[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original posting 24 June 1994

[carping at the flood of inanity? tis unlike thee to cast stones while fishing, but perhaps the pain of the hook will be dulled by the tasty weight of weaseling words? onward, then, and keep thy line taut, but pray avoid tautology lest none be taught...]

small points (though none too short):

1. Consider your readers. (for those searching for the mystical magical secret of writing, there it is. have at it!)

2. Every message has a cost. Try to make sure your content or your style, preferably both, are worth (your readers) while and smile.

(for the mathematically desperate - multiply the value of your content times the wit of your words, then add bonus points for editing, revision, and thoughtful pondering before posting. if the result is great, don't hesitate. if not so fine, wait against a reputation lost, a soul hurt, and other poisoned words of vile repute.)

potentially pretentious slogans (for the sloganly...)
Time and taste wait for good posting...
I shall post no words before I've refined?
If you can't write anything good, don't spread it around.
(and other foolish sprayings of gelded words...:-)
3. Context lost is not paradise lost - but neither should one load the plate with fat and hope no one notices how small the shred of meat hiding therein. I.e., make sure your reader knows what you are talking about, but trim the extra weight of older words to what is needed...

(five minutes of your editing means 400 people don't have to wade through those missing words - and displays your points most attractively! [and we all adore admiring points?])

3. Short retorts must wait for your finest careful scribing, lest they be mere puffs of noise. Often enough, a bundle of thin reeds provides a better feast for toilers than those tossed one by one unheeded in the wind.

4. He who speaks least often is heard most clearly, and fewer postings let your readers ponder harder on the fine and wondrous writing that expresses deep and careful thinking. Besides, it leaves more time for drinking from the other wells of wisdom, wit, and wonder. Or just for beer, coffee, or ups and downs of your selection.

(again, for the mathematically inept - the more you babble, the less the impact of each one. Consider making each posting a masterstroke of your writerly craft and art. You may post less, but think of the delight we'll all find in seeing your true abilities shining.)

[enough! perhaps too much... let me recommend a reading of Strunk and White's little book, and then to read, for in those strange postings, there must be a dream or two about to awake...]

for those of you who may not have your copy of the little book handy...
  1. Place yourself in the background
  2. Write in a way that comes naturally
  3. Work from a suitable design
  4. Write with nouns and verbs
  5. Revise and rewrite
  6. Do not overwrite
  7. Do not overstate
  8. Avoid the use of qualifiers
  9. Do not affect a breezy manner
  10. Use orthodox spelling
  11. Do not explain too much
  12. Do not construct awkward adverbs
  13. Make sure the reader knows who is speaking
  14. Avoid fancy words
  15. Do not use dialect unless your ear is good
  16. Be clear
  17. Do not inject opinion
  18. Use figures of speech sparingly
  19. Do not take shortcuts at the cost of clarity
  20. Avoid foreign languages
  21. Prefer the standard to the offbeat
guilty! guilty, and guilty again.

but for my last request, may I have another fine goulash of galumphery and fiddlesticks from the WRITERS list?

<off with his head!>
tink
     ....
        ....
            t
ink lost it
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Thu, 13 May 1993 18:32:01 JST

Chatter, divergent discussions, flames, and other topics are endemic to this list, and often result in harsh exhortations to focus on writing or flurries of gentle reminders (depending on who notices that we've wandered afield again and how they respond to such wandering). However, on consideration, I think both the harsh "writing, the whole writing, and nothing but the writing" and the gentler urges are mistaken.

First, almost a non sequitur, the chatter and lively reactions on this list can provide any good writer with indications of interests that may be found among larger segments of the writer's prospective audience. For example, knowing that this group responds positively to nostalgic recollections of comics, certain older movies, or other bits and pieces provides the writer with cheap "audience testing" that such responses are likely to be found in the larger audience.

However, let us ignore that, since there are other sources of such information, including the general FAQs and such from netnews. Still, there is an important role for the back-and-forth "small talk" often seen in this group. That role lies in exciting and refining the reactions of the writer, who will find that the emotional involvement practiced here will pay off when constructing fiction. And this is the problem with those who try to "douse" the flames before they have reached a conclusion, because whether we feel comfortable or not (I don't enjoy conflict) there is a certain sense in which we can only become "powerful" writers if we are moved to our depths about the issues we are writing about, and that is much more likely to happen if those depths have been opened up, irritated, and aggravated as much as possible in "friendly" fighting here on the list.

I.e., the depth of apathy lies in the lack of reaction, and in that apathy there is no oil for the writer's lamp. Writers strike paydirt when they look inside at precisely those points which cause emotional, hot reactions - and must learn to see more than one side to those grounds, to realize that the protagonist and antagonist are struggling within their very soul. I don't know a better way to find these points or to develop them than through exactly the kind of chatter and diversions that are frequently castigated on this list as being "off-subject."

Perhaps it is my own confusion, but the lists of hints, the critiquing and other activities can be found elsewhere, in purer form. The rumbling flow of point and counterpoint is rarer, and harder to replace.

Again, let me suggest that while the chatter and reactions of the list provides you with some suggestions as to interests of your audience, its most important function is in driving your reactions, in provoking, teasing, angering, even boring you. For in those reactions you can begin to measure yourself, to calibrate the instrument you play within all of your writing, to tune yourself to the current jazz and jive, in short, to come alive.

Your writing will benefit.
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original posting: Fri, 11 Feb 1994 12:45:25 JST

(I'm sorry - long and rambling, without all the connections it should have. Put together parts from several files I've started, and haven't boiled down to the pith yet... may be of interest, though... and there's a sort of story at the end if anyone wades that far...)

Hi, apathetic. Interesting tag - you ever consider what the opposite of the pathetic fallacy is? I mean, having the surroundings reflect emotions is a no-no, right? but what's the apathetic fallacy? NOT having the surroundings reflect the emotions? or is it not having the emotions reflect the surroundings? or maybe simply ignoring the subtle interplay of observed surroundings and internal stresses? or perhaps just ignoring the other people around, their influences and interactions with that life claimed as solely one's own, untouched by humanity's dirt and grime, unwashed with the tears one refuses to heed... (whoops - let the fingers get carried away, and they'll take you places you didn't expect... sorry about the slips... Ayn Rand would be very upset with me:-)

oh, well - on to the questions. I know everyone else has taken a whack at them (GREAT STUFF!), but I wanta spend my yen while I can, okay?

so...
- little something, in my opinion, is ART.
backtrack - ART? art? something like the concepts of beauty, art, etc. that I spent semesters in philosophy trying to pin down...?

judging from the experience - you may find a negative definition more helpful than a positive one (mostly because the positive ones are so painfully few and far apart). There are books and papers and stuff on aesthetics - philosophically very shaky ground...

Anyway - could you explain a little what you mean by ART? about the only explanation you give is "a special flair" - which seems subjective and hard to deal with. Any more particulars?
- It seems that most of the people on this board would consider themselves
- writers. Does anyone on this board consider themself an Artist? Does
- anyone on this board professes to have an understanding of what Art is?
certainly. as a matter of fact, I have several understandings of what art is. I even have an understanding of what Art, Beauty, and the Ideal is. I also have a navel. of course, my various understandings may not help you much...

some hints, though...

First, go back and review Randy's posting on TECH: Re: help and some general talk about criticism.

If any of you skipped Randy's posting on 3 Feb - shame on you! go back and read it... I'll wait (randy, I may add that one to the list of good things in the FAQ - or maybe in the one mji is putting together about being blocked - okay?)

I'm waiting...

Good. I'm going to pull some pieces out, but you really owe it to yourself as a writer (even as an Artist!) to read Randy's original posting. BE AWARE THAT I HAVE ONLY CLIPPED SECTIONS - go read the original. (with apologies to lots of folks - especially those who don't approve of humor gilding the lily...:-)
- First, a disclaimer. Revision is the soul of writing. It may also
- be the sole of writing, since it invariably treads on the
- wonderful euphoria your initial inspiration provides. (No, I don't
- feel like a heel for making the joke.)
these boots are made for writing, and that's just what they'll do...
I took the plot less trodden, and that has made all the difference...
walk a mile in your neighbor's moccasins, and hope you don't catch athlete's foot...
you got to walk that lonesome valley, you got to walk it all alone...
don't step on my blue suede shoes...

you don't think I can walk around the world, old man? one step at a time, I can do it. watch me.

stomp out the grapes of write, randy! amen. I say, amen! the wine will flow!

polish them boots, polish the writing, put some spit and polish into it - you think you're still a civilian? I wanta be able to see my face in that boot, boot!

<that "joke" rang so many echoes in here I may have to dig another cavern to put some of them in...>

okay - I got a few thoughts about telling a story that I'd like to interject here.

I've been mulling it over, and I realized that I have been wrong, somewhat, in dismissing the "natural" approach to writing. Dammit, telling a story is the most natural thing anyone can do, and the least natural.

How can it be both?

From the first time you told your mother what the other kid in the playground did, asked for the jello in the refrigerator, or planned an assault up the drawers, across the counter top, and into the cookies - you have been telling stories. Someone asks you "where were you yesterday?" or "did you see the game?" or "what did you want to do about lunch?" - and your storyteller spins a web without any hesitation.

that's the "natural" part.

Selecting, arranging, polishing, and putting the story out in public in a form which makes readers you don't even know sigh over it... That's the "unnatural" part. and it is often where the writer returns to being "blocked."

You probably know the story of the caterpillar? Someone asked him which foot he started on - the poor bug is still standing there, trying to do consciously what used to be an effortless waddle.

Ask a baseball player how they swing, and (most likely) you'll get a fantasy that has little to do with the real muscle flex, back shift, hip twist, half step, lean forward, gum popping action. Worse, trying to turn that fantasy into action on your part is likely to result in a comedy, at best. Sure, you can practice - oh, the half-step - and add it in, make it a part of your game, but the real flowing glory of a whistling bat cracking a fastball into the outfield takes practice and experience, and is the easiest thing in the world - if you don't think about it, just do it.

Stop to think about it, and that fastball is in the catcher's glove. STRIKE!

With writing - you tell a story, letting your storyteller spin out the fragile web as smoothly as possible. Hold your breath and let it go (as Randy said). But, unlike the baseball player, you get to look at what came out. You can break off the odd little crystal that doesn't match in shade (save it for another time!). You can straighten out the strands that aren't quite right. You can even crumple it all up and toss it - hey, selection is part of every art I know. Watch a top potter sometime - all through the process, s/he tosses things. And the final piece looks so effortless...

So you take the swing, then look at where the ball went. Then you do it again, and again, and again... and one day, you hit a home run, and it doesn't feel so unusual.

Step up to the plate and swing.

Strikes, balls, fouls, pop flies, ground balls, bunts - you gotta play to get on base. And you gotta practice to play.

BUT - and it's a big but - you don't think about being a home run hitter. You practice, you listen when the batting coach says to step into the ball, or to drop your shoulder, you do laps (UGH!), and then one day that ball flies. And you grin, and walk around the bases. No sweat, no strain, it just was!

And that's the mark of the pro - the final piece doesn't feel effortful. When someone reads your piece and says, "I've been there." - that's the best accolade. Notice they didn't even say one word about the writing. That's really one of the problems I have with reading the "great masters" as writing models - it is so hard to pay attention to their writing. The story "behind" the words comes out and grabs me, and I forget all about trying to see how they put it together.
<another clip from Randy's post>
- I know that sounds like I'm backing down on the value of revision,
- and maybe I am. But I think, if the piece that was criticized was
- any good to begin with, you'll eventually reevaluate it and come
- back to it. That's when you'll rework it, mold it into a piece that
- comes closer to your ideals than the original did. And that's not
- easy, either, but the finished product will make you prouder than the
- original ever did, with a high that's longer lasting than the high
- from the initial inspiration.
rocky writer's high
inspired to ideals
they panned the gold
from early spewing

rocky writer's high...

<CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP ...>
-How can you let someone else help you write a poem by asking for criticism
-on it? It all seems a little hopeless to me.
-If you are going to write something, write it. And if you don't like it,
-rip it up. Don't post it and hope that someone will help you fix it. That
-amounts to plagarism.
very brief note - editors have been known to suggest changes, as well as performing the heresy of rejecting work. were you planning on publishing? does letting an editor suggest a change make it plagiarism?

when a writer decides to come out into the real world (and I think this is one case where I can use that word accurately), then there are innumerable influences that meld into every artist's work. The selection and "final strokes" are theirs - but to say that they have produced everything in the work by themself, without "standing on the toes of giants" at least, is perhaps a bit exagerrated.

Now, I will grant - actually daring to let someone else look at your work and comment on it is HARD! being enough of an artist to do something with those comments to improve your work (whether that means taking them, trashing them, or doing something else) is HARD! and daring to put your work out there where the common horde will misunderstand it, revile it, and once in a while get it - that's HARD!

sitting in the corner saying I can't let anyone near me because I'm creative is safer. it is also sad.

I've spent time in the corner - not because I was creative, but because I wasn't. Rational, logical, no flair, no talent... but I couldn't leave it alone. and... it really is better outside the corner! there's sunshine, beagle dances, all kinds of good things...

BTW - Herb, excellent post. I did wonder why you skipped the third definition of artist - a professional entertainer. Personally, I think this may be the real key to the ongoing craft/art debate. The writer is an entertainer. When s/he gets paid for it, they are professional (just like the Olympics!). And sometimes, usually without them knowing it, their entertainment slides over into art.

I don't think art is something you try for, or even necessarily recognize yourself. You may be gifted with it, but it isn't something you put in there. You put in the hours of revision, rewriting, practice, and pondering to make it the best you can. That perfect pitch that whistles in and goes flying out into the stands - that's something else. Just be glad when it comes, and ready for it!

As reward for anyone who waded through all this... a little cautionary tale... well, it's non-fiction, but it will have to do while I think up a real story... <wink>

Imagine a painter. She has studied hard, composition, perspective, colors, all the basics, and practiced and practiced. She has spent years, literally, on painting and knows the techniques inside out. Still, something isn't quite right.

One day, while settling down to try again to paint the willow tree her latest teacher has her doing again and again, she looks around and sees an old trashcan, with a mangy alleycat chewing on a fishhead and licking itself, illuminated by a beam of sunlight. She stops, frozen.

She glances back at the willow tree once, then picks up the brush and the oils. She looks at the scene, and at the white canvas, and hesitates. Then she turns her back on the willow.

The brushes move, as she watches, silent, smiling with the buddha that isn't there, somewhere in the back of her head. The cat moves off, and the sunlight fades, but the fingers still touch, lightly, dab here and there. The eyes are half-focused, almost dreaming.

Later, as she wipes at her fingers with the turpentine on a rag, she looks at the canvas. She stops, steps back, and looks again.

If you visit her studio (I have), she has many other paintings now, but that one is hung in a place of honor. There are two oddities about it compared to her other work. First, it is unsigned. Second, although she has had offers for it, she will not sell it.

As she told me, "I can't sign it or sell it. It isn't my work. And I don't know who did it, but I love that piece."

Her hands painted it, her brushes, her oils, her technical skills - but she doesn't consider that one to be her work, although she considers it the best piece in the studio.

I call her an artist.
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 22:30:31 EST

and our friends are here below...

Analogously, similarly, and even metaphorically, consider the richness of the seas. Tropical, frozen wastes, Titanic and the iceberg, snorkeling, scuba, and submarines... strange anemones, fish floundering along, and the octopus, the squid, the ray and others, all there...

Now, while we're feeling nautical, what are you?
1. a fish (which one?)
2. a piece of plankton?
3. seaweed?
4. coral reef?
5. a meandering current
6. flotsam and jetsom
7. something else...
8. Oh, what about the whales, and seals, and little sharks and... well, there's a whole seascape for you...
Fill in the crabs, the sand, the riptides and gentle stroke, stroke, stroke of the waves...

Under the moonlight? In the turmoil at the edge of the storm? Floating lazily under warm suns?

Push that trope a bit, work it...why are you a hermit crab, stuck in a soft drink can? And what about the rest of us--where are we in your salty dreamscape?

Go ahead, enjoy the deeps and the shallows.
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 16:44:34 EST

[and for those in the shadows...]

Why do you lurk?
1. I have nothing to say.
2. Shy/intimidated/feel like an outsider
3. To learn
4. You exhibitionists need voyeurs
5. Nothing worth responding to
6. Don't know
7. I'll tell you when I feel like it
tink

[in re Lurkers, p. 30] "They follow the action but rarely jump in.They read but do not post. They are the voyeurs of cyberspace..."

Cyberville: Clicks, Culture, and the Creation of an Online Town by Stacy Horn (1998) ISBN 0-446-51909-X
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Sun, 8 Mar 1998 13:05:56 EST

[this could be addictive...tink]

Multiple Choice:
a. Do you lie online?
b. Do others lie online?
c. Do you tell the truth online?
d. Do others tell the truth online?
e. Some of the above
f. None of the above
g. I'll take the State of Confucious for $200, Eubulides
h. How can you tell?
Truth, Jaundice, and the Internet Way?

Don't forget to tell us a bit about why and wherefore thou dost unbind thy lantern when searching for honesty in all the bits and bytes, and which blindfold hangs over the beamish eyes of us all...

"If a man, sitting all alone, cannot dream strange things, and make them look like truth, he need never try to write romances." Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter [1850] The Custom-House.

tink

(oh, and if you want to send me suggestions for other poll topics, please do...)
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Tue, 26 May 1998 16:38:10 EDT

Going to take a vacation? Leaving your terminal for some viewing of whatever it is that lies outdoors?

Congratulations! But...

before you run off...

1. Print yourself a copy of this message.

2. Set your mailing list to nomail

3. Put the copy of this message on your terminal...

4. GO! Have fun, dance, eat, drink, feel the solar rays freckle the pale glistening of your epidermal layers...

5. When you get back, take the copy off the terminal. peer at the paper. find the next step.

6. Set your mailing list to mail.

7. Relax. Write us a note about your travels with indigestion, your tete-a-tete with the uncrowned rulers of the world, your little tumble down a rabbit hole into wonderland...

[yes! by taking these simple precautions, you too can avoid the heartbreak of overfilled mailboxes, the agony of bouncing mail, the fear of accidental removal...and make sure that truth, justice, and bad jokes continue to pester you when you return...]

if the gold is at that end of the rainbow, then what's at the other end?
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting: Sat, 16 May 1998 00:07:01 EDT

[during an attempt to break the WRITERS list]

Ah, me oh my...

I've been given to understand that there may be some confusion about just who's running things around here, and what the difference is between tink removing privileges to post or read and jester (or others) deciding not to read things, and what is this list for, anyway, and why don't people just delete stuff if they don't want to read it, and so on...

Let me try to clear up some of the confusion. What else would a listowner be doing at midnight on a Friday night, right?

1. Who's the listowner?

First of all, in case it isn't clear, Mike Barker (aka tink) is the listowner. If you'd like to verify that, you can send mail to writers-request@[old address] (the listowners' address for EVERY listserv list--take the name of the list, add -request to it, send mail to it, and you are in touch with the owners). I'll try to answer you fairly soon (don't forget, I'm a volunteer who does this in my "spare" time).

If by any chance you kept the original documents that were sent to you when you joined, you'll find the information about writers-request in there, I believe.

You can also ask the members of the list who have been around a while. Heck, you could even watch to see who spends their time cleaning up, posting FAQs and so forth, and who takes care of disruption and other problems on the list. I think in a short time you'll be able to figure out what I do.

Or you can check out [collection of writers postings] and look at the pages and pages of writers postings that I have archived there. Even the most prolific might find it difficult to throw together such a collection overnight (although they might organize their's better, I will grant you).

Oh, and there are some parts which you really should just take on faith...for example, if you insist on personal attacks, harassment, or other disruption, I'll be the one who removes your privileges.

In short, I'm the listowner.

2. tink said he was removing privileges, then jester said he was going to kill all the newbies--so we've all been kicked off the list, right?

Well, no...some people refuse to play by the fairly lenient rules that we have developed for this workshop of writers. I remove their privileges to participate and let the list know what has happened. That's one level.

On the other hand, someone like Jester cannot remove your membership.

What he can do (as can any of you--and as several recent posters have strongly urged that we all do) is to choose not to read postings from some addresses, certain types of postings, etc. He (or anyone else) can use the topic filtering of listserv to pick between (properly labelled) SUB:, CRIT:, TECH:, EXER:, WOW:, FILL:, or INT: postings. In most modern mailers, he (and you) also has various kinds of filtering abilities. For example, you can choose to put all postings from mbarker into a separate folder, into the trashcan, or whatever. You can also choose to route postings with [WRITERS] in the subject line to a specific folder.

(I believe jester has chosen to have "known" and "unknown" folders, with authors that he knows going into the "known" stack while all others go into the slushpile...er, ah, "unknown" folder. And like most editors, he reads from the known stack first, and looks at the slushpile if he has time. This kind of prioritization, whether deliberate and automated or unconscious and sloppy, is pretty old, really.)

Or, of course, you can do the old manual trick of looking at the subject lines and from fields (usually available in some kind of an index in your mailer) and deciding which pieces of mail to open first (or which to delete first) from that index.

So--when people say they aren't reading you, that means just that--they are ignoring you. It doesn't stop your posting and participation in the list, although you may want to consider what lead to them taking that radical stance. It's especially surprising given that most of the members here are the kind of people who read the ingredients on boxes while standing in lines rather than just stand there with their mouths open--i.e., they tend to read EVERYTHING if they possibly can.

When tink says you can't post to the list, you'll know it. You'll also know what you can do to rejoin, because I tell every person who loses the privileges of membership what they need to do to rejoin the list.

Okay? Let's see if I can come up with an analogy...well, suppose WRITERS is a newspaper, with each person who posts being a reporter (of sorts).

One level--jester deciding not to read some people's postings--is just someone deciding not to read the sports section of the newspaper. That's their choice, and doesn't directly impact your ability to post and participate (although if you get enough people ignoring you, it'll be kind of boring, but nobody promised you readers...you've got to provide enough reason for them to start reading and keep reading).

The other level--tink removing privileges--is the editor-in-chief deciding that there isn't going to be sports section any more (and you, unfortunately, are the sports writer). Specifically, it's the listowner making sure that individuals are not misusing the privileges of list membership.

3. Isn't this list just for interesting or entertaining writing? Can't people just post anything that they like?

No, not exactly. This list is a workshop for writing, not simply a place for anyone to post whatever they like. For example, original writing (fiction, poetry, the occasional essay or non-fiction piece) is sent to the list as a SUBmission (with SUB: in the subject line). Other members then CRITique or comment on the writing (with CRIT: in the subject line). We also exchange TECHnique pieces (with TECH: in the subject line) discussing aspects of the techniques or technical side of writing. We sometimes post EXERcise (with EXER: in the subject line) pieces, written to provide others with a chance to exercise their writing. We post World Of Writing (WOW:) pieces sharing information about the world of writing "out there" beyond the workshop. We also exchange some FILLer pieces, usually focusing on experiences, ideas, or other background to writing which doesn't fit so easily into the other topic areas. Finally, we sometimes have INTeractive (guess where to put the INT: ) series, either the standard kind of round robbin stories with multiple authors adding new segments or other multiple member participatory threads. Shared worlds, etc.

In other words, while it is true that we do share interesting or entertaining writing, there is an etiquette or protocol for doing so. The BIO or INTRO pieces are intended to be autobiographical, not fiction. (And yes, I am well aware that there is some fiction in all writing--but let's not attempt to get bogged down in minor points, let's work together to understand, all right?)

4. What does it matter whether the life stories and experiences are true or not? Who knows what is real on the computer, anyway? If we tell a good story, and people enjoy what they are reading, where's the problem?

Ah, me. And all life is but a tale told by a madman, hovering in the mists of memory...and if the butterfly sneezes, who will dream us again?

There is, of course, at least one person who always knows whether you are telling the truth or not.

And that person is your judge, jury, and possibly executioner...or at least warden of the prison.

That person is yourself.

If you tell a story well enough--and people know it is a story, and enjoy it in the reading--indeed, there is no problem. This is working within the social framework that supports writing and fiction.

If you insist on telling stories when those about you are expecting truth, and from time to time pull the rug out from under them and laugh at their discomfort--no, that really isn't acceptable. This is using the social interactions as a way to trap and hurt people.

5. Look, just don't believe everything you read, and enjoy life. If you don`t want to read it, use delete.

Excellent advice. And, oddly, exactly what Jester proposed to do, which upset several people very much...

Of course, there is also the point that this list is NOT available for anyone to post anything that they like. In fact, members of this list should not have to use delete very much to avoid things they don't want to read. That's really the point in having a list--to try to make sure that most of the postings ARE "on topic."

What this advice to use delete and let people do whatever they want actually suggests is that after spending five years or more working on this list, collecting the members and getting a level of communication built up, I (as list owner) must allow anyone to use that membership collection in any way that they like?

I'm sorry to be the one to burst the bubble, but that isn't the way this works.

Feel free to start another list. But on this list, there are some rules, some guidelines, some ways of doing things which we all obey. They aren't as onerous as you might expect--mostly, they amount to common sense and a bit of respect for the other members.

I will point out that deliberately deceiving your readers when they are expecting truth or fact (and on this list, the members are also readers) seems...well, pitiful, to be honest.

If you want help learning how to work with this list, just ask.

You might be surprised at how much fun it can be.

tink
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original posting: Wed, 13 May 1998 09:41:35 EDT

FILLER: ESSAY: The Anti's (a piece from the past)

[a little piece from when I spent too much time with USENET...it seems appropriate to resurrect this now. I've also included a little sketch of the edge of the information highway, with punctuation weeds discarded by poets everywhere...tink]

:) Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 18:35:02 JST
:) From: Mike Barker
:) Subject: ESSAY: The Anti's

deviled eggs...ham...and a soda...beside the jalopy...
ah, green grass for a picnic site!

[from the American Rubiyat by Omor Satire]

probably upsetting... punish, at least...

tink

The Anti's

[who cares?]

One of the problems in the virtual picniclands along the information highway is the anti's.

They are everywhere.

You may have noticed them around the networks. The somewhat noisy small life buzzing around and wasting bandwidth? The denizens of killfiles and other wastelands?

Occasionally annoying and irritating in minor ways, they are likely to appear at any of the virtual picnics, begging for crumbs. Sometimes it seems as if they are trying to be swatted as they crawl around, waving their legs and trying to spoil the feast.

Anti's are fairly easy to recognize. They like to sneer about how successful they are at insulting, provoking, threatening, challenging, offending, and undermining (among other attacks and tantrums). The goal may not be worth the effort, and is more often missed than attained, but they do claim it, apparently never having considered what success at brutalizing other humans means...

Anti's often seem to delight in attempted personal attacks, namecalling, smearing, and other pitiful pleas for attention. All too often poorly written, without much understanding of the tactics and forms of the verbal violence they are trying to use, their ill-considered chattering is usually easy to identify.

I know, ignore them and in time they do go away. Swatting them isn't worth wasting bandwidth, and often encourages more childish outbursts from them.

But I have a question for the anti's. Not that I expect them to answer, as it requires thought, but...
Why?
Are anti's really so insecure in self, so undecided and fearful of their own thoughts, that the only way to reassure themself that they are alive is to be a noisy nuisance, trying to strike out at others without thinking of their hurt? Is tearing down others the only way they have ever learned to make themself look fractionally larger?

I've heard anti's make claims of being offensive. True offense requires depth, so the claim is prima facie implausible.

I can believe that they are lacking in self-assurance, without the confidence and pride in self needed to try to explain and help, and too impatient to try to understand another person--leaping to conclusions is so much easier and the intuitive results, while disastrously wrong, can be rationalized quite easily.

But while the anti's are undermining whatever poor sense of self they have left in pursuit of the faint feeling of relief incurred when someone strikes back, the slight sense of self that such agony may temporarily imbue them with, doesn't it hurt?

I wonder if they have ever thought about what their writing reveals about themself--their fears, their insecurities, their personal agonies?

I know that building is hard--but it is the only worthwhile challenge.

Working with people, helping them to understand and grow, increasing the possibilities and alternatives for human success, oiling the machinery of human and small group interaction, making friends and influencing strangers...no matter what terms you cast it in, doing something positive is much more difficult than tearing things down, but also much more satisfying. Dare to excel, little anti's, and learn your own strength.

Are the anti's up to facing that challenge? Or would they prefer to continue at their present level of minor irritant, buzzing and fussing without effect?

So, anti's, let me ask it simply--did you ever think about turning pro?

[oh. I do.]
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[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting: Sun, 10 May 1998 23:57:55 EDT

Susannah asked:
:) Will someone please define the difference between flame and argument?
:) What's wrong with a good argument?

Okay, I'll take a crack at breaking this egg...not that this is necessarily the definitive version, but...

I think the main difference lies in how we treat the others in the exchange.

In a "good argument," there is room for the other person to make a few points, to win some points. And when there is a conclusion, it is possible for all concerned to shake hands and "make up."

Flame attacks, on the other hand, require that the other person be obliterated, that they be personally destroyed. Frankly, winning isn't necessary in a flame battle, merely overshouting, vilifying, destroying, and otherwise grinding the other into silence... when there is a conclusion to a flame battle, there are very few people left to do anything, let alone talking to each other.

I guess I would say that in argument, one assumes that the other person is "honorable" in some senses. In flamage, one simply intends to destroy.

[There's a tickle in the skull somewhere that suggests there may be a difference in the role of the audience, also, but I'll let someone else develop that nuance--or nuisance?]

I should probably avoid speculating about the personal security and insecurities behind each approach, although it may be obvious that I consider "good argument" as useful, even beneficial...
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting: Sat, 9 May 1998 19:59:35 EDT

The best dimensions for describing a personality, according to McCrae and Costa...
Openness to Experience
Conscientiousness
Extraversion (outwardly directed, or just gazing at the navel)
Agreeableness
Neuroticism (emotional stability, moodiness)
Here's the thing...suppose that WRITERS had a personality. Suppose you wanted to describe it to us, to show us just what kind of personality was lurking here...

(don't forget that some of the most interesting personalities are somewhat complex, with some conflicts, some unifying themes, various layers, ids and egos and inner children--do you suppose there is a relationship between children and tubes? I mean, some rough riding tires have inner tubes, and some rough riding personalities have inner children?--anyway, feel free to make the personality of WRITERS a bit more complex than first appearances might indicate...)

What would you say? Feel free to use the OCEAN dimensions, if they help, or to rewrite the rules anyway that works...

(oh, and if you aren't sure about the WRITERS that is, you might tell us about the WRITERS you would like to see, the one that you would hope for, even write to help create...)
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Sat, 9 May 1998 00:26:10 EDT

[WARNING: intended as fun. I enjoy diddling with words, don't fret too much about the deep hidden meanings because I certainly wasn't trying to sink too much into it, just a few idle licks on the keyboard before the time passes me by...]

:) Date: Fri, 08 May 1998 18:35:12 PDT
:) From: Dick
:)
:) I'm new to this.

You know, there's a morsel of truth hidden in there for all of us? I mean, every instant is the first time for any of us to be then, so we are always new to this, no matter how often we may think we've dipped our toes in that river before...

(waxing philosophical so soon? or maybe it's so late, as the bits flow?)

:) Is this a good list?

Good? Bad? It's a list. There are over 1,250 members, and we range widely (some may rage wildly, others rang wittily...it averages out, although the abnormal is quite acceptable here).

Frankly, I think it's a great list. But I'm prejudiced.

I will say that part of the "goodness" of the list depends on what you put into it, and on how you look at experiences. If you are willing to learn, actively, through discussion and interaction with others--you will probably consider the list to be "good." If you are looking for a place where the god(desse)s of truth will shower you with the definitive ways to do miracles of art and craft, and all you have to do is sop up the dampness...well, you're likely to find it a bit dry and sandy, even irritating.

:) Is this a good list for beginning writers?

Aha! Good for beginning writers, and that morsel of insight about every one of us always being new to this...so we are always beginning, always trying new things, always working on that next creation?

But, in fine, I think the answer would be yes. We aren't exactly organized by ranking or anything (imagine if there were belts for writers? we could do contests, with judges and all that, and pass out the appropriate belts for those who demonstrate their skills. and we could have schools!) But in any case, we do invite those who write to participate, whether you are beginning, professional, post-professional, or some other placement.

:) Are there professional writers on this list?

There are people who have been paid for their writing on this list. There are people who live by their writing. And, of course, we have those who profess writing, those who write as an avocation, those who write as a hobby, and probably many others.

:) Who writes good fiction?

There's that word again--"good"?

By volume of sales, I would be forced to say the Romance Writers write the best fiction.

By various other measures, one might point in other directions.

Perhaps the question is, what do you consider "good" fiction--and how could you write such fiction?

Now that's a pair of questions we could work on together.

:) Who are the better poets?

Ranking poetry? As well battle banjoes, or fight kites.

Tell you what, why don't you read some of the submissions, perhaps critique some, and let us know what kinds of insight you find in the poetry (which may or may not tie into the poets behind the words, but I'll let you talk about that)?

I'm new to this?

What a concept, that iceberg of time shattering the complacent luxury liner of our egos, leaving us floundering in the cold water of a new reality, a new creation, a wider ocean...

With our friends perhaps playing on the foredeck, or huddled in the lifeboats, or pushing us up to lie on a piece of molding, waiting for the rescuers to come?

welcome!
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting: Thu, 1 Sep 1994 18:35:02 JST

FAQ: A Sandcastle for 400 or so

Hope you enjoy Labor Day!

tink
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"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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[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting: Mon, 1 Aug 1994 18:35:02 JST

FAQ: Glimpses of A Writing Convention

"Yuiop!"

The cry starts small, then bounces and grows as they rally, and finally roars, echoing from storefronts and mountainsides, spacecraft and kneeling benches, and other curious locales.

The writers are in town.

And out of town.

And all around the town, wherever keyboard taps cyberspace into terminal networked delirium.

"Qwerty!"

Respond those who feel the earth move, the air flow, the water roll, and the fires glowing.

The muses muse, rationales bemuse, and sparkling wits amuse.

There is a party going on.

And Coven Mint of the party, by the party, and for the party, shall knot poor ice from dessert. Strange knots they be!

Words sluice, punctuation taps and scratches, and messages fly in the wilds of the list.

Oh say can you read, in the massed confusing messages, that our star is still shining, that lights our writing madness? Those broad metaphors and silly japes, through the parries and frustrations, give proof everyday, that writers like to write...

The cheers and jeers of the crowd may seem a bit hard to follow as the poetic brigade lays out its demands, the tale tellers recount their popularity polls, essayists pan for fool's gold and other precious flakes in the midst, and all the folderol fiddles wheee and far. But wait a bit, ask what you will, and lay your best out for the committee of the whole to ponder.

You may be surprised at the response.

For here there be writers. And in that jungle of words, burning bright, who will bind that fearful symmetry of writers and readers, the clawing need to communicate, to turn inner turmoil into measured prose and poem, ringing with the meat and blood of our humanity, burning in the night as a beacon for you...

And when you can, or when you must, put yourself in that arena with a dash of trust--lions and tygers and bears there may appear, but pussycats and teddy bears oft hide behind loud roars and raised claws. The verdict and judgment is--when all the sport is read and done--for life.

Welcome to the writers' convention! Our platform is a soapbox waiting for you to rise to the occasion, our smoke-filled backrooms are open for your breath of fresh air to sweep away the smog, and your word is always good here (even when fictional, faked, rhymed, or otherwise prepared for impersonation--we like characters!).

Have fun!

Have a cigar? How about kissing a few babies?

Hear ye, hear ye, the dishonorable Judge Crit is now reading submissions--get yours in soon.

And don't forget, every convention needs pros, amateurs, filksingers, balloons, razzle-dazzle peddlers and hawkers in the sales rooms, but mostly, quite especially, they need...

You.

So support your WRITERS convention.

Write!
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original posting: Sat, 2 Jul 1994 18:35:02 JST

FAQ: Pedal Down on the Infohighway

I was rolling along at an easy 40 or 50 Kb per second, thinking about just what the old infohighway had coming up out there in the high-speed lanes--fractal environments dripping down and around your visor, jumpspeed datadumping at 100 Mb or better when the cybercops aren't monitoring, and those huddling melts of mixed infospace where human and AI rarely dare venture--daydreaming about a fast game or two of RPG, maybe a little IRC chatter.. when I caught a datalink reflection and flashed the place I really needed to scramble.

So I backed down, hit the blinker, ignored the tired cursing of the serious infotruckers swerving and dodging down the lines, and took a write. Slid down the lines, slower, slower, and there it was.

The infocrossing known as WRITERS. Coming from BITNET, the roadsigns said WRITERS@NDSUVM1.BITNET. Coming from internet, I know they say WRITERS@vm1.nodak.edu. even if I don't get out that way much. [psst- addresses long out of date!]

Backed it way down, and started looking for an empty slot to fill.

Can't go too fast here, the place is always jammed with words and strings and themes and conceptual gridlocks and dilemmas and all the rest of that runaway vegetation that springs up in the corners and gratings where writers hang out. Keeps your reflexes toned up just watching, and when you're trying to drive, it can be wild.

No matter what you think of the clutter, it's a good place to stop and check your map. I know some people always think their map is tuned into reality, but this is one of the finest places for finding out how far out of touch you've gotten. And it only stings for a while...

It's pretty scenic along this part of the road less taken. Whether you just sit by the side and watch for bumperstickers and traffic jams or go speeding down the passing lane honking your own horn, you'll find plenty to read. Watch for the inforunners breezing along, maybe a Sunday writer wobbling in and out of the traffic, and those serious truckers working their loads. Check out the talegating around here, too.

Say, why do all the infotruckers have MAC written across their foreheads?

This place has some of the best diners with gas to go and all the amenities around, too. 'Course they're all self-serve, so don't go abusing the help or you'll find yourself in a vicious circle. Just help yourself--and give other people a hand when you can, too.

And every bit of it is home-made originals--none of that prepackaged slop from the factory around here. Gives me a shiver sometimes, meeting all those real authors in the virtual like this. And when you serve up your goulash of words, they'll help you spice it to the taste of editors everywhere. Without complaining--too much.

If you're lost, there are backseat drivers who will happily tell you where to go, griping about the way you hold the handle or telling you to brake or speed up. There's a few old coots who hang around and try to show you how to tune up and burn words, though. Sometimes they make sense, sometimes nonsense, so just listen to what helps you, and ignore the rest.

Plenty of hitchhikers around looking for a short ride with you, or even a long one if you'll put up with them. It's all part of the traffic here on the strip, and after watching a while, you'll probably want to do a wheelie or two. Go ahead, just watch for the curves and don't crack up. If you end up in the gutter--you aren't the first.

If you happen to get lost in the interchanges, slow down and pull off for a while. Don't get overheated or take a chance on boiling over, it just isn't worth it. Then when you're ready to go again, signal and move on with the traffic.

There's a lot of construction along this way, and sometimes the road gets awful bumpy. Don't be afraid to point out some of the dips, but watch out for falling stones, wild lightning, and other infotrail hazards.

I always watch for oil slicks and heat mirages here after rain storms. The oil slicks make some of the most beautiful rainbows and sliding colors, and those dancing heat waves hide some of the best illusions of our times.

Watch for your own visions, the little reflections of your headlights or the major lights of our times, and let us know what kind of roadkills you find along the information highway. Heck, we'll even let you spin us a road never taken and guide the whole bunch write off the beaten track over the ruts and byways of your mind.

Fasten your seatbelt! Green light!

*rrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
WRITERS CROSSING AHEAD!

Hey, let's do it in the road!
Come on, come on, just one for the road?
A little intro, a little poem, maybe a short story...
pretty soon you'll get your kicks on WRITERS 66 ...
lots of good intentions around, so this must be the road to...
well, I thought so.
Speed limit 9600 baud, eh?
Roll on little bits... read all about it on the infohighway!
Be reading you on the flipside--we goin' write-write!
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[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Sat, 4 Jun 1994 18:35:03 JST

FAQ: Writhing in the Mists: A Diffident Hello (v.1)

It's been a while, and I'm feeling lazy, so here's a re-run!

Writhing in the Mists: A Diffident Hello
April 1, 1993 (Vers. 1)
mike barker (tinkerer's apprentice)
614 words

Delving in the deeps of the electronic jangle, you've found this. And like others before you, you may wonder just what you've found.

Looking closely, you'll learn this is a mirror. It may be called WRITERS@[bitnet address] or writers@[internet address], but in the mists, the mirror dangles at the end of electronic vines that wrap around the world, thrusting tendrils searching for those the mirror can brighten.

What kind of mirror? Sometimes brassy, sometimes glassy and quicksilver gleaming, but always changing and ever the same, a flowing stream casting reflections across the jangle.

Beware of what you may find here, for the writers' mirror can reflect a terrible swift sword of sight, slicing the wings from angels to make them walk the earth, burning you with a blackened wisp of sad regrets, or bringing life to the diamond heart. Swinging again, you may see moonbeams dancing on elven toes, glimpse the navel of the buddha, feel the poet's wild fire. On another swing, who knows what will look out from that mirror, bringing laughter and fear, heartbreak or drear?

But try the mesmerizing crystal for a while, watch it swing and twist, sway and turn, sooth and burn, and you may learn to crave its oddly comforting swirls and curls dancing in the night.

Add your own trembling dashes to the invigorated bobbing of this mystical mirror and you may find it a doorway, opening again and again into worlds of wandering wonder, blundering banter, tactless technique, even friendship now and then.

Watch as it swings, lightly it sings, sometimes prosaic, sometimes too terrible for human hearts breaking, now there's your face, here comes a race, and there.. a truth you've never dared to show? words your heart had ready to flow? tears and smiles, too many miles yet to go, before you reap the work you seek, yet walking with others is twice as fast as digging alone into the past.

Be aware of the mirror, let it guide you and mind you, but mostly hello, from one tale twister to another.

Hello, writer.

Keep an eye out for yourself in the mirror - you may enjoy what you learn about yourself!
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Sat, 2 Apr 1994 18:35:02 JST

FAQ: Up, up, and Away!

Just before true sunrise, the air is still and the light is faint and tricky. The clanks and squeaking sounds of cloth and plastic and metal rubbing and sliding are clear in that pause before the world wakes. Colors jump from the overall grayness as vaguely seen figures bustle around, unrolling fragile skins, bolting odd skeletal frameworks together, yanking cords that make sudden flames roll, puffing shimmering life into the bulging strange mounds that wobble and bounce oddly, waiting for the sun to come.

Then the fleet flounders up, firming, rising suddenly into the sky with a bound as hot air balloons lift themselves into glory.

There a bright red one glistens in the sunshine for a brief moment, then sinks again. Here a dull brown one swells, riding serenely in majestic silent display amongst the flock. Some faster, some slower, some higher, some lower, but all scudding lightly in the morning air.

Perhaps today's ride will be bouncy. Cold air, raindrops, storm tossed currents, even lightning bolts from the blue, all may sometimes make one falter, or even go down despite all the friendly help and advice from other members of the flotilla. Some coast ahead, some lag, but when the evening comes, the talk isn't about who was first or fastest or highest, it's about being there, taking part, enjoying the ride wherever it may have taken us.

Welcome to WRITERS. The balloons are being prepared, the air is still right now, and the sun will rise again soon. If you can, we'd love to have you with us, as we rise again, and go up, up, and away on the winds of words into those places only readers and writers share...

Come take a trip with us? We've got sights to see and places to go, and words that flow and tickle and tease across the thin skins warm and high... to glory we must fly, and soon... come fly with me...

So breath softly in the early morning hush, and wrestle with your undercarriage, but tug the lanyard lustily and let the rising warmth of your own flames fill your fragile skin and lift you into the light, raising you to where the world is serene and wider than your dreams. Don't forget to tell your friends here on WRITERS how you liked the ride, okay, and point out any special sights or wonders you have found as you fly with us today and into the future, bright or dark, together.
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[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Sat, 5 Mar 1994 18:35:02 JST

FAQ: The Wheel of Writers

good luck, writers!

The Wheel of Writers

Yessiree! Step right up and watch the little wheel spin. Around and around she goes and where she'll stop nobody knows. But you can't win unless you have a bet down, so get your bets down now.

That's it, just put yours on black or white, on odds or evens, or pick your lucky numbers and spread your winnings. Every bet is a winner, every time, here in the House of Rising Words, so don't be late, don't hesitate, just take a chance and you'll be great!

Say, if you prefer, try the cards. Five-card stud, Tarot fortunes, joker's wild, what's your pleasure, let's dig for treasure. Sit down, let the house buy you a drink, and play!

One-armed bandits? No, our vice is all done by hand, no mechanical mistakes, no electronic bugging, just human error. Preferred by gamblers of distinction like you every time.

Excuse me? You can see quite easily that there is no physical coercion, no bodily harm, although there may indeed by a slight chance of psychological dependency, of course. Yes, some of our players do seem a bit overextended, and they may skip an occasional meal or even some sleep to keep on playing, but just because they enjoy it is no reason to suggest that this is a drug, please. Why, how many honeymooners do you know that get enough sleep?

So, let me run through the rules real fast, then you settle down to your choice of our games of chance and happenstance. The rules are simple - every post is a gamble, and the house will multiply it and make sure every player gets it. Since many of our players also gamble, you're going to get your initial winnings (you wrote it and took the chance of sending it out - you have already gained!) PLUS those automatic winnings from everyone else's posts. Now, that's a game with a difference - everyone wins, everyone gains, just as long as you post!

Get your words down now, and start raking in those chips! The sooner you play, the more you win!

[the devil made me do it!]

So, the wheel is spinning! Put your words down - I'll bet you've got a winning hand! Even a busted flush wins here, so don't wait for a another minute, get into the game of your choice now!
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[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Sat, 8 Jan 1994 18:35:03 JST

 FAQ: A Living Tree

[Please feel free to print and keep this, especially anyone new to the list. There is some helpful information. But before we get to the facts...]

Do not adjust your terminal...

you have entered...

THE WRITERS ZONE!

(please adjust your seatbelt now, the trip is about to begin!)

A Living Tree

As mists bubble and thicken, filling your email, if you are lucky and sick, you may be graced with glimpses, tantalizing, incomplete, and partially obscure, of the tree.

Watch for it.

It is an odd tree, multiple trunks thick, twisted, and vanishing into ancient pits of deception, and with branches, so many branches, all kinds and sorts, wrapped here, grafted there, working and jerking all the times and places anyone can dream of and some unimagined.

Those branches are so varied, so laden, so bent, that you know at one glimpse they've come from too many places and times to account. There are thin ones, whipping in non-existent breezes, with light green slivers of leaves shivering, quivering, and dripping. Others thickly poke out, slow growth of decades, almost decadent with age, bearing huge palmate fronds, or waving careful five-pointed outlines, or slowly baring ragged feathery glories of autumn.

Amongst the leaves, if you peek quite cautiously, and the wind teases just right, you may find strange fruits, huge berries, or sometimes popcorn! Go ahead and try that one, watch out for the thorns, but you might have, well it looks like, no I guess it isn't really the fruit of knowledge, just a tart little taste of unwilling extension of belief. Still, those fruits are varied, keep looking and you'll find.

Under the tree, where the passerby walks, is a mulch of drying leaves, thick, absorbent, and rich. For those who may dig in that mulch, they may find poetic whimsies, long tangled tales, and deeper, still deeper, a rich bed of past soils, mixed and enriched with the lighter leaves of today.

And up from that bed, through the roots and the branches, rises a potion quite heady and strong. That sap, driving up, into every branch, distills poisons and brews wines, sugars trunks, and slickens slides of such flowers as the tree sometimes shows.

Here, in one nook somewhat sheltered, out of the furies, yet quivering to their stormy blasts, with some sunshine, some rain, and even some winds, cluster some branches with intertwined twigs. Their leaves have yet to drop to the littered mould below, or to flutter free on the wind startling walkers and chased by snapping dogs. Yet they let each other see some of the patterned smoothness, or the prickly edges, or even the ragged roughness of leaves battered and torn, and in that sharing there is shelter and comfort sometimes from the worst of the dry sunshine or the snap of the lightning.

Where you are, reading this, one branch thrusts up strong. Lean back in the embrace of the tree, little bud, and shake a few leaves in the nook for us to see, to share the triumph of spring growth, the fullness of summer shades, the falling bittersweet red-gold frosts, or even the delicate chill traceries of winter.

And enjoy the fruits, whether true taste of knowledge, sweet grapes of disbelief, or unknown wobbling globe of imaginary bursting joy.

For the tree of the writers always has room for another bud.

This one's on me!

Don't let your leaves disappear in the dark! Stick some out in the sunshine and let us admire the dance of sunshine and shade on your writhing veins and tender green webs, the living words of the tree.

Who knows, we might get a wood nymph to help you...
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Sat, 4 Dec 1993 18:35:01 JST

FAQ: 'Twas the Night Before... (Silent Night? NOT!)

It's beginning to look a lot like ...

Hi! Oh, you're here for the holiday play? Sit down, it's starting right now. The old saloon is packed, and here come the words...

'Twas the Night Before... (Silent Night? NOT!)

It was quiet on the net, not a piece of mail in sight, so you prowled through the lists, and you hung your name out there in a North Dakota lodge.

Then you closed your eyes and waited.

And it happened.

Creeping down the keyboard to your PC (Mac, Sun, or other terminal), peeking through the mailings, you couldn't believe your eyes! What a pile of mail had gathered in the twinkling of an eye!

If you squeeze your eyes shut, and blink away the dust, you may think you see a most absurd character at work there, stumbling over his fingers as he sets a pile under the tinsel, whistling half-cracked tunes as he slips messages into your socks and shorts, and laughing quite inanely as he ponders over the words.

Then he turns and looks right at you, and you surely have to say, "Just who are you and why are you handing out mail without pants?"

He grins and chuckles, rubs his belly and wrinkles his face, and then in complete disgrace, he says, "Why, tis plain as the nose on my face, which I very rarely see, that I'm Insane Clause, here with mail for every ghoul and ghoy, just to make writing your joy!"

Then he slaps you on the back, and introduces his elves, brings the reindeer inside for a snack, and sets your mind a whirl.

Then you blink again, press a key or two, and he's gone - but he'll be back!

It certainly wasn't what you might have thought you'd find, but it may be just the thing to keep your brain alive, this list with its Insane Clause, and elves, and trees, and piles of exercises stretching, subs gaily diving, crits scratching itches, fillers gurgling merriment, and all the other fine surprise packages tumbling down the chimney to your electronic home. Don't shut the door, don't go back to bed, just read and enjoy, and...

When you are ready, with or without pants, feeling or romance, give old Clause a rest and tell us of your plants. Sing us of your prose, punctuate us with rhyme, give us of your time. For the fact of the matter is that Insane Clause is in his workshop, fiddling with the plots and pants, trying to cover up the invisible with strings of words and cloth of holes, and he'd dearly appreciate some company.

Join in?

tink - scribe to Insanity!

Jingle bells, jingle bells... oh what words we mock and pun a writing here tonight! writing through the snore, with a pun or two to ignore, over the net we go, writing all the way!

Hey! Grab hold, 'cause its time for hot words roasting in an open plot, and other seasonal variations on a tale! Enjoy yourself, and don't sit under the misty toes of the muse with anybody else but us, anybody else but us... "Bah. Humbug." Not bad, but would you like to elaborate your story a bit, Mr. Scrooge? Go ahead - we're waiting to read you!

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