The Place For My Writers Notes

Original posting 23 Dec 2011

Just listening to the muzak playing everywhere -- I saw Mommie kissing Santa Claus, I'm dreaming of a White Christmas, Jingle Bells... Most of them have a little story (or two or three) buried in those words and melodies.

So, your assignment, should you choose to accept it, Mr. (or Ms.) Writer, is to tease out that plot -- that string of events. Either the one in the music, or perhaps the one that the music reminds you of? Feel free to add backstory or consequences as needed. Mix your own characters, setting, subplots and other problems in (what if Daddy DID see Mommy kissing Santa Claus? Uh, oh...) and retell that story as only you can.

Do it for the Grinch, for Marley and Tiny Tim, for the little drummer boy, for Saint Nicholas taking presents to the poor, for all those, known and unknown, who said and showed us in one way or another...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Have a great holiday, one and all.
And, of course, WRITE!

Original Posting: Thu, 1 Sep 1994 18:35:02 JST

FAQ: A Sandcastle for 400 or so

Hope you enjoy Labor Day!

tink
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"Can I borrow your bucket for a minute?"

The white sand shimmers under the sunshine here in cyberspace. It's a little bit damp, just perfect for building sandcastles. Or for laying back and enjoying the bright, warm sun. Or for digging moats, covering toes, or running, running, running down the endless summer of our discontent.

Matter of fact, it's just perfect for whatever project you have in words.

Of course, sometimes your neighbors will have something to say about the shape, the form, the content, the slope of your wall, the holes you forgot to fill, or something else. Sometimes anything else.

But oh, what a wonder when the castles rise!

Sometimes the towers seem to reach to the sky, with a princess silhouetted against the moonlight, giants and ogres stolidly crunching along, and heroes and heroines too few. Sometimes there is just a sandy puddle, with a few cryptic marks around the edges where a prehistoric relic dragged itself momentarily into the air, then vanished again into the safe salty depths.

Most of the time, there is traffic, heavy and light, skidding and throwing plumes of sand this way and that, as the keyboards click and the terminals sweat.

The picnic crowd likes to toss dill pickles, ham, and other little treats around while we're working on those major and minor touches of literary delight. Don't worry, they'll pay attention when your castle goes up, but the snacks in the middle do help keep the fingers working and the brain going during those long, hot afternoons.

Even the occasional fireworks and sprays of foam help make the sandbox a place for everyone.

Just try to keep the sand out of your eyes.

If you visit this sandbox from BITNET, the address is WRITERS@NDSUVM1.BITNET. If you're visiting from the internet, the address is WRITERS@vm1.nodak.edu. [addresses well out of date]

But either way, the sandbox waits for your architectural touch, so grab a shovel, pack your bucket, and start building your dreams.

We're all waiting to see that castle rise here.

"Sure! Can I help?"

Always room for another sandcastle here.

One that only you can write.

So start digging.


And from the earth arose a great shining castle, hulking in the eldritch light, with stained glass windows glowing...

From the water, strange mists and sleek swimming beasts arose and danced in curling spouts, leaping upward from wavetops, skidding toward the land in the surf and spume...

From the air, cool breezes, hot dry Chinooks, and transparent figures of clearest invisible form blew through...

And from the fire, the sand grew into glass bubbles, domes, great shimmering webs reaching into hearts and minds...

As keyboards and terminals joined in the sandbox...

of the writers.

See you there!
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original posting: Thu, 23 Nov 2000 09:38:28 -0500

This may be a bit late, but if you happen to be headed for a ringside seat at a family table, or perhaps a couchside lounge in the family room with the television blasting football and the food crying "eat me" as the old frictions and fancies of the family and friends are rehearsed and remembered...

Or whatever you may happen to be doing this holiday.

Some quick writing exercises, suitable for mental stretching or even perhaps a quick note or three.

1.  Look around!

Take a good, hard look at what is happening.  Consider how you might relate this to a reader (in tale, poetry, or other wordy forum at your behest -- avoid the bark, get right down to the wordy heart).  What details would you include to put the reader in the middle of the scene.  What would you leave out?  How would you have them enter, or leave?

What would help them understand Aunt Agnes?  Or what about Odd Jack's little quirks?

Just consider wrapping this scene in words.  What senses would you titillate, and how?  What observations (dry or quite damp) would you pontificate?

(bonus points for translations across time, cultures, and places.  E.g., what if your fine friends were celebrating at the Bastille?  Or perhaps on Babylon 4?)

2.  Add A Character

Consider a character.  It may be one of your invention or one of the classics (Cervantes?  A mythical model?  Gods and goddesses, madonnas and dons, weavers and unwoven, take your pick of them all.

And think about what happens when they walk in, sit down, and start talking.

How does Uncle John deal with Aphrodite coming to call?

Do you really think Superman would be comfortable carving the turkey?

Go ahead, let your imagination run weird!

(bonus for realizing that Uncle John IS Aphrodite, in drag! and expanding on why this is...)

3.  Now, Take Someone Out

Suppose that someone couldn't make it.  What happens to the familiar exchanges when Grandfather isn't there to laugh at the punch lines?

And think about the various scenes as people realize that the expected one isn't coming.  What do they start to imagine as reasons for the absence?  Does the heart grow fonder, or is there some anger at this unexpected non-interaction?

Then, if you like, you can always close the imaginary scene up with the information that the absent member... had an accident?  Won the Lottery and is celebrating as far away as possible?  Was last seen wandering downtown, looking for flowers to put in their hair?  Who knows, you make up a next step...

(my goodness, you want to make them disappear one by one into the basement?  Who knows what horror lurks in the hallway closet?  The writer do! :-)

4.  Metamorphic Metaphors (not petit fours, meta-fors!)

Consider various and sundry parts of the holiday.  The parade, the feast (or famine), the handshakes, the travel, presents, decorations...

Pick one and expand it.  What do the little white booties on the turkey look like to you?  Can you imagine trying to put them on that hot steaming meat?  And when they are pulled off, sitting forlorn by the skeletal remains of the butchered bird, what do they remind you off then?

The "lifecycle" of the focus, its parts and processing, what does it remind you of -- consider these various questions, and see if you can splice a metaphor (or at least an analogy) out of this.  Consider how it might relate to some abstraction (life, riches, happiness, plenty of generalities to go around, no pushing, just pick one off the queue and come back later if you want another one).

Look around, add a character, take someone out, and watch for metaphoric ambiguity...

Oh, and enjoy the holiday!

Original Posting: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 23:05:16 -0500

(Some of you might remember this from holidays past...)

For those who may be enjoying holidays of various sorts, here's some little exercises to work on while you're enjoying the spicy steam rising from the turkey and hot cornbread stuffing, with the smell of thick gravy slathered over it, and the deep red stewed cranberries (supposedly a natural remedy for the fat and grease - I just think they taste good).  When you dig into the mashed potatoes, corn fritters, and green beans, think about these.  And when you take a big mouthful of warm pumpkin pie with whipped cream or icecream on top, or maybe a slice of pecan pie, sweet and crunchy with pastry flaking down home taste, or whatever flavor you like, let your mind drift over these. For that matter, when you find yourself groaning in front of the tube watching the parades and bowl games, trying to decide whether you really want a bite of a crisp, fresh apple, red with the sun and wind, small brown scars signs of the struggle it gave to be ripe for you - well, you could ponder some of these.

(I think I just gained 10 pounds writing that paragraph!:-)

1.  Some people may not have a home to go to, a family to share the holidays with.  Write a scenario for them - either the loner at the restaurant (BAH!  HUMBUG!) learning what holidays are all about OR the family opening their home celebration to the loner, and relearning the meaning of the time themselves in the process.

2.  Pick any of those goodies that are weighting the table down, and use it as a metaphor for the day, your feelings, etc.  Write a short "allegory" making the reader taste that food AND feel its hidden meaning(s).

3.  (SF)  R'gnarl, the Centaurian anthropologist, has decided to observe your family during this ritual.  What questions does it have?  How does your family answer them?  What, if anything, does R'gnarl conclude about the implications of this ritual?  (don't forget that R'gnarl's report will determine whether the exterminators are brought in to clear the planet for another attempt at a sapient race or not...)

4.  (SF) The colonists are down on planet Skylor.  The natives aren't sure whether they want to be friendly or not, but they are willing to talk and listen.  The colonists want to celebrate - with a mixture of old holiday memories, some new customs they developed during the trip, and perhaps some native customs.  Describe that festival - and how the colonists explain what it is.

5.  Kiddy times - we have probably all heard the standard holiday stories.  But suppose your (little sister/brother, cousin, next door neighbor - youngster) wants a story, and you want to tell one, set in the old stories BUT using your own special plot/characters/twists.  What is that story?

6.  Many people in other countries have never experienced the American holiday celebrations, of course, but often they have heard of them.  Imagine that you are asked to describe your favorite holiday for them.  Tell them about the food you had, how you spent the time, and what it means - why do you do this?

7.  Imagine you're a ghost of a person who never lived (member of the family?  friend?  Indian who would have lived here?) and you are watching the revelry.  What do you want to say to those who are there?  Can you, in the very ghostly whispers, tell the reader who you are?  Can you make them feel what you feel watching - the holiday you don't have... (hey, spooks deserve love too, you know!)

8.  (Always a good one)  Dialogue Watching!  You may be seeing people meeting for the first time after a separation, or just spending some time with people in a little different mood.  Watch and listen carefully.  What are they doing with their bodies and language?  When some phrase or joke is especially good, keep track of it.  Why is this so effective?  Listen to the dialogue, the rhythms and patterns, and figure out how you know someone without even looking at them.  (If you're like me, you may not want to take notes at the time, but go ahead and make some notes later.  Try to run back over the time and write down bits and pieces that stood out, plus some that are so completely ordinary that you might have trouble noticing them.)

9.  We've recently heard about "random acts of kindness". Keep your eyes open for situations that might allow such "good Samaritan" acts, and consider what might happen if people carried it out.  You may either write up the story or, where appropriate, try it!  (this is known as empirical writing - do something, watch, then report results...)

10.  Have fun!