Posts tagged ‘writing’
MARK TWAIN & ME & DEATH & TIME
A daily practice of mine is to look at the weather forecasts. Included in the facts are the temperature highs and lows associated with that date. I sometimes dwell on the years these records were set, years when I did not exist. Could I be considered dead on those dates? Is the definition of death that interval before and after your existence?
What got me thinking of this topic was a quote I read a few days ago. A quote of Mark Twain’s when he was asked if he feared death. The great writer said, “I do not fear death. I have been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.”
This quote sums up exactly what I have been secretly pondering for years. But the part that bothers me is the ‘billions and billions of years’.
I have been both intrigued and mystified by the universe’s creation, the ‘Big Bang’. What follows are questions I have pondered, and the more I learn, the greater my confusion. What came before the ‘Big Bang’? Did time exist before that colossal event? For time is the interval between two events, and if there are no events, can there be time? Time would have to exist while the three other dimensions had not come into existence.
As a side-note, I have been working on a short story, The Event, for some time now and the story is tangled up in the notion of the ‘Big Bang’ and what came before.
As far as I know, the current theory speculates that the Higgs boson created the ‘Big Bang’, a particle which is able to create mass. But what created the Higgs boson, a particle which had to exist before the ‘Big Bang’. Just for a moment, let’s play with science. We all know the existence of the formula E=Mc2 Now, if the Higgs boson created matter, did light exist at that time? For, if light did not exist, E=M0 equals no energy or mass. So how can mass be created if light does not exist? Am I pursuing mind games are these answers known?
I’ve always thought of the ‘Big Bang’ as a combination of God and science, where physics and religion meet in a profound outcome. Was Mark Twain, and us all, dead before life for billions and billions of years, or for infinity?
IDEA FOR A SCIENCE FICTION STORY: BLACK HOLE
I know it’s been done before, but here’s my idea of a story that might be on a slightly grander scale. With this posting on my blog I have proof that the idea is mine. Just thought I’d run it by my science fiction fans and writers.
I just read an article posted on Science Daily, a site I check every day for it provides a wealth of science facts capable of giving science fiction a nudge. The article stated (I’ll provide a link) that scientists have discovered a new black hole. The interesting fact is that it is 30 times bigger than expected, and they don’t know why.
Okay, let’s put on our imagination caps now.
What if the black hole was 100 times as big as predicted, hell, make it 1000 times bigger. The universe is less than predictable. Imagine that this black hole was near enough to our galaxy, or perhaps created within our galaxy, and was able to draw our solar system and a good part of the Milky Way into its region of destruction.
How would that approach effect our planet? Say we had a heads-up of thousands of years. What would mankind do other than form committees which accomplish nothing? What would the hero to this dilemma do to save the world? And if there wasn’t a hero what would happen when our planet was pulled into this massive void? Are we destroyed or do we arrive at another dimension, converted into dark matter?
Think about it.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150924083634.htm
CARIBBEAN BY JAMES A. MICHENER
Reading a James A Michener novel returns the reader to a time of innocence, and provides an engrossing story. A time when writing a novel was more than flash and sex, when story and content were of prime importance. These are the feelings I came away with after reading Michener’s novel, Caribbean. The amount of research he puts into his novels is truly astounding. He uses these fact and weaves a compelling story around the backbone of history.
It’s been a long time since I read one of Michener’s works. My favorite, which I read in my youth, was The Source. This novel follows the excavation of a well in the Middle East, recording the civilizations and people who existed in the area of the well from the bottom-most layer to the present, the present at least at the time of the writing of this novel.
Caribbean, published in 1989, employs Michener’s standard method, using a vast amount of research to describe the civilizations and populations, the hopes and horrors of the people involved with the area. At the same time creating a story and characters that will hold your interest and provide knowledge of the area.
Returning to the first line of this article. I must say that I am guilty of using more profanity in a short story than Michener uses in a 600+ page novel. How times have change and continue to do so, rapidly.
If you haven’t read any of Michener’s works, give yourself and treat and do so.
SUPERNATURAL, A GREAT TV SERIES
I’m somewhat behind the curve when it comes to popular culture; think Neanderthal. However, on Netflix I stumbled upon a series, Supernatural, which I think is fantastic. I also discovered that a local station carries the series, probably has for years.
I spend hours each night catching up on past episodes. In a nutshell, the series follows two brothers who investigate strange occurrences and hunt the monsters causing these events. Also involved in the continuing story line are a host of demons and angels. Turns out, not all demons are bad, and not all angels are good.
I love this show!
The writers are beyond excellent, providing twists and turns in a continuing plot with always a new element that will grip your attention and keep you guessing ‘What could possibly come next’? On occasion, the writers also provide a bit of humor with episodes which introduce the ‘Ghostfacers’, along with other episodes that will leave you chuckling, in spite of the horror.
The dynamics of the relationship of the brothers is also a constant conflict keeping the storyline unpredictable to say the least. All is not rosy with this series, as well it should not be.
If you enjoy horror as much as I, do, and great writing, something rare these days in TV, find a source and begin watching Supernatural.
REVIVAL BY STEPHEN KING
Published as a paperback by Galley Books in 2015, with Revival, Stephen King has done it again; taking us on a ride through interesting characters with a touch of horror, maybe more than a touch. I enjoyed this novel. Now let me tell you why.
First, some background.
Stephen King and I are the same age, and we’re both writers of horror. The similarities stop there. King has bucks coming out his butt because his novels sell because they are excellent reads. I just have a butt with the usual production, but I’m working to change that. I love King’s work, and with this last novel, I’m beginning to understand why.
We grew up together.
I enjoy all of King’s earlier novels, written while he and I were young or of middle age, the characters kept my interest and the storylines were magnificent horror. But the age of the characters was unimportant to both me and the work. Then, as he grew old, and life took its toll, his writing began to change, and being the same age, I now strongly identify with the characters.
There is no guide to getting old, thank God, for if there was, some might chose not to. Everyone’s experience is different and unique. There are those who do not have a chance to experience the aches, pains and loss of the purpose they once knew. You know the only way to not grow old, think Marilyn Monroe. They are the ones who suffer the loss of opportunity of time and accomplishment.
Now, about the story.
Revival centers on a minister who loses his faith and a young boy he encounters before circumstances cause this loss. Even after his loss of faith, the minister holds revivals and accomplishes cures using ‘secret electricity’, an unknown form of electricity which he is sure exists. He also feels this electricity will allow him to glimpse worlds we cannot normally see. The result is not pleasant. King goes totally H.P. Lovecraftian at the novel’s conclusion. Being a fan of Lovecraft, I loved it.
Revival is an excellent tale of horror, but it is much more. It is also a skilled description of the ageing process through the life of its characters. Until you are there, advance age cannot be truly described. This is what give a richness to King’s tale. Through personal experience, King does a fantastic job of combining advance age, and bearing the crosses of life’s experiences. I also bear crosses, and am stumbling through the years.
Treat yourself.
Read this book.
ELEVEN MINUTES BY PAULO COELHO
Existing somewhere between clinical and raunchy, this novel explores the world of sex through the eyes of a Brazilian woman, living in Geneva, Switzerland, as a prostitute. The work journeys from one extreme to another, following the woman through her profession and experiences, but maintains a level of literature which is both informative and captivating. After experiencing love found, then lost, she stumbles into this profession more by accident than desire. Although, through following her experiences, both desire and love come into play.
What I found most intriguing was the way Coelho mined the thoughts of a women, especially those of a woman in an uncommon situation of love for sale and profound individuality.
I love this author’s work, and treat yourself, start reading his novels.
STRUGGLLING TO GET IT WRITE: AN EPIPHANY
This piece will demonstrate how slow a learner I am and how much I have to learn.
I’m in the process of reading Paulo Coelho’s novel, Eleven Minutes. I’m sure many of you are familiar with his name from his famous novel, The Alchemist, which has been on the bestseller list for years.
As I’m reading, I marvel at how simple the process of his writing appears to be, how characters and scenes just falls into place. As I brooded on this observation and compared it to my own work, lightning struck my addled brain. The process was not simple but born through skill and hard work. The richness I observed was the level of his skill and determination.
I have had a problem for the last few years, well maybe more than one, and have discussed it in my blog in the past. I have a fear of the rewrite, of not getting it perfect. What a fool! The ‘write’ doesn’t make the piece, it’s the rewrite that gives life to the framework.
Looking at a writer as a sculptor, a sculptor of thought, if you will, the first draft is the initial release of the form imprisoned in the rock or marble, the metal or marble; the writer’s mind. It is only through careful chipping away that the work takes form. It is only after editing and living with the work is the work completed. The initial draft is nothing but the birth. I’m going to try to force myself to put these observations to use.
Please, stay in touch.
BLAZE BY RICHARD BACHMAN (STEPHEN KING)
Written in 1972-1973, this novel brought me a new appreciation of the ‘master’ as I have never felt before. In this story, Helen Keller could have seen the gifted writer which would emerge on the horror scene.
Surprisingly, this work, in the strictest sense, in not a horror novel. There is a dead accomplice giving Blaze, the main character, a brain-damaged man, advice, but he only exists in Blaze’s mind and memory. What I found remarkable about this work is how King creates a multi-faceted who kidnaps and kills, yet you’re able to get into his mind and past and find sympathy for his actions.
I’m not giving away any more detail. Buy the book and fill the ‘master’s’ coffers. You won’t be disappointed.
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