*Magnify*
SPONSORED LINKS
Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/12227
Fantasy: October 18, 2023 Issue [#12227]




 This week: On the Surface
  Edited by: Spirit HalloWaltz
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
         —Ernest Hemingway

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.
         —Ray Bradbury

We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.
         —Anais Nin


Word from our sponsor

ASIN: B07YJZZGW4
Product Type:
Amazon's Price: Price N/A
Not currently available.


Letter from the editor

Writing has been around for at least 3500 years.

That's a long time. Far longer than the axled wheel, but not as long as beer, which probably says something about our priorities.

The earliest known writing came from the same culture that invented beer: Sumer. (They didn't invent the axled wheel, though.) But what we know about written works from that long ago is necessarily biased in favor of media that can last, well, thousands of years: stone and clay. It's entirely possible, even likely, that writing developed earlier, and the true innovation of 3500 years ago was figuring out a way to make the writing survive the ravages of time.

When you take a moment to think about it, writing—and even the proto-writing such as the figures and symbols we've found painted on cave walls, some of which are as much as 10 times older than the Sumerian clay tablets—is a kind of magic.

You have a thought, so you express it. Before writing, that expression was spoken. It may impress itself upon the listener(s), but the original speech is lost in the void, forever. Writing changed all that. You make marks with some implement on some surface, and others who know the markings can know what it is you wanted to express, even over a stretch of space or time.

We take it for granted most of the time now, and we have other ways—recordings or video—to communicate, but the magic of writing endures... even if we're moving back toward proto-writing pictographs in the form of emoji.

One of the earliest known stories, the Epic of Gilgamesh (also Sumerian), deals, in part, with the titular hero/king questing for immortality. In this, he was denied.

Or was he?


Editor's Picks

Some fantasy writing for your reading pleasure:

 The Last Voyage of Havenlight  [18+]
IAM Impage Prompt - May 17, 2023 - The Dirigible - Revised
by Rodryn


 I Live There  [E]
A few ghosts never hurt anyone.
by Paul


 The Architects  [E]
Our creators
by Robert Hayes


 The Waiting  [E]
Hanston receives his first magical longsword
by Fletch


 Invalid Item  []

by A Guest Visitor


 Altered Reality  [E]
Flash Fiction 5-22-20 W/C 296
by QueenNormaJean Let's Go!Go!Go!


 In the Heart of Melody  [13+]
An orchestra played it music rose above the trees and floated through the forest.
by Prosperous Snow celebrating

 
Submit an item for consideration in this newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form

Word from Writing.Com

Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
         https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form

Don't forget to support our sponsor!

ASIN: B085272J6B
Product Type: Kindle Store
Amazon's Price: $ 9.99


Ask & Answer

Last time, in "Drawing on Reality, I discussed the core of reality in Fantasy.

The harsh reality is that no one had any comments.

So that's all for me for October! See you next month. Until then,

DREAM ON!!!



*Bullet* *Bullet* *Bullet* Don't Be Shy! Write Into This Newsletter! *Bullet* *Bullet* *Bullet*

This form allows you to submit an item on Writing.Com and feedback, comments or questions to the Writing.Com Newsletter Editors. In some cases, due to the volume of submissions we receive, please understand that all feedback and submissions may not be responded to or listed in a newsletter. Thank you, in advance, for any feedback you can provide!
Writing.Com Item ID To Highlight (Optional):

Send a comment or question to the editor!
Limited to 2,500 characters.
Word from our sponsor
ASIN: B083RZ37SZ
Product Type:
Amazon's Price: Price N/A
Not currently available.

Removal Instructions

To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.


Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/12227