Lexigraph: Fantasy

[penthius]

The alphabet shapes squiggled incomprehensibly before her eyes. She squinted, trying to learn. A. First came A. A looked like a roof with a cross-beam. But where *was* it? The shapes moved again in front of her eyes. "What's the problem here?" the teacher asked, approaching. She looked over Anna's shoulder and gasped. The letters moved. There was an--L. E. X. I--Anna couldn't remember the rest. "Lexigraph," the teacher muttered. "Oh shit." Anna looked up in shock. Mrs. Leann never swore, not ever. Anna lived out in shantytown, so she heard worse--


Inspiration: My address book.
Story Potential: Low.
Notes: The word- and story-focused story ideas always strike me as just a bit too precious.

Comments

[disposalfiction.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's like writers writing stories about main characters who are writers. Or writing stories whose sole purpose is "And stories/books are FUCKING MAGICAL HUMAN ESSENCE!"

[penthius.livejournal.com]

YES YES YES.

I can understand people who love words. I do. But really, you couldn't think of something more unique to do with them? (I make an exception for fairytale structures.)

The "main character is a writer" stories drive me CRAZY. And frequently they have other Mary Sue characteristics that are annoying. Or have huge character flaws that make them unlikeable but they are supposedly sympathetic characters.

[prof-vencire.livejournal.com]

And it seems like writing a story based around the fetishized mysticism of writing/writers/words seems to have it's own, independent ability to just ruin the imagination you can put into a story. I've read so few stories that are worth reading with that as a primary plot point.

Though there was a decent one about a guy who started receiving a truly complete encyclopedia, but that was made interesting because it was more a fantastical look at the motivation behind hoarding (conceptualization of value) vs. the actuality (whatever value it might have had is lost by there being so much of it and it being difficult to access/find/etc.).

But, yeah. And it just adds to this sort of intellectual masturbation compulsion that comes with being Very Literary. Barf. On their ten-dollar words. Barf on them.