Untitled - 04

 (Published 11-Nov-2020 23:57:05)

One of the most bewildering aspects of human interaction is the lack of validation.
You never, ever know if someone understands you. Or is listening. Or, on some level exists.
This is especially true if you have conversations with people in your head that never happened.
One might ask what is "real". But it's a trick question - we have nothing to compare it to.

World-making is a partial solution; create a world where nobody talks, create a world where you have super powers or can sing or whatever you like. The challenge there is how real do you make it? Do you build a full world or do you build only enough for the story to exist? Do you look into the history of the different peoples, giving validation to the identities presented ... or do you make just enough to allow the narrative to flourish. Doing just enough is far less work - but always winds up making the story less satisfying - because you making it very easy for the suspension of disbelief to fail.

So you make a little bit more. Give your monster teeth. Give your main character a back-story and a conscience. Add surprise bits that are implicitly obvious - maybe a vampire is allergic to blood from a rabbit; maybe a main character has the voice in your real life you desperately desire - but don't see how to develop with the people you know; maybe you just want to fly - so you give that to your character.

In the end, maybe it's therapy you share with others. You try to capture what weaknesses and foibles you have through the characters you craft - and you share the journey with your readers when you craft resolutions. Maybe it doesn't change the real world - but it gives you hope.

And you can do things with hope. Maybe even change the world.