Glare report: 3/9/05: The wheels lurch forward again

[pegkerr]

Wrote 343 words tonight. Total 12910.

It would be nice if I got this entire scene finished for the reading, but I'm afraid there will be gaps that I haven't worked out yet, i.e., "insert magical explanation here, once you've figured it out." And I guess I'll have to stop right before the fish says whatever it's going to say, because I still haven't decided what that's going to be, either.

Still. 343 words. This is the first real writing session since, what, mid-November? Oy.

Comments

[peacockharpy.livejournal.com]

You wrote! 343 words! *cheers*

[callunav.livejournal.com]

I'm sitting here, puzzling over our mood icon. Creativity is a great and shining thing, no doubt, but...it seems odd to represent it with something so /static./

I have to admit, I'd equate the creative process more with the Paths of the Dead, myself.

On the other hand, congratulations on the writing.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I checked over at Greatest Journal, where I have the icons stored. They seem to have had some kind of meltdown and have lost some icons. I'm going to wait several days but may have to reload them. And then I'd have to recode the custom mood editor. Argh.

[amandageist.livejournal.com]

(curious) What does the fish want?

Sorry--I know only what you've posted in LJ about this book, mostly the saga of its development, not the story it tells.

~Amanda

Not making this up...

[thorintatge.livejournal.com]

That's a good omen! 343 happens to be my lucky number. Seven cubed, don'tcha know.

The question is whether this bodes well for your level of productivity or for mine. I've just finished a milestone in one non-writing project, and it may be time to turn back to writing, which, like you, I haven't done much of since November.

Re: Not making this up...

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Good luck at getting back to work. I have been really fretting that I hadn't been working. Getting some words down has been a huge relief.

Speaking of (or with) fish

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if this is something you'd be comfortable with, but what about doing a tarot card reading asking what the fish have to tell your heroine? I've done this at times when I've felt that I needed a "outta left field" viewpoint on something, and it strikes me that the fish are so far out in left field that they're in the parking lot.

Re: Speaking of (or with) fish

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Huh. David, that's really an excellent idea. I just might do that, if I can find someone to do a reading for me. Next time Kij is in town, I could ask her.

Re: Speaking of (or with) fish

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

The woman who runs Evenstar Bookstore is _EXCELLENT_, but a bit pricey ($50.00 for a reading, which usually last an hour or an hour & a half). I highly recommend her (just wish I could remember her name...) Here's the address, etc.:


2401 University Ave W
St Paul, MN 55114-1507
Phone: (651) 644-3727

Re: Speaking of (or with) fish

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

I'm so pleased you like the idea! (And very happy about all the spontaneous reading that it sparked! Woo-hoo!)

The woman who runs Evenstar Bookstore is _EXCELLENT_, but a bit pricey ($50.00 for a reading, which usually last an hour or an hour & a half). I highly recommend her (just wish I could remember her name...) Here's the address, etc.:


2401 University Ave W
St Paul, MN 55114-1507
Phone: (651) 644-3727

[dormouse-in-tea.livejournal.com]

Frankly, I'd be vastly entertained if I was at a work-in-progress reading and the author was sailing along, then smoothly inserted a line like that. But I'm odd, and your milage and comfort level may vary.

I love Tarot, and I love the fish, so I was randomly presumptuous. Hoping not to offend. . .

Peg's Fish

*what do they want?*
--King of Swords-- (an older ruler, balanced, with widom acquired through time lived through; he stands prepared for hunt and battle both, but waits to see if another resolution can be reached) intellect over physical or emotional manipulation. dedication to his group. organizes plans and motivates others to fulfil them. justness & command of a situation.
other indications
--Six of Swords-- (a yogic, balanced perfectly in a precarious pose, combining the wisdom and illumination of East and West, serenely unconcerned by the orderly and hostile forces arranged against him) forms dictated by tradition, not creativity. dedication and patient waiting, continuation of effort through times of slow reward. help from a person of rather cold demenor during a transition. change in patterns of thinking. a trip or journey.

*what do they tell her?*
--The Magician-- (a man of mystical power, armed with the symbols of craft and knowledge in full bloom, standing ready to reveal wisdom garnered through painful study) ruling the elements through mental powers. dominates passion and purity. the lonely One craves a reflection. uses the tendency of groups to be caught up in the prowness of an individual. ideal person to convert a difficult audience. not necessarily immoral, but unscrupulous. can be tremendously supportive or maddeningly competitive. slight of hand. egoism.
other indications
--Nine of Wands-- (an energetic figure, flush with the power of youth. in front of him are symbols of of power bearing a serpent, cunning resources ungrasped; behind him stands barred the courage and determination of a lion) *reader note; Sytherin and Gryffindor! *squee* ahem, sorry* imagined strength can blind one to resources to be grasped. knowledge, or lack of knowledge, of one's own strength. pause in a current struggle. adversity and obstacles.
--Ten of Wands-- (against the backdrop of a city in flaming ruins, a despairing figure is barred from flight, surrounded by a cage of her own making, all the aspects of life she tries to juggle collapsing around her) war and conflict, destruction caused by ignoring the actions of those with the power. excessive pressures, stubborness, burden. last effort, new expectations from life.

*and how?
--Temperance-- (a bare-breasted woman, standing in the rays of a temporarily-appearing sun, turns her face away while returning stored water from a vessel to the river, surrounded by nature showing hints of human touch) natural change through the blending of elements. does not govern dramatic or violent events. lifeline between extinction and rebirth. return in some way what was taken. may mean both moderation and carelessness.

Notes on the reading : : *considers* I'm not entirely certain that the first two questions were answered in order. Hmph. Stupid fish. Perhaps for fish there is no difference between wanting and telling.

The reading was done using the Cosmic Tarot. My usual, the Tarot of the Cat People, just didn't seem quite . . . yeah.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Perhaps for fish there is no difference between wanting and telling. That line must go in the book somewhere! *Writes it down*

Oh my god! What a powerful reading.

The King of Swords I would think would suggest Rolf (he is older, he has certainly acquired wisdom through time learned--in fact he's sort of cheated since he has lived past his natural lifetime), except that it seems too benign. What would the King of Swords suggest if reversed?

Six of swords. Perhaps . . . the revelation to Solveig of her winter magic? The help from a person of rather cold demeanor: well, Jack seems to her like a sonofabitch at first, but he definitely becomes her ally. And it certainly involves a change in her patterns of thinking, and metaphorically, a journey.

Oh, the magician absolutely is Jack!

The nine of wands--hmm. That seems to be getting at something I've been thinking about, that Solveig must grasp hold of and employ both her powers--her winter magic AND her skill as an architect--to find a solution.

The ten of wands--this suggests the climax of the book to me (perhaps it is a warning to me) because the burning city suggests the ice palace! Perhaps you didn't know that a traditional part of the celebration for each ice palace is a ceremony called "the storming of the ice palace" where firecrackers barrage the palace of the king. All the violence of the imagery suggests the crisis point of the book, the threat to Ingrid from Rolf, etc.

Temperance--this card could suggest Agnes (Solveig's monther). I'm all about the maiden-mother-crone with Ingrid-Solveig-Agnes, and in fact have several scenes about this. I know that Agnes is involved with the solution too, but do not yet know how. The water imagery is powerful, too. I would guess the fish would consider Agnes an ally, and recognize her to be powerful in a way that Solveig doesn't discover until later.

Thanks so much for the reading! I'm really touched that you took the trouble to do it. I will ponder further.

[dormouse-in-tea.livejournal.com]

*beams* I'm just ever so pleased you didn't mind.

*rummages* Hmmm.... King of Swords reversed. The Cosmic Tarot is shifty about that, but let me poke.

Interests tend to shift quickly. Can be a dilittante. Flitting attention paradoxing elephantine memory. Avoids making enemies, holds grudges against friends a long, long time.

Devotion to mental activity can obscure other areas of life. Can find it difficult to see errors. Sadism.

Also, some interpretations I missed (I was in a time crunch this morning) : love is the key to his great society. This is the emissary.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Progress - yay!

Chris

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Words!

Most wonderful!

You know, I never do this. My tarot cards for Solveig say the seven of staffs stands for her, signifying solid roots but an unclear future. What stands behind her is the eight of deniers, meaning treasure, the Queen of Deniers, probably her mother, and the six of staff, meaning promises. Before her lies the wheel of fortune, meaning change, reversals, possibility, and the requirement to let go. (Or perhaps it stands for the thing at the fair? The big wheel is a wheel of fortune after all. Maybe they could tell her something that relates to that?) On the left lies the King of Deniers, reversed (don't we recognise Rolf) and on the right the Horseman of Deniers, doubtless Jack. She must walk between them. What the fish say is the Magician, meaning trickery or something hidden in plain sight. What a lot of deniers.

I don't suppose that helped a bit. It's years since I got those cards out. When I was stuck on The King's Name I think.

However, if I were going to decide what they told her, I'd think what bit of background worldbuilding information is hardest to get across in any other way and have them tell her that, suitably obscured.

[kate_nepveu]

I'd think what bit of background worldbuilding information is hardest to get across in any other way and have them tell her that, suitably obscured.

This strikes me as very elegant.

And yay words!

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Tell me more about the six of staff. Promises: could that be Ingrid? Promise of the future? That would balance nicely: her mother and her daughter both stand behind her.

The wheel of fortune: that is suggestive and feels right, too: Rolf made an attempt at whatever-he-was-doing to steal Ingrid's life force (the circumstances of her conception, Rolf's failed attempt to snare her life force in the womb, blocked because of Solveig's protective magic) Now the wheel is turning round again, and he's going to try again. In fact, I had thought that he would try, specifically, at the State Fair (Solveig and Jack take her there on one of their first dates, and Ingrid disappears for awhile, and when she shows up, unharmed but with no memory of what happened to her, she starts displaying a mysterious remoteness/coldness. It would be perfect to have this happen around the Ferris Wheel.

What deck do you use, by the way?

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Perfectly ordinary old Marseilles Tarot, nothing fancy at all.

The six of staff is the card of very early spring renewal, the promise of growth in the bud. That could well be Ingrid. It's interesting though, both of them being staffs, because that's traditionally masculine -- but I don't see why it needs to be.

Glad it's sparking something, hope it helps.

I think the great thing with the tarot (and other things, like I Ching) is that it's a great means of manipulating symbols to fit things together. A little while ago in nineweaving's journal I did a "tarot reading" with a pile of Everway cards I had on the desk, and it worked remarkably well.

Six Of Staffs

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

When papersky mentioned the above card as having to do with spring renewal I immediately thought of the Tree of Life ceremony at May Day - have you thought of using that in your book? (Either the May Day parade & festival and/or the ceremony)

(I do so _love_ being a muse...)

Re: Six Of Staffs

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Exactly. And that's why the last scene of the book is going to occur at the Tree of Life ceremony.

Re: Six Of Staffs

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

Oh! Really, I didn't know. Coolness!

[em-h.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! 343 words is lots!

I see that two separate tarot readings are saying that the fish have something to say related to the Magician. Must be some kind of pointer there.

I occasionally try bibliomancy, too. Sometimes it works, sometimes I get the most useless stuff.

[lcohen]

so very glad to hear/read this!!