What lovely clothes the evil queen has

One of my favourite TV shows at the moment is Once Upon A Time. I have always loved fairy tales and this show has dusted them off and cleverly repackaged them. One of the things I enjoy most about watching this show is the wonderful outfits the evil queen wears.

Laura of Lucky Books (Romania) asked me during a recent interview what I’d change in today’s world if I had the power. I answered...the clothes. Modern clothing is dull. Yet, when I watch the scenes flick between the past and the present in Once Upon A Time one thing stands out. Modern clothes are also way more functional. Just thinking about a trip to the toilet wearing a floor length gown and all those under garments is frightening.

Fashion changed dramatically in the 1920s, when the Depression put an abrupt halt to opulence. Fashion never recovered after the war, though Goth shops such as Mame Clothing (Australia) offer the daring consumer the option to dress like the evil queen. For lovers of medieval fantasy, there are shops such The Dark Angel (United States) which feature beautiful gowns. And thre is also a UK based The Dark Angel which has fairy tale range of clothing, including pirate outfits.

Disadvantages of clothing in ye olde times:

* it took a maid or two to dress you

* you had a million garments on and often fainted in hot weather
* you could hardly breathe while wearing a corset
* you never washed your dresses because they were no washing machines
* you had to wait weeks for a seamstress to measure you and make the outfit
* the dresses weighed half a ton so walking any distance was impossible

Advantages:

* you got to wear lace, velvet, fitted gloves, lace up shoes, frills, ride in horse drawn carriages, walk with parasols.

Inspirational ideas for writing

I'm often asked where I get my inspiration from for writing my novels. One source is newspapers.

I recently picked up a stack of old newspapers to use in the gardend for mulching, however, before I dispose of the newspapers I will hungrily devour every headline to find ones that excites and inspire me.

As a writer, I often see a headline which can spark an idea. Then I fan this idea until it becomes my story.

Here are some examples of news stories that could spark ideas which could be spun and twisted into novel plots.

Hitman' SMS causes panic across Australia. Message tells Aussies they will die if they do not pay $5k.

Teens panic as thick fog fills Hollywood club. Teens inside a Hollywood club began screaming and panicking when a fog machine malfunctioned at the weekend.

Report details claims of doctors' killings. A report into Queensland's medical complaints process has turned up allegations of deliberate killings by doctors and attempts to cover them up.

A pack of hyenas killed two children and injured six other members of a family when the beasts attacked in the middle of the night.

One way to turn current event stories into fictional plots is to mash the stories up. 

Patrons in a nightclub receive text messages telling them they are going to die before the night if over.

Now the writer asks themselves, who wants everyone dead and why?

Another way  to turn a news headline into a story plot is to change the genre or age group or even the subject.

A report into Queensland's computer software complaints process has turned up allegations of deliberate hackings by teenagers and attempts to cover them up.

Every writer receives their spark of inspiration in a different way. To some writers, any or all of the above may trigger another round of thoughts. But the common theme amongst all of these story ideas is why?

When you brainstorm over why any of these events happen, you have the basis of a story.

Ways in which a person may become a vampire

We all know what a vampire is. But how does a person become a vampire?

 

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Transformation can take place during different stage of a person's life. During birth, life, and death.

 

During birth, ways include:

being born at a certain time of the year  - a new moon on a holy day is a winner

being born with teeth or an extra nipple

beng born the seventh son of the seventh son

if a vampire stares at a pregnant woman

if the mother doesn't eat enough salt during the pregnancy

 

During life, ways include:

  

practicing sorcery or withcraft

eating a sheep killed by a vampire

developing a taste for human blood for no good reason

living an immoral life

commiting suicide

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During death, ways include:

 dying at the hands of a vampire

a shadow falls on the corpse

a candle is passed over the corpse

a cat jumps over the corpse

being violently killed

dying from drowning

being buried face up in a grave, but only in certain parts of Romania is this a problem

not being buried properly or not having the rites adminstered properly

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net