When you wrote The Alchemist, did you think about and meticulously refine every metaphor and symbol, or did the words just happen upon the page?
Dear Mat,
I had a vision in my head, but I didn’t know before embarking into this story where it would lead me.
I think it’s impossible to completely control writing – because it is like life. You have an idea of where you want to get, but you never truly know which path will take you there.
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writing is like walking “you never truly know which path will take you there” it’s a soul connection.
Your writing witness about the lyrics from deep in your soul, just like Sara McLachlans music, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y23SxXsoJQ
Dear Jessica,
If you’re interested in the role of Mary Magdalen, you might want to look for some of the books by Margaret Starbird on this subject, most notably “The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail” (1993, Bear & Company). Or, if you’re more interested in investigating primary sources, you might have a look at “The Gospel of Thomas” and “The Gospel of Philip,” both part of the Nag Hammadi texts unearthed in Egypt in 1945, and “The Gospel of Mary Magdalen,” which first surfaced in Cairo in 1896. All very interesting.
Love,
Savita
A friend of mine and I have this ongoing discussion about this very subject: How much can the writer think about and plan metaphor and symbol – how conscious can they be of it – without ruining the book? There is no joy so great as when a character you are writing about catches you by surprise and commits and action which you suddenly realize has this far deeper, metaphorical, meaning. However 1) you can’t plan that. This sort of beauty is wholly organic, like a rose, it just sprouts, of a sudden, from the unconscious. And 2) if you are too aware of it, if you allow yourself to be too caught up in the symbol, you will get stuck, unable to move forward. At least this is my personal experience of it.
This is why I become so exasperated when I read literary criticism that goes a step too far in assuming that the critic can pinpoint, with precision, just what the writer intended. For often the beauty in a piece of writing – or in any work of art, for that matter – justs bursts forth. The intent “to create” is there, in the artists mind, in the artists heart, but the beauty (and by that I mean the metaphorical content) goes beyond even that intent. The immediacy and the splendor of the symbol transcends the will to create.
Therefore, as much as writers do sometimes draft and/or edit, we cannot say that just because a symbol is present, the author deliberately “planned” it in the sense of having contrived the mechanism or carefully calculated its effect. In my experience – little as that may be – these metaphors and symbols often just pop up there when one is writing; and they are sometimes so astounding that the author can do nothing but stop and stare in amazement, just as awed as the reader. This is, I think, the very nature of symbol: it arises from the subconscious realm, wherefrom it gains its power. One can contrive something that appears to function as a symbol, but if it does not arise from that subconscious realm, if it is not organic to the work itself, it will not wield that same magic.
And as for life and the paths we must take to get where we want or need to be – same, I suppose, for if we could map it all out in advance, or simply program the pre-planned destination into our GPS, there wouldn’t be any more surprises and life wouldn’t be very exciting anymore. So instead we each have this sort of divinely installed GPS that God gave us – the subconscious, otherwise known as intuition. Certainly it isn’t an infallible instrument – it comes with its peculiar challenges – but it is a lot more fun to navigate with than any roadmap or GPS.
This past week I have been planning a trip to London. My daughter and I are flying out on the night of Halloween. I’ve lived in London, at least for a brief period, so for me the trip is not that significant, or at least I don’t think it is. Furthermore, when I travel, I usually don’t do a lot of detailed planning. I may have a couple of destinations in mind, and those are usually not the typical tourist sites, but then the rest is just an adventure in wandering about. This time, however, I felt somehow compelled to plan, as though I absolutely must make the most of the two weeks we have. As well, I felt the pressure of “entertaining” another person, namely, my daughter. In essence, I felt like I have to plan where I’m going to take her and what we’ll be doing in order to insure that she will her enjoy herself and have most memorable journey. So, with this in mind, I’ve been scouring the web – things to do and see in and around London – and, as well, I purchased two travel guides, which for me, is rather unusual. So, last night I was lying in bed looking at these guides, marking sites to be seen, places to be visited, when suddenly I realized just how exhausting (and boring!) this whole undertaking was becoming. This is not the way I navigate in life, I suddenly thought, so why should I think my daughter’s path has to be so perfectly planned? Sure, I want to make the most of our trip, but at the same time, I really feel that the most important and memorable discoveries seldom lie at the end of pre-planned paths. So, though I’m not tossing the guides in the rubbish bin, I’m going to try to approach this trip much in the same manner I do when traveling alone: a map in my pocket, just in case, but allowing my feet to be guided primarily by intuition.
Love to you all!
Savita Vega
I like your approach to the trip. I felt like that when I went onto the Camino, I had no plans, people were looking at their maps in great details, I did not, because I did not know which way I was heading and it was not that important to me as long as I had a good day that was all that mattered.
I think, it is the constant creation that takes place continoualy and eternally in our Minds, Souls and Spirit. Logos into matter.
Thank you, Paulo Coelho, for the creation of such beautiful pieces of art, that go directly into our hearts.
LOVE,
THELMA
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