo's failures in this scene are familiar and understandable, even when they're annoying. He's hungry, distracted, and worried about his wife who's probably vomiting flan in the bathroom. Also, Nichelle is completely, obnoxiously drunk, so why should Apollo recognize the power or truth of her words? Maybe I should clarify that at this point in the book, I didn't appreciate that Emma was a legit sorceress either. We haven't learned the stakes yet, and we don't know how much we're going to be needing a sorceress later. But more to the point, most of this book is from Apollo's point of view, and right now Apollo is hungry, distracted, and worried. There are more important things to worry about, or so he thinks. And I care about him. Even though as the reader, I'm better positioned than he is to recognize his mistakes, I'm right there with him. This all comes down to LaValle's skilled balancing of story and character. So much comes across in this one scene, and there are so many other equally rich scenes. If you like to sit in that place where spinning stories come together, you should read this book. I'll close my study of The Changeling by adding this: I know enough from my own experience as a writer to suspect that while LaValle was writing this book, he wasn't always certain what story he was writing either. As we write, our story keeps surprising us, interrupting us, frustrating us and sending us off in the wrong direction. But not only did he find his own story (and Apollo's too), but he did a beautiful job weaving all the other stories in. If you're writing something that alludes to other stories, I hope you'll find LaValle's use of classic stories exciting, rather than intimidating. When you ask yourself, Why this story?, it's an opportunity to figure out how far along you are in establishing your own story. If you don't have an answer yet, maybe you need to be focusing less on the classic story and more on your own story. If you have a few answers, but you're completely overwhelmed and not sure how many references you should make or where anything is going — take a moment to congratulate yourself, because that sounds to me like progress. When you're in the middle of writing something, there's always a sense of overwhelm and confusion about how well you're balancing things. You have a few potential answers? Great! Soldier on, and after a while, check in again. What's your story now? And that's that. I hope you've enjoyed my post about the balance of story in Victor LaValle's The Changeling! Reading like a writer. Full Article craft of writing Victor LaValle
tory Delve into 90 years of British architectural history with Google Arts & Culture By blog.google Published On :: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 09:00:00 +0000 Explore RIBA's online collection with Google Arts & Culture, featuring new virtual tours and stories. Full Article Arts & Culture UK
tory Origin Story: Maxim 32 By www.schlockmercenary.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Feb 2024 12:41:18 -0700 Today’s the final day of (the final hours, at this point) of the Seventy Maxims Reprint project. Here, then is a nice origin story for you, the origin of Maxim 32. I was signing and sketching at GenCon Indy a decade or so ago when some young men approached the table. They were what a friend of mine likes to call “baby sailors”: relatively new members of the US Navy. One of them said “we have a suggestion for a maxim.” I smiled. “Let’s hear it.” “Anything is amphibious if you can fit it into an AAV.” I chuckled. “That’s pretty good, but the term ‘AAV’ is too specific for Schlock Mercenary use.” Then I went silent, stared off into the distance, and I guess this made everyone uncomfortable because our Booth Captain, Darren, spoke next. “Shhh… don’t interrupt him. The magic is happening.” It’s true, I’d been wondering how this US Navy aphorism could be repurposed, but I had expected to be able to mull it over all day. Now, however, Darren had turned it into the promise of performance art. Did I curse silently? Maybe. I don’t remember, because I was panicking. Still staring into space, trying not to show fear, I dove into the “formulae” for the maxims. I knew that many of the maxims were subversions of existing aphorisms. Several of them formed thematic couplets, like Maxims 2 and 3 (“a sergeant in motion” and “an ordnance tech in motion”) are a great example of this. And Maxim 23, “Anything is air-droppable at least once,” seemed like a good candidate for pairing with what the Navy boys had suggested, especially since “Anything is air-droppable” and “Anything is amphibious” were already pretty close. All I needed to do was break the amphibious-ness in the same way I’d broken the air-droppability… and I think it was that moment, when I contemplated “breaking” amphibious-ness, when the final text arrived in my head. “Anything is amphibious if you can get it back out of the water.” A quick note. The United States Navy exists to keep things DRY. Everything except the hulls, really. The very idea of dropping something into the water that is not already a boat, runs counter to Navy thinking. So it’s no surprise that those Navy boys were visibly horrified by my subversion of their aphorism. “That’s terrible” one of them said. And then they started to laugh. And then I wrote Maxim 32 in my notebook, because obviously it was perfect. Full Article
tory Who Is Marco Rubio’s Wife? Jeanette Dousdebes’ Kids & Relationship History By www.comingsoon.net Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 22:22:58 +0000 Explore Marco Rubio's personal life: Meet his wife and their children. Get the full story now! The post Who Is Marco Rubio’s Wife? Jeanette Dousdebes’ Kids & Relationship History appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Full Article Guides Marco Rubio Pop Culture
tory Who Is Quinn Ewers’ Girlfriend? Madelyn Barnes’ Instagram & Relationship History By www.comingsoon.net Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 22:32:04 +0000 Discover all about Quinn Ewers' girlfriend, and their relationship journey. Follow their story! The post Who Is Quinn Ewers’ Girlfriend? Madelyn Barnes’ Instagram & Relationship History appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Full Article Guides Pop Culture Quinn Ewers
tory Is There an American Sports Story Episode 11 Release Date or Part 2? By www.comingsoon.net Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2024 03:00:00 +0000 Are you curious to learn if there is a release date for American Sports Story Episode 11 or if the series has ended? The intriguing first season has captivated viewers with the dramatic tale of Aaron Hernandez, the former NFL player turned convict. Fans are keen to find out if more episodes or a Part […] The post Is There an American Sports Story Episode 11 Release Date or Part 2? appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Full Article Guides American Sports Story American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez exclude_from_yahoo
tory Who Is Kevin Federline’s Wife? Victoria Prince’s Job & Relationship History By www.comingsoon.net Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2024 03:43:43 +0000 Kevin Federline is a popular disk jockey, dancer, and actor, arguably best known for his first marriage to pop star Britney Spears. As a dancer, he has worked with the likes of Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, and Pink. He also appeared alongside Spears on a reality TV series called Britney and Kevin: Chaotic. But, Federline […] The post Who Is Kevin Federline’s Wife? Victoria Prince’s Job & Relationship History appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Full Article Guides Kevin Federline Pop Culture
tory A Little About My Story “Apocalypse Considered Through a Helix of Semiprecious Foods and Recipes” Now Out in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction By tobiasbuckell.com Published On :: Thu, 02 May 2019 21:11:57 +0000 My latest short story is out in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. When I first started writing short stories, back in the 90s, F&SF was one of the ‘big three’ that I really wanted to get a story in to cross off my bucket list. The big three were Asimov’s, F&SF, and Analog. […] Full Article Announcements
tory Sculptures about to Land on the Moon Join a Long History of Lunar Art By www.scientificamerican.com Published On :: Wed, 21 Feb 2024 18:00:00 GMT A lunar lander nicknamed Odie carries 125 small moon sculptures by artist Jeff Koons that could become the first authorized artwork on the moon Full Article Arts Space & Physics
tory Researchers find key polyamory motivations. Taking ignorance apart. Feeld, compersion, our history, a very public failure of consent... and upcoming polycons. By polyinthemedia.blogspot.com Published On :: Wed, 27 Mar 2024 15:05:00 +0000 Full Article #PolyamoryHistory #PolyamoryintheNews #polycons #PolyintheMedia #PolyResearch Hacienda Villa history research
tory Migratory birds can use Earth's magnetic field like a GPS By www.newscientist.com Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2024 00:00:39 +0000 Eurasian reed warblers don’t just get a sense of direction from Earth’s magnetic field – they can also calculate their coordinates on a mental map Full Article
tory A Brief History of Cyrix, or How to Get Sued By Intel a Lot By hackaday.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 19:30:29 +0000 In a new installment on computer history, [Bradford Morgan White] takes us through the sordid history of Cyrix, as this plucky little company created the best math co-processors (FasMath) and …read more Full Article Retrocomputing Cyrix
tory Another day in my history of evolutionary thought class By freethoughtblogs.com Published On :: Mon, 04 Nov 2024 14:24:21 +0000 Today I’m teaching a perilous topic: the eclipse of Darwinism. There was a period of several decades where you could make an honest intellectual argument against evolution, roughly from the time it was first published (1860) to the development of population genetics (say, roughly 1920). All the arguments since then are fundamentally garbage, but before […] Full Article History
tory Chris Mason: Badenoch will need all her political savvy to transform Tory fortunes By www.bbc.com Published On :: Sat, 02 Nov 2024 13:58:40 GMT Kemi Badenoch is a political fighter and she now has a battle on her hands to rebuild her party. Full Article
tory Kemi Badenoch: Who is new Tory leader and what does she stand for? By www.bbc.com Published On :: Sat, 02 Nov 2024 15:27:36 GMT Kemi Badenoch is a political trailblazer with a combative style and a mission to renew her party. Full Article
tory Will Trump's victory spark a global trade war? By www.bbc.com Published On :: Thu, 07 Nov 2024 00:01:56 GMT Trump has promised tariffs on all foreign goods. If he follows through, many smaller economies may be forced to respond in kind. Full Article
tory Seven wild moments from the turbulent story of Bitcoin By www.bbc.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 11:05:15 GMT Its record price is making headlines - but that's just one part of the cryptocurrency's tumultuous story. Full Article
tory British author Samantha Harvey wins Booker with space story By www.bbc.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 22:34:20 GMT The first book set in space to win, Orbital follows astronauts in the International Space Station. Full Article
tory Tax-News.com: US-Swiss Agreement Published On Mandatory Binding Arbitration By www.tax-news.com Published On :: Mon, 31 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the text of an arbitration agreement between the US and Switzerland, in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2020-35, published August 24. Full Article
tory Tax-News.com: US-Swiss Agreement Published On Mandatory Binding Arbitration By www.tax-news.com Published On :: Mon, 31 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the text of an arbitration agreement between the US and Switzerland, in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2020-35, published August 24. Full Article
tory Quality Lapse in Generic Drugs: Alerts Issued by Regulatory Agency By www.medindia.net Published On :: More than 15 generic medications, including injectables and tablets, have been debarred since January by Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC). Full Article
tory Sri Lankan water history informs global climate change study By www.iwmi.org Published On :: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:32:18 +0000 Modern farming practice of rainwater storage in ancient tanks lauded as best practice adaptation strategy Bonn, Germany. 14 JUNE 2013 —Whether it’s bracing for drought in Sri Lanka with a return to ancient water storage systems or swapping coffee for cocoa in Central America, findings from a new report from the CGIAR Research Program on Climate […] The post Sri Lankan water history informs global climate change study first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Full Article Press releases bonn ccafs rainwater
tory The story behind the success By www.iwmi.org Published On :: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 09:46:08 +0000 Colombo, Sri Lanka (25 November 2013) – Billions of dollars are spent every year on scientific research for noble causes such as lifting people out of poverty and caring for the environment – sometimes successfully and sometimes not. A new study helps identify what was critical in leading to the successful adoption of scientific research […] The post The story behind the success first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Full Article Press releases
tory Six Years of Ayushman Bharat: An Inspirational Success Story By www.medindia.net Published On :: Ayushman Bharat celebrates six years of enhancing healthcare accessibility for millions, unifying state initiatives, and broadening coverage for at-risk Full Article
tory Water security takes center stage in anticipatory action By www.iwmi.org Published On :: Fri, 19 Apr 2024 10:30:31 +0000 IWMI partners with the Anticipation Hub to advance water security in fragile and conflict-affected settings. The post Water security takes center stage in anticipatory action first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Full Article News anticipatory action Fragile and Conflict Affected Settings
tory Floods in Kenya underscore urgent need for anticipatory action in disaster situations By www.iwmi.org Published On :: Fri, 03 May 2024 04:40:00 +0000 Holistic, integrated planning across sectors is vital to ensure disaster response is timely and effective. The post Floods in Kenya underscore urgent need for anticipatory action in disaster situations first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Full Article News floods
tory Extreme flooding and landslides worldwide highlight need for anticipatory action By www.iwmi.org Published On :: Fri, 11 Oct 2024 09:36:00 +0000 Adapting to more frequent climate disasters calls for enhanced planning and collaboration. The post Extreme flooding and landslides worldwide highlight need for anticipatory action first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Full Article Features anticipatory action extreme weather
tory The unique challenge of implementing anticipatory action in refugee and IDP hosting communities By www.iwmi.org Published On :: Fri, 11 Oct 2024 09:36:06 +0000 Creating measures that balance the needs of refugees and local populations during disaster preparedness presents a complex issue. The post The unique challenge of implementing anticipatory action in refugee and IDP hosting communities first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Full Article Features anticipatory action refugees
tory Auditory Hallucinations in Schizophrenia Patients By www.medindia.net Published On :: medlinkAuditory hallucination/medlink is a type of illusion, where people hear sounds that aren't there. This may be caused by issues in how the medlinkbrain/medlink processes sound. Full Article
tory Mainstreaming gender in participatory irrigation management: Why does empowerment matter? By www.iwmi.org Published On :: Wed, 22 May 2024 05:37:53 +0000 Tanusree Paul and Naga Velpuri call for investing in interventions to strengthen women’s capabilities and participation in water governance. The post Mainstreaming gender in participatory irrigation management: Why does empowerment matter? first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Full Article In the media agriculture water management water governance
tory Indian Organ Donation Day: A Day of Double Victory for MOHAN Foundation By www.medindia.net Published On :: bHighlights:/bul class="group-list punch-points"li MOHAN Foundation was awarded the title of the best NGO for its outstanding contributions to Full Article
tory Bridging Organ Donation Gap: A Heartfelt Story By www.medindia.net Published On :: Shailendra Singh, a 48-year-old man was found unconscious at his home on 17th October. He was rushed to HCMCT Manipal Hospital, Dwarka. After taking Full Article
tory New Signs of Severe Respiratory Syncytial Virus Cases in Kids By www.medindia.net Published On :: In children, researchers have discovered warning signs for more severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). (!--ref1--) Researchers from the Brigham Full Article