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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Howard LoringThe man, the mystery, the time traveler, and epic fable author Archives
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