Uplifted Spirit

I have watched The Browning Version with Albert Finney on DVD at least seven times. It weaves the Greek classic, Agamemnon by Aeschylus into a modern story. Agamemnon came back a hero from war and was then murdered by his wife. In The Browning Version, an older teacher (Albert Finney) is symbolically being killed by his wife because she cheats on him and says and does things that hurt him deeply. I thought that maybe I could do the same thing in Knots 2 by weaving in Oscar Wilde's, The Picture of Dorian Gray, into the story. I'm giving it my best effort, but am not quite sure if it's working. Over the year I have often come across clever quotes by Oscar Wilde. So I decided to find out something about him and rented the movie, Wilde, from Netflix. He was married with two children and wrote The Importance of Being Ernest, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and many others, including children's stories. He was at the top of his artistic career when he befriended Lord Alfred Douglas, who was also known as Bosie, a student at Oxford where Wilde had graduated. They had a short homosexual relationship but a long torrid and miserable relationship because Douglas, who was abused by his father, used Wilde to anger his father. Wilde was caught in the middle, but as hard as he tried, could not break off his relationship with Bosie. Much of this can be found in Wilde's letter to Bosie in what later came to be called De Profundus from Psalm 130. The first line reads, "Out of the depths I have cried for You, O Lord." Further on it reads. "My soul waits for the Lord..." Robert Ross, with whom Wilde had his first homosexual relationship, was responsible for the name and printing it. Oscar Wilde died at 46 a few years after being in prison for two years for "gross indecency. This came about because Bosie insisted that Wilde take up a fight against his father who had slandered Wilde. Anyway, I've been weaving Wilde's, The Picture of Dorian Gray, into my latest story, Knots 2. Well, at least I've been trying. Knots and Knots 2 are about two teenage boys who are searching for their sexual, personal, and social identity as all teenager do. The Picture of Dorian Gray is about a handsome young man, who has been painted by his friend, Basil. Dorian wishes that the picture could grow old while he remains young, and this exactly what happens. I'm using the story to deal with the idea of youth and aging as well as dealing with the fact that our actions have consequences, even if we can't see them. Everything that Dorian does shows in the picture. I'd like to hear what other authors think of this idea and if any of you have tried it. Suggestions and comments will be greatly appreciated. I've included a short excerpt from the latest chapter of Knots 2. Excerpt from Knots 2 related to Dorian Gray.doc

Matt, obviously cares about Andy more than he knows. Otherwise, why would he use Thomas. Matt can't be perfect all the time. He has to have some flaws just like the rest of us. But then, who knows, maybe a strong friendship will develop with Thomas. It could just be the beginning despite the fact he used him in this situation. Matt hadn't originally planned on doing anything but talking. Of course it all changed when he saw Andy. Andy must also care a lot. Why else would he follow them out to the football field?

If you like this story, please write a review, click like, and follow me. Contact me at eliassctt@gmail.com I answer all emails. Thanks to Lisa for editing. Andy Most of Sunday was lost for me. Matt wasn't ready to forgive me, I was mad at myself, and couldn't see me spending the day with my parents. But I decided to follow Matt's advice and give the last one a try. My dad was in the garage working on a wood project. He liked building things and had a table saw, lathe, rou

Lisa Your comments made me lol. It's easy to get sidetracked. I love reading in the morning and then doing chores or writing. My love of writing has increased since I've been writing this story. I always liked writing, but I'm beginning to love it. Of course it helps to have loyal followers like you.

Dawn, I appreciate your comments. Glad to know the chapters are flowing more smoothly. Hope I can keep it up. The boys do have a lot of growing to do. Thanks again for writing.

Authors Note: I used the name Mark for the 17 year old who joined Randy and Andy at the motel in a previous chapter. A reader pointed out that it was confusing because I was also using Matt as a main character. I changed Mark's name to Kyle only after a few readers had read the chapter so I hope this creates less confusion and not more. If you like this story, please write a review, click like, and follow me. Contact me at eliassctt@gmail.com I answer all emails. Thanks to Lisa for editing

Every story needs a few bad characters. Randy and Dillon are those characters. But sometimes Andy is too. Of course there's always the possibility that Matt may get together with Thomas. They're meeting out on the football field on Monday. Who knows what may follow? I never thought of the glass breaking as being 7 years of bad luck, but I'm a hedonist when it comes to writing. I hate to see my characters suffer. That can be a fault at times. Thanks for the review.

If you like this story, please write a review, click like, and follow me. Contact me at eliassctt@gmail.com I answer all emails. Andy What had I gotten myself into? I said no and here I was riding “shotgun” and headed to a motel with Randy and Kyle. . Kyle turned to me. “So are you joining us or watching?” “Watching.” He grinned. “Yeah, and for how long?” I stared out the front window. “Until you’re done and you bring me

Dawn Thanks for your comments. A writer can only become better when readers are willing to tell them how they are reacting to the story. My goal is to show and not tell. Many stories I've read here and on Nifty often tell us what the characters are thinking and why. I like the action of the story to show how they feel. It does make it more unclear at times. But I think you've picked up the feeling that the story is meant to portray. The boys are confused and in search of what will make them happy, but they really don't know. I didn't want this story to be one that follow the plot line that they meet, fall in love, have problems that threaten the relationship, resolve the problems, and then live happily ever after. Life isn't always that way. The story is called knots and it sounds like the story has you tied up in knots. I congratulate you on your continued reading. Does that mean it's accomplishing its purpose? Quite by coincidence, I read The Story of Dorian Gray and decided to weave it into Knots 2. Lord Henry talks of the power of controlling another person. Randy controls Andy by getting him to have a threesome with him and Mark. Dorian is cruel to Sibyl Vane and the cruelty shows in the painting of Dorian Gray. Andy has had sex with Randy and Mark. One could interpret this as being cruel to Matt and ignoring how Matt will feel. Randy is already that way. Mark is tentative and unlike Dillon, seems to understand Andy's concern. He's like Basil, the painter, in the story of Dorian Gray. Andy comes home and looks at the picture on his desk. He thinks it's changed, but unlike the picture of Dorian Gray, Andy realizes it's him who's changed. He drops the picture and it shows a certain amount of carelessness on Andy's part. Andy is sometimes careless with his life And while it wasn't entirely true, he tells Matt he's upset because he broke the glass on the picture frame. I could have told the reader everything I wrote above, but I want the reader to think about it. Now given all that, I have gone to a lot writers' workshops with a writer, who is a presenter at writers' conference, and he says that if you have to run around the country and explain your story to all your readers, you've failed as a writer. So of course you've made me ask the question, "Have I failed as a writer." It's a legitimate question. Please feel free to write me at eliassctt@gmail.com to discuss this further or to continue it here. I'm interested in what you have to say and would like you to explain a little more why you feel as you do. It will help me do a better job. I'm not sure if you read Knot. If you haven't, you should start there and then come back. It lays a lot of the groundwork to Knots 2. Thanks again for writing.

Thanks for writing a review, Lisa. Both boys are mixed up. Sometimes it helps to just have time to think. Matt had that, but because of Andy's past, Randy knew he was the one he could get out of the house one way or another. Andy did try to resist, but the pull of sex is hard to resist. It's the story of civilization, from King David to Bill Clinton etc. Randy is an ass. But one has to question if he was that way before Dillon or after? Did Dillon change him once he had a taste of sex? Maybe we'll find out later. Matt and Thomas obviously enjoy sex, but it seems readers sympathize or empathize with them I think mostly because they are not as careless with their lives. I've never quite thought of it that way, but sometimes we can be careless with our lives and that's dangerous. That's the story of Dorian Gray, he became careless with his life when the painting took on all his pain, suffering, and evil. I was a teacher, coach, and administrator at the high school level for 32 years and have seen what kids go through. They do often hide it. But they are always struggling. And what Oscar Wilde said, "Experience is what we call our mistakes." But most parents wants to protect their children from making mistakes. I feel sorry for children whose parents take the attitude that they'll just have to learn from their mistakes. We'll make enough mistakes in our lives as it is, never mind making more of them than we have to and tying more knots in our lives that we have to.

Thanks as usual for the comments Lisa. Of course we just never know what the future holds. You may be surprised.

Andy The phone rang a little after I got home. My mom answered. “Randy, he’s grounded and it’s late. He can’t talk right now.” “I’m sorry about calling so late, but I need to talk to him just for a minute.” “Okay. Just for a minute.” She handed me the phone. “Randy, what’s up?” “The guy I’m with is hot for your body and wants a threesome. I told him you were the most likely one of the four of us to like the idea.”

Lisa Life has changed for the boys, at least for now. There may be things that come out at Dillon's trial that will change a lot of things. Who knows? I've read a lot of Oscar Wilde quotes over the years and have just finished reading The Portrait of Dorian Gray. I downloaded it from a free audio site and didn't pay attention to who wrote it until I was half way through. Sounds a bit dense I know, but that's the way it was. I loved the story and decided to work it into Knots 2. Thanks for writing.

Andy Football practice got my mind off everything. I excelled at quarterback and was filled with confidence in my ability to run the team. Like I said before, I was better after my injury. You'd think it would have put me behind, but adversity seemed to make me better. I was able to deal with the problems I faced on the field. Problems off the field didn't seem to fit into the same category. As much as I loved sex, it didn't make me feel better about myself. It s

Lisa You said this so well. Couldn't have said it better myself. We're all trying to find satisfaction and love. We all want to know we're loved and sometimes I think all behavior is a search for the Creator. Some use drugs, some sex, some thousands of online friends etc. Food, shelter, and clothing are our most basic needs. But the need for love does deeper than all those.

atorusandanode You ask some interesting questions. I had my own doubts about this scene. But I wanted to show how the dad feels he's failed Andy. Andy doesn't really know why he feels empty. But suddenly when the dad confronts him and asks how Andy knows he's loved, Andy tell him. He knows they've never abused him, but he can't tell his dad why he knows they love him. He's seeking satisfaction through sex, but it's never enough. Andy's always been the "cool kid," but has always lacked confidence from the beginning of the story. This was a way of maybe going deeper into why he lacks confidence. It's fiction and I find myself wondering these things as I write. In the end, I guess it's up to the readers to decide. Thanks for writing. Feel free to carry on this discussion further if you'd like. I'd enjoy that. We can do it either here or you can contact me at eliassctt@gmail.com

Author's Note: Sorry I'm posting two days late, but I came down with a bout diverticulitis. Lisa had everything edited on Sunday, but I couldn't make the edits until today. Matt No one talked much on the way home from Andy’s. There wasn't any way I was going to defend myself. It was embarrassing enough having them think we were all jacking off together. We drove into the garage and headed into the house where my dad pointed to the kitchen table and said, "Sit." He gave me

Andy When my mom called, my heart stopped, then jumped, then skipped a couple beats. I looked over at Matt dressing with the varsity. He was talking to Kealan Williams. Thomas tapped me on the shoulder. “What’s up?” “My mom wants to see Matt and me after practice.” “Do you want me to come?” I shook my head. “I don’t think so. What could you do?” “I just want to help.” “Thanks, but I don’t think it’ll do any good.” Randy patted me on the back, the

Matt What a day. Thomas and I were worried about what Andy and Randy had done the night before, and as it turned out, they didn’t do anything. It’s not like I own Andy, but I have to tell you I was happy to find out they hadn’t messed around. Thomas later asked me if I believed them and I had to say yes, because Andy’s never lied to me. Thomas said he couldn’t say the same for Randy. We were all afraid the afternoon foursome was going to fall apart if any of us had

The information you shared in the first link is awesome and very helpful. This author makes things clear. Thanks

I've talked to readers who just skip over the description to get back to the meat of the story. Description is only important if it helps move the story forward. Sometimes I think I'm a bit to tight with description. Two boys walk into a room. Readers often picture a room they're familiar with. That's a good thing. But sometimes, the writer has to point out certain things about the room that are important to the story and they should be described. That's true of any scene.

Some readers like it when secondary characters they like start to become more important. I'm not sure how that fits into mainstream writing, but those who read my stories have made comments about liking a secondary charcter stepping forward into the story.

I used to have trouble finishing stories, but a story is something in our mind and if secondary characters begin to become more important, it just means the story can be edited and you can head it in a different direction. Like they say at writers' conferences, writing is rewriting. The two most important things in writing are to start and to finish.

I have had secondary characters begin to become more important and had to force myself to stick to the story line. Now that I've said that, I'm not sure that it's necessary to hold them back. It doesn't make the other characters less important.

Lisa As usual, I spend the first few days after a post thinking about what to write next. I was going to start today, but one thing after another came up. I'm anxious to get to it. You are right about the the smells. But I didnt' want to make it too obvious. Thought it better that the dad be suspicious. Maybe he'll find the sheets in the closet. Thanks for your regular review. Wish more people did it.