The Place For My Writers Notes

What the heck, we haven't done these in a while. The idea is simple. I'll toss out a single line prompt, and... you get to write about it. Some folks will take it as the first line, and continue from there. Others may prefer to embed the prompt in a context, perhaps writing a scene around it. And, naturally, some will simply work the essence of the prompt into their piece, preferring to hint obliquely or even quite blatantly at the idea of the prompt. Basically, feel free to use (or abuse) the prompt any way that suits you, but do try to do a little brainstorming or a little writing with it. So, with that lengthy discussion out of the way, let's see what we might start with today? Oh, how about a classic sort of start?

Once upon a time, there was a gingerbread house in the forest.

There you go! Now, add some characters (yes, you may add children, a witch, elves, or whatever you like), and tell us what happens in that gingerbread house...

Write?

Over at https://writingexcuses.com/2022/02/13/17-7-dissecting-influence/ they are dissecting influences. One of the things they mentioned reminded me of something I do from time to time, and I thought I'd toss it out as something you may want to try.

It's simple really. Take your favorite medium, books, short stories, movies, anime, or whatever, and make a list of your favorites. No particular number, but make sure you have several. Then, take a look, and see if there are common themes, subjects, treatments, or whatever that seem to pop up. Usually, you'll find several that share some elements. Go ahead, make a list of those common threads that attract you.

You may want to take them apart a bit. Why is that theme something that resonates with you? Why do you prefer the youngster growing up main character? Of whatever it is... think about what it means to you, and what the key parts of it are.

You may even want to go a bit farther, and think about how to use these themes, character types, plots, or whatever in your own stories and work. After all, if you really love them, you might as well use them to inspire your own work, right?

Heck, you could probably even go ahead and do some sketches, or mix and match tales, and so forth.

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!

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!

On tv, they had a funny contest. Basically, they provided the tv talents with some pictures, and asked them to make drawings, paintings, art based on the pictures. Then they asked their resident artist to grade the results, and provide his own version…

So, I was thinking. If you wander over to google images (https://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en ) and put a word, phrase, or whatever in, you’ll get a bunch of pictures. So, pick a word, phrase, or something from a poem or story, and see what google images turns up! Pick one of those that appeals to you.

Then, add characters, setting, action… whatever it needs, and make a story. Help us to see that picture, to step into the world you have found, and watch the play!

Okay? And of course, feel free to share the results here.

Hi, ho... over here on Writing Excuses, https://writingexcuses.com/2022/01/16/17-3-chekovs-surprising-yet-inevitable-inverted-gun/ they have a bit of homework at the end of the podcast that I think deserves some attention. The rest of the podcast is a discussion of various examples based around the maxim that if you hang a gun on the mantle in Act I, you should fire the gun in Act III, or at the very least, do something with it!

But the exercise is fairly simple. Basically, take a work in progress (you have one of those, right?). Now, pick a character, a place, a thing, some bit that you included near the beginning that you did not intend to use later on the story. Perhaps a waiter at the diner where the protagonist had breakfast, or the gas station where they filled up the car, or... something that was not intended to be a major player. And... make it one! Write it into the big climax, revise things to make this a major part of the story.

Yes, you may have to do some revision earlier in the story, and in other parts, to really make this work. But that's part of what the exercise is pointing to, is the changes that are needed to make that gun on the mantle shoot someone in the final action.

Remember, as the actors tell us, there are no small parts, only small actors. So, let your character/setting/whatever take the center stage and show you what they can add to your story!

Let's see... I have a random prompt generator, stocked with various bits and pieces. Tell you what. Pick a number between one and six, and see what you got!

1. Problem: Psychosocial and environmental problems. Genre: Overcoming the Monster: Hero and the bad guy. Surprise: abduction, eloping, running away. Oddment: a quilted snake in the living room.
2. Problem: Christmas! Genre: Monster in the house. Plots: Mystery, elementary, my dear Watson. Oddment: dragon kittens in my backpack.
3. Character: firemen (emergency worker). Problem: death of a spouse. Genre: voyage and turn, boldly exploring. Surprise: ask/offer help. Oddment: pictures in the kitchen.
4. Character: private eye. Problem: runaway pet. Genre: whydunit. Surprise: revenge, good payback, forgiveness. Oddment: pictures in the trash.
5. Character: doctor. Problem: change of personal habits. Genre: Quest, seeking and finding. Plot: doing good, diplomatic, long or short fork when eating with elves. Oddment: a jar of plastic ants in the bathroom.
6. Problem: when you get engaged. Genre: tragic plot, failure of a strong character. Surprise: dark secrets, hidden abilities. Oddment: wallet in your luggage.

There you go! I left out some of the odds and ends from the generator, but I think there's enough there to get you started. Take those bits and pieces, add setting, characters, events, and so forth to your taste, and...

For some reason, this morning I've got a couple of lines from Love Potion Number Nine running through my head.

"But when I kissed a cop down on thirty-fourth and vine, he broke my little bottle of... love potion number nine!"

Now, you don't need to have that song in your head. Maybe you've got I'm leaving on a jet plane, or Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain, or maybe Tomorrow! Take your pick, there are lots of fine songs just waiting for you to think of them...

Can't think of one? Go visit https://www.bestrandoms.com/random-lyrics and it will give you one of 500 randomly!

And then go ahead, and rewrite that story! Most songs, if you look at them, have a little story wound through their words. The lonely man looking for love, the separation, the wonder of country life, even poor Annie assuring us that the sun will come out tomorrow, whatever. There's a story there. So take that impulse, the characters, the setting, the problem, or whatever catches your attention, and scribble, scribble, scribble!

Tell us that tale, taken out of music land, and transposed into cold electrons. With your own special twist! Wow!

I'm feeling that good vibration...

Go for it.

Hey, y'all. On Facebook, I've noticed people challenging each other to give thanks. That's right, think about things in your life that you are thankful for, and say thank you!

Which, of course, could be expanded into a whole little exercise. I mean, there's probably lots of things you are thankful for, and people, and situations, and... hey, you might even want to write a little story, poem, or something about being thankful?

I mean, that old Thanksgiving story of the Pilgrims and the Indians is lots of fun, but maybe you've got another story? About that time when... 

Tell us about a time when you were thankful, or maybe still are thankful? Put us in that setting, make us feel the tension, and the release, and that burst of thanksgiving feeling?

For example...

I remember one fall trip to Ohio, long ago, when we were sitting at the back of the traffic stopped near Wheeling, West Virginia (if I remember correctly). It was two lines of traffic, coming down a long, long slope, curving behind us. My father looked in the mirror, and made some kind of noise. We all looked back, and saw a big truck, barreling full speed down that hill. His brakes had failed. We were right in the path, with nowhere to go.

Then the trucker did the smart thing. He turned, across the median, which was a big drop at that point, and flew across and bounced down the empty lanes on the other side. I have no idea what happened when he hit the little town that lay ahead, or whether he managed to slow down somewhere along the way.

But our family said a big thank you that day, for one smart trucker who took the risk of jumping that truck across instead of just smashing into the cars sitting there.

There you go! So what is your story about being thankful, about giving thanks?

Hi, ho. It's summer doldrums time again? And we're all suffering through COVID, protests, and all kinds of odds and ends, too? Ugh!

Might be a good idea to think about writing, eh? But hold on, let's not drop that notion of stress and toil quite so fast. See, if you google stress factors, or stress factors infographics, you will find all kinds of lists of problems that we all face! Which, of course, might also be causing your characters heartburn. And conflict and stress for characters makes good stories! So, let's take a look....

Over here https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/stress/causes-of-stress/

They suggest some reasons things cause stress, and suggest that they might be personal, friends and family, employment and study, housing, money, or even happy events (which often cause big changes, and... stress!). They offer several options under each heading, too. So, roll the dice or otherwise pick an area, then pick one or more specifics under that, and... tell us what happens to your character when they face stress in their life! How do they react, what do they try to deal with it, do they overcome it or not?

https://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/causes-of-stress#1

Also offers several lists of stress causes. Work, life, worry... what makes your character fret and fume?

Or, over here, you'll find a list. Just a list! https://images.app.goo.gl/CaprhDPWSovvVrgP6

Feel free to use that to help figure out what is bothering your characters!

Then, of course, put the characters in a scene, add some dialogue, and write, write, write!

Who knows, it might help you get through the summer doldrums!