Sometimes the best stories aren't the ones that tell a tale, but perhaps they are instead those that open up possibilities for new ones to begin? The merits of "What if?" and the ensuing postulation gives anyone who's ventured into that territory fodder for practically limitless ideas.
The best thing a writer can do is to leave the reader staring at a blank wall after they have finished their story.
To have them sit and let the mind spin on what they've just read and in the aftermath consider what it means, how it relates to their beliefs, how it has broadened their mind and the multitude of questions that are now swirling around in their head that all begin with, "What if...?". That is magic.
To have them sit and let the mind spin on what they've just read and in the aftermath consider what it means, how it relates to their beliefs, how it has broadened their mind and the multitude of questions that are now swirling around in their head that all begin with, "What if...?". That is magic.
Richard Cox is one of those writers.
Who is Uno Kudo?
Uno Kudo is Richard Cox.
Richard Cox believes he was born in Texas and now lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to multiple Internet sources, he has published three novels, THOMAS WORLD (September 2011), THE GOD PARTICLE, and RIFT. Richard has also apparently written for This Land Press, Oklahoma Magazine, and is an associate editor for TheNervousBreakdown.com.
However, you can't believe everything you read. Or see. For all you know, you're not even reading this right now.
Why get up in the morning when you can't know for sure if anything is real?
It's pretty likely the world isn't what we think it is. For all we know, the whole thing might be a video game on some kid's computer. But does it really matter? Even if the world isn't real, you still have to get up every morning and go to work. You can still fall in love. In the end, knowing the true reality of the world is pointless, because it's what we make out of our own worlds that counts. Or so I've been programmed to believe.
What was the motivation behind writing your piece (called "Ripped From The Page") for Uno Kudo Volume 1?
The primary inspiration for my piece was an idea I've been mulling for some time now, and which I explored in my new novel, Thomas World: How do I know if anything in my life is really happening? Which is not exactly a new idea. It's been covered in philosophy for hundreds if not thousands of years, it occurs in films like The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and it even show up whenever you have a dream and realize it during the dream itself. And once you introduce doubt into the reality of this world, how do you get back to not having that doubt? Because we can never really know for sure.
But while I was writing Thomas World, especially at the very end, I realized an important thing. It doesn't really matter. I've been fascinated with understanding the essential truth of the universe and humanity since I could conceive of such ideas, but only writing the climactic scenes of this novel did I realize that more important is making the most out of the relationships you have. Yeah, it's fun to look at the cosmos and deep field pictures of the early universe, but the things unique to you, that are perhaps unique among all life on Earth, are the complex relationships you make with others, and the feeling of romantic love.
So the circumstances in the story were inspired by the philosophical conundrums of defining reality, but the emotional resonance and the images were inspired by a beautiful girl who has recently become an important part of my life. Her glinty eyes are the glint in the piece.
When you begin a story, you never really know what you're going to end up with. This piece illustrates that perfectly.
Richard Elsewhere:
It's just awesome to be in the same book as Richard Cox. Is Uno Kudo probably the best thing ever? Yes!
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