In Defence of the Wild Magics
I’ve been trying to read some Dark Academia recently, and while it’s not *all* ‘Adult Harry Potter for Pretentious People Who Think They’re Smart’, there’s definitely a vibe.
Even the stuff that wrestles with the questions of the outsider in the elite world is still positing the academical as the only worthy magic. It’s elite power reserved only for the lettered, the rich, those who had the good fortune to be born in the right places or had book knowledge as part of their environment.
It takes the unwashed proles out of the equation, because welp, fuck ‘em, magic isn’t for the illiterate, the workers, the great masses of drones. Because that’s all these books really see working classes as. Perhaps a lucky one will be plucked from their filthy place and elevated to a world where they discover the power of magic and knowledge and must struggle with their new found status and while struggling with being an outsider yadda yadda.
Except, yeah *elevated*.
Do you see the problem with that?
It erases the wild powers, the hedge witches, the craftsmen and wise women. It makes magic something that is harnessed only by language and ritual, by books and universities. It’s hardly a new or modern idea, but it’s very pervasiveness is part of the problem.
Bring me the books where the magic is in the root and soil, where power turns with the seasons, is primal, wild, intoxicating. Bring me the story where the mages in their towers are brought down by common magic.
ANYWAY HI, IT’S ME, CAT. Have a long neglected newsletter.
You may have noticed that this isn’t coming from MailerLite; they killed my classic newsletter and I don’t feel like signing up for a new account, so I’ve gone back to the old newsletter.
Also, I’m kinda tired of fancy widgets and blocks and things. I just wanna type my nonsense and add some pics, maybe.
I started the new year with a plan to write and sub a short story every month. So far I’m doing ok. Go me, two months down!
I’ve been sharing the prompts I’ve given myself, so if you’ve missed them on social media, here are the ones from January and February:
January: "The last member of an expedition dies on an alien planet"
February: A retelling of a famous myth/folklore of a god/dess, but set in the area you grew up/live in. Random examples: A Pandora's box story set in Leith. A Grail story in Croyden, etc
Both of my stories ended up being about bodies, because of course.
In sub news, I have two books out at the moment, and possibly three if you squint.
One of the things about having gone through this process is the feeling of low-grade despair — you no longer have the cachet of the debut, and you can be seen as second-hand goods.
I’m seeing a bunch of debut writers freaking out about things outside of their control, and I just feel like telling them, calm down, enjoy this part, because it’s likely to be as good as it gets.
But often when you’re in that first flush, you’re convinced your story will be different from all those ‘failed writers’ who went before. Your work is better, you know how to play the game. But eh. *shrug*.
Maybe things will go better for them than I expect, though it’s hard to be cheery when I think of how many of the authors from my debut year are still publishing. The attrition rate is high, and it’s not always because people stopped writing. Mostly, it’s because they stopped getting published.
OK ENOUGH MISERY, I do have some good news. I recently sold a short to a Very Cool Market, and a poem to another. So I’m in a good place :) More details when I can share them.
And on that note, I better go send out this story that just got a 116-day rejection, because publishing is a game of endurance, more than anything else.
Cat