Creating Space

Yesterday I made red sauce. The instructions suggested soaking the dried red peppers in the refrigerator overnight. Or, “in case of emergencies”, boil the water and drop them in.

I was amused to consider the situations in which I would need emergency red sauce. Nonetheless, I used the emergency directions. I wanted red sauce today, not red sauce tomorrow.

Boiling the water was a case of applying extra energy to hasten a process. In many cases, we can. We can pay extra energy in the form of money to have our packages shipped faster. We can bring more people onto a project, or put our foot on the gas pedal.

And in some cases, we can’t. There’s no way to bring Spring sooner. Trying to rush a relationship can push someone away instead of becoming closer, faster. Turning up the heat on a roast too far will burn the exterior and leave the interior raw.

Other times, the price of rushing is too high. It’s not worth the toll it would take of our health, our finances, our family and friends.

Take a look at your projects. Have you allowed them enough cooking time? Is this a time to add more energy to the procedure and step it up? Or is it a time to let things simmer at their own pace?

And if you are unsure, I can help you find the best timing. I can help you apply more energy when appropriate, or enjoy the cooking time when that is the best choice. I’d be glad to.

Science Fiction has two major awards. I linked to the Hugo award winners a few issues ago. The other one is the Nebula award. Where the Hugos are chosen by members of Worldcon each year, the Nebulas are chosen by members of the Science Fiction Writers of America. It’s interesting to compare the tastes of the two groups. When they agree, the winning book is both a popular and critical favorite - like having both top box office and highest Rotten Tomatoes score for a movie.

See the Nebula award winner listings at:
http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NebulaWinsByYear.html

Back in college, I spent hours watching Doug play an arcade game called Rolling Thunder. One lean hero, armed with one gun at a time, without armor or allies, faced down an entire legion of punching, leaping, and shooting goons. Each wave was tougher than the last. I loaned Doug quarters to guide the hero to winning the game.

There are many games like this. The player takes the role of one against an army. The opponents have numbers, better armor and weapons, can take more damage and often hold the high ground. Despite all this, the hero wins.

Why? Because all the opponents are stuck on a script. In Rolling Thunder, when the hero reaches a certain point, they must leap or shoot or punch, according to their programming - they have no choice. The hero, guided by the player, has freedom to crouch, leap, or shoot, advance or retreat, when he chooses. And that small degree of freedom is enough. By playing the game repeatedly, the player learns where the programmed opponents leave an opening. They can’t change to fill it. The player can.

Here’s an easy technique, adapted from veteran writer Lois McMaster Bujold, for stepping out of the script. When facing a decision, find at least three alternatives to choose from. The first and second choices tend to be the script and its simple opposite. The third choice is where creativity starts. Both you and your characters are freer when you consider the third alternative.

The world is wide open. In fact, it sometimes seems we have a bewildering variety of choices. So, we choose to systemize, to simplify, to make plans and follow them, to not look around. The well-worn path is easy to follow - as long as it works. When it doesn’t - we may feel stuck and bewildered. We try following the same path a little faster or slower, or maybe following the left side instead of the right side - when all around us is a limitless plain of possible choices, and we don’t even look at it.

I know something is not working in my life now. The goons are getting me. And I’m not sure what to do.

But I know that I don’t even know what alternatives I might not be seeing. So I’m going to take some time to lift my eyes. I’m sure there is more freedom than I have yet discovered.

I’ll let you know how it goes. And I wish you the creative freedom to escape whatever scripts are constraining you, too.

Anna

And thanks to Gerald Weinberg, author of Weinberg on Writing: The Fieldstone Method, for sharing
last issue.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at:
anna@annaparadox.com