I've had two very different items chasing their way through my brain this past week. No matter what I'm doing, my brain shifts and I start thinking, then over-thinking, until frustration sets in. So, I'm thinking maybe if I just write my thoughts down, they'll go on their merry way and I can get back to work.
The first is an essay I read over at Storytellers Unplugged called "The Heart of Love and Hate" by Gerard Houarner. http://storytellersunplugged.com/blog/2010/02/04/the-heart-of-love-and-hate/ In his essay, Mr. Houarner writes, "Love is the heart of every story." No, he's not talking about romance but how love can open up a story. He also says,"Hate does only one thing. The heart of hate is very small."
Now, I've read the essay several times and in mulling it over, I realized that Patti Abbott's short story, "Instrument of Their Desire" http://www.beattoapulp.com/stor/2008/1215_pa_InstrumentOfTheirDesire.cfm perfectly illustrates what Mr. Houarner is talking about. The premise of this story could have so easily lent itself to the hate aspect by becoming a story of revenge either by the sister or the brother. But, instead, the story became about love. The love of a sister for a brother and the love of a brother for his family. Love opened the story up and added so many more layers than hate and revenge could have ever done.
So, the next time you're writing a story, stop and think about the love aspect and how it might open your story up into something more powerful.
The second thing that's been driving me nuts is two court cases that took place in our area last week.
The first case was a male caregiver who "allegedly" raped a mentally challenged woman. He was found not guilty because the woman didn't understand what sex was and didn't say no, making it "consensual" sex. The worst part? The woman gave birth to a still-born child fathered by this man because she didn't know she was pregnant and didn't go to a doctor. Since the man was found not guilty, he'll be allowed to go back to his job as "care-giver". And they wonder why so many women are the victims in crime books?
The second case involved a woman who was selling "goth" cats on the Internet. She'd pierced their ears and bobbed their tails. She was arrested for cruelty to animals, even though the cats were well-fed and well taken care of. She was found guilty and could spend up to five years in jail.
So, you tell me, why are the damn animals given more rights than a human being who is incapable of defending herself against an "alleged" rapist? The cats didn't know what was happening to them either.
But I do know what would happen to that "man" in a story of mine and it sure wouldn't be about love and it very definitely wouldn't be very pretty.
13 comments:
Sandra, great post. I certainly know what would happen to him as well. I've a character that has been in 3 of my short stories called Vincent Mitchell that I created because of people like the guy in that court case. Perverts and peadophiles...got to be the lowest form of the human race. Sorry for the rant.
I'm not crazy about parents that get their kids ears pierced when they're little.
Here's my problem with love improving a story - it's giving love more importance than it really deserves. Romantic love is a fairly recent notion when compared to the whole of human history. Jealousy and greed are probably more fundamental emotions and will have had FAR more of an effect on us as a species.
I don't even think the vast majority of people even experience love, or what they call love isn't necessarily what somebody else would call love.
But my heart ticks, it doesn't beat, so what do I know?
Thanks for this post, Sandra.
Rant away, David. I've never been able to understand how a jury can allow someone like that to walk away unpunished.
Using love is just another way to look at a story, Anton. Perhaps helping a writer to see a different path for his story to take. Though jealousy and greed are good paths to take also.
You're most welcome, Naomi!
Hi, Sandra.
I haven't read the love post, but you have interesting timing. I was speaking a week or two ago with a colleague about my recent revenge story ("The Worst Noel" in The Gift of Murder). My colleague is religious and said he thought the story would be much more powerful if the whole revenge part was a dream and then we see the protagonist actually act with a heart full of love toward her family - then it would be a true Christmas story. And I guess he's right, but that's so not my way.
Regarding the rape issue, I'm frankly surprised. Of course every jurisdiction is different, but generally a person must be able to consent for sex to be consensual. So if you have sex with someone who is unconscious or too drunk to know what they're doing or mentally challenged, etc., it generally should ipso facto be rape - with the main question for the court whether the victim was capable of consent. I find it hard to believe that the victim in your scenario was capable of consent, but of course I'm speaking without direct knowledge of the facts.
I've been beating a similar drum for years and for me it all boils down to that there has to be more to your story then fucked up people doing fucked up things to characters that I don't care about.
I find myself latley gravitating towards those writers who aren't afraid to grab the emotional third rail.
To see love in only romantic terms is to do it a great disservice, I think. Thanks for your kind words, Sandra. I hope to find new ways of servicing that idea.
See my post tomorrow for a case that has haunted my son and is coming to the appellate court here.
And P.S. his office had a case where a group of men raped a mentally challenged woman and got away with it because she made a poor witness.
Also one where a group of teens raped a girl with a bottle. The jury was out half an hour. They saw it as teen pranks. It's horrible.
Yes, Patti, that's what the news said about this woman, that she was a poor witness. You would have thought that in itself would have given the jury a clue. I can't imagine having to do your son's job and seeing people go free that should be behind bars.
I know exactly what you mean, Brian. I've been trying to read some of the authors mentioned on Rava-Avis but I can't seem to care about the characters and I tend to stop reading.
And the sad thing is that the newer writers seem to be trying to outgross each other just for the sake of topping what someone else has written. I tried writing that way, but when the story embarrasses me, I'm not sure I want it out there for the public to read.
I wonder why writers are trying so hard to avoid hitting the emotional notes these days?
Exactly the way I felt, Charles. I hope his nether regions are burning with all our bad thoughts!
And Barbara, I think every writer has to stay true the story they're writing. If you try writing it the way someone else thinks it should be done it will be their story not yours.
Tom Piccirilli is a writer who is great at grabbing that emotional third rail and he made a comment on Twitter that I thought pertained to this conversation:
"Drama is conflict. Conflict is, to whatever end or purpose, naturally dark and painful, otherwise it wouldn't be dramatic. All of art is about love or the absence of love, I think. The more powerful the drama, the greater the absence of love."
That's exactly right, Brian. The more love is withheld, the harder the fight to win or recapture that love. And it doesn't have to be romantic love, any kind of love will work. Thanks for sending this our way!
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