When Reality Looms Too Large, Dive into Fantasy

MONTHLY INSECURE WRITERS’ SHARE-A-THON CORNER

WHEN YOU RUN OUT OF AVENUES OF ESCAPE, Don’t Panic*–

Don’t Panic

—the greatest motto in the galaxy— featured in the adventures of Douglas Adams’s Arthur Dent, the last human to hitch a ride off Earth, moments before it was destroyed—to make way for an interstellar bypass.
*Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 1979.

…the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything…

I think our revered leader, Alex Cavanaugh, would agree:
Fantasy—reading it or writing it—fills a certain hole in our psyche, a niche in our comfort zone. It gives us a reason to keep on going, even when the real world seems to have gone awry.

Groundhog Day and the 2016 Monkey Year
The Groundhog knows best. He—and the oriental Monkey who shares his calendar start date—figure if humans have generated global warming a.k.a. climate crisis and he sees his shadow on February 2nd—too much sun too soon—no wonder he goes back in his hole for another six weeks.

What the Monkey does is a whole ‘nuther story!

Metal Monkeys possesses character traits like curiosity, mischievousness, and cleverness. Forever playful, Monkeys are the masters of the practical joke.

And disguise.
For us as a culture, as this year unfolds, traits to prepare for—expect the unexpected.

Finding our Own Space
Forget the Primaries, Climate Crisis Summit, our involvement/warring with so many other countries, somewhere in there we are trying as individuals and collectively to halt our mad rush toward planet instability. Somewhere in the madness, we writers are supposed to find a place of calm—a refuge—usually littered with piles of loose papers and junk—but a haven nonetheless—where we can sit down, (metaphorically) put our feet up, drag the keyboard closer——

——And write.

Many of us have previously admitted to being recluses—Myers-Briggs psychic make-up, above.
For me to allow the creative flow to come through, I have to have my filing system (kind-of) manageable and I crave a space where I won’t be barged in on by the (real) world.

Says a lot for our partners/spouses/spice that they put with us, doesn’t it?

I should have had more respect for the Groundhog. His timing was superb.

Happy New Writing Ideas, IWSGers.
Keep it coming.
©2016 Marian Youngblood