Was the word...

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Words are important. Not as important as the ideas behind the words, but non-the-less they are important.

I find it interesting that for about a third of the human race the words that open the Gospel According To John inform the basis of their beliefs, culture, laws, world view and just about everything else that defines them as a people searate from their neighbours.

[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] The same was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. [4] In him was life; and the life was the light of men. [5] And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:1–5 (KJV)

What I find interesting is that it all begins with the Word and not An Idea. It is almost as though the early Founders of the faith understood that ideas come after the words used to describe them.

I then ask “What is the Word describing?” and could only come up with one answer. Before the begining was a Thought. That Thought was put into a form that could be transmitted to others. That form was called Words. Those Words resulted in Others being created in order to have something to transmit the Thought to. This Universe has been carved out to contain those Others. We are thre Others and we have the echo of that original thought in us.

Notice I said “Before the begining was a Thought.” not “the Thought”. There may have been other Thoughts and other Others.

As I said Words are important. Not as important as Thoughts but we would be pretty lost without them.

The best thing as a writer working with both thought and words – it is okay to be wrong. It is more than okay to speculate and occassionally get close to getting it right.

The best story tellers get it wrong every time.

It is the act of correcting the story that keeps the audience reading, watching and listening. We like the bits that are correct because it confirms our own sense of correctness and we like the bit that are clearly wrong as it enables us to imagine what the correct version is like. What we don’t like is when the story is correct and it contradicts our own sense of what is right in the world. This is where we draw the line and go off in search of stories that we like.

As writers is is our job to tell our truths and our mistakes. It is not our job to pander to the needs of the reader unless that reader is paying us to do so.

That is all.

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