Just For Fun – Page 24 – Laura VanArendonk Baugh, author

From (Deep in the Heart of) Texas Hill Country

By Laura April 15, 2013 May 1, 2021 Writing & Projects, Just For Fun

English: Texas Hill Country, on Route 187 head... — Texas Hill Country, on Route 187 heading North, just north of Garner State Park. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve spent the last few days in Texas Hill Country, visiting my aunt and working on a project. But before I tell you about that, let me walk you through her ranch.

My aunt Margie lives on a small ranch immediately outside of Utopia, Texas. When she first moved there a couple of decades ago, the smart-aleck kid I was thought the name was doubly appropriate; the idyllic climate and beautiful countryside were indeed paradisaical, and the location was, just like the original meaning of utopia, nowhere.

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An Outsider’s Perspective

By Laura April 13, 2013 December 22, 2022 Just For Fun

Study for The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania by... — Study for The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania by Noel Paton: fairies in Shakespeare (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I just came home from opening night at the Indiana Reperatory Theatre‘s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I gave it a glowing review, but I wanted to comment on a technique they used which made the play more accessible. (And let’s be honest, Shakespeare often unnecessarily intimidates potential audiences, just because of the language and reputation.)

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Yuki Onna photos

By Laura April 10, 2013 April 10, 2023 Just For Fun

Yuki-onna (雪女, the snow woman) from the Hyakka... — Yuki-onna (雪女, the snow woman) from the Hyakka…

The yuki onna is a femme fatale of Japanese folklore. When travelers are lost or exhausted in the winter snows, the yuki onna (“snow woman”) appears to greet them — and they are never seen again.

/cue shivery music/

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Spoiler! People are Funny.

By Laura February 22, 2013 January 19, 2019 Just For Fun

Truth is stranger than fiction; fiction has to make sense.

This quip, variously attributed to Mark Twain or Leo Rosten, is quite true. In story, writers must pay a great deal of attention to motive and consistency. In real life, people are hilariously inexplicable. Continue reading

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Ben-Hur: Drama, Conflict, and Parody

By Laura February 19, 2013 December 29, 2022 Events, Just For Fun

Cover of "Ben-Hur (Four-Disc Collector's ... — Cover of Ben-Hur (Four-Disc Collector’s Edition)

I love Ben-Hur.

Yes, it’s become somewhat fashionable in recent years for critics to wave their hands disdainfully at the film which was previously held in such esteem. Fine, they can have their pretense of superior taste. And okay, sure, trends in acting have changed in the last half-century. But I still love the film.

No, seriously, I once calculated that I’ve spent maybe half a week or so of my life watching Ben-Hur. Step aside, amateurs.

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Achievement Unlocked! Goals Met (And Some I Didn’t Know I Had)

By Laura February 4, 2013 December 21, 2022 My Rock Star Life, Just For Fun

Freak Out — This is how I feel, but in a GOOD way, because I’m so excited. (Photo credit: Frau Shizzle)

A while back I wrote a humorous post about goals which would let me know I’d “made it” (whatever that means) in my writing career. Since then I’ve passed some pretty impressive personal milestones, and while I wrote that post primarily for my fiction writing, it would be wholly ungrateful of me not to acknowledge the great things which have come my way thus far in my non-fiction work as well.

Sometimes we achieve goals we didn’t even mean to set, and it’s good to find the joys of these surprise achievements. So here are some awesome things which have really happened, some of which I hadn’t even thought of as goals until I was delighted by them.

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A Game Not For One Night, But For A Thousand and One Nights….

By Laura January 1, 2013 December 21, 2022 Just For Fun

English: Princess Parizade Bringing Home the S... — Princess Parizade Bringing Home the Singing Tree, 1906, oil on paper (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My friend Mark gave me a new board game for Christmas. The setting is the world of the traditional 1001 Nights, in which Scheherazade is weaving tales to amuse Shahryar and keep herself alive. Players are story characters, with literally thousands of game paths (very re-playable).

It’s a bit different, as games go, rewarding not just game accomplishments in terms of points or accumulated treasures and things, but extreme storytelling — that is, the more dramatic, tragic, twisted, inspiring, and generally enthralling your character’s journey is, the more likely you’ll win the game.

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Embarrassing True Story

By Laura December 27, 2012 December 11, 2019 Just For Fun

Good thing my bikini is made of chain mail... ... — Good thing my bikini is made of chain mail… no really.. (Photo credit: Crys)

I wrote a parody short story. It was a parody of high fantasy, meant to play on tropes and cliches and the sheer over-the-top ridiculousness of itself. It probably wasn’t very good, but there it was. It had sword fights, chain mail bikinis, haunted swamps, chases on horseback, the works. I worked hard on my protagonist’s name — it needed to be feminine and sexy, yet exotic and barbaric, and utterly unsubtle….

Alura. Oh, perfect. Alura.

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The Twelfth Day of Kitsune – Mizuhiki

By Laura December 18, 2012 December 21, 2022 Just For Fun

This entry is part 12 of 12 in the series Twelve Days of Kitsune

Arriving early to give a panel on Japanese folklore, I found Emilia (author of our guest post on kimono) teaching a workshop on tying mizuhiki. A perfect follow-up to the post on furoshiki; you can now decorate your traditionally-wrapped packages as well!

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Choose Your Own Hamlet Adventure?!

By Laura December 18, 2012 November 28, 2022 Just For Fun

I’m not making this up. Check this out. Shakespeare’s Hamlet as a choose-your-own-path book. With lots and lots of illustrations.

I really love Hamlet, and I also really love parodies of Hamlet. This sounds kinda awesome.