What Flames Are in the Night
By Catherine Raupe
I spent quite some time thinking about the prompt for my last object, mostly on where I am currently in time and place. Thinking of where I am in this moment I think about my story.
As I reflect on this and without dismissing all that is happening around us COVID, vaccines, finals etc., I have to acknowledge that I am comfortably basking in the creation of a short story. This story has floated through my mind for quite a few weeks, and I am using it for my creative writing class. The collage represents the aspects of the story and processes that have consumed my mind. As the story develops my mind is totally consumed to the extent that I rush other things so I can get back to my story. Some might say this is escapism but not for me; for me this story swirling in my head is all me, it animates me, excites me, satisfies me.
It is a magical, 1800s, mysterious short story. I sketched out what I envision the Fire Sprites to look like. I describe them as hauntingly beautiful in my story. They are something that you want to look away from, but at the same time you are entirely fascinated by them. I imagine the Castle in the story to look like Clontarf Castle in Dublin, Ireland. That is where the inspiration for my story came from. I was in Ireland a few summers ago and we were staying in Clontarf Castle. Near the parking lot there was a tree with what looked to be a mouth in it. Next to the tree was a statue of a lion. On both sides of the door there were two more statues of lions. I have always had a love for stories that focus on castles and mystical lands and I knew instantly that I wanted to create my own story that had a magical tree with a mouth and statues of lions.
I sat down at my desk with my laptop, notebook, and cup of tea. The brainstorming and outlining process is always a difficult one for me. I want to jump straight into the writing and do as little preparation before as I possibly can. I believe it’s because I have too many ideas in my head to get down onto paper that I dislike the planning process. I jotted down a few basic notes on paper,
- Clontarf Castle
- There’s a tree with a mouth in it
- The town is burned down. From what?
- It was the princess’s fault because she has powers, but nobody knows that.
It was off of these four notes that my story began. When I sat down to write the story, I began by describing the castle and town in its former glory. Then the story went in an entirely new direction. Often times this is what happens when I write. I have a basic idea of what I want the story to be and then that idea completely changes, and new twists and turns are added in. My inspiration for this story started from Clontarf Castle and the idea of a princess with the ability to control fire. It then changed to a burned down village and mythical creatures living in the forest, a mysterious light in a window, and an unknown character at the end.
The characters in my stories have always lived in my mind. I don’t look for inspiration for characters from people I know in real life. The characters have always been a part of me, they have simply been waiting for when I need them. The characters Amelia and Edwin are characters I had been wanting to use for a while, but I needed a story for them. When the story began to form in my head, I knew they would be the perfect characters for it.
My writing process tends to be messy and unorganized, a stark contrast to how I normally am. I feel however, that this is how the writing process naturally is. Elements of the story change drastically, characters are abandoned, whole pages are rewritten. I planned for Amelia to have powers, instead I created a mythical creature. I planned for the mysterious character at the end to be revealed, instead I kept it hidden. Creating the collage for this assignment has been very helpful. Seeing aspects of the story drawn out in-front of me makes it easier to then describe them in the story. I truly feel I am very lucky that my mind can willfully imagine things such as my story. It is relaxing and exciting and not escapism, just all me where I am at in the moment.
Excerpt from What Flames Are in the Night:
“I have a feeling you are perfectly capable of protecting yourself,” he responded, a slight grin appearing on his usually stoic face. He was right. The bow in my hand and quiver on my back were evidence of that. The walk through the forest was peaceful. No creatures or animals or other people. Soon we would return to the camp, full of people from the town that once lived. Something caught the corner of my eye, a blur. We both stopped; he drew his sword as I knocked an arrow into my bow. It was circling us, finding out who was weaker.It stopped in front of me. It was hauntingly beautiful. It darted around in front of me, its wings creating a buzzing sound, like a hummingbird. It held itself with an elegance I could only strive for. Its hair floated around, licking the sky. It almost seemed like its hair was alive. It flickered and fluttered around like a fire. Its face was thin, its cheekbones protruding. Its eyes were a solid black, only a small hint of white in them. It was one of the monsters from the tales. Edwin moved from behind me, but I motioned for him to stop. This monster was not here to attack us. It stalked backward, disappearing into the trees.
“What was that?” Edwin asked as he moved next to me.
“A Fire Sprite,” I replied.