Tapestries, loose threads, and loose screws.

We here are on the wrong side of the tapestry. The things that happen here do not seem to mean anything; they mean something somewhere else.

--Chesterton, GK. Father Brown Mystery Stories.

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I wonder how often a writer, thru creative art, actually manages to crane their neck around to get a glimpse of "the other side of the tapestry"? And, is that the result of a bold and stunning imagination? Divine gift? Or both?

Does a writer lend meaning to the meaningless? Discover patterns that are truly present or merely imagined?

This, I think, is the delight and dilemma for the writer...am I seeing something real and making it more clear for my readers? Or, is this just, as Solomon said, a "vanity," the product of a fertile imagination?

To answer this question...well, I'm going to point in the direction where I think answers await...I suggest Narnia and Middle Earth. Whattaya think?

Did Lewis and Tolkien see something new? Or the old in new and exciting and memorable ways?

That's my question for the day...

PS: whilst I used the term "writer," perhaps better would be, "honest seeker of truth via the creative arts."

PPS: Tapestry--NOT the place to go tugging at loose threads. Art and littyature--oh yeah. Sometimes I think it's fun to go looking for a thread that, while not exactly loose, isn't quite aligned with its neighbors. Tug and run, what fun!

PPPS: Some creative pursuits may look like the loose thread isn't loose at all--it's the artist's screws that are a little loose! I think creativity and eccentricity and loosey-goosey-ness are pretty close together on a continuum that ends with --van Gogh? Jack Kerouac? Your candidate(s)?

PPPPS: I think sometimes "the other side of the tapestry" is hiding in plain sight, and we try to make things too complicated, look for "the big answers" when meaning and purpose and value is right in front of us...in the little things. Such as? Children and their absolute joy in discovering something new to them. A dog at play--is there a more clear and direct demonstration of joy than that? Sunsets, sugar maple trees bedecked in their regimental colors in September, a mountain range, chocolate, Bach, Beethoven, or Brahms! Ahhhhhhh.


There is no element of genius without some form of madness.
--Leonardo DiCaprio (I hated attributing it to him. Even though I found the quote attached to his name, I had a hard time giving a Hollywood feller credit...so I looked it up...shure 'nuff, also attrib to Seneca and Aristotle!)



Talking about creative writing.

Them as can, do.
Them as cain't, teach.
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Hmmm. Saturday was my day to teach about writing, focusing on the large, complex work (novels, screenplays). I suggested that we are grounded by the theology of creativity.

I focused the first part of my talk what creativity means, theologically, drawing a lot from Dorothy Sayers' THE MIND OF THE MAKER. This is a subject that I love to talk about (so bear with me!): since we are created in the image of God...just as He spoke and the world leapt into being...so, too, our creative use of words brings new worlds, new characters, and new stories to life.

I frequently referenced a favorite book, Stephen King's ON WRITING...as in this blog posting: http://davionwriting.blogspot.com/2013/05/immense-possibilities.html


If interested, link to my handout and notes. Link to my own writing.

Okay, enough with the links and references. My talk yesterday was intended to both encourage my fellow writers, and to offer some instruction and (what I hope were) some tantalizing ideas, concrete ideas such as:

--let your characters be themselves, don't force them into a mold of your own making. Just because I like to read doesn't mean all my characters need to be book-lovers. Just because I have a certain belief system I shouldn't force my story line to hew to my own theological preferences.

--let your characters be real: they are opinionated, scruffy, and nobody is ever a hunnerd percent good or evil...even a bad guy still loves his ____ (mother, cat, elementary-school chum)!

--let your story emerge from your characters: trying to predict a story is hard when you have strong characters who mayn't react exactly as expected, desired, or planned.

--write about what you know, sure...but, what you know may be as broad as "love" or "just being doggone human."

--write so that the reader still has room for their own imagination--don't over-describe. If I tell you that the man's charcoal pinstriped suit drapes his slim muscular frame perfectly, and that the pucker in the knot of his pink tie is aligned precisely with the midpoint of his button-down collar soft charcoal shirt, with the glimmer of silver cufflinks appearing as he gestures broadly to accompany his slow, drawling speech...well, I have painted a picture, 'tis true. However, if I told you, "Look up the words 'elegant' and 'gentleman' in the encyclopedia, and you'd find this pin-striped Southerner's picture"... well, I've left you room to see an image that YOUR brain created--you'll know exactly what he looks look without wading through my excessively descriptive prose.

--write so that the reader can see/smell/hear what's happening...but, again, use broad brush-strokes, not fussy fine strokes that, while lovely, slow the reader down.

--chaque-un a son gout...to each their own.

--read lots, write lots.

Have you read a poorly written work lately?--that's one of the best ways to learn good writing, I've discovered. (I'm hoping you're learning bad examples from other than moi!)

Have you read something excellent? Do tell!

PLAY!

"That's the truest test of insanity: insane people are always sure they're just fine. It's only the sane people who are willing to admit they're crazy." Nora Ephron

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Sometimes when I'm writing, I try to truly step outside myself, just letting the words and thoughts flow...omitting the usual (nigh-omnipresent) "editorial function," you know, that self-critical feedback that has likely stymied more good ideas than bad ones it has corrected! That's right...as Nora says it so aptly above...just go a little crazy, admit it, and run with it--laissez les bon temps rouler!

Sometimes writing is truly play--using a strong character, I can ask, "What might this gal do?" and just let her have at it...and have her wisecrack her way out of a pinch. At other times, writing is work--the dialog doesn't crackle, the descriptions seem tedious, the plot is as linear and interesting as a six-inch ruler...ugh. Worse, still, when I'm reading something that actually got published despite those same problems! That said, I think I learn more about writing from a shoddy work--"Gee, this is boring and the dialog is stiff and having to re-read the same ppgh three times...I'll just do the opposite. Oh, and, I promise to never use a five-dollar word when a five cent one would be crystalline! Unless I forget and am carried away on the wings of my flowing prose--which is where that edit-function becomes necess!

Sometimes, writing is such fun, I sit here and belly-laugh.
"What's so funny?" drifts from my wife's lips, from down the hall.
"Me!"

Here's a quick ppgh taken from "Christmouse Time," when the brave little mouse meets the Magi:

Leuko walked right into the middle of the street, slowly approaching the strangers.

The nearest camel startled and abruptly started to back up, causing the other camels to bray and spit. The men did not turn to calm their camels, leaving that task to their underlings, as their hands dropped to the hilts of their swords and their eyes scanned the area, looking for the threat that had startled their beasts. Spotting Leuko, they chuckled, but the largest man, he of the deepest voice, dropped to one knee and asked, “Ah, brave little one, do you come with a message?”

Thinking fast, Leuko replied, holding up one forepaw, "Fear not. I come in peace."