In The Way

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting: Fri, 12 Apr 1996 10:35:44 EDT

[I am gleefully ignoring the Quarterly report that is due, the idiot who thinks our development group has unlimited resources, and all the other minor distractions...]

1. Pick a character. This character, like so many of us, is over here (pick your place!). Due to the machinations of the author (that's you!), they want to be over there (you decide again!). They are going to meet--a minor character, a romantic conquest, a sinister antagonist, sterling protagonist, or ??? --someone anyway.

2. Roll the die. First roll, pick odd or even. Second, pick a number. (or you could just pick a number from one to twelve, but that would be simple...)

ODD
1. sadness 2. distress 3. relief 4. joy 5. hate 6. love

EVEN
1. fear 2. anticipation 3. anger 4. guilt 5. gratitude 6. pride

(other lists of emotions can be found in thesauri, etc.)

3. So, your character is going from here to there to meet another character toward whom they feel your chosen emotion. Stop now and think about why they feel this emotion. Did the other character shoot their dawg, and so they are angry, seeking revenge? Just what happened that inspired our character to look forward with joy-colored glasses to meeting the fellow with the sweaty underwear?

4. Now, the current mania is to do a camera cut and *poof!* we are there. But let's give your character (and your reader) time to really go from here to there. Your character is going to take a walk, skateboard, bike, drive something, ride the bus, catch the trolley... and along the way...

5. Roll the die one more time. Pick a number (one to six). Got it?

1. a foreign tourist asks for help and directions
2. there is a detour
3. mechanical breakdown...flat tire, dead brakes, you decide
4. a passing stranger screams and collapses
5. major natural trouble--storm, tornado, earthquake, you decide
6. a street person really gets in the way asking for change

6. That's it! Your character goes through this little scene, this play, of starting out from over here (with a certain emotional cast, intent on the other person) and heading over there where they expect to meet the significant other. Along the way, there's a small obstacle...

Write it up. If possible, don't tell us what the emotion is--SHOW it to us, in the way they react to the obstacle. Who knows, dealing with this interruption may teach them something about the situation they were headed for--or at least change the way they look at it.

One-sentence starting power? How about...

"I'll get over there right away," she said, and hung up the phone.

Words and more words, please?
sprinkle lightly with punctuation
and smooth with humor.
Can I get that to go? In a pocketbook?

Right in the Palm of My Hand

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting: Fri, 5 Apr 1996 11:05:13 EST

Step 1. Pick one of the following 12 emotions. You may use two dice if you like.

1. sadness 2. distress 3. relief 4. joy
5. hate 6. love 7. fear 8. anticipation
9. anger 10. guilt 11. gratitude 12. pride

(yes, variations, thesaurus strolling, and similar attempts to delineate or arrive at finer precision in your toils are all acceptable--just get your emotion selected, okay?)

Step 2. Here is the basic beginning. Please elaborate at your pleasure.

The elf/troll/angel/devil/being of light/monstrous mutation
strolls/hops/flies/pops in with a puff of sulphur/transports down in
sparkles/drips into being before you. They reach out a something
and... spin/drop/one finger touches lightly/a horny nail nudges/out
of nowhere creates/slimily vomits it out before you.

Step 3. The pile/nugget/piece/lump/other word at your description that has been delivered to you IS your emotion, turned into reality.

1. What does it look like? Show us...
2. What does it sound like? Make us hear it!
3. What does it smell/taste/feel like? Make us cringe...

Step 4, 5, and so forth--what does having this concrete emotion do to (or for?) you? Why did you want it so much? What did getting it cost (uh-oh, what did the little dwarf want for the service? did you really want to pay that, and was it worth it)?

For the one-sentence starter crew:

"I got it for you," my visitor said, and dropped it in my palm.

[in case you're not sure, you can use this sentence as a beginning point. Go on from there until you come to an end. Revise, polish, and decide what you want to do with what you have just wrot.]

let's write again, like we did before...