[Looking back three years to a favorite post from 6/1/15. To see Comments on the original , click HERE.] By Eleni Papanou One major facet of writing visionary fiction is that the author spiritually grows during the writing process. There are periods where I have to put my work aside, either when I’m in spiritual stagnation…
Nothing inspires me more than the idea that the impossible can be made possible…that stories have the power to transform the final arbiter of reality—the human mind. What could be a more “visionary” undertaking than to embark on a writing journey whose mission is to change the very nature of reality by influencing human perception?…
“I am the little sister of Jesus,” the young Caucasian man said. Dressed in time-faded jeans, a tee shirt and Hush Puppies, he slouched on a couch in a cottage on the grounds of the Miramar Hotel. Overly thin with blondish-brown hair and wearing Superman glasses, he epitomized the look of a writing nerd. It…
[In Part One of this post, we discussed the similarities and differences between theosophy and theology, the two forms of theosophy (Blavatskyian with a capital-T and generic with a small-T), and that the spirituality prescribed by theosophy has the elements of universalism and perennialism in common with the definitions of Visionary Fiction.] Theosophy (Small-t) Proper…
A Two Part Entreaty by V. M. Franck Part Two – My Entrance into the Circle of the White Rose Do high beings exist or is it wishful thinking? It’s comforting to think so, but I really don’t know. I can prove nothing. No one can, no matter how certain they are of their beliefs….
A Two Part Entreaty by V. M. Franck Part One – The White Rose Society Is there such a thing as pure and perfect love, and if so, how do we find it? I’ve been told that within the heart of each of us glows a white flame. When the flame expands in pure and…
Some months back, John Van de Kamp, a relative of one of our founding members, Margaret Duarte, asked her if she had ever heard of theosophy, suggesting rather grandly, “I believe this concept may be the basis of visionary fiction.” A group of us discussed the idea and concluded that the topic might make for…
While pondering a visionary approach to story structure, I realized that what helped me the most as a writer was becoming aware of the archetypal pattern of storytelling. I call it the Circled Cross. This system is based on the ever-changing cycles in nature where story is no exception. Finding this beneficial, I felt inspired…
WRITERS CONFERENCES… AND YOUR SOUL I saw a clip from a TED talk the other day that enumerated the top ten factors that enabled people to live to a hundred years old. Yes, there was a focus group of long-living folks and tons of data about them. The topmost factor? Connecting with other people on…
This is the second and final part of this two-part article. For the first part, click here. In May 2017, my cousin—a now-retired former chief editor for Reader’s Digest—coached me toward a wonderful self-publishing service offered by Amazon.com called CreateSpace. By the end of the year all three novels of the Osiris Plan trilogy were…
My name is Drew Fisher. I came to planet Earth, this time, in 1958, the last year of the “post war baby boom.” This was the year of Barbie, the hula hoop, the first US satellite launches and the formation of NASA, the post-Korean War recession, the Lituya Bay (SE Alaska) mega-tsunami, the first nuclear…
In the mystical inlets of my being there lives a little nymph I named Violette. She is the best in me. She’s an old-time storyteller, one who desires to change the world for the better through the weavings of her mind. Her desire to come into her own was conceived when I read Jonathan Livingston…
I am always reluctant to describe myself as a writer, because although I have written 7 books and published 5, I didn’t really write them. Well, I was responsible for researching the material, typing them up, and publishing them, and of course I am the sole recipient of the royalties for the books, but did…
In Part One of my Q&A with writer, soul-community creator, poet, spiritual field guide, and deep soul explorer, Janet Conner, we discussed the techniques she outlined in her book Writing Down Your Soul, including the four steps to activating the Voice within. In Part Two, Janet Conner shares the primary guides that helped her find…
Nona had spent this morning, like so many mornings before, rooted in the expanse of an open field, rooted in the shadow of the great temple she now stands above, rooted in a field opened through the sacrifice of countless scores of martyred shrubs and trees; a holy site signifying the cycle of plantly existence….
Nona flicked the match against the edge of the box. The strike ignited, causing light to dance on the head like a ghost materializing from aether, evaporating order into chaos. She raised the stick above her head, stretched her elbow straight, and rocked up to her tiptoes to lift the match as high as possible….
We’re familiar with hypothetical, “What If?” conjectures. What if I have to declare bankruptcy? What if North Korea attacks the United States (or vice versa)? And what if the President is impeached—what happens then? All of these speculations, some personal, some apocalyptic, suggest a story will follow—an answer, explanation, or procedure that addresses the initial…
I would like to honor one of my favorite writers, Mr. Clive Staples Lewis, briefly showing how his intuitive genius made him a famous exemplar through works closely related to the “visionary fiction” genre. C.S. Lewis is the author of the well-known Chronicles of Narnia series, as well as a less known but most inspiring…
What makes writers happy, besides working on their craft, of course, is connecting with other writers to delve into the unknown and explore one another’s minds for fresh ideas. Add to that a team of experts and inspirational speakers and you kick up the happiness factor a notch or two. You can imagine my reaction…
VF author Drew Fisher has just published his novel titled Brig-Wallis Preparatory School for Boys, the first of the Osiris Plan trilogy of visionary fiction. Congratulations, Drew! About the book (from Amazon): Eighteen boys from all corners of the world have been recruited to the freshman class of a small, mysterious, Swiss boarding school. They know little to…
“The word that can be spoken is not the true word.” – Lao Tzu In my version of the People’s Story we were all born into a guessing game in which reality is continuously poking us with the question – “What should you do?” Through both our actions and our inactions, we are continuously responding,…
This is the concluding part of this mini-series on how Woody Carter’s possession experience inspired his novel, Narada’s Children: A Visionary Tale of Two Cities. For the first part, click here. I sat in Nana’s chair overwhelmed by what I had experienced and being released from spirit possession, until I had an epiphany: What’s to…
Mindfulness meditation is all the rage, now. It’s promoted in public schools nationwide, and in colleges and universities. In a Huffington Post blog, Candy Gunter Brown, PhD, argues that public education has gotten around the U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting religion in public institutions by replacing the terms “meditation” and “Buddhism” with words like “neuroscience”…
Vision is not mere fantasy devoid of pragmatic realism but an expression of our core values linked to universal experiences. For a nation that used to pride itself on a universal concept of E Pluribus Unum (out of many, one), we have politically divided and compartmentalized ourselves in the “Pluribus,” but have precious little “Unum”…
Black Elk, a Native American visionary and Lakota Sioux medicine man chronicled by John Neihardt in Black Elk Speaks, believed a coherent vision to be central to a people’s well-being. Black Elk’s prophetic message was clear—“Without vision, the people perish.” A vision encompasses not only the values and goals a people strive to honor but…
This is what archaeologists have learned from their excavations in the Land of Israel: The Israelites were never in Egypt, did not wander in the desert, did not conquer the land in a military campaign and did not pass it on to the twelve tribes of Israel. Perhaps even harder to swallow is that the united…
What are genres? Genres are conventions that manage reader expectations. Choosing the right genre for your story – before writing it – is a crucial decision. When you think of genre, think RIO – Reader Interest Optimization. Genre expectations have grown over a long time, hundreds of years. Each genre has its unique conventions and…