Apologies for the late hour! When I said 'a tad later,' I didn't envision this much later. Out of town and back again and just now catching my breath!
So.
We’re all pretty much in consensus? On the same page here?
Or... not so much.
But really, this is great. Wonderful. And I know I sound like a broken record, but your comments, your insights are so smart, so... insightful. Really generous. And fun!
Thank you for still being here and for debating and for raising so many interesting points. Coming back and finding all this to shift through is very nice.
That said, here you all are. And here I am- holding the same debate with myself I tend to in the middle of story. Should I, or should I not, let you inside this writer’s POV?
I worry that if I do, I’m taking a fun element out of this whole process for those of you who enjoy piecing it together.
I worry that if I don’t, I risk alienating readers who will just get frustrated with what feels ‘missing’ or ‘off.’
That isn’t to say that sharing my POV solves all of the issues raised here. Goodness, no! (Though... wouldn’t that be nice??) Because you still would and could, and are indeed welcome to, disagree with my choices.
And these are choices, definitely. I’ve been very intentional, very deliberate, in how I want to unravel this. And thus far, you haven’t thrown anything at me that has given me that panicked, ‘Oh, crap, why didn’t I think of that?!’ moment- my least favorite writer’s moment. Though that doesn’t mean you won’t. And I’ll certainly fess up if you do.
Also, this is still fluid, still very much a WIP, so all thoughts and comments are really valuable- whether or not I agree or disagree, use them or don’t. They make me sharper, make me look close at What I Intended vs How It’s Perceived.
With that in mind, Sheila, I want to assure you how much I appreciate your comments, every one of them. You have been gracious in your praise, well stated and well argued in your criticism, and I couldn’t ask for better than that. I don’t want you to worry you’re hurting my feelings.
Ok. The writer’s POV on Clark and why he isn’t recognized. My take. Read on only if you're interested! (And some of you have hit right on it.)
Two hundred years into the future and he has been idolized by Utopia’s citizens to shiny perfection. While the Lane-Kents may well know better, that there was a man, a real person, underneath the cape, a Utopian citizen in the year... hmm... 2193 might lack that insight. In short, over centuries, the man who saved the world has grown into legend, into myth. I think AnKs said 'fable.' And that is just exactly right.
The Clark Kent who has arrived in the Superman Museum, on the other hand, has been Superman -at this point in his own time line- exactly once.
In part one, he is hovering over EPRAD after the shuttle rescue and he has a moment before he goes down to greet what he knows will be a media circus. He’s proud of what he has done. Glad for what he will be able to do and the choice he has made. Still somewhat uncertain how to operate in the guise, if he can pull it off.
He hovers, sees the waiting crowds... and hesitates.
Would a Utopian citizen be able to imagine that moment in the now well-known, oft repeated ‘Superman debut’ story? A story they could probably recite in their sleep? Much the same way I can tell you that George Washington crossed the Delaware and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon- all without pausing to reflect on what exactly these people were thinking and feeling during those crucial moments.
I think the answer is no. And I don’t think that’s a sad thing. I think it means that even two hundred years of close, intensive scrutiny and absolute adoration later, Clark Kent managed to keep something of himself private. Off-limits. Between his family and himself. He was eventually exposed as Superman, but that doesn’t mean they knew all there was to know about him.
As for why Silas doesn’t see the resemblance- that goes to Silas’s own issues, which I hope will become more clear as we go.
That’s my opinion tossed all over the place. What do you think?
Big, heartfelt thank yous to each of you. I have loved reading your thoughts, can’t tell you often or well enough.
Part 8 coming up. I have kids to tuck in and commas to frown over, but I promise it will be here before Thursday becomes Friday!
CC
