Stories that inspired Star Shapes

Hello all!

I was recently talking about how I wish all books I beta read came with a list of books used as inspiration, since that would help me understand the goal of the book and also expand my reading list, and Samuel Moss pointed out that academic works have bibliographies after all, and that including a bibliography with fiction “acknowledges that no work springs ex nihilo, but is a node generated from many works created in the past and connecting (hopefully) to work in the future.”

With that in mind, I decided to make my own list of influences for my little novella Star Shapes. These books and stories all had some impact on this story.

HOWEVER, on the topic of Star Shapes, I have some okay news!

Star Shapes Rerelease!

Speaking of which, since the small press that published Star Shapes is going into hibernation for now, I decided to self-publish it instead! These things happen, and I’m grateful to have learned more about the publishing process. I was afraid I couldn’t handle the technological aspects of self-publishing, but I just used Amazon this time, which I know is ethically dubious, but they make it very easy. That’s always the way! Hopefully I’ll keep learning tech skills so I can do more.

Anyway, here’s the new link to Star Shapes!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1M2HF4X

Star Shapes, a Bibliography:

Bobbie Ann Mason - "Shiloh" (short story) 

This is a story I’ve seen in anthologies over the years, one of the few set in the relatively contemporary South. Here, Leroy is having trouble in his marriage with Norma Jean (who has recently taken up weightlifting), and there’s a hyperreality and absurdity to the tone which of course I like. But what gets me is the trip at the end to the Shiloh battlefield in Tennessee.

Here’s a little excerpt:

Leroy says, “So the boys in gray ended up in Corinth. The Union soldiers zapped ‘em finally. April 7, 1862.”

They both know that he doesn’t know any history. He is just talking about some of the historical plaques they have read. He feels awkward; like a boy on a date with an older girl. They are still just making conversation.

"Corinth is where Mama eloped to," says Norma Jean.

Among other things, it’s a tale about failing to acknowledge and process history, both personal and regional. Feeling like you aren’t even up to the task. That’s something I’m really interested in, and it comes to mind anytime I think about the South.

Haruki Murakami - "Birthday Girl" (short story)

I’m kind of a Murakami fangirl, and he’s one of the reasons I decided to try my hand at writing fiction. “Birthday Girl” is a story that still gives me chills when I reread it. I love how he tells straightforward, simple stories that suddenly become wildly strange. This story ends before his usual full turn into the strange, at a point where you’re left with many questions. Naturally, my hope is also to leave readers with many questions.

What I love about this story is the way it presents youth v. age…the magic and excitement of not knowing how life works. At a certain point, you make your wish, and you can never go back and unmake it. It carries you through to the rest of your life. I wanted to write about a character who hadn’t made her wish yet, and how someone else might interfere with her ability to do so.

Flannery O'Connor - "A Good Man is Hard to Find" (short story)

This is one of the most famous Southern short stories, one that pops up everywhere. There’s just no one else like O’Connor.

“A Good Man is Hard to Find” is not my very favorite of her stories (that’s “Good Country People”), but it’s a funny and gruesome and horribly sad story that ends in surreal violence. And isn’t violence always surreal? That’s something I wanted to explore in my story…how do you get from Point A (“nice” Southern lady) to Point B (blood!).

Kelsea Yu - Bound Feet (novella)

I wrote Star Shapes soon after reading Kelsea Yu’s novella Bound Feet. I learned about the rhythm and structure of novellas from her book, but most of all, I was inspired because I was so entertained by the story and so pleasantly shocked by the ending.

I love stories that explore the bounds of niceness, where you can examine the realistic gray area between being a good person and a bad person. Yu does this is such a surprising way while also telling a thrilling ghost story.

Kafka - The Trial 

I could probably put any Kafka story on a bibliography for anything I write, but if you’ve read Star Shapes, you see why I’m mentioning The Trial. I love the idea of being charged with a crime without being told what the crime is (since that’s often what it feels like to be alive!). Something similar happens to the main character of Star Shapes, though she eventually finds out why she’s been kidnapped, which is kind of a shame! But she has a good run of not knowing.

One reason I love absurd fiction is because it allows you to dip into any emotion or philosophy without becoming stuck. An absurd story can take you from heresy to orthodoxy, misery to hilarity, and it rarely feels confining. You might receive a death sentence and laugh about it; you might get a promotion and want to die. There’s the sense that anything could happen. Maybe Godot will show up tomorrow, who knows? We have to stay alive to find out.

Ottessa Moshfegh - My Year of Rest and Relaxation 

Moshfegh is obviously extremely talented, but I wouldn’t say I usually vibe with her stuff, because I generally find it too unsettling for my personal enjoyment. Her novel My Year of Rest and Relaxation is upsetting, sure, but the surface story is funny and comfortable enough…a young woman falls into a well of apathy and checks out of her life for a while. Fortunately for her, she has the resources to do this without any problems, and you might end up hating her for it. I don’t want to lecture you right now on why you should give “unlikeable” female protagonists a chance. I’ll save that lecture for another time. For now, take my word for it! They can be as entertaining as unlikeable men.

I think the main character of Star Shapes could be considered unlikeable to some people, though she has her share of Southern charm. I envisioned her as being from a well-off suburb in Birmingham (from “over the mountain” as my Grandmother Grimes would say). She has some privilege, but she still has to work and claw her way up in life. She’s just out of college and doesn’t have a lot of perspective about life yet, and she’s rather judgmental. I can’t personally imagine writing a story about a hero, though…it’s a fiction that doesn’t interest me.

Poe - “A Tell-Tale Heart” (short story) 

Anyone doing anything related to horror could probably cite this story! If you haven’t read it recently, you’ll enjoy revisiting it. You can relish how out-of-breath and manic the narrator is as he tells his story with repetition, endless dashes, and hollow reassurances.

I love writing stories where the main character has a mental spiral that you can witness in real time. It’s a lot of fun, even when the subject matter isn’t. In Star Shapes, my character has a lot of self-confidence and a strong sense of her own reality, but her stay with the country family wears away at this. Over time, her sense of self begins to unravel, and she does her share of spiraling.

Barbara Comyns - in general

I thought about talking about The Vet’s Daughter since it’s a funny/awful/weird story about youth, but it’s really her general sense of humor and nonchalant tone and bizarre imagination that I take as inspiration, and those qualities exist in everything she writes. She’s currently my biggest writing hero.

Francine Pascal - The Curse of the Ruby Necklace (Sweet Valley Twins) 

This is one of the first books I read that really scared me. I misremembered it as a Babysitters’ Club Mystery (BSC being my favorite fun youth series), but when I looked it up while writing this, I found it was actually Sweet Valley, which makes sense! Sweet Valley, California, was definitely a darker place than Stoneybrook, Connecticut. Anyway, I can’t remember the exact plot, but I’m pretty sure that this story (like Star Shapes) featured a revisiting of the past, a Gothic landscape, and creepy jewelry. I need to get a copy so I can reread it, though sometimes it’s better to leave pleasant memories alone.

Thanks for reading! I’m curious to read anyone else’s list of influences for their writing project!