That A Blind Man Can See... Part I

borrowed from: gothunts.com

This little entry (which may end up as a chapter novel when I'm done) somewhat answers my question from my previous post, but also looking at one of my greatest failings as a writer.

I often enough wrestle with a trio of terrible Kodiaks: imparting truths to the best of our knowledge, imparting positive messages, imparting rationality and probability for events.

They whys:

Truths to the best of our knowledge - well, this goes back to a previous post as well as feeding into the positive messages category.  However, to illustrate my point, I have to praise my brother for a moment.  My brother has always been a genius to me.  Britannica has nothing on his voluminous knowledge.  I remember one afternoon my brother and I were watching something about planes and jets and I made some random comment about how they move through the air.  I was then treated to a litany about propellers thrusting air over the wing and the tear drop shape creating low pressure systems.  But what i remember most was that one of my little toys only had a port for flame and no turbine.  I remember my brother explaining how flame has no thrust to it, and that if this were such an engine it couldn't work.  A few years later after walking out of Mission to Mars from the Century 24 Movie Theater, my brother taught me about Gravity.

2000 movie poster

Ion Engines and solar sails for no better reason than -- well than I was in the car with him and he felt like discussing space travel and he felt the movie got more than a little wrong.  I wonder how he felt about

Positive messages - As someone who wants to work in the realm of the media it's important to promote that which we want to see in our society.  The media both influences and reacts to societal values.  A very important part of the whole media dynamic that it seems so many have forgotten.  People blame this TV show or that video game for its effects -- and then others argue against the claim.  It seems that we're trying to mitigate  Cultivation Effect and the value of role models (virtual or incarnate).  I'm sure everyone can point to a few role models that make us cringe.

Combining the first two massive bears brings me to my third bear, rationality of events.  I find science fascinating and I like things to be perceivable.  When things don't make sense (like in Avatar: The Last Air Bender why does the fire nation have the ability to make lightning and not the air nation when lightning is created by high vibration of winds in a storm?), it tends to pull me out of the story.  I like the fantasy to be bound in the realm of possibility otherwise it goes beyond fantasy and hits absurdity -- which has its own place as well.

So, then, what's this grand revelation that I've had?  Great question.  But consider, first, what are some of the Kodiaks that haunt your writing?