Mid-Willamette Fiction Writers

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There was an article in "The Week " awhile ago entitled "They Lived To Tell The Tale." It was about people who met disasters that killed many others and from which they managed to survive. A man on a car ferry traveling from Estonia to Sweden, for instance. He awoke to a sudden bang. The ship was listing. Things got worse. He kept expecting the people aboard to panic -- they did not. In fact, many did pretty much nothing. They were pale and disorientated and frozen. In the end, of the 989 people aboard the boat, nearly two thirds didn't even make it off the ship.

The point of the article was why some people survive life threatening disasters and some don't. A man named John Leach, a leading expert on survival psychology, has developed what he calls the "Theroy of 10-80-10." Loosley translated, it means 10 percent of us will react to a crisis with a calm, rational state of mind, 10 percent of us will go bonkers, and 80 percent of us will turn into zombies.

Amazing, isn't it?

The conclusion one expert reached was to compare parachuting survival tactics to every other crisis: 1. Relax. Stay calm. Loosening up the tension can free the brain to THINK. 2. Remember where you are. I.e., orientate yourself to your situation. 3. Never give up.

What's this got to do with writing? Tonight I happened to turn into the last few moments of Back To The Future III. Have you seen the movie? It's an adventure, so the last half hour is pretty much a race against the clock. It goes on and on. Usually, I get bored and tune out, but tonight I thought about the fact that the clumsy teacher loved the whacky scientist and was willing to risk everything to get to him before it was too late. She stayed calm, she stayed focused, she orientated herself to her situation and she didn't give up.

Titantic, the movie. The ship is sinking. The end goes on and on and on. Jack stays as calm as he can, he stays focused, he orientates himself to the shifting situations (as does Rose) and he doesn't give up.

Wait. My last book. Not just my book. Everyone's book. The hero and the heroine find a calm center despite their fear or terror or heartbreak. They focus on what is really important, on what will save them and the ones they love. And THEY NEVER GIVE UP.

As a nod to recent blogs and discussions I will add this (wildly paraphrasing as I go.) Bruce Springsteen, on the John Stewart show, responded to a question about audience expectations by saying that when he gives a concert he knows he's playing to many different audiences. There are the people who are coming to hear a favorite song. There are people who come to identify with his message, political or otherwise, and others who want to hear something new. The point is, there are many different audiences but only one performance. And that is true of us as writers as well.