‘The antidote to the wrong story is simply to tell the right story.’ Here’s what we were discussing last time, Mark. I prefer to think of the materialist story as simply incomplete. I guess one might go ‘full spiritual’ as a counterpoint but certainly feel my own task more as interweaving or bridge building to the not so apparent. Wholeheartedly agree about the fairytale or fable angle but equally dearly hope this doesn’t necessitate consigning my own realism to the waste bin of soulless plodding prose!
"People always have their guard up against having their minds changed. They are always wary when someone challenges the fundamental societal stories that shape their understanding and their vision. After all, this challenge requires not only a change of ideas but a change of communities. A literal approach can set all those alarm bells ringing."
A very good point in an interesting back-and-forth discussion. I'm grappling with this in my new novel,-in-progress, which is contemporary/realistic literary fiction, by having the action switch mid-story to a sort of Shakespearean "green world," completely different than the protagonist's usual milieu. It gets her out of "real-life" and back in history and legend, a liminal place in which she (and the reader) can experience a shift in perspective. I feel the need to the take the reader on an unusual journey, away from "normal life" and the (by now, boring) culture wars of the 2020s. A Catholic view is a long view, and this only helps us , as writers. Even "realistic" fiction has an enormous treasure trove to work with in history, culture, and art. The reader can never be preached to, but he or she can still be enchanted in this genre. That's my working theory, anyway.
‘The antidote to the wrong story is simply to tell the right story.’ Here’s what we were discussing last time, Mark. I prefer to think of the materialist story as simply incomplete. I guess one might go ‘full spiritual’ as a counterpoint but certainly feel my own task more as interweaving or bridge building to the not so apparent. Wholeheartedly agree about the fairytale or fable angle but equally dearly hope this doesn’t necessitate consigning my own realism to the waste bin of soulless plodding prose!
"People always have their guard up against having their minds changed. They are always wary when someone challenges the fundamental societal stories that shape their understanding and their vision. After all, this challenge requires not only a change of ideas but a change of communities. A literal approach can set all those alarm bells ringing."
A very good point in an interesting back-and-forth discussion. I'm grappling with this in my new novel,-in-progress, which is contemporary/realistic literary fiction, by having the action switch mid-story to a sort of Shakespearean "green world," completely different than the protagonist's usual milieu. It gets her out of "real-life" and back in history and legend, a liminal place in which she (and the reader) can experience a shift in perspective. I feel the need to the take the reader on an unusual journey, away from "normal life" and the (by now, boring) culture wars of the 2020s. A Catholic view is a long view, and this only helps us , as writers. Even "realistic" fiction has an enormous treasure trove to work with in history, culture, and art. The reader can never be preached to, but he or she can still be enchanted in this genre. That's my working theory, anyway.
Gah! I mixed up ontological and epistemological again. A free dope, but still a dope.
Thanks for this discussion. I'm glad to read others' thoughts on this.