SJ Terra

Tag: character

  • Comedy or Tragedy

    True meaning to our characters’ lives (as well as our own)

    I had a new story idea a few weeks back. I am calling it a mirror story. Basically, two story lines with loosely joined characters, one a comedy and one a tragedy. Now I am about halfway through the first draft and am balking at the idea of killing off a character at the end of the story. As a writer I have never had a character die, not a main character or even someone with a name. I am not talking about just violence or sickness, nobody involved has ever died.

    If anyone wants the simple junior high definition: Tragedy is where the hero dies, a Comedy is when they live. The terms have been debated ever since Aristotle and Plato and maybe earlier, but no one wrote it down on something that lasted. A tragedy can be a struggle with a bad ending, a dramatic litany of sorrows, but I like Aristotle’s definition.

    Aristotle : Poetics

    Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions.

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    A black and white mask with a sad face
    Photo by Custom Patches By Bob on Unsplash

    Another translation used the word catharsis. It means a cleansing through the feelings of pain. To experience the misfortune of the character, often so much worse than our own, in order to work through our own emotions. I believe this might be the purpose of writing in general. To experience both the joy and despair, and help bring our own emotions into balance again.

    Tragedy could also be a fall from grace. Though I like the idea, the phrasing, I struggle with it. We, as humanity, fell from grace due to the actions of the first people. We will be raised up again due to the actions of one Man a little later on. Only through dying both a mortal and spiritual death can we truly be raised into glory again. Are our lives tragedies? Are we living out a litany of sorrows? Are we, the hero, struggling against a foe we can not win against? I believe this is true. the Foe is greater than us. Greek tragedy is defined as a bad ending caused by the protagonist’s flawed reasoning or their ‘tragic flaw’. We are a flawed humanity making flawed decisions.

    According to these definitions, I don’t actually have to have the hero die in their story line, but if it is supposed to be a bad ending, death would be the worst, right? What if the hero of the story makes bad decisions but knows Christ? Their earthly body dies but they are raised to glory and live in joy forever more. Is their story a tragedy or a comedy?

    When joy strikes us, even the tiny joys like a funny word choice, we laugh. Big joys cause us to bask, drink in the moment, maybe let it soak in, pour over us. I like the image of being drenched in joy. I think that Aristotle might even agree that experiencing an immense magnitude of joy might be just as cathartic. When I arrive in heaven will I dance or fall at His feet? Will I shout and sing or be struck into silence? A song by Mercy Me asks this really well. Experiencing that much joy might actually make me laugh. Not at my good fortune or super smart decisions (sarcasm), but because it is so perfectly healing to laugh out loud. And because all those silly questions will be answered and I will be sure that our almighty God has a great sense of humour.

    Laughing is what we associate with Comedy. We choose movies to make us laugh and call them comedy. Stand up comedians point out our flaws and we laugh. The Joker in Batman once said, “A joke a day keeps the gloom away.” He was right, but it might be even more than that. Just like my mother in-law does su-do-kos to combat alzheimers, some people sing every morning to stimulate their vagus nerve-it makes them feel better, their body works better. Maybe a laugh a day, not only keeps despair away but might even stimulate that nerve as well. Joy makes our lives better.

    So laugh a little or a lot. Sing with joy. Live your comedic life. It doesn’t make the litany of sorrows any less, it makes them tolerable. We can shrink despair through laughter, both the sarcastic kind and the joyful kind. Yes, we will die. And for some that will be a tragedy.

    But, I encourage you to breathe deep daily and find the joy. Laugh at the Foe: You already know how this story ends.

  • Can a book really change the world?

    Only if you can find it…

    Simple answer, no. A book doesn’t change the world, the people who read it change the world. Kind of like that gun reference. In the same way though, the availability of the book is a big factor in who is holding that book. Gutenberg proved that a very long time ago with a book that still helps a lot of people change the world. My book is less important but I hope it helps someone.

    So when I was publishing my book there were so many questions that I needed to think about in terms of getting it into people’s hands. Does that specific book catch the eye when it is on the shelf? Is it easy enough to read? Does it hold your attention, keep your interest, challenge you? Do you want to read more? And even more basic-is the book in your local library, neighbourhood store or on the platform you normally use? Can you get the book you want read?

    In order to help my book be available I have put in an application to the Winnipeg Public Library, a school library as well as Hull’s bookstore. They are currently reviewing it and will let me know. The best way to get a book into either a library or a bookstore is to get lots of people to request it. So if you know someone who might like to read my book or anything else specific that isn’t listed than please request it, fill out the little form and ask. Encourage your friends to as well. So now I wait. Maybe I should read someone else’s books for a bit.

    At the beginning of summer I was looking to boost my summer reading pile. Looking forward to lazy afternoons and early unrushed mornings. I ordered six books off of Thriftbooks.com. I had a specific list of authors and books I wanted so I started looking locally. I looked on the Winnipeg Public Library and couldn’t find these specific books, there were others in the series or by the same authors but not the first book in six series. I looked online at local stores websites but only found one or two. Again more from those authors and even more in those series. Big named e-books didn’t have all of them either. So I ordered all of the books I wanted from one place -Thriftbooks.com and paid almost the same amount in shipping as I did for the books. They arrived in only a couple weeks.

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    1. Piers Anthony – On a Pale Horse

    This one because a few months ago my husband tried to find every book in the series Incantations of Morality. All the rest were found at used book stores around Winnipeg except this one. I read this book when I was in high school but I might still give it another read. I haven’t decided yet.

    2. Cornelia Funk – InkHeart

    I need my daughter to read this one. She has her own writings and drawings and I think she would love this concept. It really intrigued me when I read it shortly after it first came out. Unfortunately/fortunately when I started talking it up and showed her the book she said, “Yeah I have that one on my shelf, I just haven’t got to it yet.” So I got an extra copy now. Books seldom go to waste, they make very good birthday gifts too.

    3. Mary Doria Russell – The Sparrow

    This was a completely blind purchase. When I put several hashtags in for my book including Christian and science fiction, this was one of the books that came up as comparable (or Comp Title). This was a strange and difficult journey. Worth it in so many ways and yet I was disappointed by the ending. It went in a way that I couldn’t follow. I wrote more about this book in a previous newsletter (Be careful little Eyes).

    4. Ted Dekker – Black

    Again a blind purchase because it was also in the Comp Title list but I do not feel like this is what I am writing at all. I was curious about what other Christian Science fiction writers had done and this is certainly that and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the Circle series in the future (they are available locally). It taught me what my book is not.

    5. Mercedes Lackey – Arrows of the Queen

    I had heard the name in mid-grade fantasy listings and found a audiobook preview. I listened while crocheting and very much wanted to finish the story. I found the writing style to be a similar story telling style to my own. I should not have been surprised that the story was not finished at the end of the first book as it is the first in a very long series spanning several decades of writing. Way to reel me in.

    6. Martha Wells – The Cloud Roads – Volume 1 of the Books of the Raksura

    Her name came up in every search I did for comp titles, and was that search engine correct! I found a sample, the first couple chapters and began reading. I devoured it, read 69 pages with only getting up to pee and grab sustenance once that whole time. When the actual book arrived it was the first I continued to read. I read all through the night and finished it in a couple of days. The characters, the world, even the style of writing – all comparable to Rocky Rulers. Then a few weeks later one of my adult kids decided to stock up on their own reading list – The MurderBot Diaries. She bought the series having no idea that I had already read a book by the same author so she is now intrigued to try something new.

    And isn’t that the entire point of comparable titles. Its not to find an exact copy in another format of the story you just read. It is to make the next book approachable, relatable and just different enough to make you reach and challenge you in a new direction. Reading one more book gives you one more perspective and all of this leads to you, the reader, making little changes to your thoughts, actions, words and therefore, changing the world. For you and hopefully others but only if you can find the book you are going to read.

    So submit a request to your local library to see mine or other books. Send me book suggestions for what to read this fall and if you see my book somewhere, send me a picture. One of my main goals was to see my book in libraries, even if its your own personal library. Or show me what books have helped you change the world.

  • Building Character(s)

    Building Character(s)

    The characters I wrote are better human beings than I am

    Wow! I wrote a book?

    With my first novel on the Coming Soon! list on the publisher’s listings, a second and third book in the writing and editing stages and a couple more ideas being fleshed out around the dinner table, I laugh and cry a little about where these characters come from.

    The year was 2020… but this is not a COVID story.

    While fiddling around with a doll pattern and then looking into the eyes I saw a story. This skinny, lopsided, flat-footed kid wanted to tell me something. I wasn’t sure if they would be in a short story or just a character study for a online class. It might have been someone that just made my kids laugh and probably did. A little blurb that sparked a flame and now the words run like wildfires across my page. Though writing was something I always did: Journals, half-filled science notebooks, left over printer paper with the hole strips down the edges – all fair game for the words that I needed to get down. I never realized that it might be the one activity that could heal my wounds, give me hope, and force me back into life.

    Not another Creative Journey or How I got my Life Back

    I am not really a ‘share every aspect of my life’ type of person but I will probably include you in some parts of my day to day life from here on out. I have been called to do something a little more. Not to grump about editing or cheer for my kids, not to show you goofy pics of my dogs or tell you how to get things done. These might be the ways that I connect with you but they are not the reason I am here. I have been called to bring joy, build faith, speak truth and ultimately, change the world. That sounds a little egotistical but stick with me for a minute, I’m not doing this alone.

    I see you out there, as I walk along with my dog or reach out to get my mail- you wave, or nod in my direction-I wave or nod back. Hardly speaking, never knowing each other’s name. A small emptiness is filling us up. We need each other. You need me and don’t really know it; I forgot that I needed you, too! All of us bobbing our heads up and down, waving our arms and drowning in this sea of apathy and disconnections. So, as I extend my hand to you, and take this new step, take hold and let’s see where we go together.

    two hands reaching towards each other in front of a pink sky

    Photo by Elijah Grimm on Unsplash

    I will do my best every week to give you something to think about, read out loud to your family or friends, or share with a neighbour. I also intend to give you questions and challenges to encourage you along your journey. I pray that I will put positive words into your world and I hope you will put them into mine. I need you to reach out, to leave a message, challenge me or question me. Keep me on my toes and push me to be better.

    I am not asking for you to buy a paid subscription. Subscribing (on this platform) simply means that you will get my link to a newsletter or posts. Its free and only needs an email. Nothing else is necessary. My writing here is to encourage you and for you to encourage me, nothing more.

    My outreach at the moment includes publishing a book for mid-grade or junior high students. It is a story about kids finding out what being a human is all about, regardless if they have wings or fins. Not a classic fantasy, just young people coming together to learn from each other and maybe change their world. Buy it for your children, grandchildren, friend’s kids or the your school library. It is my first book. It has been professionally edited and printed but I can already see that my writing is improving as I write my next books.

    Are you ready to build your character? Will you join me in weekly challenges to build connections? Can I count on you to push me to be a better person? This is what we have all been called to do. Grab a hold of my hand, let’s do this together.