In November of 2007, we had a terrible ice storm in my small town. Trees and power lines were decimated. We even lost our basketball goal in the driveway when a large oak limb dropped on top of it. We were without power for a week after our house was mistakenly skipped over by the out-of-town power crews on their first pass through our neighborhood, making the wait longer. My family did not appreciate the beanie weenie meal I cooked on the gas grill and ended up spending more time at a friend’s house because they had electricity while I held down the fort through the long, dark, and cold nights.
Although this was not a pleasant experience in any way, shape, or form, there was one sliver of a silver lining from the ice storm. It knocked out the streetlight at the intersection in front of our house and several up and down the street. It was dark. It was fantastic for stargazing. The night sky popped. Planets, stars, constellations, and the Milky Way jumped out in a way I had not experienced anywhere inside the city limits. I felt like a kid again from the back patio staring at the heavens hanging so bright and close that one could almost reach out and touch it. Glorious!
With the extent of the damage to higher priority areas in the city and county, it was a solid six months before the streetlights were repaired, so it was one “dark” period in my life I miss to this very day. After the streetlight came back online, the stargazing party was over, and it was back to stargazing through its light pollution. 🙁
What does my 20-year-old ice storm experience have to do with a STEM Tuesday Writing Tips & Resources post on light pollution?
Well, maybe nothing at all and just a rambling of an old man. But, in writing, we can create so much light of a pollution-like story flow through a frenetic pace or constant action that it masks the reader’s experience. Keeping the reader in a steady Full Speed Ahead Mode makes it difficult for them to see the stars, planets, and galaxies of the story. In other words, they miss the full beauty of the reading experience because they are never offered the opportunity to step away from the bright light, allow what just happened to sink in, and prepare the brain space for what comes next.
The inverse is also possible. We can write a piece in Low Speed Mode with little addition of action or light, and the reader’s experience is masked in that constant lowkey vibe. The key is to mix and blend the levels of brightness to shine a light where needed and also reduce the light levels to allow the time and reflection necessary to keep the reader engaged.
We need to strive for those moments of awe after the streetlight goes dark and the night sky bursts in all its glory. The reader needs those times in the story when they lie on the cool grass, staring at the Big Dipper or Orion’s Belt, and feeling as if the Milky Way galaxy is just an arm’s length away.
In my recent regular MUF post, The Book Called to Me Again, I wrote about the genius that is Gary D. Schmidt. Look, a lot happens in Gary D. Schmidt stories. Good things. Bad things. Things that make you laugh. Things that make you cry. His skill as a writer shows when he amplifies these inherently bright story light things by placing them in juxtaposition to periods of dim story light. With the bright levels temporarily dimmed, the reader can not only appreciate the good, the bad, the funny, or the emotional story point that just happened, but have the emotional and mental space to process it.
Combatting the light pollution in my writing is something I’m constantly working on. I write from the part of my brain that is still controlled by the middle school Mike. This is a blessing and a curse. Middle-school-brained Mike offers a unique perspective for creating stories. My struggle, however, is fighting the young Mike in my head who wants to see more car chases, more explosions, and more jumping from the roof of one building to another. You know, the middle school boy stuff.
Learn to control the light pollution in your creative work. Shine the light brightly when it needs to be shone and learn to dim, or shut it off when it’s not needed. Ebb and flow to give the reader the headspace they need to stay engaged without needing a pair of very dark sunglasses.
Happy summer writing! May you shine your creative light without creating light pollution.
Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal-opportunity sports enthusiast, that is. If they keep a score, he’ll either watch it, play it, or coach it. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night, he blogs about sports/life/training-related topics at www.coachhays.com and writer stuff at www.mikehaysbooks.com. Two of his science essays, The Science of Jurassic Park and Zombie Microbiology 101, are included in the Putting the Science in Fiction collection from Writer’s Digest Books. He can be found roaming Bluesky under the guise of @mikehays64.bsky.social and @MikeHays64 on Instagram.
The O.O.L.F Files
This month on the Out Of Left Field (O.O.L.F.) Files, we
“Our DarkSky Approved program works with communities, manufacturers, retailers, designers, and others to evaluate and certify dark sky friendly outdoor lighting equipment, as well as dark sky friendly outdoor lighting projects.”
What is Light Pollution? via DarkSky
Light Pollution Map from the University of Colorado at Boulder
ArcGIS Online Global Artificial Sky 3D Interactive Map
https://www.arcgis.com/home/webscene/viewer.htm
John C. Wells Planetarium at James Madison University
Light Pollution: The Overuse & Misuse of Artificial Light at Night via the John C. Wells Planetarium
Astrophysicist Kelsey Johnson’s TED Talk
The problem of light pollution — and 5 ridiculously easy ways to fix it
And finally, a wink to my mother and father, who always yelled at their teenage sons for leaving “every light in the universe on when we weren’t using it” and listening to our loud, noise-polluting rock music at wall-shaking volumes.
Thank you, Mom and Dad, for introducing us to the world of environmental activism at home.
“Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” by Australian rock band AC/DC from their classic 1980 album Back in Black. Note: This album may or may not have knocked a picture frame or two from the walls upstairs in our childhood home. For the record, I plead the Fifth.
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