Friday, April 3, 2015

Airplane Thoughts

(Perfect for fans to quote me … some day in the future.)
1. Why the hard work? Writers are doing God’s job. The best part is not that they could get lost in a world they created out of nowhere, but knowing that other people, strangers included, are also able to see it. I call this “magic”.
2. A short story can only have two types of beginnings. Something has gone wrong and the solution isn’t obvious, or everything looks right with the looming possibility of messing up one of them. In fact, the two aren’t that different.
3. A good book should serve two purposes simultaneously: consolation and provocation. That is, let readers know what they think, how they feel, and why they make certain decisions are common and sharable by others. Meanwhile, show them what they have missed, what deserve a second thought, and what could have happened other ways. Lacking either aspect would weaken the strength of the other.
4. Creativity happens at those moments that would have been boring otherwise, like traveling on an airplane with electronics turned off or lying in bed at night when you are fully awake.
5. Kids get cranky on an airplane because they don’t appreciate how we fly over continents by sitting still in tiny seats.

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Comments highly appreciated! - Fiona