Yesterday was a solemn day for me, full of much
introspection. I had the privilege of performing in a 9/11 special with the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Tom Brokaw.
A wonderful experience.
It’s hard
to believe, but I was just heading to one of my high school classes during my
junior year of high school. Since then, I’ve become a husband, a father, a
college graduate and a published author. But I still feel the effects of that
day.
When hearing all the stories of people who were impacted by
9/11 it made me think about how I can apply what they have taught me as a
writer. I heard people say so many times that watching the news coverage was
‘like watching a movie’. As writers, we are meant to mimic and comment on
reality, and we can learn things, even from tragedy.
Here are some of my
thoughts:
1.
There is real evil in the world—people who will
convince themselves through twisted logic that hurting and killing others is
justified. That is the model of a true
antagonist.
2.
There are real heroes in the world—people who
will put their own comfort and safety in front of others. They lay down their lives to save others.
That is the model of a true protagonist.
3. People may be beaten down and lose many things,
but can pick themselves up again, can rebuild, and can still find
happiness. That is a model of the human
condition. In real life that is how a
lot of stories go, not all happiness, not all sadness, but somewhere in between
with hope for the future.
My heart goes out to all those who lost someone on that
terrible day. I hope that our country and that each one of us can take a second
to remember how those events made us feel and that we can recommit to being our
best selves.
Photo by Christopher Paulin
Writing Update:
Another great writing week! I’m up to 14,000 words in Simon Says and 10,300 in the second book of The Last Archangel series.
(Still not sure what the title is going to be on that. I’d welcome some
suggestions) I’m turning in a short story to a Christmas anthology this week
called “Checkin’ It Twice”. In this story, Santa has to reevaluate his stance
about his traditional lists.
I’ve got a very busy week coming up doing a major concert
with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but I hope to still get some good writing
time in.
beautiful. love the summation line of, "In real life that is how a lot of stories go, not all happiness, not all sadness, but somewhere in between with hope for the future. " lovely, true.
I believe in real heroes.
It's the stories where there evil redeems itself that really touch me. Where the ordinarily heartless, self-absorbed or greedy bloke finds himself compelled to run into a sweltering pit of flames to save complete strangers. There's something about the ability to change for the better that warms me.
What a great post! Thanks for sharing it. Your Christmas short story sounds like fun. An original twist. Your days are full. When you do find time to write?
As for writing time, I just make sure that I am always ready to write wherever I am. I carry pen and paper everywhere, have my laptop handy, and just snatch up any few minutes I have. That adds up. Then, my wife likes to go to bed early and I'm a night owl, so that gives me a few hours at night once she and the kids have hit the sack.