EXERCISE: What Would It Take?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 21:18:35 -0500

Let's try this old chestnut.  Maybe it will help a great oak to grow.

First, imagine this list as the list of your dreams.  What does that look like?  What kinds of postings are going on?  What kinds of responses happen? Maybe write down the kinds of things that happen during a day (or a week?  a cycle of some kind) on your list.

If it will help, consider the rough structure we have, of SUBmissions:, CRITique:, TECHnical:, EXERcise:, WOW: (the World Of Writing), INTeractive:, and FILL:.  Or consider workshops, books, and other wonders that you have encountered.  Or let the imagination fly, incorporating websites, chat rooms, and other digital fun, along with the all too human element that makes lists run.

Second, step back and think about what you are willing to contribute in participation.  Do you want to set yourself a goal of posting one SUB: every two weeks?  Would you like to take part in a round robbin, but you're not quite sure how to get one started?  What are you willing to pledge to make the list of your dreams a bit closer.

Third, think a little about what other people need to do.  Make up a "transition plan" that takes us from here to there, with assignments and steps to get the work done.

Fourth, and final, write it up.  You might like to do it as an essay, "FILL: The List of My Dreams" or perhaps as a novelization/fictionalization, "SUB: That List Coulda Been A Contenda" or even just as a dialog between friends, "FILL: Three Things I'd Like to See On This List" but however you want to do it, let the rest of us know what your ideal list looks like, and how you think we can get closer to that.

Did I see a little leaf popping out there?

I think I can feel the cool shadow of that oak, at least in the fields of my mind.

Write about your list.