Random LOST Tangent

I had this post all prepared that was going to be a vague update on my querying process.

But then I deleted it, 'cause I'm kind of superstitious and don't want to jinx myself.

And I know it's silly, but just stay with me for a second, because I have a point.  And that point involves Lost.

I think.

Lost will forever and always be one of my favorite shows.  I think that's where I learned the fine, fine art of answering questions with more questions and, let's face it, those "cursed" numbers kind of made math cool again.

So, naturally, my MS was influenced a little by Lost (and Fringe and Minority Report, of course).  And, I kind of didn't realize it until today, but I definitely carried one of the major debates/themes from Lost into my MS.

And that theme/debate/struggle is:

John Locke (Man of Faith) versus Jack Shepard (Man of Science)

I realized today, as I sat there refreshing Querytracker, that my two narrators are a little like Lost's frenemies (we're going to go with John Locke before...you know..."the change" and if you don't know what I'm referring to, Lost is an amazing show that you should watch!).

Sora, the soldier/future predictor/remorseful killer who wants atonement would be Jack.  What little faith she had in herself, or in humanity, really, has slowly been drained away by watching people die.  A lot.  Sure, sometimes she can stop it, but sometimes she can't...much like Jack, who couldn't save everyone with his surgery skills. Sora and Jack rely on facts, and (at least in the beginning) aren't willing to believe in something if they don't have tangible proof.  They're also determined to fix things - and to keep trying, even when something can't get fixed.  For Sora, the puzzle she desperately wants to solve is how to avoid killing Bastian.  For Jack - well, that would be a spoiler, and I don't believe in spoilers (somewhere out there, a spoiler just died).

Bastian, the one who tries to hide his abilities/harbors some father issues/just watched his girlfriend get blown up would be John Locke.  Bastian's father is the only one left alive in his broken family, and he hasn't seen him in years.  But Bastian is able to believe in not only himself, but his friends - and Sora - when she needs it the most.  He pretty much puts his life in her hands with the belief that she won't kill him.  John Locke's progression through Lost would include some hefty spoilers, but he's essentially the yin to Jack's yang.  Locke is ready to believe in the Island - to believe in something bigger than him - and makes his choices based on the feeling he has that the Island is an entity of good.

When I came up with this thought, I also thought it was a little funny that Sora, the one who has the more arguably "psychic" power would be the one who needs proof in order to accept something.  Bastian, on the other hand, grew up with a scientist father, and, although he doesn't run around making every decision intuitively (not that there's anything wrong with that, I intuit things all the time), he's willing to discard the facts, if he needs to, in order to help a friend.  

Although these viewpoints can sometimes war with each other, I think both sets of characters learn that you sort of need both to be whole.  You need the cold, hard facts sometimes, and other times, you just need to believe - believe in yourself, in others, in the great spaghetti monster in the sky (it's a thing, look it up).  

So, what am I trying to say?  Honestly, I have no idea.  I'm just a blogger, talking about Lost, asking you to love her (erm, and her characters, too haha).

But seriously, thinking about this Person of Science versus Person of Faith thing made me realize how much Lost actually seeped into my MS without me even knowing.  I do hope I did it justice.  And I also hope that I can continue to explore that interesting dynamic as I keep on writing :)

Right, now that I've babbled, what say you, friends?  Have you noticed any external influences on your writing, either while you were writing or just when you were sitting around, putting off working on...something?

I'd love to know!  Happy Monday (or Tuesday Eve, as I like to call it haha)