"Some men of a secluded and studious life have sent forth from their closet or their cloister, rays of intellectual light that have agitated courts and revolutionized kingdoms; like the moon which, though far removed from the ocean, and shining upon it with a serene and sober light, is the chief cause of all those ebbings and flowings which incessantly disturb that restless world of waters."
Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832)
Take that literally (though they can be women too :-).
There are people in the world, but isolated from it, who give their thoughts physical form and somehow those thoughts are changing the world.
It could be a video game. That's been done. A few thousand times ;-)
Or, better, maybe the gods or the world's designers have moved onto another project, abandoning the world which is deteriorating. It's found some have the power to influence the world through writing -- or song or art or comics or ...? And they're isolated to fix things. Voluntarily? Involuntarily? God like powers or a quiet whisper than ripples through the world?
What happens hundreds of years later? What kind of mythology is built up around the fixers? What's their explanation for the meaning behind it all? Are the fixers now a separate society, isolated from the world? Have they forgotten their purpose and don't realize they're affecting a real world? Or are people tested and sent off to be fixers, never to see their families again? Or is a fixer a 9-5 job but after work they end up hearing everyone's problems they want fixed?
2 comments:
Just came across your blog whilst seeking inspiration for tomorrow's Creative Writing class, which having thought about it, I now realise I have been happily unteaching for many years (to many of the same people who keep coming back for more.)
Thank you from the English Midlands on a cold dark night,with the dog lying on my feet, the cat wheezing and my husband snoring in the next room, for some impressive prompts, a kindred take on writing and teaching (I think) and a most enjoyable read.
I will visit often
Thank you very much! And welcome from Boston :-)
Yes, I think the single biggest factor in learning is desire. Far more profound learning happens outside of school where people get to draw in fuel for whatever passion drives them. :-)
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