A Magician

For the past few months, i've been writing alot, mostly poetry and some short fictions. It has been posted or released in various artsy-classy forums and poetry related websites. Like always, i tried alot of different methods and ways to express my thoughts, ideas and sometimes my creativity with words and the whole point of structuring it. Writers in all forms are creators of meaningful literature and similar to many other professions which create and produce, they all served as an agent in decorating and inducing the world with more meanings and connections.

Many people once questioned me, of all forms of literacy, why poetry? why poems? Why not fiction or something more elaborated that will be more in-touch with the readers? The funny thing is, all these questions were asked by people who know me first and later about my writings, on the other hand, for those who know me through my writings, they normally have only 1 question, "when do i get the chance to meet you in person?". And so, i am left with 2 sets of questions after posting or disclosing my work to the work in some ways.

Well, why not fiction? The thing is.. in my perception i think fictions or anything around that length has a range of invisble boundaries and guidelines. In order to deliver your message or your writing in that formation, you need to be able to meet up with the reader's expectation, not exactly the level of literacy but how they assume the plot to flow along with. And the best fiction writers can create a mass flow of plots that makes you think that the unexpected twist is really "unexpected" whereas in actual sense it is just fraction of your blindspots. I still read fictions or novels whatever you love to call em, and like most readers i used to love the twists of the story (not neccesarily the climax of the fiction), as it provides you excitement and the whole sense of "wow! geez! i didnt expect that".Yeah, notice that i use the term "used to", as some of you might know that i tried fiction (as in writing 1) and still working on it. you know, when you wanna write or produce something in that mass, normally you have 2 ways of doing things, 1) you look at the big picture as in a rough outline, build the skeletons, etc and then you only you get to touch on the details, and that twist(s) are like joints of the skeletons and the organs are the characters of the story, 2) You start with something specific, like a person (normally the main character) or a place or an object or a theme and you start to add colors from that point on, it's a bit like seeding, you chose a spot plant the seed, and it grows up slowly from that point on, and the twist(s) are like the direction of the roots. Be it the first or the latter method, the creator already know what's going on at least inside his/her head. You will notice that authors who focused so much on the twists often produce extremely "wow" factor on creating the verge of diversion as the story line (the build ups) will normally lead you to a point where, the author can clearly see your blindspots, and therefore when he/she plunch a small pin in that area, you go "OMG! How did that happen?". So in a metaphorical manner, whether it's skeletonized or specifically seeded, fiction, is a pre-cook material. It's like spaghetti, pizzas, roasted chicken, curry noodles, you have the main staple, the sauces, the addons (veges, spices) and it has a form be it you recognize it or not.

Well, unlike fictions, poetry is more pure i would say, purer than sashimi, it's way raw than that, more like a fresh apple that you just plucked off the tree. Many would categorize poems into 2 big group, the structured and free phrased (non-structured). Well, the term "structure" over here mainly refer to the foundation and frame of the poem, not exactly the flow, the point, the meaning and as well as the words selection. You do not need to have a point to write a poem but you do need 1 to produce a fiction because it tells a story. Whereas instead of telling you something, a poem can be a question by itself, a statement, a creative expression using words and at times just spurs of a moment. You know, i am sure some of you would have experienced this when out of a sudden, maybe in a middle of your preparation for exams or in the movie, there's a phrase in your head popped out and like "heh, that sounds cool", and so.. unlike fiction where you will then trying to input that phrase and putting things together, you can just simply dumb the catchphrase you just got it out of your blended mind into a blank piece paper, search the feeling that helped you onto the first catch for the 2nd phrase, and before you know it, there's there. I don't know maybe it's just me, i get all the freedom i could get while i am writing a poem. However, the thing is, i can normally finish 1 in under 5 mins.. hmm.. Nonetheless i could spend like.. 30 mins or more staring at one of my own poems and digest the feelings and thoughts that i embedded into the poem when i written it there and then.

Now, for those who know me through my poems, hmm.. well i should be glad that after reading and accepting my work one way or another, you have the spur of the moment to want to meet me in person. However, I am confused at the level that, "why?". In my oppinion, maybe i am a little stereotypical in respond to this, but to me, the person that writes and the person you will be meeting up close will not be coherent in most manners. 1) we wont speak the way we write, 2) normally the essence of the poems are either the best or the worst of a situations and we dont carry ourselves like that in reality, 3) you lost the sense of freedom when 2 person met up close, and it somehow might expand the interaction into another dimension (which might be good), 4) maybe it's just me, i prefer to disclose myself that much through my work (that does not mean i dont have self-disclosure towards other people in person, just that i prefer to choose my own audience).

Now, back to the title of the post. Magicians are cool. There are not exactly a pure creator, unlike god, and just like poets we dont create works, we gather, diverse, and simply manifest something that excites.