Pan-tastic!

Well, folks, my main editor/proofer/test subject beyond the justifiably harsh (yet very satisfied!) critics of Jones and Anon has finished her perusal. Please forgive the length of time it took her to complete the task. I have, without anything ever being there to forgive in the first place. As we know from Wendy’s plight alone, being a mother while trying to accomplish other tasks proves difficult enough. Couple that with another pregnancy and Life throwing curve balls. But even more importantly than the usual round-up of Time-stealing-&-fleeing cues, this proofer went, of her own volition, beyond the call of duty.

Which is to say she read them all!  She could have just read Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between and proofed it. But she opted to read Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens beforehand, so as to better appreciate and understand my interquel novel. Except she didn’t stop there. She also re-read Peter and Wendy. Good thing, too, for the interquel, being such that it connects one book to the other, also uses elements from the well-known Pan adventure. And yet, she read on for another go at Peter Pan’s NeverWorld as well. Thus, she immersed herself in the full scope of both mine and Barrie’s works on the eternal boy.  And truthfully?  Even PPNW connects back to Betwixt-and-Between. {Naturally - it's meant to be a "set."}

And her verdict? LOVED IT!!!!!!!

Other quotes from her:

You have made an excellent bridge between Kensington Gardens and Peter and Wendy! When I read PPIKG, I was definitely not left with the concept of the Peter I have come to know. You so excellently brought him out of the Thrush's Nest boat and into the rather scary/sociopathic egomaniac I am coming to love.

PHENOMENALLY done! (Spoken about a particular handling of a subject.)

You have a gift - thank you for sharing it with me.

That last line really got to me. The validation of my efforts always means a lot, you know?  Especially when it comes from a voracious reader such as her. She’s no stranger to books and editing, you see. She ran a bookstore in the past (which sadly had to close via circumstances beyond control) and has helped many an author polish to perfection. In this case, she didn’t find much to change (as it has been through the proofing process a few times before with different eyes) but what she did find will bolster the book quite well given her suggestions. Nothing story-wise jarred her, thank goodness.  She even gave her helpful two cents regarding the illustrations.  I'll be sure to attend to them.

So, there you have it. Another person has adored my extra back history to Peter Pan. Any reservations I’ve had with it while writing it (...perhaps you recall I’d originally been wary of one part of the storyline...) have completely disappeared at this point. I’m prouder than ever, and cannot wait for you all to experience it. I’ll try lighting a fire under the final pair of eyes for the book.

So to all who have been incredibly patient: I am grateful. Just a little longer.
Apparently it’s worth the wait.

Tock-ing about the Croc

Imagine this... but I've just gone through Peter and Wendy again.  There's a reason... but I'll save that for later.  I know, I'm a tease that way.  Suffice to say I've mentioned it before to the tune of restoration... but another development has come up, too.  I'll reveal the 'news' soon.

SO, what (among much) did I notice this time around?

Disney calls the crocodile "Tick-Tock."  Clever.
(Oops, got some sarcasm on you.)

Well, in the book, the crocodile never TOCKS.  Just ticks.

Just saying...

Talking Tink...

Assuming her alive at the time you found her, would you be able to carry on a conversation with Tinker Bell? I’m guessing you’re inclined to say “no” because she speaks in the sound of little tinkling bells. No doubt your rationale for this comes from the passage:

“You don’t hear her, do you?” and they both listened.

“The only sound I hear,” said Wendy, “is like a tinkle of bells.”

“Well, that’s Tink, that’s the fairy language. I think I hear her too.”

Some of you might be so inclined as to believe you cannot understand the fairy language. Hearing it the first time, really how could you? Would you be able to understand Swahili when it first entered your ear? (I’ll venture to guess no.) And there’s rationale for this from the book as well:

“Tink,” said Peter amiably, “this lady says she wishes you were her fairy.”

Tinker Bell answered insolently.

“What does she say, Peter?”

He had to translate.

And then: What she said in her lovely tinkle Wendy could not of course understand...

So there we have, right? Only Peter Pan can understand Tinker Bell...

Now hold on a moment! Don’t go zipping to conclusions. Here’s a bit of text regarding the Lost Boys:

“Hullo, Tink,” cried the wondering boys.
Tink’s reply rang out: “Peter wants you to shoot the Wendy.”
It was not in their nature to question when Peter ordered. “Let us do what Peter wishes!” cried the simple boys.

A-ha! So the boys make sense of her bell-voice, too. Before you go arguing that the boys are wont to say such a thing anyway as they are devoted to Peter’s wishes, surely you don’t forget they actually do shoot Wendy down, just as Tink says Peter commands. Obviously it’s not just a regurgitation of an ingrained desire (to obey Pan’s wishes.)

So why is it that the Boys can comprehend her as well as Pan?  Perhaps it’s because they’re in the Neverland and therefore just do?  No, that’s not it.  Good guess, though.  Perhaps they’re magical like Peter himself?   Oh no, that can’t be it.   They’re just not.  Well, then, why?

For the answer, we’ll have to (but of course) look to Barrie’s words again:

“You silly ass!” cried Tinker Bell in a passion.

She had said it so often that Wendy needed no translation.
“I almost agree with her,” Wendy snapped.

When does this occur in the story? Just about the time Wendy is trying to get Peter to declare his real feelings for her. When “playing house” needs to be much more real for her than it seems in the Home Under the Ground. Okay, but how about a more concrete image story-wise?  Surely.  It’s after Pan rescues Tiger Lily. Unlike a play or movie version of the story which must have a rapidity to the adventures the children have on the island, we know that a they’re there for a long time, so the saving of the Redskin princess wouldn’t have been toward the beginning of their trip.

And so we arrive at the simple answer. If you’ve been around Tink for quite some time, would you understand her then?  Yep.

It seems that the fairy language is something that humans can pick up on, if they have enough exposure to it. Which certainly explains why the Lost Boys have no trouble.  For who knows how long they’ve each been on the island?  But we can bet it’s been a while.

Knowing that I’d need the first girl to visit NeverWorld to be able understand Denny (Peter Pan’s ‘new’ fairy) right away in my book, I had to make sure I included a passage about how this could be so.

Of course, Amy could not be described as a normal child, for she understood the fairy language perfectly. She had heard it so many times while passing through Kensington Gardens and in the twilight of slumber that she knew it quite well. Thus, she did not need a translator to converse with the fairy who just spoke to her.

Another easy solution. You see, I happen to know (of course I would) a little about the backstory of Miss Amy Alexis Richards.  In the relevant nutshell, she’s been hunting for fairies and Peter Pan since age five, and does so with more conviction than most summon up [for anything] their whole lives.  It took her a while to finally track down the Darlings’ house, but that’s another story and I digress...

At any rate, talking to Tink is no great feat.  It’s just a matter of paying attention and prolonged exposure. Not unlike any other language, oui?

So why is it that there’s the misconception that only Pan can talk to Miss Bell? That when (erroneously) Captain Hook speaks with her in cahoots, she must pantomime to help get her point across? [Thank you, Disney. (Said with an eye roll.)] Why is it that she rarely talks in the few movies of the tale?  Do we really have an aversion to hearing her speak?  Possibly so, since many protested her being heard in the Disney films about her... and the script drafts of it bounced back and forth as to whether or not she had a “voice.” (Yes, certainly it also had to do with maintaining the Disney animated feature as well.)  And yes, I know a certain actress played Tink and spoke freely in a certain movie named for the priate captain, but I so very pretend that movie doesn't exist.

It baffles me, then, why P.J. Hogan preserved the “silent” pantomiming Tinker Bell as well. Although I do recall learning in the ‘extras’ on the DVD that Hogan (and all) had been entranced by Ludivine Sagnier's facial expressions and clowning as such without words.  But as cute as they may have been, I’d preferred they left the marvelous expressionism as such to Peter Pan, for as I’ve said before, no one makes faces like Jeremy Sumpter!

I’ll tell you... if I’m ever responsible for the mini-series version that rattles around in my head, the way I’d handle Tink’s speech is as follows:  She’s just heard as the jangling at first. But throughout the show, each time she speaks, a whisper of actual words will gradually become louder, almost imperceptible until it’s clear as a well, bell.  Naturally the tinkling sound will always accompany her, but it will be softened and weaker.

So there you have it.

Tinker Bell talks. Why else would she have lines with quotes around them in the book?

Lovely? Happy? No worries!

Here’s another bit from Peter Pan’s NeverWorld that one might construe as a discrepancy.

From Peter and Wendy:

“You just think lovely wonderful thoughts,” Peter explained, “and they lift you up in the air.”

Said by Pan in PPNW:

“Now think happy thoughts and wriggle your shoulders.”

Happy thoughts? Shouldn’t it have been “lovely wonderful thoughts”?

Well, perhaps.  I’ll let you in on my rationale for this one.

We know from Barrie that Peter Pan can be quite scatter-brained and also that he’s prone to saying whatever comes into his head. Thus, we cannot necessarily rely on him to repeat the same exact phrase.

And that’s a factor, too... repeating Barrie’s exact phrasing of those two modifying words for ‘thoughts’ would seem a little over-the-top, no?   Maybe even stilted.   Thus, I don’t have Peter Pan saying the same thing verbatim.   It just wouldn’t happen.

Why, then, does he say “happy” when it’s become the standard in pop culture’s thinking about how one flies in the world of Pan? Well, precisely for that reason. You see, it’s not just in our own real life that Pan is known throughout by young and old alike. It’s within the world of the Barrie’s stories of him as well. Tales of Pan are passed down for generations... and not just via the Darlings’ descendants. Here’s the beginning of the chapter titled for the boy in The Little White Bird:

If you ask your mother whether she knew about Peter Pan when she was a little girl she will say, "Why, of course, I did, child," and if you ask her whether he rode on a goat in those days she will say, "What a foolish question to ask, certainly he did." Then if you ask your grandmother whether she knew about Peter Pan when she was a girl, she also says, "Why, of course, I did, child," but if you ask her whether he rode on a goat in those days, she says she never heard of his having a goat. Perhaps she has forgotten, just as she sometimes forgets your name and calls you Mildred, which is your mother's name.  Still, she could hardly forget such an important thing as the goat. Therefore there was no goat when your grandmother was a little girl. This shows that, in telling the story of Peter Pan, to begin with the goat (as most people do) is as silly as to put on your jacket before your vest.

And let us not forget this passage about Wendy’s mother in Peter and Wendy:

At first Mrs. Darling did not know, but after thinking back into her childhood she just remembered a Peter Pan who was said to live with the fairies. There were odd stories about him...

... which just go on and on.

There you have it. I hope you’re happy with the lovely way I’ve manipulated the wonderful world of Pan.

Tree-son Against Barrie?

At the end of Peter and Wendy, Peter Pan says where he will now live:

“With Tink in the house we built for Wendy. The fairies are to put it high up among the tree tops where they sleep at nights.”

So why isn’t he living there in Peter Pan’s NeverWorld? Is this a glitch in the novel? No. What Barrie wrote is (but of course) true... and stayed true for quite some time. But as with many things, it had to come to an end. Why? What’s the rationale for that?

Simple. First off, there is quite an extensive amount of time between the events of Barrie’s conclusion and my novel. (We’re talking decades!) That alone should be (and is) a factor. Peter Pan would most likely get bored with living in the same simple and small place, espeically when remembrance of Wendy isn't fresh in his mind.  Yet that’s but a mild reason among those that exist.

Here's another:  Crowding issues. Since Lost Boys are always coming to the Neverland, eventually there’d be one too many of them trying to fit in the Wendy House.

Also, the Wendy House atop the trees is not as well hidden as say, a home under the ground. Think about it... there are other nasty shenanigans going on around the magical isle besides pirates. Would it behoove Pan to stay out in the open? He’s smarter than that.

The way I figure it... on one of Peter’s daily adventures in the Neverland, he came across the Home Under the Ground and found it again for what he believed to be the first time. Whichever Lost Boys were with him would delight in such a place as well.  Perhaps whichever mother had been with him would poo-poo the idea, but then, sometimes there’s no arguing with Peter Pan!  Having re-found it, he’d also (re?)realize what a boon the hideout proves to be. After all, Barrie didn’t think it up for nothing!

That’s why you’ll find Peter Pan, Denny and the Lost Boys living in the underground house on the island.

And yet...I didn’t want to replicate the very same idea for his adventures on NeverWorld. It’s certainly possible and plausible that he'd live under the ground again, sure. At the very least one of the kids who helped dream it up could have even placed an exact copy of it someplace on the planet. [In fact, that just might have been done!]  However, from a standpoint of storytelling, it would also feel utterly rehashed.

So I decided on a solution that would refer back to the very same Wendy House that he’d “supposed to be” living in at the end of the novel. Thus, they live in a house on the trees.

But as with everything in Peter Pan’s NeverWorld, the stakes are raised. As an example, Mothers are without a doubt an important key factor in the tales of Peter Pan. Raised a level, that becomes Mother Earth/Planet. So when the Wendy House is considered, an upgrade from a house is none other than a mansion, or to be exact: ...a multi-level tree house with more rooms than necessary.

You might be thinking that an even bigger “Wendy House” is therefore an even bigger sight that could attract unfriendly and unwanted guests. What’s more, the novel says: It did, however, lack one thing – a ladder. They could keep enemies away who didn’t have the power of flight. Why can’t “baddies” just climb up, you might be wondering? The tree is rather daunting, I tell you. Honest. In my mind, it’s a very thick, hearty tree that’s able to support such a grand house atop itself. Not to mention it’s quite high up indeed. Not the sort of bark stalk that’s either inviting or particularly easy to climb. Oh, sure, I suppose it could be done if need be.  But to use the opposite direction - that’s like saying you could jump off a cliff if you really wanted to do so.  Or maybe it's better to say it's like scaling a cliff.  Suffice to say, it’s no effortless task to clamber up their tree!

So there, you see, I strove for a blending of the old and new. Barrie wanted him in a Tree House. So I gave Pan the greatest Tree House of them all!

Sail Away?

A comment on The Candy Pan by Anon* became a conversation through comments. Through the course of it, a question arose which I think would make for a good post. So here it is:

The Jolly Roger, as we all know, floats along the shore of the Neverland. The pirates come ashore and have adventures on the island along with everyone else. And surely they have their own interactions on board the ship. But do these ever take place away from the surf of the isle? Taking it a step further, CAN the pirates leave the Neverland? Or are they bound to it by the magics and imaginations that hold the island in place?

Interestingly, P.J. Hogan's inventive tying of the seasons/weather of the Neverland to Pan's mood has the Jolly Roger stuck in frozen waters when Pan is gone.

At one time, many moons ago, I had thought that the pirates remained in the area because they were trapped. Doomed to forever be a part of the adventurous land. But I soon gave way to thinking it would be more in tune with the themes of Barrie if it were not the Neverland itself holding them in place, but the captain of the ship, none other than Hook. It’s ever so more delicious and telling if he cannot leave by his own volition, with his Pan obsession keeping them at the isle. How much worse (and dramatic) for the buccaneers if their own captain won’t let them sail away, forcing them to chase a flying brat.

Then some years later, when I RE-re-entered the Neverland, I reacquainted with a bit that pulled back some of the curtain on this question. In the screenplay, Barrie describes a scene of the pirates sailing all around the globe (as in showing a globe with a little ship moving around it.) We see an actual globe. Wherever the ship goes the crocodile is swimming after it. If Hook takes to land it still follows. Thus they go over the globe... Ah-ha! So in Barrie’s mind it IS possible for them to leave, there is no magical property that keeps them at bay.

Thus, my second idea had been much more correct, with an addendum. It’s not just Hook’s fixation on putting an end to the reign of Pan but the fact that he cannot find peace anywhere else on account of the great reptilian beast with a fixation on him.

All right, then, the only question remains... do the pirates ever leave? They can, but DO they? In the comment conversation, Anon stated not recalling that they do. (I, you see, had originally thought the matter had been if they are bound or not.) At one time I would have said no, they do not leave. As in Hook won’t let them. But then I came to read Hook & Jill, wherein Andrea Jones establishes they are in fact away from the island some times, if for no other reason (I apologize that I don’t recall all her details either from her novel or what she said in person) than to restock every so often. It also makes for a varied playtime (so to speak) for the children on the isle.  “Look! The pirates have returned! Let’s go say hello!” But when they do leave, the buccaneers always come back to the Neverland. (Crocodile chases anyway and Hook wants Pan.)

And so I had revised my original conception both through logic and facts both within Barrie’s pages and outside of them. But the truth is I let it go without too much further thought. For when it came to the pirates I’m dealing with on NeverWorld, whether or not they leave is a moot point. They’ve a whole planet fo islands to traverse. (Though I should mention that they are unable to leave the NeverWorld itself... that is until they discover how. But it’s not really an issue for them as per that 'whole world is there' anyway.)  Thus, the exact comings and goings of Barrie’s pirates in the Neverland fell by the wayside for me. I didn’t specifically need to worry about it.

And then came the re-tackling of my interquel Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between. Suddenly I found myself very concerned with the very subject. Would the pirates already be there when Pan first comes to the magic isle? Do they come and go? So I had some figurin’ to do... but the answer had to be in accordance with the text and the logic. Obviously, since I finished the book, I did hammer it out. And it wound up creating (or allowing for) a third reason that the pirates ‘remain’ in the Neverland. I cannot give it away, since it’s part of the discoveries of that novel. Actually, there are two reasons that arose. I can say, though, that I’d been happy to use the “Look! The pirates have returned! Let’s go say hello!” concept much to my delight and, I hope, to a nice effect.

So there you have it. Can the pirates leave the shores of the Neverland? Yes, yes they can. DO they? That’s open for debate, I suppose. We know by Barrie that they had left at least once prior to the events of Peter and Wendy.   And there’s no mention of them leaving in the book or stage play. But then, why would there be? We need them right were they are for the duration of the tale. But that's not to say they DON'T otherwise.  I’ve discerned that they do make excursions away... but Hook’s unquenchable desire for revenge as well as another factor or two (in the pages of the interquel) cannot keep them from coming back and spending most of their time on the wild island.

* Barrie enthusiast and my faithful reader and #1 fan

Peter iPad

Once again, my post from Sunday has been postponed...
if you have an iPad, you might want this. I don't have an iPad, so I don't know any more about it than is shown here.

Is Peter Pan Gun-Shy?

I believe in subsequent books of the NeverWorld, I'm going to put something you might not expect in the hand of Peter Pan.  A gun.

Before you balk and scoff (if you haven't already) consider this line from Peter and Wendy.

“Ah, old lady,” said Peter, hanging up his gun.

Ah, see, he does have a gun!

I can easily see why it's not within the scope of people's general perception of Peter Pan.  When have we ever seen him fighting with something other than a dagger or a sword?  Guns at all in the story only come with the pirates, or so it seems.  And that line can often slip by one's notice.  I've always wondered, though, why Hook doesn't just shoot Pan down?  An answer comes to mind quickly - Peter is too fast, clever and alert and ever so ready to dart out of the way.  At least that's what I believe.  And P.J. Hogan, at least, thinks so as well (though Peter actually escapes the shot with a warning from Wendy.)

However, the fact remains that guns are very real in the Neverland.  And since there's precedent for it as per Sir J.M. Barrie himself, I'd like to push the boundary of our conception of the world of the flying boy.  As someone who ventures forth into that world, I'm curious how such a heavy burden would be handled by Pan.  One has to wonder why he hasn't already used one famously.  Is there a reason?  I cannot say for sure what Barrie's might have been, but I have two educated guessses.

For the first (but not foremost) answer, I turn to my own work, Peter Pan's NeverWorld, since I presented my story-wise theory within its pages:

[Michael Pan] held the ax like a rifle, an instrument of which he never felt very fond.  Guns and rifles always seemed like cheating to him. He longed for a more adventurous clash with the enemy. Perhaps some things do run in the family.

Naturally I hope you agree with the thought.  As for the real world (meaning our own) application, I believe Barrie's particular aversion to real world war should be examined.  World War I claimed his beloved George.  Okay, to be honest, he would have written the play and novel long before George's gunshot to the head at the age of 21.  Consider, though, this line from the novel form of Peter Pan:

When you play at it by day with the chairs and table-cloth, it is not in the least alarming, but in the two minutes before you go to sleep it becomes very real. That is why there are night-lights.

Obviously Barrie never underestimated the severity of the dangers of Pan's island. And by extension, the world.  Maybe he could not cope with the horror of the personal cannon.  Perhaps that's one reason Captain Hook does not fall to sword or gunfire. Other reasons exist, for sure, but I venture it's a valid factor.

When it came time for Peter Pan's NeverWorld, part of the idea behind the project had been to explore how Peter Pan and the Neverland would be affected by the events of the world since the days of the original story. Knowing the emotional impact war had on Barrie, it definitely needed a major role in the new tale.

And now, having been prompted by a comment somewhere on the internet about Peter Pan not having a gun, I decided perhaps it's time we see it happen.

I'm not going to tackle this any time soon. I have plenty endeavors to keep me busy before then... including returning to NeverWorld to finish the second book. Quite honestly, I can most definitely see guns fitting perfectly into the storyline of book three. A grand match for it, indeed. Judging by the tingles [for lack of a better term] I'm getting inspiration-wise, I think it's a safe bet that book three will put a pistol in the hand of Pan.  Maybe by then I'll have figured out the best way to do it.

Until then, I'll be thinking of Peter with the Lagollon.

Just Heard from the Neverland...

While listening to something reciting words from Peter and Wendy, you might say I'd been visited by a fairy.  By which I mean I'd been sprinkled with inspiration.  Oh, nothing major.  No, that's not sarcasm.  But a fun enough idea that I had to smile.  Using that particular passage, I'm going to add a bit to my interquel, Peter Pan: Bextwixt-and-Between.  It will be a wonderful enhancement toward the end of the book.  I plan to allude to Barrie's line without copying it, so as to preserve Barrie's novel being the first time it is heard.  Besides, reading through Barrie's text again I would not be able to have it be exactly the same event anyway.  So it won't even so much be a foreshadowing, as perhaps, to use a familial analogy, a 'cousin' to what Barrie wrote.  I also noticed a consistency with this same part in the storyline of Betwixt-and-Between but I cannot be sure if I may take credit for crafting it (as it might have come to me in a sprinkle like this inspiration.)

What is this mysterious passage?  I'll only tell you it's roughly in the middle of the story.  And that is the nearest you'll ever get to it.

Of a Jolly Thickness

Sometimes I think of this line/event... and laugh:

...and Hook fell over it in the dark.

Here’s the rest of the passage:

Or we could tell of that cake the pirates cooked so that the boys might eat it and perish; and how they placed it in one cunning spot after another; but always Wendy snatched it from the hands of her children, so that in time it lost its succulence, and became as hard as a stone, and was used as a missile, and Hook fell over it in the dark.

All of it is funny, in fact. It’s a shame that the cake (not counting the musical) is often left out of adaptations or retellings. And even in the case of the musical, the full impact of Barrie’s wit in this passage isn’t given justice. If I’m ever involved with a filmed Peter and Wendy, you can be sure the cake will be a running gag and we shall see the launch and Hook stumbling with a shout of “Odds, bobs, hammer and tongs!”

Another Peter JaPAN

Apparently this November another comic/graphic novel version of
Peter and Wendy will be out.

The Japanese mangaka group CLAMP will be producing illustrations
 for Aoi Tori's publication.

The purist in me isn't all that fond of the depiction,
but the drawing is lovely otherwise.

I can't read Japanese anyway.

99 Pages Off a Done Man's Chest

Well, just moments ago I put the last word into Peter Pan: Betwixt and-Between.  Yes, it's now finished for the second time.  Hosah.

I'm quite glad of the revision, for it's definitely a smoother and more engaging book than its previous incarnation.  A little of the credit goes to the characters.  When called upon, they really came through for me.  A lot of credit goes to Anon, who showed me the turbulences along with heaps of encouragement.  Toward the end of the process a scene greatly improved because I tinkered it out with Anon via email.  (I shared it as per it containing the result of a particular good suggestion.)  Much must go to Barrie and a bit to James Fenimore Cooper.   And lastly, I suppose, to whatever it is that makes me write.

The second word tally is one shy of ending in a 100.  It just qualifies for a novel at 50,099.  Not that it should be ascribed any sort of significance, but I cannot help but think of the upcomming centennial of the publication Peter and Wendy.  It's just one year away and here I am one word shy of 100.

I shall, naturally, read it through as a whole again.  Especially since I tinkered around in the middle bits here and there after the revise-through.

And then (as you probably know by now) it's off to Andrea Jones, author of Hook & Jill.  I'm looking forward to her critique of it.  She has such a wonderful perspective, approach and understanding of Barrie's world and I'm eager to share what I have wrought with the pieces of imagination I had available.

Then what happens?  Que sera sera.

It's Panning Out

Last night, (or the wee hours of this morning if technicality is your thing), I finished the minor rewrites to my interquel Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between. Faithful reader and fan Anon had been kind enough to give me not only critiques of the story but editing remarks as well. This sort: combine these sentences, add a comma, please clarify... I’ve gone through all of them now. In most cases I took Anon’s advice and sometimes did exactly as suggested while in others I rewrote the lines entirely. I even cut out whole sentences. There's something quite satisfying about deciding to axe passages.

Now I can move on to the major revisions, the kind that will alter the story structure a bit. Actually, I have already tackled some of these changes along the way. While editing and looking right at a part that is known to be getting an overhaul, it only made sense to plink away at it then. I imagine the minor changes would have gone much more quickly if I didn’t fiddle around with the story aspect as I went along, too. Plus, I had already redone two chief chunks of the tale before handling the little bits.

At any rate, I can already see that it shall be (and is) a much better novel than it had been at first draft. I’d be worried if that were not true! I even managed to strengthen some ties between Barrie’s two books. Anon had wondered why I didn’t include one of Peter Pan’s skills in the mix. I hadn’t wanted to make a one-for-one back history. After all, at least some parts had to remain indigenous to Barrie lest I would ruin their impact, especially the scene where Pan demonstrates that particular skill in Peter and Wendy. But as I revised, I realized that this skill had actually been included all along and apparently neither one of us noticed. I simply re-tooled what had been written so as to subtlely hint at what happens in Barrie’s. As it now stands, Peter Pan will have developed this ability as time goes on… and thus in Peter and Wendy we are shown how well. It also gave Pan a little more fuel to his emotional fires and woes in the Betwixt-and-Between novel.

So all in all, it’s shaping up. Soon enough it will be off to Andrea Jones, author of Hook & Jill. Even though there is no actual appearance of Captain Hook in this tale, she has agreed to take a look at it anyway. (Yes, that's meant as a tongue-in-cheek comment.) What luck to have access to such an esteemed Barrie enthusiast.

Thanks Anon, Andrea, and any who want to read this book!

Worth Noting (Again)

For as many times as this happens, it's a wonder it still delights and surprises me. Actually, it's truly something special and quite a magical experience, so perhaps it's no wonder at all that so splendid an occurrence continually astounds me. What am I talking about? Let me explain.

Before I do so, however, I'm happy to say that Peter Pan's plan of vengeful mischief is underway... and the characters have been more than helpful in providing the sundry details.

Which brings me to my convoluted statements above. I'd just been composing more of this book and came to another chapter's end. However, parts of it are missing. (As I mentioned in another post, I'd skipped a few chunks here and there in order to write the bits I'd a current passion to see on the page.) Since the chapter had not technically been done, then, I decided to go back and fill in the gap. First, though, I needed to refer back to Barrie, taking another peek at some facts in Peter and Wendy. Once I had what I needed, I returned to my novel. As I did so, sure enough, I'd "heard" from my fictional friends who let me know what to put into the story. One of the bits of advice in particular made me quite pleased. It just seemed like a great idea. Not only did it tie in bits of Barrie, but also a snippet from Peter Pan's NeverWorld as well. So I typed out a note of what the fairy added. But guess what. I'd already had that very idea in the notes that acted for a placeholder for the missing scene!

It's moments like these that shine when writing. It truly seems as if some other realm is indeed being accessed. Perhaps there is "something else" going on... or else I am just that scatter-brained. ;) Thank goodness for the notes, eh?

Either way, it never ceases to be magical. And it's a great reassurance that I probably do indeed "have it right."

Okay... back to writing...

150 Years of Mothering (and then some!)

It's QUITE the day.

Not only is it
Mother's Day
but it's also the
150 Anniversaryof the birth of Sir J.M. Barrie.
Given his history with his own mother as well as the way mothers are so integral not only to his most well known story of Peter Pan, but in all his work as well, it's quite a staggering coincidence. How perfectly lovely that the calendar should conspire for this synchronization!

So here's an extra special hurrah for both Barrie and mothers everywhere.

She went from bed to bed singing enchantments over them, and little Michael flung his arms round her. “Mother,” he cried, “I’m glad of you.”

Chapter 2: The Shadow - Peter and Wendy

It's That Time Again...

“You won’t forget me, Peter, will you, before spring cleaning time comes?”

That's what I've been up to - Spring Cleaning.
Yep, over the past few days I've gotten into many nooks & crannies...
so much so that I now ache.

Aren't you glad you know that?

What a wonderful rarely seen F.D. Bedford drawing!
It's a good thing Wendy is a nice motherly person.

“Oh dear!” Wendy said, “you see, I feel that is exactly what I am.”

- Peter and Wendy, Sir J.M. Barrie

Thanks and Thinkings

I may have already done so, but it bears repeating:

I want to thank those whose discussions, comments and/or "point outs" have helped in the writing of Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between.

Most notably are reader/commenter Anon and Andrea Jones, author of Hook & Jill.

Tidbits here and there have worked their way into story, making it not only better but much more exciting for me to compose.

Still going well. In fact, yesterday I had another instance of a scene appearing on the page for which I don't feel I may claim responsibility. Peter Pan and some fairies took hold of my pen (er... keyboard) and soon I had a fun incident with a great image, providing just what had been needed as a transition into the next part (where I did know what would happen.) I never tire of this phenomenon.

I've already exceeded the length of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (approx. 21,850 words.) I'm currently around 31,690 words. Since I've thrown out a set of characters and their scenes (which would only convolute the already fantastical tale) and I've gotten further along, I am wondering at what length this story will turn out to be. I don't have a sense of that yet - especially when the characters are taking the reins! I did have this thought, though: Perhaps it shoud be a word count which would be (ahem!) betwixt-and-between Barrie's two tales about Pan. Peter and Wendy weighs in at circa 47,190. The median would then be (Good grief! Math! Argh!) 34,520. Well, the dream of it being exactly in-between lengths must vanish, for I don't feel as if I can tell the rest of this story in only 3000 words. But I shall at least try to keep it under Peter and Wendy. Then again, that would technically classify it as a novella. Not that it matters, as Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens is a novella (when dealt with separately from The Little White Bird.) Just a lame lament that it wouldn't actually be a "book." I'll just keep going, and see what happens...

Bits of the Story Leap Out...

Still reading Peter and Wendy.

I'm actually much further along than the part I am (sort of) mentioning, but I just had to share.

I came across a very telling scrap of evidence which might reveal...
...that I am correct in my calculations as to the "real" identity of Captain Jas. Hook.

It's a wonder I never noticed it before. But then, given that Hook only appears in Peter Pan's NeverWorld by mere mention, it might not be so surprising after all that I didn't stumble upon it before. For I have not belabored over the puzzle of the Captain's past.... just tinkered with it.

Of course, much like a lot of odd tidbits by Barrie, it could also be interpretted another way.

You didn't really think I'd tell you what the clue is or my theory on his identity, did you? No, sorry, saving that for a possible (not a guaranteed) book in which I present the origins of Hook, or at the very least how he wound in the Neverland. Maybe some day...

O man unfathomable. - Perhaps NOT!

And one other curious mention by Barrie which I'm re-noticing:

Then [Peter] got into the nest, reared the stave in it as a mast, and hung up his shirt for a sail. Shirt? He's dressed in leaves, isn't he? Well, yes... BUT: This scene of course parallel the bird's nest boat which allowed the flightless infant Pan in Kensington Gardens to cross the Serpentine. It also shows that Wendy (and other mothers) did indeed change Peter Pan's outfit fromt time to time. (Just in case anyone thought my new togs for Peter to be off course.) Then again, my "interpretation" of what he wears is based on the photographs Barrie took when he dressed up Michael Llewellyn-Davies as Peter Pan.

Calling for the PAN of Barrie's Classic!

So I've been reading through Peter and Wendy (a.k.a. Peter Pan) again on account of that really cool event that will be happening this weekend [which I hope to have permission to write about here.]

No matter which version of the novel being addressed, there is always too much missing. Ridiculously so. Sure, I understand that cuts and tweaks usually need to be made when transferring it to the visual medium. But does that always have to be the case? I've decided no.

If I ever am able to present my own filmed adaptation of Barrie's masterpiece, I am going to do using several parts. It seems the only way to be able to include it all (besides one VERY long film) is to spread it over several sections. I'm imagining the proverbial "mini-series." I'd also like to see it done in realistic motion-capture CGI animation. In many ways, it's the "best of both worlds."

It's truly a shame, for instance, that we always lose the full gamut of Mrs. Darling's fears and toils regarding the coming of Peter Pan. Do you even know about her scouring the floor with a candle in a panic for footprints? And She rattled the poker up the chimney and tapped the walls. She's really freaked out! I mentioned the loss of Mrs. Darling's interactions before in this post.

And none have fully realized the flight to the Neverland. What of the real duration? Where are the bouts with the birds? The touching of shark fins? And the Darlings fearful at being left by themselves when Pan darts off to some adventure without them?

It would also require the alluring task of adding some dialogue for passages such as: [Wendy] gave him a look of the most intense admiration, and he thought it was because he had run away, but it was really because he knew fairies. Wendy had lived such a home life that to know fairies struck her as quite delightful. She poured out questions about them, to his surprise...

If ever given the chance, I want to include it PAN (ALL.) And yes, there would HAVE to be a Narrator for the salient quips included as such.

If you've never read the original, please do so... you'll be surprised at how much you're missing!

Smashing Review!

I have already mentioned, or you may have noticed a certain "Anonymous" whose commentary has been a great asset to this site. I always look forward to the insights and information given by the mysterious Barrie and Pan fan.

Well, Anonymous has gone one step further. Thank you, Anon, for your wonderful review on Amazon. I'm glad my novel made you so happy.

Anon's review is here.

Thanks again!

Please allow me to address the issues raised within the review.

Yes, the many characters result from presenting an entire thriving world. The Pans are the main focus of this novel. It has been the plan to further develop the other characters in future adventures.

Regarding certain characters still being alive:

There are a number of reasons for my including them. If one checks back with Barrie, it’s unclear as to whether or not the Neverland halts the aging process while on its shores. Certainly the promise of not growing up there is part of popular culture. But since I’m all about adhering to Barrie, I examined closer when I began the novel.

Barrie wove the timeline of the events into actual history. It would not otherwise be possible for Captain Hook (for instance) to still be around when the Darling children arrived. Thus, it's only logical that some "magic" is preserving them.

When referring to the Lost Boys, the actual text of Peter and Wendy says “seem to be growing up.” Seem – a very ambiguous word. And since Peter’s perception and assessment is being spoken of in that passage, it’s prone to his faulty judgments.

Barrie describes Peter Pan having an affect on the mood of the Neverland. So Peter also belongs to the Fisher King archetype. It’s entirely possible that his own magic of eternal youth infects the island.

In theory, the other inhabitants of the island must always be there for other children to discover and play with/agaisnt, as Pan stories are passed down through generations in the world of Barrie. Death is, of course, also a reality in the Neverland. Children past Wendy, John and Michael Darling cannot have the terrible joy of fighting Hook. But fortunately, new adventures crop up all the time.

The way I see it, it’s a choice, or an event perhaps (such as the enticement of the mainland instead), that changes the stakes and makes one grow up. Peter Pan is the only one who chooses to remain a child.

There are other reasons for the eternal youth/life of the inhabitants, but I'll leave you to discover those within the pages of Peter Pan’s NeverWorld.

Thus, I’m pleased to be able to go along with the popular notion of “never grow up in the Neverland” via support from the actual words of Barrie.

Thanks for reading!

* The "Anon" image used is cropped from the first page of the first draft of Peter Pan dated November 23, 1903. The full page can be found on the amazing page of Barrie guru Andrew Birkin. The link is in the sidebar.