WRITING: Story

From the depths of my studies comes the seed of story.  Yes, very possibly I can write a spine-tingling narrative about nutrition and a thiamin deficiency resulting in Beri-Beri, (excuse me a second–Von Helsing [played by Sir Laurence Olivier] is about to cut out the heart of his dead daughter Mina because he now knows she is a vampire) but no, it’s not vitamins and minerals that have inspired me.

But I came up with this phrase on my last break in the dark, "If it’s not one thing, it’s another."  Of course it’s a blatant cliche, but it is exactly the sentence I need, perhaps the opening line, of a story that sees its roots in the recent discussions on reading.  Word meaning.  What if someone could change the world to one as he sees it?  Naturally we all do, for ourselves at least.  But we simply perceive it differently, not actually effecting change.  But what if we could?  Neat story idea and it shall be started as soon as I finish the exam tomorrow.

By the way, it is interesting to note that this Dracula movie is mainly in black and white with just hints of color.  I didn’t pick up on it until now, near the end.  Rather an exciting end too–Jonathan Harker and Von Helsing have found Drac’s coffin, but the Count has turned into a bat and is flying around in the cellar while they’re swinging sticks at him.  There is some color in the movie, but just a hint.  In some scenes, as I recall, it was very near without skin tones.  Otherwise, I think it’s just the normal dreary tones of foggy England.

So story, once established, will happen regardless.  But the other things that are going on (uh-oh, Lucy is a vampire and slid off Jonathan’s lips in a kiss and headed for his neck!) are details of interest, important or not, such as why Dracula’s helper likes to eat cockroaches, that may or may not remain in the reader/seer’s mind.  Why, I wonder, does he eat bugs?  What does it mean?  Does it matter if it has a deeper meaning or is it a tool to make the character repulsive to the reading and viewing public?

But this detail is just a small part of the story, and I believe, one added in by the scriptwriter for this particular version of Dracula.  The story may be based on folklore, and folklore usually was as much for purpose as for entertainment, and in the case of vampires, perhaps a warning to young maidens to not go out at night without a bathrobe over their nightie, or more seriously, since the vampire myth is a sensual tale, to stay away from dark haired pale-skinned men who wear capes.