Why Authors Are Cursed
Lazette Gifford, Managing Editor
©2001, Lazette Gifford
Issue # 2: 03/01/01
Visualization
For Writers
Creating
and Using Language in Fiction
By Damon M. Lord
A,
B, C: Beith, Luis, Nin
By Bryn Neuenschwander
Genetics
in Storytelling
By Allison Starkweather
Creating
Character Extras to Enhance Your Story
By Shane P. Carr
At
a Loss for Words
By Vicki McElfresh
The
Alternative Rules
By Lazette Gifford
Fantasy:
A
Man in Beast's Clothing
By Sarah Jane Elliott
Horror:
What
Is Horror?
By Teresa Hopper
Poetry:
How-to
Haiku
By Jennifer St. Clair Bush
Romance:
Research
Flaws in Romance Novels
By Anne M. Marble
Science Fiction:
Tuning
the Universe
By Bob Billing
Stage & Screen:
The
Dual Landscape of Plot and Story
By Robin Catesby
Suspense & Mystery:
Scene
of the Crime
By Shane P. Carr
Young Adult & Children:
A
Question of Style
By Justin Stanchfield
Young Writer's Scene:
Befriending
the Internal Editor
By Beth Adele Long
Book Reviews
The
Writing Life by Annie Dillard
Reviewed by Beth Adele Long
Web Site Reviews
The
Forward Motion Web Site
By Lazette Gifford
Helpful
Pointers for Community Members
By Jim Mills
From the Writers' Board
News from Forward Motion
Zette's theory of what went wrong in the writing world.
Writers
of the modern world have been cursed. It's obvious when you look at the trials and tribulations we have
to go through to be published, and how, even then, it's no guarantee of
fame. We're cursed, and
I've finally figured out by whom and when.
In the
old days, writers were considered great people. According to Diodorus, "It is fitting that all men should
ever accord great gratitude to those writers who have composed universal
histories…" They were venerated, and it wasn't always because
they were brilliant authors.
The same
was true in the Middle Ages. Writers
flourished, whether they were writing inane poetry or historical dramas.
But then
the modern age came, and we fell from grace. And now I can tell you the secret of why writers are no longer
adored in the ways that we ought to be. It has nothing to do with ability.
We all know we're just as brilliant as any of the ancients,
right?
It has
everything to do with paper.
The
ancient world didn't have paper. The
ancient world, in fact, was lucky to have words at all, but that's
beside the point. They wrote on wood, rock, and clay. Later, the Egyptians invented papyrus paper, which was a
great step forward. In the
Middle Ages, writers worked with vellum and parchment, which was made
from the specially prepared and skins of animals. It was cheaper and easier to obtain than the papyrus paper that
had to be imported from Egypt.
It wasn't
until modern day that we began using paper. Paper is made with vegetable fibers.
More importantly, modern machine made paper is 95% wood.
Let me
tell you about ancient Greek mythology, specifically about the Dryads.
These lovely female creatures, who were generally friendly to
humans, lived in or near trees. When
a tree was destroyed, the dryad died as well. The Gods punished humans for destroying trees.
We've
been cursed by the Ancient Greek Gods.
But there
is hope, people. The future
holds the key to breaking this curse.
It's called electronic publication.
