Struggling, With A Smile

For Christmas I received a copy of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.  I've been struggling through this epic poem and it's kind of a love/hate relationship.   I will be completely lost for three stanzas and then a light bulb will go off and things become slightly clearer.  There are moments where I'm just in awe of the words used and how much they convey, and then there are other moments where I'm left scratching my head.

Part of the problem might be that this is the first epic poem I've ever read (I thought it was a regular set of tales when I put it on my wish list).  Another part might be the fact that this book was written back in the 1300's (originally in Italian if I remember right).  But a small part of me says it's difficult just because it's supposed to be.

It's an interesting sensation when you're reading a literary work like this one.  I feel like I am standing just outside a room trying to peer in but the bright lights (or dark maybe, given the story's content) make it hard to discern all the details.  I've felt like this before, back when I was reading The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien.  It's like almost understanding everything the author is trying to convey - and not being upset that I don't understand.

In any event, I intend to make it all the way through and absorb as much as I can.  There are gold nuggets to be found in these verses to be sure.

Anyone else read something difficult like this recently?

Different Cultures Can Tie The Tongue

Yesterday I was reading an interesting article in Poets and Writers magazine.  Basically it involved one writer interviewing other writers and one in particular caught my eye.  This writer was a female writing in Jordan.  At first I became lost in her world as she described her background and talked about various things, such as her cultural ties and her other family members.  The more I walked through the article though, the more aware I became of just how restrictive a world she lives in.

Jordan is (in some respects) one of the more Western-thinking Arab countries.  And from her descriptions of life there, some aspects of her life sounded really interesting and inspirational.  As the interview progressed however, it became clear that there are still some things a writer cannot say in Jordan.  For example, criticizing the King is a crime.  The woman did admit to a bit of self-censoring in her writing as well.  While this didn't surprise me (since I've been to many countries in the world and shed my naivety quite some time ago), it did make me pause and think.

I'm a firm believer in freedom of speech, even when I don't agree with what's being said.  I cannot imagine writing an article or a story and having to worry about the words I choose or the topic I'm writing about.  This very blog post would likely be impossible in someplace like Jordan, since I'm not exactly hiding my dismay at their laws.  I like to think I have a fairly creative mind, but that creativity would be stifled in such a place.  I'd probably end up behind bars permanently (or worse).

I guess I am saddened by the fact that I love learning about the various cultures that make up humanity, and yet here is a culture (or society at least) that keeps its people from examining and celebrating their culture through writing.  It's truly unfortunate.

I keep hoping that someday the right people will rise to power and embrace at least some of the freedoms we enjoy in this country.   I don't think they need to model their governments exactly like ours, since we have plenty of bad examples as well.  But maybe someday they will find a happier medium that frees their people a little more without sacrificing their core cultural values (if that's possible).

Am I wishfully thinking here?  I'd love to hear anyone else's perspective or experiences.

Catching Attention Immediately

Last night the family and I sat down to watch The Voice.  If you're unfamiliar with the show, its a singing contest/reality show where the judges listen to the person singing without facing them so that they can decide based on the voice alone as opposed to taking the person's appearance/stage presence/etc into consideration.

As the show progressed, one thing became very clear.  Those vocalists that jumped out there and wow'd the judges from the get-go were immediately rewarded by the judges turning around (meaning the judges were then offering to mentor the vocalist going forward).  Those who didn't grab attention immediately struggled to get any kind of response from the judges (and in some cases failed completely).

The parallel between the show and my WiP hit home since I'm currently working on my opening chapter.  I'm struggling with the same problem these latter vocalists struggled with. I need an opening that catches the attention, that grabs the reader right off.  I need to engage them immediately so that they're willing to go through this ride with me.  I'm finding it's not an easy task.

One thing I learned through the critiques is that I've tried to tell the story in a very blank - almost empty - world.  I'm not very experienced with this whole world-building stuff, so my first thought was to use the beginning to introduce my world.  As I started re-writing the opening however, I noticed that I was bored.  I was painting the picture of my world, but it reminded me too much of Tolkien (and I hate the overbearing description Tolkien used).  More importantly, I couldn't see my reader being excited about the story either.

So it's back to the drawing board.  I've got to find a happy medium between describing the world enough and getting the reader engaged right away.  I don't know how I'm going to do it, but hopefully I'll figure something out soon. 

Actually, I think I'll go re-read the openings of Possession and A Million Suns.  They're great examples that might inspire me.

How do you go about creating that ever-important first scene?