Creations of Shadows and Dust
In Gladiator, the character Proximo speaks of fame and glory as being "shadows and dust," a phrase which proves to be his last words. A common expression of illusion over the years, especially to Neil Gaiman fans, is "smoke and mirrors." However you might want to say it, it all amounts to misdirection.
We all want to believe in magic. We all want to be fooled. No one claps until the last part of the magic trick, The Prestige, brings back what disappeared to begin with.
You see, I've learned something in the past few weeks. Call it an objective observation on human nature, if you like. But people, no matter who they are, will partition their lives. They only give out bits of their personalities to certain groups, almost never revealing who they really are to anyone.
There are a fair number of friends, close friends, that I haven't told the plot of Vitamin F about. I haven't even given a hint of the story to my family. That is how I conceal my life, although I'm sure there are probably more examples than that. I'll be nice and give you another one.
I've got a 10-year high school reunion coming up. The organizer asked me to bring paper cups and plates to the afternoon portion. Since this portion of the reunion is potluck and involves screaming children, I decided I wasn't going. Did I tell anyone involved? No. I tricked them into thinking I'd be there. As I said, they wanted to be fooled, just as I wanted to be fooled when I was trying to get a date with one of my coworkers. I cleared the air, wiping away that smoke, all those shadows and dust. I'm sure the organizer isn't pleased to hear I'm not coming to that part; we've been friends our whole lives.
The sad thing is that we don't see around the illusions unless there's good reason to. And that is something that doesn't happen without some degree of discomfort. I thought I was good friends with the coworker I asked out, and maybe I am. But there's been a distinct air of "you don't know a damn thing about me" coming off her in the days since. It made things awkward for a while, but things are moving back to where they were and I'm glad.
Writers will exploit this sense of self-deception, this illusory field of shadows and dust, when they present the plot on the back cover of the book. That cover is a way to sell you on the contents of the book. A lot of times, the cover will tell you the truth. Most of the time, it's only telling you half the truth. Most of Greg Rucka's books work this way. The back cover of Vitamin F that I presented not too long ago is laden with half-truth as well.
So I go now, to write my paranoid little book with it's paranoid little thoughts. I leave you for now with a crumb of paranoia: When we read or watch TV or play a video game, we want to believe. We want to be fooled.
It's just in our natures to be this way.
We all want to believe in magic. We all want to be fooled. No one claps until the last part of the magic trick, The Prestige, brings back what disappeared to begin with.
You see, I've learned something in the past few weeks. Call it an objective observation on human nature, if you like. But people, no matter who they are, will partition their lives. They only give out bits of their personalities to certain groups, almost never revealing who they really are to anyone.
There are a fair number of friends, close friends, that I haven't told the plot of Vitamin F about. I haven't even given a hint of the story to my family. That is how I conceal my life, although I'm sure there are probably more examples than that. I'll be nice and give you another one.
I've got a 10-year high school reunion coming up. The organizer asked me to bring paper cups and plates to the afternoon portion. Since this portion of the reunion is potluck and involves screaming children, I decided I wasn't going. Did I tell anyone involved? No. I tricked them into thinking I'd be there. As I said, they wanted to be fooled, just as I wanted to be fooled when I was trying to get a date with one of my coworkers. I cleared the air, wiping away that smoke, all those shadows and dust. I'm sure the organizer isn't pleased to hear I'm not coming to that part; we've been friends our whole lives.
The sad thing is that we don't see around the illusions unless there's good reason to. And that is something that doesn't happen without some degree of discomfort. I thought I was good friends with the coworker I asked out, and maybe I am. But there's been a distinct air of "you don't know a damn thing about me" coming off her in the days since. It made things awkward for a while, but things are moving back to where they were and I'm glad.
Writers will exploit this sense of self-deception, this illusory field of shadows and dust, when they present the plot on the back cover of the book. That cover is a way to sell you on the contents of the book. A lot of times, the cover will tell you the truth. Most of the time, it's only telling you half the truth. Most of Greg Rucka's books work this way. The back cover of Vitamin F that I presented not too long ago is laden with half-truth as well.
So I go now, to write my paranoid little book with it's paranoid little thoughts. I leave you for now with a crumb of paranoia: When we read or watch TV or play a video game, we want to believe. We want to be fooled.
It's just in our natures to be this way.
Labels: Bridgett, Writing Progress
posted by LEN! at 4:06 AM
3 Comments:
Wow. That's heavy, man. But you make a point, humans want to believe in something beyond what they can see. I hope things work out for you with that coworker. It always sucks to lose a friend over a misunderstanding.
Deep indeed. And you touched briefly on the most important part of the illusion, of the smoke and mirrors.
Leave them wanting more...
Which I believe you certainly did with your back cover.
Thank you, my friends. I'm glad I'm making sense, seeing how I did that bit of blogging in a half-awake daze.
So far, my new strategy of revealing the back cover (and not saying a word about the twist of the novel) has worked out. One person has even reminded me that I should include that back cover text as part of my query letter whenever I send Vitamin F to an agent.
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