Johnny E. Mahaffey
January 15, 2013

The Novelist Portent

JOHNNY MAHAFFEY SAYS:
Writers Beware -- The Wizard's Feet

I just watched two "Bones" episodes last night, back to back; and my writing-craft-tool-kit ruined it again. Or, maybe "ruined" is too strong of a word, perhaps I should just say spoiled.

The thing is, as a writer that's studied the many ways a story can be told -- whether it be a short story, a novel, or a screenplay -- you know the plot techniques. It's fine to be aware of this stuff for your own work, but it kinda sucks when you read a book or watch a movie or TV show -- because you see the outcome of each scene before you get to it, or at least you get a good idea of everything that's about to happen before it happens since it's usually one of just two or three things, once you've realized the narrative and plot technique being used.

Think of Dorothy going to OZ, how the Emerald City looked to her and her little entourage; and then how disenchanting it was once they'd seen the Wizard's feet behind the veil.

It's said that reality puts a weight upon living things, and that it's one of the reasons we dream -- to sort out reality, take a break from it and let our brain sort of defrag like we would a computer. We seek to do this, I think, not just in hours of sleep, but rest. When we go see a movie, watch a show, or read for leisure -- we're doing it to take a break.

Learn a lot of science -- especially physics -- as I have, and then top it off with the skills used in writing the very things we seek to escape reality with, you end up with a very tiring view of life. Life and reality are very beautiful, but, everyone needs that moment of escape every now and then. It's why we watch so many hours of TV and movies, to escape the mundane... to take a break. However, if you see the Wizard's feet stepping around behind the veil, you can't really rest.

So you have to ask, is it worth it?

To know how everything works, or live a naive happy life?

Last night's episodes of "Bones" employed parallel plots, foreshadowing, and many other things I recognized; and while I enjoyed the show, I found myself analyzing the narrative arc. I couldn't relax with the Wizard doing the waltz.

Once you know he's there... there's no going back.