The Secrets of Glamis Castle. The Ghost Lights of Marfa. The Hollow Earth Theory. The Lost Colony of Roanoke. The Dropa Stones. Haunted Houses. Alien Abductions. Chupa-cabra. Vampires. Shadow People. Shape shifters. Star Children. Shamanic Healings. Remote Viewing. Geomancy.
In our “Art Bellian” society, the very air we breathe is thick with the unexplained. Isn’t it the “job,” some might say, “the calling,” of the writer to attempt to explain the inexplicable? These are the uncharted realms braved by fantasy, horror, “Science Fiction,” and speculative authors. Their quest? Why, answers to the proverbial “what if’s?” that haunt the collective psyches of the living–and some would say, the dead or nearly so.
What if there’s a house on the hill that changes shape, where people enter but do not leave? What if a child is born with unexplainable genetic aberrations that give them special powers? What if an asteroid crashes on earth and releases a mutating virus? What if a piece of obviously manufactured metal is discovered, but some of the mineral compounds are of non-terrestrial origin? What if you’re sitting on the sofa watching a video (or a DVD), and something walks through the walls? What if—
While the above are nothing new to those of us who love things supernatural, you don’t need to be a believer to suspend belief and enter into an alternate reality. As a reader of fantasy, horror, SF, and spec, consider it a vacation from reality. A mind-expanding vacation at that. As a writer of the above, you have all the power a modern mind (and computer) can wield to create a tale that transcends the usual. As the saying goes: Truth is stranger than fiction. But hey, you don’t need to tell them this is your memoir. We can keep that between those of us who are “initiated.”
Is the “supernatural” a natural and/or ordinary part of your life? Or maybe you’re a skeptic who contends that these “phe-nomena” are the product of overactive imaginations, too much caffeine and sugar, and oh yes, sensationalized hoaxes to garner tourist dollars and tabloid sales? Between these “extremes” exists the realm of Fuzzy Logic. Consider the philosophical spins on Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principal, which loosely translate as: “We know quite a bit about what we don’t know.”
Ready to write?
Of course you are!
Since you’re a writer, I already assume you’re curious—but about what? What fascinates you? Disturbs you? Compels you to write? Writing is also about discovery. What do you want to know more about? Write about it, and chances are that you will know more than you want to know!
Here are a few “story starters” to get those electrical signals zip-zagging across your corpus callosum:
1) Myths, legends (both ancient and urban), unsolved mysteries, paradoxes and other conundrums are a veritable vineyard overflowing with sweet grapes. Pluck one—no, pluck an entire bunch—and squeeze, mash, and otherwise distill their juice into an elixir deserving of a “special reserve” label.
2) What is the horrible secret of Glamis Castle? It’s said that many a woman has had her tongue cut out for what she’s learned (dare she speak it), and that only a select group of men are told…on their 18th Birthday.
3) Two sisters attend a psychic fair. One is an unbeliever, the other a wannabe. The unbeliever discovers that she’s the psychic one. Watch as her world tumbles around her—or perhaps it finally unfolds.
4) A woman (or a man) is taking an early morning walk along the beach. There, washed up on the shore, is an alien. Of course she takes it home—wouldn’t you? But how to explain the new addition to the family, the roommates, or the neighbors? Not to mention all that sand…
5 ) You just finished watching that special on Russia’s work with remote viewing. You turn off the TV, sit down on the couch because you’re feeling vertigo. You close your eyes and are instantly hoovered through a small aperture in your brain, then catapulted into the water. You’re heading toward the ocean floor and a network of uncharted caves. You cross the threshold of one of the caves. There, up ahead—ommagawd!
6) Visit space.com et al and read up on all of the “new” planets. One of particular note is “Methuselah,” so named because it is believed to be the oldest living planet. To what has this planet born witness?
7) Hang out with small children! One of the many benefits of being a parent is having daily opportunities to ask: “what if?” questions. After a trip to the grocery store (where I had to dispel a few myths about cereal “prizes”), my six-year-old daughter came up with a great story (“Surprise Inside,” published in the June 2003 issue of Kisses for Kids at Samsdotpublishing.com – I get bragging rights!). Let’s just say it involves a lonely woman who tries a new brand of cereal—and there’s definitely a prize of “unknown origin” inside…
8) Take an ordinary classroom and make it extraordinary. Add in a popular teacher with a quirk. Perhaps the teacher is a shape shifter from the planet Io. Or maybe the students are from another dimension. What if they have a group assignment that alters human history?
9) There’s a Birthday party in progress. The Birthday Prince—or Princess—is opening a gift from someone special. They unwrap it ever so slowly, imagining all the exquisite items it might contain. At last the package is opened. It’s empty?
Or is it filled with the power to manifest all that good wishes from friends can bring?
There is no #10 as I prefer “odd” numbers…
My advice? Read. Think. Write. Vary and repeat with pod mates from your home planet. You could also make friends with a few earthlings; there’s definitely intelligent life on your planet.
And just in case you’re wondering, I’ve already made my report.
Here are just a few links to get you started:
Team Art Bell
http://www.fantasticforum.com/SETI-TeamArtBell/SETI-TeamArtBell.htm
The Supernatural Zone
http://www.qsl.net/w5www/ufo.htm
Horror Writers Association (HWA) Reading List:
http://www.horror.org/readlist.htm
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.
http://www.sfwa.org/
Hans Christian Andersen Tales
http://hca.gilead.org.il/
Grimm’s Fairy Tales
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/
Japanese Folklore
http://dmoz.org/Society/Folklore/Literature/Tales/Fairy_Tales/
World_Tales/Japanese/