[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting 22 Nov 2010

Let's see. First off, apologies for slacking off again.

Over here http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/146309.html for the 21st, I proposed dragging a metaphor into the tale, one way or another. Whack it on the head, stretch it out and see how it stacks up in your story. And I even provided a list of seven possible metaphors to help you get started. Just pick a number from one to seven, see what you picked, and start letting the little grey cells make connections between that wild metaphor and your story, character, problem, setting, or whatever. And through the magic of the human brain, sure enough, there they come. A hint here, a spin there, and? POOF! A magic web of connections, and a metaphor fit for a wordmill. Always fun to play with.

Aha! I followed that up http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/146499.html with nine popular business metaphors -- journey, war, game, organism, society, machine, family, zoo, jungle. Now admittedly, you probably would want to pin down your metaphor a bit more closely, turning the generic journey into a skateboard trip along the shores of Malibu or some such, or perhaps picking a friendly little white-tailed rabbit as the organism de jure, but the notion is simple enough. Consider these various families of metaphors, and choose something that helps for your story.

That kind of catches us up, but let me warn you that I may miss a day or so here. See, we got a phone call this evening, and a family friend of Mitsuko's died earlier today. Which means, in Japan, that tomorrow we'll have a wake, and the funeral is the next day. Hustle, bustle, and where is my good suit?

Keep writing!
[identity profile] 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.
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting 8 December 2009

Just a quick exercise. Take this phrase and build on it -- a story, a poem, a reminiscence, a musing -- whatever takes your fancy. It's up to you.

The phrase: "petty secrets sharpened against hard and stony regret..."

Go ahead. What kind of an edge, what kind of point, and what do you do with petty secrets sharpened against hard and stony regret? Can you shave with them? What are you likely to cut with those petty secrets? And what kind of bandages will you need to bind up the wounds?

Write!

The phrase was found in a collection of random quotations at http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 -- the particular quotation was, "Success is meaningless if you can't sleep at night because of harsh things said, petty secrets sharpened against hard and stony regret, just waiting to be plunged into the soft underbelly of a 'friendship.'" Margaret Cho
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original posting 11 September 2009

Writer's Digest, October 2008, pages 67 and 68, have an article by Dorianne Laux on poetry with the title, "The Leap." There's an exercise at the end that I will quote, but let me summarize the article first.

Dorianne points out that Spanish poetry often uses a leap into apparently unrelated imaginary material (I was reminded of the magical realism genre, but let's ignore that for the moment). A number of Spanish poets have used this technique, and in the 1960s it was introduced to America by the deep image poets. So there are number of examples of "the imaginative leap" in contemporary poetry.

Next there is an example of such a poem by Ellen Bass. "If You Knew" starts with the simple question, "what if you knew you'd be the last to touch someone?" And then it goes into some examples of what you might do if you knew that someone would die soon after you touched them. The final verse then reads:
How close does the dragon's spume
have to come? How wide does the crack
in heaven have to split?
What would people look like
if we could see them as they are
soaked in honey, stung and swollen,
reckless, pinned against time?
"If You Knew" by Ellen Bass, from The Human Line, Copper Canyon Press, 2007.

A simple if somewhat unusual question, some consideration of what you might do, and then the fantastic metaphor.

There's another example, a modern-day poetic fable by Joseph Millar, with the title, "Sole Custody." It seems to be a parent and child talking about life, and then swerves into a simile, of sailors and ships and oceans.

OK? So that's the leap, mixing a strong fantastic image or metaphor into ordinary life.

And here's the exercise...

Try a Leap

"Write an imaginative poem where you knew you ask a theoretical question and extend it for as many lines as you can. Choose your examples from different areas of life so that you look at the question from a variety of angles or viewpoints. You could also tell a brief story taken from everyday life wherein you describe many of the various physical particulars and touch on one or two emotional moments.

"From one of these two foundations, allow yourself to leap into metaphor; find an image or a series of images that can contain and expand your extended ruminations.

"This exercise can also be used to resolve and revise an existing poem you feel hasn't yet attained its fullness and power. It may not be easy to find your metaphor at first. Don't be afraid to try anything: a box, a wave, a leaf.... look at your own life and don't rule anything out.

"Another approach might be to begin with the metaphor and find the context for it later. ...

[Skip]

"You might begin by describing an extended action such as weeding the yard, sweeping the porch, or dressing for work. After you've described your actions in minute detail, take a look and see how this description could be a metaphor for something else. Make that the title of the poem"

All right? Three different formats, really, each focusing on using an imaginative metaphor. One poses the question, consider some mundane examples, and then turns fantastic. Another simply considers something about life, and adds the fantastic to it. And the third... what if our mundane life is the fantastic?

Go ahead. A heaping cup of ordinary, and a teaspoon of fantasy. Reminds me a little bit of Peter Pan sprinkling fairy dust. You can fly!

Write?
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting 20 June 2009

Writers' Digest, October 2004, pages 26 to 33, has a collection of short "nuggets of wisdom" related to getting published. Maria Schneider is the author of the compilation. Take a deep breath, and here we go:
"When I'm having trouble, I read other people's work I admire. That gets me inspired. You can also visualize yourself as a movie director moving your characters around. That's nice and empowering. Or you could go the other way and imagine yourself as an assembly-line worker. Not empowering at all -- but good for reminding yourself that writing isn't always art. Sometimes you have to bang it out." A.J. Jacobs
Take a page from someone that you admire -- or perhaps take a look at that book that you can't believe got published? Anyway, get a shot of inspiration from some of the other writing around. Or back off and reconsider your writing as movie direction, or as the factory grinding out widgets? What about the monkeys madly typing?

Something to tuck in your journal perhaps -- different ways to inspire yourself, to help fan that flickering flame that keeps you writing. Take a moment and think about what gets you excited about writing. Put it down in your list. Now think about something else that helps you keep writing. Put that down. Try to come up with five different inspirations, butt-kickers, or whatever that helps you with your writing.
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original posting 17 November 2008

A short sketch.

It's a lovely fall morning here, with the sun shining and the air crisp. And on the way to work, one of the neighbor boys stopped me with a question. He was wearing his school uniform, black shoes, white socks, black shorts, black jacket and white shirt, little black cap, and his black leather backpack. He had been digging in the dirt, but stopped when he saw me and stood up.

Then he looked at me and asked in Japanese, "Do you know the train of snails?"

I paused, ran the question through my slow translation process again and it still came out as a train of snails, and then answered him, "No, I don't think I do."

He then pointed up the road ahead of us and advised me to watch for it.

I thanked him and went on. I will admit, I looked as I went, wondering just what he meant. I didn't see anything that seemed to fit. And at the office, I poked around some in my online Japanese resources -- yep, that's train of snails, and nope, nothing seems to fit. So I'm still a little baffled as to what he was referring to. But I do admire the image that it summons to my mind, of a set of snails, all slipping along in line, forging ahead at their pace to a goal that only snails can imagine.

There is a slight vagrant thought that the backpacks that the kids wear to school could be snail shells, but that's a pretty sophisticated metaphor for a little boy. Although now that I think about it, they do tend to line up and walk along, one after the other. No trail of spit, though . . . I doubt that he meant that. But what a fascinating image to hold up to the world on this fall morning, and wonder where it fits. A train of snails . . .

There are other neighbors who tell me that this boy is a bit odd, and to just ignore what he says. But you know, I don't think I've had anyone else introduce me to the snail express, and that's pretty cool.

inching along in the morning sunshine
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original posting 3 September 2008

"What if you slept? And what if, in your sleep, you dreamed? And what if, in your dream, you went to heaven and plucked a strange and beautiful flower? And what if, when you awoke, you had the flower in your hand? Ah, what then?" Samuel Taylor Coleridge

What then?

Tell as about that heavenly bloom.  What kind of a stem was it on?  And was its aroma half as sweet as its shape?

What did you think, waking to find this bloom at hand?  And what did you do with your morning blessing?

Was that morning flower concrete, metaphoric, or some wondrous crossing the two?

go ahead, let your words flow, and tell us what happened then.

And a little blossom shall please them?
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original posting 21 June 2008

Make a Scene, chapter 9: Subtext

So we're taking a look at Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld. We're deep in Part 2 looking at various core elements and the scene. Setting, senses, character development and motivation, plot -- and now in Chapter 9, a look at subtext.

"Scenes often need depth or subtext, texture that links the scene to the themes and larger plot of your narrative, and fleshes them out." And Rosenfeld points out that building in subtext is often a task for the second draft or revisions, when you know the story and the characters better, and have a better understanding of the message or idea or moral of the story.

Rosenfeld suggests that good scenes have a surface -- the visible parts -- and an underbelly, the subtext, where the emotional baggage, agendas, secrets, and motivations roil. There are several techniques for creating subtext.

Thematic imagery or symbols. When you use the images that metaphorically or symbolically tie-in to the theme, this can help remind the reader of the large idea even in the middle of the tactical plot and scene. This doesn't have to be overdone -- a couple of highlights can be plenty. Plant symbols subtly, without rubbing the reader's nose in them.

Innuendo. Characters in fiction often come across truths that they don't want to admit to themselves or others -- and all too often, someone insists on reminding them. Teasing, accusation, wordplay -- this can be fun! Use innuendo to subtly point fingers, adding complication to the scene and the dialogue.

Unconscious or uncontrollable behavior. Most of the time, characters do things on purpose -- intentionally. But those unintended actions can speak louder than anything else.

Foreground and background. Even though the reader's attention is on what's happening in the foreground, you can use the background for subtle messages and emotional layers. Sure, the protagonist is about to declare his undying love -- but what's his little brother doing gagging behind him? What are the secondary characters doing while the primary characters take over the foreground?

Think of your scenes as multidimensional. You want them to be deep and complex -- so give them a rich subtext.

The assignment this week is much like that of other weeks. Start with a scene in a novel that you like or one that you're working on. Now go through and see if you can identify pieces that provides subtext in this scene. Are there images or symbols? Do characters use innuendo to suggest things? Are any of the characters doing things without thinking about it? Is something happening in the background that adds a bit more depth? Are there other techniques helping to provide subtext for this scene?

For extra credit, you can always take an entire story or novel, and think about the theme or moral underlying it. Then consider at least five ways that you might weave that theme into a scene of your choice. What imagery or symbols might you use? Is there something you could plant in the characters' dialogue? How could the unconscious behavior of one or more characters reflect that theme? What might happen behind your main action to reflect the theme?

Go ahead, write!
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Fri, 5 Apr 1996 11:05:13 EST

Step 1. Pick one of the following 12 emotions. You may use two dice if you like.
1. sadness 2. distress 3. relief 4. joy
5. hate 6. love 7. fear 8. anticipation
9. anger 10. guilt 11. gratitude 12. pride
(yes, variations, thesaurus strolling, and similar attempts to delineate or arrive at finer precision in your toils are all acceptable--just get your emotion selected, okay?)

Step 2. Here is the basic beginning. Please elaborate at your pleasure.

The elf/troll/angel/devil/being of light/monstrous mutation strolls/hops/flies/pops in with a puff of sulphur/transports down in sparkles/drips into being before you. They reach out a something and... spin/drop/one finger touches lightly/a horny nail nudges/out of nowhere creates/slimily vomits it out before you.

Step 3. The pile/nugget/piece/lump/other word at your description that has been delivered to you IS your emotion, turned into reality.
1. What does it look like? Show us...
2. What does it sound like? Make us hear it!
3. What does it smell/taste/feel like? Make us cringe...
Step 4, 5, and so forth--what does having this concrete emotion do to (or for?) you? Why did you want it so much? What did getting it cost (uh-oh, what did the little dwarf want for the service? did you really want to pay that, and was it worth it)?

For the one-sentence starter crew:
"I got it for you," my visitor said, and dropped it in my palm.
[in case you're not sure, you can use this sentence as a beginning point. Go on from there until you come to an end. Revise, polish, and decide what you want to do with what you have just wrot.]

let's write again, like we did before...
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
(heck, I think you're already playing this game - still, here it is in exercise format :-)

A quick and quirky exercise from Writer's Digest. July 2004, page 17 suggests writing a short piece and trying to cram as many cliches as possible into it. They provide a bloated parody of an inspirational piece as an example, but you can clearly do it anyway that you like. You could decide to write a 500 word review, loaded to the brim with cliches, overused metaphors, and other purple prose? Or perhaps just a personal reflection on the beauty of nose hairs, or some such delight? But lay on the cliches as thick as the lard filled sugar frosting on the wedding cake. Heap them high as the mountains, as far as the eye can see, and as thick as . . . as thick as molasses?

Oh, yes, once you've overused your cliches, the notion is that you might resist their use in the future. So don't get attached to those cliches!

here is their example:
Vocabulary-challenged writers often feel trapped between a rock and a hard place. How can you write more exciting sentences without actually learning new words? Fear not -- even if your sentences aren't exactly pushing the linguistic envelope, don't assume that, talent-wise, your glass is half-empty. You just need to think outside the box -- literally. Take a walk, see a movie, test-drive a Porsche; do anything that will get the blood flowing again. And remember, at the end of the day, the bottom line's still the same: writing isn't rocket science. Bear with it.
Go ahead, you can beat that with a stick, can't you?

The cliches have it!
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Originally posted 20 March 2007

Making Your Writing Zing
a.k.a. rhetorical devices can be your friends

Cindy Rogers, in Writer's Digest July 2004, pages 43-45 with a little on page 60, talks about some rhetorical devices that you should know. Let's take a look, shall we?

Anaphora is simply repetition at the beginning. You can simply use the same word or words at the beginning of phrases, clauses, or sentences. Or you could simply stuff it in the middle, although strictly speaking that's not anaphora! Repetition makes the reader pay attention. (Although be careful - if you have ever read the begats in the Bible, you know it can also be a might boring if continued!)

Amplification is repeating, adding more detail, digging the ditch a little bit deeper. Amplification expands even as it clarifies. First you toot the horn once, then twice, then a long honk to see if anyone is listening.

And then there's climax. Climax involves arranging words or clauses or even whole sentences in ascending order of importance, for emphasis. Building a mountain for the reader to climb, step-by-step ascending, struggling upwards, until they reach the peak and see the grand scenario that you laid out for them

Analogy works by comparison. Metaphors say that one thing is another thing, without any hedging. Similes say it's like something else, putting a little bit of a hedge on the comparison. Analogies, sometimes without even mentioning the comparison, analogies extend and explain. They are often implied, and then run away with.

Onomatopoeia puts the sounds in the words. Sometimes you may have to make up some of the sounds, but there are a lot of words that have built-in sounds. Buzz, clang, slap, rattle, bang, screech, wheeze, fizz, zap, growl, roar, snap, crackle, and pop! Make those readers' ears ring!

Alliteration repeats consonants. When you read it out loud, you can hear the 's's or the 'm's or whatever. Slippery snakes slithering through the grass?

So there you have it -- or should I say six its? Anaphora, repeating the start. Amplification, internal repeating and expansion. Climax, going for the growth. Analogy, comparing apples and oranges -- but making it work! Onomatopoeia uses words that sound the way they mean. And last, alliteration, letting little letters link for lasting effects.

Got it? What the heck, you might want to try the exercise that Writers Digest suggests. Very simply they suggest taking a descriptive passage from something you're working on (or I'll add something you're reading) and then try applying each of these six techniques to that passage. Not all at the same time, but each one in turn, so that you write the paragraph or passage six times. Once with anaphora, once with amplification, once with climax, once with analogy, once with onomatopoeia, and once with alliteration. Mix and match - that's up to you!

And may the best rhetorical devices ornament your writing.
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Once More, With Metaphorical Enhancements!

Tossing and turning in the nanowrimo bed, we may find ourselves contemplating just what kind of a metaphor best fits? Whether it is the setting, character, plot actions, or even just the conflicts and contradictions of every scene, we may want to at least spend a few moments contemplating various possible metaphorical suits to try on. So, allow me to point out a variety that are reasonably commonly used -- at least in business. Believe it or not, there are people who actually go out and study this stuff. (Kendall and Kendall, 1993).

Anyway, what they tell us is that there are six metaphors commonly used in the world of business, especially when talking about business. They add another three that are more often heard in technical circles, but I think you might enjoy them, too, so I'll include them below. Oh, and you might find them useful in your writing, too.

The first four are very goal oriented:
  • journey (where are we going? Are we there yet? A.k.a. The Quest)
  • game (sports, poker, roulette, and all the other fun and games)
  • war (the battle royale, combat, and all the fun of the military)
  • machine (factory, meatgrinder, automobile, the clock -- mechanical technology)
The organism is the fifth metaphor, and includes all kinds of animals and plants and cells -- living things! And the fun part is that the organism is both goal oriented but also what Kendall and Kendall call alternative oriented. It sort of links the first four, with their goal orientation, with the last four, which are more organic or generative?

The last four, then, are alternative oriented:
  • society (groups, organizations, that whole living together mess)
  • family (parents, children, brothers, sisters, and the extended relations)
  • jungle (the call of the wild, Tarzan, wild animals, strange noises)
  • zoo (the civilized jungle, who is watching who?, etc.)
Kendall and Kendall have some words to say about how these are organized in terms of participation -- between being responsible or active members or just being consultants, standing outside of the action. For example, most game and journey metaphors have the actors as active members, while machine and even war to some extent are more likely to have the actors standing outside the action (although war all too often splashes onto the actors, especially if they happen to be military). They also say the family and jungle are likely to have participants, while both society and the zoo apparently tend to have observers (ah, anthropologists and visitors to the zoo?).

The other dimension that they use for looking at these metaphors is order versus chaos. Both the game and machine tend to be on the orderly side (games have rules, and mechanisms have gears?), while the journey and war are more messy (no plan survives contact with the enemy?). Similarly, families and society tend to be orderly, with the jungle and the zoo more on the chaotic side of the ledger.

So how do you use these in writing? Well, I'd suggest making a list of nine items -- I'll give it to you here:
1. Journey
2. War
3. Game
4. Organism
5. Society
6. Machine
7. Family
8. Zoo
9. Jungle
Now alongside these, pick an example for each one. Not just the abstract journey, but a specific trip to a specific place with a particular method of transportation (car, boat, horse, helicopter, etc.). For each generic metaphorical area, pick a specific concrete example. One that you know at least a little about (Google and Wikipedia can be your friend).

Then when you want to add some spice to your writing, pick a number from 1 to 9 (you've played this game before haven't you?). Now look at the metaphorical area and the specific example that you picked. How does the character, plot action, complication, conflict, setting -- whatever problem you are trying to deal with, how does it play out in terms of this metaphor? What are the similarities (gimme 5!)? What are the differences (gimme 5!)? What are some interesting thoughts about connections of any kind between what you're doing and this metaphorical playground?

I know some people run down the list until they find a metaphorical area that interests them or excites them. That's okay, although I think sometimes we're likely to fall into ruts with this -- always putting it in terms of our family, or perhaps the game of croquet that we enjoy so much. Stretch a little, and try doing it with one of those metaphorical areas that you are not so comfortable with -- who knows what ideas lurk in that swamp? (yes, that's a variation on the jungle :-)

Anyway, bring those metaphors to bear on your writing, and watch the nanowrimo word count rise! Like a hot-air balloon, like fighting a war with the stars, like throwing javelins into the sky, like a bird flying, like Rome expanding across the world, like a missile climbing, like the family growing, like trained dolphins leaping in Marineland, like the vines in the jungle climbing up, up, up the trees to wave their leaves above everything -- just like that!

tink
(almost 900 words)

Kendall, J. E. & Kendall, K. E. (1993). Metaphors and methodologies: Living beyond the systems machine. MIS Quarterly, 17(2), 149- 171.

Now is dance a journey or a game? Or perhaps it's a living organism?
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Twisting the Metaphors

As I'm sure some of you have noticed, I like playing with metaphors. There's something engaging about taking one from over here, another from over there, and then playing twist and fit to see where they complement or contrast. So, as you pursue your daily nanowrimo quota (how many words was that again? You can do it!) one of the tricks you might want to try is a little metaphor juggling. For example, you could pick a number from 1 to 7 (all right, if your die only has six sides, you can use that.)

So, if you have your number ready? Good, here's what you have chosen (behind door number 1, we have . . . ):
1. Taking a bath
2. Frying potatoes
3. Boiling an egg
4. Sending a letter (you remember, those funny paper things that preceded email?)
5. Untangling a ball of string
6. Learning to swim
7. Starting a car in cold weather
Nothing up my right sleeve -- nothing up my left sleeve -- in fact, I'm not sure I even have sleeves in the digital world, but take your character, perhaps the situation they're in, perhaps the problem they are trying to work through, or perhaps even just the simple dialogue that they're about to have -- and connect it up with that activity. What are all the bits and pieces of boiling an egg? And just how do those connect with your hero trying vainly to get that job that is just out of reach?

Now isn't that fun! Just plain and simple mental magic. You see I knew that you were going to be struggling with that problem, and I actually picked the number that you were going to choose, and carefully planted the exact perfect metaphor for you to connect with your problem.

You may clap now.

Of course, part of this is that wonderful connectivity engine that you have between your right ear and your left ear, slightly back from your eyes, and above all the rest of the meat. The little grey cells as Hercule Poirot was wont to say.

Go ahead - twist a metaphor today. And remember, don't just jump into the deep end, spend a bit of time paddling around in the shallows first.

"Tomas did not realize at the time that metaphors are dangerous. Metaphors are not to be trifled with. A single metaphor can give birth to love." Milan Kundera

tink
(about 400 words, if we stretch a couple of them :-)
When a verb meets a noun, coming through the metaphor . . .
[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: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 22:55:23 EDT

I think I'd call this a ramble? or maybe it's a bramble, a thicket of meaninglessness?

Since it is possible that some of you don't read the weekly FAQ, (I know that it may be hard to believe, but I'm sure there are a few who don't peruse every puerile pucker of that oft-repeated post) allow me to pull this out and post it for your pleasure.

I'm not sure quite what to make of this, but I do like it, I think.

Comments?

tink

+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+=
The Springs of Writing

Sometimes, out tramping around on a mountainside, with the crack of a twig underfoot and all the other fine sensual awakening that seems to be part of celebrating the out-of-doors, you may come across a spring. A tiny ripple of water, perhaps not even that so much as a soaking, but a place where the earth lets go of the water again, and it begins.

I love to stop and think about where that little spring is going. The drops of water, seeping out, touching me, and then slowly passing on to...

Sometimes, of course, you'll find larger, clear springs, pushing up forcefully, and sweeping away obstructions.

But no matter where the springs start, after a while the tiny drips and great gushers join, form streams, laughing, chuckling along, feeding the bushes and trees, alive with insects and fish.

And rain falls, adding muddy roils and softer plink-plink-plink touches, criss-crossing, draining tastes of new growth and ancient mold into the mix, wandering here and there...

Sometimes snow melts, or ice CRACKS and shakes, spins, softens, and adds its weight to the rushing waters...

Here a pond collects the tastes of many streams, the runoff of the hills, the silt of fields growing, and provides a place for spirits to cool and calm, listening to the burp of frogs diving into the depths, the soft rustle of grass growing, the quiet of a summer evening...

Down centuries of time, across chasms of cultural division, from momentary leaves of today's crops, the waters roll. Fine streams, heavy flood waters, grinding, bursting, laving and washing the best and the worst...

When the shower touches you, you can put your head down and trudge through the mud, angry at the weather...

Or...

You can lift your face to the wonder, search for the promise of the rainbow, and laugh into the rain, into the thunder, into the lightning

as the waters mix again, meeting, parting, on their way to the ocean of life through the rivers and streams, the dams and meanders, the wandering and late-night tears...

all in the waters of writing.

Whether you want to just wash your hands, or maybe dip your head in and refresh yourself, or even dive in and be baptised into the depths of that life, feel free. And let your own springs gurgle forth, adding that fine clear flavor of yourself to the mix.

The waters will return, in time.

The gentle rains, the fierce riptides of the ocean, the hidden aquafers that wet the footing of all lands...the ebb and flow of waters, the ebb and flow of writing...

and the moon holding sway over all.

A muse of rain, perhaps...
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[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Mon, 5 Jan 1998 12:31:36 EST

Okay, we've recently seen the metaphoric statement "don't beat a dead horse" used repeatedly here on the list.

Think about where this comes from. No matter what you do, a dead horse won't move the wagon...

And then think about current times. Very few of us deal with horses on a regular basis anymore. So what does this saying translate into for our age?

Don't type into a computer that isn't plugged in?

Quit flicking the switch when the bulb is dead?

Don't break the key off, there's no gas in the car!

Work at it. Dream up at least five variations...select the best and work on the wording so that it has some snap, some interest.

Polish an aphorism for our times today, okay?

(and when you get tired of that dead horse stinking up the place, try reworking some of the other cliches that pile up in our common language...)

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