Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 226

"Writing Is Like . . ." << This Is A Meme-Challenge

Darcia Helle, author and founder of the very cool forums at BestsellerBound, has thrown me a challenge.

Before I attempt to answer it, I encourage you to go read what she wrote to complete, "Writing is like…". Here's what I have to say in response to the challenge:

Writing is like dating a metaphysical goddess !!

It was only four days ago I wrote, When The Muse Speaks . . ., then, yesterday, Darcia challenged me to complete the prompt, Writing is like…". I take the near appearance of those two events as an instance of synchronicity; and, the metaphysical goddess that my muse is certainly knows how to operate through synchronicity…

The process of writing a book, for me, begins with my muse asking me out on a date. The "asking me out" is her way of slipping me an idea she wants me to develop into a book length piece of writing.

When it comes to this blog, I usually do the asking out.

This post, however, had Darcia unwittingly invoking my muse's ability to use events I'm not directly involved with to bring me a chance to interact with the wider writers' community.

In that post I linked to up there, When The Muse Speaks…, I give some information about how I formed a deep and entitized relationship with my muse–she is extremely real to me and has been since my twenties.

We are, in fact, married and, yes, we still go out on dates :-)

Of course she's metaphysical because she's an intimate part of my mind; yet, she has her autonomy–oh, my, yes she has her own independent way of living!

There are times I call her and she's nowhere to be seen. There are times I'd rather use my own little ego-mind and she cuddles up and insists we work together.

She's a goddess because she has creative power and she knows more about morality and proper behavior than I could master on my own.

One thing though: she guides my conscious mind when I write–I don't feel like I'm sitting here taking dictation–I feel like I'm just me intending to purposefully convey what I think.

One thing more: All my writing may resemble what I thought I'd decided to put down but resemblance is not the same as identity–all my writing surprises me…

My muse may not seem to be there telling me what to write but she's always "there", even when I don't see her and she won't talk to me and I can't catch a whiff of her fragrance.

She's my wife and she's trained me well :-)

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Tagged: BestsellerBound, Darcia Helle, forums, metaphysics, muse, what is writing like, Writers Resources, writing

We're Infected by Materiality . . .

Our last post, was a setup to prepare for a series of posts dealing with the tragic split between Body and Soul.

If for some technological reason you can't scroll down to read that post (and, I hope you have read that post beofre you continue with this one), it's also right here.

I usually write these posts in a way that can include the perceptions and sentiments of most people. Today, I must be rather specific in my offering and I may lose a few readers…

It began in earnest around 600 years ago. Science, in it's newest garb was "born".

It took a little while, since the earliest "modern" scientists still held metaphysics to be an important part of their mental equipment, but a war broke out between the entrenched and materialistic religionists and the new breed of rational explorers.

If the proponents of religion back then had been able to be more rational, science and metaphysics could have had a very fruitful marriage and we might not have inherited metaphysical practices that are completely irrational and scientific establishments that are more concerned with prestige and money than the honesty of actually submitting their "theories" to the rigor of experimentation.

Perhaps you don't know that much of "science" these days is an orgy of mathematical computation that feeds speculation into the equations then uses the resultant answers as proof.

Perhaps you don't know that much of religion and metaphysics is floating free of rational thought, lost in a fog of self-importance that preys on people's fears and insecurities.

"What the heck does any of this have to do with Reading, Writing, and Publishing??"

All three of the raisons d'être of this blog depend on words and words are what we think with and respond to emotionally.

In a culture that has hobbled any appreciation for what lies beyond the merely physical and has become attached to a priesthood of materialistic scientists who have abandoned their own best practices, words have their meaning warped–words, too often, are used to attack and befuddle rather than enlighten and comfort.

How would most present-day scientists define the word "value"? What are their thoughts on the word "moral"? Can they, without clear and precise language, think rationally about the forces that effect us but can't be seen–like gravity?

How do most present-day religionists expect us to respond to a world ordered on the principles of production and consumption of material goods? Shall we shun our bodies? Should we just pray and wait to die? Should we kill other religionists for the sake of our "God"?

I want to quote one of the most practical yet mystical men I have ever read. He uses the word "religion" in this quote but, due to the extreme opinions about that word in our culture, if you need to substitute the word "spirituality" to have it make sense, feel free:

"Religion and science are the two wings upon which man's intelligence can soar into the heights, with which the human soul can progress. It is not possible to fly with one wing alone! Should a man try to fly with the wing of religion alone he would quickly fall into the quagmire of superstition, whilst on the other hand, with the wing of science alone he would also make no progress, but fall into the despairing slough of materialism."

~~~ Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 143

So, I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask my readers to tell me what this post really has to do with words and their use in reading, writing, and publishing.

Care to comment?

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Tagged: God, Materialism, metaphysics, Relationship between religion and science, religion, word, words, `Abdu'l-Bahá

This Post Is A Setup . . .

This post's "message" will be a series of statements and questions designed to massage various parts of your mind and heart; but, first, just a bit of explanation:

I keep a list of possible blog posts.

I was just looking that list over.

I realized that most of the posts would need a lot of explaining before I could get to the meat of the matter.

I agree with the "experts" who say blog posts should generally be on the short side of long…

So, I want to use this post to get my regular readers ready for a series of posts. I'll also use it as a reference-link in certain posts for folks new to the blog.

~~~~~~~~~

All of us use words but most of us don't stop to consider how they were created.

Most of us do most of our thinking with words.

Without words, human communication would be a rather bleak endeavor.

There are words that point to emotions–like "love"–and then there are words that convey emotions–like, "She drove the knife deep into his groin."

Emotions can either cloud the meaning of words or add color and light…

Many people feel thoughts and emotions are usually antagonistic.

Some people think emotions are the source, or at least the goad, of thought.

The human mind (with the sometimes aid of its cousin, the emotional mind) is the creator of every object surrounding you, including the words you just read…

Some words (and the thoughts they summon) refer to states and forces that can never be directly sensed. One example: you can define "integrity" and you can say things like, "John, in spite of his feelings and in the face of terrible risk to his life, continued to publish what he saw as the truth.", but can you actually see, smell, or taste integrity?

Where do words exist when they're not on the page?

Where do emotions happen?

Why does so much of what's important in life seem to resist simple definition?

Is the metaphysical realm a fantasy or can there be metaphysical realities?

Are there entities and forces that exist beyond human sensation?

Does any of this matter in reading, writing, and publishing??

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Tagged: Emotion, feelings, metaphysical, metaphysics, Mind, Philosophy, Thought, word

Very Special Characters

All the characters in a well-written story are "special" or they wouldn't be there–each has their part to play, minor or major.

Major characters often determine plot elements and most writers build the story around them. That last sentence may seem obvious but I've read books that have been rewritten from a different character's point of view yet kept the same plot elements and flow. Check out Ender's Shadow as one example.

Minor characters often are radically changed as the writing of a book proceeds (Majors can be, too, but that "usually" changes the plot structure); yet, these secondary folk can sometimes surprise a writer.

Take the character Morna, an artificial intelligence, in my recently published book, Notes from An Alien.

I thought she would only be in the first chapter. She soon changed my mind and became, if not a major character, a recurring significant character. In fact, the last words of the book are hers.

I even ended a blog post with those words and, for those interested, you may want to read, How I Had To Change Myself In Order To Write My Book…, to explore how much of an author ends up in a book's plot and characters…

So, we've touched on minor, significant, and major characters. What about Very Special Characters?

The book, Sophie's World, by Jostein Gaarder has characters that could be considered Meta–they actually begin considering their place in the book and ponder its plot.

Sena Quaren, the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, steps out of the story and asks the reader to consider if the book is truth or fiction.

The bulk of Notes from An Alien happens in another star-system and almost all the characters have no knowledge of Earth, yet Sena's daughter, Ararura, writes the last chapter and speaks directly to the Earth-bound reader.

Have you come across any Very Special Characters in your reading?

Have you created any or do you think you might?

Can you imagine other classes of Very Special Characters?

Please, do share your thoughts and experience in the comments :-)

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Tagged: characters, Ender's Shadow, Jostein Gaarder, major character, Notes from An Alien, Orson Scott Card, plot, Sophie's World

When The Muse Speaks . . .

Any of you remember the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the nine muses of myth? Here are their respective fields of museness: epic poetry, history, love poetry and lyric art, music, tragedy, hymns, dance, comedy, and astronomy.

Are you a person who creates in one of those areas?

Do you think there are muses for other creative activities?

What about the muse of Fatherhood?

How about a muse for bricklayers?

Perhaps each person has a muse specialized for whatever they choose to do with their life?

I'll vote for that last one without denying all the other possibilities :-)

It's been said the muse is a shape-shifter. Which could mean, for a creative writer, the muse plays the part of all the characters inhabiting the author's head.

Then there's the issue of whether the muse is really "in" the head. Can't the heart abide a muse's process? Couldn't a muse hang out on one's shoulder?

My muse has been with me since I was born. She made me do things as a child that my mother wondered at and my father abhorred.

I worked hard in my twenties to make her proactively real. It's a process called Active Imagination…

She's changed her name many times and she usually, of late, speaks to me without using words.

Her latest command was to be more attentive to this blog–make it shine…

Since I know the task isn't just on my shoulders–she doesn't issue commands that she doesn't help me with–I feel I can make the effort.

I do hope that small percentage of my readers who leave comments will let me, and her, know how we're doing…

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Tagged: active imagination, Arts, Carl Jung, creative, creative writing, creativity, muse, poetry

Character Creation and Conflict . . .

Life is full of conflict.

The word origins of conflict include "to strike together" and "incompatible urges in one person".

Writing is full of conflict–for the author as they write, for the reader as they absorb, and, these days, in the publishing world.

If writing reflects life then it would seem characters in stories would have conflicts (internal and/or external) to overcome, subdue, or understand…

I was led to a blog from my time on Twitter and hope I can trace back to who led me there since the blog itself seems to have no "About" info.

It's called Revolutionary Tweets and that's what it consists of, tweets about various forms of "revolution".

I think the title could have been different though…

The quote at the top gives much more than a view of revolution:

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls;

the most massive characters are seared with scars. ~ Khalil Gibran

I'm sure you could find many uses for the collection of tweety wisdom on this blog but one I considered is as an aid to creating conflict for my characters…

If you find the blog of value, I hope you'll share what you consider useful about it in our comments :-)

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Tagged: character creation, characters, Khalil Gibran, revolution, Revolutionary Tweets, social networking, Twitter, writing

The Complexities of Publishing

I'm self-published, through FastPencil.

That doesn't mean I can't see benefit in what traditional publishers can do.

If I were approached by one of the Big Six for the rights to my book, it would be a difficult and lengthy decision process. There are numerous trade-offs to consider…

I've referenced Joel Friedlander's blog a few times in the past and will do it again by pointing you toward his article: When Big Book Publishers Win.

While I think you should read the whole article, Joel lays out some strong wisdom with this quote:

"…self-publishing isn't the answer for everyone. The book distribution network, with its many layers and long-time players, its bizzare practices and consignment mentality, is still the preeminent way to sell many books."

Do notice he says preeminent way to sell many books, not all books…

Again, I urge you to read the whole article; but, here's a list of some of what Joel thinks are the traditionals' strong-points:

A sales force to sell the new book
Willingness to invest perhaps $100,000 or more getting the book to market
An established distribution network to the retailers who could best sell the book
Long-term relationships with all the actors in the distribution chain
Access to specialized media for promotion

Care to share your thoughts and feelings??

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Tagged: FastPencil, Joel Friedlander, publish, publishing, self-publish, self-publishing, The Book Designer, traditional publishing

Why Do Certain People Become Writers?

Writing, as a devoted hobby or as a professional activity, demands a few qualities most people may use but not in the concentrated way a writer does.

In fact, concentration is a critical quality for writing; whether it's applied for many sequential short sessions, or persisted in for long periods, or engaged in with a mixed pattern of short and long durations.

While concentrating on a writing task, most writers must also allow for a process that can interrupt the flow of activity. What comes as a flash of inspiration and must be incorporated in the project (sometimes demanding significant restructuring) often arrives because of the habit of devoted concentration on the task–the focus on the writing seems to call forth the new perspective or material–using the conscious mind intently triggers the unconscious to supply its treasures…

Certainly, various techniques can be learned that can facilitate the art of writing but most of the Greats have counseled ample reading and regular writing as the best education.

So, a first attempt at answering the question, why do certain people become writers?, could be that certain people find themselves able to concentrate while allowing a flow of intuition to enter the work.

But this is only a how-do-they-do-it explanation–"Why? Because they know How."

There must be a Why that's bigger than that…

Perhaps a glance at the word origins of "write" might shed a bit of light: carve, scratch, cut, paint.

To explore these word origins, I'm going to borrow some words from a post I wrote back in January, Really, No *Really*, What The Heck Is Writing?:

"Pardon me while a let the poetic side of my personality take control for a minute:

"Authors can sometimes be said to carve a place for themselves in our culture.

"There are also many writers barely scratching out a living.

"Many wish they could cut a swath of recognition through the crowd of other writers.

"And, our favorite writers are those who paint images in our minds with their words.

"Anyone who ranks high on tests of left-brained activity is probably cringing at such a poor example of the application of word roots to an understanding of the meaning of writing.

"You right-brained folks are probably creating other, equally-poetic examples :-)"

To answer the title question, Why Do Certain People Become Writers?, may only need your adding to the comments on this post with your personal reasons for writing (if you're the kind of person who pursues the art); though, reading the whole former post, Really, No *Really*, What The Heck Is Writing?, may lead to an answer…

Also, some concentration on the concepts of carving, scratching, cutting, and painting, mixed with a few intuitive flashes, might lead you to an answer.

However you answer the question, I hope you'll share it in the comments…

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Tagged: concentration, creativity, etymology, inspiration, intuition, why writers write, writer, writing

Virtual Coffee Shop ~ The Value of A Second Life . . .

I served a year in a war zone and got a deadly liver virus.

The military gave me a small pension and (hopefully) got rid of the virus.

I live in a studio apartment and have just enough money to pay for food, rent, electric, water, and Internet access.

When I finally got my pension (I had to wait, of course), the back-pay to the date of applying let me buy a computer.

I wrote and published and am promoting a book–totally financial outlay, $200.

Part of my promotion is in a virtual world, Second Life. I've written about my involvement in a number of posts…

This blog and my time on other blogs and forums cost me nothing extra. Second Life coasts me nothing extra.

However, the value I get from my ability to use the Internet is priceless.

There are three discussion sessions I facilitate each week in Second Life–one that explores the issues raised in my book, a writers' chat, and a readers' chat.

People from many parts of the World attend these discussions.

I wanted to give you a mere taste of what it can be like talking to folks in a "virtual coffee shop".

I saved the transcript from a recent session and edited out a section of the conversation. Since folks are typing all these words (they appear over the heads of our virtual bodies), the typos, misspellings, and malformations are really a part of the "verbal" landscape.

I don't appear in this excerpt because I was participating with my voice and not my keyboard. I'm the facilitator and excluding what I said doesn't effect the conversation.

Here's a glimpse into what a pensioned, veteran writer-type guy spends time doing in his apartment…

Readers' Chat, Book Island, Second Life–11 June 2011:

Miranda: i have to figure out how to write a romance novel that isn't tacky

Miranda: and like the other ones

Bob: Frances DeWall, or DeWalt is a zoologist whose written several books comparing human to other animals.

Miranda: i don't like romance novels

Wendy: define tacky

Anne: i think so but yeah..define tacky

Anne: lol

Sandy: better write the romance novel it is in you to write

Miranda: well the books that are about fantasy and sex

Mike: I'm afraid I haven't read any romance novels — tacky or otherwise :)

Miranda: and house wives escape into it

Wendy: oh

Bob: And Age of Empathy uses in years of observational data and studies to demonstrate the inherent empathy in other social animals — to overturn the idea that selfishness is our most defining feature.

Sandy: what is tacky about romance novels? precisely..

Miranda: more want to write one about unconditonal love, over coming adversity

Miranda: and life lessons

Bob: Yes — it's really, really good.

Sandy: so housewives novels are…crap?

Bob: Frances deWalt

Bob: I believe

Mike: I remember seeing that — looks interesting but haven't picked it up yet.

Miranda: can you see what i mean

Bob: It's really good. Reminds us of our nature, as animals.

Miranda: A lot of romance novels don't have substance

Sandy: seems to me if a sector of readers NEED to escape into certain fomrs of book…they should be tended to very carefully by writers

Miranda: or things people can use in every day life

Bob: And that it's not a bad thing.

Miranda: yeah i'm more of a realist

Miranda: well i do have comments on the stuff already

Miranda: they like things they can relate too

Miranda: and ehlps them

Miranda: helps

Sandy: what you are asking is to circumvent the typical pulp arrangement …which SELLS….to supply a quality work, as you see it, which sells EQUALLY…..

Anne: maybe what i write is romance but i dunno..i try to hide the romantic stuff in all the other junk thats going on haha

Sandy: not going to happen….in the same market

Sandy: no…the romance novel

Sandy: I mean the romance novel

Miranda: hmm well just an idea

Sandy: why?

Sandy: why hide it?

Anne: i try to make it more subtle lool

Anne: okie not HIDE but make it less obvious

Miranda: because if you write the same way everyone else does you don't see change

Sandy: what change?

Mike: ;)

Miranda: in society

Sandy: because if it is the choice of publishers….it will be as it is

Miranda: what people read they influence their minds and if you read negative you live negative

Sandy: NOPE

Miranda: if you read postive you live postive

Sandy: assumption

Anne: I agreeee Hattie

Anne: :-)

Wendy: for somethiing romantic I suggest Perks of Being A Wallflower, it's juvenile, but earnest imo

Miranda: everything that goes in your mind comes out

Sandy: one cannot presume that any reader will be influenced in any particulalr way

Miranda: well that is my mission to influence

Mike: hmmm… interesting point Hattie.

Miranda: change in society globally

Mike: But now you got me interested in some negative reading :)

Sandy: mission? then hope it fails

Anne: wow…

Sandy: be a GREAT writer…and you may HAVE influence

Miranda: hmm well i'm just going by my comments

Miranda: what my readers are saying

Sandy: I still argue that one cannot assume…influence on any particular reader

Miranda: so if i fail it's because what they want

Sandy: still the same

Anne: eek

Sandy: sigh…what if …perfection eh?

ÄlveKatt : I kind of agree. Once a book is out, i isn't the writers story anymore.

Miranda: well i met an author and he told me he wished he was doing what I am doing which is writing first and getting comments and see what they say

Sandy: correct…the inner life of others is not so easily penetrable

Miranda: than write a book

Anne: I'm sorry…i think if you are true to you and what you realllly believe in ..in your heart..other people are bound to see that and yeah…you can influence anyone—even if they dont know it

Miranda: other wise you waste your time and money he said

Miranda: exactly

Sandy: comments? do you expect every reader to comment? to gather your statistic?

Miranda: i agree with that 100%

Miranda: that is why people like me

Miranda: they see how genuine i am

Anne: lool

Sandy: SOD true to you….

Sandy: that is nothing to the quality of the eventual piece.

Anne: keep fighting the good fight hattie haha

Anne: :-)

Miranda: i will

Miranda: if you know where your readers are at

Miranda: they eat it up

ÄlveKatt : I have learnt a lot from books that the authors never thought of themselves. And some people say "But the author didn't intend that interpretation". But I just don't think that is relevant. What I learnt is still a part of the story.

Sandy: there must be the talent of observation….and mission, does not pursuade me there is particular observational skills

ÄlveKatt : Whether the writer intended it or not.

Miranda: i don't read anything less it has lessons in it that i can take from it

Sandy: more than 'beliefs' which are not truths, but surmises

Bob: Depends on what people are looking for. Right? Information/broadening of perspective. Escape. Both?

Sandy: I do not.

Wendy: escapism

Bob: Sure, sure.

Miranda: well like a group of Sandys park rangers didn't like my writing, but self help people love it, just depends on the group

Sandy: I look to be Impressed……period

Bob: I think you have to write for yourself, first — but defiitely the audience, second.

Miranda: i think i don't need to impress, or be approved i write from the heart

Miranda: emotion

Sandy: emotion….I will put the book straight back on the shelf

Miranda: when i read one of my friends writings i love it because he writes with emotion and heart

Mike: For me it depends on the type of book too. Some books I want an interesting narrative and I'm not necessarily looking to take any more general lessons from.

ÄlveKatt : I read for a variety of reasons. Not all at the same time.

Bob: Shuns emotion?

Bob: Why?

Anne: well than god for most of us not everyone is just like her lool

Wendy: if i read a book and it lingers once its over, quotes and or images echo

Sandy: in Art especially

Anne: some of us are sapppppy emotion loving people.

Bob: Sandy — why do you shun emotion?

Mike: In non-fiction material I'm looking for a good, coherent argument with sources.

Miranda: well all art, music, writing has emotion

Sandy: there are no gods…you are entirely on your own….exposed

Miranda: it's where it comes from

Wendy: how can write if you have no emotions

Wendy: oh

Miranda: exactly

Miranda: emotions produces creativity

ÄlveKatt : I once read a book that had lingering bad aftertaste, It was so bad.

Mike: Yeah — I like that for both books and movies.. whether you find yourself pondering the book/movie after it is over.

Sandy: Not so. Emotions…..muddy the water of possible perfections

Miranda: well when you paint than where does it come from

Miranda: or when you write

Bob: Perfection of what?

Miranda: your feeling something

ÄlveKatt : There isn't really a concept of perfection without emotions.

Sandy: 'you are'….is you're

Patti: It depends on whether you are writing from a formula; if we're talkin great lieterature, then I agree

Miranda: yeah but who you are without emotion is empty

Bob: Perfection of what, Sandy?

Mike: lol!

Anne: lool

Miranda: there is no perfection

ÄlveKatt : Perfection is as abstract a word as emotion.

Miranda: we are all imperfection creatures

Wendy: more abstract

Sandy: I think you have a great deal of experience to …aquire

Sandy: Perfection in the Arts of a piece..

Miranda: you can strive for perfection, yet their is no absolute perfection

Sandy: yada yada….'we are"""thank gods""you are nothing without emotion"'….simplistic

Bob: Emotions are central to the human condition. Central to the qualia of our reality. With the exception of extreme neurological abnormalities, such as in extreme autism or some such. Otherwise, emotions are everywhere. The human condition — reality — is messy. The absence of emotion is simply an avoidance of reality. We might as well be reading furnace installation manuals. No?

Wendy: is it your own idea of perfection for your pieces?

Miranda: I agree

Sandy: I am discussion authors….

Sandy: discussing

Bob: Even the coldest most humbling perspectives of our reality, such as presented by Carl Sagan, carry a certain poetry — and emotional awe.

ÄlveKatt : Phil, I resent that. People with Autism have emotions. What they lack is the ability to display and read them.

Bob: This is what it means to be alive.

Sandy: some of the worst, navel gazing crap comes rom those writers whos unleasehed egos are feasting on their own emotional alcohol

Patti: David, well, emotions play a part in how you come up with your definition, Ii agree, but the process is an intellectual one.

Miranda: perhaps it's when you let go fo the ego you don't need to control or live by logic

Mike: I'm always a bit wary of speaking about 'perfection' actually. I'm not sure that's a useful category for thinking of things.

Miranda: ha ha

Mike: 'Flawed', on the other hand, is chock full of possibilities :)

Bob: Sure, Sandy — and some of the most vapid material comes from authors unable to engage the emotional aspect.

ÄlveKatt : I have high functioning autism. People tend to think I am very unemotional. When in reality it all comes down to that I have poor control of my facial muscles.

Miranda: without emotion reading seems dry

Bob: AlveKat — my apologies. Poor example.

ÄlveKatt : My emotions just don't show.

Bob: Emotions make life worth living. Seriously.

Sandy: Just-because-one-can-cram-a-piece-with-ones-own-emotional-detrisits….does not make them a competent writer nor a quality author

Miranda: yeah autism is about what stimulates you

ÄlveKatt : Unless I make an intelletual effort to contort my face to mirror what I feel at least.

Bob: No, Sandy. But that's a straw man argument. Because it's not what I'm proposing.

Miranda: yeah

Miranda: are you considering emotion is drama

Miranda: cause that is two different things

Sandy: Phil….pointing for one….does not include and opposite or another point.

Bob: Yes, give us some examples of books devoid of emotions.

ÄlveKatt : Still can't really express what I feel with my face.

Miranda: yes so we can see your point

Sandy: Emotions….are the ONE fuel the incompetent can call upon to make their mark….and I trust very few minds with the notion of 'mark'

Anne: text books?

Miranda: so we can come back next week and figure out your perspective

Bob: lol

Sandy: based on them

ÄlveKatt : Phil, my student literature on Neuroscience.

Anne: back of shampoo bottles?

Mike: One of the worst books I've read was this self-published thing called 'First Ark to Alpha Centauri'… horrible book on many levels. One of the failures of the book was that the characters just didn't react like you would expect humans to. It wasn't that the characters lacked feeling — rather, it was misplaced, malformed, and unbelievable to the point that it made the characters kinda unreal.

Bob: Sandy — please give me some samples pieces devoid of emotions. Other than technical manuals.

Sandy: And?

Miranda: yeah those shampoo bottles are exciting

Anne: lool

Anne: pamphlet on how to work my tv is too

Anne: lool

Miranda: lord that kind of stuff kills me

ÄlveKatt : Technical manuals make me very emotional. But that is usually the translators fault…

Bob: Apparently Sandy enjoys How-To articles and statistics.

Miranda: text books in class too

Miranda: when it's all research

Miranda: *$*LoL *$*

Bob: We exist in an emotional world. It's fundamental to being human.

Miranda: usually like to see anothers perspective

Sandy: My choice…is the strip as much of it away and look at what remains…..I find, time after time, that the opposite occurs in novels…that the one fundamental…is the emotional bone…nothing much further. No matter how you arrange the words….they are there to inject emotion…thas it.

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Pushing On The Frontiers ~ Disruptive Creativity

While disruption is usually viewed as negative, if there is stagnation, in a life-style, philosophy, or global agenda, being disruptive may be the only thing that can shake out enough attention to provide a platform for change.

Whether you're here because you see yourself primarily as a reader, writer, or publisher (or, all three), I offer the video in this post as a chance to cross a few frontiers and possibly pick up a few cues to future creativity…

There's a group called Learning Without Frontiers that says of itself: [LWF is] "…a global platform for thinkers and practitioners from the education, digital media, technology, and entertainment sectors to explore how affordable disruptive technologies are radically improving learning and equality of access."

Part of my interest in this group is because I had one hell of a time staying in school–I hated the kind of "education" handed to me but I've always loved learning…

So, if you can relate at all to that last statement, you may want to visit LWF's site and look around.

There was a man named Malcolm McLaren who gave a talk at a conference sponsored by LWF in 2009. Here's the blurb for the talk: "How does one find authentic creativity? In his last talk before passing away, Malcolm McLaren tells remarkable stories from his own life, from failing school to managing the Sex Pistols. He argues that we're living in a karaoke culture, with false promises of instant success, and that messiness and failure are the key to true learning."

If that sounds at all interesting, I'd recommend setting aside a bit of time to listen to his talk. And, if for nothing else, you can watch it solely because it's an amazing Story :-)

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Tagged: creativity, Disruptive technology, Education, Learning Without Frontiers, Malcolm McLaren, Sex Pistols, video