A Moral Warehouse

One way we might hasten the guile of imagination is through the versatility of vocabulary. Simultaneous translation between the screen of fantastic awareness in the mind & the physical mechanics of writing is the craft of the word-smith, reduced. The greater the scope of available words to identify, then describe  sequences generated in our mind's eye, the richer, the more accurate the language we are able to capture.

Once fully activated, the focus of creativity moves like the lens of a camera, What has been witnessed during these flashes of fantasy must be carved into clear & lucid language—we begin to tell our story in the logic of words. The greater the storehouse of options to draw from in detailing this vision, the more original & succinct the sentences intended to engage a reader.

Once the blood is pumping & attention is reflecting action contained within the planes of imagination, another world opens. We smell, we can taste & hear the imaginary; we touch what is unreal & aspire to re-create these experiences in a string of carefully chosen words. These words flow from a lexicon built through education & experience. There is energy which builds when original writing emerges. Each fresh unit compels & we challenge the reader to keep pace with what is unfolding. In this fusion, we lose self-consciousness to ride the crest of an incoming wave. The is satisfaction in revealing the monumental intention of literary ambition.

Can writers behave like scientists & strive to isolate subtle variables which operate close to the mystery of an activated imaginations? The imaginary is a moral universe. Can we guide that world consciously or are we required to permit events to unfold as they must?

The vision which guides a developing work will change —experience understands this. Is it wise or even possible to impose our own intellect on the line of a developing narrative, like someone reaching over from the passenger seat to correct a driver’s course? Do we have an obligation to allow our characters to do as they are compelled, keeping our own moral code away from their unique destinies? What happens if we are frightened by what we have created?

There are opinions defining the moral authority of a writer but is one course of action more appropriate than another?

{Images by the Limbourg Brothers}