  Fantasy
This week: Further Animal Oddities . . . Edited by: Shaara  
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As one of your Fantasy editors, my goal is to challenge you to think outside the KNOWN and to help you inject your tales with fascinating facts while jagging left and right through troublesome frolics and teethe-writhing dilemmas.
Perhaps we can help each other to safely jog through these twisty turns of radical thought, alternate viewpoint, and dynamic detail. Come! Let's head down the Path of Dimensions, untextured by any earthly array.
In other words,
let's drop out of reality for awhile.
Shall we?
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Further Animal Oddities for Imaginative Sci/fi and Fantasy Writers
I love to read science magazines, not only because they keep me informed about the progress of science towards etching lines of futuristic options, but because reading them delightfully tickles my creativity.
Some of you may remember that I've been delving into an examination of various Earth animals as the basis for such writings. Today I'd like to add several more juicy ideas that can fatten your imagination and set you onto the path toward the weird, the provocative, and the stimulating possibilities inherent in catching a ride on the scientific train.
First on my list is the Brazilian free-tailed bat. These reddish (or black)-hued flying mammals have wide ears and large feet. Their fur is soft - velvety, in fact. Although many people cringe at the sight of these mainly cave-dwelling creatures, fearful that they might be fearsome, vampire-toothed, human-loving predators; the truth is that these (and most bats) bats dine only on insects. (Of course, those folks who are alarmed at their propensity for being carriers of rabies do have a valid fear, and bat poop truly does stink.)
However, with just a few insights into the bat life style, a creative writer can rapidly picture them as a horde of aliens dangling upside down in darkened caverns on some far-away world. Picture the fall of dusk. An smudgy, orange bulb casts its shadows across the distant purple-mottled hills. Twin moons paint themselves brighter as the night web darkens across the land. It is the time of the AWAKENING. Hundreds of claw-like fingers stretch. Do you hear the flapping of daintily clad, almost transparent wings, as the bat-like aliens ready themselves for departure? Observe the yawns of so many tiny mouths. Are their teeth as pointedly sharp as you imagined?
Truthfully, descriptors flow easily. One can almost smell the musky stench, the dry acidy harshness of the little rodent-like bodies. Do you hear the swift flap of their heavy wings as they depart from their daytime residence? Their eyes stare out from small wrinkled and ancient-looking faces as they peer downwards. With one huge massive sweep the creatures form a blanket of fuzz and wing as they soar out and up -- thousands heading toward your position. Do not blink. They are fast approaching . . .
But what does such an image have to do with this issue of Science News and of my promise to entice your imagination?
Picture this. According to the July 17, 2010 issue, Brazilian free-tailed bats have evolved a specialized body part, something that the article describes as "pale suspenders." These suspenders are in reality a strip of blood vessels that provide "thermal windows." Thus when the bats fly high into the chilled air of the night, their suspender blood vessels provide them with thermal heating.
If bats can do that, why not futuristic astronauts, aliens, magic-enhanced magicians, wizards with skills developed over hundreds of years of wizardry? How about everyday people who might have such vessels grafted into their skin so they can live on Pluto or in the Nordic regions of Earth - thereby no longer needing coats and sweaters?
And, of course such veined strips don't just add heat. They're perfect air conditioners - quite appropriate for desert living, for hotter worlds, for dealing with global warming.
Will the Brazilian free-tailed bats paint a picture that you can use for writing a science fiction or fantasy tale? Why not? Nature is full of patterns, full of ideas for us. We must only join the bats and swoop out and up into the skies of our imagination.
In the very same issue of Science News lies an article about skin patterns. Reading it provides insights about how and why butterflies and fish evolved such lovely and colorful designs. A team of scientists believes that some of the spots are formed where the veins of wings intersect. Other researchers, those working with a spotted fly, tell us that the marks appear wherever sensory organs are formed.
Studying fish patterns has led a separate group of researchers to suspect that pattern orientation directs body segment development. Imagine that - add spots, add arms and legs?
Further research may discover whether color patterns are connected to behavior. We already know that elaborate designs, such as those found on peacock feathers, can steal the eyes of a love-sick peahen. Could paler designs or less beautiful ones provide an instant doctor's test for the health and well-being of his patient?
A delay in pigmentation seems to flip fish stripes from horizontal to vertical. What if the arrival of humanity on an alien world distorted the body patterns of a race's newborns? What if the inconsistencies of such pattern development meant that sensory organs didn't form properly or that wings were reversed - leaving the alien children unable to fly?
To me this kind of thought-questioning provides a full-fruit spectrum of possibilities.
Does the witch with fourteen black moles have more power than the one with four moles? Does the alien with stripes have more abilities than a Dalmatian-spotted one? Is deep purple a reflection of wisdom or simply an elegant system of advanced corporal heat and air conditioning?
Or, if nothing more vivid and/or splotchy pricks your brain - how about envisioning that such a study of fish, insect, and tiger decorative coloring patterning may provide a whole portfolio for future generations of tattoo artists. (Question: Does a colorful tattoo fade more quickly on a healthy skin or on one with illnesses? Could tattoos someday be the new medical device for Earth doctors?)
But whatever you get out of this patchwork quilt of Earth patterns, I hope it helps you color your tales of fantasy and science fiction. May it design limbs of matching spots and alternating blueprints in simplified, complicated, lengthened and shortened hues of color. May it also provide a moment of reflection about what those patterns reveal -- whether it's in the kingdom of Magic or on a faraway world. For animal oddities can indeed incite our brains to frolic.
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Features Items for the
December 1st Fantasy Newsletter
Somehow this month, I got hooked on dragons. The following piece is about an ecological dragon. I think that's a marvelous idea. I loved the author's creativity.
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While I was searching for more leaves, I met my brother and his friends.
"Why do you bother with this green energy? There will always be more coal", he drawled.
"Coal supplies are getting low, coal is not sustainable. We need to think differently."
He rolled his big eyes, "What a waste of time."
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Since I judge the Writer's Cramp, I often get to choose the subject. I wanted to hear about a dragon's skin. Here's the first of the stories written about the subject. What a great fantasy!
It had gotten late and the fire had died down to warm glowing embers. Averil felt the blanket of sleep begin to descend. She added wood to the fire and curled up on the ground between the Silverwood log and the warmth of the fire. With one last look at the stars she drifted off to sleep. Bazar whinnied softly in the shadows. Averil smiled and wondered f she would dream tonight, it had been so long since she had dreamt...
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Have you ever wondered how to cure a dragon's skin to keep it from disappearing? The following is quite informative.
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The curing process is very time consuming, and takes a great deal of patience, but it is well worth it for such a fine and rare piece of material. First I must store it in a damp, dark, but not too wet place to stop the transformation process. After a period of four weeks the skin can be removed from this place, but only in absolute darkness!
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The following is a short poem that makes me sigh for the past. I am so afraid that future generations won't know that this is ingredients for creativity.
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he held his lungs in his heart
feeling the coarse recycled paper
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This is another poem that tells how to make good use of a dragon's skin.
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In time the bullies let him be,
Put all their effort back on me.
Oh how I wished that I could know
What Lou had done to make them go!
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Here is a tale in which the dragon comes to the rescue.Oh, and my favorite part is his lavender-scented breath!
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"Now my little one, you must take your leave." Blowing a gentle, warm kiss tinged with the scent of lavender, he watched Trenda leave.
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For a rather bittersweet tale of how a dragon's skin can be used against a dragon, read this one.
Jonathan swallowed roughly and nodded. It was time to enter the dragon's lair and attempt to kill the beast. The animal had been tormenting his village for the last seven years, coming out every few seasons to burn and destroy the meager huts the villagers managed to erect.
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The following is one of my children's tales about a dragon with a toothache.
{bitem: 732618}
"It's a dragon," the young knight stated firmly, drawing his sword.
At that moment, the princess came running into the chamber, her long silky auburn locks tumbling in waves and curls almost to the ground, her feet bare, her robe clutched closely in fear.
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Comments and Questions from the Nov. 3th Fantasy Newsletter
A.T.B: Shining☆Star (andrew1982) (ID #0)
His Comment:
"...how come no one ever asks me a question?"
Well, my dear, what's the airspeed of an unladen African swallow? (likely misquoted, but couldn't resist)
Seriously, though, would you attribute your fascination with sci-fi/fantasy and the myriad species and races found therein to some of the greats like Ray Bradbury or Douglass Adams?
What keeps your fire alive for what can so often be passed over as esoteric speculations? My favorite slam-critique that I've ever received was a professor's scolding my work as "helter-skelter pseudo-science." I have to admit, that stung, so what is your self-motivating technique to continue in a difficult arena of literature? Best, ~Drew
My reply:
12.2 feet per second according to http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_maximum_air_speed_velocity_of_an_unladen_s... However, if you want a full display of the math, go to: http://www.style.org/unladenswallow/
Or just leave it as it is in the Holy Grail http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2R3FvS4xr4
As to your other questions:
I attribute my fascination with science fiction to Andre Norton. When I discovered her books in the children's section of my library, I was seized by such a powerful grip of fascination, I've never yet recovered. She was the reason I begged my parents for an adult section pass, and won the freedom of the adult stacks, as well as my journey into other worlds. Of course, I roamed freely after that among the other sci-fi greats - still do, but she kindled my flames!
Strangely, I've found that the curiosity fire never goes out. Everything makes me curious. I pass a huge and heavy truck and wonder why it has three smoke stacks instead of two. I see a sign with a company logo that has an interesting variation on a common name and characters develop. I watch a man wearing three sets of glasses, reaching for each, one at a time, as the others dangle around his neck. Perhaps, the question is why don't others remain fascinated by everything around them? Why isn't the world alive with curiosity? Was Andre Norton and the other space inquisitors the can openers of the inquisitive mind?
"Helter-skelter pseudo-science - what an intriguing phrase. The pseudo science syndrome is indeed among us, but I don't mind it. Better pseudo science than no science. I once asked my dentist why the water he used in my mouth couldn't be heated. He laughed. Of course they'll heat the water one day - either that or in the future we will just discontinue dentistry because the pill, shot, or enhanced food we take will prevent tooth decay.
I asked my doctor once why cancer cells couldn't be found in a simple blood test. He also laughed, but one day such a test will exist, I believe. The blood flows throughout the body. I can't believe there wouldn't be some kind of indicator. (Of course, we might first eradicate cancer.)
But I believe that what is pseudo-science today will be the reality tomorrow. (Isn't it interesting how many old-wives' tales are currently being researched. Cranberry juice does have value. Ginger does help nausea. Chicken soup . . .
My self-motivating technique is that I prefer alternate realities. It is where I dwell when possible. If one can invent a perfect world, or at least a variation where the problems are different than those with which we daily contend, it's a perfect relaxant. Besides, it's such fu to create, animate, explore, and investigate possibilities.
I shall continue to write my science fiction novels, whether mine become best sellers or never make it to print. The truth is that I enjoy my adventuring. My books (and explorations) don't hurt anyone. They don't pollute, and they contain zero calories. What more could one ask for? LOL
Lastly, I checked out Android Karenina
http://www.quirkclassics.com/index.php?q=androidkarenina
Wow! How fascinating! Perfect for my next issue of You gotta have a gimmick.
LJPC - the tortoise  writes:
Hi Shaara! This was such a delightful newsletter. I wondered if it were a book excerpt - but it was you narrating your dream/day. Ha-ha! What a great dream (and weird coincidence). S.M. made millions off her dream. Why don't I ever have great, inspiring dreams? *sniffle, snork* Any secrets to having/capturing great dreams?
-- Laura
I wish I could take off and write every time I had another strange dream. My bedroom is filled with them. Unfortunately, when I don't respond right away, they dry up and fly away. Even writing notes as reminders can't hold them to Earth. They must be acted upon immediately. Those of us who work have a supreme disadvantage when it comes to capitalizing on the creativity of dreams. Sigh.
As always, thanks again for the comments.
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Commenting concerning an older Fantasy Newsletter,
citycowboynow says:
I love this short story. I'm not much of a reader but I couldn't stop. I needed more, More food for thought. More places to wonder if maybe there was hope for me or mankind. This could be a great story that people could add onto. From China to the US It would never stop. Thanks!!!!! Now I have to look back over the years and wonder, did I ever have a chance like this before? To Unlock Life? Perchance to dream? Maybe my first wife wasn't so bad after all?
Thanks
Ken
I never dared believe that one of my newsletters could be an effective marriage counselor. Wow! Thanks for writing, Ken. I hope it inspired you in other ways, too. FOFL
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Fantasy: November 30, 2010 Issue [#4099]
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