WILL YOUR WRITING CREATE the NEXT GREAT TECH INVENTION?

By El Ochiis

I wrote a short story that took place in the 1850’s, in which one of the characters possessed an advanced, technological object enclosed in a rare metal. An editor, who read my piece, commented that I had created a future, technological invention. Inventing was not in my thought process when I wrote the story; I only imagined making the events in the story believable, to do that, I had to create this object. 

The editor’s position was that our most recent technology had been invented because of ideas gleaned from stories. I meant, what if she was right? She’s an editor, she was always right.   

A few days after our conversation, I got stuck in an airport and decided to re-read Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury had predicted, in this book, the techy toy that I inserted in my ears to listen to music - headphones. I’m sure I wouldn’t be the only writer to honor him. Here’s hoping, however, his other predictions, made in Fahrenheit 451 were less accurate.

  

Logging onto the internet to find another flight, I gave a thumbs up to Mr. Mark Twain, who was one of the first persons to dream about the possibilities of a globally connected community, in his 1898 short story, from the London Times of 1904, where Twain introduced readers to something called a “telelectroscope” that used the phone system to create a worldwide network for sharing information. No, Al Gore, you did not invent the internet; the writer who wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn did.

  

The editor wanted to Skype; I preferred video chatting on iMessage. Hold the phones, this concept was described in E.M. Foster’s novel: The Machine Stops: “But it was fully fifteen seconds before the round plate that she held in her hands began to glow. A faint blue light shot across it, darkening to purple, and presently she could see the image of her son, who lived on the other side of the earth, and he could see her.” Skype; iMessage – just call Foster. 

I decided to watch: 2001: A Space Odyssey, a movie from 1968, on my iPad Pro. There was a scene where astronauts watched and read from a pair of flat-screen tablets, called “Newspads”, which Stanley Kubrick developed alongside Arthur C. Clark’s novel – looked strikingly similar to Apple’s iPad. Creepy, huh? 

I edited that piece and uploaded it to a blog. Hold your kilobytes, Vladimir Odoyevsky, whose 1835 Novel: Year 4338, described houses that would be: “connected by means of magnetic telegraphs..." Each house would publish a daily journal or newsletter…," and share it with the world. Yes, that would be blogging.

Bill Gates; Steve Jobs; tech valley – no, it is the lonely writer using his or her imagination – if we writers could just figure out how to get those ideas in front of venture capitalists who specialize in providing capital to tech innovations of the future.

What new technology or historical prediction will you, the next writer of fiction create? 

WHO IS ALLOWED TO TELL WHOSE STORY?

By Bonnie Stanard

If it weren’t for the seven-figure advance Jeanine Cummins received for her novel American Dirt, I’d feel sorry for her. Social media has been vicious. Myriam Gurba wrote, “the nicest thing I can say about Dirt is that its pages ought to be upcycled as toilet paper.” Ouch!

The plot revolves around a grief stricken Latino mother escaping Mexico and a drug lord who pursues her. Critics have accused her of cultural appropriation (she is white), a phenomenon flourishing in literary circles and fueled by a revival of segregationist politics. In other words, her detractors believe a white woman has no right to imagine a story about Latino migrants.

Laura Miller, in Slate, quoted a publisher: “I do think that in cases where there’s a mismatch between the identity of the character and author, the value of those books ... will be more closely scrutinized.”

This sounds like an injunction against writers portraying characters unlike themselves. Does this mean that we should write with restraint to avoid offending those who will identify with our characters?

Nesrine Malik wrote in The Guardian, “To demand that writers not encroach upon the experience of others is a death sentence that seeks to limit us not only by what we know, but also by our place in a hierarchy of inequality.” This puts minority writers to disadvantage as well, for they may well be restricted to telling stories that are “native.”

It is disheartening to see us move from a leftist political concern for the disadvantaged to a right-wing movement legitimizing censorship based on sex, religion, and/or ethnicity. When manuscripts are judged on the writer’s right identity as much as the quality of the work, will our novels be better for it? Will we be better people?

It’s taken a long time, but we whites are changing our attitude toward ethnic groups. It’s disappointing to see segregation reappear disguised as cultural appropriation. Identity politics causes discrimination. Most of us want equality for every color of skin. Many of us are dismayed by our history of cruelty and exploitation, especially of Native Americans and blacks. We have passed laws in an attempt to enhance equal opportunity. By no means is this meant to suggest the job is done, but we’re working on it.

EXPLOSIVE WRITING

By Sharon May

I have enjoyed reading quotations since I was a child, reading them just like I read the World Book Encyclopedia. Bored in elementary school, I figured I better educate myself through reading as much as I could. I was drawn by the succinct nature of quotations, fascinated by the authors’ ability to establish a philosophy or world view in just a few words. When I was looking for ideas for this week’s blog, I turned to quotations on writing for inspiration. Wasn’t long before I found one whose complexity and imagery intrigued me.

In Zen and the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury describes his writing process in this way: “Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me. After the explosion, I spend the rest of the day putting the pieces together.”

The author “jumps out of bed” each day, seemingly approaching his work with excitement and anticipation. Most of us realize that feeling as we plan what we want to accomplish and know that day is going to be productive. We are all optimistic – as we approach the writing task.

Bradbury quickly throws us for a loop as he steps “on a landmine,” and experiences the violence of writing in that realities are created and exploited, words are brought to life, then revised and often abandoned. Ironically, writing isn’t the landmine, the writer is. It’s like we have to destroy ourselves during the writing task to be good writers.  

The question arises: Is the violence of stepping on landmines positive or negative? If the explosion and the act of “putting the pieces together” leads to productivity and a better written product, then it’s obviously positive. However, that explosion may trigger doubts, frustration, hesitation, and “blocks.” Bradbury might be implying that the writer can get in his way of writing. He could also be implying that that reshaping of the writer’s mind can lead to creativity.

Whatever Bradbury means, the quote reminds me of how I feel during the revision process. Whenever I write, I have a tendency to revise during drafting. I will think of words for a sentence, and halfway through typing it, I decide a word doesn’t work or the sentence needs to be restructured. No matter how much I try to just write, I can’t help but revise during the drafting process.

Once I have a draft, then “real” revision occurs, and it is often a violent revision, cutting words and scenes, changing dialogue and modifying characters, adding new chunks of material. Sometimes, I have a draft of 20 pages, and once I’m done revising, I only have 10 pages of good writing. This necessary step is like “putting the pieces together.”

In the end, I find Bradbury’s words, particularly the violent metaphor, disturbing and freeing. He and I find the work of writing, both in our heads and on paper, difficult and destructive, but ultimately satisfying. Like Bradbury, I keep stepping on the “landmine.”  

 

TRUTH TO FICTION

By Jerry D. Pate

I have written an historical-fiction account of a cotton mill based on the inspiration of my late mother-in-law. She had to work in a cotton mill near Joanna, SC, when she was 8-years old during the Great Depression. While the plot is complete, the story is not.

My experience as a broadcast news reporter was very helpful for researching the process of turning raw cotton into cloth. Clemson University provided great information.

But writing fiction was hampered by my default setting of writing everything as if it were a newscast, or narrative, in passive voice, i.e. no flora or fauna, sounds or smells and certainly no descriptions of people.

My story is based upon SC history of the Civil War, the myth of the Lost Cause, the 1876 elections that restored the old blue-bloods to power who enacted Jim Crow laws, and the murder of seven striking textile workers at Chiquola Mill in Honea Path, SC, in 1934.

I’ve used information about these but translated the events into fictional accounts featuring characters I’ve created.

Thanks to suggestions from our writing workshop I’ve been able to turn my original, documentary-like, draft into a story of living, breathing characters with colors and strife. Not done yet. More work is needed.

Again with a nod to the writing group, I’ve also realized that writing is a process…not an event.

A CELEBRATION OF STORIES: THE 2020 SCWA SPRING CONFERENCE

By Kasie Whitener 

For the first time in our 30-year history, SCWA is hosting its Annual Conference in Columbia. I have the privilege of planning it and showing off our city has been my goal. Each activity, venue, and participant has been specially chosen for contributions made to the arts scene in our state capital.

Columbia poetry-boss Al Black hosts over a 100 Open Mic events per year and in April he’s lending his talents to the SCWA for a fantastic line up of live readings on Friday night.

Saturday’s packed day of workshops includes SCWA member speakers Barbara Evers, Craig Faris, Robert Lackey, Alexa Bigwarfe, Amber Wheeler Bacon, and Estelle Ford Williamson. A truly professional organization recognizes the professionals in its membership and showcases them.

Some cool alternative sessions include poetry roundtables with South Carolinians Len Lawson and Derek Berry and pop-up breakouts with musicians, playwrights, and agents. Our North Carolina Keynote speaker Belle Boggs has won awards for fiction and non-fiction endeavors. Her take on the craft, the process, and the modern literary profession should be insightful and inspiring.

Saturday night we host a big, beautiful birthday bash in the gardens of Historic Columbia’s Siebels House under strung lights with live music and an awards ceremony with the South Carolina Academy of Authors. The party is open to the public and we’re partnering with One Columbia, the Richland Library, SC Poetry Society, Columbia Writers Alliance, and others to include the most diverse group of artists ever gathered.

The Sunday conversation with Ray McManus and Jonathan Haupt should be the jewel in the crown of this glittery weekend. Both believe mightily in their topic, “You Can Build a Writing Career in South Carolina.” Expect stories, insights, and advice on navigating our state’s literary scene.

We will reprise the best-of-Saturday workshop on Sunday morning and offer the traditional slushfest-style feedback sessions with agents and publishers. That afternoon we’re pleased to offer discounted tickets to the Columbia Food & Wine Festival, a city-wide event that showcases the artists and storytellers in our culinary professions.

Columbia has so much to offer. We’re frequently overlooked in favor of Coastal playgrounds, historic ports, and mountain-rich meccas. We have the discouraging nickname “Midlands” which seems to invoke passing through on one’s way to something better. Weighed down by the politics of state government and given to territorialism over trivial things like St Patrick’s Day, Columbia is a city with opposing sides.

Yet we’re also the most diverse city in the state. Our oppositions give rise to rich and varied voices. We have the mosaic of struggle and forgiveness, of hurt and healing, of wealth and want. In the richness of diversity is the opportunity for understanding. While our nation seems ever more divided in politics, in Columbia we are bridging gaps with art. With stories.

We are a vibrant community of creators. I can’t wait to show that to the rest of the state.

Register here.