Forest at Twilight.

Rustling was not a word that could describe the noises that the intricate forest made, instead a better word might have been rushing. The wind made a rushing through the leaves of the sinister trees, a million flailing hands brushing against each on and on into the infinite forest. The might and canopy of the trees kept the underbrush from growing, and the forest floor was barely covered by anything but the long dead rustlers of previous seasons; the leaves sitting heavy and wet on the ground.
When the wind died down, the depth of the forest began to show her face, as a silence that only nature can supply grew in the twilight hours as the sun began to fall. No noise, no movement, only the heavy silence of greenery and stone and soil.

What should enter here? Who would dare intrude upon the slumber of mother earth in this sacred place? No one but a faun, not breaking the silence but merely bending it as his small feet daintily and cautiously led him through the leaves and into the picture painted there in the woods.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Resigning!

As a Hornets fan, there has always been an appreciation for MKG in my soul. There has also been a large amount of sadness, since he should be Anthony Davis, and the Pelicans should have signed MKG to this contract, but that is beside the point.

On Monday, the Charlotte Hornets brass gave Kidd-Gilchrist a 4 year, 54 million dollar contract extension, which will make him the highest paid player on the team next year (hopefully that doesn't happen, and the Hornets spend a huge chunk of change and attract a star to the Queen City...). I am not going to get into all of the advanced statistics that show why this is a good idea. You can read the ESPN posts, or the At The Hive posts, or really anything. I just want to show you why this was a good idea:

We love you in Charlotte, MKG. Keep being an upstanding citizen, excellent role model and teammate, and, if you get some time, keep putting up some jumpers this offseason. Keep hustling your heart out, and keep having zero control over your limbs as you jog down the court. Keep inspiring kids everywhere by overcoming your speech obstacles. You are the man!

Why people write

I had an interesting conversation with a young man a few weeks back. He was headed off to college, and he was going to be a writing major. So exciting! The thing that stuck out to me though, was his admission that he needed to write to keep his mind at a functional level. He struggles with depression, and writing was a way for him to get thoughts and ideas out of his head, keeping it clear enough to deal with the day ahead of him.

I have run into creators with this problem before, and it seems like one of the biggest 3-5 reasons why people make art/new things. They create because there is no other way for them to express themselves. Many humans can get by with texting their best friend, or screaming into a pillow once in a while, but not these people. Their brains are so close to exploding with a profusion of thoughts and ideas that they must simply spew them out before the person is driven mad.

There is a very large part of me that wished I was one of those people. I have always been interested in writing, in creating new things, but I have also always struggled with the ability to produce. My brain simply does not have the ability to create new and valuable thoughts on a regular basis. At least not new and valuable thoughts that can be extrapolated into readable work.

I think this is another reason why I read, and why I teach. The old adage that "those who cannot do, teach" hold very true for me. I simply cannot write the types of stories that I wish I were capable of. However, I can perhaps teach my students how to better approach their passion/need to write. Perhaps I can unlock a conduit in a young person's head that will allow their thoughts to spill out continually as they create something needed.

No real conclusion for this post, more of a wondering and an admittance.

Why I read fantasy

Today, I just finished reading a blog post by Patrick Rothfuss (one of my favorite authors) about Terry Pratchett (one of his favorite authors). Pat spent a little bit of time talking about the stigma that is often attached to the fantasy genre, basically the stigma that fantasy is trivial writing, about imaginary subjects, and shouldn't be held up as something young people should read. I have a couple of responses to this close minded approach to the genre.

First, I read fantasy because it makes me happy. I firmly believe that reading is one of the most important and enjoyable things that a human can do for themselves, and fantasy literature gives me the greatest sense of joy out of any type of writing. As humans, we do so many things that we simply are required to do. Not everyone is an entrepreneur who loves their job 100% of the time. We need time to do things that we simply enjoy! For me, that means reading a fantasy novel while eating a snack at the dinner table, then moving that read fest to the couch, where things get a little more serious...or something like that.

Secondly, I read fantasy because it moves me. I agree with the trilobites that there was a dead time in fantasy, where the genre was completely overrun by poorly written Dungeons and Dragons themed writing, where the fighting was more important than the character. However, I think the 21st century fantasy writers have brought new life to the genre as a whole! There are fantasy novels that I read that make me tear up, novels that make me laugh out loud, novels that make me contemplate deeper issues concerning human choices and the future of the world, and the list goes on. Fantasy LITERATURE is being written in the world today, and it is worth being read because the writers are telling excellent stories about real fallible characters.

Thirdly, I read fantasy because it takes me back. I started reading fantasy without knowing that it was a genre that could be explored. I read the Chronicles of Narnia, A Wizard of Earthsea, and the Song of Albion series. Then, in my freshman year of high school, I saw my Latin teacher reading The Eye of the World...He let me borrow it, and I devoured it. I then devoured The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn, and every other novel in the series I could get my hands on. From that point on, I knew that fantasy novels could be both interesting and exciting, both emotional and full of muscle, both clever and blunt. The formative years of my life were filled with fantasy novels, and it helped me become a better person for the current world.

So, if this post has a point (besides being written in a 5 paragraph form, since that is what I am teaching my students currently), it is twofold. Humans should be reading. Words leaping from a page into your eyes, burrowing into your brain and settling against your emotional center. Reading should be happening in every classroom, bedroom, and boardroom in the world. Finally, don't be prejudiced against a genre until you have read it. Storytellers are not limited to one genre, or only to classics that were written 200 years ago. There are writers living among us, and they have words to share and lessons to relate. Read them.