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A Letter To My 2011 Self

Dear Joe,

Well, 2011 has been an eventful year, hasn’t it? It sure didn’t feel like it when you were down in the trenches, but now that it’s over, you’ve got to admit, you sure came a long way.

You’ve discovered a lot of things about yourself since January. In your quest for economic security, you’ve learned that you’d rather work for yourself as a freelancer than be anyone else’s employee. You took the plunge and self-published, something you thought you’d never do (and yes, it’s okay to call it ‘self-published’–the stigma will be dead in another year). You attended your first Wordcon, made a couple of cross-country road trips, worked a ton of crap-jobs just to make ends meet, and now you’re on your way out of the country to try your hand teaching English. It sure seems like a lot, doesn’t it? Just wait. Next year is going to be just as full of changes, though it won’t always seem like it at the time.

I know, I know–cut to the chase and give me some advice already. Well, looking back on what you’re going to go through in 2012, here’s what I have to tell you.

First, don’t stress out so much about the whole self-publishing thing. You’ll figure it out all right. No, I can’t say whether you’re going to hit the turning point before the end of the year. In fact, that’s not even a healthy way to look at it, so stop thinking about it that way. Follow the slow growth model, and don’t angst about sales or price points so much. Keep your butt in that chair, because writing new words is still the most important thing you can do.

Don’t beat up on yourself so much for failing to meet your ridiculously high goals. You’re going to write a novel in the next six weeks, and the rest of the year is going to be a struggle. Right now, you place too much emphasis on your daily word count. Relax a bit, and don’t be too hard on yourself. You’ve still got a lot to learn about your own creative process, so take the time to figure it out.

By the way, you totally rock the beard. Growing it out was a great idea, no matter what your sisters told you back in 2010.

About your upcoming excursion to Georgia, the best advice I can give you is to remember what Spencer told you back in 2008. Adventures are like stories–they each have a beginning, a middle, and an end. You’re going to experience all of that in the next year. No, you probably won’t write another travel journal. Most of your experiences are going to be too personal for that kind of thing anyway. You’re going to accomplish all of your goals, though, so don’t worry–things are going to be just fine.

The most important thing you can do is keep yourself grounded spiritually. I know, I know, that’s always the most important thing. Well, it’s especially true now. Where you’re headed, you’re not only going to be the only Mormon, but the first Mormon to live there. Sundays are going to be a struggle. Everyone is going to think you’re crazy because you don’t drink. You’re going to make wine, though, and that’s going to be an interesting story for your friends back in Utah. Just be sure to keep doing the things you know you should be doing, and everything will turn out all right.

You’re going to love teaching English. Oh, you won’t love everything about it, but it’s something you’re naturally good at, so don’t worry about that. Just try to listen to your Georgian co-teachers and be more considerate of them. And don’t worry about the language. You’ll pick it up pretty quick. Just realize that Georgian verbs are impossible to conjugate unless you’re a native speaker.

I could tell you what your biggest mistake is going to be, but I think it’ll be better if you go ahead and make it. Just be sure to hope for the best, even as you plan for the worst. Follow the path of least regret, and you’ll make some really awesome memories–not to mention some truly amazing friendships.

At this point, I’d tell you you’re on the right path, but that isn’t exactly true. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ path for you right now, but you’re on a good one, so keep it up and see it through to the end. You’ll be glad you did.

Take care!

Joe

Trope Tuesday: Peking Duck Christmas

pekingduckxmasIt’s Christmas, but for whatever reason (most likely because you’re Jewish), you don’t celebrate.  Or maybe you do celebrate Christmas, but you live in a place where no one else does.

So December 25th comes around and you feel left out.  What do you do?  Simple–you find a cheap Chinese place, or somewhere similarly non-festive that’s open, and you eat out there.  As the tvtropes page adds, bonus points if you bond with the owner despite the language barrier.

This trope is more of a one-liner than anything else, but it pops up here and there.  Jon Stewart used it a couple of times on his show, and Brandon Harris Walker wrote his break-out song about it.  Also, at Elena Kagan’s congressional hearing for the U.S. Supreme Court, she referenced this trope:

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): Christmas Day bomber. Where were you at on Christmas Day?
Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan: Senator… I assume the question you mean is whether a person who’s apprehended in the United States—
Graham:(interrupting) Nah, I’m just asking where you were at on Christmas.
Kagan: (laughs) You know, like all Jews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant.
(Laughter from crowd)
Graham: Great answer!
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT): I could just see that one coming…
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY): Because they’re the only places open.

So yeah, there’s actually a fair degree of truth to this trope, as I’m finding out this year.  Due to some poor planning on my part, I’m spending Christmas in Georgia, a full 14 days before the Georgian Orthodox Church celebrates it.  Yeah, December 25th in Tbilisi is pretty much the same as the 24th, or the 26th.

But it’s actually not so bad.  I didn’t eat Chinese last night, but I did go to a local Georgian place with two Frenchmen, an Iranian, a guy from Singapore, a guy from Japan, a Georgian-American, and a global nomad who doesn’t know where he’s from anymore.  Today, I went to the Dry Bridge bazaar and bought myself an ornate mosaic chess board.  I’ll probaby fix some spaghetti tonight and Skype with my family before going to bed.

So yeah, to those of you celebrating Christmas in the western hemisphere right now, merry Christmas!  And to everyone else, I hope you have a great day too!

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

out_of_the_silent_planetWhen Doctor Elwin Ransom went on a spontaneous walking tour of rural England, he wasn’t expecting to be kidnapped by a mad scientist and taken to Mars.  He soon escapes, only to find himself lost without any way to return home.

Fortunately, the native Martians soon take him in, teaching the otherworldly stranger of their peaceful, utopian ways.  They are just as astonished to have a visitor from Earth as Ransom is astonished to be their guest.  To them, Earth is a silent planet–the only world with no spiritual connection to the rest of the universe.

The more Ransom learns about the gentle people of Mars, the more he realizes that something evil lurks in the heart of our world–and that contact between the worlds can only hasten the showdown between the forces of good and evil.

I decided to read this book after chatting with Norman Cates at Worldcon 2011, following the “When Faith and Science Meet” panel.  Some fascinating questions had popped up toward the end, especially regarding science fictional universes that are not incompatible with millenialist religions.  Norman asked if I’d read C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy, and when I said that most people had told me it isn’t as good as Lewis’s other work, he kind of rolled his eyes and said that it was worth checking it out and deciding for myself.

Well, I didn’t get around to reading it until this summer, but I’m glad I did.  It’s a short read, no more than 180 pages or so, and I finished it in a couple of days.  The world it describes is quite fascinating–a fantastical version of Mars that I’d actually like to visit, perhaps even more than Bradbury’s and Burrough’s.  The kidnapping in the beginning was compelling enough to hook me, but it was the immersive feel of the world that really made the book for me.

This being C.S. Lewis, the more spiritual and allegorical elements of the story lie fairly close to the surface, but it didn’t detract much from the reading experience for me.  It became fairly obvious towards the end that the whole story is basically an attempt to incorporate the Christian millenialist mythos into a mainstream science fictional setting, which is probably where most of the criticism comes from.  If you know that up front, however, and are willing to go along with it, it shouldn’t take much away from the story.  In fact, that might just be what draws you to it.

It’s interesting, because Orson Scott Card tried to do something very similar with the story of Lehi in his Earthbound series, and I think he actually failed where Lewis succeeded.  When I read A Memory of Earth, I felt that Card actually lost the best parts of both the Book of Mormon mythos and his own science fictional world by trying to force them together.  In contrast, Out of the Silent Planet feels much more coherent and compelling, and not artificial at all.

I do feel like things sped up a bit too much at the end, though.  The experience became a little less immersive for me when Lewis went from describing the alien world to bringing the millenialist themes to the forefront.  It’s almost as if the focus of the book itself shifted, and that was a little bit jarring.  I’m a big fan of metaphor, but allegory is a more difficult pill for me to swallow.

That said, I enjoyed the book, and am definitely interested in finishing the rest of the trilogy.  It’s got a lot of merit to it, and is definitely worth checking out no matter what the critics may say.

Hello internets! I’m back (sort of)

So today I said goodbye to my village and moved out to Tbilisi, where I’ll be spending the next week.  It was emotional.  My host mom cried.  It was raining, too, which pretty much reflected the way I felt.  Goodbyes are tough when you’re going halfway around the world.

The last few days have kind of been like a slow-motion whirlwind, a sort of in-between state where I’m not really rooted where I am, but I’m unable to go anywhere else.  Unfortunately, due to some poor planning on my part, I don’t fly back to the States until the 31st, so things are probably going to continue like that for a while.

Well, there are worse places to be stranded over Christmas than Tbilisi.  There’s still a lot in this part of the country that I haven’t seen, not to mention the city itself.  For about $9 a night, I’ve got a roof over my head and a comfortable bed to sleep in, as well as regular internet.  Also, with all that free time, I should be able to get a lot more writing done.

So yeah, when I’m not busy writing or exploring, I’ll definitely be more active here on the blog.  I’ve got a couple of new years-ish posts lined up, and I’ll probably come up with something Christmas-related for Trope Tuesday.  Life day, perhaps?  We’ll see.

In any case, it’s getting late and I’m exhausted.  Good night.

Some thoughts on internet access, self-discipline, and productivity

As many of you probably know, for the past four months I’ve been living in a small Georgian village in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains.  It isn’t as remote as some places in this country (like Tusheti, where some people still practice pagan animal sacrifices), but my internet access has been limited, especially compared to the 24/7 access I had back in the States.

I knew that coming in, and was actually looking forward to it.  I had the option to buy a USB stick from the phone company that would give me service, but I wanted to experience living off the grid for a while to see if that would increase my writing productivity.  Long story short: it didn’t.

In order to use the internet, I have to take a marshrutka (small passenger bus) about half an hour to Kutaisi, where the most convenient place to get wifi is McDonalds.  I can usually go for two or three days without internet, but so many other things in my life (work, family, publishing) are tied up in it that it’s not a good idea to go much longer.

Since each trip takes a huge chunk out of my day, it’s become a lot harder to keep and maintain any sort of momentum on any of my writing projects.  Also, cutting out the internet hasn’t increased my self-discipline at all, it’s just driven me to find different ways to distract myself.

In the end, I think I actually would have been more productive if I’d ponied up the 70 GEL and bought a USB stick from the phone company.  I certainly would have saved a lot of money, considering all that I’ve spent on these trips to Kutaisi.  But at least I’ve learned a few things from the experience.

First, I’ve learned that all of the high-priority things that I absolutely must do on the internet only amount to an hour or two each week.  And even for most of those things, it isn’t a disaster if I put them off for a day or two.  It’s possible to structure your internet time around everything else in your life, rather than vice versa.  In fact, that’s almost certainly a better way to live.

Second, the enjoyment I get from recreational internet usage maxes out after about two hours.  Anything beyond that, and I become something of a zombie.  It’s a weird feeling when you run out of things to do on the internet, but when you realize that you don’t actually enjoy scrolling down an endless list of photos and status updates, it’s a lot easier to pull back and say “no.”

Third, you don’t need social media to sell books.  I made more in book sales in the first week of this month than I did in the first quarter of this year, and my Facebook and Twitter pages are a wasteland.  It might help you if you already enjoy that sort of thing, but it’s not an absolute requirement for success.  Certainly, you don’t have to open a vein and spill everything.

Fourth, exercising good self-discipline doesn’t mean cutting something completely out of your life, but learning how to properly manage it.  The internet isn’t an either/or thing, it’s a matter of finding and maintaining the proper balance.  In the future, I plan to do what Dean and Kris recommend, which is to have two computers: one for internet usage, and one for writing.

Fifth, for me personally, it’s actually healthy to have a couple of harmless distractions available while I write.  I deleted all of the games off of my computer about a month ago, and I haven’t been able to write more than a thousand words a day ever since–often, much less.  Before, whenever I hit a rough patch, I would play a quick round of super-melee in Star Control II and come back to it with fresh eyes.  Without that, I find myself taking my butt out of the proverbial chair and wandering around until I find something else to do, which inevitably takes more time and energy.  A lot of games (Tetris, Spider Solitaire) are addicting and should be nixed, but for me personally at least, opening up something that isn’t a time-sink can actually help to keep me going.

That’s just about all I can come up with now.  I’m sure there are other lessons to be had, but these are the major ones.  I’m coming back to the States on the 31st, and should be back in Utah in time for LTUE and Conduit.  It’s going to be interesting living with 24/7 internet access again; hopefully, it won’t be too hard to adapt back.

Some new thoughts on productivity

I’ve been thinking a lot about writing and productivity, mostly because I seem to be struggling a lot with it lately. With nanowrimo just starting, this is a pretty topical thing to blog about, but I also want to look at it from a long-term career perspective, since that’s what I’m personally more interested in.

As writers, when we spend all our time procrastinating or fail to meet our word count goals, we tend to beat ourselves up and frame the problem in terms of a lack of self-discipline. If only we had greater will power, we could buckle down and pound out five or ten thousand words a day like those super-prolific authors.

While there’s definitely something to say for raw self-discipline, though, I think there’s another dimension to writing productivity that we tend to miss. Not all writing-related activities are productive–and not all non-writing related activities are totally unproductive. In order to make the most efficient use of our writing time, I think it’s more important to understand and respect our individual creative process than it is to merely force ourselves to produce more words.

To better understand my own creative process, I took a little time to group every writing-related thing I do into four different categories:

  • Writing activities
  • Fill-the-well activities
  • Publishing chores
  • Procrastinating

WRITING ACTIVITIES

This should be pretty self-explanatory. It’s basically all the stuff that leads directly to a finished manuscript. It requires the highest amount of energy and produces the most important content.

Activities in this category include:

  • Writing new material
  • Making substantial revisions (putting in and taking out)
  • Updating chapter and scene outlines

FILL-THE-WELL ACTIVITIES

This is the non-writing stuff I do that helps me to be more productive when I switch back to the writing activities. Basically, it’s the stuff I do before and after I write that helps me to maintain a creative momentum.

Activities in this category include:

  • Reading
  • Blogging
  • Catching up on blogs
  • Listening to podcasts
  • Doing mindles chores
  • Going on walks
  • Exploring new places
  • Watching movies
  • Playing RPGs
  • Talking with friends
  • Reviewing first reader feedback
  • Writing character outlines
  • Making book soundtracks

PUBLISHING CHORES

This is all the professional stuff that I have to do, which may feel productive while I’m doing it, but actually takes time away from the stuff I should be doing. I still have to do it, but I should waste as little time doing it as possible.

Activities in this cateogry include:

  • Ebook formatting
  • Producing cover art
  • Writing blurbs and book descriptions
  • Writing author’s notes
  • POD typesetting
  • Handing financial stuff (royalties, invoices, etc)
  • Researching the publishing industry
  • Processing copy edits
  • Sending out email newsletter

PROCRASTINATION

Again, pretty self-explanatory. This is the stuff I shouldn’t do, but end up doing anyway in order to avoid stuff that feels like work. It’s all the stuff that I need to cut out entirely if I want to maximize my productivity.

Activities in this category include:

  • Minecraft
  • Alpha Centauri
  • Any other game that I can’t stop thinking about
  • Checking ebook sales numbers
  • Dicking around on Facebook and Twitter
  • Browsing the Kindle Boards
  • Watching TV and Youtube
  • Minecraft

So now that that’s done, what next?

I’m still figuring this part out, but I think the best thing to do would be to put as much distance as possible between the stuff that boosts productivity (writing and filling the well) and the stuff that doesn’t (publishing chores and procrastination).

The way I see it, there are basically two ways to do this:

  • Physically separate the activities. Do all your writing on a machine that’s disconnected from the internet and doesn’t have any games installed, and do everything else on a separate computer.
  • Set aside blocks of time specifically for writing. Organize your schedule so that writing is a priority, while acknowledging the need to take breaks and refill the creative well.

I can’t really do the first one while I’m here in Georgia, but I definitely can do the second. So far, I’ve found that waking up early to start the day with an hour of writing helps me a ton to build and keep momentum. However, I need to do a better job setting time aside in the afternoon, both for writing and for refilling the well. If I don’t, I usually end up procrastinating by default without realizing it until it’s too late.

So anyhow, those are some of my latest thoughts on writing and productivity. What are yours? Does this square with your experience, or is there a better way to think about it that I’ve missed?

Still here, wherever that may be

Wow, it’s been forever since I’ve been active on this blog.  I guess living in the developing world will do that to you.

It’s not that I don’t have good internet access, it’s that the places where I can get it are often noisy and crowded, with a fair amount of cigarette smoke.  By the time I’ve checked my email, caught up on all the blogs I follow (or at least the interesting ones), and generally finished screwing around done everything else I need to do on the internet, I’m pretty wiped out.

I’ll try to write my future posts offline, like I did in Jordan, so all I have to do is copy and paste.  I can’t really do that with Trope Tuesday posts, but for everything else, it shouldn’t be a problem.

In any case, I’m still here–wherever “here” is.  Currently, it’s Tbilisi.  I came out for the weekend to pick  up a package from the USA…I was hoping to get the new kindle paperwhite, but instead got the case and adapter.  Turns out the actual device is shipping out next week–I’d say it’s a disappointment, but I’m actually just relieved to know that it wasn’t lost in the mail.

Things are going well out here in Georgia.  The village kids are a lot of fun to teach–I basically feel like a rockstar whenever I’m at the school.  It certainly helps that I give out stickers left and right every time someone actually does their homework.  Whenever I pull them out, the kids say “smiley!” and go crazy.

But yeah, even though I enjoy being out here, I figure it’s time for a change.  Like I mentioned in the last post, I’ve accomplished just about all my goals for coming out to Georgia, which mostly had to do with trying out a TEFL career and seeing if it’s a good fit.  I think it is, so I plan to go out again after a few months, but I want to come back to Utah for a while to see some old friends, spend time with family, and recharge before the next big excursion.  That’s the plan, anyway.

As far as the writing goes, things are going, but slower than I’d like.  I’m only in chapter two of The Sword Keeper, which is kind of frustrating, but I think I’ve overcome most of the hurdles and now it’s just a matter of buckling down and doing it.  I definitely think I can have this novel finished before the end of November, which would make it my second novel for the year (third, if you count Star Wanderers I-IV).

In terms of publishing, though, things are looking great.  I found someone to proofread Star Wanderers: Sacrifice, and she should be getting back in the next few days.  If all goes well, it’ll be up on Amazon and Smashwords by Monday the 29th.  Star Wanderers: Homeworld is also getting close–I just need to get the feedback from my first readers and figure out where to go from there.  If there aren’t any major issues, it should be up by the end of November.

I’m debating whether to splurge on the cover art for the omnibus, and if so, who to ask to do it.  This series have a very different feel from my Gaia Nova series, even though they both take place in the same universe.  Not sure what to do for the illustration, or who to ask to do it, but that’s still a few months down the road.

That’s about it for now.  I’ll end with a few shots that my friend took in Prometheus Cave, one of the coolest sites out here in Imereti province.  Imagine about a mile of caverns, brimming from floor to ceiling with formations like these:

Later!

Updates and a book blurb

So I probably won’t do a Trope Tuesday post this week, just because today is going to be kind of busy.  One of my coworkers in a neighboring village has a birthday, and Georgians tend to go all out with birthday parties.  I’m currently blogging from one of the government offices in the village center, which serves as a sort of free internet cafe for the locals.  Things get busy in the afternoon, though, and I’m teaching a class in a couple of hours, so this is going to be short.

I’ve worked out a tentative book description for Star Wanderers: Sacrifice (Part III).  It’s still about two weeks from publication, give or take a few days, so I’d appreciate any feedback that you can give.  This is the third book in the series, so hopefully most readers will already be hooked by this point, but I still want the description to be as solid as possible:

SHE GAVE UP EVERYTHING TO WANDER THE STARS WITH HIM. NOW, HE MUST TOO.

When Jeremiah found himself alone on his starship with an accidental bride, he had no idea how much his life would soon change. Now, with Noemi’s quiet confidence and a baby on the way, it’s hard to imagine life without her.

But life in the Outworlds isn’t so simple. Good men are hard to come by, and Noemi’s friends expect her to share. As part of a colony mission bound for an unsettled star, Jeremiah can’t say no without alienating them from the rest of the community. But if he says yes, his newfound happiness could soon fall apart.

There is another option, of course: leave the colony mission and strike out on their own. But with Noemi’s pregnancy rapidly approaching the third trimester, that may be too much to ask of her. One way or another, Jeremiah will have to make a sacrifice—one that could tear their starbound family apart.

In other news, I’ve more or less decided to come back to Utah in January, after my current teaching contract is over.  I like it here in Georgia, but I’ve accomplished pretty much all of the goals I had when I first came out, and I don’t think I’m going to get much more from staying.  It’s been a great experience, but things are wrapping up and it will soon be time to move on.

That’s about it for now.  I’ve got to go, but I’ll try to post more later.

Trope Tuesday: Well Done Son Guy

What happens when this trope goes horribly, horribly wrong.

So the hero gets the call to adventure, initially turns it down, meets a mentor figure who gives him some sort of supernatural aid, crosses the threshold of adventure, faces a series of tests and trials, loses his mentor, experiences the power of love…and then what?  Well, if we’re playing the hero’s journey straight, the next step is atonement with the father, also known as well done son guy.

Before passing the ultimate test, the hero must first confront the force that holds the ultimate power in his life.  This is often some sort of father figure, though it can also be a close friend or a rival.  Often, the main reason the hero set out on the journey in the first place was because he felt a need to prove himself and gain the respect of this figure.  For that reason, the climax often involves some sort of reconciliation or closure between these two characters.

In discussing this trope, Joseph Campbell said the following:

Atonement consists in no more than the abandonment of that self-generated double monster—the dragon thought to be God (superego) and the dragon thought to be Sin (repressed id). But this requires an abandonment of the attachment to ego itself, and that is what is difficult. One must have a faith that the father is merciful, and then a reliance on that mercy…

The problem of the hero going to meet the father is to open his soul beyond terror to such a degree that he will be ripe to understand how the sickening and insane tragedies of this vast and ruthless cosmos are completely validated in the majesty of Being. The hero transcends life with its peculiar blind spot and for a moment rises to a glimpse of the source. He beholds the face of the father, understands—and the two are atoned.

While this may, on the surface, seem just like a simple “I’m proud of you” moment, the full significance goes much deeper.  This is the moment where the hero finally receives validation for all his struggles, where he realizes that everything he’s been through has been worth it.  It’s a tremendous moment, and an important element of any story that follows the hero’s journey paradigm.

The reason why the hero’s journey resonates so strongly throughout our culture is because it powerfully and effectively fulfills one of the major purposes of all story–to help us better understand ourselves, the world we live in, and what it means to be human.  For that reason, this trope is one of the things that can either make or break a story.  When done well, it can turn the work into a classic.  When done poorly, it can make us wish we had our money back.

I’d talk about this trope in my own work, but I don’t want to give any spoilers.  In Bringing Stella Home, there’s something of a gender inversion, as the title would imply.  In fact, there’s a gender inversion in Star Wanderers as well, though you’ll have to wait until part IV to read it.  In Desert Stars, it’s more of a personal moment, but the whole novel is a lot more intimate and personal than a save the world type of adventure.

Trope Tuesday: Supernatural Aid

Getting back to our discussion of the Hero’s Journey, I think it’s important to briefly touch on one of the earlier stages: supernatural aid.  At some point between refusal of the call and crossing the threshold of adventure, the hero typically encounters a mentor figure from the unfamiliar world who gives him something supernatural or otherworldly to help him on his quest.  While the mentor often dies (as we saw last week), the supernatural aid that the mentor gives later proves to be a key to defeating the big bad and passing the ultimate test.

Often, this is an actual object.  In Lord of the Rings, for example, Galadriel gives each member of the fellowship a specific object.  She gives Sam a magical vial, which he uses later to defeat Shelob and save Frodo and the ring.  In The Lion, The Witch, and the Warderobe, Aslan gives each of the kids a weapon item specially suited to their characters (except Edmund, who was a prisoner of the queen at the time).  In Star Wars IV: A New Hope, Obi Wan gives Luke his father’s lightsaber–though for the purposes of this trope, we can also count his special training with the force, since Luke doesn’t use the lightsaber until episode V.

In discussing this trope, Joseph Campbell said the following:

Having responded to his own call, and continuing to follow courageously as the consequences unfold, the hero finds all the forces of the unconscious at his side. Mother Nature herself supports the mighty task. And in so far as the hero’s act coincides with that for which his society is ready, he seems to ride on the great rhythm of the historical process.

So if the mentor is supposed to die (or get put on a bus) in order for the hero to stand on his own feet, why does the hero need some kind of supernatural aid?  Isn’t that just cheating?

Not exactly.  Often, the aid is itself part of the ultimate test, and the hero doesn’t figure out how to use it properly until after he’s already experienced everything from the adventure that he needs.  The silver slippers from The Wizard of Oz are a good example of this.  So is AURYN from The Neverending Story.  The hero doesn’t fall back on the supernatural aid until after he’s completed his growth arc.

That’s not the only reason, though.  In order for the adventure to have meaning and impact, the stakes have to be really high.  Having some sort of mysterious character from the outside world grant the hero something supernatural is a great way to do this, especially at the beginning.  If the hero is part of something bigger than himself–saving the world, for example–then it makes sense that he would get some kind of help from the people depending on him, especially if those people have something supernaturally powerful to give.

The Force from Star Wars is one of my favorite examples of supernatural aid.  I hear that when episode IV debuted in the theaters, the crowds jumped up and screamed when Obi Wan said “use the force, Luke!” in the clip at the top of the post.  Just because it’s so awesome, here’s the full scene (more or less):

“Remember–the force will be with you. Always.”