Sargasso - Retrospective

I want to thank everyone for all the support in reading and telling your friends about Sargasso. If you haven't read it, the picture link on the righthand side of the screen will take you to chapter 1. I thought I would take a week and answer some of the questions that many of you have emailed to me. If, after reading, you still have a question that you would like answered, feel free to ask.

1: How did you come up with this story?

Picture art courtesy of Six Wings Studio

This was the question I was asked the most, so I feel it needs a thorough answer.

It's funny... you never know where inspiration will come from. Generally, most of my stories focus on the dignity of humanity in one way or another. This story in particular came from a news article that ran a few weeks ago regarding the country of Singapore. The government there discovered that they were number 103 on the list of nations in fertility rate. Wanting to boost their population, they encouraged their citizens to “manufacture life” on what they called “National Night”, August 9^th, which is a National holiday in Singapore. In hopes to create a baby boom.

Singapore even went so far as to hire the candy maker, Mentos, “The Fresh Maker”, to make a commercial to advertise this event. If you want to see the video, click here: I will give you a fair warning - this might make you blush.

This bizarre government intervention is nothing new. A few years ago, Vladimir Putin encouraged a similar effort in Russia. Apparently it went so well that every year September 19^th is set aside in Russia for a similar holiday.

So, all of this got my mind spinning on the thought: what if the government didn't just encourage their vassal servants to procreate, but required it? It just seems like the natural next step to me.

Now, if this all seems a little odd to you, then maybe you're tracking with why this bothers me. My issue with this whole “National Night” thing is this; it would be one thing if the government of Singapore or Russia would come out and say, “We, the State, value life and the nuclear family so much that we wish to encourage all of our citizens, for the betterment of their lives, families, communities, and the world, to have families, care for them, and teach them to be upstanding people. Enjoy your life, and be well.” But that is not what they are saying.

What they are saying is this: “Our population is dwindling, and so, for the sake of the empire, it is your duty to produce more taxpaying subjects who will carry out our will, fight our enemies, and expand our borders.”

In a collectivist model of government, the State is not so much interested in life as they are interested in lives. They need subjects to rule and people to do their will. Now, you can argue with me on this point, and I invite the discussion, but before you do, take some time to study the socialistic societies throughout history and the world today, and see how they live. There is no such thing as a populist, a man of the people, in a system like this. There is only those who rule and those who are ruled.

This is what Sargasso is about.

2: When and where does this story take place?

I received several emails about this, asking if this was supposed to be set in North Korea, China, Russia, Malaysia, or even the United States. My answer to this is, “Where do you think this story takes place?”

The vague writing style of Sargasso is deliberate and one that I have never tried before. I wanted to leave out as much as possible in order to focus on the story itself and to allow the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks.

As for the time? Sometime in the not too distant future...

3: Why did you name the story “Sargasso?”

The Sargasso Sea, a section of the Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe, is the “desert of the ocean.” I have never been there, but from what I read the ocean water is very different there. It has its own unique ecosystem, and it rarely rains in this area.

http://www.dightonrock.com/backgrounds/Saargasso_Sea-a.jpg

I really like this metaphor of a desert in the middle of the ocean. In my mind, this is how So-young sees herself. She's a young vibrant women with a lot to give in life, but she is barren. Barren in the middle of a country that demands fertility. It's bad enough that she has to carry this burden, but her condition makes her an enemy of the State.

4: What are your plans for this story?

As most of you know, I am a filmmaker. When I started writing Sargasso, I thought I was going to tell the story in about 2,000 words. Well, that didn't happen. Something kicked in somewhere between writing chapter 1 and chapter 2, and I really saw a much bigger story. (Even bigger than what you have currently read.)

So I have a few thoughts, but I would like to hear from you on this.

A few of my readers tossed out the idea that I should make a comic book version of the story. I really like this idea - I have never thought of this before, but it would give me the chance to flesh out the plot and draw up the storyboard for the film at that same time.

I've also thought that I could work on the screenplay itself. A few people asked if I've ever thought of crowdfunding the project (apparently that's a thing now), which was another idea I had never thought about before.

So what do you think? Do you like this story? Would you want to see more of it? Or should I move on to something else? Feel free to shoot me an email and tell me what you think.

5: Can I buy a print of one of Peter McIntyre's pictures?

As a matter of fact you can! Peter McIntyre is my best friend and an artist in his own right. If you are interested in ordering one of the prints used in Sargasso (or any of of his other prints, for that matter) you can stop by his website and drop him an email. www.sixwingstudios.com When you do, ask him to tell you the story about the time he and I were in Panama...

6: What are you working on now?

Well, a boy never writes and tells. But I will tell you this - I really enjoyed the serial format. It's a nice challenge, and it is pushing me write again. Right now, I have plans for at least two more serial stories. So keep an eye out for those.

Final thoughts

One final thing. I would like to thank my wife Ellie, my editor, who truly makes me sound smarter than I really am. Without her, Sargasso would never have been worthy of seeing the light of day.

Thanks for reading. See you next week.

If you would like to read another Q/A on Sargasso, here is a more recent post that I have written. Click here

- Peter-John Campbell