Good characters should write their own script, I.e., tell you what to write. Alan Kitty, Executive Director Mark Twain Education Society “Laughter can shatter the most colossal humbug; blow it to rags and atoms with a single blast.” Sent from my iPhone > On Sep 2, 2020, at 6:54 PM, Martha Sherwood <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > A woman of my acquaintance who writes young adult fiction professionally > mentioned a case where she and several other writers in that genre > simultaneously came up not only with the same plot but with very specific > details about the characters which were novelties in YA fiction at the time > - they were not collaborating. She also mentioned something that I have > noticed in my own attempts to write fiction: the feeling that a character > you created has taken charge of the plot and is writing his or her own > script. Sometimes it feels as if a real person is trying to make contact > with the writer telepathically though one would be dismissed as a crackpot > to suggest this actually occurs. > >> On Wed, Sep 2, 2020 at 1:33 PM Alan Kitty <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >> I believe Twain referred to the phenomenon as “mental telegraphy.” >> >> A conversation begins about someone no one has seen for years, and >> suddenly that person walks into the room. You may think of someone for no >> particular reason and the next moment, the telephone rings and they are on >> the other end of the line. Or consider the strange reality of an invention >> being thought of concurrently in different parts of the world, followed by >> a rash of that device appearing on the same day at the patent office. >> >> Possible relevance here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2142320.pdf >> >> These coincidences may be examples that prove the existence of a >> collective consciousness. Gene Roddenberry called it “The Borg.” A >> sociologist or philosopher might call it an applied example of Human >> Nature. Concurrent thoughts and deeds in different places may lead to >> inevitable events that we call coincidence, or “mental telegraphy.” >> >> Perhaps the simplest example occurs when close friends come up with the >> same thought simultaneously. The most mind-boggling example may be found in >> the idea that in an infinite universe, there are infinite possibilities. >> This means it Is possible that another you is thinking exactly the same >> thing at exactly the same moment a hundred billion light years away. >> >> If this is possible, as Astrophysicists claim it is, it is reasonable to >> expect someone you haven’t seen in twenty years to be calling you at the >> moment you think their name. >> >> Try it now. Sit quietly. Empty your mind. Think of a name. Focus. Wait >> five minutes. Then call them and ask if hey have been thinking about you >> too. >> >> Alan Kitty, Executive Director >> Mark Twain Education Society >> >> “Laughter can shatter the most colossal humbug; blow it to rags and atoms >> with a single blast.” >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >>>> On Sep 2, 2020, at 1:14 PM, Martha Sherwood <[log in to unmask]> >> wrote: >>> Interesting article. I'm curious about people on this academic list who >>> personally believe in mental telepathy. I know I do - there are too many >>> instances in my own life for which it is the simplest common explanation, >>> though each individual incident has another possible explanation. >>> >>> Martha Sherwood. >>> >>>> On Wed, Sep 2, 2020 at 5:21 AM Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >>>> >>>> Mark Twain’s religious beliefs may have changed over time, but there is >>>> one thing he always firmly believed in: telepathy. Chantel Tattoli tells >>>> the story< >>>> >> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://micahmattix.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=09f1740da57f3d9169001129e&id=725abdcb28&e=bc9c5fd0d0__;!!K543PA!Y3ugyr6tBTzdvP78jSxG9f82CiKgsZ_VTIDvB-eE75rnHXTnP078smxhmI_tUc8$ >>> >>>> in The Paris Review: >>>> >>>> >>>> https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2020/08/25/mark-twains-mind-waves/< >>>> >> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2020/08/25/mark-twains-mind-waves/__;!!K543PA!fgtIWyDzJge-z4Yd1p78CJE51-UjJhCqByJ_zpYdFNin8A3kpp48Pl9oOUzQT5w$ >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ >>>> >>>> >>>> Dr. Hal Bush >>>> >>>> Professor of English & >>>> >>>> Director of the Undergraduate Program >>>> >>>> Saint Louis University >>>> >>>> [log in to unmask] >>>> >>>> 314-977-3616 >>>> >>>> http://halbush.com >>>> >>>> author website: halbush.com >>