Round vs. Square

Every time I start a new series, I start creation of a new world. It's time consuming work. As a creator, I have Mystic Valley, planet Avalon, planet Elyria, and now Cabhán Geal to my credit. Each world must be distinct with its own flora, fauna, people, monetary system, government, and cultural rules. If I repeat too many of the variables, then the readers write to me about that. One fellow writer pointed out that I seem to have a lot of CAVES in my books. Or cavern-like substitutes. Of course, in a primitive setting there aren't very many ready-made shelters other than caves. And most of characters--at one time or another--end up in primitive settings.

I suppose that's a recurring theme I explore--man against nature. It's not usually convenient for the purposes of the story to provide a tent or other dwelling.

My friend maintains I'm figuratively trying to return to the security of the womb. I'm not convinced. But her comment did make me more conscious of my 'cave' settings.

The earliest shelters man contrived outside of the caves were round or dome shaped. Even today, primitive societies live in round huts and tents. The more 'civilized' the society the more corners are incorporated in their shelters. I wonder why that is.

Corners aren't very useful except as storage. We don't sit in corners. Unless a room is very small, we don't sleep in corners. No...corners are reserved for 'things' and usually, those things are storage containers of one sort or another. So maybe that's the purpose of corners. The more stuff we acquire, the more corners we require for the storage of our stuff.

My characters don't have much stuff when their stories begin. And as they acquire stuff through the story, it's always a problem of how to deal with their new acquisitions. Maybe...my stories don't reflect an instinctive return to the womb, but rather how man copes with the constant proliferation of possessions.

Anny

Life in a Dome

A friend recently pointed out a strange phenomenon in my books. In all of them the people live in some sort of underground/cave/dome/cabin. As she said, "What's up with that?" And I was forced to admit, "I don't know."



She accused me of being a secret hobbit. (My editor would specify a blue hobbit.) Perhaps she's right.



I suffer from claustrophobia so perhaps it's my way of coping with that. See? Small spaces are really okay...



The more I think about it, the more I'm puzzled by it. What is this strange attraction I have for caves and underground spaces? I teased her by telling her it was a metaphor for the womb, but that could be close to the truth. Safety. Peace. Quiet. Don't we all long for those things?



It isn't only in books. As claustrophobic as I am in stores and malls and other huge spaces, I love caverns. Yesterday I mentioned Carlsbad Caverns, but that was just one of many caves I've explored. I would be happy living in a cave. So I suppose a dome provides the best of both worlds. Temperature control with a cave-like ambiance.



Most of my life I lived in flat places. Realllly flat. Then we moved to upstate New York and I discovered caves and the man-made equivalent. There is much speculation about the many rock shelters that are scattered around the Hudson Valley. Several books have been written about them and their possible origins. For the first time in my live I felt a sense of homecoming when I walked into the first one I found.

My personal belief system doesn't include reincarnation, but I do believe that certain memories are ingrained in our genetic code. Was that what I was experiencing? As long as I lived in New York, there were certain places that I felt kinship with. They were always dark woodsy areas with ancient stone walls weaving among the trees. Whenever I would catch a glimpse of that type of area a distant chord of familiarity would chime.

Baltimore, where I live now, is very hilly, but it doesn't stike that same chord. I have traveled all over the United States through a lot of mountainous terrain, but no other mountains have quite the same feel to them. No other caves or stone huts or rock walls call to me like those in the Hudson Valley. So perhaps there is a primal memory at work. Maybe that's why domes and caves and underground dwellings call to me.

I don't know. But I'll be thinking about it. A lot.

Anny

Don't forget to check in at Kelly's blog for her Sunday Quote at www.kkirch.blogspot.com and then go on over to Amarinda's Place where she will discuss a variety of topics that Kelly suggested for my blog. Since I declined them...well drop by www.amarindajones.blogspot.com and see what Amarinda makes of them. Blessings on your day!