Craft Wednesday #4 The Perils of Writing In One Direction

This blog needed a place for talking about writing. "Craft Wednesday" will be me talking about all things writing: how to write, why to write, and my own craft journey. I hope to learn and share experiences with you.

The Perils of Writing in One Direction

When deciding which story in my head should be written down, I often think in scenes. Sometimes these scenes include flashbacks to television episodes, or a phrase from a book, or a frame from a movie frozen in my memory.

But at what point does this collection of others' work become a distraction from the artistic vision my own story desires? Is that what my writing should do, gesture to what influences lie behind? I like heroics and happenings. I adore quotes from famous thinkers, especially fun proverbs and phrases that seem like they mean something.

 But is that all my writing is going to be -- if I feature quotes in my story -- a laundry list of what other people have thought, felt, and said before?
I might sound like a sage, but what am I, really? Not a tabula rasa, but a firming terra cotta plate with cuneiform etchings (viewed backwards, of course). A teacher's pet, a student who does all the assignments correctly without understanding the living principles behind it, the "why", if you will.

Writing in the other direction might be to anticipate what comes after this time. I believe that would be science-fiction. My writing would then predict technologies, crises, and problems arising from both of those.

But most of the books about the future I've seen are dystopic stories involving power, greed, or a sick world. What if I were to write about only the joys of the future, the sweet, easy luxuries and long-lasting life given by scientific or other types of progress? That would not be a complete picture of any life, either,

The fact is that there are troubles in life. Even fairy tales have evil forces embodied in a wicked stepmother or a cursed knight. Stories hang on the hinge between one party and another, or one force and another. It does not necessarily have to be evil versus good, it just has to be one will against another. Mostly, the struggles get written about because they are interesting. Events mark a moment between events on one side and events on the other; events allow time to have features.

What does writing in the present mean? Narrowly, stream-of-consciousness, à la Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. The present is captured and preserved eternally in writing, which is an always-present medium. The narrator thinks, or the author makes the reader think.

Broadly, writing in the present means taking into account the tradition preceding it and predicting what's to come of actions taken or about to be taken. This type is the best and most difficult mode for authors because it requires a double-vision (or multiple vision) and an ability to keep the lessons of the past, a list of the facts, and a sketch of future outcomes all on the creative desk. The ultimate multitasking, writing presently almost requires a superhuman omniscience to weave in and out of character thoughts and motivations, actions taken at different times, and sometimes leaps in chronological storytelling.

Or, authors can let creative capacities take over. There will be time for editing later. On another note, a writer should always edit their work before sending it in -- a lot of headache can be cleared up this way, not to mention time and resources.

 What I am talking about is allowing the human soul to spill on the page, out of the heart and into ink; stories are not carried by pedantic intonations or titillating speculation, although these might be parts that some readers enjoy. Stories live because they contain the truth of the moment, or reflect the moment so that there is hope of finding the truth.

In all my stories, I hope to find or reflect some truth about the world, and about living. Maybe then I can find the "why", or something close enough.