Back Story: The Sea of Grass by Jim Wilsky
When I wrote “The Sea of Grass,” it was almost the perfect storm for me. It came boiling up from nowhere, I wrote it and then it just rolled on out of sight. It was also a story that I was able to fuse together several areas of interest I have always had. I love Geography and History. Although I have absolutely no literary or educational credits to speak of in these areas, definitely not the latter, I still can’t resist them when I write. I have enjoyed reading and studying both for many years on my own, and I suppose having a love for something can be a strong thing, an equalizer to more formal training.
I can’t stress enough how the place or setting is so very important to me when I write a story. Many times it is more important than even the plot or the characters. In baking terms, it is the yeast of the bread I’m making. Whether it’s somewhere down a rural road lined with trees and locust buzzing or flat corn fields at dusk that stretch forever, I want to define it further. An urban setting can’t just be any big city. I want it to be somewhere I know, a place I have stood or a place I’ve always wanted to go to. I have a need to have a reader see it, smell it and hear it. If you allow it to, setting can help create the mood, help move the story and I think that’s probably the most important ingredient for me in any story recipe.
Every place has a history, how it started, what it used to be, what it still is. Sometimes a story allows me to blend in a little of that, and this was one that did. It creates a story within my story and I like that. I like that the reader can relate back to what was, with what it is now and what they’re reading now.
From the visually grand movies I watched as a young boy when cinematography was such a key, to a rare movie today that might still focus on it, I feel that setting makes a story complete. As an example, the fairly recent movie No Country for Old Men rang that bell for me, with some stunning panoramic shots that absolutely locked me into the story. I believe strongly in the importance of that in literature as well.
The characters in this story are hybrids, as they almost always are with me, made up of many different pieces and parts. A blend of people I’ve known, people I wish I haven’t ever known, and people that I’ve never met but you just know them, just know they’re out there. So yes, I knew somebody like Tyler and liked him; we were friends for a long time. He was okay if you understood him and I guess I did. He was troubled from the get go and had more issues than you could count, but he always had a certain sadness that touched me. It made me want to help him and I maybe did for awhile. At the same time, you just knew it would end badly someday and that it did.
To close here, I just want to be clear. If there was ever a more unlikely person to be doing this type of article, I want to know who it is. I sincerely doubt that I have unlocked some secret box of useful information for anyone. I feel like I’m discussing long division to a group studying Advanced Calculus. Nevertheless, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate having the opportunity to write about, well… what I write about. First, I consider it an honor to just have my story accepted by such a fine journal, and finally, I also want to thank Angie and Kat for the added invitation to ramble on like this.
Jim Wilsky is a central Illinois native with a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling. His work has appeared in A Twist of Noir, Beat to a Pulp, Yellow Mama, The Medulla Review, Midwest Literary Magazine and others, including several print anthologies. He is supported and strengthened by a wonderful wife and two beautiful daughters. Read “The Sea of Grass” in the summer 2011 issue of Rose & Thorn Journal.
Jim, thank YOU for submitting and also taking the time to do a post for our readers to enjoy.
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Angie,
The thanks are all mine. My pleasure and I'm honored to have a story on Roses & Thorns.
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