Tag Archives: once upon a time

Musing about my muse.

James Scott Bell in his book Revision & Self-Editing, advises writers to cast their characters. “You may use any actor in history…and the reader will never know that’s who you had in mind” (108). Though this may be the first time I’ve seen this in print, it’s not a new technique for me. I’ve been casting my characters since I was a teenager. I’ve cast many of my favourite actors in parts including Michael Ironside, Nick Mancuso, Joe Flanigan, and Arnold Vosloo. I call them my muses, because as I imagine them in the parts, the scenes practically write themselves.

My latest muse is my current favourite actor, Robert Carlyle. I was first made aware of Mr. Carlyle in the role of Dr. Nicholas Rush on Stargate: Universe. I dearly love the entire Stargate franchise, but I found myself hard pressed to like the characters on Universe with one exception. I couldn’t figure out Rush, and that intrigued me. When the writers finally gave Rush a softer side, a history and a relationship, I was all that more intrigued. He quickly became my favourite character, the only one I cared about. I realize now that this was a tribute to the actor that played him, and not due to the writing behind the character. I was disappointed when the show was cancelled because it meant the end of Nicholas Rush. Imagine my thrill when I found out that Mr. Carlyle would be starring in the wonderful Once Upon a Time the following season.

In the time between Universe and OUAT I made an effort to see as much of this brilliant actor as I could. The Full Monte, Stone of Destiny, Eight Weeks Later, Eragon, Ravenous…The more I watched, the more I became mesmerized with the man and realized what an amazing actor he is. About the same time, I was looking to recast the character of Dr. Palmer Richardson, the forensic anthropologist that was married to my main character. After much deliberating (it’s hard to change the persona of a beloved character you’ve been writing about for most of your life), it was decided—Robert Carlyle would make an excellent Palmer Richardson.

When writing on The Next Coming Race, the novel that would be the debut of Mr. Carlyle as Palmer stalled, I felt a sense of loss. Here I’d just found a new muse and I had nothing to muse about. When the idea for Chicken or Egg came, it only seemed natural that I would cast Mr. Carlyle in that as well. This time it worked. I hear Mr. Carlyle as the voice of Dr. Nigel Trumble, the time-travelling mogul with a personal agenda, in my head. I’ve been writing at least a chapter a day ever since.

At this time in my writing career, my second and best writing attempt, Phase Shift, is currently under scrutiny at a publisher and I check my email several times a day with baited breath, hoping they are taking their time getting back to me because they intend to publish it and are compiling a list of changes before they do and not because its sitting on an editor’s desk somewhere waiting attention. I want to be ready with the next novel, or at least a part of it, should they want to see more. No matter which character they see, be it Palmer or Nigel, he will have a little bit of my current muse, Mr. Robert Carlyle, written into him. 

Works Cited

Bell, James Scott. Revision & Self-Editing. Writer’s Digest Books: Cincinnati. 2008.

A Dialogue-based Tribute to Once Upon A Time’s Mr. Gold in his pawn shop.

I noticed the shop whilst passing through the quaint Maine town. Ancient antiques, enough heirlooms to embody a sizeable king’s ransom, adorned the storefront windows. Being a fan of trinkets from days-gone-by, I couldn’t help myself. I had to go inside.

 

“Can I help you, Dearie?” the proprietor asked.

 

“You have a beautiful shop.”

 

“That it is. The victors and the spoils of many a Storybrooke local.”

 

I continued to look around.

 

“They can’t help themselves, you see? Everyone wants something. Their deepest, darkest desires fulfilled. Something they’re sure’ll bring about their happy endings. Promise them that, and they’ll make a deal. Promise them their happy ending and they’ll bargain away their right arm if you let ‘em.”

 

I chanced a glance at him.

 

“Of course, I wouldn’t let ‘em.”

 

I looked away.

 

“What need have I for someone else’s right arm?” he muttered.

 

I cast a sideways glance his way.

 

“It was a quip,” he said.

 

I looked away.

 

“This is an interesting piece.” I touched the base of the statue.

 

“The three wise monkeys. Yes, it is. Very interesting.

 

“They’re Japanese in origin, did you know that? It is said that if we hear, speak and see no evil then we, ourselves, shall be spared from evil.

 

“Did you know there was originally a fourth monkey? Do no evil.” He sighed.

 

“Damned creature got away before he could be turned to gold alongside his brothers. Pity, really. There are some in this town that could use a reminder of that.” He winked and smiled a lecherous smile.

 

“This mobile is stunning, the way the unicorns catch the light. Are they glass?”

 

“Crystal. “

 

“And this, the wooden windmill.”

 

“Fine craftsmanship. It’s a lawn ornament, actually, fit to adorn the yard of royalty.” He laughed. “Funny. The man that traded me it was no prince. His wife’s gone missing, hIs mistress accused of foul play, you know.”

 

“How terrible.”

 

“Yes, well, it would be.” He spun the spokes of the miniature mill. “If I weren’t representing her as legal council.”

 

I looked at him questioningly.

 

“Oh, come now. You didn’t think my little shop was enough to keep my finances in order? It’s not like I can sit in my back room all day spinning straw to gold, now, can I?

 

“But I do have my eye on everything that happens in this town. Have to stay on top of things. If I’m going to survive. The mayor—she’s a worthy adversary. Everyone in the town’s afraid of her, you know. But they’re more afraid of me.” He winked again and nodded a single nod.

 

“Another quip?”

 

“Now you’re catching on.”    

 

I wandered to the rear of the shop, drawn by the paintings hung on the back wall. I stood, speechless, admiring their beauty.

 

“I knew it when you walked in. You have a keen eye for aesthetics, a real nose for beauty.”

 

“Where is this? It looks familiar. Something from my childhood, maybe?”

 

“It’s of a place long ago and far away. A place where magic is real and sorrow and heartbreak can be wished away for the price of something dear.”

 

He mused silently for a moment, then snapped, “They’re not for sale.”

 

“So.” He clapped, then rubbed his hands together. “Let’s put that aesthetic eye and nose of yours to work, shall we? Let’s see if we can’t find you your happy ending, eh?”

This dialogue was written as an exemplar for my Writers Craft students for an upcoming dialogue assignment. The goal is to depict a famous person or character using as few dialogue tags and narrative as possible. Naturally, I chose to portray Mr. Gold. I hoped to pick up the subtleties of his character using dialogue only, the droll sense of humour, always champing at the bit to make the next deal, his thinly veiled contempt for the residents of Storybrooke, and the tragic sense of loss that propels his character forward.

Thanks to http://ouatv1.blogspot.com/2011/11/rumpelstiltskin-mr-gold.html for the graphic and some of the Mr. Gold quotes.

Character Sketch of Once Upon A Time’s Mr. Gold

The old house was dark and drafty, but he didn’t mind. He kind of liked it that way. It hearkened back to another time in his life, another place, a buried memory. He ran a comb through his long, greying locks, trusting they looked okay. Selecting a light lilac dress shirt, a striped tie in complimentary, variegated purple, and the dark grey suit, he dressed. He tied his shoes and looked down at himself. It would suffice. It had to. Ever since…well, ever since the curse had been enacted, he never took much stock in mirrors and only seldom chanced a glance at his reflection in a window or any other reflective surface. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. He looked presentable, he decided, but for the cane. That damned cane and the limp he’d affected in this lifetime. It was meant for others to underestimate him, to perceive him as weaker than he was. Instead, it christened him with an air of the unknown. People feared him, deferred to him, showed him respect. Good.

He opened the lock to his pawn shop with the skeleton key then placed it in the inside pocket of his suit jacket for safe keeping. He felt safest in the old shop, equally as dark and drafty as his house, if not a little dustier. He nodded at the husband and wife marionettes (just because they were wooden didn’t mean they couldn’t still perceive the world around them), blew on the golden oil lamp on the counter then buffed it with the sleeve of his jacket, and drew the feather duster over the ship’s bell near the far curio. Belle. The thought tickled his mind fondly at first, but then the memory of love found and love lost grew dark, as dark as the depths of his soul. They would pay for his loss. All of them. Happy endings, indeed, he thought. He swallowed a chortle deep in his throat, but the smirk that grew on his thin lips would not be stifled.

The front door rang. Someone was there.  A customer! His heart beat with excitement. A deal. No one came to see him without a deal in mind. He choked back a snicker and resisted the urge to drum his fingers together.

“Mr. Gold?” the sheriff called.

“Miss Swan. So nice to see you,” he said, poking his head from the threshold of the back room.

The sheriff frowned. She didn’t trust him. Also good.

“What can I do for you today, my dear?” he said with a leer. Emma Swan owed him for a deal they’d recently struck, and he intended to collect. Mr. Gold’s agreements were always honoured. And no one had ever broken a deal with him. Ever.

This passage was written to demonstrate to my Writers Craft students how to write a character sketch. Too often, students tend to write a paragraph that reads more like a laundry list of character traits than a character description. Characters are motivated by their wants and desires. Their story is about their reaching or failing to reach achieve those desires. In this passage, I wanted to provide motivation behind Mr. Gold’s character, but I couldn’t resist toying with the fact that he remembers Fairytaleland and knows who he was. In my mind, the reality of Rumplestiltskin is bubbling behind the thin facade of the stoic Mr. Gold.

Thanks to http://ouatv1.blogspot.com/2012/02/once-upon-time-mr-golds-house.html for the graphic and the Rumplestiltskin quotes.

Tribute to Once Upon A Time’s “Dreamy” Episode

Grumpy did not start out that way. Once he was called Dreamy; that was the name with which he was born. Once he was in love. But dwarves can’t love. Dwarves can’t marry.  Dreamy learned this harsh truth when he was barely past his first birthday and he ventured out of the mines to be with Nova and watch the fireflies on the hill. They dreamt of sailing the kingdoms together, but Poppa set him straight. Dreamy returned to the mines to become Grumpy.

Standing in front of the diamond deposit, Grumpy took a deep breath. His nose shone bright red, irritated from inhaling the dust caused by his pickaxe against the ground as he swung. He straightened with a groan. More than anything else, he longed to see her face again, hear her voice, sail the kingdoms. Grumpy swung again. He heard Sneezy sneeze and Sleepy snore in the background. He’d heard tell of a man—he was a man once, rumour had it—that would offer you your most deepest desires. For a price. Maybe he should venture to the surface again. Seek him out.  But it had been so long.

Grumpy straightened up once more, righted the cloth hat on his head and scratched the dirt from his beard. Nova. There she was in his thoughts again. Her sing-song voice, star-lit eyes, ruby lips. Nova. Who was he kidding? Even a man that spun gold from straw couldn’t give him what he wanted. And even if he could, the consequences for his love were too great. She would lose her wings. People who would rely on her as their fairy godmother would be left hanging.

The best thing for Grumpy to do was to accept his lot in life and make the best of it. But he didn’t have to like it. “Hi ho,” Grumpy said, passionlessly. He swung the pickaxe again.

The above piece was written as an exemplar for my Writers Craft students to demonstrate how to write a character sketch using a formula called “The Five Facts of Fiction” and detailed in http://www.ttms.org/say_about_a_book/facts_of_fiction.htm.

Thanks to http://thetelevixen.com/2012/03/ouat-dreamy/ for the graphic.

Tribute to Once Upon A Time’s “Skin Deep” Episode

When he discovered she’d betrayed him, the illusion shattered. Life. Death. Good. Evil. Then there was a moment – it was hard to breathe. His self- perception was ripped asunder and his world began to shift. Glass, wood, fine china, and trinkets landed on the floor. Then the dungeon door slammed. Then nothing else mattered.

The above passage was modeled after an excerpt from Timothy Findley’s “The Wars”. It was written as an exemplar for a modeling exercise in which students had to write a passage modeled after a master text.

Thanks to http://www.ouatfan.com/2012/02/12/quick-cap-episode-12-skin-deep-recap-review-etc/ for the graphic.