Darkness. Stillness. Bastian asks, “Why is it so dark?” “In the beginning,” says the Empress, “it is always dark.” BASTIAN’S MUSE A light from the Empress’ hand illuminates their faces. A single glowing grain of sand. This is Bastian’s act of creation, from which will spring forth a wellspring of creativity. She’s here now withContinue reading “How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: The Ende”
Tag Archives: Michael Ende
How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Solving the Riddle
The image above represents a powerful moment in my life. And we’ll get there soon enough. “Is it really me?” asks a confused Bastian over the heavy and opened book, battling through waves and waves of cognitive dissonance. “Maybe he doesn’t know what he has to do!” screams Atreyu as the floor of the IvoryContinue reading “How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Solving the Riddle”
How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 12
Where we ended our recap last time, Atreyu, riding Falkor, had just wished upon the Auryn. “If the Ivory Tower still stands, take us there.” Lo and behold, the power of the Luck Dragon holds once again – Or perhaps it’s the power of the Auryn this time? Maybe a little of both? Either way,Continue reading “How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 12”
How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 8
As terrified as Engywook was of the Sphinx Gate, he’s even more afraid of the second test, the “Magic Mirror Gate”. He’s terrified that Atreyu must face this second gate on his own, armed with no information on what to expect. Because the mirror forces you to face your true self: Engywook: …kind people findContinue reading “How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 8”
How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 7
Luckily for Atreyu, Engywook is Fantasia’s (self-proclaimed) foremost expert on the Southern Oracle. He explains there are two tests one must pass to reach his goal. And he just happens to have his telescope trained on the first test: The dreaded “Sphinx Gate”. He invites Atreyu to accompany him to the observatory, leading to theContinue reading “How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 7”
How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 6
Realistically, Bastian’s dad will file a missing child report with the police soon. But then again, dad seems to be a bit of a workaholic. Bastian was probably a latchkey kid ten years before it was the “thing to do”. That’s likely why dad was trying to pressure Bastian into some extracurricular activities in theContinue reading “How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 6”
How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 5
THE INFAMOUS SWAMP We all know the story by now–As the pair trudges through the waist-deep swamp, Artax seemingly gives up. This beautiful white horse stops moving forward. He has let the sadness overtake him. He’s given up. Atreyu begs Artax to move, to fight against the sadness that envelops him. Atreyu: Fight against theContinue reading “How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 5”
How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 4
The moment Atreyu’s name is mentioned, it sparks a memory within Bastian. He looks at an image stitched onto his backpack: that of an Indian brave hunting a buffalo on horseback. This warrior’s name is also Atreyu; At this point he’s ready to chalk it up to coincidence. But something interesting happened here: The bookContinue reading “How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 4”
How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 1
This is a topic near and dear to my heart. And I hope by the end it inspires you as much as it did me. For decades, my favorite movie was 1992’s The Last of the Mohicans, a film directed by Michael Mann. A lot of movies came close to it over the decades, butContinue reading “How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 1”
Nick Enlowe 