Comshaw
VAGITARIAN
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2000
- Posts
- 11,354
I thought I'd give this here naval gazing thing a try. The story I'm referencing is this one: The Ardennes
I wrote it for one of the contests. Although it didn't land in the money, I was pleased with the score and how it did. I did get beat on for some of my historical inaccuracies. After researching the complaints the verbal beatings were deserved. I didn't take as much time as I should have to research those points. I thought the contest was the only reason I wrote it until I reread the story a couple of times. After the umpteenth time reading it some things finally became clear to me. Like a concept from another one of my stories, sometimes people's motivations are hidden, and sometimes those motivations are hidden even from themselves. For me it's flippin' amazing how our subconscious can influence what we do. After 73 years on the planet, after having seen the good and bad sides of humans, after seeing the randomness of how things can go in life, all those things find their way into my stories, even unconsciously sometimes.
In this story I tried to convey the duality of the human spirit and mind, the Yin and Yang of who we are. The concept that under certain circumstances a person can kill another without hesitation, but be remorseful and sad at something like the death of a kitten, the demon and angel we all carry with us.
The other thing is the fact that in life people walk into and shortly after out of our lives. Some, like the two German soldiers leave a small impression. Vano and Tala will remember their deaths, but not much else other than the fear they engendered. Others like Jack, leave a lasting impression and impact. Not just the child he left Tala with but who he was, the warmth he left for them both, even though he carried the demon as well.
Any who, that's what I think is the what and why of that story. But I also must add as the author I'm incredibly biased, so when the spanking begins, be gentle.
Comshaw
I wrote it for one of the contests. Although it didn't land in the money, I was pleased with the score and how it did. I did get beat on for some of my historical inaccuracies. After researching the complaints the verbal beatings were deserved. I didn't take as much time as I should have to research those points. I thought the contest was the only reason I wrote it until I reread the story a couple of times. After the umpteenth time reading it some things finally became clear to me. Like a concept from another one of my stories, sometimes people's motivations are hidden, and sometimes those motivations are hidden even from themselves. For me it's flippin' amazing how our subconscious can influence what we do. After 73 years on the planet, after having seen the good and bad sides of humans, after seeing the randomness of how things can go in life, all those things find their way into my stories, even unconsciously sometimes.
In this story I tried to convey the duality of the human spirit and mind, the Yin and Yang of who we are. The concept that under certain circumstances a person can kill another without hesitation, but be remorseful and sad at something like the death of a kitten, the demon and angel we all carry with us.
The other thing is the fact that in life people walk into and shortly after out of our lives. Some, like the two German soldiers leave a small impression. Vano and Tala will remember their deaths, but not much else other than the fear they engendered. Others like Jack, leave a lasting impression and impact. Not just the child he left Tala with but who he was, the warmth he left for them both, even though he carried the demon as well.
Any who, that's what I think is the what and why of that story. But I also must add as the author I'm incredibly biased, so when the spanking begins, be gentle.
Comshaw
