I tend to think of chaos as a form of unpredictability. A chaotic system is one where things seem to happen without reason, which causes all sorts of stress and panic.
Order, then, is the opposite of chaos. Order is what happens when everything is organized an runs regularly and predictably.
What I find most fascinating is the gray between the two: ordered chaos.
Imagine a system that is sustainable, but constantly in flux. For example, if you have a government where unpopular leaders are executed by angry mobs, but new leaders all eventually get drunk on power, then you are constantly having new leaders, new regimes, and you never know how long they will last (or what they'll say next), but you can always count on them to get worse and get replaced.
There's an inherent contradiction in ordered chaos. And yet, it can exist without issue. That is what gives it an Erie beauty to me, and why I appreciate the concept explored well.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Initial States
A friend was talking with me about chaos theory. He was saying that the main idea of it is initial states. That is to say, if you do the same thing over and over again, you actually can get different results and not be insane, because the initial states of the materials will not be the same.
My favorite example is from the movie Jurassic Park. Ian Malcolm does an experiment where he pours a drop of water on Dr. Sattler's hand. The first time he does it, the drop falls to one side of her hand, but the second time, it falls to the other side of her hand. That happened because, although the experiment looked the same both times, there were countless differences in exactly where things were and how they fell, which changed the outcome of the results.
In your stories, consider the initial state of characters. You may understand their personalities, but where they find themselves in life could change entirely how they interpret a situation. Being born in wealth is very different from acquiring it personally. Having a friend involved in a dispute will make you more likely to believe their side.
A character could pass through a town that is in turmoil. Whether they enter at noon or at 2 PM could completely change who it is that they meet, the story they end up hearing, and what they believe the right thing to do is.
Granted, when you are writing a story, you get to choose what happens, so at best, this post could be analogous to playing the what-if game. But if you are writing on the seat of your pants, and you have created a scenario without a designated ending, this would be a way to experiment with how things could end up and to determine which would make the most interesting story.
My favorite example is from the movie Jurassic Park. Ian Malcolm does an experiment where he pours a drop of water on Dr. Sattler's hand. The first time he does it, the drop falls to one side of her hand, but the second time, it falls to the other side of her hand. That happened because, although the experiment looked the same both times, there were countless differences in exactly where things were and how they fell, which changed the outcome of the results.
In your stories, consider the initial state of characters. You may understand their personalities, but where they find themselves in life could change entirely how they interpret a situation. Being born in wealth is very different from acquiring it personally. Having a friend involved in a dispute will make you more likely to believe their side.
A character could pass through a town that is in turmoil. Whether they enter at noon or at 2 PM could completely change who it is that they meet, the story they end up hearing, and what they believe the right thing to do is.
Granted, when you are writing a story, you get to choose what happens, so at best, this post could be analogous to playing the what-if game. But if you are writing on the seat of your pants, and you have created a scenario without a designated ending, this would be a way to experiment with how things could end up and to determine which would make the most interesting story.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Heroes Die
There are so many heroes in our stories. They are brave and courageous. They can become superhuman in their feats and abilities. They are the people we tell stories of to inspire ourselves and others.
Ultimately, though, heroes die. Not all of them die in the midst of their adventures; many good stories have them returning home triumphant. They may live their lives out as simple people, never having any more adventures. And one day, they will go to sleep and not wake up.
Death is a rough subject. In stories, it tends to be either insignificant by happening to unimportant people, or it is vindicated by happening to villains or happening to heroes after they've saved the day. But one way that we don't often see is the nonchalant death of a hero, decades after their adventure, not for any reason but growing old.
If you have created a bond between your audience and your character, even a humble death like that will be cause for shock. Even for fictional characters, when they die, it feels like a piece of us dies along with them.
Ultimately, though, heroes die. Not all of them die in the midst of their adventures; many good stories have them returning home triumphant. They may live their lives out as simple people, never having any more adventures. And one day, they will go to sleep and not wake up.
Death is a rough subject. In stories, it tends to be either insignificant by happening to unimportant people, or it is vindicated by happening to villains or happening to heroes after they've saved the day. But one way that we don't often see is the nonchalant death of a hero, decades after their adventure, not for any reason but growing old.
If you have created a bond between your audience and your character, even a humble death like that will be cause for shock. Even for fictional characters, when they die, it feels like a piece of us dies along with them.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Small Casts, Multiple Roles
In a standard Hollywood movie, every character has one role, and there are as many characters as there are roles to fill. In an action movie, there is the hero, the hero's friend/partner, the love interest, the bad guy, the bad guy's main lackey, and so forth. Every one of them is a distinct person.
The only time this changes is when the friend/partner was actually the bad guy all along. And that is such a tired twist that I would not really count it anymore.
This build has a purpose; it allows you to make a simple, straightforward story about two-dimensional characters (I say two-dimensional because the hero has to get the girl AND save the day). For Hollywood movies, it gets the job done. Usually, though, they get old real fast when you know the formula.
When you start making your cast of characters smaller, and you start having multiple roles filled by each character, stories get more interesting. Consider what happens when the love interest is also the bad guy's lackey, and that character having to deal with the conflicts of interest. And to make matters worse, the hero's partner is the love interest's ex boyfriend. Also, the hero killed the love interest's father in order to get to the bad guy. Now we have a complex web of relations that will make for a much more delicate or explosive story.
Small casts allow for a much deeper complexity in characters. The only real downside is that it makes you feel like it is a small world. The same seven people are somehow always related to what's going on, so it may be surprising, but when it gets overdone, it just becomes ridiculous. In fact, the one nice thing about a large cast is that it makes you feel like there is a large world.
Both styles have strengths and weaknesses. Use the one that does what you're looking for.
The only time this changes is when the friend/partner was actually the bad guy all along. And that is such a tired twist that I would not really count it anymore.
This build has a purpose; it allows you to make a simple, straightforward story about two-dimensional characters (I say two-dimensional because the hero has to get the girl AND save the day). For Hollywood movies, it gets the job done. Usually, though, they get old real fast when you know the formula.
When you start making your cast of characters smaller, and you start having multiple roles filled by each character, stories get more interesting. Consider what happens when the love interest is also the bad guy's lackey, and that character having to deal with the conflicts of interest. And to make matters worse, the hero's partner is the love interest's ex boyfriend. Also, the hero killed the love interest's father in order to get to the bad guy. Now we have a complex web of relations that will make for a much more delicate or explosive story.
Small casts allow for a much deeper complexity in characters. The only real downside is that it makes you feel like it is a small world. The same seven people are somehow always related to what's going on, so it may be surprising, but when it gets overdone, it just becomes ridiculous. In fact, the one nice thing about a large cast is that it makes you feel like there is a large world.
Both styles have strengths and weaknesses. Use the one that does what you're looking for.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Seven Lives Or More
I've heard it said that it takes about eleven years of dedicated study and practice to gain mastery of something. So, if you start at age 11 and you live to be 88, then you could master seven different things. You could have seven distinct lives.
Imagine having a mastery of Norse history, electrical engineering, culinary arts, still having half your life left to learn even more.
What makes it more exciting is that not every skill has to stop. You may eventually take an injury that prevents you from breakdancing, but being able to tell stories can be done as long as you can communicate. So even if you have seven lives, one does not have to end for the next to start. Similarly, you need not study only one thing at a time.
You could live more than seven lives if you put in the effort to master multiple skills simultaneously.
Imagine having a mastery of Norse history, electrical engineering, culinary arts, still having half your life left to learn even more.
What makes it more exciting is that not every skill has to stop. You may eventually take an injury that prevents you from breakdancing, but being able to tell stories can be done as long as you can communicate. So even if you have seven lives, one does not have to end for the next to start. Similarly, you need not study only one thing at a time.
You could live more than seven lives if you put in the effort to master multiple skills simultaneously.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Dark Stories
I really appreciate a good dark story. I feel like our culture is so PC and whitewashed that we aren't allowed to show anything awful (unless we show that it happened to people who deserve it). But a truly dark story is chilling. It haunts you. It leaves you shaken while you process what you have encountered.
So what makes a story dark? For me, it is usually a sense of hopelessness. Create characters people like. Follow them around and grow a bond. Then start making things go wrong. We will assume that it is regular adversity that our hero will overcome, either through might or mental prowess. Then keep cutting off options. Make those attempts go awry. It has to all be fair and understandable, not cruel. But by the end, there are literally no more options. Our hero has lost completely and there is no hope for that to change anymore.
Dark stories can also be perverse. I don't mean stories about sexual deviants. And I don't mean gruesome stories about creeps like The Hills Have Eyes. I mean stories about worlds that seem so different from ours, but end up being very similar to our own, just with a slight twist. Rod Serling was a master of this with The Twilight Zone. A classic story was the one where a woman was so ugly that she needed to have surgery to look normal. The well-known twist is that she actually is beautiful by our standards and the "normal" people have grotesque pig faces. But what people tend to forget is the sheer horror and terror of the woman, seeing that her surgery was a failure and she was still horribly disfigured. She could not even be part of society. She had to be escorted by another disfigured person to a colony where they all live, removed from everyone else in the world. THAT is dark. And if we reach a state where ugliness is that rare, do you think we wouldn't do that? It's a disturbing story of a twisted society, but how easily could we become that?
These stories always lead to questions. They make us feel uncomfortable, but they also open our eyes. They make us question things we may have previously taken as normal. These are stories that, though we may not want to make them our main diet, are definitely beneficial to have.
So what makes a story dark? For me, it is usually a sense of hopelessness. Create characters people like. Follow them around and grow a bond. Then start making things go wrong. We will assume that it is regular adversity that our hero will overcome, either through might or mental prowess. Then keep cutting off options. Make those attempts go awry. It has to all be fair and understandable, not cruel. But by the end, there are literally no more options. Our hero has lost completely and there is no hope for that to change anymore.
Dark stories can also be perverse. I don't mean stories about sexual deviants. And I don't mean gruesome stories about creeps like The Hills Have Eyes. I mean stories about worlds that seem so different from ours, but end up being very similar to our own, just with a slight twist. Rod Serling was a master of this with The Twilight Zone. A classic story was the one where a woman was so ugly that she needed to have surgery to look normal. The well-known twist is that she actually is beautiful by our standards and the "normal" people have grotesque pig faces. But what people tend to forget is the sheer horror and terror of the woman, seeing that her surgery was a failure and she was still horribly disfigured. She could not even be part of society. She had to be escorted by another disfigured person to a colony where they all live, removed from everyone else in the world. THAT is dark. And if we reach a state where ugliness is that rare, do you think we wouldn't do that? It's a disturbing story of a twisted society, but how easily could we become that?
These stories always lead to questions. They make us feel uncomfortable, but they also open our eyes. They make us question things we may have previously taken as normal. These are stories that, though we may not want to make them our main diet, are definitely beneficial to have.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Coping With The Unknown
Life is scary. And the older you get, the scarier it becomes. As a child, you're afraid of doing something that gets you punished by your parents. As a teenager, you're afraid of being ostracized by society. As a young adult, you're afraid of being able to support yourself and live a satisfying life. When I get older, I'll update additional fears.
All along the way, there comes the existential crisis. Why are we here? What's the point of it all? And all of that comes with the fear that we're either doing the wrong thing, or that nothing matters at all.
In order to prevent fear from consuming us, we need a way to cope with it. People all choose whatever it is that works for them, and they usually stick with it until it stops working.
Some people find purpose in their work. Either by being awesome in their field or by helping others with their work. Some people find solace in seeking the answers of the unknown (like scientists). Some people simply seek their own happiness, letting others find their own path to joy.
There are so many questions out there that we just don't have the answers to. We do find more answers with every passing year, but we have a long way to go. Beware anyone who claims they have all the answers. They will always make you feel comfortable and secure, but they will end up holding you back in the long run. You simply let them make your decisions for you. So yeah, you now have a purpose, but that purpose is being a tool.
When the unknown overwhelms you, know that you are not alone. Seek ideas, information, experiences, but not answers. When you have enough of the former, you will find the answers in them.
That is why I write in general. That is why I still maintain Cheff Salad. That is why being happy is my ultimate goal on a daily basis. These are the answers that help me cope with the unknown. Your answers may be different, and that's ok, as long as they don't end up hurting others.
All along the way, there comes the existential crisis. Why are we here? What's the point of it all? And all of that comes with the fear that we're either doing the wrong thing, or that nothing matters at all.
In order to prevent fear from consuming us, we need a way to cope with it. People all choose whatever it is that works for them, and they usually stick with it until it stops working.
Some people find purpose in their work. Either by being awesome in their field or by helping others with their work. Some people find solace in seeking the answers of the unknown (like scientists). Some people simply seek their own happiness, letting others find their own path to joy.
There are so many questions out there that we just don't have the answers to. We do find more answers with every passing year, but we have a long way to go. Beware anyone who claims they have all the answers. They will always make you feel comfortable and secure, but they will end up holding you back in the long run. You simply let them make your decisions for you. So yeah, you now have a purpose, but that purpose is being a tool.
When the unknown overwhelms you, know that you are not alone. Seek ideas, information, experiences, but not answers. When you have enough of the former, you will find the answers in them.
That is why I write in general. That is why I still maintain Cheff Salad. That is why being happy is my ultimate goal on a daily basis. These are the answers that help me cope with the unknown. Your answers may be different, and that's ok, as long as they don't end up hurting others.
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