The Confabulator Cafe

Tag: fiction

  • Return to Straeon Manor (Week Ending Dec. 22)

    Straeon Manor at the Confabulator CafeIt’s confabulating time at the Cafe. And this month, we have a real treat. We’re returning to Straeon Manor.

    Straeon Manor is a different sort of house. And the people who live there experience strange and unusual things.

    Every story is set in a different room and a different year in the history of the house. In our first round of stories, our writers gave us tales of murder, mystery, and the supernatural.

    Now it’s Christmastime at Straeon Manor. Many of the stories in this second round are set around the holidays. Some are likely to be stories of family, others of loss. Regardless, we hope you enjoy each of these gifts from the Confabulator Cafe.

    Until Next Week,

    The Cafe Management

  • This is not “A Finished Product.”

    One time I was talking to a painter and as I watched him work I asked “When do you know it’s finished?” He laughed and laughed and never gave me an answer. I don’t really understand what the problem was with that question, but maybe it’s similar to my experience writing.

    I write on a piece until I’m done with it, then I set it aside and it becomes “A Finished Product.” I will always talk about “A Finished Product” differently than I talk about writing because they are separate things to me. I always feel good about the act of writing, but I never need to feel good about “A Finished Product.” The finished product for me is separate from the experience of creation. So when I talk about writing for this essay, I will be talking about the verb not the noun. I will be discussing the process of creation, not my finished products.

    One of my strengths as a writer is being able to instantly get in touch with my creative source. I just write and write and it comes out like water comes out of a faucet. I guess another way to say this is to state that I am never at a loss for inspiration. Of course, this does not mean that I create an infinite number of finished products. Most of this writing that occurs will never be part of a finished product.

    And that’s ok. I do enjoy this part of writing. I like that I have something that brings me fulfillment and joy that does not cost any money. I like that I can create something that wasn’t in existence before. Having something that I practice every day and get better at over time makes me feel like I am doing something meaningful with my short time on Earth.

    Another strength I have as a writer is creating a two way street for discussion of ideas. I don’t want to preach to an audience. I think asking questions and planting seeds that will grow in the reader is a much more interesting thing for me to do with writing.

    I am better at “What if?” than at stating a thesis and backing it up with evidence, etc. My strong suit, in a word, is fiction. I enjoy writing fiction very much because I practice watching things. Then when it’s time for me to write, I write about what I’ve seen and heard. These things that I’ve seen and heard and want to write about are usually true but unspoken. When I do this correctly it has the effect of perking up a sense of recognition in the reader. Something they had noticed too, but never put into words.

    This is when I feel good about “The Finished Product.”

  • Who’s Your Favorite Fictional Character?

    The Cafe is full of creatures and people of all sorts, populated by the Confabulators’ imaginations. We do our level best to bring each of them in, fully formed, to enjoy the ambiance of the Cafe.

    This week, after asking several questions about vampires and fantasy novels and such, we’re going to pin our contributors down and ask them, specifically: who is your favorite fictional character? The answers, given our penchant for wild invention, may surprise some us.

     Jack Campbell, Jr.

    I love Grendel, from John Gardner’s Grendel. He is such a complex, unnerving character. As a reader you bounce back and forth between sympathy and hate. He is utterly human in his lack of humanity. Gardner was genius in bringing to life Beowulf‘s monster in a way we have never seen before. I laughed. I loathed. I loved. It was spectacular.

    Sara Lundberg

    Characters become friends when I’m reading. Whatever book I’m reading at the time, my favorite character is from that book. There are a few that have stuck with me long after finishing a book, though, and the one that demands my favoritism is Jericho Barrons from Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series. Just the name itself gives me goosebumps. This is a man who is older than dirt, knows everything, goes after what he wants, isn’t ashamed of what he is, and has more honor than any knight. Plus he’s sexy as hell, to boot.

    Jason Arnett

    I’m a comic book guy, you all know that by now. I’ve never been a huge Batman fan because, well, in order to be Batman you have to be extraordinarily wealthy. Yes, he’s a normal guy who trains like a demon and is, in fact, a supreme bastard. Out of the three things I’ve listed, the only one I have going for me is the bastard thing. I’m more a Superman fan because, well, he’s an adopted Kansan and he and I share some important values. I understand him as an outsider just trying to fit in, trying to do good where he can. As Clark Kent, he has a job and friends. I have a job and friends, too, and I fell in love with a co-worker the way he did. My wife doesn’t get into the same jams that Lois Lane does, but it’s similar. Superman is an ideal of goodness. That’s more my speed.

    Ted Boone

    Wow, tough one. I like a mercenary in the Thieves’ World anthology named Tempus Thales. He’s cursed by a wizard to live forever, be scorned by anyone he loves, and anyone who loves him dies horribly. Such a perfect tragic figure.

    Angela Kordahl

    Anne Shirley still qualifies as my all time favorite fictional character.  She’s bold, talks a lot, and doesn’t let her awkwardness prevent her from leading a full, vibrant life.  She is a writer and a teacher and a mom, and despite the fact that she was created over almost a century ago still provides a model for strong, loving women everywhere.  She manages to imbue her fairly ordinary life with meaning, and I love her for it!

    Kevin Wohler

    My favorite fictional character is Superman. I could (and often do) go on at length why he is such a great character. But it comes down to this: Worldwide, Superman is a recognized symbol of hope and humanity. He is a non-religious example of what people should strive to be: always helping others, doing the right thing, and inspiring the best in others.