Haecceity Rules!
Alright, Scribblers, gather 'round! I just learned a fancy new word – "haecceity." Let's take a moment to geek out about the origins of this concept. As usual, it all starts with a bit of Latin. A term from medieval scholastic philosophy, first coined by followers of Duns Scotus to denote a concept that the irreducible determination of a thing makes it this particular thing. Huh? Its root is "haecceitas," which roughly translates to "thisness." Sounds like something straight out of Dr. Seuss.
At its core, haecceity is the idea that everything in the universe has its own unique, one-of-a-kind essence. A quality that makes each entity fundamentally different from every other entity, no matter how similar they might seem on the surface. You've got a pair of identical twins. They look alike. They sound alike. They even have the same DNA. But according to haecceity, there's still something that sets them apart – something that makes each twin their distinct individual. That ineffable, unrepeatable quality? That's their haecceity.
It's a trippy concept, but it's also beautiful when you think about it. Every person, every object, and every moment in time has its unique fingerprint on the universe. And as scribblers, it's our job to capture those one-of-a-kind qualities and bring them to life on the page.
How do we do that? It's all about those juicy, specific details that make your characters, settings, and scenes come alive on the page.
When crafting the world of Heroes, we didn't just say, "Hey, this guy has superpowers." We dug deep into the nitty-gritty of each character's abilities, limitations, and how they fit into the grand tapestry of the story. You create a world that feels authentic, immersive, and unforgettable. It's what made the tech in Alias feel cutting-edge, the mythology in American Gods feel ancient and mysterious, and the cuisine in Hannibal look so damn delicious (even if it was, you know, people).
Our literary betters were the haeccity masters – Take James Joyce, in his masterpiece, "Ulysses," the city of Dublin comes alive through a barrage of meticulous details. When Leopold Bloom tucks into his breakfast, we don't just see him eating – we're hit with "the inner organs of beasts and fowls," "thick giblet soup," and "nutty gizzards." Suddenly, we're right there at the table, tasting every morsel.
Charles Dickens? The guy was a master at painting a scene with a few details. In "Bleak House," he describes the smoggy London air as "a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snowflakes." You can practically feel that grimy air coating your lungs.
And the booze-loving screenwriter in the bunch – F. Scott Fitzgerald. In "The Great Gatsby," he captures the opulence of the Jazz Age with lines like "The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music, and the opera of voices pitches a key higher." Suddenly, we're at a lavish party, sipping champagne and rubbing elbows with the elite. I did this once, in Cap Ferat at Paul Allen’s manse! Once. Just once… :(
My favorite modern scribes like William Gibson, Cormac McCarthy, and Mark Greaney have all used haecceity to create immersive worlds in their genres, be it cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic wasteland, or heart-pumping espionage.
So, how can we sprinkle some of that haecceity magic into your scribbling?
Draw from your own experiences and expertise. I remember when we were working on Alias, and I’d go down the rabbit hole of spy tech. Those authentic details made Sydney Bristow's world feel real and grounded. The espionage trade was something I’d studied in college and a genre I knew all about.
Engage all five senses. Don't just focus on what your characters see – think about what they hear, smell, taste, and feel. When we were writing Hannibal, the detailed descriptions of his gourmet cooking (minus the human bits) were almost as important as the psychological drama unfolding on the screen. Bryan Fuller puts lots on the page that ain’t exactly on the stage, but it helps everyone understand what’s intended.
Choose your details wisely. It's not about cramming in every little thing –it's about selecting the specifics that will bring your story to life for your readers. By focusing on the unique and often arcane details, metaphors, and allusions that make your story world come alive, you have a better shot at getting to the green - be it the green light of production or the money that pays the WiFi bill.
Now hit those keys and make some haecceity happen!
