SJ Terra

Tag: personal growth

  • 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.

  • Coincidences that Aren’t

    Coincidences that Aren’t

    And other truths I chose to ignore

    I have been struggling with my stories lately, most of the last month or maybe longer. I wasn’t really worrying about it because well, the first book was written over two years and then edited over another. Why should the TWO books I have been working on suddenly appear in the last eight months?

    a cube with a hole in it
    Photo by Eran Menashri on Unsplash

    I don’t push myself to write everyday. I am fully aware that that is the number one things writers are told is to make time to write everyday. For me though, there are some days when I can’t look at a screen without feeling a headache and some days when typing actually hurts so I write when I can. I am blessed that I don’t rely on my writing income to buy groceries or pay the mortgage, I have a hard working husband for that. Thank you Theo. So writing and the stories that come out of it are on my time, when I feel well, and can focus and actually have something to say.

    The problem is that I have had time and good days and the writing that happens is what my grandmothers might have called pap, a flavourless slurry of water and grain that always reminded me of papermache, not the nutritious baby food that it was intended to be. So how had I lost the flavour and texture and nutrition from my writing? My characters had goals, the endings were already written, but I couldn’t seem to move forward.

    Actually, that’s exactly where I was stuck with the stories. The characters were traveling in both stories. Traveling, talking, moving from one place to another and never arriving, anywhere. Yes they needed to change locations but I couldn’t seem to write what would happen next. They were stuck in this endless loop of movement without growth.

    Sometimes I feel like I am in that same loop. Marking time, we called it in the military. Its the action of marching in spot while waiting for the next command. I get up everyday, do stuff that is necessary and then go to bed at night without anything meaningful being said or done. There is no growth, no change, no climax in my story and therefore no glorious ending.

    I was up a little early today, but not moving well at first. This means I sit on the couch until medication kicks in and I read if I can. I reread one of my stories, another big no-no in the writing community. As I read I realized exactly what had gone wrong. It was so simple and obvious that I know that I missed it in the other story as well AND it was also true in my life too.

    I don’t write Christian books that preach salvation. That is not my gift. I do write stories that encourage discussion about beliefs and activities like going to church and celebrating religious holidays and praying. The stories don’t make a big deal about it, it is just apart of people’s lives and for some people it isn’t, but it might be.

    I have a religious curious character who is kind of out there on his own without a family or home, though he has good friends they aren’t always nearby or available. He has asked for help in the dark when he is scared and help has been there for him. He keeps meeting more and more people who also know a God or at least know about a God. They sometimes have different names like Creator or Lord and usually interact in different ways with their beliefs but he is beginning to think that maybe they are all the same God.

    Churchoftherock.ca

    Before I had a chance to do any repairing of my stories it was time to go to church. Not the church I grew up with, not the church that I raised my children in or got married in. Its just a church. They preach the bible and the love of God and a mighty group of believers sing God’s praises, or in this morning’s service they sang ‘What a beautiful name it is, the name of Jesus’. The sermon was about the presence of the Holy Spirit. Accepting the invitation, being involved in the interaction and the experiencing the amazing impact of the Holy Spirit.

    The pastor there uses the phrase regularly that every time you pray-something happens. Sometimes your prayer is answered, sometimes it changes the situation, and sometimes it changes you. I had forgot to pray. I forgot to accept the invitation. My God is always holding out His hands waiting for me to accept the help He is offering, I don’t have to ask for Him to come, He’s already here, just waiting on me. So I prayed. I reached for His hand and grew and moved forward again.

    The characters in my stories had set out on their journeys, the lead up to a climax and the awaited endings. But they forgot to pray. Or really I had forgot to write that they prayed or talked or begged the Creator to make things happen. They wanted to end this situation and have it work out better than when they started. Just like I did but neither of us could move forward and grow and change without God. I went back and wrote in the prayers and discussions for my characters and now the journey is almost over. The end is in sight.

    So pray and see what happens.

    (I know I talk about my characters as if they are doing things I don’t have control over, but it is true. I put my fingers to the keyboard and some very surprising things happen that I have to write my way out of. Just trust me. This is what the creative process looks like for me. I am not actually crazy. Ask any writer.)

    purchased at Dollartree on Pembina

    Challenge this week is to keep track of your prayers, exactly what did you ask for. Then keep track of what happens. Are they answered, changed or are you changed to suit God’s purpose? Note that this may take longer than a week. As that old Sunday school song goes, “Sometimes God answers wait when I pray”. But pray anyway, and grow a little more while you wait.

  • Thank the World

    Thank the World

    One little thank you at a time

    So, I did it. I’m a writer. Well, I’ve always been a writer, at least since I was making wiggly letters touch both the top and the bottom line on the page. Now I wrote a book. Somehow that’s not new either. I remember stapling together a couple of sheets of paper containing a story and illustrations! So what exactly did I do? Publish a book? Nope, that wasn’t me, editing had a lot of help with that one too. . . Maybe I authored a book.

    I did not do it by myself. THANK YOU!

    We say things like, “I am an author.” but what does that actually mean? Cambridge says writer of a book, article etc. Or my favourite definition: someone who creates or begins something. Wiki says that an author is a creator of an original work that has been published. I am really glad to find out that being an author does not require me to be an authority on something. The two words grew from the same root but are not related it seems. I am not an expert, not even about my own book.

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    A few years ago I got a head injury. Wasn’t my first, it didn’t even seem to be my worst. But I didn’t really get better. Things are more stable, I know what to expect, most days, but it did leave a few holes that aren’t and probably won’t be repaired. One of them is memories. This is both a blessing and a curse. The funny stories I don’t remember of my own life or those of my kids are the curse part. Along with whether we have milk in the fridge or what time it is right now are also lost. But the blessings are that I can open presents I wrapped myself and still be pleasantly surprised. So it is with writing my book, every time I read it I get excited, “What’s going to happen next? Will everyone be okay?” Then I laugh and remember that I wrote the story. I don’t remember writing it, though. I can point to specific moments or places when I was writing. I know what started it and few parts in the middle if I concentrate but while I am reading, NO IDEA! Its kind of fun that way.

    So I really need to thank all those people who read the story, made sure it keeps making sense, pointed out the spelling mistakes and the sentences I forgot to finish. My family, who suffered through last minute suppers, a million post it notes and me asking the same question more than once (or three times) before I understood and remembered their answer. So I did do it. I created an original work and started something new and am now a published author but I did not do it by myself. THANK YOU!

    Your challenge this week is to simply say Thank You to three different people EVERYDAY for what they do for you, or just for being themselves. These people can be online but bonus points if your appreciation is expressed in person or accompanied by a hug or handshake. Pay attention and keep track, it easy to forget. Let me know who you remembered or who you forgot. I’ll let you know my results next week

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    P.S. I also need to thank the people who buy my book! It’s now available…..

    book cover Rocky Rulers, Purple with large mountain

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