The chaos of modern life

(Just a small thought regarding social media. The following are based in personal experiences, feelings and thoughts, not meant to offend anyone.)

As a modern writer, trying to be relevant and gain a lovely audience to enjoy my work, I find myself required to use social media. There are many people obsessed with the use of social media (Facebook, Instagram, twitter etc.) and others swearing off of them, calling them the devil. To be honest, I got into social media for shits and giggles as a teenager and stuck to it because it was the easier way to contact friends (especially the ones living too far away to reach). I still use it for that reason, but also as a means to expose my work to the light of the never ending Internet.

I believe firmly that a tool is just that, a tool. To be used in the best or worst way possible, depending on the person wielding it. The internet and social media are nothing but a tool, yet the way we choose to use them can affect our lives. Being a person with an extremely low self- esteem and self-value, I often find myself comparing my abilities, body and life with what people post on social media. I can’t even begin to explain how poisonous it is to think like that. I might be called sensitive for reacting in this way, but it is the truth for so many people. We are never satisfied with ourselves and strive to become better. Each journey is unique, happens in a different time frame and has a different set of goals. We must strive to realize it, admire the work others do and be inspired, but not put ourselves down for not being on their level. It requires a lot of self-talk and positivity.

Is the ultimate solution giving up social media? It might as well be, if it causes people to dysfunction emotionally because of them. I, for one, aim to use the tool properly and fight against myself and my negativity as much as possible. Social media is a great way to get inspired by seeing other creator’s work, connect with relatives and friends from far away and expose our own work. We should use them consciously and with a grain of salt, refusing to let them take over our lives and psyche. 

C.T.K.

A king with no throne

I walked towards the high security prison, determined to receive the information I wanted. After explaining to the guards that I had permission to enter, they let me approach the king’s cell. He sat on the white bedding at the corner of the cell, the walls and metal bars of it were covered with intricate curses, designed to hold him in. When he noticed me walk near him, he crossed his arms over his chest and smiled ironically. He wore the white clothing all prisoners wore and did not seem to have lost his spirit even in the face of death. I frowned lightly and stood right in front of the railings.

‘’What do you want Eserith?’’, every word he spoke was laced with irony.

‘’Is there a way to bring her back?’’, I asked, cutting straight to the chase. He chuckled and I noticed how humane and somehow older he looked, now that his eyes were not red. It looked like ten years were added on him and even his obsidian hair had a few grey strands.

‘’There is.’’

C.T.K.

(From book2: Era of wrath. Available on Amazon.com)

Why do I torture my characters?

All writers do it… Most readers love it. The reason a story is interesting is because a certain person gets thrown into awful situations and struggles to rise victorious (or at least alive) from them. The characters in a story, especially the main characters, are written in a specific way and get involved in various scenarios. These scenarios can be great or awful and that depends on the writer. You could have a great scenario in mind, but fail to give your characters a chance to interact properly in it, make them struggle, or throw some morality issues in there.

Protagonists are the main scape goats, since we get to read the story through their perspective. A protagonist should be a person that keeps moving forward no matter what, since his/her progression ties with the progression of the story. He/she can rise and fall, morals can deteriorate and reshape again, but he/she should never remain stagnant. Getting stronger or weaker, changing their mind or holding to their beliefs against other beliefs thrown against him/her. I love my protagonists and I love to torture them. It builds them up and backs up their actions, thoughts and power.

When writing book 5: Eyes of truth, I had the opportunity to truly describe a person chewed up and spit out by the entire world around him to a point that death was all he wished for. Yet he found the courage to carry on for the people he might be able to help. This character was the one with the most development I have ever written. ‘’Torturing’’ a character, in my opinion, is a great way to progress his/her story, but giving him a break here and there (a nice relationship, friendly or romantic, a success in plans), gives the reader a breather as well.

Let us remember that through struggles human beings rise up stronger than ever and become successful in the end.

(All opinions above are completely personal and not based in any sources.)

C.T.K.