Otherness

            I recently read an interesting blog by another author on writing within the confines of culture and the time of the character or author. There is a huge avenue for historical fiction, but many writers choose to set their stories in the time they know best: the present, and their own present. Although my stories also take place in what I know to be the present, I prefer “otherness” to exhibit itself in my writings.

             Otherness, as it is termed, is the absence of all that is attached to time, to put it mildly. It is not the total absence of technology; my characters are not living in primitive environments, but are very much active in their worlds, although their world is but for a moment. Many of my stories are within the confines of a single “scene,” or episode with little or no scenery change, (some, however, deviate from this patter). With this method I have been able to create a timelessness for the story and allowed it to fully embrace the existential moment.

This is a key component of otherness, the existential moment. Existentialism was a philosophical and theological movement some decades ago which brought extreme emphasis on the moment, the single moment. Paul Tillich, a German theologian, wrote a book entitled The Eternal Now. It is his view that we as humans have lost the past and have not yet gained the future. All we have is the “now,” the eternal now. It is in the single moment that we all exist and have our being, and this idea comes through brilliantly in my writings.

The characters are detached from time and placed in one moment; as mentioned above, many of my writings take place within the span of an hour or less, if one were counting. Few objects are mentioned to set a definite location of time; I neglect to mention certain items such as computers, cell phones, satellites and so forth. I rely on more traditional gothic landscapes and Poe-like scenes, opting for isolation and seclusion without the modern amenities we have all come to embrace.

I admit it is very difficult to sometimes escape our cultural and technological limitations. Technology is so prevalent today and is so much an active part of our lives that it is nearly impossible to write a story without some item of the technological universe creeping in. Computers, internet, wifi and cell phones can all be found on the person, and even in the remotest of woods one is bound to have some type of reception. It is in reaction to all this, I believe, that I choose otherness in my writings.

I admit freely I am at odds with contemporary culture and disillusioned with the state of the nation today. My eyes fall upon a landscape which seemingly offers little to the new generations. Banks fail, the government no longer functions, the bottom is trampled while the top rejoices. When I view all this, I want an escape, not a renewal or re-imagining of thought. I want otherness in my readings, not a constant and blatant reminder of how things are. Otherness is escapism.

If one were to attempt to incorporate this type of style into their writings, I would suggest two things: lose your attachment to the culture, and embrace the power of the moment. First, we as a culture are so absorbed with technological marvels that we feel life has no substance without them. It is perfectly acceptable to include the modern cultural elements; if one is looking for timeless, however, forsake the world and all its entities and rest in the moment. Second, you must embrace the power of the moment. We have behind us a past which is lost forever, and before us a future we have no certainty of gaining. I stare with tear-filled eyes at that which lies both behind and before me, knowing I have neither. What I do have, however, is the moment, the single moment in which all creation exists. Within its confines do I live and breathe and have my being. We have nothing but the now; all else is gone forever, the past slipping and the future fading before me.

This is otherness….