Michael Stackpole did a few seminars when I was at Gencon a few
years back, and I took some notes. I've actually found these steps to
be useful to me in the past, so I thought I would share them here for
any aspiring writers out there who are having a difficult time getting
started...
Novels run from 90,000-120,000 words
long with 2500-3000 word chapters. Short chapters make it a page
turner. When you hit 2200 words, start looking for a way out. Don't
worry about having 2501 words as long as you are close.
Some
people think if you don't write fast, you don't write well. Find a
speed that works for you. Don't worry if you don't write fast. Don't
edit your work until you are done or you'll never get done.
Day 1
Create a character, and write a single sentence about that character. Cover five areas with one sentence each.
Possible areas:
Love Life
School Life
Occupation
What makes them happy
A big problem in their life
Day 2
Two
more sentences about each one of those areas in that character's life.
That will give you five paragraphs. Three sentences in a paragraph.
If you can't come up with two sentences, dump the idea or come up with a
way. Day 2 will have 15 sentences.
Day 3
Write
a single sentence that is in opposition of the five points. Example,
Bob has a job he doesn't like working for his father in law.
Day 4
Write
two more sentences adding to point three. What Bob doesn't know is his
father in law was skimming money from the company and setting him up.
Stories start at the point of change in the character's life. Now, we
have a story. Don't start with perfect characters.
Day 5
Repeat
Days 1-4 for another character. You don't have to link these
characters. In most stories, people see good and bad guys. Don't cast
these guys into that role yet.
Day 6
For
each of your characters, determine their life goals, short term and
long term. Do two short term and one long term goal. Here's where you
can start to connect the dots. The two characters could have the same
goal.
Day 7
For each character, chart
the obstacles and fears keeping them from reaching their goals. Bob
wants to retire to Florida, but he doesn't have the money. Jennifer
wants a singing career, but she has a fear of singing in public. You
are just doing an inventory, not making judgement. What challenges are
they facing to achieve that goal.
Day 8
Repeat
Days 1-4 and 6-7 for another character. When you have three characters
and you start introducing them, you create energy for the story. You
can have 1 and 2 plotting to screw over 3 at the end of the chapter, but
character 3 may not fall for it. This can be a hook. Some characters
you make may be minor. You may not use it at all.
Day 9
Try
to develop character voices. How a character speaks gives a window to
the mind. On Day 9, write a letter from one character to another
character. It could be a warning, an apology, a request for advice or
whatever. How will it look? Write on a paper bag, notepad or
whatever. You need to hand write it. See how this character
communicates with the other. Bob writes a letter to his wife explaining
why he left with his secretary.
Is any of this material making it into the novel? Probably not, but it will give you an idea of what the book will be about.
Day 10
Dialogue.
Take two characters and have a conversation, discussing the content of
the letter. Don't use he said or she said. Word choices are
important. Big words for smarter characters, smaller for less smart.
Voice ticks like using slang or things like, "There ya go." Using names
for a person that others don't use.
Day 11
The
third character will be watching that conversation, but he can't hear
them. That character should attribute something to the speaker for each
sentence. Bob is watching a conversation between Jennifer and
somebody. What does he do? Bob sweats as she speaks, or he wipes his
bald head. That's how you build attribute tags. Don't have a character
looking into a mirror. Don't use he said unless it's building a
point. Its possible to build a novel without he said, she said. If Bob
arranges the things on the table, it shows he's precise when he's
nervous.
Day 12
World building. Ask
yourself what roots them in the world. What is their life in relation
to the world? Bob lives in Chicago, but he wears Packers shirts. Do it
for all the characters.
Day 13
How
does where they live or what they do help or hurt the pursuit of their
goal? How does the world nurture their environment? If Bob lives near
the L Train, he's not gonna be able to focus. He'll go elsewhere for
thinking.
Day 14
If the characters
succeed, achieving their life goals, how will their life change if they
fail? If they are close to success, how will the world push back? In
LotR, Frodo loses a finger, but Sauron loses everything. What is their
power level within the world? There will be a push back against this
goal.
Day 15
Write a brief scene about
each character in a place they all share, or the main character's happy
space. You get to see how they all view that place. Bob might see a
license plate and recall a car he had. Another character could see
something completely different when they see that license plate. A
commonly shared place will help lock the image in your mind, and you
will return to that place again. Observe. Go to the store and watch
people.
Day 16
Character arc plot.
Write up a tag line and back cover blurb for your book. Bob never
thought his life could be any better, but then Jennifer came into his
life. Write back cover blurb. Tell us what this novel is about in two
paragraphs. If you can't do that, you'll never write that book. If we
know where we think we are going to end, it will make it easier.
Day 17
Characters
grow by changing through solving problems. He changes shampoo, because
he doesn't like how he looks. You want character growth, not just
character change. Bob has problems with his father in law framing him.
Five step process to realize problem
Step 1- Show problem.
Step 2-Character has to realize he has a problem.
Step 3-Catalyst for an event shows character he needs to deal with the problem. Reason to deal with the problem.
Step 4-Show how character develops resources to deal with the problem.
Step 5-Show the success or failure of our hero in dealing with the problem.
Steps
4 and 5 are especially important as they help build up to the end of
the story. Day 17 will allow you to create 8 or 9 scenes in the story
per character.
Day 18
We will identify
the complexities and conflicts that come with these arcs. Jennifer
wants marriage and kids, but Bob doesn't. We have to show how he deals
with it. This causes more scenes. You may have an idea, but
interactive energy will make it a better story. Go with it. See where
it goes. Use single lines. No need for a bunch of words.
Day 19
Go
back to 17 and 18 and note physical events. Bob and his wife are at a
party. He finally walks out on her. You may decide another character
will be at that event. Jennifer may stay away, because she doesn't want
to see Bob and his wife. She doesn't see him leave his wife. By Day
19, we have a series of events.
Day 20
Timeline
and interweaving. Interweave the scenes together. If you have
multiple viewpoint characters, you can rotate the chapters (Char 1, Char
2, Char 3, Char 1 again and so on). You may allow two of some in a row
if the story calls for it. This document is like a road map. It is
where you think you will end up. By Day 20, you have a working outline.
Day 21
This
is the day you start writing. Every word you write is one word closer
to the end of the novel. Build the novel one sentence at a time if you
have to. Find a time when you can write. Do not rewrite until you are
finished. Up to Chapter 7 in this novel, Bob has no children. At 7, we
decide we need one. Make a note, Chapter 1, include child. Start at 7
with the child and revise it at the end of writing the book. Keep
going until the end. If writing slows down, go back and get to know the
characters. Interview them. Do whatever. If you get yourself into a
corner, back up from that point and start at the point where you veered
off.
Monday, December 29, 2014
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Silence Can Speak Volumes
This was actually written abolition five or six years ago after participating in a Day Of Silence...
I chose to be silent Friday to join in with the students who participated in The Day Of Silence. It's funny, because when I heard about this, my initial reaction was that this was just something the kids in school were doing. What would be the point of me participating? As Friday morning approached, I made up my mind to join this effort.
Why? There are a few good reasons that I can think of. For starters, Lawrence King, Matthew Shepard, Gwen Araujo and way too many others are silent. This is not by choice. They were killed because they were gay or transgendered or lesbian. They can't speak up and tell us what they had to endure. They can't tell us how the words of hate hurt them every time they heard them.
Then, there are those who endure it now. They hear the words of hate, but they try to push forward. It can be difficult. You know, it isn't just murder that will kill them. Some find the emotional pain so unbearable that they commit suicide. They think maybe the next life will be more accepting of them. The words are so strong that some will deny who they are just to be accepted as "normal" by society.
Being young and in school is hard enough. You're trying to fit in. You're trying to make friends. You're trying to figure out who you are. You're trying to get good grades. When you add the words of hate that can spew out, it makes it hard to endure. Words like faggot, dyke, queer, freak or whatever are etched into your very soul. It will become extra baggage you carry with you for the rest of your life.
I can relate to this. I was bullied in school. I didn't look a certain way, so I got picked on. When you get bullied in school, it does something to you. It effects your confidence. It effects the way you view yourself when you are with others. You may get to a point where you avoid being close with people because you don't feel you measure up or you fear rejection.
Some of these kids will get stronger because of this. Some will get angrier and fight back. Some will withdraw. It's all part of life, you say? Well, it shouldn't be. We should not be judged because of the way we look. We should not be judged by our sexual orientation or gender. We should not be judged by the color of our skin. We should be judged by what type of person we are and how we treat others.
These words of hate are not something that kids or adults should just deal with. It needs to stop. Words of hate can do as much damage as a weapon can in the long run. These words need to be silenced. That's part of the point of The Day Of Silence as well. It's about educating people about the hate and why it's wrong to say such things.
I was moved by some of the pictures I viewed in one of my friend's videos. There were protesters, supposedly speaking for God. They had pretty posters and shirts saying things like "God Hates Fags". They had their kids wearing these shirts. This is simply not acceptable. It's parents like these who raised the kid who brought the gun to the school and shot Lawrence King in the head.
I was struck by what I read when I saw that King's family doesn't want the kid to be tried as an adult, because there's no sense in having another tragedy. Educate the boy. I know, that's not religious either. An eye for an eye and that stuff. I do understand the sentiment though. If you fight hate with hate, you get more hate, but if you fight hate with love, you can change the world. Isn't this sort of what Jesus was trying to teach us?
It's hard to think of it that way when you have a pastor from another state coming to California to protest at an event remembering Gwen Araujo. On top of that, you have the murderers using the "I was tricked" excuse to try and get away with it. It makes me angry enough to wish I could enact my own revenge, but that wouldn't bring Gwen back. This is why we have days like The Day Of Silence to call attention to what is happening so we can stop it from happening.
When you aren't talking, you have time to think. What would these kids have grown up to be? I understand Gwen had dreams of being a makeup artist. Matthew was involved in the community theater, loved to act and had an interest in politics. What might have been for these two if given a chance? What would Lawrence have grown up to be? Why did the hate have to take them away?
How can we start to educate the parents that it's okay to teach their kids to accept homosexual and transgendered people? How can we get them to understand that teaching acceptance to their kids won't make them gay? How can we teach the religious bible thumpers that God is love and that how we treat others on this Earth will go a long way towards determining what comes next for us after our lives here are through?
So many thoughts raced through my mind that they raced out before I could catch them. It's funny how you are more in tune with your thoughts when you don't speak. I had the choice to not speak, but others had that choice made for them. Still others are afraid to speak or be who they are because of what they think might happen to them. Living in fear is no way to live your life, and it's time we start to make a change for the better.
Being gay is not wrong, just as being straight is not right. It's just who you are. If two consenting adults make a decision to be together, they should be allowed to do it without a bunch of "moral" judgements being placed on them by people who think they know because of what they think their religion says. We don't know what awaits us on the other side, but if there is a judgement, it isn't up to us to make it.
What's funny is the word straight isn't thought of in a negative way, but the word gay is. Once upon a time, the word actually meant happy. I like feeling gay myself. It's much better than feeling sad. But, in addition to being another word for homosexual, gay is also used as a word to put down others. It's ingrained in our society.
Just yesterday, there were three or four instances I saw on television where gay was used as a put down for a joke on one show or another. We are fed this sort of hatred almost subliminally, and we don't recognize it. This method is used for other things, but I want to stick with this subject. Fact is, I have caught myself using gay in a derogatory manner, and it stops now. I made this decision on The Day Of Silence.
When I have seen things I didn't like on TV or wherever, I have made the comment, "that is gay" or something like "Liberace gay" or "Village People gay". The irony being I own one of their albums from when I was a kid, and I always liked their brand of happy dance music. Well, that's it, no more. If I don't like something, I'm going to use the language skills I was taught in school, not a slur.
It's funny, because I am for gay marriage and gay adoption and gay rights in general, and I would still go around and be part of the problem. Sure, it's not as bad as what's on the signs I saw in those pictures, but it's still a negative. If I make one person feel like less a person because I call something gay, even if I wasn't calling them that, I just participated in the hate. That's simply not acceptable to me anymore.
I can't go back and apologize to anybody I ever hurt by being insensitive. None of us can. I am sorry though. The best way I can make amends is to realize the basic truth, that our words mean things. They inspire actions, and if the words are negative, what do you think the actions are going to be? I want to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.
As I am prone to do, I have rambled on and on. I hope I can make a difference somehow. I want to bring about positive change. The Day Of Silence may be over, but the crusade to bring change is only just beginning. For Lawrence, for Matthew, for Gwen and all the others, we must fight on. We can save lives. We may never know what lives we will save, but one of those lives could go on to change the world for the better if they just get the chance.
I chose to be silent Friday to join in with the students who participated in The Day Of Silence. It's funny, because when I heard about this, my initial reaction was that this was just something the kids in school were doing. What would be the point of me participating? As Friday morning approached, I made up my mind to join this effort.
Why? There are a few good reasons that I can think of. For starters, Lawrence King, Matthew Shepard, Gwen Araujo and way too many others are silent. This is not by choice. They were killed because they were gay or transgendered or lesbian. They can't speak up and tell us what they had to endure. They can't tell us how the words of hate hurt them every time they heard them.
Then, there are those who endure it now. They hear the words of hate, but they try to push forward. It can be difficult. You know, it isn't just murder that will kill them. Some find the emotional pain so unbearable that they commit suicide. They think maybe the next life will be more accepting of them. The words are so strong that some will deny who they are just to be accepted as "normal" by society.
Being young and in school is hard enough. You're trying to fit in. You're trying to make friends. You're trying to figure out who you are. You're trying to get good grades. When you add the words of hate that can spew out, it makes it hard to endure. Words like faggot, dyke, queer, freak or whatever are etched into your very soul. It will become extra baggage you carry with you for the rest of your life.
I can relate to this. I was bullied in school. I didn't look a certain way, so I got picked on. When you get bullied in school, it does something to you. It effects your confidence. It effects the way you view yourself when you are with others. You may get to a point where you avoid being close with people because you don't feel you measure up or you fear rejection.
Some of these kids will get stronger because of this. Some will get angrier and fight back. Some will withdraw. It's all part of life, you say? Well, it shouldn't be. We should not be judged because of the way we look. We should not be judged by our sexual orientation or gender. We should not be judged by the color of our skin. We should be judged by what type of person we are and how we treat others.
These words of hate are not something that kids or adults should just deal with. It needs to stop. Words of hate can do as much damage as a weapon can in the long run. These words need to be silenced. That's part of the point of The Day Of Silence as well. It's about educating people about the hate and why it's wrong to say such things.
I was moved by some of the pictures I viewed in one of my friend's videos. There were protesters, supposedly speaking for God. They had pretty posters and shirts saying things like "God Hates Fags". They had their kids wearing these shirts. This is simply not acceptable. It's parents like these who raised the kid who brought the gun to the school and shot Lawrence King in the head.
I was struck by what I read when I saw that King's family doesn't want the kid to be tried as an adult, because there's no sense in having another tragedy. Educate the boy. I know, that's not religious either. An eye for an eye and that stuff. I do understand the sentiment though. If you fight hate with hate, you get more hate, but if you fight hate with love, you can change the world. Isn't this sort of what Jesus was trying to teach us?
It's hard to think of it that way when you have a pastor from another state coming to California to protest at an event remembering Gwen Araujo. On top of that, you have the murderers using the "I was tricked" excuse to try and get away with it. It makes me angry enough to wish I could enact my own revenge, but that wouldn't bring Gwen back. This is why we have days like The Day Of Silence to call attention to what is happening so we can stop it from happening.
When you aren't talking, you have time to think. What would these kids have grown up to be? I understand Gwen had dreams of being a makeup artist. Matthew was involved in the community theater, loved to act and had an interest in politics. What might have been for these two if given a chance? What would Lawrence have grown up to be? Why did the hate have to take them away?
How can we start to educate the parents that it's okay to teach their kids to accept homosexual and transgendered people? How can we get them to understand that teaching acceptance to their kids won't make them gay? How can we teach the religious bible thumpers that God is love and that how we treat others on this Earth will go a long way towards determining what comes next for us after our lives here are through?
So many thoughts raced through my mind that they raced out before I could catch them. It's funny how you are more in tune with your thoughts when you don't speak. I had the choice to not speak, but others had that choice made for them. Still others are afraid to speak or be who they are because of what they think might happen to them. Living in fear is no way to live your life, and it's time we start to make a change for the better.
Being gay is not wrong, just as being straight is not right. It's just who you are. If two consenting adults make a decision to be together, they should be allowed to do it without a bunch of "moral" judgements being placed on them by people who think they know because of what they think their religion says. We don't know what awaits us on the other side, but if there is a judgement, it isn't up to us to make it.
What's funny is the word straight isn't thought of in a negative way, but the word gay is. Once upon a time, the word actually meant happy. I like feeling gay myself. It's much better than feeling sad. But, in addition to being another word for homosexual, gay is also used as a word to put down others. It's ingrained in our society.
Just yesterday, there were three or four instances I saw on television where gay was used as a put down for a joke on one show or another. We are fed this sort of hatred almost subliminally, and we don't recognize it. This method is used for other things, but I want to stick with this subject. Fact is, I have caught myself using gay in a derogatory manner, and it stops now. I made this decision on The Day Of Silence.
When I have seen things I didn't like on TV or wherever, I have made the comment, "that is gay" or something like "Liberace gay" or "Village People gay". The irony being I own one of their albums from when I was a kid, and I always liked their brand of happy dance music. Well, that's it, no more. If I don't like something, I'm going to use the language skills I was taught in school, not a slur.
It's funny, because I am for gay marriage and gay adoption and gay rights in general, and I would still go around and be part of the problem. Sure, it's not as bad as what's on the signs I saw in those pictures, but it's still a negative. If I make one person feel like less a person because I call something gay, even if I wasn't calling them that, I just participated in the hate. That's simply not acceptable to me anymore.
I can't go back and apologize to anybody I ever hurt by being insensitive. None of us can. I am sorry though. The best way I can make amends is to realize the basic truth, that our words mean things. They inspire actions, and if the words are negative, what do you think the actions are going to be? I want to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.
As I am prone to do, I have rambled on and on. I hope I can make a difference somehow. I want to bring about positive change. The Day Of Silence may be over, but the crusade to bring change is only just beginning. For Lawrence, for Matthew, for Gwen and all the others, we must fight on. We can save lives. We may never know what lives we will save, but one of those lives could go on to change the world for the better if they just get the chance.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Life As We Don't Know It
People come and people go. Empires
have come and gone. Have you ever wondered how long we've been here?
Have you ever wondered where we really came from? I'm not talking about
the religious question. That's for another chapter. Since I was
young, I have had the belief that the human race has lived on Earth for
hundreds of thousands of years. I didn't come by this belief by reading
it in a book or seeing it in a movie, though I have seen movies and
read books since then that suggest the same thing.
This would mean that civilizations have come and gone that at least the average person knows nothing about. I say the "average" person, because I believe there are individuals on this planet who know more than they are telling. Every now and then, information gets out to us about ancient cities now underwater. Atlantis is now popular in our mythology with several movies that include the lost city. I believe it existed once upon a time. Now, it's gone without a trace, but the name and legend live on.
But what about other civilizations on planet Earth that weren't as lucky? They came, they saw, they died and nobody remembered them. Maybe that's a reason we as a people are so obsessed with leaving behind some legacy to be remembered. We want to write a song, design a building, create a painting, hit a baseball, just do something that will be remembered for years to come. It's part of our own ego. People desire to make a difference and be remembered. It's understandable, but the reality is most of us will go through life, and when we die, we may be missed at first, but life will go on and we will be forgotten.
At least in the world we know, there are places to go to read about the people who have made a difference. Not that many people even care, wrapped up in their own little worlds, but there are libraries filled with books on our history. There are newspaper archives. There are video records. Anybody who cares to have a look at our history can go to these places. But, what if a disaster of a huge magnitude struck the Earth and wiped out most of mankind, sending the rest into caves? Buildings and technology destroyed. Humanity starting over again.
In a generation, it would be stories of the past told to children. A generation later, nobody would be left who even remembered those days, and those stories might be considered mythology. Then, the attitude creeps in that these are just children's stories. In the time we are in now, we must put food on the table and give shelter to our families. Fairy tales can wait. Suddenly, the ways of creating these technologies are forgotten again, and we are effectively starting over. We literally have to reinvent the wheel. It's a scary thought, but it's a reality I believe mankind has faced before. It's a testament to the strength of man that we have made it this far.
It was the great songwriter Kerry Livgren of Kansas who wrote the song Dust In The Wind. This is something I don't believe. What we do does make a difference to others. Even the seemingly insignificant person makes a difference to somebody. We do matter. If you have people in your life, and that includes your animal friends that you see just about every day, than you are probably making a difference. Maybe it's because you give them advice or help them out, or maybe it's as simple as them seeing you alive and doing your thing. Just seeing a familiar face can make a difference in somebody's life in helping create a sense of stability.
But what about that civilization that existed and is gone now? We don't remember them, so what difference did they make? Well, even if we don't have their knowledge, I would submit that the fact that we made it to where we are now makes all the difference. If everybody is destroyed, then our journey as a species in this world is over. But, I believe we have a lot to accomplish in the meantime. We probably have a lot to accomplish before we even catch up to the advancement of previous civilizations that were either taken down by nature or some other force.
There is a place called the Hall Of Records said to exist under the desert in Egypt. In it are the Akashic records that tell of the history of this planet clear back to 500,000 years ago. We've been here longer than that, but these records only go back to that point due to something that happened at that time. I don't know any of this to be true, but I can believe that there is a way of connecting to this information through our subconscious, through meditation or astral travel. I would point out that what I'm saying here leads to what they call the "New Age" movement, and anybody seeking to travel that path should beware and guard their pocket book.
The shame of it is we are cut off from whatever we achieved in the past. I can imagine there were civilizations that we now have surpassed, but there were some that far surpassed us. They mastered antigravity technology. We had free energy. We could teleport from one place to another in an instant. Life was very different for those people. There were others who didn't live in the midst of all this technology. They were in tribes. When the destruction came down upon the Earth, the people with the technology left aboard their ships. They had left technology behind, but it was ultimately destroyed. They never came back to check on things or see if there were any survivors, but the survivors picked up the pieces and started over.
There are some interesting theories as to what may have been before. The religious person might believe their particular Holy Book. Bob Frissell wrote briefly of the history of the Earth as told by Drunvalo. This involves channeling, which I know many people will dismiss on sight. Still, it's an interesting read, and I'd recommend Nothing In This Book Is True, But That's Exactly How Things Are, even if you don't believe it depicts an accurate history. Of course, one of the more popular people in this area is Zecheria Sitchin. Zecheria has done exhaustive research and has chronicled it in several books.
The basic theme from Zecheria suggests we were created as slaves by another race, and the tale is interwoven with his research from Summerian History and early history as recorded in The Bible. The thought that we all may be decedents from slaves, who were actually created by another race to serve them certainly won't appeal to a certain segment of society, but I believe until we ever come across a definitive accounting of where we came from that can be backed up with some facts, perhaps it shouldn't be dismissed so quickly.
I believe it was Sitchin who also suggested that we traveled from planet to planet in our solar system and beyond as a routine occurrence once upon a time. We had bases on Mars. This drifts into the territory of Richard C. Hoagland, who has theorized that perhaps we are The Martians. He has suggested that once upon a time, we lived on Mars and had a thriving society. When disaster struck, our best and brightest provided a way for us to leave the dying planet for Earth. This happened hundreds of thousands of years ago. We don't remember it because civilization has since had more major disasters on Earth, but remnants of Martian civilization, including the Face On Mars, still remain to remind us.
It's amazing to hear the new discoveries we are being told of thanks to the rovers and the satellites orbiting Mars. I wish I could believe we were getting the whole truth, but I believe we are being carefully fed the truths they want us to know. As long as they possess the knowledge, they have the power. One of their revelations, which Hoagland was one of the first to predict, is that there were oceans on Mars. In fact, they are very close to admitting there is, at the very least, microbial life on Mars now. Perhaps the truth about Mars will be revealed to the average person one day. One can hope anyway.
I can imagine an ancient Mars with beautiful blue oceans, filled with life. Land with green grass and tall trees, bearing fruit, some of which we on Earth have never tasted. Animal life, some of which we never saw on Earth. The people created beautiful music, wrote plays, created works of art, built beautiful architecture. They were our ancestors, and they lived a rich and peaceful life for generation upon generation. What ended life on Mars is still a mystery to me. One theory that I've heard is another planet collided with Mars, destroying the other planet. I don't know what happened, but something did. There are many interesting books and web pages out there if you look.
But, I don't want to rule out the spiritual side of this and the fact that people could have ascended. Again, this is another "New Age" theory, but one that needs to be put out there for consideration. I know enough in my limited experience to know Astral Travel or OBE's are real, and if somebody has truly mastered that ability, who's to say how much more their spirit and consciousness can accomplish. I am a believer in the theory that the human race has only accomplished a small fraction of what they can, at least in this version of civilization.
When we think of other life out there in the universe, and I'm a believer that it does exist, we probably think it is humanoid like we see on Star Trek, which is an excellent show, in my opinion. However, I don't think we fully comprehend the possibilities of what life can be and how other civilizations might exist. There exists life in the universe that we probably can't comprehend. Maybe it's because it is that much more advanced than we are. I don't know.
I recall John Lear on Coast To Coast with Art Bell. Now, John is an interesting man, and I believe there's more to him than people realize. He put forth the notion on one of his appearances that there is life on Venus, and that NASA is covering it up with faked imagery and data. He says the people there are just like us. What a huge story that would be if that were true. This is not something I necessarily believe, but I found it interesting when he said that.
Not long after that show with John, I heard it reported elsewhere that there may be life in the clouds of the gaseous planet. Can you imagine a gaseous life form with intelligence floating in the clouds of Venus, perhaps even a civilization of these beings? Could an exchange of ideas occur between our race and theirs one day? What might we learn from each other. Of course, all of this is mere speculation on my part, but when I heard there might be life in the clouds of Venus, it got me to thinking.
It boggles the mind when you consider all of this and the possibilities. I believe there is a lot more to the story of our existence than we may realize. I also believe there are people who know the truth and won't tell us. Why would they do such a thing? There is a saying that knowledge is power, and that is so true. If there are secrets in these past histories that can, for instance, make the elite more powerful, why would they say anything and sacrifice an advantage? Well, it's something to consider. As always, though, don't take my word for it. There is plenty of material out there on the topics covered here for you to research and make your own conclusion.
This would mean that civilizations have come and gone that at least the average person knows nothing about. I say the "average" person, because I believe there are individuals on this planet who know more than they are telling. Every now and then, information gets out to us about ancient cities now underwater. Atlantis is now popular in our mythology with several movies that include the lost city. I believe it existed once upon a time. Now, it's gone without a trace, but the name and legend live on.
But what about other civilizations on planet Earth that weren't as lucky? They came, they saw, they died and nobody remembered them. Maybe that's a reason we as a people are so obsessed with leaving behind some legacy to be remembered. We want to write a song, design a building, create a painting, hit a baseball, just do something that will be remembered for years to come. It's part of our own ego. People desire to make a difference and be remembered. It's understandable, but the reality is most of us will go through life, and when we die, we may be missed at first, but life will go on and we will be forgotten.
At least in the world we know, there are places to go to read about the people who have made a difference. Not that many people even care, wrapped up in their own little worlds, but there are libraries filled with books on our history. There are newspaper archives. There are video records. Anybody who cares to have a look at our history can go to these places. But, what if a disaster of a huge magnitude struck the Earth and wiped out most of mankind, sending the rest into caves? Buildings and technology destroyed. Humanity starting over again.
In a generation, it would be stories of the past told to children. A generation later, nobody would be left who even remembered those days, and those stories might be considered mythology. Then, the attitude creeps in that these are just children's stories. In the time we are in now, we must put food on the table and give shelter to our families. Fairy tales can wait. Suddenly, the ways of creating these technologies are forgotten again, and we are effectively starting over. We literally have to reinvent the wheel. It's a scary thought, but it's a reality I believe mankind has faced before. It's a testament to the strength of man that we have made it this far.
It was the great songwriter Kerry Livgren of Kansas who wrote the song Dust In The Wind. This is something I don't believe. What we do does make a difference to others. Even the seemingly insignificant person makes a difference to somebody. We do matter. If you have people in your life, and that includes your animal friends that you see just about every day, than you are probably making a difference. Maybe it's because you give them advice or help them out, or maybe it's as simple as them seeing you alive and doing your thing. Just seeing a familiar face can make a difference in somebody's life in helping create a sense of stability.
But what about that civilization that existed and is gone now? We don't remember them, so what difference did they make? Well, even if we don't have their knowledge, I would submit that the fact that we made it to where we are now makes all the difference. If everybody is destroyed, then our journey as a species in this world is over. But, I believe we have a lot to accomplish in the meantime. We probably have a lot to accomplish before we even catch up to the advancement of previous civilizations that were either taken down by nature or some other force.
There is a place called the Hall Of Records said to exist under the desert in Egypt. In it are the Akashic records that tell of the history of this planet clear back to 500,000 years ago. We've been here longer than that, but these records only go back to that point due to something that happened at that time. I don't know any of this to be true, but I can believe that there is a way of connecting to this information through our subconscious, through meditation or astral travel. I would point out that what I'm saying here leads to what they call the "New Age" movement, and anybody seeking to travel that path should beware and guard their pocket book.
The shame of it is we are cut off from whatever we achieved in the past. I can imagine there were civilizations that we now have surpassed, but there were some that far surpassed us. They mastered antigravity technology. We had free energy. We could teleport from one place to another in an instant. Life was very different for those people. There were others who didn't live in the midst of all this technology. They were in tribes. When the destruction came down upon the Earth, the people with the technology left aboard their ships. They had left technology behind, but it was ultimately destroyed. They never came back to check on things or see if there were any survivors, but the survivors picked up the pieces and started over.
There are some interesting theories as to what may have been before. The religious person might believe their particular Holy Book. Bob Frissell wrote briefly of the history of the Earth as told by Drunvalo. This involves channeling, which I know many people will dismiss on sight. Still, it's an interesting read, and I'd recommend Nothing In This Book Is True, But That's Exactly How Things Are, even if you don't believe it depicts an accurate history. Of course, one of the more popular people in this area is Zecheria Sitchin. Zecheria has done exhaustive research and has chronicled it in several books.
The basic theme from Zecheria suggests we were created as slaves by another race, and the tale is interwoven with his research from Summerian History and early history as recorded in The Bible. The thought that we all may be decedents from slaves, who were actually created by another race to serve them certainly won't appeal to a certain segment of society, but I believe until we ever come across a definitive accounting of where we came from that can be backed up with some facts, perhaps it shouldn't be dismissed so quickly.
I believe it was Sitchin who also suggested that we traveled from planet to planet in our solar system and beyond as a routine occurrence once upon a time. We had bases on Mars. This drifts into the territory of Richard C. Hoagland, who has theorized that perhaps we are The Martians. He has suggested that once upon a time, we lived on Mars and had a thriving society. When disaster struck, our best and brightest provided a way for us to leave the dying planet for Earth. This happened hundreds of thousands of years ago. We don't remember it because civilization has since had more major disasters on Earth, but remnants of Martian civilization, including the Face On Mars, still remain to remind us.
It's amazing to hear the new discoveries we are being told of thanks to the rovers and the satellites orbiting Mars. I wish I could believe we were getting the whole truth, but I believe we are being carefully fed the truths they want us to know. As long as they possess the knowledge, they have the power. One of their revelations, which Hoagland was one of the first to predict, is that there were oceans on Mars. In fact, they are very close to admitting there is, at the very least, microbial life on Mars now. Perhaps the truth about Mars will be revealed to the average person one day. One can hope anyway.
I can imagine an ancient Mars with beautiful blue oceans, filled with life. Land with green grass and tall trees, bearing fruit, some of which we on Earth have never tasted. Animal life, some of which we never saw on Earth. The people created beautiful music, wrote plays, created works of art, built beautiful architecture. They were our ancestors, and they lived a rich and peaceful life for generation upon generation. What ended life on Mars is still a mystery to me. One theory that I've heard is another planet collided with Mars, destroying the other planet. I don't know what happened, but something did. There are many interesting books and web pages out there if you look.
But, I don't want to rule out the spiritual side of this and the fact that people could have ascended. Again, this is another "New Age" theory, but one that needs to be put out there for consideration. I know enough in my limited experience to know Astral Travel or OBE's are real, and if somebody has truly mastered that ability, who's to say how much more their spirit and consciousness can accomplish. I am a believer in the theory that the human race has only accomplished a small fraction of what they can, at least in this version of civilization.
When we think of other life out there in the universe, and I'm a believer that it does exist, we probably think it is humanoid like we see on Star Trek, which is an excellent show, in my opinion. However, I don't think we fully comprehend the possibilities of what life can be and how other civilizations might exist. There exists life in the universe that we probably can't comprehend. Maybe it's because it is that much more advanced than we are. I don't know.
I recall John Lear on Coast To Coast with Art Bell. Now, John is an interesting man, and I believe there's more to him than people realize. He put forth the notion on one of his appearances that there is life on Venus, and that NASA is covering it up with faked imagery and data. He says the people there are just like us. What a huge story that would be if that were true. This is not something I necessarily believe, but I found it interesting when he said that.
Not long after that show with John, I heard it reported elsewhere that there may be life in the clouds of the gaseous planet. Can you imagine a gaseous life form with intelligence floating in the clouds of Venus, perhaps even a civilization of these beings? Could an exchange of ideas occur between our race and theirs one day? What might we learn from each other. Of course, all of this is mere speculation on my part, but when I heard there might be life in the clouds of Venus, it got me to thinking.
It boggles the mind when you consider all of this and the possibilities. I believe there is a lot more to the story of our existence than we may realize. I also believe there are people who know the truth and won't tell us. Why would they do such a thing? There is a saying that knowledge is power, and that is so true. If there are secrets in these past histories that can, for instance, make the elite more powerful, why would they say anything and sacrifice an advantage? Well, it's something to consider. As always, though, don't take my word for it. There is plenty of material out there on the topics covered here for you to research and make your own conclusion.
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