Another day of my brain not quite engaging. There is something physical going on, not sure what it is. The book makes crawling progress and I want it done already.
More tomorrow, including a rather long post (I mean REALLY long) percolating.
Hopefully the cats let me sleep tonight, instead of having cat fights over who gets to sleep on my legs.
Meanwhile, I have homework for you kids. Tell me what you think of “mashups”. A) what they are. B) what appeals about them and how lasting their appeal.
Most people seem to think that my musketeers/vampires book is a mashup, but I never thought of it that way – no more than the mysteries. Perhaps they are an elaborate, professionally written form of fan fic. I stole the setting and the characters (well, more or less the characters. Dumas never delineated them very deeply. Not that this is a criticism, but it was a picaresque adventure and a different time) but the situation, the development and the plot have very little to do with the Three Musketeers other than occasional nods to it. It’s more of a – what would the Three Musketeers be like in a world taken over by vampires. I certainly don’t use any of the original text.
I know Pride and Prejudice and Zombies did very well, and the idea was interesting and cute, but it seemed rather a bit of a “one trick pony.” Like knock knock jokes, it seemed like something that would be fun once. I can see – sort of – a future for what I tried to do with the musketeers, because it’s more like altered art from found objects… which, in itself is an idea as old as time. Much of the work of Greek playwrights — some of it excellent — was improving on, elaborating on altering or expanding the works of Homer.
But strict mashups… I’m not sure about.
Perhaps I’ll have a clearer idea when I’ve read Sense, Sensibility and Sea Monsters, but in the interim, what do you guys/gals think?
According To Hoyt 
Sarah,
Speak to your doctor about your difficulties focusing. Maybe use a blood sugar monitor for a few days. What you are describing sounds a little like my reaction to high blood sugar. Of course I could easily be miles off base.
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“Mashups”
I’ve never heard the term but it seems perfect for the collision of myth, legend or old literature “Fixed points” with modern life in a new write up.
Or maybe modern life is just one sort of collision. The addition of vampires to the Three Musketeers is certainly a crash of stupendous magnitude. Sort of like the old wedding jingle. “Something old and something new, something borrowed and something blue.”
But please, I much prefer the risque meaning of blue, over the depressed meaning.
I’ve mentioned before disliking the rewites of the Arturian legend. I think that’s because to be true to the legend, you have to leave all the bad stuff in. It always has to end the same way. As the Doctor would say “A fixed ponit in time and space.”
Other “well known characters and situations”, your Musketeers, for instance, are much more open ended, much less constrained in what you can do with them. But the mysteries, because you are very true to the time, probably don’t count as a mashup. Add vampires, and you’ve got mashup.
How do I feel about them? Umm, hard to say. Some of the Robin Hoods are good. I caught two of the recent “Sherlock” BBC TV series, thought they were excellent, very true to the characters.
Like everything else, do it well and it’s good, do it bad and we’ll trash the whole genre . . .
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Sanford, the times I’ve taken my blood sugar, it’s been normal-to-low. And yes, some of it since this started. Considering the diet I’m following which is “almost no carbs” it’s almost impossible for it to be high. When my sugar is high (i.e. low but higher than normal) my eczema breaks out so I have a pretty good monitor.
I’m wondering if it’s hormonal, since I just turned 48, or if there’s some underlying illness. It will have to be dealt with, but I’d like to turn in this book, first.
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Pam, this is part of my bewilderment — what puzzles me is that what I consider “mashup” is Pride, Prejudice and Zombies where the initial text is kept, and bits added. Or whatever the one was with the Bronte sisters. Mine is more on the order of “art with found objects” I think. using someone else’s seminal characters (eh!) gives you a free boost you can work on. That’s all I was doing.
Perhaps I’m wrong?
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Sarah, Sarah…
You have to remember that you’re dealing with people who don’t recognize the “art with found objects” concept – or even the “literary fanfic” concept. If it uses well known public domain characters and brings in fantasy or horror, it must be a mashup.
Always keep my husband’s first rule in mind: “people are stupid”. It saves a lot of angst.
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Oh, and I forgot to mention why I think these things work.
It’s because we like those particular characters, and want more. Just because their creator died a few centuries ago is no excuse. Some one needs to write them into more stories. But they must do a good job. No personality transplants, keeping only the name.
Googling claims that Mashups are mixtures of two songs or tewo or more computer applications. All the stuff we’ve referenced as writing mashups are old stuff with new stuff written to fit it. Not two already written storys smashed together. Although that’s close to one of my writing techniques, take two [of my own] stories and _make_ them fit.
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