Writing and Reading

I can be honest, folks. I certainly don’t know all there is to know about the literary world. I most definitely am not a literature fanatic (except for certain genres like fantasy, science fiction, horror and thrillers, I suppose). Let’s face it, I’m a good ol’ B.A. in Creative Writing. That’s my thing–writing. Not literature. Although I love it just the same!

Needless to say, I was a tad intimidated when facing the new frontiers of the literary landscape the more involved I became in writing and the literary agent world and twittering with blogging editors, agents and fellow writers–most notably with the sub-genre–

STEAMPUNK

I can only scratch my head in wonder. What the hell is ’steampunk’? How many freakin’ genres/sub-genres are there?? Possibly hundreds. Seriously. It’s insane!

I have been wanting to dedicate a post on this genre for some time now, because I keep seeing it around the corners and alleys of the literary brothel of sweet styles. I got tempted. I wanted to…exploooooooooore.

SNAP OUT OF IT! Resist, resist…. I am better than the flesh. Yes, I am one with the universe.

Okay, better. Anyway. So, steampunk. So I did my research. And needless to say, I was pleasantly intrigued, surprised, bewildered, curious. I came across a more familiar sub-genre that I had heard of–cyberpunk. Images sprung in my head when I heard that word. The film “The Matrix” came to mind with ease. But to know that steampunk was a ‘variant’ of that genre stunned me with a sort of pleasant brain climax of sorts. I’m shivering all over. Really.

To know that our lovable H.G. Wells practically pioneered the sub-genre of steampunk brought me back to the days of yore when whimsy and fantasy actually had a sort of mechanics to it. I’m talking THE TIME MACHINE here. Pure classic. Knights were more like doctors in steampunk. Instead of steeds, they rode jalopies. Rather than big blades, they carried around big fountain pens. Kings were actually mayors of a beautiful Victorian-era town. Steampunk wasn’t your typical ‘fantasy setting’.

And yet, that same jalopy-riding doctor with the funny little beard and tiny spectacles walks into his office and is greeted by talking gargoyles sitting on his desk because the doctor had bewitched them with a spell he learned from Merlin himself back in medieval times where he took his steam-powered time machine to expand in knowledge and wisdom.

You got to admit: steampunk is interesting! What plots, what stories–utter whimsy, that’s what it is. Utter whimsy.

That is how it all began, according to my research: typically, steampunk fiction was set in Victorian time periods when steam technology was still used (hence the name: steampunk), and yet elements of fantasy and even science fiction were simply injected into the setting. How interesting. Dear, Watson. Yes, Holmes.

As I pondered the subgenre more and more, I realized that one of my favorite films mirrored the concept perfectly. Here’s the trailer….

Now look at me straight in the face and tell me that trailer absolutely made NO SENSE to you.

Thank you.

That’s the beauty of it! It transcends all standard logical formulas of several genres–be it fantasy or science fiction or historical fiction or blah blah blah. Plus of course that’s Terry Gillian we’re talking about, one of the Monty Pythons. Where else do you see a horse drop several stories and not break its hooves? Or how many times can you jump into a volcano and end up on the other side of the world in the middle of the ocean? Oh, plenty of times! Yeah! Well, at least according to Gillian. To Gillian, the world is like origami.

I was enamored with the film. And the funny thing is–that’s what steampunk embodies. Steampunk has its roots in literature, championed by such writers as Mark Twain, Mary Shelley, Jules Verne (JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, baby!). Who knew that a genre by the name of ’steampunk’ carried the names of classics?

The science fiction author, K.W. Jeter, coined the term. Being that ‘cyberpunk’ represented a sort of ‘lowlife, high-technology’ setting (think hackers and cybernetic street gangs and things like that), ’steampunk’ took that same ‘lowlife’ concept and simply removed the high technology, replacing it with a throwback to Victorian times, more historical times. The idea presented a sort of whimsy. A utopia, if you will. Where the concept of progress didn’t seem to be crucial for the sake of humanity. No need for ‘progress’–not when a man can create a time machine with a few wires, buttons and some steam. How cool!

Seriously, THE TIME MACHINE became the essence of believing that anything could be possible RIGHT NOW. Not BACK THEN. Dragons can exist NOW. Forget medieval times. Let’s think in the NOW. How cool would that be? To have a dragon in the middle of my room right now in Grand Rapids, Michigan?

Dear readers, it just takes me back. Honestly, I would love to explore writing steampunk fiction. Just to see how much my brain muscles flex. Stretch my imagination. That’s steampunk for you. It’s real fantasy. It’s a fantastic reality. It’s speculative truth.

Now all I got to do is find Bastian and THE NEVERENDING STORY. I want a dragon in my own room. He’s got one.

I LOVE YOU, FALCOR!

Dear God, people, I’m being tough, aren’t I? Not one–not one–guess, save one brave soul, who unfortunately guessed wrong on my last grammar riddle. I’m being too tough.

Well, too bad. That’s how I roll, babies.

I’ll give you the answer, since I’m so gracious, to the last grammar riddle. It’s simple. The answer is….

ALLITERATION

Gotta love that one. Okay. So here’s the next installment. It’s a good one. You’ll like it. Remember the rules. The answer is in the form of a literary device of some kind, something a writer uses within writing–be it ’stanza’ or ‘euphemism’ or anything like that. You get the idea. You have to guess based on the riddle. Ready? Three, two, one….

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So there’s a magazine called Know that now knows about another magazine called Now. Now knows about Know, too. And now that Now knows about Know, Now knows that Know knows what angle to take in the next issue; hence Now now can take a similar angle, knowing what Know knows now. So tell me, now that you know all that you know about Now and Know, what kind of subject matter do these two consumer magazines focus on?

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The clock is ticking….

(tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock)