Great Images

I was in a waiting room yesterday where two other men carried on an interesting discussion about the economic meltdown, environmental challenges, etc. When talking about how inter-related the whole world is, how what happens elsewhere has an impact here, one described a cartoon he had seen somewhere. There are four men in a rowboat, two in the bow, two in the stern. There is a hole towards the stern and the water is making a fountain as it gushes in. The two men in the back are madly bailing. One of the men in the front says to the other, 'Sure glad the hole's in their end.'

I love that image as it captures a sentiment far too common, denying the idea that choices we make have an impact on everyone else in the world and we can't play ostrich, thinking we are immune to what happens elsewhere. I recall hearing a radio interview with a politician after a ban of an environmentally disastrous pesticide that the government was then collecting from people and businesses who had been using it. When asked what they would do with all they collected, he speculated that maybe they should sell it to a jurisdiction that didn't have a ban. -Really strong grasp of the problem-.

Anyway, I'm glad that image is now strong enough that it was worth a cartoon that was published somewhere, and that it had a significant enough impact that a very middle-of-the-road man not only understood and remembered, but felt it deserved to be passed on.

On a completely different note - today I was using the photocopier in an adjoining office (the program I work part time in is very small, so we share theirs) and a woman came in and asked for something. When I explained I didn't really work there, that I was just using the copier, she said, "Aren't you an author?" That's the first time someone has used that to identify me. I have participated in many different work and volunteer activities in the past, so people usually identify me with one of those roles. -So this was nice, an affirmation that maybe my passion for writing , which I only started to move out of my personal life into the public realm a few years ago, can be more than just a part of my internal, private identity.

One of the problems of not growing up with this technology and living in a relatively isolated area is that I must try things I read about or people explain to me via email. That's how I learn. I'm learning how to create a link to another entry in this blog . So ignore what follows. It is nothing but an attempt on my part to see if I understand.

Jolts Per Minute is found here.

Paranoia

Last weekend, I was at an all-day event sponsored by our local Writers and Editors Network. We (several authors) had displays of our books as people went through. As well, we each did a reading. After mine, I was approached by a woman who asked what the organization running the event was about. I explained what they do and when I talked about writing circles, including the fiction writer's circle I belong to, she expressed interest So I asked if she wrote and she said she had been working on a book for ten years. When I asked what it was about, she became rather defensive, showing considerable concern that her great idea would be stolen, and as she talked, it became apparent that she was reluctant to share the idea with anyone, including potential agents or publishers. I let her know she would be welcome to join our group, but we could not give her feedback on her writing, structure, etc. unless she was willing to share with us, and she would have to decide how much of that she would be willing to do.

When I disucssed this at the next meeting of our circle (she won't be able to join for another month, if she decides to risk it), one man expressed having once had similar concerns. He no longer feels that way, but said many years ago and with another group, he felt similarly.

This is quite foreign to me. I have so many ideas about possiblities, that I know I will never be able to pursue them all. If someone were to take one and develop it, I wouldn't feel it as a loss. To me, genuine ownership comes from the actual writing, not the basic idea in the first place. Though I suppose I might feel differently if I felt an idea was so unique and earth-shattering the actual writing was secondary. However, I don't think that is realistic. It is very rare a Dan Brown comes along with The DaVinci Code, and even then, if it is not well structured and written, it isn't going anywhere. Great ideas only take you so far, and that isn't all that far.

Anyway, every time I start to think I've seen it all, someone comes along with a differnt perspective to let me know I haven't.

Ignore this. I'm just making sure this will work - being able to edit an old post to include a link to a newer one.

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