Quick Introduction:
A short explanation before today’s post is read: This is my first #SATurday post. In these posts, I hope to share more of my personality and life with you all as well as engage in topics ranging from psychology to experiences to thoughts on life in general. Since writing and reading is such a large part of my life, it is most likely they will be brought up often – as you’re about to see below – but my intent is, honestly, your intent. Take these posts however you will and respond about any part. Unlike my previous posts, there isn’t necessarily going to be one message. Think of these posts as streams of consciousness. Hopefully, they’ll open the curtain to a more personal side of my life and your life. Most of all, let’s have fun with it! …
#SATurday: Expression
I don’t necessarily want this to be my first post. In fact, I’ve already begun the one I originally intended to share. It was more positive, less greedy, but also leaning on the creepy side. That’s all I’ll say about it for now. This one is much more punctual (and appropriate) but punctual suits it better since it is much easier to write. The words – in other words – are right on time.
Time is a tricky substance of writing. A novel that required one week to read demanded one year to write, and the story itself spanned over years. Words, in that sense, create time (or, at least, outline the foundation of time.) Without writing – whether it sketches out pictures or letters – we would have less history. Of course there is always oral history, but if you’ve ever played telephone, we all know how that turns out. “I like my cat” turns into “I’ll lick Michael.” And poor Michael gets picked on by the class for the rest of the week. If the class had been playing pass the note instead, the outcome would’ve been very different. Hopefully.
Writing has allowed us to solidify the story, the legend, the fable, perhaps even the greatest truths and lies we’ll never surely know. Maybe overanalyzing it is where the art of mystery is born – and overtime, the genre. So many genres. Uncountable amounts. And we’re still adding. For instance, I tried to explain what NA, a.k.a. “New Adult”, was to a friend of mine. Despite being a reader of that exact genre, she didn’t really understand – probably at a fault of my own. I can be rather wordy, a bit overzealous, a little too passionate, but mostly disorganized in my thought process. This disorganization is one of the reasons I write. Slowing down allows me to collect the chaotic conspiracies and theories and misspellings before I explain them in a relatable way. (Or not relatable. That happens, too.) Sometimes, it feels nice to be misunderstood.
When I think of my friend’s confusion, I find comfort in it. Her focus wasn’t on the genre. It was on the story. She could not have cared less if it were YA, NA, or Adult. She only loved the words – not the marketing plays my author life succumbed to along the way – and the reminder was a gentle one. Her confusion reminded me of my own story – a history where a love for stories existed before a love for genres before a love for writing – and her silence brought me back to that moment. It was in that instance that I realized we have more than a few ways to tell stories. It isn’t only found in pictures or words or textbooks. Stories are found all around us – threaded into our expressions, mashed by our stances, and even placed in a place not searched in often – in our silence. Maybe that’s why authors always litter stories with words like smiled, nodded, shrugged, and sighed. Emotions have paved the way to expression even before we could understand words at all.
~SAT on #SATurday
Shannon A. Thompson 
The part about telling stories before we understand genre makes me think about what I’m seeing in my son. He is always telling ‘stories’ about what he saw at school, how Thomas the Tank Engine met a dinosaur (hearing it right now), and all these things that we listen to from morning to whenever he falls asleep. It makes me wonder if telling stories is hardwired into us because the ability/interest just appears soon after talking. Even before if one wants to count baby babble. Makes me wonder what the literary world would be like if we didn’t have genres and just had individual stories.
I love that idea – if we just had stories instead of genres. Although it would be much harder to find a certain type of book, maybe it would also open up more people to new types of stories.
Thanks for commenting!
~SAT
Good point. Categorizing would be a real problem. If you go solely by author then finding new ones might not work. Guess there’s a point to everything.
“Sometimes it feels nice to be misunderstood.” Yes. And maybe Michael, though outwardly embarrassed, likes the idea that someone wants to lick him, likes the possible sensation of wet, stubbly tastebuds rubbing against his cheek; it certainly has more interest and tension that liking a cat. Sometimes it *is* about the story, and sometimes it goes beyond the story and it’s just about the utterance, the sound and feel of the words as they slip off your tongue, or the shape of the word as your eye dives down to pin it on the page. Sometimes it’s that small, and that explosive.
LOL. That first part had me cracking up. Just perfection.
Thank you for commenting,
~SAT
Informative post. It was a big leap for our species when we discovered we could record the knowledge and stories in our brains on a format outside of our brains, giving future generations access to all the knowledge and stories before them without the natural degradation that comes with verbal: exponentially expanding our awareness.
I think so, too! Then again, it’s hard to say what it was like beforehand. It’s all hearsay. ;]
Thank you for commenting!
~SAT
I just wrote a full comment, reread it and decided that it would be confusing and I would be misunderstood if read. Then I spoke to my husband, who is also an avid fan of you and your writing, and he told me to write that I read the piece and am having trouble finding the words to express my reaction without using words like “I totally understand! ” or “very good. “
I’m glad you enjoyed it! If you decide to write that full comment again, feel free to post it, even if it doesn’t make sense. I’m used to being misunderstood. There can be fun in it – and great discussions!
Thank you for commenting,
~SAT
Reblogged this on theowlladyblog.
(Yes, I know I’m late to the party, but you didn’t expect me to not show up at all, did you? [and I brought cookies])
When you write, or when a story idea comes to mind, do you cater the story to fit the genre? Or do you let the story decide what genre it intends for itself? I imagine that a story that cannot be classified by any one genre would be tough to sell, but is there room for compromise in art?
I, personally, don’t write to fit a genre. Genres are more for marketing than accuracy in my opinion, but it does help some organization.
~SAT
I feel the same way. My reply to questions about my current writing project tend to include a blank stare and sweaty palms. I honestly have no idea where my story will fall or who will ultimately be its audience. But, I will continue to write it as it wants to be written. We’ll figure all the details out later, right?
I like the style of your writing. That’s a good point you brought up about the time it taking to write versus read. I look forward to reading some more of your work 🙂