Day in the Life of an Idiot

In Stephen King's ON WRITING, he has this great little bit about how writing is awesome because it's like time-traveling telepathy. I read his example, and I thought, yeah. He's nailed it, that's pretty much how it is. I'm thinking it now; you're reading it later. Cool.

Except, when I get my revisions from my editor, it hits me. You can only read my mind if I actually tell you what I'm thinking. And, depending on who you are, I might even have to spell out things that I don't bother thinking because they seem so patently OBVIOUS to me.

Telepathy: Fail.

I think, too, this is why a lot of authors think their editors are morons. We utterly fail to spell out critical details (which seem so CLEAR in our own minds,) and they write to say they didn't see it coming. And, my first response is: "What, are you some kind of idiot!? I clearly... oh, wait. I didn't actually SAY that anywhere in the text. I just knew it to be true, so I thought you would too. Um."

But, on the flipside (and to be fair to both sides of telepathy: fail), it can be irritating when you, the writer, feel like all the subtlety is being lost because you're writing in 2 x 4s for every ah-ha character moment, etc. because the editor doesn't share your brain cells. Especially when your writers' group had no problem with said issue(s), which only exaserbates the sensation that your editor is a complete dolt.

Alas, my editor is not a dolt, or a moron, or an idiot. I only feel like she is because, in reality, I'm the moron, and she only managed to quite astutely noticed all the missing bits in my thought process.

*sigh*

On Saturday, I went to an event organized by haddayr and a friend of hers on Facebook, which was an awesome antidote to all the stupidity about 9/11. Instead of burning books, we gathered to _read_ them. When I left there weren't many of us, but I don't think that's what mattered. It was cool to sit in Minihaha park and read aloud the words of the Holy Qur'an (in translation.) Which, is quite literally, poetry (even in English.) I read my favorite bit, which is the story of Iblis/Satan which, among other things, illustrates Allah's awesome mercy. In the Christianity that I was exposed to, there's very little sense that God and Satan are anything other than enemies, forever. (Unless, of course, you actually read Job, in which it's quite clear that Satan goes to heaven on a regular basis to chat with G-d.)

In the story in the Holy Qur'an, Allah makes Adam from clay and asks all the angels to bow down before his new creation. Iblis, thinking this is a test of his loyalty, refuses, saying, basically, I will bow only to you, Allah. (Though in the passage I read on Saturday, it's about pride. He says that fire, which he's made of, is superior to mud.) At any rate, Allah tells him he screwed up and banishes him. This, understandably fuels Iblis' hatred for humanity. But, IMHO, the EVEN COOLER part is that Iblis asks to be forgiven on the last day. Allah _agrees_.

That's right. Even Satan/Iblis is forgiven by Allah, the All Merciful.

How cool is THAT??

I think it's incredible, and it's sickening that anyone would take a book with this wonderful story in it and destroy or deface it in any way. Which is why I've decided that whenever I refer to this book, I will use the honorific "Holy." I will also promise to make a similar nod of respect to the other religions of the book and refer to the bible as the Holy Bible, etc. Although do you call the Torah holy? Well, I will for now, until someone corrects me.

Even though these are not my religions by far, I think that I'd rather err on the side of respect. It's that whole crazy idea I heard someone say somewhere before... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Or as our Muslim friends say it, "That which you want for yourself, seek for mankind."