You have to lose yourself to find yourself.
– Willem Dafoe
In this November sequel, I’ve swapped October’s magic tricks and black hat for ironic new connections and a fur (or faux) chapeau. A crown of thorns adorns Willem Dafoe. And now that Tom Petty and I have already celebrated birthdays, I would like to feature two November born artists: Canadian writer Margaret Atwood and American film director Martin Scorsese.
A few days before Thanksgiving 2011, a Dutchman came to stay who would bestow a number of gifts upon me. After flying 5,500 miles across the Atlantic he landed at LAX. As we neared my house he asked to stop to pick up a few things and emerged from the Newport Beach store with a bouquet of yellow tulips. That would be like Margaret Atwood flying from Ontario or Quebec to Florida to buy maple syrup in a Miami super market. Still cool though – the tulips, beautiful and spring like – full of promise. A pivotal moment in a true story that could just as easily be fiction.
To clarify…a plot is a series of events that entice the reader to find out what happens next. But a plot is not a story, just as a story is not a plot. The story is what you make of the plot. And for that you have to let it evolve…
Fiction is not necessarily about what you know. It’s about how you feel.
– Margaret Atwood
One of the most prolific literary writers of our time (40 + volumes of poetry, children’s literature, fiction and non-fiction in over 40 languages) Atwood ought to know – about plot and story and how to get it done. You might assume she adheres to a rigid schedule and follows a well-planned agenda. Before beginning a project, many of us engage in a dance of distraction that includes the belief that all details must be in place such as the I-Need a particular space, a private office with a view, the newest model Mac or a PC with transcription software, a creative retreat, unlimited time, and of course the stars correctly aligned. Now any or all of that might be sweet but none ensures success.
If you’re waiting for the perfect moment, you’ll never write a thing because it will never arrive. I have no routine. I have no foolproof anything. There’s nothing foolproof.
– Margaret Atwood
OK back to the plot – or maybe the story. You might ask if the hat I am wearing above is fur or faux. Or more curiously, “Why would you wear a hat intended for warmth with thin black silk?” I’ll leave that one up to you…but as to the question of fur or faux, the hat belongs to the tulip man who flew across the ocean in a westerly direction. If you knew him, you would know it’s not faux. But I’m wearing the hat in an old stone house across the ocean in an easterly direction.
Re: the gnarly thorns in the photo above. No, I did not provide them for the symbolic crown worn by Willem Dafoe as the figure of Christ in the Martin Scorsese film. I tried to stay as far away from them as I could, but on a few occasions only inches separated me from those wicked needles in the South African bush. The haunting image of Dafoe suffering the crown of thorns in The Last Temptation of Christ embodies his brilliance as an actor. Named William at birth, but called Billy as a child, he changed his name to Willem, a common Dutch name, (random) because he hated being called Billy. He claims he is just a square boy from Wisconsin and that weirdness is not his game. I don’t know about you, but I find him pretty intense in the characters he inhabits.
Cinema is a matter of what’s in the frame and what’s out.
– Martin Scorsese
Fascinated by film, I believe a writer can learn a great deal about how to transform plot to reveal story from this medium. Scorsese believes that creating the impression of movement in film is a mystical urge. “It’s an attempt to capture the mystery of who and what we are, and then to contemplate that mystery.”
Ironically, I’ve never thought of myself as someone who wears hats. I guess I missed something. Another time I might tell you about the Englishman’s tweed cap I wore with red silk one New Year’s Eve. Maybe some day I could even tell you about a hat prescribed by a skilled man in the desert – a crushable straw one – that helped to save my life…
Plot or story?
Martha love the hat! You and Usher share the same sense of style he wore one with a tail in his LA concert last week! His music, dance and lyrics also create a story through performance. I agree that there is no magical formula or process just a raw talent and the will to succeed coupled with hard work and persistence. It is humbling to see masters at work, yet to become a master I must put in much work. Have a great Thanksgiving, Charlotte
Okay. Enufff-already. So.. er…. about that Dutchman "bestowing a number of gifts", then still stopping to buy you those lovely yellow tulips. Tell all.
Here's a great tip about tulips: Cut about an inch off the bottom, let immediately stand in lukewarm water for about an hour, then arrange in cold water with some ice cubes. They will stand upright and not open more or droop for days.
This one was my first thought: “Why would you wear a hat intended for warmth with thin black silk?” And then I thought: She is wearing the hat in an old stone house/(castle maybe) across the ocean in an easterly direction. More story please. And happy holiday(s) Martha
Fur or faux – what makes it work is that it's not sitting on a rack but on a live head – in this case on yours! it's not for dress up (Halloween just passed), it's not to protect from snow and wind. This inanimate headdress becomes alive, opens a big smile, drains through heart and gut to lift the body off the ground. The visitor from Holland adds his sparkle with his homeland insignia, feeds on laughter and warmth. Leaves hat and tulips and flies off.
Intriguing and mysterious as a good story /plot should be. Martha, your writing encourages the reader to wonder and wish to know more or perhaps fill in the blanks in the one’s own mind and on one’s own paper. Thank you!
Martha, this might be your most provocative and inspiring post yet…you don't have to be a writer to appreciate it – as a passionate reader, I think I'll keep your writing and story-telling perspective in mind. Please keep posting, I'll follow…Kris H
Martha–I think you are a hat person–but that is a digression. The shots are all about texture. When applied to plot/events texture (lifeforce, stoney walls, furry gloss, thorny points) become the story, stick in the reader's mind and prompt the journey.
Martha, you have a beautiful way with words.