Planning A Literary Work A Literary Article |
Sometimes a plan is not necessary because the kernel of thought is inspirational enough to inspire enough flow to justify going ahead without recourse to supplementary materials. On the other hand, a subject may be so complex and rife with side issues that a satisfactory exposition can only be attended properly with research. The same holds true whether the expression will be an essay, poem, short story, screenplay or novel. I have never written a complicated piece without some investigation. I cannot say when an idea pops into my head, but I know it is always inspired by something more than pure reflection. It could be a phrase in a novel, a slogan from an advertiser, a journalistic remark, a slice-of-life in the news or a particular portrayal in a drama. But the moment I seize upon that germ, I immediately seek ways and means to nurture it. If the germ is fuzzy, I educate myself about it on google if possible. If not, I go to the library and read about it. I never purchase anything and, in the past ten years of writing, have never had to indulge in anything more than that already described. Also, I possess a not insignificant library of my own, poor funds notwithstanding. Reading is the prerequisite of good writing. No great author has been gleaned from the ranks of the non-readers nor the illiterate. From there, once the facts are reasonably ingrained, I decide upon the form of the expression. As an example, consider my poem, "Caliphatal." I coined the term to represent the futility of Islam's attempting to establish the Caliphate in order to sublimate western civilization. The seed came from an off-chance remark I heard on a newscast about one Kemal Attaturk, a name which was familiar to me but not known well. I was amazed to discover how important was the man who singlehandedly fought off both the western forces in WWI at Gallipoli as well as the Islamic threat that valiantly tried to overthrow Turkish rule. He crushed the Caliphate in just a few years, whereas the entire world could not accomplish the feat since 700 C. E. That deserved a tribute, hence my poem. But it also needed more than just a remembrance because modern Islam is attempting to revive the Caliphate today and make sharia, Islamic law, a worldwide reality, or should I say epidemic. Arabian knight's fantasy djinn's gourmand souffle arrhythmic drums of oil red carpets of silkworm bright tracers crescent sparked ebon sands and charred bricks Sumer's folly, Akkad's lament Babylon's drowned streams Gallic croissants of shamelessness eagles rending scrofulous flesh deboning horror's hidden crypts dulling scimitars, splintering spears By choosing djinn and fantasy, I deliberately made the stanza reminisce about legends from the time of Solomon. Oil, silkworm, Sumer, Akkad and Babylon force the reader to recognize Iraq. Gallic croissants clearly denigrates French complicity in contemporary horrors whereas eagles squarely depicts America as a conquering force. Astarte's mate to Medina's idol Mesopotamian cradle of blood numberless, mindless seekers of void emptiness clotted with prophetless words shocked and awed and burned to ash gourds of travail, yoked spines of clay targeted rivers and bursted berms besieged misled to loyalist tombs fractured, marrowed, whittled to shards limbless stretching, odorless stench blinded visions, silent cacophony icon's dictates forgotten and flawed The second strophe is more involved because most educated people are not aware that Islam traces its roots to Iraq via Sin, the crescent god-husband of Astarte. It was via these stone idols that human sacrifice first came into vogue in the Middle East. Sin replaced the 360 stone idols at the kaabah in Medina and was renamed Allah by Muhammed. Note the use of the word prophetless, a direct insult against those who insist that Muhammed was a Prophet of G-d. All other phrases are meant to point out the baseless and futile worship of a stone image, suggesting that Islam is a fraud and, hopefully, will someday be forgotten. That is why Attaturk's contribution is all that more worthy, for we are again faced with the decision he had to make in order to survive. In fact, G-d once made that same judgement against similar stone idols in both Egypt and Canaan. In any case, the example illustrates the importance of research in planning an effective piece of prose or poetry. Neglecting such scholarship may relegate your work to the terminal, pandemic slush-pile. Adopting the habit just might grant you the kudos it deserves, though you will probably be long dead before our fickle public becomes aware of your efforts. W. A. Rieser |
