Moses, The Light, & The Story

One of my Mother’s favorite expressions was, “Where was Moses when the light went out?”

Of course I’d answer, “I don’t know.”

To which Mother replied, “In the dark!” followed by laughter.

I never got the joke, but it does apply to writing.

When I write, I try to cover the who, what, where, when, and why.

So, in this case, who was with Moses? Was he by himself? With friends? With enemies?

What was he doing? Now don’t go getting nasty on me. Was he hiding from some evil presence? Baking a cake? At a dinner party?

Where was he? In the living room? In a cave? In a car? In jail? In a house of ill repute?

When did it happen? During the middle of the night? At his birthday party? On his honeymoon?

Once you have determined why he was where he was doing what he was doing, you can begin to write your story.

I leave it to you to decide the who, what, where, and when. That’s the outline. Now examine the why and start writing.

Tell me: Where was your Moses when the light went out?

If You Are An Aspiring Writer, Why Read The Bible?

“I don’t know the Bible. I’m Catholic and Catholics don’t know the Bible.” That person looked around the group and said, “They don’t.”

Sadly, that condition is not limited to just a few. (And by no means am I saying that all Catholics don’t know the Bible.) Expressions such as “the writing on the wall” come from the Bible (Daniel 5:5). I remember clearly when my creative writing professor asked our class to tell him where “through a glass darkly” came from. (1 Corinthians 13:12). He was taken aback when not one of us knew the answer. He recommended that we all start reading the Bible.

And for good reason.

An aspiring writer needs to read, read, and read. One book that needs to be read is the Bible.

The Bible, as literature, contains poetry, wisdom, intrigue, politics, sex, incest, war, murder, love, hate, adultery, travel adventures, dysfunctional families, sacrifice, greed, fools, kings, paupers, preachers, and on and on. Expressions of foreboding or the main character’s inability to grasp the obscured meaning of a situation are all ideas that can be found in the Bible. I feel safe in saying that there is no human condition, no plot twist, no emotion that is not there. The Bible is the story of the human condition and the inevitable consequences of our actions.

Some people read the Bible because of their religious beliefs. But regardless of an author’s religious beliefs, he/she must read the Bible. If an author knows the Bible, he/she will readily see Biblical allusions in modern literature and movies. Google the topic and see for yourself.

If an aspiring writer reads the Bible, perhaps he/she will be inspired. Pulling themes from the Bible into a story is not plagiarism, it’s what every good writer does, either intentionally or unintentionally. It can’t be helped. Bible stories are timeless.

So, I hate to hear an aspiring writer say they don’t know the Bible. For the author, it’s not a matter of belief. It’s a matter of perfecting one’s craft.

Kindle Short Story, “The Letters”

Just got my short story, “The Letters,” formatted and published for Kindle readers. Click here.

A Little Halloween Fiction

“Good evening. Could I see your driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance.”

“I hope you don’t have to have your license on you.”

“No, sir. It just has to be in the car with you.”

“Well, as you can see, I couldn’t get to it if it were on me. It’s in the glove compartment. My wife will get it and the other documents you need.”

“Thank you.”

“Was I breaking any laws? Speeding? Did I miss a road sign?”

“No, sir. It’s just that not every night that I see a person in a gorilla suit driving a car. I wanted to be sure you did have a license, that the car belonged to you, and that you had not been drinking.”

“I understand that completely.”

“I gather that the pumpkin next to you is your wife.”

“Yes, sir. That’s Maxine. We’re on our way to a Halloween party. I’ve always wanted to dress up in a gorilla suit for one of those things.”

Maxine managed to move her pumpkin skin enough so she could reach across the gorilla and hand the officer the documents.

“Here you go officer. I think everything is in order.”

“Thank you, mam. I don’t suppose your passengers would mind identifying themselves.”

The man in the back seat was wearing a pirate costume. Next to him a woman was wearing what appeared to be a ballerina costume.

“How about you, Mr. Pirate. What is your name?”

“I’m Walter Pidgeon. This lovely ballerina is my wife, Courtney. Say hello to the man, Courtney.”

“Hello, officer. You aren’t going to throw us in the clinker are you?”

“No, mam. I don’t think you are clinker bound tonight.”

“And Walter got it wrong. This is not a ballerina costume. I’m really Tinker Belle. You know the fairy from Peter Pan.”

“Yes, mam.”

“You know, officer, I’d like to get moving. This gorilla suit is beginning to itch in some very uncomfortable places.”

“I told him that thing would be an oven, but he just had to wear it. ‘Just once,’ he said.”

“You should have been a pirate. Took me just a few minutes to get this stuff on.”

“I can sprinkle some fairy dust on you. Will that help?”

“OK, OK. You can go in just a minute. But first I need to find my cell phone.”

“You’re getting a mug shot with your cell phone? I thought I hadn’t broken any laws.”

“You haven’t. Now, everybody say ‘cheese.’ They’re never going to believe this back at the station.”