Nov 06 2008
“Fantaseality”
As a writer, there is one forbidden drug out there that must be taken. I call it a drug as a metaphor, though. There are many other super highs that we all long to experience and sometimes do–
Finishing a manuscript, sending out our first query, getting our first contract, getting our first royalty check, signing our first book to a fan, discussing film rights yadda yadda. The list goes on and on.
But there’s one drug out there that would be absolutely AWESOME to try as a writer.
Tom Clancy got a touch of it. It’s simply this:
When your fiction, your fantasy, becomes a REALITY. That’s got to be one heck of a trip. It’s like Dr. Frankenstein. You create something that then exists outside yourself, has a life of its own. It becomes this monster that you can’t control. But you love it. You’re on fire over it. Because you created it. *Starts gazing madly into the wall* ……….
I digress, yet again. Let me explain.
You remember the book-turned-film “The Hunt For Red October”, correct? Good ol’ Jack Ryan. Got to love Sean Connery. What an icon.
Well, did you know that some time after the debut of “The Hunt For Red October”, the government held Clancy for questioning? Scary. You can only guess the reason why. I guess Clancy writes very…realistically.
And not to be political, but just look at the state of our country right now–we have our first ever African-American President. Let’s turn our attention to the Fox Network, shall we? Hellooooooooooo, Jack Bauer. We need to watch out for nukes now. And terrorists. And deadly viruses. We can all then believe that our beloved Barack Obama will at least live for five seasons before getting shot in the head. Poor guy. Strap on a bulletproof helmet that he has to wear 24 hours a day. That’ll do the trick.
Isn’t it kind of frightening to have written something and then see it come to life in the real world? That’s almost like every writer’s dream and nightmare put together. Now that, my friends, is a real head trip.
