Star Trek: A Touch of Greatness
There is a movie, "Free Enterprise," where William Shatner plays himself. In the movies, there is school kid who goes to school wearing a Star Trek uniform and gets beat up, and hallucinates William Shatner. I was that kid. I was not the Kirk fan, though, and I didn't wear the uniform to school. I did inform everyone that I was Vulcan, and then I stoically accepted my ass beating. I tell you that to tell you, Star Trek gave me the greatest amount of hope and joy growing up, that eventually humanity would mature, not nuke the planet, and we would be more logical.
I wavered on being Spock fan and a McCoy fan. My role has changed. I am not Spock. I was Spock. Now, I am Doctor McCoy. I am prone to silly ass rants, but I can always stop and have a moment of humanity, and in my work, being the humble 'Country Doctor' and enabled me to reach people that are struggling with some hard, just flat out human shit. I don't soft coat it. It's not all good. Shit is shit. Dead puppies suck. Babies with cancer suck, and if you don't feel bad when you encounter this shit, well, you're emotional set point is off.
In 2004, struggling with my own shit, I sat down and wrote a Trek fan fiction. It was my version of narrative therapy before I knew what narrative therapy was. I didn't actually understand the transformative process I was actually engaging. I didn't sit down intending to write it. Well, technically, I sat down to write a sequel to the TOS episode "A Piece of the Actio," setting it a hundred years from the Kirk incident which would place it in Picard's time. Touch of Greatness came first. There are things in it that are clearly me. There metaphors. Tocuh of Greatness was really about how Trek touched my life.
I have about 30 books available. I have small fan base and have made some lovely connections with people because of my writing. I write for the joy of it. My Trek books have had the most success, but then again, the first three have been available since 2004. OMG, reading them can cause me to cringe, because of grammar mistakes, some story things I wouldn't do now, just things I have learned while practicing my own writing, searching for my voice. Still, to this day, Touch of Greatness brings in the most emails. People are still writing me about it. I received an email just two days ago, from a lovely human, a Veteran, who shared with me how that one book helped him in his own personal journey with being human. If I never make a single dime writing, that one letter completes my life in such a way that I can't be anything other than grateful. Others have written me, sharing similar ways in how it related to their life.
There are lots of stories that have touched people. Trek has been one of those vehicles that it was able to transcend origin culture and time and has touched more people than likely any other Sci-Fi vehicle. Consider, almost all science fiction tends to be pessimistic, and dystopian. Trek was different. It presented a Utopian view, with people working together and we make it work. We make it!
The trend lately has been towards Dystopian. It's been going that direction ever since Roddenberry died, and Rick Berman blew up the Enterprise five times in one episode. JJ brought us this side of darkness and the new series took us into the night. There are multitude of reasons, and not just because there is insufficient writers, but mostly due to squabbling over copy rights. This is not a lament or a grievance. I think there are plenty of folks who want to tell a good Trek story. I little weary about Tarantino's version, as he promises R rated, but that seems to only further move us from that Roddenberry ideal. And I like Tarantino!
But maybe these stories need to be, too. Maybe the writers of these are struggling with their own darkness, and this is their narrative therapy. Maybe from time to time we need to revisit darkness to remind us where we came from. Maybe we have to remember we live on a planet that alternates between day and night and both are valid and necessary.
Maybe we all need to share our stories and our voice, even if it goes nowhere other than fan fiction because you never know who is reading you and how it will affect them or others. Hell, when you consider that, you may not even risk speaking because there is power here. I think if you stick to your truth, you write what you love and know and trust that inner vision, and you write for the joy of it and for your own well being- it becomes the vehicle that takes you somewhere. Somewhere unexpected. Over the rainbow even. And lights the way for others to journey with you.
Humbly, with gratitude, I share my light because so many great lights have touched me.
I wavered on being Spock fan and a McCoy fan. My role has changed. I am not Spock. I was Spock. Now, I am Doctor McCoy. I am prone to silly ass rants, but I can always stop and have a moment of humanity, and in my work, being the humble 'Country Doctor' and enabled me to reach people that are struggling with some hard, just flat out human shit. I don't soft coat it. It's not all good. Shit is shit. Dead puppies suck. Babies with cancer suck, and if you don't feel bad when you encounter this shit, well, you're emotional set point is off.
In 2004, struggling with my own shit, I sat down and wrote a Trek fan fiction. It was my version of narrative therapy before I knew what narrative therapy was. I didn't actually understand the transformative process I was actually engaging. I didn't sit down intending to write it. Well, technically, I sat down to write a sequel to the TOS episode "A Piece of the Actio," setting it a hundred years from the Kirk incident which would place it in Picard's time. Touch of Greatness came first. There are things in it that are clearly me. There metaphors. Tocuh of Greatness was really about how Trek touched my life.
I have about 30 books available. I have small fan base and have made some lovely connections with people because of my writing. I write for the joy of it. My Trek books have had the most success, but then again, the first three have been available since 2004. OMG, reading them can cause me to cringe, because of grammar mistakes, some story things I wouldn't do now, just things I have learned while practicing my own writing, searching for my voice. Still, to this day, Touch of Greatness brings in the most emails. People are still writing me about it. I received an email just two days ago, from a lovely human, a Veteran, who shared with me how that one book helped him in his own personal journey with being human. If I never make a single dime writing, that one letter completes my life in such a way that I can't be anything other than grateful. Others have written me, sharing similar ways in how it related to their life.
There are lots of stories that have touched people. Trek has been one of those vehicles that it was able to transcend origin culture and time and has touched more people than likely any other Sci-Fi vehicle. Consider, almost all science fiction tends to be pessimistic, and dystopian. Trek was different. It presented a Utopian view, with people working together and we make it work. We make it!
The trend lately has been towards Dystopian. It's been going that direction ever since Roddenberry died, and Rick Berman blew up the Enterprise five times in one episode. JJ brought us this side of darkness and the new series took us into the night. There are multitude of reasons, and not just because there is insufficient writers, but mostly due to squabbling over copy rights. This is not a lament or a grievance. I think there are plenty of folks who want to tell a good Trek story. I little weary about Tarantino's version, as he promises R rated, but that seems to only further move us from that Roddenberry ideal. And I like Tarantino!
But maybe these stories need to be, too. Maybe the writers of these are struggling with their own darkness, and this is their narrative therapy. Maybe from time to time we need to revisit darkness to remind us where we came from. Maybe we have to remember we live on a planet that alternates between day and night and both are valid and necessary.
Maybe we all need to share our stories and our voice, even if it goes nowhere other than fan fiction because you never know who is reading you and how it will affect them or others. Hell, when you consider that, you may not even risk speaking because there is power here. I think if you stick to your truth, you write what you love and know and trust that inner vision, and you write for the joy of it and for your own well being- it becomes the vehicle that takes you somewhere. Somewhere unexpected. Over the rainbow even. And lights the way for others to journey with you.
Humbly, with gratitude, I share my light because so many great lights have touched me.
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