LA Story

First of all, to remind my fellow Wiscon readers that I will continue to watch in February for reading sign up, but we all have to sign up separately as part of our group.

Next, here's this week's installment of ribald Victorianism.

***

I promised a piece on Magical Realism and LA Story. Without further adieu...

I watched LA story when it came out in 1991. My reaction was a classic meh. I understood it a parody level, but I had yet to undergo my awakening as a magical realist. The things that happen to you as you get older...

I caught the last half of it on television very recently, and I was amazed at the simple uses of the every day as fantasy. The exaggerated extensions of LA life I appreciated the first time around, such as open season on the LA freeway, and the unavailable restaurant, but this time I was captivated by parking sign as savior, which is planted all the way through the film, from the first time our hero sees another man pulled over, bowed almost in prayer in front of one of the signs.

The kernel of magic that occurs in the movie is very credible. That certain things in life matter, that if you are in love, you can stop engines, make fog roll in, cause the forces of nature to give you a second chance. That there are forces in the universe that want you to succeed, to love, and to be loved, and counsel you in that direction.

To me, the extraordinary in the ordinary is what makes writing tick. That's what I want to capture, and I gotta keep working toward that. I remember reading Little Women. Jo wrote adventure stories full of pirates and swooning heroes, but at a certain point her professor suggests she write about the ordinary. It is the best thing he could have said, as she integrates her love of the fantastic into the world around her. What is more magical than love and how humans love each other?

Steve Martin understands this in LA Story. The movie has the trappings of a farce, a parody, but underneath, if you look closely, you will find a mythic love story.

It goes without saying that I'm putting this on my favorites list, and I hope you will revisit it.

Herm... I didn't write last night. I taught a seminar about English Language Acquisition for new instructors, and I went home to check student revisions. My life is REALLY glamorous sometimes. I am going to go in search of hot beverages, and then I am coming back to try to get things right with Grape Mo, after I look at another student rough draft.

Catherine

Originally published at Writer Tamago. You can comment here or there.

Good Progress

Hmm. I think I may need to revise my GrapeMo goal. I had a very productive afternoon plotting my novel. I think this one is going to be a beach comber--instead of words flowing, I'm going to have to rake the sand several times and find the shells.

At any rate, I feel a little more comfortable. I've been having depression issues because of this and that, and this feels like the first writing thing that fits in a while. I guess I'll let the novel direct me, rather than try to direct the novel.

How about you? Do your creative processes do what you say, or do you do what they say?

Catherine

Originally published at Writer Tamago. You can comment here or there.