 Literature has jargon, the specialized language of any Discipline.
Therefore Literature, as a Discipline, holds its own terminology: A Fable is a simple story with a moral, or a moral lesson. An Epic is a bigger story with a greater point. My Epic Fables on the ELASTIC LIMIT OF TIME are both. A Short Story is just that, a contained episode, while a Novel has a deeper plot plus character development. Conversely, in an Epic the plot itself is secondary, and the real storyline is how the characters themselves change, for it's not what they do exactly, but who they become as a result of what they do that’s the paramount point of the endeavor, jargon wise, at least. The circumstances depicted may be different, but in any Epic, the situation itself is always transferable, and so always recognizable. And Epics by definition do relate such universal, human transformations, for every reader, no matter who they are can successfully relate to them, and ever in ways that will be easily understood. Given we all experience these same conditions it's inevitable, humanity wise, and always has been. After all, everyone has felt distress, has lost at love, faced daunting obstacles or held the onerous view that they were defeated and looking at the proverbial end of the rope. Equally, almost everyone has been happy, felt joy, experienced love, had no qualms of the future or sadness in the present. As such, in my Time Traveling books, I find no need to overly describe such personal circumstance when everyone is aware of them already, by virtue of an inner, empathic connection. So, my EPIC FABLES are simply written, but soon unfold to explore and encompass these larger complex issues. And speaking more jargon, all of my Epic Fables are also Redemptive Tales, dealing with basic philosophical concepts such as truth and justice, good and evil, “Might makes Right vs. Right makes Might” or if a bad thing can ever be used for a good purpose. As in any Epic Mythology, flawed characters are forced to evolve as a result of their quests, gleaning insight into these universal human constructs to which everyone can relate. Each must grapple with difficult personal choices, and hard decisions forced by dire circumstances always yield unforeseen consequences, challenges that must be met and overcome, and all contained within a page-turning adventure often utilizing true history. Yet, as in any Fable, the narrative style is simplistic, with the action being layered with fast-paced sequences often presented through flashbacks and proceeding from different points of view. But in the end, each major character learns a moral lesson, and develops a personal morality, again universal conditions which are explored through a simply written narrative. And still more Literary Jargon: The novel, BEYOND THE ELASTIC LIMIT: AN EPIC FABLE employs classically defined Myth, a story dealing with real or imagined ancient gods who hold dominion over human activities. Also employing Myth, the novel, PIERCING THE ELASTIC LIMIT: AN EPIC FABLE can also be defined more properly as Folklore, fiction based on real characters, as well as Legend, traditionally considered stylized portrayals of actual historic events. TALES OF THE ELASTIC LIMIT: EPIC FABLES contains twelve Short Stories, again employing Myth, Folklore and Legend. These Time Traveling books can be read in any order, all being stand-alone Historical Fiction, Adventure, Mystery, Detective Tale, Saga and Love Story, yet all of them relate and explain the others, therefore the reading sequence chosen determines the order in which the hidden backstory connections are revealed. Of course, despite any jargon employed, the ultimate proof of good storytelling always rests in the believability of the final product, and whether the attempt is an enjoyable experience as opposed to a heavily laden, burdensome narrative requiring firm effort to complete. So, as both Epics and Fables, my Time Traveling yarns on the ELASTIC LIMIT are by nature easy reading, and cover interesting and eclectic subject matter unique to the established genre specifically, as well as Literature generally. At least Jargon wise, that is.
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 TIME TRAVEL involves History, it can’t be avoided; sometimes it’s concocted in order to fit the story line, but I take a different approach. My EPIC FABLES on the ELASTIC LIMIT of TIME, two Novels and a compilation of Short Stories, employ true HISTORY placed within an authentic context, and the situations described therein are all accurately portrayed. The best response I've gotten from using this protocol are from those who don't, as a rule, read HISTORY and are thereby un-expectantly pleased by this aspect, which after all, is only secondary to the overall TIME TRAVELING plot. Here’s a partial list of Historically known figures and documented events I've covered, with the appropriate book title (BEYOND the ELASTIC LIMIT, PIERCING the ELASTIC LIMIT or TALES of the ELASTIC LIMIT) capitalized: GENERAL PREHISTORY: Neolithic (Ancient Humans): BEYOND, chapters 1, 3; TALES, Part Three (chapters 9, 10, 11, 12) Early Human Society Forms: BEYOND, chapter 1, 2, 4, 5; TALES chapters 10, 11, 12 Religious Belief Codified: BEYOND, chapters 2, 5, 10; PIERCING, chapter 5 Rise of Agriculture: BEYOND, chapters 2, 5; TALES, chapter 11 Early Commerce: BEYOND, chapters 2, 5; TALES, chapters 9, 10, 11 Discovery of the Wheel: TALES, chapter 10 Written Language Begins: TALES, chapter 9 ANCIENT HISTORY: Language as Symbols: PIERCING Part Two (chapters 4, 5, 6); TALES, chapters 6, 9 Archimedes of Syracuse (Higher Mathematics, Scientifically Applied Warfare): TALES, chapter 8 Julius Caesar vs. Pompey the Great (Rise of Empires): PIERCING, Part One (chapters 1, 2, 3) MIDDLE AGES: Henry VIII (Age of Modern Sailing Ships, Onset of Science): TALES, chapter 7 Politics of Elizabethan England: PIERCING, Part Two (chapters 4, 5, 6) Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare (Classical Literature Established for the Masses): PIERCING, Part Two (chapters 4, 5, 6) EARLY MODERN: Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn & others (Classical Music Rises to the Fore): PIERCING, Part Three (chapters 7, 8, 9) Thomas Jefferson (Age of Fossils, Modern Higher Education Established): TALES, chapter 6 MODERN HISTORY: Albert Einstein (Science Accepted as an Established Discipline): TALES, chapter 5 History of Commerce: BEYOND, chapters 2, 4; TALES, chapter 9, 11 EXPLORING HUMAN CONCEPTS: Good and Evil: All of BEYOND Business Run Amuck: All of PIERCING Evolving Human Society: TALES, Parts Two and Three (chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) TIME TRAVEL EXPLAINED: Theory and Hardware Needed: BEYOND, chapters 7, 8, 9; PIERCING, chapters 9, 10, 11, 12; TALES, chapters 2, 3, 4 Paradox Avoided: TALES, chapter 2 Loops in Time: BEYOND, chapters 10, 11, 12; PIERCING, Part One (chapters 1, 2, 3, 4); TALES, chapter 2 Alternate Timelines: BEYOND, all chapters; PIERCING, chapter 12; TALES, chapters 2, 3  As a writer of TIME TRAVEL books, I employ my own, unique definition of the NATURE of TIME, one neatly couched within the parameters of what I term the ELASTIC LIMIT.
The genre of TIME TRAVEL clearly involves two separate aspects, language and usage (plainly understood terminology as opposed to skill in employing such) but beyond these components, for a basic starting point of any lucid discussion on the subject, TIME as a concept must first be defined, for doing so makes or breaks any story’s scenario and therefore its credibility. While few think they can fully understand the minutia of TIME itself, given personal experience of TIME passing, most people do believe that they know more or less what it involves. Yet the FOURTH DIMENSION is never one set, fixed phenomena that acts in a standard fashion, and that’s where the common confusion resides, at least in reference to the aforementioned items, that is. For historically, the flow of TIME has been understood as existing in two distinct ways not just one, and as each example acts very differently, most problems involving TIME TRAVELING plots stem from trying to mesh these two conflicting points of view, or not being aware of any distinction between them in the first place. I’ll adhere to this standard interpretation, simplistic but telling: Is TIME a Loaf of Bread, or is it a River? Or, instead of River insert Hallway with multiple doors, or a Roadmap holding many connecting routes. So, does TIME ‘flow’ in a point to point sequence, one PRESENT after another PRESENT and so on, as the recurring pieces of sliced bread in a loaf, OR Does TIME act more like a River, where any current taken then becomes the PRESENT and so leads to various other possible pathways, with unending potential PRESENT choices up for grabs depending only on the several directions you could take? Once the NATURE of TIME is defined using this simple distinction, the listed concerns then become moot, for any apparent theoretical conflicts are no longer in play, or at least they can be explained in a rational way that enhances the plot as opposed to using plots that under scrutiny fail to pass the test of credibility. As such, any good TIME TRAVELING story can be filtered through this lens, and the lesser examples can be as well, with the differences thereby becoming apparent and understandable, as opposed to just being confusing, or simply boring. But using either of these two standard definitions always has inherent disadvantages, leading to pesky things like PARADOX or unworkable theory or hardware, so I take another approach to avoid such pitfalls inherent to the genre: TIME is a Bundt Cake, circular in NATURE. Or rather, it’s much like an unending Corkscrew, still possessing a liner flow and direction, but no longer within a single, set dimension. As well, according to my Theory, a moment in TIME is not static but in constant, erratic flux, always expanding and contracting within an exact threshold known as the ELASTIC LIMIT, and this fact coupled with the Circular Nature of TIME permits TIME TRAVEL, given your Hardware is up and properly running. In my books, all EPIC FABLES on the elusive ELASTIC LIMIT of TIME, many other things are of course covered, which I’ll expand on in future posts, but these different NATURE of TIME distinctions are always taken into account, and so they aren’t a distraction to the overall narrative as experienced in so many books involving this most interesting subject.  Howard is preparing to regale us with more stories and insights from the Elastic Limit of Time. Prepare yourself for more EPIC FABLES from destinations yet unknown.
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