EXERCISE: An Olympic Challenge!

[mbarker]

Original posting 2022/2/4

Watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, and I wondered... I've read several science fiction takeoffs on the Olympics, with participants from multiple worlds, sometimes aliens and such. However, offhand, I don't remember a magical Olympics? Your choice, just humans, or add in other creatures. But...

What would an Olympics look like with magic? Who gets to participate, and what events are there? Go ahead, stretch those imaginary athletes and their goals!

Just write!

EXERCISE: Valentine’s Day?

[mbarker]

Original posting 2022/2/5

Oho! That’s right, Feb. 14 is Saint Valentine’s Day! Celebrating romantic love, young romance, and all that, right? Also chocolate! You can find out all kinds of stuff at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day about it, if you like, or just use whatever rumors and vague thoughts you might have rattling around.

So, as writers, what can we do about it? Well, a short story about one of the many themes of this day is certainly possible. Or perhaps a poem? Naturally, you might twist it… what does a vampire do on Valentine’s Day (or night?)? It’s the halfway point for poor February (28 days, three years out of four), which might suggest something. Or maybe… just a chuckle about youngsters and cards and candy and such?

Anyway, I thought some of you might like to take on the challenge of writing a short story, perhaps a 100 word wonder, flash fiction, or whatever? To celebrate the day when love is everywhere, and candy hearts thump?

Write? 

EXERCISE: Movies to Words?

[mbarker]

Original Posting 2022/2/12

So, here we go. Take your favorite movie, or maybe put pick a number from one to one hundred and go over here https://www.filmsite.org/momentsindx1.html (although they seem to have them listed in alphabetical order, which makes it hard to pick number 43 out? Oh, well, pick one!) Heck, visit Rotten Tomatoes or one of the other movie review sites, and see what they have that catches your eye and attention.

Then, try writing it up, other as a short story or longer. Remember, one of the fun pieces of translating from film to writing is that these different mediums have rather different strengths. Somehow, you've got to convey the setting, the background music, all that fun and games of film, in words!

Or at the very least, write up a review, and tell people why they should see that favorite movie of yours. What makes it resonate with you?

Then you might consider what you might change, if you were writing that story? After all, people complain all the time about how films change the story when it goes from writing to film, so feel free to make some modifications going the other way, too.

So, lights, camera, action... write!