In Glorious HD

[katiefoolery]

Indeed I am coming to you in glorious HD this week.  This is in complete defiance of the fact that my camera only records in SD.  However, YouTube insists it's HD, so I guess that's good enough for us.  Although it's entirely up to you whether you choose the HD option or just stick with ordinary plain quality.  I won't be offended either way, I swear.

Something occurred to me over the weekend: there's one particular location that appeals to me above all others.  I've read books purely because they were set in said location.  Can't resist them.  They very rarely live up to my expectations, though, mostly because they're raised so high.  Find out (slightly) more in this week's video:

But what about everyone else?  Is there a setting you can't resist?  A location you've always wanted to work into a story somehow?  I'd love to know all about them.

Comments

[arctic-firefox.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, you're asking ME about locations? :)

I should start by saying "nice haircut" (no, really!) and complimenting your cat on being a hilarious guest star! I'm afraid it may have distracted me from some of your thoughtful comments! :D

Have you read any H.P. Lovecraft? I haven't read much (should get around to that soon), but if the card game based on his stories is anything to go by, there are asylums ... mainly because characters tend to go insane in his stories on a regular basis. But when you're an ordinary person facing unspeakably evil monsters from other dimensions, I guess that's fair enough.

I think I'm most interested in locations which are a mix of "real world" and fictional places, especially if the writer returns to this world in multiple stories. Thomas Hardy's "Wessex" (most of southern England), William Faulkner's "Yoknapatawpha County" (north-west Mississippi) and H.P. Lovecraft's "Arkham County" (most of Massachusetts) are three examples. The writers use an actual place, but change the names of towns and create a sense of "world within a world" unity. Having main characters from one story occasionally making cameo appearances in other tales is one way to get my attention, and revisiting locations makes me want to cheer. Best example so far was when Thomas Hardy briefly revisited The Quiet Woman Inn (a key location in his 1878 novel "The Return of the Native") in the short story "The Fiddler of the Reels" (1893). The narrator made an off-hand reference to the timeframe being many years after "The Return of the Native" - the inn was no longer open. I didn't need any further detail; my imagination could easily fill in the gaps.

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :) And yes, my cat does that. The minute the camera comes out, she'll be there, waiting to steal scenes.

I haven't read any Lovecraft, although now that I know there are asylums in it, this may change. :D (I've seen one or two films that were loosely based on the books, though.)

Those are some interesting locations and concepts you've listed, especially the way the writers use the locations. It's a great way of linking stories together.

[crazedturkey.livejournal.com]

I like your hair! It's so pretty! Did you dye it too?

Hospitals always seem to end up in my writing. Which is weird because I don't love them. But write what you know I guess.

*uses appropriate family guy icon*

[crazedturkey.livejournal.com]

Also unscrupulous doctors huh?

Bite me skankho.

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Of course! Victorian-era lunatic asylums are full of them. :D

Where would you like to be bitten?

[crazedturkey.livejournal.com]

What've you got?

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

I liked it... and then I didn't. It got too boofy and curly-uppy. I much prefer it when it's straighter. But no, I didn't dye it. It usually goes a little reddish in Winter plus the cut revealed the layers that haven't been exposed to sunlight and which are a little darker. I just have multi-coloured hair. :D

You always make your hospitals into intriguing settings. And you have that additional level of knowledge that makes them feel more real than they would be if a non-medical person had written them.

*approves of the icon choice*

[crazedturkey.livejournal.com]

Well I like it :P. You'll get used to it I'm sure!

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

I think it was mostly that I wanted my long hair back, even though I got it cut so I could grow it out again. Now that it's less boofy, I'm happier with it. :D

[saltedpin.livejournal.com]

Berlin is my favourite place in the world -- I wish I could write a story that did it justice :)

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Maybe you will one day. Some of the best stories are set in places that were clearly adored by the writer. :D