One of the hardest parts of novel writing lies in the message behind the words the author is writing. With any form of logic, it should be one of the first things displayed in any work that an author puts out.
I don’t tend to think that way when I write my books. Sure there are meanings that worm their way into the words as I write, but the initial phase of my writing is more about flinging ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks. From that point, I can then look at the similarities between those stories and from that, a meaning appears.
Reality is an especially weird novel for me, as it goes well outside my zone of comfort and relies on scenarios I am largely uncomfortable with, but much like most of my other novels, there is a strong emphasis on camaraderie and love between the characters, likely as an excuse for weak plot elements that tend to “hit the beats.”
To help you, an audience, better understand the goal I was aiming for with Reality, I am including quite a large excerpt from quite late in the novel that touches upon everything I want the reader to take away from Reality as a whole. And that is the idea that things change and they change out of our control.
Believe this or not, but I understand the nerves coursing through your body very well. See, I went through something similar during my final years of college. I don’t know why, but my life revolved around drama club in those years. It feels weird to know that I wanted to one day be a world class actress. Then my looks caught up to me haha. Anyway, it was the last school production I was to be a part of and for the first time, I was the leading role. It seems like everyone’s dream to show off to their parents by being the centrepiece of a talented group of people, even if only for a single night. Everything went south the week leading up to the premiere of the show. I felt quite ill whenever I woke up and it got to be the worst the day of the show. Five minutes before the curtain lifted, we found out how many people were in attendance. I didn’t think I could handle five hundred people watching my every move. You know what I did? I went out there and gave the performance of my fucking life. I let the nerves fuel my stage persona and drive me to show the world that I was the best in that moment. It worked so well, I did not realise how fast time went by even with the half-dozen costume changes. It was a frenzied environment and everyone around me that night knew it. They exuded the stress from every pore of their being. I guess what I am trying to say is you should project those nerves into something that will benefit your performance. My wise, but otherwise deceased drama teacher shared a few wise words before that last performance. He told us that “even the greatest technicians of this esteemed craft suffer underneath the iron grip of the greatest bane on this Earth, yet they do not falter. They have the uncanny ability to translate anything affecting them into a net positive. If ever you feel stressed or incapable of going on, look deep inside yourself and let those butterflies in your stomach complete their transmogrifications so that they can fly free. Let your soul fly free with them, and you will be great.” Sure, that’s more than a few words in retrospect, but my teacher was not subtle with how he spoke. So, no, it is not stupid to fear the unknown. It is a primal instinct. What you should do is subvert what your body wants. Don’t let your mind keep you in the safe zone. Dare to be different, Max. You won’t regret it. I’m sure of that.
With that, I continue on the journey to the ultimate release of Reality. My last step is the artwork for the book.
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