writercises | Entries tagged with fill

Original posting 2022/1/28

Oh, let's see. Not Robinson Crusoe's Friday, who was a helpful fellow, or even Heinlein's Friday, who is a bit of a wonder. Just another Friday...

Earlier today, I was wondering why we talk about orcs and forks and torques, but not orks and forcs and torks, but that's rather esoteric, I suppose. Although the line "He stuck a fork in the orc and twisted it with plenty of torque" does rather suggest an odd scene or two.

So, where were we? Ah, yes, wondering how to prompt some writing on a lazy Friday afternoon? Well, we do have the various categories to contemplate...

SUB and CRIT, for those wonderful submissions and comments in response? Hum, I suppose I could dig out an old tale or two and see if anyone bites?

TECH, of course, for the technical side of things. How do you twist a tale? What are the ingredients for stone soup? And similar walks on the DIY side of writing...

Which goes with EXERcise, when we need to practice those tricks and juggling and all that stuff. Give us a way to keep those writing muscles limber!

INTeractive, naturally, means we're going to play together! A round robbin, or some other group writing, to keep the words flowing!

WOW? World Of Writing? I saw something over there that looked interesting! And here's what it was...

And, of course, there's FILL, for all those odds and ends that don't quite fit in the other categories.

It's kind of a bare bones skeleton, but maybe you could put some on those bones?

A bit whimsical, but that's what Friday afternoons are good for, right?

Write?

mbarker

Original posting 2022/01/08

The tv ad says that tomorrow, they're going to have another episode of Hisatsu Shigotonin (Secret Workmen). The funny thing about this is that I've watched the series, and several of the specials, and I'm still looking forward to tomorrow's show, even knowing that it will repeat the formula.

See, these are formula dramas. In this one, there will be some kind of problem, maybe the guys in power pushing around someone, or some kind of bullying. Things will get worse, someone may even die, and... eventually, one of the people who is losing will take their money, usually a fairly small amount, and wander off to the temple where they will offer it. And then... the secret workmen are gathered, and they talk it over. And pick up a bit of the money. Now the music starts playing, and we see the various workmen preparing... a bit of rope, a long nail, this and that. Then they quickly make their way, across the roofs, through the alleys, and otherwise, to wherever the bad guys are, and... they kill them. While the music plays...

Anyway, if you have seen a few of these, you recognize the overall form, and know more or less what is going to happen. Heck, when we all watched Columbo, we knew darn well that he was going to catch that bad guy, one way or another. The fun was finding out just how he was going to do it this time. Same thing with the shigotonin, half the fun is seeing how they manage to kill the bad guys this time around.

There's a certain kind of story that we love to see or read again, and again, and again. Oh, sure, there are variations, but the basic formula really does need to be there.

So, give us that same old story, with a few new decorations, and we'll enjoy it! I mean, when you dance a waltz, you really don't need to do it a whole new way, right? So, get us out there on the dance floor, and lead us through the same old steps, okay?

Write!

mbarker

Original Posting 2022/01/01

Happy New Year!

Yep, it's that time again. Celebrations, lots of fun, and... maybe a little pause to consider what you want to accomplish this year. I'm seeing several writers regroup, making lists of things they want to tackle this year, and thought maybe you might like to do that...

I mean, one of the things about New Year's resolutions is that they are goals you set for yourself, and you get to decide how public or private you want to keep them. But it is a good turning point to sit back and consider...

Do you want to join a writing group? There are online versions around. Critiques, writing prompts, and other helps to keep you going. (Psst? Take a look at https://moreoddsthanends.home.blog/ if you want to join in a weekly challenge!)

Or maybe you just want to set yourself a goal of writing at a certain time or place regularly? Lots of people find that discipline useful.

Maybe take a book, or some other guideline, and work your way through the approach they suggest? Hero's Journey, Save the Cat!, there is a lot of guidance out there, take your pick. But set yourself a goal, and work on it!

For that matter, take the plunge and plan on posting something here on Writers from time to time! Weekly, monthly, whatever works for you. As I used to suggest, either a post about technique (aka tech!) or a submission (sub!) are good ways to participate.

Heck, close your eyes, and let your dreams take wing. What kinds of things could you see yourself doing, what do you wish you were doing, what do you really want to try? I'm sure there are many ways to go, and you can make your own this year!

Anyway, might be a good time to sit back, and think about what you want to achieve this year. Then think about how to do it, what are the steps, the habits, all that to get there. And, of course, decide to start. One step, just to get started....

Write!

mbarker

Original Posting 2021/10/15

I was poking around in some old files and found this list. I think it must be a list of possible actions or events for stories, and I think I added the ones after the dashes as possible alternatives? Anyway, I thought some of you might find it useful for brainstorming. When you want to think about what might happen next in your story… Run down the list and see what catches your eye, what kind of problem could your character be involved with?

Supplicate, ask for help – offer help, deliverance, rescue
victim of misfortune – receiving good fortune
disaster
abduction – eloping, running away, vacation
obtaining – giving away
hatred – love
rivalry – boosting
adultery – reinforcing marriage
madness – sanity
murder – saving lives, giving life
self-sacrifice – self-fulfillment, expression
dark secret – hidden abilities
love blocked – love aided
ambition – promoting others
revenge – good payback, forgiveness
pursuit – helping to freedom
revolt – support
daring expedition
mystery
fatal curiosity – curiosity repaid
mistaken jealousy
faulty judgment – mistaken forgiveness
remorse
recovery/loss

Something there for almost anybody!

mbarker

Original Posting 2021/10/9

(For those who don't recognize it, that's one of the taglines from Pinky and the Brain. To which the Brain would typically answer, "The same thing we do every night, Pinky! Take over the world!")

If you want to listen to the theme song, try this... https://youtu.be/GBkT19uH2RQ

So, let's see. It's slipping into fall. October! Whoops! Do we want to do a Halloween story contest? Anybody? Yipes, that's only 3 weeks away!

I have to admit, I've been enjoying the weekly writing prompt exchange over at Odd Prompts https://moreoddsthanends.home.blog/ where each week, we all submit various odd bits and pieces (writing prompts!) which are then randomly assigned to us to play with over the next week. Most of us do sketches, although we have had a few outbreaks of poetry or other responses. We could do something similar here on the list? I can make up a "submit your prompt" sheet pretty easily, then randomize and so forth. Or maybe we should just post a few of your favorite prompts, and anyone who wants to can take a swing at it?

Of course, I have a pile of writing books that I could start meandering through. I'm not sure if people really like that kind of rehearsal of approaches and suggestions, but I know I kind of like trying to figure out what these folks are doing.

Hum. Thanksgiving, Christmas... anyone have any particular ideas about how to turn those into writing provocations? A theme for the holidays?

Oh! Short notice, but over here https://www.cedarwrites.com/sanderley-studios/ there's a call for an anthology about PTSD and trauma. "Write us a story about love, and honor, and the barrier of trauma that holds so many of our service men and women from fully coming home for the holidays." Take a look!

Let's take over the world tonight!

mbarker

Original Posting April 20, 2019

I’m not sure what is the right word, but... here’s something you might use as a disruption point to kick off your story?Just pondering, there's a... I want to call it a social trauma, but I'm not sure that's the right phrase. Anyway, a phenomenon that goes with WWII in Japan. See, when they were being bombed, the government, companies, and families sent people out of Tokyo and other cities into rural areas.In the morning drama running now, one girl from a family got sent from Tokyo all the way to Hokkaido, to a dairy farm. She’s still there, as a teen, and doesn’t seem to know where her family, brother and sister, are. Other stories, Tottoro, for example, also mention this almost in passing. It’s a fairly common starting point for stories in Japan set in that era, the disruption and upset of being sent out to the country.I mean, think about the social churning when city people who know Tokyo is the best place to live suddenly become refugees, begging a place to live, in some cases food and work, from rural farmers and small towns. Think of the mixing, the conflict of country life and thought as these dribs and drabs flood out into the countryside.Imagine, if you will, what it would be like if we suddenly took New York city, all the people and companies there, and sent them out, in families or smaller groups, to West Virginia, to rural Alabama, to Kansas, to the small towns and farms across America. Maybe in response to a threat of bombing, or perhaps the predicted impact of an asteroid, or whatever? So suddenly these city folks are shoved out into Smalltown, USA, with little more than what they can carry in their hands or on their backs.Wow! It's no wonder that this dispersal, this diaspora of the city dwellers, still gets play in dramas and such about that time. 75 years ago, but I think the impact, the shock, if you will, is still working its way through Japanese society. And provides a great stock of characters trying to adjust to life in the country, of course.Just thinking you might use that kind of refugee from the wars (or whatever catastrophe you like) as a starting point or turning point in your tales, too.

mbarker

Original posting July 5, 2018

Interesting. Howard Tayler, in a tweet over here

https://twitter.com/howardtayler/status/1013927731665387521

Argues that ideas are easy, plentiful, and that turning the ides into something that makes people recognize the ideas -- that's the hard part. Which reminded me of the old quote about genius being one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.

But then Rachel Gutin responded

https://twitter.com/Rachel_Gutin/status/1013961561772314624

pointing out that kids get really stuck and have to learn how to identify ideas they can write about.

I think the question is at least in part where you have difficulty. Some people have an apparently endless fountain of ideas, but sitting down and grunting through the work to turn any one of those ideas into an actual story... hah! Other people get stuck at the early part, worrying and fretting, looking for a perfect idea, and then find the mechanics of grinding out the story to be fairly straightforward.

It's almost a reflection of the arguments between outliners and discovery writers. To outline before writing, or to write and in the writing, find an outline? Which way do you go?

Anyway, I thought I would ask. Do you find yourself having more trouble getting ideas to write from, or working through the writing? Where do you get stuck? Would more bits and pieces about getting ideas, about how to get stuff from the well of creativity, be more attractive, or do you like the technical stuff?

What do you think?

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Posting 27 Dec 2010

Hum...

Over here http://www.sfnovelists.com/2010/12/23/you-cant-teach-passion/, David B. Coe blogged about "You Can't Teach Passion." And...

For some reason, the title, "You Can't Teach Passion," kind of itched whenever I saw it. So I've been thinking about why that feels like fingernails on a blackboard to me.

I think I can probably agree with David that we can't teach passion, if we're talking about teaching as "sage on the stage" lecture presentations designed to fill time with the teacher talking and the students scribbling, sleeping, or staring into space, but probably not really engaged. Unfortunately, too many of us have learned to define teaching and learning in those terms.

On the other hand, that kind of teaching often does a very good job of eliminating passion. Even someone who has a dream, a vision, a fire burning often finds that kind of teaching acting as a tremendously effective dream quencher, blackout curtain, and fire extinguisher. Take a kid who's lively, outgoing, interested in the world around them, set them down in a orderly classroom with good teaching discipline, and pretty soon you're likely to have a quiet drone.

But, despite the excellent methods of eliminating passion that we have developed (documented at length as killer phrases in What a Great Idea! 2.0 by Chic Thompson -- that's nonsense, that's irrelevant, that's unproven, that's dangerous, that's not salable, etc. etc. etc. all of which say "No" to passion), we've also got some ways to encourage passion. See Michalko's Thinkertoys, Roger van Oech's A Whack on the Back of the Head and A Kick In the Seat of the Pants, or Edward de Bono's various books, among others. Ways to take that little flicker of interest and excitement, to blow gently on it and provide tinder to help it grow into a raging flame. To give passion creative outlets and let the dream become reality.

You can't teach passion. But you can quench it, so easily. And, on the gripping hand, you can encourage passion. Heck, you might even find a teacher cheering you on. And that's real learning.

(Who is still trying to figure out why the notion that some people don't have "the passion" or "the inspiration" or whatever it is makes me queasy. What do you think?)

Current Mood: passionate

mbarker.livejournal.com

Excitement, zest, gusto -- go for the gold?

Are you all watching the Asian sports thing going on in China? Lots of athletes, doing all kinds of athletic stuff. And also flubbing here and there, and you can see their faces fall. But one of the men just fell off the horse -- the single bar, with two handles in the middle, where you pretend your body doesn't have any weight as you walk on your hands? He fell down in the middle of his routine. And calmly walked over, put some more chalk on his hands, walked back to the horse, raised his hands? and continued. And when he finished, he had a big smile on his face. Not sure what kind of score he got, but it looked as if he was happy with himself.

And that's the thing. Over here http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/145016.html there are some bits and pieces from Ray Bradbury daring you to get emotional about your writing, to put some zest, gusto, feeling into it. Get excited, get back up on the horse, and see what happens.

If you cry, if you laugh, if you smile while you're writing? your reader may just join in, too. And as that old song reminds us, "When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you." Just imagine capturing all those smiles in your book! Go for it.

Write.

Current Mood: flubber

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 14 November 2010

Oddly enough, although today has been somewhat restful, I haven't really produced very many words so far. But I did get interested in a series that Darcy Pattison has been writing -- 30 days to a stronger scene -- and she's been putting out one a day in November. If you go over here http://www.darcypattison.com/tag/scene/ I think you can see most of them, or even sign up for her e-mail postings. Something else to keep you writing!

Reading through it, I found it interesting first to be reminded of kind of the key points about scenes. Mostly materials and points that I had seen before, but it's good to be reminded again. One thing that particularly caught my eye was the notion that a scene is both external action and internal change. Oh, I know that's not the first time I've seen this, but for some reason balancing the two seems like something I should pay more attention to.

Maybe it's just that this podcast http://www.writingexcuses.com/2010/10/31/writing-excuses-5-9-character-arcs/ had emphasized character arcs, and then I see Darcy also putting a little bit more attention on the internal side than some writing advice seems to, but it's something I'm going to think about. I also appreciated the advice about listing possible scenes, and then selecting among those -- and taking a scene and developing it through lists of what she calls beats (and I would tend to call bits of action) before writing. Fun!

And over here in the aging Nanowrimo notes http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/144414.html, we have some hints about using beats (where this means little actions among the dialogue). The kind of interspersed fiddling with the menu, playing with a pen, or whatever that helps to keep your dialogue from being just two or more talking heads.

Scenes. The basic building blocks of a plot. Where a character sets out to do something, runs into obstacles and complications, and most of the time fails. Followed by a short regrouping and reaction, which sets up the next scene. Scene-by-scene, slowly they turned? and the plot grew! Yeah!

Sigh. Why is it that doing the research and thinking to make the writing time productive feels like somehow slacking off? Oh, well, time to hit the wordmills!

Tilting at wordmills, the author felt like Don Quixote, and wondered where Pablo had vanished?

Write!

Current Mood: sizzling

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Post 11 November 2010

You don't want to know. I was stupid yesterday, and spent most of the time correcting student papers using the keyboard, because I really don't feel comfortable editing using the dictation software. And I'm paying the price -- my fingers feel pretty much as if someone had bent them into various unnatural poses repeatedly, leaving all the little muscles twitching and complaining. The really bad part is that there isn't any comfortable position. So today I am trying to be good and stick to the dictation software. Look, ma, no hands!

Anyway, where were we? Over here, http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/143199.html I talked about Chekhov's gun -- the principle that the various objects, characters, and so forth introduced into your story should do something. The gun over the mantle in the first scene should shoot somebody or something sooner or later in the story. When you're doing rough draft write-and-keep-writing work such as nanowrimo pushes us to do, it can be hard to go back and introduce foreshadowing, embedding those helpful little hints in what you've already written. That's really more for a second draft and editing pass. But, you can certainly put things in the scenes for later, giving yourself the luxury of expanding on it later. In this scene, have your character notice the Ming vase beside the door -- and later when he runs through the doorway, he can yank it sideways and drop it in front of the ravening zombie. I also mentioned the MacGuffin -- the Maltese falcon that we're all going to hunt for, or whatever. Things that the characters want to find or get. You can use those to help push things along.

Or maybe you would prefer plot tokens. Take a look at The Well-Tempered Plot Device by Nick Lowe, then set your character to collecting the six pieces of the miraculous key that will solve everything. How many places can those keys be? The answer, my friend, is written in your wordmill.

Today's well-aged posting looks like http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/143586.html and deals with some everyday ethical questions that you might use in your nanowrimo wonderings. Mistakes in change, by a person or a machine? How about some possible invasions of privacy -- do you peek, do you complain, or do you just take advantage? Those little nagging promises? Do you really have to do what you said you would? What about various prejudices -- how do you deal with different sexual preferences, religion, and so on and so forth? Even if you don't like those particular incidents, you can always tailor them to your own story. How does your hero deal with the bartender accidentally giving them too much change?

Sigh.

There's a pep mail from the Nanowrimo folks, and bits and pieces on the nano site, talking about Week Two. Apparently Week Two is where a lot of people drop out. There's something about pushing through the first week, and settling into the second week, that raises lots of questions. Which is good, actually, because I think part of what Nanowrimo is really about is looking at those questions, and making some decisions. Am I willing to keep cranking words, or do I really want to stop and clean up? Can I give myself permission to grind out 50,000 words before I stop to clean? How do I feel about discovering things while writing? And so on.

I've got a quote from a Zen buddhist monk over my desk. In part it says, "every day in life is training... my future is here and now..." It seems to me that part of what nanowrimo reminds us is that we are telling our story now!

Anyway. Don't let Week Two get you down. Use Nanowrimo as a prompt to decide what you are going to do. Write now, write here...

Write anyway you can!

Current Mood: popping

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Posting 12 Aug 2010

Aka a guide to writing?

This morning, Mitsuko watched a TV show with a woman who has a group that does research on how to organize your refrigerator. Most of the show was her (let's call her the master) helping someone (we'll call this woman the student) who was not part of the group to tackle straightening up their refrigerator. But as I was listening to the steps, I got to thinking about them as a kind of allegory -- or at least a metaphor for what we may need to do with our writing. Let's see what you think.

1. Separate. The first step was to have the student go through what was in the fridge, trashing stuff that was too old, setting aside things that didn't need to be in the fridge, and taking a good long look at what was left. That triage -- separating the "good stuff" from the other stuff that always accretes is so necessary for writers. Stop and take a good hard look, separating what you want to use, what you want to keep but not now, and the throwaway stuff.

2. Plan. The next step was to sit down with a large sheet of paper and some markers. The master had the student draw a picture of the shelves, then stop and think about how the student wanted to organize the refrigerator. What did she want to do with the refrigerator? They came up with "zones" that made sense to the student. And there was a deliberate "free zone" put in for later adjustment, instead of filling everything. Frankly, this is where I started to think that this is kind of what we need to do with our writing. Don't try to figure out every little dot and line, but do have an overall picture of what we're doing. Look at the way other people have organized (and sliced and diced) writing, but put your own labels on the parts. And divvy it up in ways that make sense to you. Oh, leave some room for flexibility, too.

3. Visible storage. This was a big thing for the master. She insists on see-through storage, so that you can easily see what's inside. Glass bottles, transparent plastic boxes, and so on. Even as she helped the student, though, she insisted that the student do the work. Along the way, they re-did some things. Instead of keeping part of a package from the store, move it into a plastic storage bag. And whenever possible, go ahead and do the preparation -- pour oil on the chicken in the bag, put soy sauce on things, and let them soak in the refrigerator. Again, interesting analogy to writing. When you have ideas, scraps, and snippets, put them away -- but make them visible. Explicit lists, and so forth. And go ahead and start the preparation. If you use a list of questions, fill in some of them before you put that idea away for later. If you're putting away something, consider pulling out some pieces as you put it away. And so on...

4. Clean up, and plan ahead. When they hit the vegetable drawer, they had to stop and clean it out before the master would let the student put vegetables in it again. And while they were at it, the master suggested putting a plastic bag on the bottom, sort of as a liner, and a layer of newspapers. She explained that you can take a sheet of newspaper off and throw it away, making cleaning easier. Then when you reach the plastic bag, pick it all up and throw that away, and it should be pretty clean.

This caught my attention, as I thought about the piles and piles of paper I have in my office. Sorry, but I'm really bad about projects that are over -- I often just pile them in a corner and move on. I got to wondering about how I would deal with them if I started out planning to clean up afterwards...

Separate, plan, storage, and cleaning up beforehand. So that your cool writing is as organized as a good refrigerator?

And I thought it was just another daytime TV show...

Current Mood: piled

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 18 July 2010

Odd...

Over here

http://www.writingexcuses.com/2010/07/11/writing-excuses-4-27-major-overhauls-to-broken-stories/

at Writing Excuses, among other things, there was a short discussion of the need for new writers to just WRITE. Write lots, and don't try to fix it up, just keep going. You need the practice.

Somewhere on

http://madgeniusclub.blogspot.com/

the Mad Genius Club, there was some discussion of fan fiction, that this was a great way for new writers to do some early work.

And I've had the occasional thought that writers, like artists, really need to start out with simple imitation. In Zen in The Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury, who is often considered quite a creative guy with a good handle on language, mentions somewhat off-handedly that he spent considerable time copying other writers.

And then Mike Kabongo over here

http://madgeniusclub.blogspot.com/2010/07/historic-fixation-and-stagnation.html

talks about the peculiar split personality that SF & F in particular have towards the question of originality. Merely a hint that something might be similar to another work often results in knee-jerk rejection. But, on the other hand, daring to actually write something original also gets rejected. We want the same, but different! Although if it is too obviously the same, well, that's no good.

It kind of seems as if we need to recognize the "training ground" use of copying, emulation, and fan fiction -- doing variations and knock-offs -- as a way to get the basics really deeply imbedded, while still recognizing the need to mix, match, and stretch the boundaries.

How should new writers learn their craft? Is writing something like the writers they read really so bad?

Current Mood: Contemplation

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 5 May 2010

or maybe exercise?

Monomane -- comic imitation -- is very popular in Japan now. The man who almost single-handedly instigated the boom in it is called kuroke (pronounced more like the food -- croquette?), but another one was on TV today talking to a group of school children. He gave them three exercises to do, for ten days, and then came back to see how they had done. You might try these, yourself.

1. Imitation repertoire -- look around, and pick something. Now imitate that thing, especially the sound, but also perhaps mannerism. As he explained, you build your imitation repertoire one item at a time, and usually pick out and exaggerate some sound or mannerism from that thing. He gave the example of a cicada -- what's the sound it makes? Kind of a shshsh through your teeth? But it gets bigger and smaller -- so move your lips while whooshing, and there you go...

2. imitation play -- take everyday objects, and let your imagination turn them into other things. As he said, sometimes you have to look from the side to do this, and take two or three looks, but see what you can turn them into. His example was a vacuum cleaner... which became a metal detector as he held it, adding sound effects, and finding a coin with it.

3. Your happiness list -- every day for ten days, write down the most exciting, happy point of the day. Just one point. Something nice happens to you every day -- make a list!

When they came back, the kids showed the results. One showed how an ordinary chair became an old person's push cart, complete with slow, hesitant walk. Another showed how a pencil sharpener became an organ grinder's music box. And so on...

The kids said the happiness lists were fun -- at first, it seemed hard to find something each day, but then they started having too many things each day, and had to pick. Apparently paying attention to happiness and fun and excitement makes it grow!

So -- give yourself a chance. Even in writing, pick out something and imitate it. How can you make us feel the sound of a waterfall -- in writing? Or what about showing us the dashing happy run of a dog across the lawn? Then consider how you might use something as a simile or metaphor, turning it into something else for your reader's mental stimulation? Finally, just for fun, consider writing one short piece about something nice that happened to you today. What happened? How did it make you feel? Can you show other people that feeling of happiness and joy through your writing?

Go ahead. Imitation is the finest flattery, and sometimes it's writing, too.

Current Mood: extraneous

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Posting 26 Dec. 2009

The other evening, I stumbled over a short session on TV with an artist working with two students. This particular artist apparently is of the manga comic persuasion. He was helping the students develop four panel comics. What I found intriguing was the broad descriptions of each of the panels that he gave while they were drawing.

Basically, he said that the first panel needs to show something happening -- the setting and a problem. So one of the students drew someone in their bed with the sun shining through the windows -- the person is stretching, throwing the covers back, groaning it's morning! The other student drew a washing machine that was leaking and the kids looking at the leak.

Then, he said, the second panel shows the first reaction of the characters, with the problem getting worse. The first student had their character getting a small milk carton out and not being able to open it. Frustration! The other student showed one of their characters climbing into the washer, headfirst, to find out where that leak was coming from.

The third panel is catastrophe, with the problem getting the upper hand and the stakes going up. The first student had their character yelling and violently trying to pull the carton open. The second student had the upside down character madly spinning around in the washer gone crazy.

The fourth panel is the punchline, with some kind of resolution or release. The first student had their character taking a chainsaw to that stubborn milk carton. The teacher pointed out that there should be a small geyser of milk to let us know that the chainsaw did the job. The second student had the character hanging on a clothesline in the sunshine, drying out.

What I thought was fun about this is the way that it parallels a short story. That initial hook, some action, in media res, and a hint at the setting to get us started. Act one, if you will. Followed by complications and frustrations as things get worse. That's act two all the way. And then the climax, the resolution as the character does something incredible. Act three.

The other thing that was interesting to me was the problems that these two students used for their comics. The frustration of getting up, and a  leaking washing machine. Neither one is earth shattering great issues, and yet the comics were fun. In some ways, I think using these kind of little everyday problems that we can all relate to is really better than the huge crises.

Anyway, something to think about. Four panel comics as a pattern or template for stories.

Current Mood: stubmling

mbarker.livejournal.com

Kind of interesting. Over at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126136236068199631.html there's an argument that the technology of the new millennium -- the first decade of the 21st century -- has killed big trends, especially in the area of creative art. He's arguing that the shift from common TV channels and other centralized media to individual choice and downloading and so forth has created a culture of fads instead of trends, the growth of diversity and niches where "not enough people agree about anything to allow artistic trends to flourish."

With sidebars from Simon & Schuster's Martha Levin talking about shifts in book publishing -- "I don't want to sound either naive or like Pollyanna but I just want people to read. I know we'll figure out the rest of it."

Peter Jackson, movie director -- a decade of defensiveness, but, "I'm hopeful there's a new generation that in the next 10 years will explode onto the scene. His tenure. As the period in which the technology of making movies has become affordable and available to everybody. That has to result in an explosion of creativity."

And Walt Disney's Bob Iger -- "The dawn of the digital age has sped everything up, and in doing so it has created a fair amount of challenge.... it doesn't rule out the possibility of doing something that has endurance; no matter how much choice or how much clutter there is, those things that are high in quality last forever."

The un-trend -- audiences of passionate enthusiasts, cultural individualism, and the death of lemming-like consensus?

Take a step back and think about the first decade of the 21st century. How would you characterize it? And what would you predict for the next 10 years?

Is 2010 the last year of first decade or the first year of the second decade?

Current Mood: blogged

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 20 Dec. 2009

This is just a little plaything. The other day on one of the lists I read someone was commenting about how people who haven't read older fiction sometimes don't recognize that what they think is a new piece is actually just a rehash of something older. I was turning this over in my head and said, "That's the literary equivalent of those who forget history are condemned to repeat it." Then I started playing with how to phrase that.

Those who do not read historical fiction are doomed to regurgitations of it?
Those who do not read historical fiction are condemned to read repetitious recapitulations of it?
Those who do not read classic fiction are doomed to experience reenactments of it?

Repetitions, recitations, resurrections?

I'm not sure what's the best way to phrase it. But I thought you might want to play along?

Current Mood: spelunked

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 1 Dec 2009

The e-mail newsletter from Penguin books includes a short bit about their recommendation for the 10 essential Classics. Being curious, I went to check out what they thought were essential Classics. Here's their list:

The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The Odyssey by Homer
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/features/tenessentialclassics/index.html

Actually, I seem to have numbered them backwards -- the last shall be first and the first shall be last, a countdown instead of a count up?

It's an interesting list. Exploring hell, living by yourself, dysfunctional family relations, fantasy, whale hunting, the play's the thing..., search for a golden fleece, a romance or two, and a couple of drifters in the Great Depression. More or less?

What do you think about Classics? Do you read them? Do you remember being forced to read them in school? If you had to pick out a list of five or 10 top books that you recommend people read -- in particular, the writers gathered here on the list -- what would they be?

Or perhaps you'd prefer to make a list of five books in your genre? The Classics of science fiction -- that's harder than I really want to work right now. Dune by Frank Herbert? Maybe the Lensmen series by E.E. Smith? Heinlein? Ender's Game by Card? Drat, that's four, and there are so many good ones still to choose from.

Oh, well. Classics? What do we learn from the classics for our own writing?

Current Mood: unlisted

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Posting 23 August 2009

Just mulling this, and thought I'd put some thoughts out here. There's a part of me that doesn't want to support some authors, and yet...

Now there's a hard question for writers. What is the connection between the author and the art? Does it matter whether the author is ... male, female, young, old, pick your shade, pick your favorite (or unfavorite) sexual orientation, religious linkage, philosophical thinking, political party, what have you? I have to admit, I tend to think that once the work is out there, it should stand somewhat apart from the author. Who the author is shouldn't be as important as what the work says. But...

Over here on Tor.com, there's an article pondering the connection between the artist and the art. And it's a good question. What if a writer (or film maker, etc.) argues that his selection of all male authors in the anthology was not prejudice? Does this mean the stories aren't good? Or what about someone who takes a stance on homosexuality or other affairs that doesn't match your beliefs? Does this mean their writing is no good? Do you buy based on the person or the writing? When does it cross the line?

http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=51212

It's kind of interesting to notice that in conferences and such, there is deliberate effort taken to make the reviewing "blind" -- names are removed, and so forth, so that in theory one is just looking at the content, the whole content, and nothing but the content.

Is who wrote it more important than what's in it? Can you separate the work from the author?

Current Mood: puzzled

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Posting 5 July 2009

I was remembering. And went digging through the files, to find this.

Happy (if a bit belated) Fourth of July! Hope you enjoyed fireworks, family, friends, and food... and probably a few things that don't start with "f"?

tink

Firewords and Revolutions
3 July 1995

[welcome, one and all...before I get down to drudgery, let me invoke a bit of the magic of words, just for fun. I'll try to avoid grinding salt or dipping water, though... :-]

Hi. Glad you could make it. Why don't you sit down, and we can talk a little about this place.

[that chair? well, okay, it's not an ordinary chair. a little electricity, a few pixels, and a dash of imagination. Not bad, eh?]

By the way, what do you think of the place?

Oh, no, that's okay. I can understand that you might want to hear some of my ideas about it first. Let's see...

I suppose I might call it a bar apres les workshop, a theater mostly absurd, a mere reflection in the midst of the cyberspatial jungle--almost any of those might be a place to start. But they're not quite right, are they?

[back to basics?]

I guess at one level it's just a mailing list. You send your message to WRITERS@mit.edu, it bounces around in the gears, and copies are sent to at least 450 [now over 1000!] places. Simple. Just like a hundred other lists.

[She could have posted to any other list, but she posted to mine...sorry, that's another story]

At another level, it's a kind of community. Many lists form such a group, with some well-known characters pontificating on anything and everything that strikes their interest. In some places newcomers are bashed and beaten severely if they dare to express something different from the prevailing blasts of hot air--and that is a shame, because such groups all too easily become sour and strange beds of inbred stagnation, no matter how loudly they proclaim their doctrines.

[be ye a star-bellied sneetch or be ye not? declare yourself, so that we may smite you if you be different...]

So, what do you think about those?

Oh, sure, well, yes. trite, but true. So...

You're right, the list really isn't a thing or an object. It's more like a way--kind of a path. Today, maybe, there's a pile of animal excrement that you have to shovel out of your way, looking for anything that might be buried in the muck. Then another day revels with displays of fine worked words and braids of great artistry and talent. And, of course, there are all the days in the muddle, with some gems, some flames, and a great deal of chatter and patter...so you walk along, watching where you step, and enjoy the scenery, eh?

[walk this sway, my star? and swing low croons of delight, fantasy?...]

On the Fourth of July--Independence Day in the United States--I suppose I could appeal to firewords, patriots bleeding on oaks, and such. Take a stand on the flag, and see who salutes it?

[oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave? over the land of the free and the home of the brave...Play BALL!]

Okay, you've been patient. Listen, lean over here and I'll tell you the truth.
I'll just whisper it in your ear, just between you and I, okay?

Writers is...

[hey, is someone else listening? get out of here, this is just between my buddy and me, okay? private, you know?

sorry about that. I hate eavesdroppers, don't you? so, let me see...oh, yeah, writers...]

well, it's real simple. the truth is writers is whatever you make of it.

So write soon--and write here on your list.

and you thought it was going to be a surprise, didn't you? thought I'd have the magic hidden truth of the ages locked in my grimy little keyboard?

actually, you do.

let it out.

[O say, can you see, by your login's early light,
What so proudly we posted at our screens' last gleaming?
Those broad jokes and bright tears, thro' the cyberspatial night,
on the terminals we watch'd, were so constantly streaming?...]

Put your words where your fingers are, and I'm willing to bet we can make a revolution happen--or at least get someone to read between the lines...

Viva Writers!

The unending revolutionary party!

[you say you want a revolution,
well, you know, it all begins with you...]

open a vein--blood!
one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration--sweat!
and
something is rotten in Denmark...a tragedy--tears!

(pass the vampires, skip the deodorant, and don't spare the tissues! full text ahead!)

if we don't write together, we shall assuredly rot separately!

It's your list--write on, writer!

[Your turn!]

Current Mood: up, up, and away

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