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Why Some Stories Are Never Written
by Eva Acqui
There are obstacles in publishing certain stories, imposed especially by the authors themselves. There are though ways and means to get stories in front of readers. Experienced people always notice details others hardly pay attention to, carrying the picture to limits that may silence them on the issue forever. Experience and curiosity go together, so there is always a story behind the detail. If we manage to sense the maze, we come across those stories which, for one reason or another, will hardly or never leave our minds. It is possible that reality should not only overcome fiction, but precede it, and even gain a serious advance in order to correct the shortcomings that fiction may create.
Some stories don't even reach the keyboard: yet, at times, we write down a part, maybe two parts, even publish them, but never the entire story.
Reasons shouldn't be classified, as they are equal to high variety.The story is important, the one which obsesses the mind, but somehow tends to never reach print.
Most of the time, these stories are unique, great. They are not written down, at least not entirely, as the authors may have some hidden oath to silence, or to themselves, to others. Yet, if there is uniqueness and worthiness in that piece of life, there are ways and means to entrust it to the written page, whether in print or electronic.
One of the basic conditions to achieve the stage of writing is to detach oneself from facts. Let's be spectators, not actors. Too much involvement will result in high subjectivity, and will keep on exploring our own role, our own relationship with the circumstances, underlining especially those facts that have affected us. The story is half lost, it is no longer the point of interest, our opinion takes a first place.
As mentioned earlier, we are in a labyrinth of facts, tempted to show each path with its contents. Everything is important, nothing can be left out, a cluster of facts hard to follow invades the page. Let's keep in mind that we have to find the way out, and therefore impose some order. Trying to sort facts, details, is very helpful, as we'll come to an outline. We know what to write about.
We are not reporters, legmen or newscasters. Being afraid of what people might say is a serious obstacle, but the artist filters, does not report facts. Artistry is another condition, as facts must find an artistic reflection. We do not prepare BBC news reports; we work at a piece of art. Let us shape facts until artistry is obvious, and let us express uniqueness by this supreme attempt.
What happens to the story's perfect resemblance to its mental counterpart? To the "original " copy ? Many details will be left out: how convinced are we that what we convey to readers has the same "flavor" as sensed by us? Again, artistry has a decisive word to say: reflecting life with a sense of accuracy will greatly help in conveying the impression rendered by the piece of life itself, and not our impressions.
Authors may also motivate the fact that the story is still unwritten by the fact that it presents no relevance at the present moment. If it's about human values, it can belong even to the 13th century, if you wish, but it will find audience. Let's not stick to the newscaster's role. Things that happened 10-15 years ago may not be relevant to a newspaper, but carefully written down can make a good book.
All the arguments above cannot convince certain people to write down stories, about unique experience, events, people, times. The only answer to the question of why they don't is that they do not have a very logical explanation, but they just can't get to it.
They may hold back stories that reporters, for instance, could never reach, events and facts that could have made history, but the circumstances were not favorable for people to get a glimpse of them. It is their own mental book, their own mental copy of events, labyrinthine, complex, with many taboos and obstacles on their way to the written counterpart.
Why not make a final move? Sort them, once and for all, put them down, or on screen, do away with the fear of disclosure, and don't expose, disclose or consider it all taboo, let it make way to the reader through artistry. Make it a work of art, a fine piece of writing, not a news report. The surprise will be that you will come in front with totally new, interesting things, and a very original piece of writing.
About the Author
"This person has power in the written word". Writers Institute of America, 1989
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