Yesterday, my friend Karen wrote to me:
So, do we write what we are? If so, who are you?
I thought about this for a while. We were speaking, to put this in context, of magic and religion. At least in the course of the AGC, I indicated the following:
Primarily I take from Norse and Celtic lore, with a little smattering of Judeo-Christian ideas for good measure. It’s all very basic, tied to the way the world itself works. I guess, at heart, I’m an agnostic. I ask: “So, if all this religion is true–and if it were to manifest itself to you–but if it might mean the destruction of your world, what do you do? Whose side are you on?”
Devil’s advocate. That’s me.
I realize that’s a little on the spoilery side, isn’t it? I’ve indicated in the past that the Aldersgate itself has quite a bit to do with what magic is and isn’t in this world. But the crux of the tale rests, thus far, on the decisions people make, and what sides they end up on.
As much as possible, I’ve tried to fiddle with our concepts of good and evil, concepts that so often invade science fiction and fantasy in ultimate contrast. That’s why I think the whole Neo-Victorian/steampunk aesthetic is so important to the story itself, because it speaks so perfectly to the tensions in the telling.
Anyway. For those of you who write, here’s the question to you: Do we write what we are? If so, who are you?
The Aldersgate Cycle 
October 7, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I miss the presence of magic, the uncanny in the world and, like any artist in this situation, seek to address this imbalance in my work. I’ve written two supernatural thrillers set in a present day Great Lake city because I LOVE the notion of juxtaposing the supernatural with the real world. Take a wrong turn on a street with no name and find yourself in a whole other realm. That’s why I love authors like Nicholas Christopher, Paul Auster and Jonathan Carroll, writers unafraid to consort with the unreal. Wonderful…
October 7, 2008 at 4:53 pm
@Cliff I am totally with you there, missing the presence of magic. But notes still linger, and I’m just chasing that melody, trying to put the song back together.
October 8, 2008 at 4:45 am
I too find myself in the ‘agnostic’ realm when confronted with religion. On that front, I like to be able to approach and include any and all without prejudice or bias.
I don’t know if you read me over @ rgsanders.wordpress.com or if have looked over my posts during World Building Month, but I’m working on something for NaNoWriMo and to say it has hints of something I’m not sure I believe in is a revelation to me.
The basic idea asks questions of faith and choice, and the balance between our own suffering and the consequences of how we seek to attain our own fulfilment – again, I’m no religious, but I can find the traits in there like a neon light in fog.
I think for me, I do not write what we are, but what ‘they’ are. I like to question myself by putting ‘them’ and ‘it’ before me and giving it a stage to present itself on. I guess you could say I’m, in some way, trying to prove myself wrong – as insane as that might sound.
October 8, 2008 at 5:39 am
[…] October 7, 2008 — RG Sanders So, Natania Barron from The Aldersgate Cycle posted something that sparked a question in my head. One that I have danced over before in a moment of casual […]
October 8, 2008 at 1:09 pm
@RG Sanders Doesn’t sound insane at all; in fact, sounds exactly in line with what I was trying to get at myself.
I do the same thing. The characters enlighten me through their experiences, which I put them through. It’s a little convoluted, but that’s how the pattern works. There’s one particular character in my story that reflects me the most, and I realized (something I mentioned in the same paragraph to my friend, but omitted here) that the character is closest to me because he has my fears. I’ve given him my greatest fears, and some of what I think are my greatest strengths, to see what he’ll do in the fishbowl of the AGC.
And yes, at the end of the day their experiences–religious, areligious, magical, etc–reflect on a larger world.
October 8, 2008 at 9:52 pm
so I was skimming through your blog, and first I got Gillian Welch’s “Time (a Revelator)” stuck in my head, and then I saw the phrase “Neo-Victorian/steampunk aesthetic” and stopped dead. I may be in love with you. 😉
er, to actually answer the question…
I like to say that I write in shades of gray. There’s no black or white in my worlds, and the good guys aren’t necessarily good and the bad guys probably aren’t bad. And I think that *is* the way I am. Gray.
October 8, 2008 at 11:35 pm
@Westenra Ah, well, we can’t help it if we both have immaculate taste! Love, life, live, I say.
Gray is important. I write very gray myself. Not to mention that’s the last name of my heroine. Hah! (Grey, anyway)