 Action/Adventure: October 15, 2025 Issue [#13404] |
This week: Searching For Answers Edited by: Jeff  
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"Adventure is worthwhile in itself."
— Amelia Earhart
About The Editor: Greetings! My name is Jeff and I'm one of the regular editors of the official Action/Adventure Newsletter! I've been a member of Writing.com since 2003, and have edited more than 400 newsletters across the site in that time. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me directly or submit feedback in the comment box at the bottom of this newsletter. |
Searching For Answers
One of the most powerful urges we have is the need to find answers to questions. Very few of us are content to simply be left always wondering what happened. If someone is murdered, we want to know who did it. When a magician performs a trick that seems to defy explanation, we want to know how he did it. Even for those times when the events themselves are pretty clear — a cheating spouse, for example — we want to know why he did it. The who, what, when, why, and how of a situation are fundamental questions to which we often find ourselves compelled to search for answers.
Several years ago, writer/producer/director J.J. Abrams gave a talk at a TED conference on the nature of mysteries and the unknown. It's a fascinating talk and perhaps most interesting of all is his story about the mystery magic box he purchased at a magic shop decades ago. I encourage you to find the video, but the short version is that he purchased a wrapped box that promises to have all kinds of amazing magic inside. And over the months and years and decades, he never opened the box. Why? Because he's fascinated by the idea of its potential more than its reality. What could be in the box is a realm of infinite possibility. But once you open the box, there is a finite reality to what it contains. (For what it's worth, the TED talk is also excellent food for thought on the nature of mystery and the unknown.)
The thing that I find absolutely amazing is that Abrams is able to resist opening that box for all these years. How many of us could resist tearing open that package and finding out what's inside? How many of us can stand to wait to open our birthday presents or Christmas gifts until after breakfast, let alone for days, weeks, months, or years? And how many times do you think Abrams stared at that box and thought to himself, "I really want to know what the heck is in there!"
Humans have a desire for the truth. We have a thirst for knowledge. Think of all the times that our curiosity and our need for answers has gotten us into trouble; of all the times that characters in stories have found themselves thrown into the middle of a larger mystery because they just had to investigate that missing person, or that odd accounting error, or that quirky bit of paperwork, or the reason why their loved one says they have to work late but isn't there when you call the office. Most of us (except J.J. Abrams, apparently!) need answers. That need can often solve mysteries for us... but in the right situations, it just might be the catalyst that gets us embroiled in one too. 
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"New & Noteworthy Things" | "Blogocentric Formulations"
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