{"id":36,"date":"2013-10-08T00:38:07","date_gmt":"2013-10-08T00:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=36"},"modified":"2013-10-08T00:38:07","modified_gmt":"2013-10-08T00:38:07","slug":"behind-short-story-first-fine-spectacle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=36","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Short Story: “First of a Fine Spectacle”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m honored\u00a0that my\u00a0short story\u00a0\/ high farce\u00a0“First of a Fine Spectacle” was selected for Pure Slush<\/i> No. 7, Catherine refracted<\/i>.<\/a><\/p>\n

I’m a history buff. But I’ve not had much interest writing historical fiction. Or flash fiction. So\u00a0historical flash?<\/p>\n

What drew me was the collection’s theme: Catherine the Great<\/a>. A canvas rife with legend, some deserved, others warped\u00a0by time. If ever a life was writ large, it was Sophie\/Katherina,\u00a0Empress and Plutocrat of All the Russians.<\/p>\n

Writing gold.<\/p>\n

Nothing about the horse legends or string of lovers\u00a0\u00a0grabbed me. I went for a niche\u00a0few\u00a0would have chosen to mine\u00a0and found it quicky: opera.\u00a0Catherine was an avid supporter, as she did all the arts, but opera was special to her<\/a>. Maybe she saw in its grand stage the only spectacle able to match that of her life. She built the first grand Bolshoi house. She styled herself a librettist and studied under masters of the form. As best I can tell, she was half-decent at it too, though she admitted\u00a0never to having enough conflict. Both of\u00a0which I tried to reflect in\u00a0“Spectacle”\u00a0via\u00a0her nymphs and satyrs trickery. Writing her was a blast, someone intelligent and sly and comfortably over the top in all things. Reading her quotes and bits of her writing was fascinating.<\/p>\n

So. A form I knew little about based around an performing art I knew little about. I ditched any actual\u00a0opera stuff for the key moment, Artur meets Sophie (like it or not). It’s his story and their battle of wills,\u00a0and my struggle to sort through to a thematic question almost stopped it cold. Iteratively and with help\u00a0I got to the point: is it better to be heard\u00a0clearly\u00a0but indirectly as a ghostwriter\u00a0or to\u00a0thine own voice be true. Both can be artistically pure;\u00a0both involve compromises.\u00a0Artur chooses, or is conned into choosing, to sign on as her partner. All comedies get a happy ending, remember.<\/p>\n

I’d like to thank Matt Potter\u00a0for his editorial patience and eye for\u00a0weak spots. He made this zing.\u00a0Most of all, I am eternally grateful to\u00a0writer buddy Lily Wilson who\u00a0critiqued this not once but twice.\u00a0Without her, this never saw print. Or binary e-code. Whichever you prefer.<\/p>\n

I leave “Spectacle” the same casual opera listener but with a better sense for it, librettos especially.\u00a0The title, by the\u00a0by,\u00a0comes from a tweak on\u00a017th\u00a0Century\u00a0philosopher Jean de La Bruy\u00e8re:<\/p>\n

\n

The\u00a0Opera is obviously the first draft of a fine spectacle; it suggests the idea of\u00a0 one.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m honored\u00a0that my\u00a0short story\u00a0\/ high farce\u00a0“First of a Fine Spectacle” was selected for Pure Slush No. 7, Catherine refracted. I’m a history buff. But I’ve not had much interest writing historical fiction. Or flash fiction. So\u00a0historical flash? What drew me was the collection’s theme: Catherine the Great. A canvas rife with legend, some deserved, others… Continue reading Behind the Short Story: “First of a Fine Spectacle”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,92,6],"tags":[18,20,19,3,5],"class_list":["post-36","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-humor","category-short-stories","category-this-whole-writing-thing","tag-catherine-the-great","tag-opera","tag-published-fiction","tag-short-stories","tag-writing","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3CG0W-A","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1716,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=1716","url_meta":{"origin":36,"position":0},"title":"Seconds: “First of a Fine Spectacle”","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"May 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Did you know Russian empress Catherine the Great wrote operas?\u00a0 She did, badly, or so goes her history. Anyway, back in my own when came an anthology call for Catherine the Great stories and here she was upon research having tried her imperial hand at librettos. I wrote it, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Humor"","block_context":{"text":"Humor","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=8"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/robertmangeot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Catherine-refracted-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":594,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=594","url_meta":{"origin":36,"position":1},"title":"Behind: “First Rodeo”","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"May 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"If you were around a century or so ago, and you\u00a0knew him well, you might call him Bill. On a legal document, William Sidney Porter. If you read any of his 300+ published stories, you knew him by his pen name:\u00a0O. Henry.\u00a0The name now commands a prestigious\u00a0short story\u00a0award, but more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Short Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Short Stories","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=92"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1868,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=1868","url_meta":{"origin":36,"position":2},"title":"The Haps: Spring 2021","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"April 8, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Spring has definitely sprung, and just as it brought its usual host of pollen and fresh critters, I have a minor host of updates to report: LOWESTOFT CHRONICLE In March 2021, my story \"No Entiendo\" appeared in Lowestoft Chronicle #45. The piece follows an IT guy who takes a contract\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Awards and Honors"","block_context":{"text":"Awards and Honors","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=14"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/robertmangeot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Presentation1-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":652,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=652","url_meta":{"origin":36,"position":3},"title":"First Two Pages + Two Bad Hamiltons = Too Good a Time!","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"July 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm delighted to have a guest post over at The First Two Pages, a blog run by writer extraordinaire B.K. Stevens. Every week a novelist or story writer takes apart an opening they find instructive: the fits and starts of crafting it, how the hook became sharp, etc. In my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Short Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Short Stories","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=92"},"img":{"alt_text":"AHM515-finalcover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/robertmangeot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/ah-may2015-207x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":635,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=635","url_meta":{"origin":36,"position":4},"title":"Caught on Podcast! Methodically Musing","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"June 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It was my great honor last night to talk fiction with the wonderful Sherry Welton Wilds as she debuts her new show The Method and the Muse. What a great (and short!) session, and I hope those who listen get value for their time. If I remember correctly, and this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Appearances"","block_context":{"text":"Appearances","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":968,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=968","url_meta":{"origin":36,"position":5},"title":"Derringer-ered!","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"April 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm incredibly proud\u00a0 that last year's\u00a0\"The Cumberland Package\"\u00a0(AHMM, May 2016) has been named a finalist for the Short Mystery Fiction Society's Derringer Awards.\u00a0 I mean, like busting-at-seams proud. Of being named, because the crime\u00a0space these days is terrific in\u00a0its voice\u00a0and depth. The\u00a0stuff that leaves me vibrating explores\u00a0in stark terms\u00a0human nature\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crime, Mystery & Suspense"","block_context":{"text":"Crime, Mystery & Suspense","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36\/revisions\/37"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}