Outside of the sanctuary of fiction, not only is it likely that someone will abrade you, harm you, degrade you, but that they in their ignorance have been manipulated into enjoying your diminishment. Social media in particular is aestheticized powerlessness; we are shown, repeatedly, how our actions, beliefs, and desires are not only humiliating, but – in their cruel, spectacular dismantling – a bottomless source of entertainment, something people actually “like.”
The writer, like many a creator, *does* possess a certain power in the creative process. But, like the recalcitrants of Eden to their creator, one's characters often show an independence that their authorial creator seems powerless to control. And then there are the theologians who come after to critique and confound the all-xs attributed to their creator (their being almighty, all powerful, all knowing, all forgiving, etc.) as with the journalists and readers who find fault with the perfection the authorial creator had finally decided to send to the printer. The freedom of the author is fleeting, and must be cherished in those moments when their words flow onto the page.
I love reading these and I can’t wait to read your new book, then your new new book, and all the books that come after.
The writer, like many a creator, *does* possess a certain power in the creative process. But, like the recalcitrants of Eden to their creator, one's characters often show an independence that their authorial creator seems powerless to control. And then there are the theologians who come after to critique and confound the all-xs attributed to their creator (their being almighty, all powerful, all knowing, all forgiving, etc.) as with the journalists and readers who find fault with the perfection the authorial creator had finally decided to send to the printer. The freedom of the author is fleeting, and must be cherished in those moments when their words flow onto the page.