Baptism of the Dead
No, not the Mormon rite of vicarious baptism for those who have died unbaptized. But I was writing another scene that snowballed into having the various layers of Christian myth and symbol that I like it to. They're crossing a river, at a ferry boat crossing of course, since that's how Charon takes people to hell in classical mythology and in the Inferno. And they're fighting zombies as they go. So of course, the zombies are dying and falling into the water. So I don't need to tag it or orchestrate it - the baptism imagery is right there, just based on the setup (which I didn't set up in order to have that imagery!) - ! I love how that works!
posted by KPaffenroth at
10:17 PM
4 Comments:
Is it really baptism if they don't get back up out of the water?
Ha - a stickler for details! I suppose I'd say two things. Evoking imagery does not have to include every component of the original image (though it's a judgment call how many elements can be missing before you say the imagery isn't there). And the effects (if not the actual rite) of baptism are described as having past and future components (Romans 6:4-8) - we died with Christ (past tense), so that we will rise or live with him (future).
I also really love the discovery that comes in the act of writing--no matter how strictly you have things outlined or plotted in your head, something always seems to come up that you hadn't expected, that sometimes changes just part of a scene, and sometimes organically reshapes the whole.
I have to say, I find it interesting how you blog every step of the writing process. I find that when I talk too much about something I'm working on (plot, characters, etc.) with other people before I've finished a draft, it can sometimes sap the energy out of me for it--perhaps b/c I'm too sensitive about what the listeners might say/think. So generally I wait until a draft is done to talk about it much.
Diff'rent strokes.
The Vicar (aka Scott)
Yes, "organic" is the right word - things grow and change in the writing like a living thing would.
I guess I'm not too sensitive to what people might say. I mean, if they say "Great!" or "That sucks!" that doesn't change anything. And they might say something that actually helps me (re)configure what I'm doing.
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