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#FlashFicHive, #TwistedTaleTuesday, anti-hero, behind the scenes of writing, Cracked Flash Fiction Competition, flash fiction, Pinterest, preview of work, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Siren
I really like what I found during my research into Sirens, though I’ll share that with you on Thursday for our trip into the realm of the Fae.
So for week three of #FlashFicHive I decided to write an anti-hero. Maybe because I’ve been watching the season of Vampire Diaries filled with Sirens and Damon as we knew him from season one? *shrugs* Besides, day nineteen called for a MC who’s flawed/an anti-hero.
So here’s my story for week three (you can read the other one I wrote in July).
The Good, the Bad and the Fugly
By Ronel Janse van Vuuren
They were forever provocative and disturbing. Richelle looked away from the other Sirens dressing in glittering outfits, their hair already perfectly coiffed. She was shivering like she had the day of her own initiation.
To read this story and others like it, get The Fae Realm now. https://www.books2read.com/u/4NGBJW
I know, right?
So how did I get there? First, I assembled this little gem from my Pinterest board Inspirational Pics for Writing.
Then I wrote a flash piece for Cracked Flash Fiction Competition, playing with ideas for a memorable character. You can read Siren Call here.
Then I played around with everything that can make this Siren even more different from others of her kind and how to make her an anti-hero. Which meant Meg had to become a secondary character and the MC’s redemption.
While trying to figure out how Sirens pick their targets, I heard this song and just knew how they did it.
So the MC is an anti-hero – she is a Siren who enjoys the drowning and eating of humans just as much as others of her kind. But you’ll like her: she saves people too. (She’s a lot like Damon: not all bad.)
The point? Sirens can be good but they can be really bad too.
Oh, as for the title: if you’re unfamiliar with the word fugly, it means extremely ugly (taken from f*%#ing and ugly). I know, I know: I watch too much American television.
What do you think of the story? Do you like the protagonist? I tried for a minimalist approach, though I’m worried that the second half of the story might be more telling than showing – what do you think?
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I’m a big Eisler fan so I found that quote interesting. I guess, if I ‘care’, he’s right. Dark doesn’t matter so much.
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Thanks, Jacqui 🙂
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I like anti-heroes depending on extremes some just are fascinating and I would never want to meet them, like Dexter from the series. I found myself rooting for him YET, you know.
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Totally 😉
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Dexter is tv series on Netflix now and he is a serial killer in case I made too much assumption.
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Oh, I know. I had to stop watching the series for a while because I found myself distracted from writing 🙂
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Fascinating 🙂 I’d only ever visualised Sirens as the beautiful hair brushing kind who led sailors adrift into rocks. I loved this darker take!
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Thanks, Louise 🙂 There’s much to learn from folklore.
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Like it? I love it! I like both Meg and Richelle a lot. Filipinos believe in them. Nor far from the island where I was born, there’s a stone statue of a “mermaid”. We call them “Sirena” and we know them exactly as you’ve written – they entice mortals (men) and drown them. I didn’t know they eat them, too. And, when I read your entry to CFF, I thought I couldn’t come up with anything close to good as yours. Practice for me… lots of practice.
I ended up not participating on the Hive. Things happened. I should be fine for the next one. ☺
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Thanks, Anne 🙂
I had to dig deep into ancient folklore to find the original Sirens, for Mermaids and Sirens have been seen as the same creature since the Middle Ages – probably because both entice men and drown them 😉 There’s a rich history of people believing in Sirens in one form or another – in parts of Africa they still believe in the Jengu (mermaid-type creature). Jung would probably have said that it’s part of the collective subconscious.
The more we write, the better we get. And now that I know the genre I love writing in, it’s getting a lot easier! (Well, writing is always hard, but some things should come easy.)
Hive has helped me to think of stories in a different way. Some days – like proofreading for points – I just skip (I proofread and edit as I write), but others like writing from the antagonist’s POV has given me a lot to think about. Anjela (Hive creator) said we can continue posting our stories for the June challenge in July – that’s where my Tuesday fiction will come from 🙂
Sometimes writing, even if we don’t share it, is the only way to deal with life. As Neil Gaiman said: if something goes wrong (the cat blows up) – write!
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I find myself doing research a bit more now especially for the fantasy stories. And I’ve been reading a lot of Witches. If the writing fails, I have more info in my head at least. Haha. I’m going to try out that one fantasy and I want to do one with the Witches so I’ve got these two but I’m thinking, I should stick to Romance and Chick Lit. I guess I’ll see how things go.
And yes, I write because I need to. I haven’t posted lately but I’ve been writing as I deal with my anxiety at the moment.
Thank you. 🤗💖
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Engaging read Ronel. I’m enjoying learning about sirens, I’ve read a couple of stories way back and enjoyed them immensely. I didn’t know sirens were part of Africa’s folklore. That’s cool.
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Thanks, Lyn 🙂 Sirens – or mermaid-type creatures – can be found in folklore from all over the world. I’m currently looking at different types and planning a series of folklore posts that will be connected through the mermaid-type lore they all have in common. It’s quite fun 🙂
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I liked it. But then, I write a pretty twisted anti-hero too who’s just irresistible, so this is kind of down my lane.
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Thanks, Crystal 🙂 Anti-heroes are a lot of fun to write, aren’t they?
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