Skip to content

A Serialized Novel Novel

Whim, Wham, Whimsy

Whim, Wham, Whimsy

Something done on a whim is considered capricious, without serious intent, or purpose. Much of Fex & Coo, Deathling Crown Lottery, the Cèilidh of Dreams, and Not in My Nightmare may be considered whimsical. There is much that is playful, fanciful, and humorous.

But let’s consider whimsy a bit deeper. Look at these synonyms:

unconventionality
 unorthodoxy 
singularity
 oddness
 queerness
 strangeness
 weirdness
 bizarreness
 quirkiness
 freakishness
extraordinariness
 peculiarity
irregularity
abnormality
 anomaly
 foible
idiosyncrasy
caprice
quirk

Without going into each of these words I want to claim them all as applicable in all their senses to what Paco and I have been doing in Fex & Coo. Notice the absence of rational, logical, reasonable, practical, useful, and other such terms. I feel like hugging the above synonyms for whimsy—much as I felt like hugging the unfinished statues of Michelangelo in the Academia in Florence. I was more taken with those figures struggling out of a stone than with the finished perfection of “the world’s greatest sculpture,” David.

So be it. The embrace of whimsy. 

2 Responses to “Whim, Wham, Whimsy”

  1. ralockhart says:
    June 20, 2022 at 1:44 PM

    From Merrilee:

    Russ,

    I came across this quote from James Hillman this morning:

    “The revelation of fantasies exposes the divine, which implies that our fantasies are alien because they are not ours. They arise from the transpersonal background.”

    Or, you could say, they arise from those places of whimsy you mention below. It seems as if our whimsy deserves the credit for setting us free from the cultural restraints that keep us bound.

  2. ralockhart says:
    July 6, 2022 at 7:52 AM

    From Estela”

    Your last post on “whimsy” and Paco’s post on the need for “neologisms” are thought provoking. Russ, you point out how whimsy has been a fundamental aspect of the writing process that you and Paco have been engaged in. The playful spirit, based on the qualities of the word’s synonyms, has led to a spontaneous connection with the creative imagination. This has resulted in some humorous and quirky dialogue and images, while revealing something more profound. I know that I have spent time chuckling and laughing as I read and also have been caught by some of the thought provoking material, which has sent me off on several research missions to discover additional underlying knowledge. It seems that the spirit’s ability to engage in spontaneous play, along with a sense of wonder, is essential to discovering new pathways for the future..

Comments are closed.