A Veil and White Lace

I have watched several episodes of a television show in which brides choose their wedding dresses. Not surprisingly, many of them express that they want their dress to be modern, edgy, sexy, anything but “traditional”. Generally, they all have different ideas of what traditional means. In their efforts to break with tradition, none of them seem to consider that the marriage ceremony they crave is the oldest tradition of all. Though honestly, Adam and Eve had the most untraditional wedding of all, and there was no trouble choosing a dress for the occasion.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with having a personal preference or sense of style. Putting one’s own spin on things is usually a positive good. The world would be a very boring place if we were all the same. Wedding styles change, but the reason for them endures.

Writers often spend a great deal of time searching for a voice all their own. We develop favorite words and phrases that we use (and sometimes overuse) regularly. The words we choose make sense to us because they convey a particular meaning. Even when traditional usage changes, the meaning remains. The word “gay” is no longer used as it once was. However, it still means bright, lively, and merry and can be understood in that context.

It is a writer’s job to express ideas their way. Nevertheless, to stray from traditional usage and structure is more akin to suicide than making a breakthrough in literary style. Tradition is not a prison. It’s a means of keeping ideas, words, and people from disappearing. About this point, some writer is thinking, “Oh yeah, what about Dr. Seuss and Lewis Carroll?”

To reply to a question with a question: “What exactly is a Jabberwock, a jubjub bird or a Bandersnatch? References rightfully call The Jabberwocky a nonsense poem. Nonsense is probably not the goal of most writers. However, evoking mental pictures to tell a story is. Carroll’s nonsense creates images for something with no basis in reality. Yet we see the nonsensical creature in traditional images expressed in traditional words. A writer can’t do better than that.

Writing has its traditions. They are neither good nor bad. They are a warehouse packed with resources free for every writer to use. Throwing away tradition doesn’t change the world. Employing it in new ways does.

Jack LaFountain

Author "Moon" series, Mann of God series.