Believing the Impossible

15 March 2010 | Filed Under Creativity, Tales from the Author's Desk 


The Cheshire Cat, from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland

As I mentioned last Monday, my book club went to see Alice in Wonderland. Finally, a world that fits Tim Burton perfectly. The movie was okay – not spectacular – but I prefer the SyFy special Alice as far as Wonderland sequels go.

I did fall in love with several lines, including the Hatter’s admonishing that Alice had lost her “muchness.” But the exchange I keep coming back to in my head is cruelly cut off in trailers and reviews.

“Alice: This is impossible.
Hatter: Only if you believe it is.
Alice: Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.
Hatter: That is excellent practice.”

Our job as writers is to believe in the impossible, and then show that world to others. But as with everything, we need to practice. It’s no good being lazy and believing in possible things – they may have been impossible at one point, but no longer. We must find new impossible things instead.

After all, we don’t want to be accused of losing our “muchness,” do we?

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    Hi, I'm Jenn, new grad student and old YA fantasy writer. I've long dreamed of being a novelist, and I bet you have too. I hope you find my blog helpful, inspiring, and maybe just a little bit fun. (But not too much fun. Writing is serious business, you know.)

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