Almost Had a Third Go at It (Also: 'Flow'!)

Firstly, I nearly trunked Compline and started over with a third attempt, but I managed to carry on with what I have and make it work. By and large. There's a problematic chapter I think I'll have to overhaul completely for the plot to work, and so far, it's making sense only by the skin of its teeth. 

That said, I'm now over 30% done, and it's turning into a much bigger challenge to write this book than first expected. Re-imagining a fairy tale is much more difficult than people might think. I'm taking what's essentially a short and simple story that's only a few paragraphs long, breaking it apart and reducing it to its most basic and essential elements (the piper, the rats, the children, and the adults), and weaving my own take on the story and its themes. 

It was less problematic re-imagining "Bluebeard", let me tell you, and I might complain and snarl and conk my head on the keyboard, but I don't like giving up on it. And I'm glad I didn't give in to the temptation to start over. 

Incidentally, the original plot I had for this book involved a gothic boarding school, and now I'm taking that idea and tweaking it to see if I can still use it for a future book. I'm not holding my breath, but it's good to keep it in the back of my mind just in case. 

And speaking of story ideas for future books, I just had a bonkers possibility for another dive back into the Nightshade universe, but it'll still need a lot of mental work before I can consider it a possibility. It's an idea that'll be great as another dark comedy, though, which I'm always game for.

Secondly, I finally watched Flow, which I love to pieces. I didn't expect to cry not once, but twice, at a couple of scenes that were just devastating yet beautifully rendered. The animation, period, is stunning and the story even more so in its simplicity. It's visual poetry that's deceptively straightforward in some ways, particularly in that scene with the secretary bird and the cat on the top of the rock formation. That was the first scene that got me bawling because I interpreted it a certain way, and it made so much sense though I wasn't ready for it. Not going to spoil things for everyone who hasn't seen it yet. 

And I'm glad to see a small, modest film -- the quintessential scrappy underdog -- face down titans like Disney and Pixar and Dreamworks and come out of it with an award. I love seeing art that's so different from what's been put out by Hollywood get recognized and rewarded. There are so many unacknowledged films and books and songs that are superior in quality to many of the more popular fare but suffer from the absence of a marketing budget or the help of word-of-mouth advertising. It's such a welcome change when something like Flow rises on its own merits and reminds people like me that, yeah, good art is still being made. It's just up to us to make sure it never stops.