I presume all writers are designed to tell great stories. The reasoning behind my rather well-justified presumption is this.
Writers have an uncanny ability to infuse life into their words. Uncanny because words are words at the end of the day… they should deliver the same effect irrespective of who uses them… but, why’s it that they feel different when they come out of a writer’s pen? Uncanny, definitely!
Next, when writers club words harmoniously together and lay them out as beautifully well-knit sentences, the effect gets a bit more intoxicating. Undeniably!
And, finally, when they self-critically take another look at those sentences and breathe the needed emotions into them, the impact gets formidable.
And, the story just happens. That’s it!
It’s this alluring awe for the magical blow writers produce in their work that’s gravitated me into writing. And, the effect of this contagion is only growing.
Am all excited about my debut novel that’s under publication right now. If only I could continue writing all my life!
Okay… one thing I learned from the novel penning experience is, as story-tellers, we’re in total control of the plot. We’ve visualized – and frozen – the entire sequence of events from the first scene till the last. And, being totally mindful of our readers’ sense and sensibility, we lead them through the gradually unfolding plot.
Now comes a bit of twist. We do know that they’re in a passive state while consuming our story and so we take it upon ourselves to keep them engaged throughout.
The intention behind italicizing the word ‘passive’ is not to dilute our audience’s state of mind but to highlight just their physical state. Having said that, it’s absolutely cool to be passive.
Consider this. We’re perfectly ensconced in our seats when we watch Fast and Furious or Mission Impossible but our adrenaline is all so pumped up that we even forget to take the next mouthful of that cheesy spicy popcorn.
Passive? Physically, yes. Mentally, no.
Okay… back to writers… and, the next stage of evolution they’re bracing themselves for.
- What if they make the passive audience active, putting them in the driver’s seat, giving them full control over the story and letting them make sense out of it the way they see it?
- What’s the mind-metamorphosis writers need to undergo to totally relinquish the driver’s seat and yet keep their plot and their audience snugly in their control?
You know what I’m driving at. Of course, you do. But, it doesn’t matter. Am nevertheless eager to continue on this in the next post.
So long…
SAINT MAVERICK 