Home

 Welcome to My Corner of the Forest

Where myth stirs, stories breath, and the old magic waits.

Hello and welcome. I'm Mary Paliescheskey, an author who wanders in folklore and a lifelong believer that stories are living things to be discovered. I write magical realism and speculative fiction rooted in Slavic mythology. My stories are shaped by the hidden power found in the world and the forgotten places where the barrier between worlds is thin.

Here you'll find:

• Updates on my current series: The Stone Chronicles
  A trilogy blending magic, power, and myth, following the characters entangled in an ancient imbalance of magic and forces older than their kingdom.

• Essays on Slavic Myth and Folklore
  I explore the figures and legends that have shaped my imagination. I publish these essays over on Substack: House of Baba's Bones
  
  
• Reflections on Craft and Creativity
  My thoughts on writing and the process of world creation.
  
  
• Occasional Side Stories and Magical Snippets
  Because sometimes a character demands to have their story told or I might just let you in on how the magic really works.

Thanks for Being Here

Whether you are a fellow writer, a lover of folklore, or a reader in search of stories, I'm grateful that you've stopped in. 

Take a look around.

You can also find me on the platforms below:

            

Fall Seven Rise Eight

Recently, I was given a gift from a friend to honor my courage and creativity. They believe that my posting of my creations takes courage. No, not really. It’s more about proving I did something for myself. But…I am weak. I have moments where I honor myself and create art. Moments where I feed my soul. However, those moments are few. I haven’t gone to the art studio in months. The majority of my time is spent battling the demons in my head.

The voices of the demons are loud. They beat me with the constant waves of shame and lack. I am not enough. I have failed my children. My home looks like I am a hoarder in training. I haven’t planned the meals or shopped for groceries. I have not done all that I should for my family. I am incompetent because I cannot do it all. If I choose my art and feeding my soul, then I am a failed wife and mother. Those are jobs that I agreed to so I can NOT abandon them. Therefore, I, myself, must be last.

I know other women battle the same fight. Just today, The Huffington Post posted a debate on “Can Women Have it All?” On a personal note, my friend, Raychel from Reasons Like Season, states “I do not know how to manipulate how I perceive time and my own shortcomings or how to find more peace within myself.” She says it so nicely. I’m not that nice to myself.

My internal critic bashes all my attempts to do things for myself. I have too many responsibilities. I am the keeper. The house will never be clean; the laundry will never be done; my children need me constantly. The bottom line is that I do not believe myself to be worthy of self-care because I am incompetent in completing my responsibilities. I am not worthy. I have not earned the right to take time for myself. The work must be done. It must be completely done or I will be stealing from my family.

Right now I am drowning in those voices. They are winning. They have knocked me to my knees. I will need to regroup and claw my way to standing. I know it will take some time. I have been in this rodeo before. It will take meditation and courage to gather my shattered strength, but I will rise again. In my soul, I know that the voices are false. I know that they lie. I know that I am doing the best that I can. Still I have a bit of a tear in my ear and lump in my throat because you should never speak it. Never let the friends see your weakness. Today the voices hold me down. So today I will do the best that I can. I will accomplish something (laundry and dinner are good).

When I get tired and the voices get loud, I can’t drown them out with my positive thoughts. The waves of self-criticism crash against my strength of purpose and I lose my footing. Today I am under those waves. Fall Seven Rise Eight. Tomorrow is a new day and I shall rise. I will silence the voices-or at least make them turn that volume down.

Wish me luck. Keep me in your thoughts and Dear Raychel-I will keep you in mine.

Choices Make Us

Every choice along the path of our life leads us down our path. Sometimes I stop and think about the choices I have made and where they have led me. Now, don’t get me wrong-my life is pretty good. I’m just thinking about my younger days and the choices that I made in High School and College. Oh it may have a thing or two to do with my son being a freshman in college and going through some life choices.

“Mom, should I get the sedan or the V6?”

Flashback to my first car choice: baby blue Karmann Ghia convertible vs a brown Toyota corolla 4-door. So which one do you think the practical younger me choose. Yep, brown corolla. I choose and my choice continued me on my practical responsible track. I’m not saying that the convertible would have changed me into a summer loving beach bunny, but I think I might have had a little more fun driving my friends around. Who knows? Maybe I would have been a slightly different me. Maybe I would have found my artist self sooner. Maybe I would have found the joy in life sooner. Maybe I would have turned out exactly the same.

“Son, get the V6. That way you will never look back and say, ‘What if’”

There is a V6 Impala in my drive. Well, on the rare occasions that he is actually at home for a moment or two between his school, work, and adventures. I think there is a lot of fun in the car.

I think this is something that we aspire for our children. That they will learn from our mistakes. May their choices will be different and, hopefully, lead to a better and brighter future. I guess my children are at the age of choices. My youngest didn’t tell us about the Chinese trip from his school. I found out at Open House Night. I signed him right up. We will struggle with the finances. We will make it happen. I choose to not go to Europe with my high school class for the same reasons my youngest gave.

“Mom, it’s too expensive. We don’t have the money.”

What a sweetie! But again here was something that I regretted. I have yet to travel to anywhere that isn’t attached. (I have been to Canada and most of the continental US) How often to you get a chance to travel to China! This will happen. My husband and I were able to make it so. He leaves next week for a major long plane flight and the trip of a life time!

I wonder how these choices will change the paths that my sons are on. I’m sure the experiences will open opportunities and doors. The journey of life is never ending. My own journey still has many opportunities and choices yet to come. I will get my travel sometime soon. I have a plan and my goals are written in words and pictures. I have the Europe trip on my wall with my visual journal. My husband and I are thinking of taking a cruise. We will have adventures and joy. Life is amazing.

It’s all good. Carpe Diem!

Visual Mapping

Many of us make New Year’s Resolutions to improve ourselves. We look at the bright New Year and think of all the wonderful things that we can accomplish. I think the main reason that we fail in these endeavors is that we hide them away after we write them down. That Resolution written on that piece of paper or on that journal page will be hidden from view for the rest of time. How often do you return to your writings?

I’ve found a way that works a little better for me. I make a visual map of the things that I would like to have in my life for the New Year. I use magazines to clip images from. I use skills from kindergarten. I cut; I paste; I put it all on a piece of colored construction paper. It’s a fun afternoon. I sit surrounded by a mass of images ripped out of the magazines. After I’ve gone through the magazines ripping images that strike a chord in my heart, I go through them a second time and sort them into categories. The categories change, but some are pretty common: family, friends, career, wealth, and anything else that I feel like calling to me.

Now, don’t think that I do this every year. That’s my goal, but I don’t get to making time for myself that often. I did get to the process this year. I managed to set aside time because I invited a group of friends over to make dream boards. Since they were all coming over on a specific Saturday at a specific time-I had to be there and I had to make my own to show them how it was done. I harnessed my habit of only doing things for other people. I made the day all about my friends. I was just tagging along. Step one-admit you have a problem. Now, I have a new set of collages to show me the way to a better life-or the one that I desire. Mostly it’s about focusing on something like making time for friends.

I almost forgot to tell you the most important part. You have to hang to collages where you can see them every day. I hang mine on a bulletin board in my kitchen. I see those images several times a day. I think it’s a great way to activate your subconscious to lead you in the right direction.

Sidetracked

So, it’s been a month. I know it was December and the holidays, but that is just an excuse. I found all kinds of things to sidetrack me from my writing progress. First off, in decorating for the holidays, I found some old writing hidden away. Some of it was actually pretty good and worth working on so…I stopped working on the novel. I was having trouble battling that critic. Last I posted the novel was: “I’ll keep you posted. Word count: 20,141.” Now, the word count it 20,632. Yep, still hitting the wall on that one.

But the things I found were so amazing. I can actually turn a phrase now and again. Then my critic says-no you suck. Okay, what did I find all tucked away in a binder. I found several books in progress: A Life Planner Journal, Personal Essays on Being an Imperfect Mother, a picture book: Bubbles Everywhere and my articles on birthing. What a gold mine-right! Shut up critic. It’s not your turn.

I started December by working on my found book: Life Planner Journal. I know and it was pretty complete. I finished retyping it into word. Now it just needs an edit, the sample documents, and some images uploaded. As I type this, I feel that inner critic. Who are you to help people with a planner? Why should anyone listen to you? You don’t have it all organized. You don’t stick to your plan. You missed New Year’s deadline you set yourself so you FAILED. I know, but isn’t that the point. It’s all a process. I didn’t fail. I worked and let the critic slow me down. So I switched gears. I’ll come back to this one soon.

Right now, New Year’s Day, I’m working on putting that huge document on Imperfect Mothering into the computer where I can figure out what goes where and where to begin the edit. It’s a jumble of topics. It is in desperate need of an edit, but all in good time. The first thing is to get an electronic copy. (I know I have a hard copy. These documents are from 2000 or so. Only the universe knows what computer they were originally typed or where a backup might be or on what media-disc anyone?) So away I type. Some of it is good. Most of it is crap, but an edit and more personal story will fix that right up. Oh and see me procrastinate. I’m writing to you, dear reader. The printed copy sits to my left starting at me with the date 6/17/2002 as the print out date. I think there are a few separate books in it. I just have to decide on categories. Or maybe I have to sort for chapters. I don’t know yet and that is okay. I don’t have to know right now. I’m rediscovering the life I had with wee boys.

The picture book is a story. I actually sent it out once upon a time to agents and publishers. Yes, I was brave- once upon a time. The thing that I found amazing was that one publisher actually sent it back. They paid for that. There was a personal note-not a form letter. Why did I stop? Oh right, that inner critic. Well, I can start back up where I left off. I have all the photos. I have the story. I can make a new book and send it out or just publish it myself on kindle. So there.

I think I’ll stop procrastinating and get back to it.

Happy New Year! May it be a productive and happy one. 2015 will be a great year.

Hitting the Wall

Well, I’ve been working on this National Novel Writing Month project. I have been working on characterization of both the protagonist and antagonist. I’ve been using the book, The 90 Day Novel: Unlock the Story Within. It has been a wonderful. I love the writing prompts and the process of working on protagonist and antagonist through evaluating their motivations and needs. I’ve been writing and writing. Sometimes the words just flow and I’ve even had flashes of the ending of the story. I’ve seen the end in my mind. I know where it’s going.

I got to the 30 day prompt in this lovely book and I hit the wall. The prompt for that day was “Write the Story”. What!? You were telling me to hold the story loosely. I don’t have a plan. I’m stuck. I came to a screeching halt. My mind went totally blank. I didn’t expect such a response from my internal fear button. I hit that wall and stopped writing. I had the disease-writer’s block.

What’s the story?  What’s the plot line? How do I get here? How do I even start?

So I closed my word processor. I walked away. I was uncomfortable and I was ready to give up. I didn’t know where to go or how to begin. I felt like a failure. I can’t write a story. I don’t have the skill. Wait-what did you just say? Skill- well, a skill can be learned. I opened some books and began to read. The appendix of the The 90 Day Novel: Unlock the Story Within was very helpful in alleviating the fear. I am very grateful to the author for showing his process and bearing those first drafts for the world to see. The first drafts from the author were just like I write. He had a ton of telling instead of showing. I beat myself up for that, but hey maybe everyone does it that way. The rewrite was amazing. It showed the first vs. the published version of his story. There was an amazing transformation. I took that lesson to heart and felt the truth of first drafts are rubbish, but don’t stop. You don’t know what you have until you are done.

Now, I needed a plan for how to begin. I went to The Story Template: Conquer Writer’s Block Using the Universal Structure of Story. Yes, I can do this! Each part of the story is listed and brief descriptions are given. I have a plan. I can get a terrible first draft out. Then fix all the problems in the rewrite. Or maybe fix them in the second and third rewrite. Don’t stop. Never give up and never surrender. Look for a path through the darkness.

I’ll keep you posted. Word count: 20,141.

 

Progress of Sorts

I have been writing fairly religiously on my National Novel Writing Month project. I find that I rarely hit the average word count needed each day to finish on time. (The program shows when I'll finish which will be sometime early next year if I keep to my current rate.) Shut up and write on the novel. Procrastinating here. Yes, yes, I am.

So what am I to do? Baby steps! Keep showing up to the page-of course. If I need baby steps, I will take baby steps. I am feeling the whole internal critic thing happening. That critic, Mrs. Olson, keeps saying that I don't have a story. I have nothing to say. I feel the crush of the negative and fight to keep returning to the page. The only way to tell if there is a story is to actually finish. Don't give up. When you go through hell keep on going...You can make it through to the other side. You really don't know what you have until you put it away for awhile and then return to it.

In looking back over my previous year's work, I see that some of them are actually going somewhere. I could finish them and they might actually be worth editing. If I actually finish a novel or two, that might silence the critic for a day or two before she thinks of another way to attack me...oh I can hear her now. (So what you finished 50,000 words-no one's going to read it) My response will be: How do you know? I can put the work out there for people to see and then I'll know.

Here's to showing up to the page and continuing to believe in my own creativity. See you on the page.

Love and Light!

National Novel Writing Month

 

 

November is the month to write a novel. Now, I have signed up and started many times. My login tells me I have participated for 5 years...oh my. And not one is finished.

So I'm going public. I am writing a novel. This month-November. I will keep the faith and keep plugging away. I will do this. It's only day 6. I can get to 50,000 words. Do these words count?

Hopefully, the fear of shame will keep me writing...see you in December.

The Fire has the Last Word:



Mary Paliescheskey-2014

Working in clay requires a few steps and two firings in the kiln. The process isn’t complete until the piece comes out of the final firing. You never know what will happen in the fire of the kiln. The fire does what it wants -Magic or disaster.

The process begins with the building of the piece in clay. I use Long Beach White which can be high fired and is basic clay. Prior to the first firing, the piece needs to dry completely. At this point the clay is very fragile and can be easily broken. If you pick it up by the edge-that edge may just snap off. This is such a sad thing to happen to something that you spent time creating. It is considered greenware.

Drying clay looks
the same as bisque

This first point is where many things can go wrong. First, if the piece isn’t completely dry, you may open the kiln to find a broken piece. The water left in the piece will expand to water vapor from the high heat in the kiln. This rapid rise in temperature causes an expansion of liquid to gas-resulting in the water now taken up a much larger amount of space. The expansion breaks the piece. Another problem could be that you left an air bubble when you joined two pieces of clay. You’d think that wouldn’t matter. A gas is a gas, but as Boyle’s Law tells us; the volume of a gas is dependent upon its temperature. The higher the temperature the larger the volume that is needed. Again the piece can be broken. Open the kiln and see what you have…

 Once it is bisque fired (survived the first firing), you are ready to glaze the object. Choices and choices-there are many. What color glaze do you want? Are you using just one glaze or several? If you over lay glazes, you end up with three colors. The first color, the second color, and the third where the two mix. And guess what! The order that you put the glazes on matters. Color A then Color B gives Color C, BUT Color B then color A gives and entirely different color. There are really unlimited choices. I hope you can make a decision. Now here comes the surprise. Even when you think you know what will happen with the glazes. It’s only a guess. The fire in the kiln decides how things turn out.

You don’t believe me. Well, look at these two goblets. I glazed them in exactly the same glazes in exactly the same order, on the same day. Fired in the kiln and out they came a bit different. I have actually never seen the brown color with Carbon Trap Shino before this. Surprise!

 

The fire really has the last word.

Kill your Critic

We all start out so powerful. As children, we have to be taught to be ashamed or that we are bad at something. A toddler has unbounded courage and belief in themselves. If they didn’t have it, how would they ever learn to walk? Can you imagine if they had that internal critic voice? Oh no, I can’t do this. I’m going to fail. I’ll never get any better at walking. I should just give up right now and sit back down. – Never. They fall down and get right back up until they are running. Imagine what we could accomplish if we never internalized the critic.

How does this happen to us? When does it all go wrong? We aren’t born this way.

I don’t remember how it all started for me. I’m sure that you can’t remember that first instance of the voice either, but I do remember one person in particular. She had a strong effect on my self-image. She was a teacher after all. From her I learned that I was not an artist. Wow. Right. For decades I believed her.

From Julia Cameron and The Artist’s Way, I learned that she was my critic and I must kill her-metaphorically speaking. A part of that recovery was making a picture of her-crazy scary looking huh. But that is how I see her with that fake orange dyed hair and always frowning. Telling everyone what they are doing wrong without acknowledging the effort or idea. I do have some compassion for her as time goes past. Maybe she was criticized. Maybe she was a failed artist and couldn’t see the worth of others as being valuable. Okay maybe she was just an evil ‘B’. Who knows what she is…. I followed the path and don’t allow her to shape my self-image. She played into my fear (False evidence appearing real).

Still be on the lookout for these critics. They are all around you. They show up in your life to pour their negativity over your joy in being creative. Have you heard them? They say things like why are you writing a novel? You’ll never sell it. You’ll never make money at that. No one would ever pay you for that sculpture. They place it into the framework of being concerned about you. They worry for you. No, for personal reasons that you may never know, they want to dump a wet blanket over your dreams.

Kill them. Remove them from your circle of trust. If they do it once, maybe try them again. If they do it twice, STOP sharing with them. They are not worthy. Share with people who support you. People who will tell all their friends how wonderful and brave you are. Creativity and art do not require that others pay for it. All that is required is that it feeds your soul. Feed yourself and watch your skill and creativity grow.

Eclectic Artist



I’m easily bored. Therefore, I work in a variety of media. I just can’t stay with the same thing. Part of it is that in order to create in ceramics, I have to go to the studio at the Irvine Fine Arts Center. I don’t own a kiln-nor do I have the space for one in my apartment patio. (I’m sure the landlord would just love it if I put in a non-standard electrical outlet to accommodate the kiln-Not!) Sooo I knit, draw, paint, write. I’m random that way.



Tree Spirit

Ceramics is where my heart is. When I work in the clay, everything else vanishes. I am truly living in the moment. It’s like a meditation. There is nothing, but the creative process. All the noise in the studio fades away. Most days I only notice that it’s closing time because the noise level has changed so I look up and return to reality. Oh my-is that the time? It is the best feeling ever.

 

 

 

Self Portrait: Pen and Ink

Drawing and painting can also get me to the place of stillness. It’s just harder because I usually work from a photograph or physical object. I am creating, but there is a real reference point. At this point in my journey, I don’t get to the vanishing point with my drawing. I have on foot in this world and haven’t vanished into the creativity. Still it is wonderful and freeing. I feel the beauty of the creative process. A blank page suddenly becomes an impression of what I see. Beauty comes from the void.

 

 

 



Books for Kindle

Writing is creation from nothing as well. I work on my novel-slow, slowly goes the draft. In the blank places, I work on my annotated classics. I feel that many students are missing out on reading. I hope to provide annotated books so that they can understand them within the same book. No need to get cliff notes or spark notes. Just read and enjoy. All the stories are the same-time and vocabulary changes and makes it harder to understand.

 

 

 

 

 

Knitting I do that because I just can’t keep still. Watching TV is a time waster. I have to be doing something productive so I knit. My hands are busy creating something from nothing. I’m not being lazy which is very important to me. Family values instilled at my father’s knee. Make something with your hands.

Favorite Sweater

Knitting: St John's Wort Scarf

I have been working a full time job teaching high school. I’ve been away from my artistic self for too long. The long hours at work don’t leave much energy for creative thoughts. I’ve been slowly loosing myself. I spend a few hours a week working on a scarf or two, but it’s such a small amount of time. I am grateful for the time I get, but I’ve been feeling frustrated.

Small blessings happen all the time. I injured my foot and got put on medical leave. Now I have time for knitting.

I started this scarf some time ago, but here I am watching TV with my foot elevated per doctor’s orders. Keep off the foot. I may see a scarf finished by the end of the two weeks. I love this pattern. It was part of a sweater that I made years ago. It was the pattern on the collar and sleeves.

I must remember this lesson and make time for my art each week. I will remember that I need to feed my soul by creating art out of nothing. The ball of yarn becomes a thing of beauty. The simple string becomes something warm and cozy. Clothing is necessary, but the creation of beauty is for the soul.

Find what feeds you and remember to make time for yourself. You need to recharge. You cannot get water from a dry well.

Artist Statement: My Journey

 

My art

 

 

So much to say and where to start. I guess I’ll start at the beginning. It all began with my grandmother. She taught me needle art. Art was everywhere, but just a part of life. I drew in charcoal. My father painted, my mother drew in pencils.

 

I loved needlework. I embroidered and cross stitched. I made Christmas presents for everyone. I made my own cross stitch patterns. I’m sure that everyone was tired of my craftiness. My sister has one of the few remaining originals. I made it for her wedding. It has a Pegasus on it since she always loved those winged horses. What I loved most about needle work, was the pattern and design forming out of nothing off the white canvas. You start with something white and slowly the design emerges from the void.

 

Tole painting was the start of my major focus on art and crafts. I loved to paint on wood. I actually owned a band saw and cut my own pieces. You can never find exactly what you want at a craft store.

 

When I moved to southern California, I went to a clay day at my cousin’s studio. I had no idea what that was; I went to connect with my family in a strange new place. Who knew that it would be the discovery of my artist self? I found my medium. I loved it! I took classes. I made my own designs. I loved to see the figures come out of the clay. Once again, I have found a medium that allows me to create something from out of the void. This time I create in three dimensions.

 

I’m pulled to the human form. My soul is called to help others. I helped form a volunteer program of doulas for the Sutter Davis Hospital. It was important to me that low income women could receive assistance during the birth of their children. Everyone deserves to have a helping hand to gain confidence in their abilities.

 

Times change and stay the same. I still connect with the power of birth and mysteries of a woman’s soul. As an artist, I sculpt this power into clay. The human form of a woman speaks to me. A woman has the most powerful muscle found in the human body yet it is surrounded by softness and curves. The power is hidden from sight. The strength must be felt underneath the softness.

 

I love the flow of muscle and skin. Clay is a fluid medium that flows and solidifies into strength.

Preventing Bullying

Preventing Bullying

Zero tolerance for bullying behavior policies sounds like the answer. We will not tolerate a bully harming our children. Get rid of them. Expel them. Send them to other schools. Zero Tolerance sounds good, but is it effective.

The simple answer is no. As early as 2004, the American Psychological Association stated that “existing research indicates that bullying at school may be significantly reduced through comprehensive, school-wide programs that are designed to change norms for behavior (Olweus, 1993a; Olweus, 1993b; Olweus, Limber, & Mihalic, 1999; Whitney, Rivers, Smith, & Sharp, 1994)”. Unfortunately, as Dr. Kalman, a nationally certified school psychologist, states “everyone loves the idea of going after bullies”. Regardless of the evidence showing that zero tolerance doesn’t work, we hold to the belief that this policy will provide protection for our children.

So what do we do?

In a word-prevention-

Again research has shown that prevention is the best course for changing the behavior of bullies. The Violence Prevention Task Force recommends the following strategies:

·         primary prevention strategies targeted at all students,

·         secondary prevention strategies targeted at those students who may be at risk for violence or disruption,

·         tertiary strategies targeted at those students who have already engaged in disruptive or violent behavior.

 

There is no fast fix for bullying. The prevention must be long term and comprehensive. The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program works on four fronts: school level, classroom level, individual level, and community level. We all must help curb bullying.

 

Why doesn’t Zero Tolerance work?

The American Psychological Association’s Zero Tolerance Task Force conducted a survey and found that Zero Tolerance Policies are ineffective and create more problems than behavior modification programs. Removing the bully from the school only reduces violence for that day. The long term effect is more violence. “Rather than reducing the likelihood of disruption, however, school suspension in general appears to predict higher future rates of misbehavior and suspension among those students who are suspended.”  In fact, suspending children leads to higher school dropout rates and other adverse outcomes. Not a good thing.

 

The Task Force also found that Zero Tolerance Policies are developmentally inappropriate due to the immaturity of teens. They are not yet able to fully comprehend the consequences of their actions. They cited research in neuroscience that shows the brains of youth are not yet fully developed into adult patterns.

 

Zero Tolerance is a one size fits all solution for a complex problem. Under Zero Tolerance, the victim who fights back would be suspended along with the bully. Complex issues need solutions that attack the problem from multiple directions. Don’t be tempted to take the easy route. Education and behavior modification are the best ways to address bullying behavior.

The Man in the Arena

    “The Man in the Arena” is quoted every year on my son’s wrestling banquet program. I love that the coach is praising the attempt. He speaks to the courage it takes to be on a wrestling team. While it is a team sport, it is only you and your opponent on the mat. All eyes are on you. You stand or fall alone.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blodd; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt

Excerpt from the speech “Citizen in a Republic”

April 23, 1910

   
   I think that the stand or fall is true for all of us-no matter what we do. Some of us take the stand and go out into that arena. We try and try again. For artists and authors, our arena is just as public as those wrestlers. We stand up and say look here is my effort. It is so hard to remember that it is not the critic who places value onto your work. You must have the fortitude to know that everyone sees things differently and that critic may not see your way. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One person may point out the faults and the next may praise your work.

    How do you feel about your effort? Does it speak to you? Are you proud? Do you love your art? You should have enthusiasm, love, and devotion to the art that you make. It is an outlet for your creativity. Never let the fear of a critic stand in your way. Remember you are not a timid soul who hides in the crowd. You had the courage to place yourself front and center. You stand in the harsh light. You have taken a risk. Raise your head with pride and return to the arena. Never give up; never surrender.

Classic Plot Conflicts

 

The plot of the story is the path the action takes. All plot revolves around conflict. Each protagonist wants something. He struggles to achieve his goals. He may struggle against an external force or an internal force. Who he is under pressure from is where the plot comes in. Each type of conflict leads to a different type of story.




 

1. Man vs. Nature

When man is in conflict with nature, he is trying to survive. There is some kind of natural disaster. An example of this plot can be found in the movie, The Perfect Storm. The fishermen ignore the storm warnings and then have to deal with the fury of nature. The element of this plot that makes it interesting is that there is no conscious thought on the part of nature. The events just happen.

2. Man vs. Man

When a man (hero) is in conflict with another man (villain), all kinds of interesting things can happen. Both sides of the conflict can make choices and changes to the plot line. Each person has motivations and desires.

3. Man vs. Machines/Technology

Man is the instrument of his own destruction. Man has created something that comes back to create conflict. A great example of this is Battle Star Galactica. Those Cylons really want to create a bit of conflict. 

4. Man vs. The Supernatural

Any time you have a ghost, vampire, monster, you have man vs. the supernatural. A normal man has to battle a being that has superhuman abilities. The rules for this conflict must be set up within the story. As long as the author doesn’t violate his own rules, the story flows. There must be rules and the supernatural being must have a weakness or there is no hope for the protagonist to succeed. Examples of this fatal flaw in the supernatural being would be wooden stakes or silver bullets.

5. Man vs. Self

This plot is internally focused. The protagonist is in conflict with some aspect of himself. The hero is going through a transformation and needs to change his outlook or way of thinking. This conflict takes place within the character’s mind. The character in this plot usually has major changes happen in his outlook on life. A good example of this one would be Batman. He’s really conflicted in a Dark Knight kind of way.

6. Man vs. God/Religion

When man has conflict with his religion, it can be a version of man against society. Religion is a manifestation of the societal norms. The conflict can bring in a supernatural aspect if it brings in a god or other spiritual supernatural being. The Iliad and the Odyssey are examples of this type of conflict.

 

The Villain

We all know the villain as the opposite of the hero, but what does that really mean? Is a villain inherently evil? Must they always do the wrong thing? How does an author create valid and believable antagonists?

The first thing to consider is that the villain doesn’t think of themselves as evil or bad. They are just reacting to their environment and making judgments about the actions that will create the outcomes that they desire. A villain is the hero of his own story. He doesn’t know that he is the villain. He has valid reasons for doing the things that he does.

A true villain is a wounded human being who has goals and aspirations that make sense. A monster isn’t born; he is made. Examples of this abound, Darth Vader was once Anikan Skywalker. His wounds created his decent into immorality. He had his reasons.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the creature is made from recycled parts. How could he be anything but ugly? However, that was only his outward appearance. Inside, he was innocent and curious. He had the desire to connect with others. Unfortunately, Victor Frankenstein rejected his creation. Victor introduced the wounds to the creature’s spirit that created the villain. The creature wanted nothing more than to be loved; that unrelenting desire is what drives the story.

He doesn’t have to be more intelligent or stronger than the hero. Making a mistake is where he will fail and the hero will prevail-or not. In Frankenstein, the creature is stronger, faster, and arguably more intelligent than Victor. The creature aka villain wants a partner for his life and to live in isolation and peace. He does evil and immoral things to reach that end.

Memorable villains are always complex creations. They have desires and goals that arise from their wounded spirits. Are you the hero or the villain? Only the end of the story can tell.

Who is a Monster?

As I was reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, I thought about the question-what defines a monster?

From the movies, we look at the creation as the horrible abomination. We label this new life created from grave yard pieces as the monster. Victor Frankenstein is the noble scientist; a victim of a science experiment gone wrong. This version is far from the vision of Mary Shelley.

But really, who is the monster? When he was first created, the creature was innocent and intelligent. He didn’t know that he was different. He was left alone by Victor who ran away from his responsibility to a new life. It was Victor’s treatment of him that created the angry and vengeful spirit-the monster was born from neglect. The creature became a monster in response to the reactions that his creator showed him. He internalized the horror

Victor started out to defeat death. He wanted to create a world where no one would die. Wow, I wonder how that’s going to turn out. He is a genius who has used his talent unwisely. Nature will see that he is punished for his vanity. Unfortunately, the innocent creation pays a high price for Victor’s mistake.

The dictionary isn’t much help. It just says a monster is any creature that is so ugly or monstrous as to frighten people. That’s not much help. That could describe anything. Also, ugly really shouldn’t be an aspect that defines a monster. Really, beauty is in the eye of the beholder which implies that ugly is too. Shouldn’t a monster be more universal than that? Monsters are all around us. They hide in the shadows. They try to blend into the background because when we see them-we will do something about them.

A second definition talks about a person who excites horror by wickedness or cruelty. Now, that is a definition that we can work with.  It is horrifying when a person goes out and causes random harm to others. We know a monster when we hear about them. But what if they are just frightened people making mistakes.  The Twilight Zone episode, “The Monsters are due on Maple Street”, comes to mind. The fear that the neighborhood felt had to be directed somewhere. Each event had to be blamed on someone. The person blamed had to be on the street. They couldn’t imagine that the events could be coming from an unseen force. Having someone to blame made them feel a little more in control.

Since we all can feel fear and act irrationally, do we all carry the monster within us?

Selling Art

Well, I've decided to try my hand at actually selling my art. I'm nervous and have this part of me that says...who would want to pay money for that.

I think it's just my blah attitude today. All part of the woman who can't do enough...can't keep the house clean...can't keep up with the work....don't make enough money...all that silly negativity....

Well, I'm just going to ignore those voices in my head and go ahead and do it. I like my art. My cousin likes my art. I'm going to make a living (or at least supplement my income) with my art. Here it goes.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/marypaliescheskey

Happy Yule

Ted and I were able to lead a quiet Yule Ritual. It went very well and we had candles for everyone to light on the actual solstice. I so enjoyed watching my candle burn knowing that the others in my group were burning theirs as well.

I love the Winter Solstice Singing Ritual at Orange Coast. Each year the voices of the women are amazing. I love the Kore chant. Just lovely. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7wS3SgXR7k It's not the Orange Coast Solstice Singers, but I love the song.

Happy Yule, Merry Christmas, and Have a Happy New Year!