I have the pleasure of hosting Debra K. Dunlap today while on her blog book tour for her young adult fantasy, Fallon O'Reilly and the Ice Queen's Lair.
My family lived in the Alaskan wilderness when I was a child and my mother homeschooled me during first grade. As soon as she explained that the marks on paper represented sounds, I grasped the concept of reading and books hooked me for life. I wrote my first novel at the age of 11 or 12, pounding it out on a toy typewriter. Although the 25-page novel disappeared (thankfully!), my love of stories remained.
After attending the Muse Online Writer’s Conference, I felt inspired to begin putting stories in a more permanent form than my imagination. During the Conference, I learned of NaNoWriMo and resolved to rise to the challenge of writing 50,000 words in a month. Fallon’s story had been rattling around in my head for some time and NaNo provided the opportunity to begin writing. I did write 50k words in a month and went on to write another 25 thousand to complete the book.
During the same period of time, my oldest son came to visit from his home in Japan. I live in Wyoming, where the summers are very hot and dry. Like many Wyoming residents, I use a “swamp cooler.” For those who have never seen a swamp cooler, it’s a big vented metal box. Water runs into the box bottom through a small tube and a fan inside the box blows cold humid air into your house. I love swamp coolers! My sons frequently complained of the cold temperature in my living room, where the swamp cooler rested in a window. One night as we prepared to eat pizza and watch a movie, my oldest son called to his brothers. “C’mon, guys. The movie’s ready. Time to head into the Ice Queen’s lair.”
Voila! Instant book title. It need only a character name to become Fallon O’Reilly & the Ice Queen’s Lair.
Imagination
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
-Albert Einstein
(14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955)
When one of the most brilliant minds to ever live on our planet speaks, it behooves us all to consider his words. Imagination is more important than knowledge. This quote grabbed my attention the first moment I read it. What does it really mean? What relevance does this have to me as a writer? To you?
If you type the phrase into an online search engine, you will be astounded by the number of links to debates about the relative importance of imagination and knowledge. I prefer to avoid the debates and consider what Einstein’s words mean to me. How could the man who developed the theory of relativity believe imagination more important than knowledge? Did he not spend years studying physics and mathematics? Did he not devote his life to expanding his own knowledge?
Of course he did. Yet, it was Einstein’s imagination that allowed him to envision the problems that led to solutions in the form of his splendid theories. Knowledge is limited. Imagination knows no boundaries. Unlimited imagination applied to the limits of knowledge expands the limits of knowledge to produce new ideas, new theories, new inventions. A mouthful, I know, but think about it.
Why? How come? What if? These questions are familiar to parents, grandparents and anyone who listens to children. As we age, the mundane world tends to stultify our view of a world full of miracles and wonderment. Many of us gradually come to believe only one correct way exists to accomplish our tasks. We schedule our lives and conduct our daily work in the same place at the same time in the same way, day after unimaginative day.
That’s frightening! It is particularly troubling when one considers how much our children learn from us. No reasoning person wants to raise a world full of dull, unimaginative children, so shake it up! Skip the Wednesday-meatloaf-night routine and have kung pao chicken with baklava for dessert. Drive a new route to work and see new sights. Give your children Clan of the Cave Bear names (kudos to Jean Auel) and narrate a fight for your survival as you walk through a winter snow.
Perhaps writers, as well as other artistic types, intuitively grasp the importance of imagination in our lives. Yet, we can all benefit from expanding our horizons and adding new things to our repertoire. Learn a new language or sign up for a cake-decorating class. Take on online computer class. Teach yourself to knit or change a tire. Expand the limits of your knowledge and loose the reins of your imagination.
Mayhap Einstein’s ideas will lead you to write the next bestseller.
Where can readers find information about you and your book?
MuseItUp Publishing plans to release the book in October 2010. For the time being, you can find information at the publisher’s website.
You can also find me at the following addresses:
Feel free to email me at
dkd@debrakdunlap.com
