The Place For My Writers Notes

Original posting 8 Jan 2012

Yeah! Pick a number from one to six, okay?

No, really. Pick that number now. We're waiting.

Got your number? Okay, here's your dilemma:

1. By mistake, a large department store has failed to bill your account for a VCR. Do you notify the store? (feel free to update that expensive piece of electronics -- DVD recorder, maybe?)
2. You are a homeowner. A social agency wants to establish a residence for seven retarded adults next door. Do you sign a petition opposing this step?
3. You want a child but your partner doesn't. Do you stop using contraceptives without your mate's knowledge?
4. A friend offers to hook you into pay-TV for $2.00. He says the risk of being detected is slight. Do you tune in?
5. You owe the bank $4,000 from a student loan. You have moved and the bank has failed to trace you. Do you repay the loan?
6. A co-worker at a large company is stealing from petty cash? Do you warn him to stop?

There you go. Six little problems, from ordinary life. Money, neighbors, secrets, pirate access, loans, and petty theft? Now, your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to add characters, setting, and all that good stuff, and tell us a a story, a tale of how someone faced temptation... and gave in? Or perhaps decided to stand firm for the right? What happened that night?

Go ahead, write it up!

Original posting 12 July 2008

Someone had suggested the title "The Oracle's Dilemma" and I was contemplating what one might do with that. This is some of the thoughts.

The Oracle's Dilemma

Nowhere near a story yet, but let's consider a little bit. Off the top of my head, I remember

1. Cassandra who told the truth about what was coming, but was never believed
2. The tradition of oracles who give predictions in riddles, that are not figured out in time
3. Must oracles always tell the truth? If one could lie, why might they do so? To protect themselves or others from what would happen if they told the truth? What about the problem of small tragedies versus large tragedies? If the Oracle told the person asking the truth, they would be saved but many others would die, should the Oracle lie?
4. There's the short story by Heinlein, with a gentleman who has a method of measuring when individuals will die. Among the problems he runs into is how to convince people, what to do about someone whose death is near, and the reaction from insurance companies who have a vested interest in people not knowing when they will die.
5. Thinking about the person who gets the oracle's prediction, they have to decide whether they believe the prediction, and may run into what is recommended by the song, "Live like You Were Dying," by Tim McGraw. The point they raise is that knowing that we may die soon sometimes acts as a call to action, so that we express ourselves, try things, etc. "like tomorrow was a gift and you got eternity you think about . . . "
6. Dilemmas? I've got a few . . . if we need to, we can google dilemmas and get a list from the net.

Okay? So there's a little bit of thought about what might be in The Oracle's Dilemma.

How about taking a wander over here (http://storytoolz.com/generator/conflict ) and see what random conflicts it coughs up. I got murderous adultery, adventure, rivalry, metamorphosis, and enmity of kinsmen. To these relate to a dilemma for an Oracle? Well, from the Oracle's side, how do you answer the jealous spouse whose wife really has been cheating? Encouraging murder doesn't seem like a good policy, but neither is letting the situation slide? Adventure? Always fun, but . . . set that aside for a moment. Rivalry? If we have rivals asking the Oracle for help, does the Oracle take sides? Or pose a task for them to solve that will help resolve their rivalry? Metamorphosis. An obvious point for a Oracle to have trouble with is when the visions start to fail. There's the initial point when the visions start and all of the disbelief and hoopla associated with that, but what does an Oracle do when everyone expects guidance and there is less and less to give? Enmity of kinsmen? Those feuding clans, eh, and what does an oracle bring to that battlefield? Can the oracle find a pair of youngsters to heal the breach, and guide the whole thing to success instead of tragedy?

Or perhaps the story idea generator? http://storytoolz.com/generator/idea gives me [wo]man vs. the environment, maturation, and the necessity of sacrificing loved ones. Hum? So we're going to see some concern about humanity versus the environment (global warming, anyone?), growing up, and sacrificing loved ones. Might want to poke a bit at who is going to be sacrificed, and how do the predictions of the Oracle influence that? Or even the notion that part of what growing up means is to take charge of our own life, to stop accepting direction from the Oracles in our life, and to be responsible for our own actions. What about the old culture that required a human sacrifice to appease the volcano or some other environmental threat? The priests -- the oracles of that culture -- would tell everyone that failing to make the appropriate sacrifice meant disaster. The dilemma, for the sacrifice, the sacrifice's friends and family, and even for the run-of-the-mill member of the society is whether to believe or not.

I'm running out of time, so let's consider some random quotations from http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 and then let the whole mix stew for abit.

"The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear." Aung San Suu Kyi

"A child becomes an adult when he realizes that he has a right not only to be right but also to be wrong." Thomas Szasz (hum, wasn't there a growing up or maturation theme somewhere up there?)

"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of." Blaise Pascal

"Work and struggle and never accept an evil that you can change." Andre Gide

"Our lives improve only when we take chances -- and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves." Walter Anderson

"What does it matter how one comes by the truth so long as one pounces upon it and lives by it?" Henry Miller

Which for some reason reminded me that there are people who try to live their life by the fortunes given in various formats. Could those guidances be a dilemma? What does someone do who expects the newspaper (or other) fortune to enlighten them when the newspaper fails?

Enough for now. The Oracle's Dilemma? What do you think about this little title tossed into the arena? Are your lions ripping at it? Or at least the puppies growling and sniffing around the edges?

The thrill of creative effort grows from the mud of spelling and grammar.

Original posting 10 April 2008

It must be time for an exercise or two. Let's see . . .

Nothing up my sleeves, although I do have a deck of cards from the game "A Question of Scruples" handy. So pick a number from one to six. Yes, you can roll dice, look at the clock and divide by 10, or whatever method of enumeration you prefer, just pick a number.

You have chosen:

1. As a lawyer, do you defend someone whom you know is guilty of a vicious rape?
2. You own a seafood restaurant. A small supplier contracts to provide you with shrimp cheaply. The cost of shrimp increases significantly. Do you insist on your price even if it means putting him out of business?
3. You have been attending classes all year. An acquaintance, who rarely shows up, asks to photocopy your notes. Do you consent?
4. You are planning to quit in five months when your company gives you a high-paying management job. If you still intend to quit, do you tell your boss now?
5. Friends have let you into a long movie line prompting a growl from someone behind. A friend of yours comes by and wants in. Do you let him in?
6. Your teenage daughter is dating a fellow of another color. Do you encourage her to date guys of her own race? (feel free to switch sexes, causes of discrimination, and so on to suit your story)

So there you have a small dilemma of scruples. Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to wrap up this short statement in characters and scenery and such. Set the stage, then walk that problem right into your character's lives. Make solving it expensive and hard and very very important. And then let them grasp the nettle and make a decision, accepting the results whatever they may be.

Write.

When we write, we help others imagine.