THAT WORD AGAIN

We are into May and still Covid 19 is THE word around the entire globe. What other words have been tagged onto it is more than interesting, it is fascinating. Blame is an addition that should never have been used. Enquiry, is fine. Investigation, quite right. Scientific research is absolutely necessary. The words used by a leader, especially in regard to that word blame, need to be very carefully produced. It takes only a few misconceived words to be misinterpreted to start trouble, including a war. It has happened in the past. So commonsense and compassion are the best words to be used when working to defeat the pandemic to the mutual benefit of all..

After the few months during which the virus has basically raided humanity the word Hope is  beginning to dwindle across the landscape.  Getting back to what was considered normal life is going to take a long time but if that one word resists all the negative ones then there is indeed hope for the future of a world currently undermined by a tiny totally unaware virus.

ONE WORD DOMINATES THE WORLD

Yes, indeed, one word does dominate the world at the moment. No prize for guessing which word. It is obviously Covid19. Or, if preferred, Coronavirus. I am not positive that a word with a number in its part can be classified as a word but for this exercise we will allow it. It proves beyond a doubt the power of words, even just one of them. It has captivated every system of communication, it has downed planes, it has disrupted gatherings, it has stopped people hugging and kissing and the hearts and minds of everyone around the world has slipped into chaos mode. The word  represents the unknown, danger, torment, confusion and devastation to both human life and to living standards. The outcomes are as yet unknowable. 
Of course it is followed by many other words: fear denial, cynicism, panic, blame, recovery, hope, acceptance, terror and many more words that reveal the emotions exposed by this one word. After  watching a filmed version of Shakespeare's Richard 11 today and being in awe of his astonishing use of beautiful and poignant language, it feels strange to come back to reality and hear the constant repetition of that one word. Sure, we all need to hear it each day for how ever months it takes to leave us in peace.May that time arrive sooner rather than later.

WORDS ARE ALL I HAVE

One of the songs I love by the Bee Gee's is, 'IT'S ONLY WORDS' and with their haunting tune the lyrics say so much with just a few words. "It's only words and words are all I have to take your heart away".
Phew, it says it all really. The hope, the despair, the pathos, the warmth, the pleading, the love. I could go on. This is what I have to consider each time I write a story, whether it is 2000 words long or 100,000 words long. Every word has to count and therefore each word has to encapsulate all the necessary information as well as the emotions created by the scene. Clearly, editing and re-writing become a big part of whittling down words that are not absolutely essential. Strangely, I often find these non-essential words to be the ones I desire to use the most. Yet, as a published writer who never stops learning the craft, I must stick to the convention that readers not only need, but want, the least amount of words that tell the full story, that draws them in to the story and which makes them empathise with one or more characters.
So, each word needs to begin the journey, inform and entertain with what the story is about and draw to a conclusion that is satisfying for the reader. Simple,in theory. In practice, just a little bit more tricky. With this, perhaps obvious, statement I will conclude. After all, I have 😁said enough with the words I had allowed myself.  😍

CONFESSIONS

The word confession provokes a myriad of thoughts and possibilities, not the least of which is the one related to a specific religion. Not holding to any religion myself, other than believing in humanity, if that can be called a religion, I spend my effort and time in reading about other people's lives, in the hope of understanding them better. I write about a few too. Since first at school I have been a reader of the classics and have learned much from them about the human condition in general and what makes specific characters tick. Austen, Shakespeare, Dickens, Homer, Hardy and so on. Some stories are easy to read while others prove difficult. It was only after sharing the reading with a group of friends that I eventually waded through James Joyce, which taught me a fair bit about the Ireland that Joyce lived in. As a student I read and re read John Steinbeck and loved the way he created the lives of ordinary people and their struggles, as well as their joys. (In later years I have trouble concentrating on Steinbeck, which says more about me than the author.) I am currently reading The Slap and simultaneously reading This is Happiness, two books with totally different writing styles, as well as very different stories. One is like being dragged to your feet and shouted at, as it focuses heavily on modern family life in Australia, with all of its frantic and often ambiguous messages about how life ought to be lived. The other book is like being gently seated in a comfy sofa, sipping lemon tea and, perhaps, smoking a cigarette, and listening to the resurfaced memories of the narrator about a past era in a village in Ireland. Times were more gently, activities harder on the body and poverty abounded and yet, the characters who people this book certainly offer up glimpses into what made them tick, what made them human and, in a way, misunderstood. Both authors are excellent story tellers. Both books offer insights into what it is to be human. Which story and/or style is preferred depends upon numerous things, not to be discussed here.

 And so to the confession. War and Peace, that classic tome that was declared to be the longest book and the biggest story ever. Or so it seemed to me. Many times I have begun to read it, many times I have skimmed through it yet  never have I completed it from beginning to end. Yet, I feel I must know the story properly. I must get under the skin of these long-ago characters. But what  a book!  I have purchased an adaptation of the story on film. A DVD is winging its way to me this very moment. I just hope it is true to the original story and not filled with half truths and full on lies, as so many modern versions of the past are. Do I feel guilty at not reading the book? I confess I do. Will I enjoy the story as told on the DVD? Yet to be proven. Any story is a story about other people and so we should all learn something from that.

A FEW WORDS ON BUSHFIRES

When I was at school...way back in the dark ages according to the young people who know me- learning my mother tongue, English, included knowing of nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives, what they were and how to use them. At some point schools stopped using the names for adverbs and adjectives, instead referring to them as  descriptors. (I have no idea what schools call them these days) In any case, no matter what the name given to these words, they add a huge amount to whatever verb or noun is being described.

The word bushfires, for instance. Over the course of the past few months the bushfires that have raged throughout Australia have had so many words used about them. Commentators, journalists, leaders of organisations called out to combat them, those volunteers at the front, victims, survivors, people in the street, in fact people all around the world, have offered up a vast selection of words to help to describe what happens when bushfires hit. So many words:  terrifying, disastrous, tragic, frightening, extreme, incredible, unbelievable, scary, abnormal,indiscriminate, distressful, crippling, dangerous, all expressing what can be concluded as catastrophic for both individuals and the country.

Then come the words that describe another side of the event: dedicated firies, selfless volunteers,  magnificent heroes, grateful survivors,  enthusiastic helpers, generous donors, calm comforters, energetic drivers of bulldozers and trucks, health professionals, helicopter pilots, gift givers, and, eventually, those who have to be almost dragged to make an announcement that promises some form of compensation.

Words such as blame, climate denial, burn offs, ecology, economics, fossil fuels, water loss, drought and bad management, linger in the air, waiting for the bushfires to cease and for the rebuilding of buildings and lives to begin, before any serious discussion goes ahead.

Of course, within the year there will be memories and grieving and loss and repercussions and debate about cause and effect, none of which will help those worst affected but eventually the remembrances will fade and life will carry on until the next catastrophic event. Yet, maybe the words that should remain on everyone's lips are climate change and community spirit. If nothing else these are the words that should assist Australia, and perhaps the world, to comprehend the two most important things we need to cling to and act upon, if we humans wish to survive.
💓

WHAT DO I SAY?

WHAT DO I SAY? A frequent enough question. Context is all of course.

Listening to people wishing others a 'Happy Xmas' and reading endless variations on cards and posters and gift tags, it makes me wonder if any word can become meaningless if uttered enough times. Think of commercial advertising or the spin from politicians around the world., much of which is lately classified, quite rightly, as lies. Does repetition change a meaning or simply cover it up with such a generality that it becomes almost banal?
When wishes are given with sincerity they are meaningful but how many "Have a good day's" do we have to endure as being commercial spin that has absolutely no true sincerity at all. The persons using the phrase are, I expect, sincere in wishing to remain employed and so spout whatever is required of them. Out of pomposity or compassion I often make a point of entering into a meaningful conversation with the checkout person, or staff in any environment, just to give them a few more words to savour and to speak words other than those dictated by either conformity or necessity. This can happen while bags are being packed and need only last a few moments but it is truly satisfying to see at least a modicum of pleasure from the participants in the two way exchange of words.

So, do I mean what I say when I talk in this friendly manner to virtual strangers?  Definitely, yes. Do they in turn smile with frankness? Almost every time I would say,  yes. The corners of mouths lift in a way different to when the "And how are you today?' or "Have a good day" spin words are asked.

So to anyone reading this blog I sincerely wish you a year filled with contentment and good health. A year where contemplation can be slipped in with a busy life and words are used meaningfully,no matter what the context. And may you buy as many books as you can afford, mine included, please.

I would also like to encourage readers to fill in their email address so they receive my few words on a fairly regular basis in their inbox. Or please do make comments. My blogs are pretty philosophical but they really do require comments, a two way conversation, an exchange of words. So, I look forward to more of that in 2020.

WORDS FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS

It is soon to be yet another Christmas celebration and all manner of words are floating about in commercial advertisements and marketing,  by both supermarket,online businesses and churches and yet,few speak the words of the compassion and remembrance of self sacrifice that surely a religious celebration of this manner should discuss. I confess (a word associated very much with one brand of religion) that I do not belong to any religion and in many respects find many words and actions of the mainstream religions offensive. As for Creationism, I find that sinister and foolish when science has answered most questions concerning how we humans came to be. Evolution is an irrefutable fact. I recently watched one of those fabulous TV shows, narrated by David Attenborough, (who else) and once more noted how one particular species of chimpanzee were behaving and my words to my co watcher were "you can see how and why we (humans) are only 5per cent apart from these animals. " There was both good behaviour and not so nice behaviour, which applies to most creatures,us included. The big difference being language of course. While most animals have some way of communicating it is only us who use words in every day situations, everyday of our lives, with yes, a few exceptions. And this is where the special words come in. Do people use words of friendship and kindness in sufficient quantity to ever make the "Peace on earth Christmas  slogan ever come true? Sure we all send off the words in our cards, or with our online images. or even in words spoken across phones and ipads. Do we mean them? Do we do anything to enact the possibility of peace on earth for all? Therein lies the rub. Words can come cheap. $2 cards. Cheap online messages. Even cheap phone calls (overseas ones) if we pick our times. 
😍s a writer of stories I often wonder if I take more care of the fictional characters I create than the people around me,. Not those close to me, for their continual presence determines the special words required. I mean those I see only occasionally, those I pass in the street shopping, those I see huddled against walls, those in stress in various situations, crying children, mourning elderly, bewildered middle aged and confused youth, all  no doubt longing for a few special words to be cast their way. So  this holiday we must not just speak the word peace, we must do something to bring it about.   😇😇😇😇😇😇😇

WORDS ARE ALL I HAVE

There are no words to express the annoyance at myself for the difference between how often I intend to write a blog and how often I actually do!  I am, therefore, writing this time in a larger font than usual, to make the point that large or small, words are all I have to express the way I feel. Or, in fact, how anyone feels when it is transferred via a screen or a paper back. And this is why writers of all genres and persuasions often struggle when writing emotions and thoughts for a character who is so different to themselves. I know I certainly do struggle, well perhaps struggle is too strong a word. I do work very hard at it. I listen and look and learn about other people every day of my life. I do my best to understand and experience is certainly the best teacher,whether first or second hand. To step into the shoes of another person is the ultimate way to comprehend them. To go through what they do, to see how they survive in the world is a good lesson in how we all differ, even if fundamentally being similar, if not the same. Then, once understanding occurs, writing about it is that much easier. 
There has been much debate, often heated, about who can write about whom and whether there are some people's experiences and reactions to them, that cannot or should not be written about by someone. I disagree. A writer, whether a journalist or a writer of fiction, must have the freedom to write about anything and anyone. That is true freedom of speech. It does not matter whether it is about race, gender, a belief system, culture or specific behaviours. The pursuit of and exposure of a trait is a fundamental democratic right. 
Of course, it is HOW the writing is done that has its obligations and responsibilities. Of course, there must be honesty and integrity and a sensitivity to a belief system but there should not be any prescriptive no-go areas. If there are, we into the realms of 1984 and, indeed, Animal Farm. So, of course, excellent research is an absolute necessity in discovering what makes another person tick before the first word is written.  And I have run out of space for more words, although I have many other words to offer!😉

NEVER TOO LATE.....SO THEY SAY

Here I am again...later than I wanted to be...under pressure from the clock....well more the pressure from myself ...always busy doing something..usually something worthwhile, like writing or reading or making up stories in my head.  and yet...not getting down to writing on my Blog is a bit naughty. Any followers I do have might be waiting my next pitch...but today all I can say is that after recently  writing a short play, THE LAST PARTY, which is soon to be staged and beginning to plan the production of my full length play, SOFT MURDER, early next year and having just sent off my latest novel, VAGUELY INDECENT,  for an editor to peruse, my brain is swimming in ideas and thoughts, all jumbled. I need a few days/weeks to calm it down so that it can once more gain that evenness so required to write objectively, even if poetically. I think the right word is meditation. Although the word may be simple the doing of it is less so. To become in a state of meditation requires effort, which sounds counter productive. The word effort is one repeatedly blasted my way, whether by myself.."Get down to writing another Blog!". Or the Osteopath.."Do more physical exercise to improve that back and neck of yours". Or the publishers...."Write a synopsis according to the guidelines please!" Or my stomach....."I need something to eat!" Each and every one of these needs effort. Yet, to lie down and think of nothing at all is the hardest thing ever. To empty the mind, to relax totally the body, wow...now that is pressure!  I will try.

Maybe my next Blog...in a few weeks, will be wonderfully calming and will reveal how I did empty my mind...Interesting to see what pops up after the emptying.
Any comments on how and why and what, with reference to meditation, is most welcome.
Ah, happy days.

Time is of the essence

 TIME, that wonderfully weird thing that seems always to confuse. Many say that as they grow older time moves faster. In the case of us mortals, living in contemporary times on planet earth, this simply cannot be true. Physicists give us theories about time and space and Relativity and it all tries to compel us to understand the science of it. And yet, how is it that the ten minutes I spend curled up under my sheets on a cool winter morning seems to go much faster than when I am standing inline fore a mere three minutes and growing more agitated by the second? Is it really passing me if I am seemingly waiting for time to pass quickly, while it slows down when I wish it to? Surely not. Is it mind over matter? Or in the case of sleeping in, body over mind?
When someone is involved in an accident they tell of how they feel as if they and everything around them is moving in slow motion, reinforcing the notion that time can slow down. Yet, for passersby watching the accident, it is all over in a flash, a tragic few seconds in time and space.
I am still bewildered as to how I cannot find the time to write this  Blog more frequently and how no one has the time,( or energy, or desire) to respond to it? Time spent on one thing means it is not spent on another. So it is all about choice? 
I will sleep in tomorrow and think more on this subject.

BEWITCHED,BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED.

 Those three words are from a great song from a few decades ago but they are still relevant to a few of us today when it comes to technology. The changes Google informs as having made mean absolutely nothing to me. It's all in the language of course and new languages can be difficult to learn.
I was reminded of this recently after visiting a couple of refugees to assist in teaching them English. They are enthusiastic and try really hard to learn the correct use of the language. Yet here am I, a native English speaker, not able to fully comprehend what technology giants are telling me is changing in their applications and/or software. My English speaking passenger laughed a little at my frustration about this but then made the announcement "It's ok left, so go right." Such a simple statement which most of us would immediately understand but from the point of view of a person whose English is the second, third or fourth language, how bewildering would that command be? 
We are all prone to misunderstandings and more so with the advent of texting. Somehow the subtlety and depth of meaning is rarely transmitted in the brief messages sent via such technologically advanced portals. Even emails often lose the  ideas and feeling behind a sentence. Worse they are often misunderstood. Maybe humans will never return to 'live' letter writing and sadly 'face to face' conversations seem to be growing less in time taken and subject matters discussed but I hope I am wrong. 
Long may the word reign, whether in print form, in verbal communication or via the various forms of technology. This is, after all, what makes us human. 

Friends, lend me your ears.

Lend me yur ears. What an amazing use of langaue. Understood by all who speak the same language but imagine trying t comprehend this if Enlgish is s language you are

TECHNOLOGY OR BUST

Having recently read yet another change by Google and not understanding what I am to do with the new information I will carry on as normal. Ignorance can be bliss...well, it is by passing the need to spend hours filtering information and links I guess. I do not feel the need to bust up my mind by trying to comprehend yet another rule change.
It is something to do with buttons this time...Well, be it buttons, or keys, or keyboards or changes or implications or whatever, I trust to anyone who follows these brief blogs of mine to discover what they are supposed to do if they wish to push a button and comment! Or whatever. What's in a word. Technology means that a rose by any other name is not necessarily a rose. That is what I loathe most about technology. It can change totally the meaning and even the concept of a word. Where I was bought up, a spade was a spade and if it was given any other name it remained  a spade. It was up to the individual if they used the spade to dig with, to hammer posts in, to hit someone over the head with, or whatever. It still remained irrevocably and infinitely, a spade. Along with technology has come people who use it to change words and to spin what is a downright lie. In many such situations though the word lie seems to be bypassed by all as a permissable description of what is being said.  As if to use it means being spun off to the next High Court for daring to suggest a lie is being promoted as truth. To do so seems to be too hard. Terms such as fake news, half truths, made up stories, misguided words, reconstructed facts, are all  different words to cover what they are, a lie.
So what does all this mean? It means, I am lost for words when it comes to the way this form of technology, that is, social media, has brought about a world in which anyone, be it an individual, or a corporation, or a government,  can tell a lie and for the most part can get away with it not being pronounced as a lie.
Do you believe what I am saying? Is it the truth, half truth, fake or a lie? If you know me personally, then maybe you know the truth but if not, you could bust a gut trying to fathom it out. More likely though, as with the vast majority of people, you will not bother. Life is far too short. That is what the people who use technology to spread a lie reply upon. It is all too much bother. Hmm. Food for thought.
Ah, happy days when a spade as a spade and a lie was a lie.

A million dollars?

Another month flown by.

Oh, how the time flies. If I had a dollar for every time I've said that in my life I am sure I would now have one million of them at least. But it is true. So many things to do in and with, life that sometimes we pass over what is not so urgent or demanding for the more trivial. Not that pruning a fruit tree is trivial or connecting with friends is trivial yet somehow this only serves to delay the things that are most important to our inner self.  There lies the difference. Daily life demands us to start and complete the outer things, the concrete things that make life comfortable or survivable, the physical things that reveal a result fairly quickly and so make us feel satisfied. Yet, it is our inner needs, the ones we neglect far too often, that sustains as as human beings.  Creativity, whether forming words to create a story, or using oils to paint a picture, or whatever form it takes, supplies the inner energy and balance we all certainly need. This is what gives the  balance to the trinity: body, mind and soul, whatever you understand from the word, soul. 

Often it is good to sit down and contemplate on what is truly important and how to spread the balance around. Is cleaning my house, eating breakfast, hanging out washing, necessary? Of course it can be and yet the impulse to write burns within me so strongly that i have to do it. And yet, this is what I do after I have finished the physically demanding jobs around the house and garden, when I consider I have the time to invest in what is not a well paid job but an instinctive desire to share stories. 
Ah,if only I had the million dollars to spare. Would I pay someone to do the trivial stuff and just sit and write? Who can tell. Maybe I have brainwashed myself for to long to change now.   

Perhaps the idea of a writer,or artist,living in an ivory tower,separate form the rest of humanity is the only way to go!

HOLIDAY =CONTEMPLATION TIME

A holiday should provide time for contemplation. It is a break from the normal, the times of work and actions and monotony and responsibility and so on. Yes, it can be a holiday with lots of time spent in action, either surfing or swimming or partying or shopping or whatever butt the very act that it is different means it is a contemplation of something we do not often do. So when a person walks across sand, or climbs a mountain or visits family or friends seen only during a break then that allows the brain to ponder on other things, other people, other situations. This in essence is what happens when a person reads a price of literature, or views a piece of theatre, or a movie. They are exposed to seeing and hearing different points of view, other ways of living are revealed to them, other ways of thinking of doing, of pondering on what is important in life, of what makes us human. This is so important because in being exposed to other lives compassion is aroused and hopefully understanding.  Actions plus reactions can be viewed in a different life. This is good physically and psychologically. I am sure much research has been done in academia on the subject but it is really  common sense, a faculty left out of so much discussion on any topic in today's mad cap 24 hour news cycle.

Thinking and feeling are parts of what it is to be human and this should never be forgotten. These are two of the most important components in any creative work.  Any good writer wants to make the person their story speaks to, to think and to feel what the characters are thinking and feeling, if only for the short period of time they are involved in the reading and/or viewing. For, with any luck, the recipient of the story will take a break from their own opinions, belief systems, prejudices and whatever it is has formed their view of the world. By seeing the world in a different light it makes us all the more human.

So on this festive month, based on religious belief, it is up to everyone to enjoy the break and use it to advance their humanism. Buy as many books and Movie DVD's as possible for yourself or for gifts.

Contemplate. Happy days.

I'VE BEEN AWAY!

I have certainly been away. Hence the big gap between my talking to you. In my instance it's been a happy 'away'. I was on a holiday where I vowed not to use technology unless it was absolutely, unquestioningly, desperately, needed, as opposed to wanted. So, no facebook, blogsite or other time consuming social media, for a whole four months. This could be considered as  social media suicide but I needed to test it. I needed the clear space in my head to think of nothing more than my own new daily experiences.. Using my smart phone only for important phone calls or bookings of space I found much more time to do other things. Things like visiting family, viewing landscapes frequently simply whizzed past in a vehicle. Things like strolling over fields, staring up at massive ancient trees, sometimes flinging my arms around them, or as far as I could reach and remembering that I am a part of Nature. Time to climb hills and view the vast array of natural wonders, whether in the rain or in the warming sunshine. Things like struggling up the dozens of  stone steps worn away by thousands of feet over centuries, steps leading to towers, battlements and lookouts. Treading the stone floors of aristocratic mansions, of Bishop Palaces, of Cathedrals, of University Halls, of centuries old libraries and old churches and fortresses and castles. Yes,you got it. I've been away in the UK. Travelling to places not visited before. Walking up the couple of dozen winding steps up to my wooden seat in The Globe, was an absolute highlight. Watching a fabulous performance of Othello, one of Shakespeare's best plays, I think, in the same kind of space that patrons would have seen it in Shakespeare's time. Amazing to consider! We all laughed or sobbed or groaned at the famous words, just as people did four hundred years ago. Probably in the exact same places too. My brain was certainly away  into the realm of awe and wonder. I could easily have been described as being away with the fairies! The skill of such a playwright makes me gulp with astonishment. What a psychologist William Shakespeare was. His assessment of human nature is totally relevant today.

Thinking of having been away makes me recall when as a young girl I would hear adults whispering about someone who had been away. I was ten before I understood that this meant the person had been in prison. As I grew older some people who had been away were spoken of with envy.  This meant they were lucky enough to travel overseas,which in the late nineteen fifties/early sixties was a new thing for the English working class. How things change. Ensuring people are away from stress and depression is now what is needed to be worked on. Perhaps if we all occasionally spent time away from our daily work and worries and even away from the constant demands of family and friends to simply contemplate the wonders of this earth, or the pleasure of creative activities, this would aid in this health problem. Being away from our normal lives for just a short time can sometimes be as refreshing as a long trip away.

Anyway, now that I am back I trust you will continue to read what I write. Love to hear from you.

HEROES

We all need heroes to look up to and to do our best to emulate. My main man is William Shakespeare. Not only because he used words in a way like no other writer before, or, I would suggest, since, but he also created hundreds of new words. Now that is imagination at its best. Not only this but he formed the words into plays that spoke of the human condition and of human nature in a way that any modern day psychologist should envy. His observation skills must have been fantastic. It's as if he understood people to their very core and recognised how their joys and pain were best expressed. He  was able to turn any situation into comedy or tragedy, or both and often in the same play. Being the consumate playwright, who needed to make a living for himself and his actors, he  knew he had to please his audience, most of whom were the ordinary people who stood and watched and probably laughed and cried and hassled as loudly as any modern audience at a concert or a stand - up comedy gig. Throughout it all he managed to make serious comments about social and cultural issues of the past and of his own era. These well tested comments have travelled so well that his works have been performed in each decade down each century. (with a few exceptions) What better judgement of quality and skill and relevance is there than that.

While I admire the words written by Paul Simon, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Leonard Cohen, each saying very profound things about people and life in their songs, I doubt if they will be performed in four hundred years time. But then this is not certain. It is good to think they might be. Words that describe how people think and feel at any given moment have a power of their own.  All power to words and thank you William!

Coincidences

A discussion that involved the use of coincidence in a story written by me made me check more accurately the use other writers and other media make of them. Having checked out books and TV series it appears that coincidence is clearly used a great deal to push the storyline. Plots in Crime particularly need such coincidences to further enhance the pace of a story. How many times do the criminals, chased by the police, find themselves down an alleyway at the end of which is a massively high wire fence? How many times does a character come across their lover in the arms of someone else, when they arrive on the scene totally unexpected? How many times is a train or bus missed by seconds, only to turn the story in a barely credulous direction? There are hundreds of instances where the coincidence of people meeting in a certain place makes the suspension of disbelief compulsory. That is fine by me.  In my book, Riding The Fate Train, I push the point further, questioning whether it is Fate that makes certain events occur and is therefor a greater impulse than mere coincidence.

Life is full of coincidences, whether man made or driven by Fate. A book I am reading about a Jew caught up in the life of a concentration camp during WW2 could be said to have been saved by Fate, by the coincidence of meeting another prisoner who helped him to work safely for the Nazis' rather than be killed immediately or slowly by over work and under nourishment. Many others did not have this trick of Fate to save them.

SO the question then is not the use of coincidence in a story but the number of incidents directly impacted by it. This can only be discussed within the context of a particular piece of work. So no space here but it is interesting to contemplate. If, by coincidence, someone of great importance reads my blogs and admires the writing as well as the philosophy, then maybe I will be rewarded with a publication in some mainstream magazine or paper. Ah, such are the dreams of the imagination.  Coincidence? Fate? Who can say? Hope reigns eternal even if coincidence does not.

THE LAST POST?

Words are wonderful when they are communicated to other people. When no one else reads or sees or hears them then it becomes rather irrelevant. As my posts seem to go mostly unheeded, at least unanswered, I may not be writing many more blogs. Time will tell. I may feel more optimistic next time.

Words, new ones, are a thrill to any writer yet when reading the words that make up the names of artists performing at the Byron Bay Blues Festival I had to shiver. For of the dozens of performers listed I knew only a few of the names. Sad. It is a generational thing I am sure. All the same it is a bit scary to be so out of touch with so many of the latest recording artists. Admittedly it is not my kind of music and many are from overseas. I am a Beatles and Beethoven type of person.  But..is there an excuse that these words, these names, so important to so many people, have been completely missed by me? To be a moron or not to be, that is the question!

It was however great to hear words from my short plays spoken on a stage, where they have previously been acted out, performed fully, instead of just being read. It enabled me and the audience to concentrate on the words and this was a good lesson for all of us. For me it brought home how important words are. Sure, the actors enhance a performance with movement and emotional gestures but without the words, to be spoken, to be acted upon, there is little to a story, no matter how short or how long.

For today this story is short. Yet it reveals quite a lot. Let me know your story. Please. Respond in a few words or many.

WORDS; MADE TO HEAR AND TO SEE.

Having just spent two full days at a gathering where producers explained the massive undertaking required to produce major works for either cinema or television release, I began to comprehend that although the WORD is the most critical part of such projects, there is so much more to creating the end product. The organisational skills, the skills of hundreds of cast and crew seemed to be an almost endless list. The actual numbers of people involved can be guessed at when credits roll but it is often difficult to count the actual number. 

Having noted this however, it is still the Writer, with their words, whether in producing dialogue or scene setting or action instructions, that is the beginning of the whole process. As such, this is at least one of the most important components, if not the be all and end all. 

Sadly it is rare that a writer's name is recalled by an audience when often the name of an actor, or a director, or less often the DOP (Director of Photography) is often recalled. Why is this? Is it that Writers, in their metaphorical ivory tower, are rarely visible to the buying public? Is it that their contribution is not appreciated sufficiently, or not understood? Or, that being at the bottom of the pile in terms of worth, they are not seen as all that important. If it is the latter case then this is shameful. A Writer writes the words that solidify any kind of creation, even a painting or a photograph is, generally, titled. Those commercials we are all bidden to watch, whether great or disgustingly bad, begin with ideas written down in words, before the story board drawings.
Even signs in supermarkets are words. Doctors notes are words, even if barely legible. 
So what is a professional writer to do? I guess it is to simply be pleased and grateful if their words end up in a product that many people watch or read. That is about it. And if no one reads these words, that is sad too.