Looking Back: 2007

With an increased focus on plots, matured narrative structures and my first novel, 2007 was one of the most important years for me and the site.

Nada Tall

Now this is a story I definitely tried out a lot of new things with. New for my writings, anyway. In this I had Nada Tall speak directly to the reader as if the reader were actually in the room with her. I also made the story a game, with Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-styled branching paths, card tricks and dice rolls dictating how the story goes. Because of this, the story itself deals with fate, coincidence and chaos. Nada Tall's name, most likely obviously enough, is a play on Not At All. This was my second collaboration with Alison Berry. Certain post-modern aspects of this short have been carried over into Radar Doesn't Believe In The Supernatural.

The Boy and the White Fox

Here's my first serious attempt at a fairy tale. I should point out that this and Nada Tall are part of a determination to create stories for adults that feature children as protagonists. Why? Because I have yet to read something that deals with children, in the way that children think of themselves, in a work of literature intended for an adult audience. Does being reminded of being a child, and what it's like to think as a child, cause fear in an adult? Does it remind them in some way of their mortality, how fleeting life is? Time only seems to stretch to eternity when you're a child. Then you're an adult, and a year goes by like just another minute on your watch. Or perhaps adult audiences prefer not to read a serious novel starring a child because they already have their fill with dealing with their own children. Or perhaps it's just too hard to relate.

Anyway, the Boy and the White Fox is one of the few stories I've written that I would say is largely autobiographical. With the magic fox and everything.

I have to stop here for now !