So here's the deal: I'm an aspiring author. *SHOCK AND DISBELIEF* I know, I know... I can't write worth crap. But I love it so much! (Cue the puppy dog eyes. O_o) And I have been working very hard on my writing lately, and basically everything has fallen apart and come back together again. My central project of 2 years has been put on hold (considering I could never get past the first chapter and to all the delicious action I had already planned), and has been replaced with another project. All of this is top secret as of write now (Did you see that!? Writing humor. Ha! Ha ha!) but I will share with you some of the stuff I uncovered in the process.
Note to Reader: The project I am about to discuss is NOT my central project as of right now. It is also MY property, so if you steal it, I will hunt you down and eat you for dinner. Like legit. Oh, how I hate the word legit! And how often I use it! *facepalm*
I have always toyed with the idea of writing a spin-off of Peter Pan. Of course, I wouldn't be the first author to do this. Ever read the 'Peter and the Starcatchers' series? They're adorable. ^_^ I have yet to read the 4th (waitin' for da paperback), but I'll be it will be rather bittersweet when Peter and Molly and George--- stopping the monologue RIGHT NOW. Sorry! Then, Gail Carson Levine took my one idea and made them into these fairy books or whatever. I love Gail Carson Levine, except for when she steals my ideas and makes them into fairy books for children. Then I'm rather displeased. You should have seen the look on my face when I saw the books in the Barnes and Noble's! I about lost my sanity! Anyhow... It hit me the other day: why not incorporate J.M. Barrie, the author of the novel, into the book? 'Peter and the Starcatchers' gave him a brief appearance (and I was probably one of the few who understood its significance), but wouldn't it be great if he really DID meet Peter Pan? The gears in my head started turning...
I vaguely recollected the foreword that was in the front of my edition of 'Peter Pan'. Yeahyeahyeah nearly everyone J.M. Barrie ever loved or came in contact with died tragically, yaddayaddayadda that'll make for a good character, won't it? While Barrie's tragic and rather mysterious past opened countless doors for me, it also complicated my brilliant idea. Barrie was NOT going to be easy to tackle. In fact... He was starting to look like a rather daunting project. So instead of giving you all of my brilliant Barrie ideas (as they are still in my treasure trove of literary genius that I have titled as 'Junk' on my computer), I'm going to give you a few links if you're interested, along with several lists that I hope will amuse you. Here goes!
Original illustration in 'Peter Pan'.
(The man himself: J.M. Barrie.)
7 Reasons to Click These LinksIf any of these reasons raises a question in your mind, you should definitely click on the links I am about to provide you with.
1. Barrie wears his dead brother's clothes and pretends that he is the dead boy for his mother.
2. He attended a bunch of schools with cool names, like 'Glasgow' (I honest to goodness thought it was 'Glassglow') and 'Dumfries' (could also be pronounced 'Dumb Fries', if you have an imagination).
3. He may have been a dwarf!
4. He took care of five boys, the Llewelyn Davies boys, after their parents died, and they inspired most of 'Peter Pan'. (There is a lot of speculation as to the nature of his relationship with the boys, their mother, etc.) Many characters in 'Peter Pan' are named for the boys.
5. Two of the five boys died when Barrie was alive: George in the war, while Michael and his friend Rupert drowned.
6. Peter Llwelyn Davies, whose name was borrowed for Peter Pan, threw himself under a train in 1960, but not before burning much of Barrie and Michael's correspondence.
7. The entire thing is just downright interesting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._M._Barrie (The summary.)
http://www.jmbarrie.co.uk/ (An absurd amount of photographs and information crammed into one wonderful site.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/donotmigrate/3556421/How-bad-was-J.M.-Barrie.html (The darker stuff... :/ But it has a lot of information in it.)
Of course, there's plenty more to read... Whether it be on in the Internet or in print. I must say that the whole thing has caught my interest (as I have an interest in characters and motivation and J.M. Barrie certainly fits the bill). In fact, I'm hoping to watch the movie based on Barrie's life, 'Finding Neverland', which has Johnny Depp. JOHNNY DEPP, PEOPLE. YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH THAT KIND OF TALENT.
