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Being asked by my sister's boyfriend to describe the story I was working on at that particular moment (currently titled Ravas Florin for those of you playing at home) I obligingly did so and got back the response "So you DO believe in aliens".
Well, no. Maybe. It depends on the exact phrasing of the question. What puzzles me is this idea that if I am writing a story - a piece of fiction - about something I necessarily believe in that thing. In fact, I think I am more likely to write stories featuring things I do not believe in. I like tinkering with worlds and setting them to spin and seeing what happens (or such is the explanation I tell myself while I still question). I already know the (a) story i would* write if there were real aliens. Since I don't actually know of any real aliens, though, I am going to have to invent them first if I want to write it.
These are the kinds of questions that always throw me because I do not understand how people make the associations they often do or invent the questions they ask. I wish I did. Then I might be a better writer. One of the things I am most interested in, writing-wise, is why people tell the stories they tell (I have mentioned this before). I would dearly love to understand why the people who don't seem to understand the idea of fantasy/science fiction aren't getting it. I have some ideas but they are not clear so I would like to gather some thoughts from others/time first. If pressed I could not say people do write stories in those genres either**, so it is not as though I only have one set of people to learn from. But only one came to my attention tonight so there.
196 words of the story tonight, in case you were wondering. It does not actually involve space aliens. The description I gave was vague enough to include them but I was so completely not thinking aliens I did not even realise it.
*May not actually be true. Not drawn to write anything of that sort so far
**I would be quite surprised to learn there is only one 'it' to 'get'***
***Apologies for all the technical jargon but I can't be having with talking down to all you hobbledyhoi
Well, no. Maybe. It depends on the exact phrasing of the question. What puzzles me is this idea that if I am writing a story - a piece of fiction - about something I necessarily believe in that thing. In fact, I think I am more likely to write stories featuring things I do not believe in. I like tinkering with worlds and setting them to spin and seeing what happens (or such is the explanation I tell myself while I still question). I already know the (a) story i would* write if there were real aliens. Since I don't actually know of any real aliens, though, I am going to have to invent them first if I want to write it.
These are the kinds of questions that always throw me because I do not understand how people make the associations they often do or invent the questions they ask. I wish I did. Then I might be a better writer. One of the things I am most interested in, writing-wise, is why people tell the stories they tell (I have mentioned this before). I would dearly love to understand why the people who don't seem to understand the idea of fantasy/science fiction aren't getting it. I have some ideas but they are not clear so I would like to gather some thoughts from others/time first. If pressed I could not say people do write stories in those genres either**, so it is not as though I only have one set of people to learn from. But only one came to my attention tonight so there.
196 words of the story tonight, in case you were wondering. It does not actually involve space aliens. The description I gave was vague enough to include them but I was so completely not thinking aliens I did not even realise it.
*May not actually be true. Not drawn to write anything of that sort so far
**I would be quite surprised to learn there is only one 'it' to 'get'***
***Apologies for all the technical jargon but I can't be having with talking down to all you hobbledyhoi
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Treatise Televisio
Date: 2007-03-07 20:33 (UTC)From:I think all good writing comes from the question of "what if". True, a good mindset is to "write what you know" - but this never applies to setting. It is more a consideration of identifying strengths and using them effectively.
Also, in my case anyway, I *get* science fiction and fantasy - it is simply that both styles of writing, since a new world is being created often (even from parts of the "real" one); it requires an adeptness with minutae leaves me cold. As a result, I have learned that I am perhaps pretty bad with writing it. That does not mean that, when it is done well, that I will dismiss it.
The sad fact is that when our characters leave our hands - they must inevitably take on lives of their own and are open to be interpreted in many different ways. Sometimes, yes, there are those people who assume that there is a direct autobiographical element to every written word - but these people are rarely the sort of audience that reads good literature. (Perhaps good television, but generally no further than that.)
Actually, no. This is not a case of perhaps. Without bogging down into essays I've read on this topic - there is a division. Television is a medium that is self-contained. Thus, unlike films for example, the audience will take more for granted - and tend more towards assuming that the characters they see are real people. This is why avid television viewers assume autobiographical elements in things they read, I think. It's not a simple example, no - but it works in a lot of cases.
I hope there is some sense in what I have said here. I quite enjoy contributing to this ongoing dialogue about writing and writing-related things.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-08 02:40 (UTC)From:I've written stories about love that involved.. unusual pairings (my idea was that love is universal regardless of WHO is involved), and ppl immediately assume I approve/am turned on by this. >.<;;;
*sigh*
*hugs*