Parallel World or Dimension?

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My djinn world uses the same physical world we live in, on a different plane. Maybe I can explain it better with this example:  The djinn world shadows ours, and in someplaces it overlaps. They don't see us and we don't see them, except in the overlap.

Isn't a parallel world something separate entirely? With a copy of everything, including the people?

The other day I was editing and I hit a roadblock. (Sci-fi and Fantasy writers: Help me out here!) I keep writing about a parallel world, but do I really mean dimension?

Telescoping



via potterybarn.com



I shy away from posts about craft because, let's face it, I'm the noob around here...but I wanted to share something I learned from a writing power greater than myself (Tracy Marchini). This one trick she suggested waaay back in my first draft is the single most important thing I learned.

Telescope: Slide one element into another and strengthen the story.

• Telescope scenes to keep pacing strong.
• Telescope characters to create complexity.
• Telescope plot to keep tangents at bay.
• Telescope sentiments to increase tension.

I don't know if telescoping is an official writerly term or anything, but I like it. My secondary character/trickster, Seyhan, was three separate guys at one point. (Talk about a personality disorder, lol!)

Image by yasmapaz & ace_heart via Flickr

At first I couldn't see how to do it, but when I took away individual traits that didn't mesh, it worked out. Very well. So well that I couldn't stop myself from telescoping whenever I found a dry spot in the pacing, a darling floating in a paragraph on its own, a plot twist that needed more twisting... All those things didn't just jumble together either. They became clearer, as if I pulled them in for a closer look. I liken the theory to the Matruska doll of parallel universes. (Today's tie-in. :D) Multiple realities are layered into one whole which is greater than the sum of the parts. (Either that, or I should get out and smell the whatever-is-blooming-right-now. I've been in this chair too long. Do these words look like they're snaking around the page to you?)

Of course, I probably wouldn't have been able to telescope anything if I hadn't first poured it all out onto the page in the unadulterated first draft. I was hoping to avoid this step in my second ms, but now I realize a vital part of my writing process is the exploration of the story in long-hand.

Does anyone have tips on telescoping more efficiently?

Quantum Crazed & Crusader Challenged

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It's not just me who thinks we live in a warped universe. ;)

In honor of Rachael Harrie's First Crusader Challenge , I'm including the following about myself in today's post:

· one lie
· one interesting quirk
· one annoying habit
· one of my best character traits
· one of my favourite things in the whole world.

It's her fault for the bloviating/ fuliguline business, btw. :)

So, in 300 words or less, allow me to bloviate with my reasoning behind our hop into the rabbit hole of quantum physics:

I've been doing a bunch of reading lately about the multiverse, the many-worlds interpretation, M theory, and even dream analysis...because I'm linking it all to the fortunetelling aspect of my gipsy/djinn characters. However, reading the experts only gives me a headache, trying to unravel what they're explaining. I decided on reading some fiction instead.

To start, I picked up Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith and Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card. Both books were enough to keep me puzzled for a couple of days, pondering time paradoxes and parallel universes. Equally engrossing plotlines kept things rolling through though, with bite sized bits of how the theories work laced into the chapters.

Here’s my sci-fi/fantasy secret: I find these books enjoyable because they help me think outside the box, instead of following the norm in fuliguline fashion. One of my favorite things in the world is a book with a premise that makes me think. I have a habit of analyzing things for days after I put them down. I examine the individual blade of grass, and how it fits into the grand scheme, instead of just looking at the big picture. Ask my kids – it’s annoying – and yet they’re right there with me, watching Stargate for the millionth time, postulating how other myths might work in the series. Perhaps I’ve stumbled onto my best character trait, infectious curiosity… Now if I could pass on the quirk of rolling a toothpast tube properly, I'd be a happy woman indeed. :)

Unrelated celebrating:

The Science Channel has purchased the rights to Firefly! Read what Nathan Fillion says about that here.

And the winner of a signed copy of Across the Universe by Beth Revis is...

K.O. - The Insect Collector

...with Harput castle! So Friday's post will be about her castle.

Congrats!

Related Articles:

• Sarah Fine - Marbury Lens: The Bounds of the Real
• Matthew Rush - Andrew Smith Interview
• Is Relativity Hard? (blogs.discovermagazine.com)
• The Multiverse, Quantum Immortality and the Meaning of Life (scitechexplained.com)

Obliviate

Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
via Wikipedia

What happens when you write parallel worlds? You, your MC, and your readers select a favorite....and then you have to deal with the one left behind. To be sure, there must be some good in the universe you started with, for example, a loved one...unless you subscribe to the usual theory of high mortality rates for parents and caregivers in YA fiction. Barring that convenience, how do you explain away a character's entire world?

JK Rowling has an answer. (Doesn't she always?)

"Obliviate."

For me, the best of scene of Harry Potter 6.5 was a Hermione moment. The one where she "Obliviates" her parents. In one selfless, excruciating minute, she removes herself from their memory, wiping her image from every photo, so they won't mourn if she never returns. (It's a trick I wish I could use for my MC, but never will.)

Hermione's fix only works on the people left behind though, not the character doing the leaving. But I suppose she could siphon off her memories and store them for the Pensieve....(Another JK Rowling gem!) Better save a back-up file for those.

In fact, I think switching universes is a bit like switching software programs. Except when you have too many applications open, things start crashing (laundry backs up and plot holes expand). Trade universes for countries or states and you'll see many people deal with the dilemma on a regular basis. The price of being a Pomegranate...

Related articles

• Harry Potter series from Hermione's point of view: (mublag.boinkor.net)
• Emma Watson: I Know Hermione Better Than I Know Myself (huffingtonpost.com)

Many Worlds Interpretation

Image via WikipediaWikipedia:

Many-worlds is a postulate of quantum mechanics that asserts the objective reality of the universal wavefunction, but denies the reality of wavefunction collapse, which implies that all possible alternative histories and futures are real —each representing an actual "world" (or "universe").

Can someone help me make sense of this jibberish?

Sounds like the storylines in my head, if I think about it. I can take my MC down different paths, or retrace and try another. I'm sure most writers will agree that it's a really neat feeling. However, I'm more interested in the Pandora/Narnia type parallel universe for my novel.

I have a way for my MC to occassionally eavesdrop between the parallel universes, because I want the reader to keep track of time and consequence. But is it necessary? I wonder... Storyline A didn't need storyline B, until I created the opportunity. Yet I have three saved versions of my novel, so they do exists sided by side on my bookshelf.

Just babbling today...

Related articles

• Victor Stenger: The Myth of Quantum Consciousness (huffingtonpost.com)