Half-penny Thoughts — 17aug26

I was thinking about narrative and the phrase “there are no new tales left to tell” and its myriad variations.

Looking into it, someone was suggesting writing in “the quiet, eerie margins” was a writing space left largely untapped. Described as: “It is the difference between a sudden, violent storm (the loud center) and the heavy, electric stillness in the air just before the barometer drops (the quiet margin).”

Of course, I’m curious about your thoughts.

Are there truly no new tales left to tell? Is everything derivative? Can you think of a story that doesn’t have an easy analogue?

Or, how would you interpret writing “in the quiet, eerie margin”? Do you have a different description or opinion? Where would you start if you were writing in/of the margin?

michael raven

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6 responses to “Half-penny Thoughts — 17aug26”

  1. Chico’s Mom Avatar
    Chico’s Mom

    I enjoy listening to Alux.com on YouTube. They suggested, and I agree, there are tons of stories left to be told. Billions in-fact. If you write a love story and I write a love story, there will be similarities but they are different. You are writing from a different perspective. Almost every thing will be different. You live in a city. I live in the country. Our genders are different. Our lives are different. Married. Single. Divorced. Widowed. Rich. Poor. Children. No children.

    Everybody and their blue-green grandma has written a book. So what! Write on to.

    Everybody wants to be a poet! So what! Write a poem.

    Write a song.

    Write music.

    Write.

    Reply
    1. michael raven Avatar
      michael raven

      I agree that there are billions of combinations, but the narratives seem to play out into a handful of “acceptable” patterns or pathways. It seems we trend towards the same narratives and fill in the details differently.

      Thanks for the thoughts.

      Any time I start to think (or suspect) I know something, I like to throw out a line and see what comes back. It’s usually very good for smashing my “knowing” to smithereens and is good for me. Always an education and always humbling.

      Reply
      1. Chico’s Mom Avatar
        Chico’s Mom

        Amen.

        The things that are not acceptable. Oh, the list is ever evolving; therefore, it is endless.

        Reply
  2. Chico’s Mom Avatar
    Chico’s Mom

    Kinda went on a little tirade.

    Reply
  3. steveforthedeaf Avatar
    steveforthedeaf

    The quiet eerie margins and the bit part side quests are what fascinate me the most.

    Rozencrantz and Guildernstern are dead. Waiting for Godot. Just off to the left. That’s a sweet spot

    I often to try to write from there. Change, Everything Change, 28/05, Directions, The Long Man even The Master.

    They’re me trying to write from the margins. It’s hard to do. And I’m not sure I’ve got it right yet.

    I’m sure brevity has something to do with that too but I’m struggling with it.

    Reply
    1. michael raven Avatar
      michael raven

      I like reading and writing the vignettes.

      What happens is self-contained and things just happen.

      But people like their resolution and concrete endings. I prefer the peeking in on things.

      I’m a bit obsessive about brevity in my own writing. If I can cut something out, I will. That doesn’t mean I am good at cutting things out. But I still try.

      Keep writing, fun stuff 99.9% of the time. [That 0.1% is when I get interrupted by a hungry kitten and lose track of where I was, so it is mostly my own issue.]

      Reply

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