Lots of notes below on our final episode with Liz.
If you haven’t read her work, now is the perfect time to start. Her latest novel, A Haunting on the Hill, is the first sequel to Shirley Jackson’s classic novel The Haunting of Hill House authorized by Jackson’s estate.
Penthouse “Hot Talk”?
Yes, yes Penthouse Hot talk really did exist. And it wasn’t a feature in the flagship Penthouse magazine… it was its own magazine.
We’re abiding by Liz’s wishes and have not gone digging to find her work in its pages but at some point, we might have to.
Le Guin & the Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction
In her discussion of plot here, Liz name drops Ursula le Guin.
Le Guin is obviously another titan of fiction, one who’s shadow and influence on every genre and on the craft of writing itself is incalculable.
Specifically, Liz is referencing le Guin’s “carrier bag theory of fiction.”
Here’s the specific excerpt Liz paraphrases:
The novel is a fundamentally unheroic kind of story. Of course the Hero has frequently taken it over, that being his imperial nature and uncontrollable impulse, to take everything over and run it while making stern decrees and laws to control his uncontrollable impulse to kill it. So the Hero has decreed through his mouthpieces the Lawgivers, first, that the proper shape of the narrative is that of the arrow or spear, starting here and going straight there and THOK! hitting its mark (which drops dead); second, that the central concern of narrative, including the novel, is conflict; and third, that the story isn't any good if he isn't in it.
I differ with all of this.
The entire essay is a must-read for anyone interested in theories of narrative, anyone interested in how to tell a story, why to tell a story, and the ways in which the very structure of a story creates meanings.
It’s here.
One can never, and we can’t stress this enough, never have too much Ursula le Guin in their lives.
… and Boba Fett?
Yes, Liz also wrote four Boba Fett tie-in novels.
She also wrote the novelization of 12 Monkeys… AND the Halle Berry Catwoman film.
We’ve read none of them but if anyone out there has or wants to, we’d love to hear about them.
Hell, drop us a line in the comments and we’ll buy you a copy of the Catwoman novelization as long as you promise to send us highlights.
The Animators
Animation in these episodes was done by a team amazing artists.
Andrea Schmitz and Andrea Sparacio were first on it. They created the strange, unsettling shapes that recur through the episodes. They’re a great team and have made a few shorts together - check out a trailer for one here.
The next layer was provided by April Merl, editor of the entire First Word on Horror series. April is a fantastic editor with a keen set of animation skills. Those of you who are watching closely enough might have caught a few other visual easter eggs that April placed in these episodes.
And finally, Morgan Galen King, Etch’s resident rotoscoper and creative director came in to help with backgrounds and details.
Next week… Laird.
Share this post