insomniac_tales

Bury St Edmunds
Nanowrimo 2009

55106 words

Concept
My idea for this novel is to explore identity in culture within the realm of fantasy. Madelyn, for example, is someone who isn't sure who she is and she's discovering this part of herself that she never knew, this whole other culture that she belongs to. Whereas David is struggling with an inferiority complex in the face of his younger brother's obvious talent; he's grappling with how that defines him within his community, family, and even within himself. Liesl is discovering that she's not as comfortable in her culture as she previously thought, struggling with the idea of being an outsider in a group that already lives outside of social convention.

The Title
Bury St Edmunds is a small town in England (oddly enough, one my sister has been to). They had witch trials in which 18 people were executed in one day. I am thinking of working with the idea that the witch trials were actually tests perpetrated by witches on witches (and sometimes on accident a regular person would get caught up in it). In the book, Bury St Edmunds would be one of those "sometimes."

I also really liked the play on words, Bury instead of Burrough, as in bury St Edmunds in the grave. I want to play with the idea of accepting the past and putting it to rest; incorporating it into yourself without letting it dominate how you function in the world.

Setting
Most of the novel will take place in the fictional town of Spruce Lake, which is located in the Adirondack Park. It's considered a hippy commune by most "mundanes." It's closed off, fairly secretive, and is not included on most maps. Very rarely are new people allowed into the community, especially if they aren't a witch (as in the case of Jerry's husband).

The community is situated near a lake, deep in the woods. It is very self-sufficient and exists essentially "off the grid." Sometimes people in the community work in the outside world, but it is highly frowned upon (any contact with the outside world could increase curiosity about the community and lead to unwanted discovery). Generally, these communities are largely agrarian in nature and the witches work and live off the land.

Spruce Lake is in contact with other such witch communities which exist in their own sort of bubble, independent of the present world outside of it. Often these communities are several (if not several hundred) years out of the loop (case in point: David struggles to understand modern technology as Madelyn describes it to him).

Sometimes a witch will live off the grid, but outside of the community as well, like Liesl. These witches are usually those born outside of established families, witches which are found and offered a place in the community to learn about magic. These witches tend to straddle the line between the present world and the tucked away communities, often feeling that they don't truly belong to either.

Some of the novel may take place in Salem, NY during the 1692 witch trials. As to how accurately I'll manage to depict Salem in the course of nanowrimo... That remains to be seen.

Miscellaneous Facts About The World
A witch will come into his or her power between the ages of 13 and 24 (on average between 16 and 20). This power must be "unlocked" with an initiation ceremony or it will fade away over time. Once the power is unlocked the witch is in training (only able to practice magic under supervision from another witch) until they feel ready to attempt a "trial," usually a life threatening situation which can only be survived by using quick wit, good decision making, and magic. Once a witch has accomplished a trial he or she may practice magic as they see fit without supervision.

There are two kinds of witches, the gifted and the general. The gifted witches have very specific abilities in magic which vary from witch to witch. With gifted witches it's about the technique of casting more than it is about the type of casting which becomes important in training. General witches have a wider base of knowledge but are unable to do more specific "gifted" tasks. With general witches it's about the type of casting more so than the method.

Witch Trials, as history would call them, were more often than not perpetrated by witches themselves to test each other. If a witch survived the trial (through some trick of magic, making her(him)self appear dead though s(he) was protected from the burning or hanging) s(he) could move away from the mundane world and into the cloistered and hidden magical communities. This practice became frowned upon after incidents at Bury St Edmunds and Salem in which mundanes (normal people without magic) were incidentally accused by other mundanes and executed though they were perfectly innocent.

Witches have lots of lovely slang (unless it's just Liesl and I'm taking it for granted that all witches use the same slang). I'll add them here as a I remember them. There are gifted and general witches (gifted and gennies in slang). There are families, born out, and mundies; as in "he's a family witch," born into one of the ruling families in the community or "he's born out," meaning he was born outside of witch society to mundane parents. Mundies or mundane are those who are not witches. There are straddlers, jumpers and outcasts; all pertaining to witches who were born out and describe the positions they take within the witch community (they straddle the outside and witch world, they jump right into the witch world, or they outcast themselves and remain in the mundane).

Cast of Characters

Curtis Age 14 The little brother with an early talent in magic Wants to be grown up already His song is Pressed in a Book by The Shins

David Age 17 The middle brother whose talents have yet to emerge. Cares too much what other people think His song is Black by Pearl Jam

Madelyn Age 20 A young witch who is trying to find herself while exploring her abilities Comfortable with the state of flux Her song is The Past and Pending by The Shins

Frances Age 21 The older sister, a late bloomer where magic is concerned Joyful Her song is Vous by Camille

Liesl Age 27 A witch finder who takes Madelyn as her apprentice Has an extensive collection of wind chimes Her song is Mary's Magic by Pogo

Elizabeth Age 18 A young witch in Salem, New York during the 1600's Torn between duty and what she knows to be right Her song is Worn Down by Rachael Yamagata

Jerry Age 41 Practicing matriarch of the Lane family, recent widow and mother of three She wants to have romantic love in her life again, but is afraid to move forward Her song is The Moon by The Swell Season