Writing And Sculpting

Writing, especially writing a novel, is like creaking a sculpture made of clay.

Unlike writing a script, whether it is for the stage, the movie screen or for television, writing a novel is not bound to the same format. Writing a novel give the writer nearly unparalleled freedom to write. It also comes with a fair share of bumps in the road.

The process of writing a novel and creating a sculpture made of clay is remarkably similar.

The writer starts the novel from a germ of an idea. The artist creating the sculpture starts with a shapeless mound of clay.

Both will create first drafts of their work. It is obvious that while the spark to create the work is there, more work is needed.

The writer will go back to their draft and edit. The artist will remove pieces that don’t work and mush them together with new pieces. Creating is the easy part, editing is the hard part.

Over time, both the novel and the sculpture will endure multiple changes before the final version is complete.

But when the novel and the sculpture are complete , the satisfaction of hard work pays off.

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Now It’s Becoming Scary

 

On May 29th, 1942, the Jews of Paris were forced to wear this sign on their outer clothing. Millions would go to their deaths wearing this symbol.

After the Holocaust, many have said “never again”. But “never again” has become “again” in a new and extremely scary way.

Antisemitism is growing throughout the world. Jewish students and professors are being banned from European universities. Bastions of learning, which are supposed to be educating the next generation are becoming bastions of hate.

It is not just colleges and universities that are experiencing increasing levels of antisemitism.

I have been extremely lucky to grow up in a country that protects the rights of all citizens, regardless of the religious beliefs or the labels  that one muse to define themselves.  But there is a downside to this the right to free speech. It gives a voice to those who would spread hate and lies.  But that is the price we pay to live in a free, democratic country.

The slippery slope that leads to mass murder is starting to tilt in that direction. I hope and pray that we have truly learned the lessons of the past, but I fear that we have not.