CLASSICS & CREATIVES
There is so much in this world.
So many books already written, so many things already done, what else is there to do? This is a valid question that deserves a valid answer. It is tempting to believe that with so much already done there is nothing left for you and me. It is tempting to assume that our ideas will add nothing to this world, to the chaos we already see of movies, books, fashion, music- everything really. This idea is so easily supported by the greatest thief of them all- comparison. There are already songs that have been sung, stories that have been written, fights that have been won… But that’s the thing, there is so much to imagine, it has not all been done. We have entered the scene now- in our generation. We are stepping into the middle of a scene unfolding, if you did not know you were playing a part then the first assumption would be that you are a bystander, witnessing all that has been done. A part of the audience and nothing more. Only, what if you aren't the audience, but someone who has something to actually say in the production? If you did not know that indeed you did have a part to play, a part that has not yet been scripted. If you do not fill in the lines, there will be a hiccup somewhere along the way. There will be something missing.
We forget so easily that the classics we now hold, the heroes we learn from in history- they entered the scene too. They didn’t get the chance to step in from the beginning and know they had a part to play. They stepped in, just like us, seeing all the things and people that had gone before them. The thousands of things done, the thousands of things said; and still they created. There is a reason Mark Twain wrote, why C.S. Lewis wrote, there is a reason why Bob Dylan sang, why Bing Crosby performed. They weren’t filling a gap by creating the world’s first books, first songs, or first entertainment- those things had already been done before. They created because there were still stories to tell. They filled a gap that people did not know existed, until indeed, it had been done. There are still things to be said, even repeated or echoed. If only to remind the world again and again- that who we are and how we dream matters. There has never been a time in history, from the very existence of the world that there has not been a story to tell or someone to tell it to.
The fact that billions of stories, photographs, movies, songs, graphics exist does not erase the fact that there is still more to imagine. The world needs ideas and stories always; although classics are timeless, they are not limitless. The time is Now. There are things to be done now, that could never be done before, that were never needed before, things we need to be reminded of.
There are ideas you have that are needed now. It is not a part for someone else to play or that someone else has already done, it is you.
It is very pompous of a reader or scholar to assume they know how a book ends until they have read it till the end. Yes, they can be predictable, but until that last page it will be unknown. Until we take the time to finish what we have started and read the final words on the final page, we will never know for sure. Let us not fall into believing that the stories we hold as creators are irrelevant. After all, until you have finished it, until you have done it- well until then it would be very arrogant to assume such a thing. There is so much to imagine, let us not underestimate the value of the part we play in it all. You will never know how it all ends until you read the final words, until you do what you can do. Finish what you have started. Finish what has begun in you, keep the world on their toes.
Dare to imagine grander things, take stronger leaps, create farther.
A valid question always deserves a valid answer.
What else is there to do?
Whatever is inside of you.
LETTER #6
Dear Susan,
The thing about books, is half of them are mysteries whether we realize it or not. Either a mystery to the reader or the author. When a reader first picks up a book, turns past the title page to the beginning, they will never be able to guess the words of the last page. They may be able to predict the tone or substance, but until the reader arrives, they will never know for sure. When an author has a story idea in mind, very rarely does it come attached with the word count or the complete sentences. Sometimes the ending comes first and the entirety of the book follows, nevertheless until the author sits down to begin, the manuscript will be a complete mystery. Not only begin, but also finish. Ending well and following through is as imperative as beginning to a reader and an author. Authors have to take the risk of filling the pages. They stare down the wonders of how the story could end and choose. There may be a lot of questions along the way, but by the end, ‘what if’ is not one of them. By the time the book is printed that question is settled. What is done is done, you cannot change how the story has unfolded. However, readers face the danger of starting something and leaving it undone should they close the book too soon. Readers are pinned with the ever daunting question, What if? What could have happened, if they had finished what they had started? They are questions that will never be settled until that last page. Until what is begun is finished.
Even the classics though centuries old, are still unknown by those who have acknowledged their existence for years but not turned to the last page. We know how Pride and Prejudice ends and what Moby Dick is about, but until we take the time to read to the last page we will not know the exact words. Only, reading a book isn’t just about the ending, it is a process too. The pages between it all tend to tell us more than we ever knew or could have imagined. The process of the pages, if anything, is what makes the book worth reading- the end is simply the celebration of that process.
At this point in time, Susan Brandt, you are the reader and you are the author. You may not finish this letter or the 22 that will follow (if there is no response); if so, you will not have an answer to the ever daunting question, What if? What if I was given the opportunity to become an intern for Seuss Enterprises? What if I was not only an efficient beneficiary in the day to day process, but a fresh voice and view for Seuss’ classics? However, as an author you have a choice. The questions do not have to remain unanswered if there is but one word on the last page: Yes.
This is the 6th letter in the proposed series of 28. And I too, am both the reader and the author. I don’t know what the word on the last page will be or how this will all end; but I intend to finish what I have started.
Sincerely,
Alison Stephen