I'm happy to say I've been writing some folktales, and it has been a nice experience. I've got one called "Why the Fog Comes at Night", and another called "Why Trillium Lives Among the Redwoods".
They've been so much fun to create. Choosing to write stories in the forms of folktales grants a massive margin for error. Folktales can sometimes be stilted and declamatory, and for new writers that's not a bad characteristic. I feel less pressure to create "smooth prose" and "character development" and "plots that make sense". If I were writing a novel... ooh, boy, I'd be sunk.
But these bite-sized short stories haven't resulted int he nightmare I was told writing could bring on. It has been a relief to start small and build in increments.
And I'm also realizing that the three pieces of art I've made with these characters in mind are deeply •mine• in ways that some of my other works in the past haven't been. I've enjoyed the making of these pieces, and the thought put into them, very differently than I enjoy the birds I paint.
I could get used to this. I could very much get used to this.
