My Process: Research

So my last post was originally intended as the first incarnation of this one, but I meandered away from the original topic just a bit. This post also a bit out of order, as research and preparation should come before the outlining part of the planning process. However, my research has turned into ongoing study rather than just a starting point, as I feel I can only absorb so much analysis of Greek mythology at a time. Also, I think it’s been helpful to continue sifting through information as I’m preparing the outline, to see if there’s anything about what I’ve planned so far that needs a bit of tweaking and whatnot.

As I’ve hinted at before, I’m doing an adaptation of a few Greek mythological stories, with focus in particular on The Rape of Persephone. All in all, it’s presented as a fairly straightforward story, a kidnapping that results in vengeance and compromise with Hades as the cruel antagonist, Persphone as the innocent victim, Demeter the anguished hero, and Zeus the ambivalent puppet master. However, in it straightforwardness, it ignores both Zeus’ and Hades’ motivations in orchestrating Persephone’s kidnapping. It noticeably omits Persephone’s own feelings toward her mother, her kidnapper, and the ultimate compromise the two come to about her that see her sharing her time between the underworld and the earth. It also paints Demeter as someone who feels nothing for anyone but her own daughter, and even those feelings themselves are incredibly problematic. In this myth alone there are so many possibilities to explore, characters to fill out into multiple dimensions, a different setting to expand into in terms of different cultural complexities. This is where I begin.

And, this is where my thoughts on authenticity in story-writing and my research have intersected. Obviously, the story I’m planning is not an original one; it’s an adaptation of a well known myth. So while I scour JSTOR and other literary criticism to inform the historical context of where this myth comes from (and learn all about pomegranates), I have also been reading a lot of fan fiction. And while this may seem laughable or even strange, it has been very informative as to how I want to shape my Persephone and my Hades, my Zeus and my Demeter (also, let’s be honest with ourselves, a good deal of what’s being written at this point in literary history is fan fiction in some way). It’s been so interesting to see how other writers develop the relationships (or don’t develop them) between the major players from the myth, how these relationship inform how the story ultimately plays out, what they add, what they take away, if they alter the plot at all. What I found most surprising is how very few of theses fan fiction authors don’t choose to change the setting of the story as I’ve planned to, and the ones that do have done so in very different settings than mine. This is where my discussion in the last post has given me comfort – I may not be writing something completely original, but I am writing something different.

And that gives me courage to keep going in the direction I’ve pointed myself in.

Originality Versus Authenticity

“Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent.” – Jim Jarmusch

I don’t often rely on inspirational quotes; more often than not if I’m going to quote something it will be a particular good piece of writing  which showcases what I aspire to equal some day. But this particular quote often gives me comfort when I start second-guessing myself and makes me think about what is really important to me when it comes to my writing. I think it can also apply to discussions about the role of influence and adaptation in creating new work.

It popped into my head last night when my boyfriend shared a potential story idea and asked if I thought it had been overdone. It was a sentence of a premise. Simple. Maybe six words total. So I asked him for more details, which he hadn’t given much thought to. He had just stopped at whether or not the idea had been done by someone else, whether or not his idea was original. But I don’t think the originality of the idea was important – as vague as it was, of course it wasn’t. And that fact alone would have been enough to discourage him from pursuing what could be a very interesting story.

Given the amount of created work that exists today, it’s difficult to free oneself completely from influence. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. As original we might think some of our favorite stories, our favorite tales, our favorite books are, on some level they all resemble each other (here I cite Joseph Campbell). The same with any other art form. There  are basic building blocks which we use to create, whether that be movements, a pen and paper, a keyboard, paint and ink. And while there may be infinite ways to combine one or all of these into a work of art, we see and absorb the art that comes before us and use that as a starting point, whether to spring from or deconstruct or reject completely.

So can we really call something original anymore? Isn’t everything a reaction to something, either positive or negative? Aren’t we all just producing work that is a response, either conscious or unconscious, to that which we have previously absorbed? I mean, all works are original in sense of the source of creation. A story I write is an original from me, but it’s not original in a larger sense; that story contains elements from various other sources that I’ve combined in a new way. It’s kind of like a creative Frankenstein monster, really.

Again, I don’t think this is a bad thing. While originality may not actually exist, what we create can be authentic and true. The role of influence does not mean what we create is not different, is not equally as interesting, is not worthy of praise. In some ways, it can actually add meaning and depth, creating the means to expand on previous work. Is this not what adaptations between different mediums and fan fiction attempt to do? Just because something is not original or is based off another work does not mean it is a copy or theft; it’s an expansion, a tribute. It’s a completely different work.

So I don’t think anyone should get stuck on whether what they’re creating is “original” or not. I say just go with it. Let your creative monsters free.