An Epic of Peace — Creative Guidelines
What’s the idea?
Some time ago I was watching the Wim Wenders film Der Himmel über Berlin (Engl: Wings of Desire). In it, a character ponders at why literature must be a place of conflict — Why must epic stories centre around violence and struggle?
Why has no one attempted to write an epic — not of death, war, etc. — but of peace?
This is a creative space for humans to compose vignettes based around the experience of harmony, joy, connnectedness. The only conflict is an internal one; in a character’s own memory, melancholy, bitter-sweetness, etc.
This is also an act of deliberate story-telling that envisions a desirable future world and the forging of a new reality. Humans relate through stories, life imitates art. What might we achieve through the intentional creation of an Epic of Peace that is a testament to all the positive joy of life?
Creative guidelines
A story of peace is centred around the human experience of the world that is free from violence, repression, coercion, humiliation, or other forms of cynicism and negativity.
To stay with the thematic spirit of this initiative, your ‘story of peace’ would work within these guidelines — or at least with the spirit of them — which may evolve over time.
A story of peace expresses:
- beauty and harmony
- the inherent decency of humanity
- the pure enjoyment of an Act
- people who are filled with awe and wonder
- simple acts of generosity and kindness
- deeds of here and now, not those of others from long lost history
- people grappling with problems in an attempt to achieve understanding
The future world where the story of peace resides
The Epic of Peace is written from a point in the future, possibly even many thousands of years into the future. It is a world that has overcome competition, fear, scarcity, envy and suspicion.
The human world has these attributes:
- Humans freely share and cooperate — any competition is a game, not a way of life
- No conflicts but those that are natural, e.g. death and mourning
- Human consciousness has evolved; there was a ‘Victory’ that created a better world
- Leisure time is abundant; Work is not unbearable
Some writing tips (from a non-writer)
Write simply and honestly. Write to transcend and inspire. Write characters who believe in themselves. Write characters who have intuition and curiosity.
Editing and Publishing
Anyone is free to submit a story to this Medium publication. Stories will not be edited, but stories not created with the spirit of the Idea will not be published. Clearly we just want to ensure that advertising and whatever else if filtered out. Apart from this, no editing will occur.
