Prompt of the Week: Coming Home
September 8th 2010 12:13
It's funny 'cause
the one time I felt most like I'd come home
was in a place where I'd never been.
I remember flying into Scotland,
level with a thousand gray clouds;
but it was sunny by the time we reached our destination.
I remember walking from our bed and breakfast
out onto the village's dock
and having my breath taken away
by earth and sea and sky.
I remember going to the graveyard
where every name ended with Gunn
and knowing that this was my family
that I was a woman with a history.
I remember the call of the sea
drawing me always to the cliffs
to walk along the border between earth and sea and sky
my family's home.
I remember coming home
and wishing I never had to leave
comfortable in the land of my ancestry.
When I walked along the cliffs of Scotland
I felt like I had come home
and though I did return to Toronto,
someday I really will go home.
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Comment by RedParrot
Post in usual spot
It fascinates me that you have celtic roots. So do I. So does Elgin. I had decided that a couple weeks ago and had picked out his home. Funny how things work.
I quite relish my Scottish roots (one side) and Irish roots (on the other). It is wonderful to look at a culture from the outside/inside and see yourself in something that has been around since the mists of time.
Also - related to your revisions to the website - I am thrilled beyond words. I will do my best to keep up the side. : )
In other news, I wrote to the workshopper.
cheers!
RP
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
That's a very touching piece. With every week's story I draw closer to Elgin and I like him more and more upon examination. I haven't read your screenplay but I know I would watch a movie about Elgin-or read a book about him.
My celtic roots, which have given me the gift of the Gunn name-among other things-are very strong in me. When my dad was sick with cancer, my family raised the money for him to see our ancestral lands; it was his dying wish. Above you see the graveyard surrounding the Gunn heritage museum. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, and it's always calling me back.
In my ancestral land I felt connected to something much deeper-the land itself. Though I feel the connection in Canada sometimes, and I do believe I am part native, the connection has never been as strong as it was in Scotland. That place is my history, the green cliffs and the blue sea; and it calls to me all the time. I'd love to stay there for a few months and write a book. It would be a life changing experience.
Have you ever seen either of your ancestral lands?
I'm glad that you're looking forward to it. I really do need to reconsider my writing commitments and put more time into it. Fictional Worlds is part of my passion and I really love working with other writers. My writing in all areas has been sorely neglected this summer and it's time to get back on track.
I hope you hear back from the workshopper soon. I'm kind of excited for you
~Dianna
Comment by RedParrot
A random thought I had about Elgin - prose v screenplay. I like prose better because it allows for a certain ... uh ... selective and revisionist view of events. I like it when two characters tell different versions of the same thing. In a screenplay, the viewer is the judge and - because it plays out in front of them - there is a certain distance and absoluteness to the event.
For the record, the Elgin Screenplay is epicly and hilariously bad. I think the characters are "right" but the plot is hysterically wrong. In some ways, I *love* Elgin's screenplay Voice Over ... ah ... voice. He is profane and intolerant and opinionated. I might have lost some of that in the prose ... not entirely sure why.
I have been to Scotland and Ireland. Loved them both deeply. I remember walking through the gates of Edinburgh Castle and thinking ... hell yeah! it is one of my favourite places on the planet. I think it is projected ethos ... One of my most prized possessions is my proper Scottish kilt (from Scotland) of my family's tartan.
It occurred to me on the way to work this morning I had created a Scottish Vampire. I then proceeded to say Elgin things w a Scottish accent which I don't recommend. It is quite amusing but Elgin does *not* approve.
I have to tell you ... what you are doing with this website is what I always wanted but could never find. It is a *reason* to write and some inspiration and Things To Do ... and a place to talk about it. It is not my job but seriously ... I love to write.
I will keep you posted on the workshopper. Of course, when one takes a perceived RISK, the resulting crickets can be so unnerving.
: )
Cheers!
RP
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
Though I attempted Screnzy, I didn't make it either year; the screenplay is not my format. There is a depth of character much more easily achieved with prose partially because it is a character who narrates.
I think perhaps Elgin, while cold and sometimes rude, was not meant to be as you had originally envisioned him. Throughout your first work with him he played your game, but he took control of the flash fiction and showed his true nature. Sometimes you don't really know a character until quite a few stories or chapters or even entire novels later.
I would love to see Ireland. Scotland most certainly did speak to my soul, and I'm sure Ireland would do much the same-after all, they are very closely related. I've always identified with and gotten along well with Irish and Scottish people. In fact, my favourite teacher of all time, the history teacher at my school, is Irish. I'm taking Irish history with him right now and it's already fascinating. We started with a brief lesson about the Irish language. We won't be studying it, but he just showed some of its unusual traits-it's an incredibly unique language.
Literature needs more Scottish vampires...
I'm really glad that you like Fictional Worlds and what I'm trying to do with the site. I hope that others will join in the conversation, because variety is the spice of life and a writer can never have too many writer friends, but that will come with time. The conversations with you on the site are definitely deeper than those I've had with other writers here.
Crickets can be frustrating; I've dealt with it a few times, but never with anything like a novel. Not yet. I plan to start sending out novels the moment I turn eighteen, but I've got lots to do between now and then to get ready for that moment.
~Dianna