Too often, writers want to tie things up in bows. I, for one, am wary of tying things up too neatly. After a table reading, I frequently ask the writer to resist the urge to resolve their story precisely, leaving nothing to the listener's imagination.
I am also a fan of juxtaposing seemingly unrelated elements. I love how the mind jumps to fill in the gap. Isn't that the pleasure of engaging in an artistic experience? I liken it to viewing an impressionist painting. The object is not rendered precisely, and therefore, the viewer's mind must fill in the "missing" visual stimuli. I argue that this causes a deeper level of engagement. In contrast, a more realistic painting may require less engagement on the part of the viewer. There is nothing to fill in.
Finally, there is data to support my creative intuition. Scientists have found that exposure to "nonsense", or nonsensical elements, primes the human brain to seek patterns, freshens it anew to perception, and even causes sub-conscious learning. Check out this New York Times article on the topic: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/health/06mind.html?_r=1
Next time you set pen to paper, have the courage to remain in the ambiguous nature of reality. You may be doing a public service.
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Aaaah yes!
ReplyDeleteSome of my favorite nonsense gems:
"...Far and few, far and few
Are the lands where the Jumblies live:
Their heads are green and their hands are blue
and they went to sea in a sieve..."
from "The Jumblies" by Edward Lear
"...They dined on mince and slices of quince
which they ate with a runcible spoon;
and hand in hand at the edge of the sand
they danced by the light of the moon,
the moon, the moon --
they danced by the light of the moon."
from "The Owl & the Pussycat" -- Edward Lear
Love,
Ann
http://AnnBarczaySloan.blogspot.com