Thursday, May 19, 2011

Metagenomics

is a word I saw yesterday, and wondered about.

But what I want to talk about is this: What is the story you were meant to write?

When I sat in for the last fifteen minutes of Roger's class, he had already thrown that question out to the room. I didn't have to respond, but I scribbled in my notebook anyway. I'm not sure that I found the answer.

If there is just one story, are we simply rewriting it over and over again? If there's more than one, which one weighs more? And, of course, in which form should it be told?

I thought I might take a look at what I've written over the past two years and pull from those themes. Contemporary issues in my writing, if you will.

The predominant ones seem to be:
  • Power struggles in relationships: romantic, familial, platonic. Nick and Kristina, Nick and Pete, my YA protag and her BFF, short stories about crazy women and passive men. Both heavy and humorous.
  • Departure from the known land into the unknown. Not a willing departure, persay, but a necessary one. I think this is coming closer.
  • The borderlands near death and how those left behind react and restructure themselves.
  • Athletics as a metaphor for joy, growing up, alternate means of victory. Noise and solitude.
I expect that these will change as my life changes. But they seem to be a universal starting point.

What about you?

...

#140: Broadbelt Guitar Duo, "Seven of Nine" (Tony will enjoy the scientific fun facts in the description)

3 comments:

Tony said...

Jazzy. I like it. I've never been good at picking out what meter a song is in though.

Unknown said...

I'm not sure if I'm what I'm working on now is THE story I must tell. It's just the story I want to tell right now. There's something about a story that's been ruminating in your head for a long time. Sometimes you think you know it better than parts of your own life. Sometimes, it's a mystery. The fun is in the unfurling, the unraveling of the dark places.

Aside from that, I'm dipping my toes into different pots these days. I have a screenplay in the works, an odd fascination with learning more about poetry. Sometimes the medium is non-fiction, the underside of my palm.

I'm interested in seeing where my mind can go.

d.g. said...

Flosef, I approve of these brewing fiery baskets!