EXER: Quoth the Website, Nevermore?

[mbarker]

Original posting April 20, 2017

Oh, well. If you ramble over to http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 and set it up to toss you 6 random quotes, you might end up with a list as follows. Then if you roll your die (or pick a number from one to six? Come on, come all, just pick one!), you might choose:

1. Men are equal;  it is not birth but virtue that makes the difference. Voltaire
2. Those who flee temptation generally leave a forwarding address. Lane Olinghouse
3. Be brief, for no discourse can please when too long. Miguel de Cervantes
4. The strongest man in the world is the man who stands alone. Thomas H. Huxley
5. Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers. T. S. Eliot
6. We all have such a finite time to leave the world better than we found it. Dave Kellett

So, there you go! You have picked one of these little quotations? Now, can you turn it into a story? Add some characters, a little scenery, a complication, try fail cycle, and all that jazz, and then…

WRITE!
tink

EXERCISE: Where did you get that?

[mbarker]

Original Posting April 21, 2017

Here you go! A small scenario, set for you...

The unicorn horn was laying in the middle of the other bits and pieces at the flea market. But when I touched it, the ivory was fresh. I picked it up and cradled it, wondering. Then I looked at the vendor and said, "Where... where did you get this?"

He shrugged. "Some guy at another sale. Over in Iowa, I think? You wanna buy it?"

AND... over to you. Who am I? Why do I recognize fresh unicorn horn? Even worse, where did that darned horn come from? And what am I going to do about it?

Add some characters, a bit more setting, and...

Write!
tink

EXER: The never ending challenges...

[mbarker]

Original Posting April 28, 2017

Looking back through old drafts of email, I found this (2014? What the heck?). Thought you might enjoy it...

Here is one version.

1. Write. Watch for things that interest, excite, or otherwise make you feel something. Carry a notebook, memo pad, tablet, your smart phone, and write them down. John Brown calls them zings. The little bits and pieces among the torrent of information that we all swim in that make you wake up and notice them. Whatever you call them, start paying attention!

2. Finish what you write. I would guess maybe one out of five zings really snags you, and insist on being written about. But whatever it is, regularly pick one out and write it up. Fill in the context, the setting, characterize, add to it -- whatever it takes to let your reader understand. Short story, poetry, essay, nonfiction, fictionalized account... Put it together.

3. Get it out there. On this list, use subs, fill, or wherever it fits. If you're ready, use KDP or one of the other programs to get it out there in front of the public. Send it out in letters to the editor, put it on your blog, add it to your Facebook wall, twitter about it -- I guess that should be tweet about it? -- Or even submit it to ye olde publishing system.

4. Keep it out there. Point people at it, remind them that it is there, put it out in other formats.

Write!
tink

TECH: Jump-Start Your Brain (moldy oldie!)

[mbarker]

Original Posting May 10, 2017

Writer's Digest, February 2000, had an article on pages 34-36 with the title Jump-Start Your Brain by Steven James. The subtitle reads "When your creative batteries are dead, facing a blank page is as much fun as digging in the trunk for your jumper cables… By the side of the road… In a snowstorm. Here, we offer the ultimate in roadside assistance: seven ways to grab a spark and recharge." So, let's take a look!

1. Explore your L. I. F. E. What the heck is that? Literature, imagination, folklore, and experience. "A limitless well of ideas waiting to be tapped." That's right, take those classic plots and put them in a different time and place. See what your imagination throws up that you find interesting. Look for the motifs of myth, fairytale, folklore. Think about your own experience.

2. Change your perspective. Steven recounts noticing that in a hotel in Denver, there were exit signs above the exit doors, but also at their base. He thought that was odd, since only someone crawling on the floor would need a sign there… And then he realized that's where you should be in a fire! "Creativity isn't seeing what no one else sees; it's seeing what anyone else would see – if only they were looking. New ideas are born when we view life from a fresh perspective or peer at the world through another set of eyes." So take a look at your story from another person's perspective. Writer journal entry, a complaint letter, a love note from the point of view of the main character. Try switching the point of view, playing with first or third person. What would you do if you are in the story?

3. Let serendipity happen. Step away, stop worrying, relax – and see what happens. Break your routine. Do something different. You never know what you might find the circus!

4. Set boundaries. Photographers carefully consider how to frame the picture, what to leave out. Writers don't have viewfinders, but… Sometimes we need to set more limits. Focus. "What's your story about? What's the theme? The deadline? The word count? If you aren't assigned boundaries, sent them yourself!"

5. Look for connections. Combining ideas, the intersection of thoughts, is often where creativity spouts. Take two or more familiar things, randomly chosen, combine them and see what you get. Think metaphorically! Look for the connections, and see what happens.

6. Ask stupid questions. Obvious, stupid questions are a good way to explore problems. Try describing the finished story to someone. What has to happen to get there? What does the reader need to know? Ask what's missing, what you've left out. Use "what if questions" to kick you into action. "No question is too stupid when it comes to framing and improving your story. Just be brave enough to accept and embrace the answers!"

7. Question your direction. Make sure you're going the right direction. Don't just keep writing page after page of the story that's headed nowhere. "Question where you're going. Don't assume that you must be going in the right direction just because you're picking up from where you left off yesterday.… Stay on track."

Now, on page 35 they included a creativity starter. It's really pretty simple. Three steps:

1. Explore your L. I. F. E. What's a favorite memory from your childhood? What happened? Why is the event or person so memorable? Write that down in a short paragraph or so.

2. Change your perspective. How would someone else relate the same memory? For example, how would your mother describe the memory of your father's laughter? What would be different about her recollection? What language would she use? Again, write down some ideas in a short few notes.

3. Set boundaries. Does this memory fit into your current writing project? How? If not, can it fit by refocusing on what you are writing now, or can you funnel this creative burst into another project? How? Go ahead, write down your notes about this.

"Don't be afraid to let your thoughts go far afield if you're stuck. Focusing on the future instead of your current rut can help you climb out and move on."

There you go. Kickstart your brain! Feel those little sparks running wild. And then…

WRITE!
tink

TECH: Tales of the Unexpected (moldy oldie)

[mbarker]

Original Posting May 19, 2017

Writer's Digest, March 2000, on pages 38-39, had a article with the title "Tales of the Unexpected" by Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet. The subtitle was "It's a delicate balance, keeping readers interested in your fiction while still keeping the story believable."

So, how do you provide that spice of the unexpected, the surprise! "Every time you present a new character, describe a setting or develop a plot, create something your readers aren't looking for – something that will jar their sensibilities, cause a grin, or make them wonder.

Characterization by surprise? That's right, make your characters break assumptions. Then explain just why they're different.

Setting the scene? Incongruent, bothersome details can easily salted into. "Unexpected details in the setting, then, should not only whet readers' appetites. Collectively, they can actively engage your audience, pushing them further into your story."

The plot beckons. Surprising turns, with a reasonable explanation, are much more interesting. But "every twist must be prepared for, be explained and ultimately make sense in the larger context of the story. If you cannot prepare your readers to make the leap to the unexpected or have them believe the leap is possible, you have failed to create a satisfying surprise.

A satisfying conclusion. "The key to creating the unexpected in character, setting or plot is that you control reader response." If the reader thinks your story is going to be just the same old same old, they aren't going to read it. But lead us down a road not usually taken… We'll follow you anywhere.

There is a side box that suggests some points for keeping readers hooked:

– Think outside the box. Look for the unusual detail, the different setting, the road not taken.
– Go beyond stereotypic characters. The hooker with the heart of gold may seem different, but she's been used before.
– Play fair with your endings. O. Henry twists need preparation.
– Provide explanations for every unusual character, element of setting, or event.
– Stake out that middle ground of the unusual. Try to avoid the extremes of the slightly quirky and the unbelievably outlandish.

So, an exercise? Well, take something you've written and check the characters, setting, and plot. Do you have surprises and twists, unexpected pieces in the mix? Are there good explanations for them, too? Now, look over the whole piece -- are the surprises clumped, or spread out so that we get a little bit everywhere?

And, of course, WRITE!
tink

TECH: Step up to Stronger Dialogue (moldy oldie)

[mbarker]

Original Posting May 25, 2017

Writer's Digest, February 2000, on pages 40-42, has an article by David Curran with the title "Step up to Stronger Dialogue." In it, David recommends three exercises to help you learn to write good dialogue. Here we go!

1. One-sided conversations. Start out with a simple one, a one sided conversation. For example, pretend you're eavesdropping on one side of a phone conversation (yes, it could be someone with a cell phone standing in the checkout line in front of you). So, write the monologue without adding any observations about the speaker's thoughts or gestures. Just the conversation. Put in a bit of mystery, why does the speaker react to the other person in a certain way? Maybe build in a little bit of conflict. Work on the voice, so that this person sounds like they have their own way of speaking. Go ahead and free your imagination. Where are you likely to get one-sided conversations? Someone talking to their pet? Someone talking to their computer? Someone talking to the hand? Tell a story, beginning with a little hook, a middle that reveals the story conflict, and an ending. Try several different conversations, and read them to your friends. See how they react!

2. Real conversations. Now, go to a restaurant, food court, bar, someplace that people are talking, and try to write down some real conversations. Record is much as you feel comfortable with. Yes, you may have trouble hearing, the conversations may well be fragments and full of extraneous stuff. But, that's what real conversations are like. The speakers know the context – but a writer has to provide that context. Tone, gesture, facial expressions, all that stuff – the writer has to work around it. Still, you may have found some useful tricks. When you overheard feelings, what gave it away? "Say as little as you need to establish context. The only way to get the hang of this is to practice, and a good place to practice is with two-sided conversations."

3. Two-sided conversations. Find a newspaper with classified ads by men and women seeking mates (yes, you can use the web, too). Now, build some characters. What did they intend to say, what did they reveal that they didn't expect to. Combine the needs, feelings, flaws and so forth to build a character. Feel free to combine ads. Now, with some characters, work on a two-sided conversation. You know the motives: lonely people looking for something. Put that in dialogue. Tell us about these ad-crossed lovers talking to each other. Then, do it again!

So, one-sided conversations, a little research on real conversations, and two-sided conversations out of advertising. Then, have fun. Try mixing it up, perhaps with letters, perhaps with videoconferencing.

"These exercises should help you with more than just good dialogue. You'll also be learning to develop believable characters with unique voices."

There you go. Let the talking begin!