The Re-Reopening of a Never Failed Endeavor

Dear readership (of whom I would expect after this amount of time to be no one...yet),

I have neglected the art of literature for far too long, and that far too long is coming to an abrupt and much needed end.

So let's cut the jib-jab and get down to brass taxes (have you filed?).

Is anything really dead? That's a good question to bring about the rebirth of this blog. Does anything really die? I think we should take a few different outlooks to answer this moral (or as you'll see not-so-moral) question.

Let's start with the religious answer, and that would be a big, millennia resounding no! Christianity claims the death of the human flesh catalyzes a transcendence of the soul to a higher (or for some naughty-naughties, lower) calling. The Kingdom of Heaven awaits those who have perished, and life perpetuates forever as a part of His eternal following. This isn't just a theme characterized in Judeo-Christian religions: Buddhism and Hinduism both preach reincarnation, ie death begins a new life. Almost all reputable world religions have a sense of an afterlife. However, that word itself, afterlife, what does that mean? If we live beyond our bodies, then why would we call this an afterlife? The word itself seems to focus on the corporeal world around us and chops it off from the rest of the ethereal realms. Perhaps continued life would be better than afterlife. I mean, if the focus is on what lies beyond, then shouldn't that be the perspective we take, not this feeble human form? But etymo-ideologies aside, according to religion, no, nothing is really dead.

On (what shouldn't be) the other hand, science, too, does not believe in death as an end all be all. Everything is in a cycle. Similar to the Buddhist belief of rebirth, science is a way to explain how our bodies take life and give life back to the earth after "death" in an ever prolonged circle. Not to go all Lion King on you guys, but that's pretty much it. We live in a cyclical world where everything that goes in us comes out of us in the end. We are mere vessels for an infinitesimally small bit of life that the world lends us for a few decades then asks us to return only to perpetuate that life into another mere vessel. Does this make us insignificant? Small? Unimportant? The short answer is no, but perhaps that's a question to be expounded upon later.

For now I want to talk about writing. About if writing can die. If literature can reach an end all be all that life cannot. Well? What do you think? Is literature eternal, or does it have a lifespan that, unlike us, never perpetuates? I'll let you think about that for a bit. Put it in either the religious or scientific perspective. I'd be interested to hear your ideas, and I'll post mine not too long from now.

Until then, thanks for reading,
GC

I Have No Time for Anything...Uh, Yeah You Do

I was browsing the interwebs today when I remembered that I actually have a blog. And yes, while I know it is currently very limited with a meager two posts thus far (now three), I plan to up the ante and give this experiment a second try. So here I am.

Lately, my life has been taking some interesting turns. As a high school senior with college right around the corner, I've been called upon to make some exceptionally tough decisions that I didn't think I'd have to worry about for quite some time. But here I am with these decisions, and sure, this may not have anything to do with "Literary Design," - or it might, I'm not finished thinking of what to write - But if my advice can be extended to just one person than I feel it was worth it. So let's begin, shall we.

The first thing that I've noticed about senior year is this: You have no time for anything else unless you just plan to slack off, which I'm not putting down, but I wouldn't recommend it. However that doesn't mean you should give away doing all the auxiliary passions that aren't school related. You have to MAKE time for them. For example, when I'm cramming for a college essay (get them out of the way early, by the way) and I've finished, but I'm still in the writing mood, then I pull open my novel and click away a few paragraphs to keep the juices flowing. It didn't take but an extra ten minutes, but it was well worth the effort and helps me not dread whatever comes next (at least not as much).

Likewise, when you do magically have spare time - the occasions few and far between - try not to just laze around, watching Southpark or Simpsons or Gossip Girl or whatever, and do something that you love. Crochet, play disc golf, enjoy life to the fullest, not that which lives in a screen. I know this will be hard for those who just feel wiped out, but trust me, the end result of doing something that you enjoy is much more appreciable and will leave you feeling better than not doing anything at all.

Finally, sleep. When you get it, great, but don't abuse it. Just because you have to wake up at 6:45 every morning and go to sleep at 2:00 am every night doesn't mean you should wake up 3:00 pm on your free Saturday. Yes, get enough sleep, but if you end up with too much sleep, you can't help but feel sluggish for the rest of the day, a great cause of the problem in the preceding paragraph. So get a brisk 8-9 hours and start doing something you enjoy. Go watch a movie with friends or build that birdhouse you say you never have time to.

You would be amazed at how much spare time you have after you take out all the sluggish TV time and superfluous afternoon sleep. Now is that to say you can't ever do these things? No, of course not! This is just to say don't use that as an excuse for not having time for anything else. Do what you love, not what's easy, at least most of the time, and trust me, you'll feel like the world started spinning right beneath your own two feet.

Enjoy life, Friends.
GC

Love and Learn to Love

I'm sitting here at Panera Bread, lapping up my Onion Bistro soup as a quick meal before I delve into my new novel. But that's when a thought occurred to me: Why haven't I saved my protagonist yet? I assume this takes some explanation for you to truly get the meaning of this internal monologue. A few days ago, I watched as my main character, Ray Jicomick, got caught committing one of the most heinous crimes possible in his distopian continent called the U. I won't divulge too much into this topic, not wanting too reveal the plot of my upcoming novel. But as I sit here at my table enjoying my meal, I couldn't help but want to write more and more just to find out how Ray gets out of that sticky situation (or does he even get out of it?). I wanted to keep writing, not because I promised myself to write 2000 words a day (at which I have been failing miserably), but because I felt an intimate relationship with my protagonist. I couldn't stand the thought of him simply hanging there in limbo waiting for me to carry on with the story. And I feel two very distinct lessons have come from this experience, and theese two lessons are the reasons for this blog. First, to truly write good fiction (or even have a chance), you have to be emotionally attached to your characters, so much so that you want to write just to keep them from having to wait for you. You don't want to take a break from the computer because you need to know what happens next. The laundry can wait. You really don't need to order another latte, but what you do need is to keep writing soley to save your protagonist. And the second lesson I want to get across is this: You aren't going to feel this passionate about your characters from the get-go. It takes time, like any relationship, before you can truly connect with what you're writing. I didn't care about what happened to Ray until I was 10,000 words in. It's not a magic switch that makes you fall in love with your protagonist (or if you're a really good writer your antagonist), it's dedication and stick-to-it-ness. You can't love without getting to know somebody, and sure, there are those love at first sight kind of characters who you just want to pull straight out of page one and marry, but let's be honest with ourselves, most of the time, it takes time! And, as writers, that what we have to give up if we want to be successful. So, to reiterate, those two lessons: 1) Love your characters, and 2) Give yourself time to love your characters. If you can follow these, then you can write whatever the hell you want. Just thought I'd share a bit of personal incite. Peace out. -GC Werthmann

Well here it goes...

Hello there, World. It's a pleasure to meet you, and I'm sure we'll be the best of friends. Now, down to business. Words. What are they? Are they just random combinations of stick figure diagrams? Or are they something more? Something deeper? What if I were to tell you that words are the essense of humanity. You'd think I'm some existential philosophical hippie dude with a long beard and bongo drums. Well, you're probably right (except for the beard thing). But maybe we all need to be a little "existential" to really get down to the binds and bones of it. It meaning language. To understand what we say, we have to go outside ourselves and listen. We have to understand what we're talking about and why it came out of our mouths (and despite what a myriad of apologetic husbands might say, everything we say has a purpose). And that's what this blog is for, to understand that purpose. To understand why certain words are put together and just what's so beautifully poetic about those combinations. I invite anybody and everybody to come and explore this magical world with me. It will surely be a journey. Till next time, GC Werthmann