Creative ILLogic, Storytelling, and Joe

Great storytelling subverts the order of things. Storytellers must cultivate a jealous grip on illogic if we are to inspire others to step out of line and do something no one has ever done. Logic makes impotent the creative mind. Logic imprisons. Logic kills.

Sequence is the oxygen of logic. How we perceive order or disorder encourages us to conclude a story is rooted in common sense or insanity. Let's look at the following example.

Exhibit A: Joe wakes up - gets dressed - eats breakfast - drives to work - drives home - then Joe goes back to sleep.

Exhibit B: Joe drives to work - wakes up - gets dressed - then goes back to sleep - drives home - eats breakfast.

In the first instance, logic is in control. Joe's actions are reasonable because they remind you of your own actions. Nothing is disrupted, but also, nothing grows. Nothing is shocking, but also nothing is interesting.

In the second instance, we see a man who drove to work while asleep, wakes up in his car naked, gets dressed, then goes back to sleep, drives home again while sleeping, and eats breakfast once he arrives. This is screenplay-friendly, an obvious cinematic presentation of "Joe." (C'mon guys. I'm not referring to the president. I feel like someone may have made the unintended connection). Back to the article.

As a storyteller, fight like heaven to make others see the logic in your illogic. The mind of the general populous is dull. Mediocrity is a cult. Be aware of this as you push the limits on what is accepted and what is not. Logic is arrogant and will always stand in your way. Strangle it to death.

Embrace creative illogic. Kiss it, pull it into your bosom. Push your reader to the mountain's edge of comfort, then kick them from beyond, metaphorically speaking.