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Sunday, May 9, 2010
Frederick Jackson Turner and the End of the Frontier
Your history moment of the day: May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah, the last spike was laid for the First Transcontinental Railroad in America. This accomplishment is considered one of the greatest American technological feats of the 19th century, even beating out the Erie Canal, which brought about the ability to settle the West, mainly because it made tradegoods so much cheaper to buy for settlers heading West.
Settling the West was big business in the 19th century. The Americans couldn’t do it fast enough. They did it so fast, in fact, that in 1893, Frederick Jackson Turner wrote a thesis about the importance of American expansion on the American spirit and ingenuity. He was rather worried that without the West to occupy our minds and hands, we were going to lose our creative edge. (He was wrong, since clearly Star Trek was the final frontier, not the American West.)
More seriously, we’ve expanded our creativity in other ways. Our discoveries in science in the 20th century can easily be compared to the Industrial Revolution accomplishments of the 19th, and science hasn’t begun to be tapped for all its resources. There is always something new to discover or enhance. I think Freddie would be impressed with how we’ve turned our minds to making the frontier a better place to live through medicines, curing diseases, and improving technologies.
It’s always funny though that people think that there is an end to something. That everything must be finite. The world is flat—and there will come a time when you get to the edge and fall off it. Or we’ve settled all the land ever possibly available, so civilization is going to die off and degenerate.
Writers aren’t exempt from this sort of crazy thinking. Here we are, exploring new frontier in our WIPs, mapping out a story, and finally determining where the final frontier might end, and we start panicking that this might be all there is. There is no other frontier to explore. Nothing new to create or mold.
I bet even Nora has even thought this. For a second or two at least.
Sometimes we get so nutty in thinking we’ll never find a frontier as cool as the one we’re in, we refuse to finish the frontier we’re in. We keep taking the wagon train back to the beginning and going a different direction to get to the same end. It’s like we’re playing a perpetual game of Oregon Trail. Occasionally we do this because we died somewhere on the trip and you have to do a do-over, but a lot of the time, I think it’s because we like the game. Which route is the best? Which route is the right one? Which route is the version that the editors will buy? Never mind that you might be in a frontier that an editor is simply not interested in buying.
Oh, well, no experience is without knowledge. Even if you keep playing Oregon Trail like some compulsive gamer, I’m convinced you are learning something. Still, I do recommend you try new frontier every once in a while. After all, people stopped using the Oregon Trail in 1869 because the railroad made it obsolete.
I’ve realized I’ve been on this particular Oregon Trail for three years, and I still haven’t gotten to Idaho yet. My oxen are skeletons at this point because I keep re-inventing the wheels on my wagon. I’m not sure why I’m doing this, only that maybe, perhaps, I’m a little apprehensive what I’ll do once I actually get to California. I’m going to have to forge a new frontier again, and I’m not sure I have another idea as good as this one.
Which is stupid. Look how wrong Freddie was.
So are any of you afraid of running out of frontier? Afraid of not finding new frontier? Do any of you re-invent your current frontier over and over again? And most importantly, did any of you like the orphan train books?
Settling the West was big business in the 19th century. The Americans couldn’t do it fast enough. They did it so fast, in fact, that in 1893, Frederick Jackson Turner wrote a thesis about the importance of American expansion on the American spirit and ingenuity. He was rather worried that without the West to occupy our minds and hands, we were going to lose our creative edge. (He was wrong, since clearly Star Trek was the final frontier, not the American West.)
More seriously, we’ve expanded our creativity in other ways. Our discoveries in science in the 20th century can easily be compared to the Industrial Revolution accomplishments of the 19th, and science hasn’t begun to be tapped for all its resources. There is always something new to discover or enhance. I think Freddie would be impressed with how we’ve turned our minds to making the frontier a better place to live through medicines, curing diseases, and improving technologies.
It’s always funny though that people think that there is an end to something. That everything must be finite. The world is flat—and there will come a time when you get to the edge and fall off it. Or we’ve settled all the land ever possibly available, so civilization is going to die off and degenerate.
Writers aren’t exempt from this sort of crazy thinking. Here we are, exploring new frontier in our WIPs, mapping out a story, and finally determining where the final frontier might end, and we start panicking that this might be all there is. There is no other frontier to explore. Nothing new to create or mold.
I bet even Nora has even thought this. For a second or two at least.
Sometimes we get so nutty in thinking we’ll never find a frontier as cool as the one we’re in, we refuse to finish the frontier we’re in. We keep taking the wagon train back to the beginning and going a different direction to get to the same end. It’s like we’re playing a perpetual game of Oregon Trail. Occasionally we do this because we died somewhere on the trip and you have to do a do-over, but a lot of the time, I think it’s because we like the game. Which route is the best? Which route is the right one? Which route is the version that the editors will buy? Never mind that you might be in a frontier that an editor is simply not interested in buying.
Oh, well, no experience is without knowledge. Even if you keep playing Oregon Trail like some compulsive gamer, I’m convinced you are learning something. Still, I do recommend you try new frontier every once in a while. After all, people stopped using the Oregon Trail in 1869 because the railroad made it obsolete.
I’ve realized I’ve been on this particular Oregon Trail for three years, and I still haven’t gotten to Idaho yet. My oxen are skeletons at this point because I keep re-inventing the wheels on my wagon. I’m not sure why I’m doing this, only that maybe, perhaps, I’m a little apprehensive what I’ll do once I actually get to California. I’m going to have to forge a new frontier again, and I’m not sure I have another idea as good as this one.
Which is stupid. Look how wrong Freddie was.
So are any of you afraid of running out of frontier? Afraid of not finding new frontier? Do any of you re-invent your current frontier over and over again? And most importantly, did any of you like the orphan train books?
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70 comments:
Orphan train books? ;/
I think I figured some of this out last year, when I knew that writing of Caribbean pirates was my heart's content. But...would it sell, ever? So, I turned me mind to writing as if I were writing of Caribbean pirates when it comes ta the energy and adventure...
But I may be heading to Mars, or the past, or even the present...long as I keep the piratitude goin', I be content.
I always find the romance of the new trail, even when you're heading to the same destination, of interest. Even the interstate that runs from Mexico to Canada is romantic to my mind.
And yer always welcome in California! There always be new frontiers ta play in! ;)
Maybe being a 'one book author' isn't so bad as long as the book is good and has an impact.
I could list many scientists who wrote one really good memorable paper but then dissolved into the background, spending all of their time teaching and writing the odd mundane paper.
Perhaps one great original idea is all that many can manage. The bubbling creativity that marks the geniuses of our world may not be very common.
If the creative juices falter, I think it may be best to just accept that perhaps for you, the Oregon trail does come to an end.
Sorry folks.
Its Monday morning and I'm feeling overwhelmed and morbid.
It will be different tomorrow!
Splendidly thoughtful blog Helli. :D
Q, I won't argue with you since it's Monday, but I'd bet a pitcher of Courtesan's Cutlasses that this is Terri here.
The one thing I've learned in life is stuff is NEVER over. Things keep washing up on shore that you thought had long sunk into the sea.They may be washed smooth or still spiny, but there's always work to be done with them. Once the tap is opened (kind of like the Gulf oil spill), things will keep rushing or trickling out for you. I would bet you are not a second Harper Lee. ;)
I think that Maggie's right. Once you start down this road, it's just a matter of letting your brain run free. In the process of writing, new things will come to you if you get out of your brain's way.
Two years ago, I wouldn't have thought I'd be writing another historical, but here I am. Last year, I wouldn't have though I'd be writing something that wasn't historical, but here it is.
I'm not really worried about finding new ideas. You shouldn't be either.
PS. Everyone remember to wish our Coxswain a happy birthday! Have a great one, Hal!!
A very thought-provoking post. I think it is tempting to tinker with a manuscript so that you don't finish -- and that can be for a lot of reasons.
And the frontier is SCARY. You don't know what's gonna be there, so it makes sense to drag your heels. It's comforting to stick with what you know.
Maybe thinking about what inspired you to set out on this trip could help you finish it. Whenever things get tough on my WIP, I get REALLY excited about a different story -- LOL -- so maybe you could get out travel brochures to tempt yourself. :)
Happy Birthday, Hal! Hope you have lots of fun and wildly inappropriate birthday celebration activities planned! (It's for your memoirs! Think about your memoirs! LOL)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HAL!
Maggs - Hate to say it but you owe Q a pitcher of Courtesan's Cutlasses. LOL! This is Hellie all the way. I'd never include history. *crinkles nose*
And I can happily say I got off this dang trail. Or maybe found the trail and stop wondering off it in tangents or going backwards instead of forwards. For me, it took focus and having several things fall into place. Once I things clicked, they kept clicking and then my keys started clicking.
Since I'm only working on my first real WIP and have several ideas waiting, I'm not yet worried about running out of frontiers. There's always another story out there, just waiting to be told. :)
I'm the opposite of Q today. LOL! Pollyanna to his overwhelmed and morbid.
2nd: when I think orphan train books, I think: http://www.amazon.com/Lily-Major-Orphan-Train-Trilogy/dp/0671676369/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273500504&sr=8-1. However, I think there is a young adult version which wouldn't involve sex bent over a dresser.
Mind over a matter! I like it! Glad you have your mojo; protect it at all costs!
Q: There are some great one book wonders. Gone with the Wind comes to mind, though Adam is no Rhett. *grins*
It's rainy here. I'm in a morbid frame of mind as well. :) No worries.
Maggs, I'm sorry I lost you a WHOLE pitcher of Courtesan's Cutlasses. I always forget to mark my name over at the side when I launch these things. Sorry about that!
I'm pretty sure I'm not a Harper Lee either. I mean, that was a damned good book! :) But I refuse to think it's over. I just wish my skeleton oxen would get a move on already.
Marn: I never thought I would actually get in the way of my brain. But maybe that's the problem. *LOL* I guess maybe I'm worried I'd quit, but I'm not really a quitter. I'm a procrastinator, but not an actual quitter.
Donna: *LOL* I love the idea of tempting myself with travel brochures so I'll finish one trip to start another. Hilarious! Will have to give that a try.
Hal! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, I hope you get lots of birthday sex, happy birthday to you....
Bo'sun: Don't be crinkling your nose. Didn't you learn something interesting today? Come on!
Dude, some times I feel I'm so far off the trail, I'm going to meet up with the Donner party soon.
Nature abhors a vacuum. Glad to have a Pollyanna nearby.
Happy birthday, Hal! :)
We keep taking the wagon train back to the beginning and going a different direction to get to the same end.
I love this blog and the analogy and I'm sure it's because this sounds very familiar in many ways. I know I do this too; wondering what to do when I get to California and thinking I'll never have another journey like this one. And I constantly tweak with my "supplies" at the the beginning of the trail because I realize, at various points in the journey (usually chapter six), that I forgot something essential. My idea of "essential" though is a problem and might be the heirloom oak sideboard that will have to be abandoned in the desert. It's only essential (for me, the writer) because it's a problem I have to add into the beginning - - and then revise everything that comes after.
It's not so much a lack of ideas though. I don't believe the bubble of creativity is limited to one idea, but I admit it's not a very efficient way to write a story. I'm pretty sure there might be only a handful of frontiers possible to tackle with a habit of backtracking. *sigh* I guess it does come down to liking the "game" and keeping at it no matter the pace. :)
I only crinkle at the idea of me doing the research myself. LOL! But I'm fine with reading it when someone looked it up.
Hells, I never think of it as quitting. Stopping a story--for a while or forever--isn't quitting. Every time we write we learn something about our method, our process, our voice and style. Earlier this year, I started something. I got 5 or so chapters in and realized that the characters weren't speaking to me anymore and that the storyline wasn't turning out the way I planned.
I don't know why. I think it was going to end up being darker than I wanted to write then. Maybe I needed to start it and watch the set up. I dunno. I don't care, really. Maybe I'll come back, maybe not. Who knows?
I think part of my creative process is not being too hard on myself.
Why don't you try something else for a little while? Something completely different, that won't overlap with what you're doing. If you need to, think of it as a writing exercise, just to get the juices going. I've done it. I know Hal has done it. It's a liberating.
I never thought of giving up that first WIP as quitting, but only because I knew I was picking up a new idea right away. I've always been conscious of the idea I could quit things pretty easily so I make myself keep at things. Never took a quarter or summer off of college (the first or second time around) because I worried I wouldn't go back. So I understand the fear.
But giving up on a WIP and giving up on writing are two different things. And like Marn says, each effort teaches us something.
But giving up on a WIP and giving up on writing are two different things.
I agree with this.
I also know that I think my next story is going to be something I started before I finished my first story, just tweaked a bit. So I don't think we ever REALLY leave something behind.
Honestly, I think Hells might just need an intellectual and emotional break from her current story. Do something fun for a bit. Something you might never have considered writing at all. Or maybe something you thought you'd like to try but seriously wonder if it'll fit you.
I don't think a brain's a muscle but I think the same rules apply. Stretching it now and again keeps it in tip top shape and performing at optimum.
Happy Birthday, Hal! I hope you have a wonderful, wishes-come-true day.
Another great blog, Hel! I don't worry about new frontiers. I have these visions of them, gleaming with promise in imagination's rainbow lights, and I love packing and preparing for a new journey. My problem is that after a while the trail itself becomes comfortable and homey, and arrival at the goal holds all kinds of risks that scare me to death.
Melissa: I totally forgot about supplies. My favorites are post-its and reese's peanut butter cups. Yours sound more productive to writing though. Like a villain who turns out to be the half-brother of the hero. :) Slow and steady wins the race. Always good advice.
A different project? Perhaps. I've been toying with that. You know the heir and the spare. Whichever one is ticking me off, open the other. And the spare is nothing like the heir. :)
Bo'sun, when I was saying quitting, I meant quitting entirely. Not just the manuscript. I don't think it would necessarily be possible, but it edges the corners of my mind.
Hellion, I give up writing all the time. It only lasts about a day though. :)
Sometimes I think it's good to get away from your manuscript -- or writing. It's kinda like a cat. It doesn't like to be ignored. LOL So if you ignore it, all of a sudden it's trying to get your attention, with all kinds of fun things it kept out of your reach previously.
It’s kinda like a cat. It doesn’t like to be ignored. LOL So if you ignore it, all of a sudden it’s trying to get your attention, with all kinds of fun things it kept out of your reach previously.
ROTFLMAO
Nice. That does sound like a cat!
Janga, I agree that once on a trail, you get used to it. It's rather homey...and you're afraid to get to the end because that would be a transition to something you don't enjoy as much. Like finding an agent.
I think we all flirt with quitting. I've even had weeks where I believe I have quit but just didn't admit it to myself. (Months at one point.) But in the end I couldn't stop reading what I'd written and wanting to know what was going to happen next, so...slowly, gradually...I picked it up again.
Being the all powerful creative force in life is just simply heady stuff. And fun as anything I've ever done in my entire life.
Like all journeys, we run into the deadends, the days where the mud is so thick on the wagon wheels progress is made in inches. And the turn arounds, the salt flats, the weeks without rain...
But California is worth it! ;)
Take the break, go to Hogwarts...do the wizard geek dance to your heart's ease. Then come back and write...the magic of HP may be the answer for ya, Cap'n.
And Happy b-day ta ya, Hal! Have this handy pitcher a' Courtesan's Cutlass someone left around, undrunk.
What? Something -- or someONE -- around here is UNDRUNK. LOL
Chance, you're right about being the "all powerful creative force", and it is heady stuff. Maybe that's what I'm addicted to -- in addition to wanting to know what happens next in the book I'm working on.
Me? God complex?
Ma-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aybe...
OMG, it's raining. In May. In California...totally screwed up. Oh, wait...it stopped.
LOL!
I know I sound like a devil's advocate (sorry!) but I'd put my vote in for sticking with the same work - - almost no matter what. I'm not the best example, however. If you ask "how's that been working for you?" my argument would fall apart like a house of cards. LOL
I say "almost" though because there are all sorts of reasons - legitimate reasons like Bo'Sun and Marnee finding that a different story had a stronger call. For me, I've had a handful of ideas that went nowhere, but only a couple that are The One. The One doesn't react kindly to being usurped by another, but it's okay with neglect and me being miserable and lonely by not writing at all. *LOL*
Melissa - I like it! The One acts like a guy! If you must ignore him for awhile, he's OK with it, there is always sports to watch on TV, or deer to hunt...but look at another guy? And it's heartbreak city!
Me? I'm an idea slut, and move from one to other. If they get upset, they are just out of here! I don't tolerate pouting.
Unless I'm the one pouting.
How's school, oh studious one?
Chance, school is bringing out my inner 70s child. *LOL* My school has a big environmental curriculum and on Wednesday I start summer school with my "environment perspective." The "textbook" is the novel Ishmael which is basically one long conversation between a teacher and a student. Ishmael, by the way, is the teacher - - and a gorilla. :)
Now that's waaay off topic! LOL!
Speaking of the 70s, I think Melissa has dropped some acid.
I'm on the "stick with this one" team only because I think this idea is a really good one and I have faith you can pull it together. My suggestion would be to expand it and throw some silliness or out of left field stuff into it. Think of it as giving it a pep talk or maybe even popping some speed. I'm sure Melissa has some she'll share.
Nope, can't share. I need it all to make sense of what this gorilla is saying. :)
Yes, I do vote for sticking with this one, Hel. I already pre-pitched it for you!
I see people have been doing drugs since I've gone to lunch. Nice.
Okay, stick with the one I'm on. Okay.
LOL -- maybe there's a secret ingredient in the Courtesan's Cutlass drink.
Someone had some very mellow stuff for lunch... Lunch? Gee, I'm just managing my AM caffeine fix.
Honestly, Hel...people are out there clammering to read the saga of Adam/Eve and marriage counseling.
CLAMMORING!
Hal: Happy Birthday! I’m with Donna, btw. Do Something memorable for your memoirs! Think about your memoirs! Who cares that all those cell phones … with cameras!
Q: You need a hot cup of tea.
Donna: I rarely have more than one drink. I’m just naturally effervescent, bubbly, sparkling by nature. Like Champaign. Which explains, perhaps, why I tend to give people a headache when they overindulge in my intoxicating presence. Humble presence … I Am nothing if not humble.
Melissa: I Had a conservation with a gorilla once. Seriously. She lived in a zoo with a band of gorillas. But she had spent her “childhood” with people who taught her sign language. A zoo employee told me her backstory when they noticed her trying to communicate with me. It was rather sad, because she wasn’t accepted by the other gorillas. But I could tell that she knew that she didn’t belong with people either. Really? I just think that she wanted to belong somewhere. Sigh.
Hellion: Am I afraid of running out of frontier? No. Creative People will always find/need a creative outlet. Whether or not what they create is for public consumption is another story.
Chance: Speaking of another story … Thanks a lot, you little brat! I didn’t get any sleep that night. SEE if I ever ask you to pray for me again!
What I do?
Should I do it again?
a ha haha.... Word press just told me I'm posting comments too quickly. It said:
You're posting comments too quickly. Slow down!
Muhahahaha!!!
Q, I won’t argue with you since it’s Monday, but I’d bet a pitcher of Courtesan’s Cutlasses that this is Terri here.
Hate to say it but you owe Q a pitcher of Courtesan’s Cutlasses. LOL! This is Hellie all the way. I’d never include history. *crinkles nose*
I won't hold you to it Maggie! What would I do with a pitcher of cutlasses? More to the point, what do courtesans do with cutlasses!? :shock:
Though if you felt like sending an ARC of your next book I will forgive you. *grin*
If I'd written 'To kill a mocking bird' or 'Gone with the wind', I might just have rested on my laurels. Basked in the glory. Not ruined the reputation by publishing something less worthy.
I did once co-author a book on three-body problems but not the sort you might imagine!
I then progressed to many-body problems .... now thats really hot magic. :lol:
Actually I think there is a whole spectrum of potential. From one-book wonders to JAK and La Nora. Just saying that if you happen to be at the low end its no disgrace. :D
Or maybe it overworked for me.
Crap, italics didn't work for me.
Q- Three-body problems sounds so interesting! Which makes me believe it's really a physics thing...
Darn.
A courteson with a cutlass could do many things! Removing clothing comes to mind.
Slash!
Julie - Oh! The bit about the top of my dress falling off during my prom? Hee, hee...
A courteson with a cutlass could do many things! Removing clothing comes to mind.
Slash!
That would need great skill if the fellows are aroused! Good Lord!
I'd better read Maggie's book to find out. *grin*
I haven't read the comments yet. Not feeling well today and I am loopier than usual. My eye keeps twitching (I've been told this is due to lack of sleep and not the irritation of others around me pissing me off- little does my sister know my eye does not twitch because I don't sleep. If that were the case, I'd have a constant eye twitch and would be known as Eye-Twitch-Chris.)
Anyway, I forgot where I was at...
Oh yeah, Hells, you did not disappoint when you said this was an awesome blog. I love this blog. I love history and I love how you just weaved from a history lesson to running out of frontier to running out of creative frontier to pioneer. Killer!
I think I'm being fictionally punish. I had a great idea for a part in my para/UF series. I need more than one day a week to write and a whole host of ghost writers.
"a ha haha…. Word press just told me I’m posting comments too quickly. It said:
You’re posting comments too quickly. Slow down!
Muhahahaha!!!
Marn, I do love when WordPress tries to punish us. It makes me cackle. LOL
Sounds like Wordpress didn't have a good Mother's Day and is cranky today.
Q - If that cutlass vibrates, don't worry about it being used on you. :) Then again...
Oh! What a great design idea! For adventursome pirates!
Hmmmm... New drink? The Vibrating Cutlass!
Oooh, the Vajazzled Vibrating Cutlass. LOL!
I'm still a little creeped out on the vajazzled stuff...
Now, now, 2nd, those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
Funny thing is, I can see piercings... and they don't creep me out.
Glass houses? Moi? ;)
Happy Birthday Hal!
I have to say I've got story ideas popping up everyday trying to derail me from my current WIP. In fact, I have this insanely awesome idea for a triology of books (could even be more) that I think is super awesome. BUT I'm staying on the current WIP and getting it done.
That reminds me... NAG!
I'll be sending you a personal nag in a few minutes, Scapegoat.
Julie – Oh! The bit about the top of my dress falling off during my prom? Hee, hee…
Chance, IT must have been Fate intervening!
http://popup.lala.com/popup/504684667896265848
Gotta love a HEA.
Oh my. Vibrating cutlasses. I'm feeling faint, and I should sit down. . .but I'm afraid of hidden dangers!
Julie -- your posts are so intriguing -- from champagne to chatting with gorillas. Nobody else can do what you do! You better be writing all this down for those best-selling memoirs!
Donna ... I don't DO Anything. Stuff just happpens. But then stuff happens to everyone. They just don't realize it. The only dif between me and the average person is that I Notice when things happen.
You better be writing all this down for those best-selling memoirs!
Write My memoirs? I'll send you one of my "serious" emails ... then you'll be telling me to "Bury that $h!t, burn the evidence , and If anyone asks? You don't know Me!" LOL
The gorilla’s name was Binti. The links describe an “incident” that happened about a month after our “conversation” . As you can see Binti was no ordinary gorilla. What made me notice her? She made eye contact. The other gorillas did not.
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/17/us/gorilla-at-an-illinois-zoo-rescues-a-3-year-old-boy.html
http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1996/year.in.review/talk/gorilla/gorilla.html
Well, Julie... My date at the time, now Mr. Chance, had seen the girls before. But the friend close by? Well, he seemed a bit mezmerized.
I do not recommend a dress held up by a fabric string when dancing rock and roll...
Ah, the memories!
But the friend close by? Well, he seemed a bit mezmerized.
Ahhhh ... that brings us back quite neatly to Hellion's blog topic... New Frontiers!
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