DISCUSSION -- February 2015 75-word Writing Challenge

Magical realism eh? Mardi gras hmmmm? Now that is a challenge for the Dark Lord and his lowly Minion lol.
 
The Wikipedia article is not very helpful with the genre. It continually contradicts itself, has nonsensical sentences, and periodically makes statements essentially saying that magical realism is not so much a genre but a theme. I really have no idea what it is about and I don't own any Rushdie. It vaguely sounds like some of King's "Weird" rather than "Horror" books. Is that remotely close to the mark?
 
michael, have a read of teresa's post on the previous page. i think she explains it very well. or at least i hope she does, as thats what i based my story on!
 
@Michael Colton I'd agree Teresa explains it reasonably well, although it's difficult to define.

Magical Realism is one of my favourite genres/styles. My go to author is Angela Carter (not just because she wrote MR), but Isabel Allende, Laura Esquivel (go @jastius for mentioning her work) and Gabriel Garcia Marquez epitomise the Latin American side, for me. Joanne Harris, Louis de Bernières and Iain Banks have also written MR to varying degrees.

Perhaps looking up authors and their works (in precis form - you only have three weeks! :p) would be more effective than trying to find a definition a genre that likes to play with definitions of what is real and what is not. A bit like trying to explain why you got a hunch, without saying your inner voice spoke up, cos that just sounds slightly nuts, even if it isn't.
 
Love the choice of theme and genre!

A splash of carnival colour is just what we need in these cold, wintery months :)

As for Magical realism, some really great stuff is out there, but I'm a real big fan of the genre, some of my favourites books might be considered MR. John Fowles's The Magus is just fab, Salman Rushdie has already been mentioned and, one of my all time favourite authors, Umberto Eco, likes to dip his toes into MR every now and then.

Right, I'm off to curry some goat!
 
Mine is in. Hopefully it won't be disqualified as I've taken magical realism in a slightly different way.

OK I've reworked it to get the Dark Lord in but I think it works.
 
I think I spoke too soon about my story. My absolute bare minimum version came in at 225 words. I've cut it virtually to death, and it almost loses its MR-ness. Being a "literary" form, MR depends on character development and atmosphere as much as it does a plot. I'll have another bash at it tonight and then decide whether it is worth posting.
 
Nice first entries! No idea what to write yet, but it's snowing outside, the roads are all closed, so I might just look for inspiration in the snowflakes. ;)

EDIT: So, I just knew those snowflakes would be inspirational. I'm in. A little darker than I'd originally planned, but hey!
 
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So my understanding of Magical Realism is Constantine or The Dresden Files ( Correct me if I am wrong). Should a good one.
 
Azzagorn said:
So my understanding of Magical Realism is Constantine or The Dresden Files ( Correct me if I am wrong).
Click to expand...

In Constantine or Dresden Files, the magic is understood to be magic, supernatural. In MR, it's part of the everyday. To the people who experience it, it is not separate from the mundane; it is part of the mundane.

This description is pretty good, I think.
 
HareBrain said:
In Constantine or Dresden Files, the magic is understood to be magic, supernatural. In MR, it's part of the everyday. To the people who experience it, it is not separate from the mundane; it is part of the mundane.

This description is pretty good, I think.
Click to expand...
That article explains MR pretty well, I think, but I'm still feeling unsure on how to convey an idea in 75 words.
 
Spring! What have you done!!!! ;)

I have an idea, but not sure how to pull it off. Will take some work
 
HareBrain said:
In Constantine or Dresden Files, the magic is understood to be magic, supernatural. In MR, it's part of the everyday. To the people who experience it, it is not separate from the mundane; it is part of the mundane.

This description is pretty good, I think.
Click to expand...

That link combined with what Teresa said has answered my question as well. Much appreciated. :)
 
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