mbarker: (Burp)
[personal profile] mbarker
Original posting April 7, 2017

Over here, google news showed me an article about writing exercises!

http://www.military-technologies.net/2017/04/06/5-exercises-to-improve-your-storytelling-skills-2/

And, since I know you probably need more exercise, here's a summary. Go ahead and read the article, it's short, but...

        1.      Observe people. Wherever you are, there's likely to be a mall, coffee shop, or some place that you can practice the fine art of people watching. Pick out someone intriguing, and make up your own story about them.
        2.      Take a look at old postcards and photographs. Heck, search for antique photographs on eBay? Take a look at that image. What does it make you think of?
        3.      Browse graveyards and phone books. Names, epitaphs, all that good stuff! Let the etchings inspire you!
        4.      Stop reading, and listen. Podcasts, audiobooks, YouTube, we have lots of audio and visual alternatives. Pay attention to the stories, and how they're told, then... write!
        5.      Writing prompts. Try timed exercises -- that ticking clock makes writing pour out, sometimes, too. There are various sources of writing prompts around the web now.

Go ahead. What's your favorite exercise?

tink
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Fri, 17 Jun 1994 11:24:17 JST

Not to co-opt whatever it is you're into, but it does seem as though there is a thread of rejection of stereotypes as a valid method of labeling an individual somewhere in the muddle...

[by which rather clumsy device, pray allow me to reintroduce an elderly topic with some relationship to ... writing!]

It seems to me that most of the rejection of stereotypes (and other labels) runs on several legs.

Imprimus (that's a fancy first!), there is the problem that a label tends to "suck up" and "cover over" attributes and characteristics that identify individuals. E.g., having said someone is born in a certain time, one is likely to generalize some feature of some people also born in that era (what I have so elegantly called "sucking up") and then attempt to claim that all those born at that time somehow share that feature - simply due to their birthday (and the "cover up"). From here, one can easily move into astrology.

Secondus, while there may have been some kind of reasoning (or semi-reasoning) process involved in developing a label, in use one often skips re-introducing the reasoning. Perhaps the "shorthand" form is sufficient for ordinary miscommunication, but in the pursuit of better writing, one should take some care to reinforce the forgotten chains of stereotypical development. E.g., instead of simply saying "He was a WASP, and therefore had lots of money," take the time to introduce his family, allude to their humble abode on Fifth Avenue, perhaps even bring in the yacht and the "summer cottage" in New Hampshire - one need never mention the quantity of money carried in his paper bag as he shuffled around Central Park one step ahead of the police. Really. Just let people know that he was a "free-lance recycling agent, specializing in aluminum cans and beer bottles."

Tertius (we want a firm stand, so we need at least a tripod), so many labels, although perhaps convenient in some way, have no evident logic behind them. What difference does being born during the same period make? Granted, there was a statistical bulge related to a period of sexual irrelationships attributable to a war. How much convergence did social and cultural influence have during this period? Would the ex-farmer who went to college and then (horrors!) left Ohio after the war raise children in the same way that his closest friend who went back to the family farm after the war did? For that matter, did New York city and down-field Kansas (to take two examples) suddenly grow homogenized during this period?

Well, that's a three-legged push towards discussing stereotypes and individuals in writing. As I've stated once before, I find ordinary people, who often resemble the stereotypes, somewhat interesting as subjects of writing. Still, it seems to me, the more I think about this, that the focus on individuals in writing implies that even when describing a person who fits into a stereotypical mold quite well, it is extremely important to "break the person out of the mold" and make them a living, breathing individual...

Perhaps we might consider how to take a stereotype and characterize the character in sufficient depth to take the person out of the stereotype?

Or, of course, we can return to the exchange of generational myths. (does anyone have a list of heroes, villians, and archtypes by generation? when's the test on this, anyway?)

WOTD: focus

Oct. 1st, 2008 10:56 am
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original posting: Thu, 15 Jul 1993 17:57:01 JST

fo-cus (foh-kus) (pl. focuses, foci)
1. the point at which rays meet or from which they appear to proceed
2. the point or distance at which an object is most clearly seen by the eye or through a lens
3. an adjustment on a lens to produce a clear image at varying distances
4. a center of activity or interest, etc.
(v) (focused, focusing)
1. to adjust the focus of (a lens or the eye)
2. to bring into focus
3. to concentrate or be concentrated or directed (on a center etc.)

to lack focus (business and educational institutional usage)
1. slow down and do things the way I do.
2. don't ask questions I don't know the answers to.
3. ignore multiple levels, related points, and other parts of a complete, healthy understanding
4. quit looking around, thinking, and being interested in things I don't understand.
5. don't study, teach, or try to develop yourself or others (with an icy breath of "stay in your place" at times...)
6. put your blinders on, stop doing things I can't do, and sink to my level of boring closed-mindedness before I have to do something unusual such as think about my routine plodding along deeply worn tracks.
(based on almost 30 years of being criticized about focus. At this point in my life, I consider this comment and related forms as a signal indicating that I am threatening someone's cherished routines of thought. Whether to continue or not is up to me - and you! However, you should also consider it a compliment, as it means you are making them exercise that ill-used organ, their brain...)

in other words, consider the source - and go ahead and be the best person you can be for you!

conjugation practice!
I am a Renaissance woman. vs I am a specialist.
You lack focus. vs.  You are focused.
They are scatter-brained. vs. They are narrow-minded.
tink (who has never seen any particular virtue in being single-tracked...)
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Wed, 8 Sep 1993 18:00:05 JST

I, and others, have been using the word "stereotype" fairly freely recently. However, I have noticed that some of the uses aren't quite in synch with the way I use it. Therefore...

Debating 101 says always define your terms before starting, so I looked at some dictionaries.
[Webster's New World] a fixed or conventional expression, notion, mental pattern, etc.

[OAD] an idea or character etc. that is standardized in a conventional form without individuality
Interesting - one dictionary simply says conventional, while the OAD adds the notion that the stereotype "lacks individuality."

I tend to think of a stereotype as a typical person, someone you may be able to classify or categorize easily. Someone who fits (largely) in the middle on whatever scales you are using. I.e., a member of the majority, rather than one of the statistical outlyers. An identifiable "type"?

This does not mean they are necessarily a "flat" character, merely that their peculiarities are ordinary ones which may be seen in many other people.

I suppose one way to put it is that these are the people who (mostly) are the way we expect them to be and do what we might expect merely from a superficial description. The person who works to support a family (instead of having a secret laboratory, neurotic compulsion to power, or whatever). The president of a company who is doing a good job without crushing everyone in sight, embezzling funds, etc. The child who is well-adjusted.

So I go along with the idea of stereotype as conventional. That does not (to me) seem to imply they lack individuality. A conventional person - a "Father Knows Best" type, for example - can be absurdly individual and out of place in today's world. It seems to me that one of the major plotting "themes" available today is that of the conventional person faced with the uncertainty, confusion, and outright unconventional world around them.

Other people seem to consider a "stereotype" as a "flat" character, or perhaps an "Everyman" abstraction that lacks definition. An identifiable mask for the author to cloak some idea in to let it stalk around?

I don't think of stereotypes as lacking individuality. They are identifiably unique and interesting, even though they are just ordinary people who might be met anywhere.

To "break the stereotype" simply because it is expected or conventional ignores the fact that the stereotype may have grown out of very real social, economic, etc. circumstances, and there are usually many people who fit it altogether too well. Each an individual, but largely predictable. That's why people use "stereotypes" - they identify useful patterns of behavior in a simple way, allowing them to deal with people mostly in terms of the "type" instead of having to worry about unpredictable reactions.

Interestingly, Analog (Oct. 1993) has an editorial about "Nouveaux Cliches" in which Stanley Schmidt challenges writers to three points:
1. Don't confuse weak characters with strong characterization
2. Remember that human beings are not the center of the universe, or even the only interesting thing in it.
3. Dare to be fun!
His major point about characters is that some people ARE happily married, some people can manage their own lives, some people ARE the majority, yet the "cliche" of current writing is that no one has virtues, everyone is a psychological disaster area, no one can manage their own lives, marriages are all falling apart, ad nauseum.

(or as I would say, some people are stereotypes - ordinary people.)

I guess what I'm saying is that it seems possible to me to portray an ordinary person AS an ordinary person and still make them interesting. Frankly, I don't enjoy all the broken and fringe people that seem to populate current literature - they don't act like people I know, they aren't familiar, and their "solutions" seem to be surrenders.

Joe B. mentioned
- probably somewhere in the middle. I think this way of
- thinking probably helps prevent overreliance on stereotypes
- by acknowledging that people often appear "contradictory"
- merely because we tend not to accept their complexity, their
- changeability, and , like Whitman, contain, if not multitudes,
- at least small crowds. Thanks!
Joe - does this mean you see stereotypes as "flat" characters, one-dimensional characters?

Anyone - when you say "stereotype", what do you mean? How does this relate to the characters we use in writing?

Can you portray someone doing exactly what is expected - and still have an interesting, strong character?

[I haven't even touched on my thoughts about plot and setting, but they are parallel. Incidentally, anyone want to discuss the inherent stereotyping and generalization of language, of words themselves? I mean, how do you communicate if you don't share concepts?]

Any responses, comments, or thoughts gratefully read.

Apologies for accidentally bringing up a writing topic. Flog me. (no, not you, TJ.)
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 18:35:01 JST

(maybe it's an essay?)

I noticed that we've hit again the topic of that evil little box lurking in the corner of most homes (if not occupying a central shrine where the devotees gather for regular services). Not to argue with anyone, but I do have a few thoughts on the topic.

(what! the overall level of writing, characters - if you can call them that -, the plotting, etc. STINKS!)

true. there are occasional exceptions - perhaps even a higher percentage than in printed novels, for example - but in general, true. Don't watch the tube to learn good writing.

One hesitation - advertising tends to be extraordinarily effective in terms of catching the listener and getting a message across. Sometimes it is worth studying.

And there was a flash in the corner of my eye - oh, yes. Some of the visual hints - how they establish a scene, a mood, an identity through the details shown sometimes is quite good (even in poorly written shows). Worth a look or two...

But, in general, you are absolutely correct - the level of T.V. broadcasting doesn't provide a very challenging target in terms of story handling technique.

(do you really think it's safe for people to waste hours and years of their life as passive addicts of mindless entertainment and stimulation? That damn noisy box sucks!)

true. even the roman circuses had to stop regularly for food, collecting more Christians, sleep for the lions, and so on. the tube, with vcr, cable, and other technological boosts, can easily absorb all the time you are willing to give it.

(well, then - be like Elvis and pop the tube!)

no. Elvis wanted to run and hide, and did. But writers can't afford that luxury.

The T.V. can be a magic window opening on far places, news, sights and sounds around the world, and the person next door. In that role, it is indispensable to the modern writer.

Further, the T.V. is, in some ways, the "Bible" of modern culture - the "common cultural background" which the writer needs to be well-acquainted with to extract metaphors, similes, and other items to touch the larger audience. It doesn't matter whether you use them as is or break them for shock or schlock - you have to know them to use them effectively.

Also, the T.V. is part of the cultural explosion reaching those who aren't in the heart of the beast. We saw a recent documentary of a Japanese man who went up the Amazon and into the life of an Indian tribe far from everything. Only 71 members left alive, and the biggest killer is the common cold! Lots of interesting little facts and sights, but one of the most impressive to me was what they recommended this modern day adventurer take as presents for the tribe. Videotape movies.

That night, under the huge roof, the head of the tribe fired up a gas generator, turned on their T.V. set, and showed them one of the new movies - a shipwreck disaster flick (not sure which one - I missed the name and they all look alike...). Utter silence, intense little eyes and older ones clustered around, watching and learning about the big world out there...

One of those kids may be one of your readers in years to come. And they'll know what you are talking about because you share the same culture of the tube!

Even closer to home - while there have been attempts to "standardize" curricula in the schools, I think the strongest homogenizing factor is that dratted tube. Fads, catchy phrases, and so on spread remarkably quickly now - at least in part because someone is watching that escape hatch from the narrowness and smallness of local reality.

(what, you want me to spend all my time in a daze watching the tube? when do I write?)

no. consider the t.v. as a magic window, opening up the heart and soul of ordinary life and ordinary people for you. What you find there may be appalling, even shocking, but don't break the window. Pull back the curtains now and then and glance into it, gaze at some parts and steal some notions of what the backstreets of Los Angeles look like, then close the curtains again and get back to work with a wider knowledge of what's out there than you can get without taking advantage of the technology.

I hate to say it, but those one or two hour vacations by tele-vision to the other side of the world are a lot cheaper when you take them on the public tour. Admittedly, you can't stop and walk aside, or ask questions while the tour director is running their mouth - but with a vcr, you can stop and look at details, and you really don't have to take the whole trip... I've become cunning about cutting the sound if I just want to watch the background and people, and don't really care what the idiot commentary is.

The tool isn't the problem - don't break the telescope just because your neighbors insist on watching girls through it. keep your eye on the glimpses of beach and ocean, the sea waves curling in the background, and the dolphins dancing... that's a pretty wonderful telescope to play with!

(stay tuned - more after this commercial break!:-)
tink
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Chapter 17: Action Scenes

(continuing our series from Make A Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld)

Hollywood has taught us to think of action as larger-than-life last-minute escapades. However, small personal actions still count. Action scenes rely on some kind of physical movement in a space or context of the writer's creation, with a sense of time passing. Readers feel as if they are participating in action when:
1. Events unfold in real time, so that the reader feels as if they are participating in the events
2. The pace is rapid, and there is some kind of physical movement
3. The protagonist makes quick decisions or reactions, depending on instinct more than intellect
4. Unexpected consequences raise the dramatic tension
Act first, think later. When the protagonist is caught by surprise, forcing reactions. That's what action scenes are all about. They feel fast and intense. Usually the action is unexpected or surprising. They match well with suspense scenes, epiphanies or contemplative scenes. Readers do sometimes skim through them, so don't expect slow detailed reading. Just like the protagonist, the reader wants to find out what happens, so they aren't going to read slowly and carefully.

Opening action scenes. Most of the scene will be unfolding or exploding action. Even if you want to start slow, think about getting to the action soon.

In medias res - start in the middle of the action -- is a standard recommendation, and works well. Readers have to keep reading to figure out what is going on. Make sure that the reader can follow the essential action, that they know what is going on even if they don't know why or how it will be resolved.

Open with foreshadowing. Small actions or narrative summary that hints at the coming action are sometimes useful. Keep it short, keep the hints subtle, and let the action take over as soon as possible. Be very careful not to make the action an anti-climax by removing the surprise or sizzle.

Character development and plot in the action scene? Action is one way to show the true nature of characters. Every scene needs to involve characters in interaction, reaction, and change, but action scenes force the character to actually walk the talk, acting out their true beliefs. Don't forget that characters can make mistakes, especially in action. Push your characters to discover unexpected facets of themselves through actions. Make sure that the actions are serious, that they can't be undone, so that the character has to face the consequences.

Ending the action scenes. There are lots of ways to end the action. No matter how you do it, though, make sure that the action has changed the protagonist, and that there are consequences that the protagonist will have to deal with. Most of the endings slow down the pace and offer a chance for reflection, increase the tension and suspense so that the reader has to keep going, or end with a bang, a revelation that changes the characters and the plot.

Slow it down. A little bit of exposition or reflection, quietly slowing down the pace, and often ending in a foreshadowing image.

The cliffhanger or suspense ending. Don't stop, run the action right out to the edge and leave the reader turning the pages for the next step. Just delay the conclusion of the action.

A revelation that changes everything. At the very end of the scene, reveal the consequences of the action to the reader and the protagonist. One trick here is that the revelation often is an emotional high point -- action scenes often do not have much emotional impact, but the revelation can change to.

And Rosenfeld's checklist for action scenes:
1. Is the focus of the protagonist on reaction, instinct instead of thought?
2. Is there physical movement that conveys a sense of time?
3. Is there less reflective or emotional content -- keep punching!
4. Does the action change the protagonist and the plot?
5. Do the actions produce consequences for future scenes?
Coming up, we have flashback, epiphany, climactic, and final scenes. But for right now, let's set Rosenfeld aside and consider your very own action scene.

First, of course, you might want to take an action scene apart. Admittedly, we all know them from movies and TV, but dig one out of a novel, and see how it works. How did they start it? How do they keep the action moving and realistic? And how did they end it?

Second, think about writing an action scene of your very own. Where would an action scene make more sense than dialogue? Are you going for the high action of the movies and television or for somewhat smaller tramping around the campsite, rafting down the river, or doing something else that doesn't involve car chases, explosions, and other special effects? How do you start the scene, how do you keep it realistic, and how do you finish it? I still remember reading someone's little battle scene and asking them to walk through the action, because I couldn't figure out how the characters were positioned. We ended up talking about doing a paper chart and actually having the characters move across the chart -- and discovered that at least one character was indeed popping from place to place in a rather incredible way. I won't say that the scene was great after we reworked it, but at least people looked the right direction and so forth.

You might take some simple actions -- getting in the car and turning it on, getting a cup of coffee or tea, buying a newspaper -- and write those scenes up as practice. It can be surprisingly difficult to get the character into the right position, get the keys out of his pocket, and actually turn on the engine. Then consider showing us that the character is happy, upset, or otherwise trying to deal with emotions in the middle of the action.

I think action scenes often are considered pretty simple. But selecting the right parts of the actions to suit your story, and providing enough details without going overboard or without simply sliding over the action, is more difficult than it may appear. Action scenes are some of the bread-and-butter basics for writers, and you might as well practice writing them. You need to be able to convincingly convey that these characters are doing something right now.

So, write!
(or should that be plots, characters, actions! Write that scene?)

The writer's job is to help readers see what's happening now in the center ring -- of your story.
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original posting: Thu, 04 Jan 2001 00:23:16 -0500

Flipping across the odd cable stations, I happened to see a short film segment.  It was on Independent Film Channel or some similar collection of eclectic bits.

It was an interesting piece.  Set in a diner, starting with an old woman coming in the door saying to herself, "So I am speaking French?  How interesting!"  (the movie was subtitled)

She glances at the table with the reserved sign, sits down at the next booth, and tells the waitress that she knows what she wants to eat.  She orders the special, eggs, bacon, sausage, etc. and tea and coffee, "not in the same cup, of course."

We get a glance around the restaurant, then shift to the young man in heavy coat and knitted hat pulled over his hair who comes in and sits at the reserved table.  In the background, we hear the waitress say, "That's reserved."

He shifts, pulls something out of his coat, and puts it under the table.  Then he gets up, hands empty, and heads out of the diner.

A pair of men come in, and sit at the table.  We see the young man get out cigarettes and a funny black box, then switch it on.

Then we cut to under the table.  Sticks of explosive, and a timer, starting at 5:00.

Another set of shots around the diner, this time solarized as if a bright light were shining.  Frozen shots, as the timer ticks across the first few seconds.

The two men who apparently were the intended targets leave.

Then a series of tiny scenes.  The old man yearning to meet the old woman.  The fat man trying to resist food, and wanting it.  The waitresses trading snippets of conversation as they pass, then taking a moment on the stools for the best part.  The young girl who sees the blinking light on the bomb, but cannot convince her mother to believe her.  The young couple who come in angry with each other and sit at the table with the bomb.

The timer ticking down, down, down.

The old woman picks up the discarded black box out of the trash (she had watched curiously as the young man discarded his cigarettes).  First she switches it one way and the timer stops!  Then she shakes it, shakes her head, and pushes it back again, and the timer starts again.  3...2.

She pushes the switch back and forth.

A quick flip through the faces, the people we have come to know, to wonder about.

And then the scenes come to life again.

And we see that the timer has frozen as the old women tossed the box in the trash again.  She smiles at the old man, and we exit, with music.

Slices of life, almost cliched, some trite, not particularly exciting.

But!  With the bomb under the table adding its accent, somehow these scenes gained in interest.  One focused on what might be the last moment for each of these people, and wondered.

So -- your exercise.  Take a common scene (diner, office, bank, subway, you pick it).

Add a bomb.

Then tell those scenes of life against the backdrop of the ticking bomb.

And let us know whether the end is...

BOOOM!

or

life goes on.
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Wed, 06 Sep 2000 09:11:53 -0400

As the flock collects, let us pause for a moment of wordiness to let each other know...

Where were you?

What did you do?  (not how, what!)

and other points of social exchange reflecting the summer wanderings and whiffleballs, the little triumphs of the season, the new stuffing on your sofa, or whatever.

(you got out to the inner circle of hell?  And who did you meet there?  Really?  I never would have guessed!)

I.e., tell us, in 500 words (more or less), how you spent your summer vacation.  What, you didn't spend one?  Okay, tell us how someone else spent it, then.

Just put word A after word B and you'll have BA.  Not too useful, although you could do a sheepish thing and go with BAH, darken it up and do BAH HUMBUGGERY, or even go for the gusto with BADINAGE.  Or turn to your dictionary and look at all the BA words!  Citing, isn't it?

Write a little!
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Mon, 28 Aug 2000 23:25:45 -0400

Okay, a quick scene for you to fill in, as you please.

On the way to work this morning, I walked past several cars stopped at a stoplight.  In about the fourth car back, a man sat.  He was the driver, with one hand out the open window waving a cigarette.  His face seemed agitated, perhaps angry, perhaps upset.

He was the only person in the car.

And he was talking loudly, perhaps even yelling!  Looking down and in, as if the radio or perhaps the gear shift was somehow the focus of his emotion, he was talking away.

I could see his mouth working, quite obviously forming words.  Given the background noise at that intersection, I couldn't hear what he was saying, nor could I tell who he was talking to.  Maybe the radio, maybe the 6 foot rabbit sitting invisibly beside him, perhaps the fairy princess sitting on the floor on the passenger side?  How about the alien from planet Gurk reposing on the floor?

Or the brother who died 30 years ago?

The boss he would face in an hour?

Who do you think he was talking to?  And what was he saying?

Okay?  So here's your job -- take that person.  Show us where they have come from, why they are upset, and what happens next!

Write?
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Thu, 23 Nov 2000 09:38:28 -0500

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

Or whatever you may happen to be doing this holiday.

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

1.  Look around!

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

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

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

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

2.  Add A Character

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

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

How does Uncle John deal with Aphrodite coming to call?

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

Go ahead, let your imagination run weird!

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

3.  Now, Take Someone Out

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oh, and enjoy the holiday!
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Tue, 06 Feb 2001 12:33:00 -0500

Let's take a look at some thoughts from Writing As a Lifelong Skill by Sanford Kaye, ISBN 0-534-22218-8

Okay.  Definition, attitude, your writing history.  And reflection on the issues of external and internal influences, how you balance correctness and expressiveness, and your confidence in reaching your readers.

But maybe in reading your history you noticed some other issues, some questions, some thoughts that you'd like to raise?  What troubles you in looking back at that history?  What makes you glad to have looked back?  What puzzles you about the long and winding road that leads to your writing?

And that's just the first exercise in the book!
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Sat, 10 Feb 2001 02:12:55 -0500

Just a quick note in the muddle...

Have you ever seen something called "Talk Soup"?  Flipping through the channels this morning, I caught a brief clip where they were commenting on a "blind date" a young lady had.  Apparently she was "given" a visit by an exotic male dancer, who stripped to his shorts and lap-danced?

The commentator exclaimed "That's not romantic!"

And I pondered, as I sometimes am wont to do, just what would be considered romantic.  In particular, for a young lady.

So describe that romantic evening (getaway?  lunch party?  you pick it).  Lay out the sights, sounds, tastes, aromas, sensations and events that add up to the elusive romance.

I'll even recommend that both parties enjoy the time together...

(Chianti and pasta?  Gaaarlic!  Now that's a romansa! :-)
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original posting: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 20:53:00 -0400

At 06:53 AM 6/28/2001 -0700, TheWonderfullRabb wrote:
I have tried to instill in her the values I was brought up with. Respect your elders, do not interrupt, thou shalt not steal, lie or cheat, stay out of trouble, walk away from a fight, think for yourself and respect yourself and body.
Okay...

So, here's the thought.  Take a set of values (such as those above).  Take another set (wildly different or just a little tweak here and there).

Consider these as characters.  Put them into a situation, and rub well.  See if the friction causes flames, smoke, or just noise.

I.e., suppose one person holds "Respect your elders" as a core value, while another believes that the elders should be quickly disabused of any expectation of respect for aging (or perhaps simply believes that only the young really deserve respect, old folks just waited longer :-)  Now put them in the situation of taking care of their invalid mothers in a hospital, perhaps with the old moms in side-by-side beds?

Something to play with, eh?
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original posting: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 06:32:30 -0400

Working Title: Filling in the Blanks
The poster on the subway said, "After school, my child did _____________.  Fill in the blank..."

She thought a moment, then decided.  This afternoon, she would find out just what her child does after school.  She would spy on them.
Okay?  Got the picture.  Mom has just decided to find out what her child really does after school.

So take it away!  How does she spy on her own child?  And what does she find out about the little known habits.

For that matter, how old is this child?  Other brothers and sisters?  Adopted?

(You're kidding, they turned out to be alien pod people?  And then what?)

Go ahead, write!
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 13:47:58 -0500

Okay, let's try this...

"Lit up like a whorehouse on Saturday night."  Loren D. Estleman, quoted in Falser than a Weeping Crocodile and other similes by Elyse Sommer and Mike Sommer.

There's a fine phrase, talking about something being lit up.  But since we're stretching our writing muscles, let's consider two things.

First, what might you be writing about that would be lit up?  Can you think of a scene that would need some description around how well lit up it is?

Second, of course, let's consider a few variations on that simile.  What would you consider using as a simile to illustrate being lit up?  What does it do if you make it "lit up like a Parisian whorehouse on Saturday night?" Or what about "as dark as a whorehouse on Monday night?"  (er...when's the night off?)

Times Square at the stroke of midnight, Jan. 1?

like a four year old's face when Daddy comes home?

Go ahead, crank out a few similes about being well lit!  And then consider the effect they have on a scene.

If you like, go ahead and write the scene.

Or even the whole tale, if you have the time and the idea.
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 21:13:18 -0400

A bit incoherent, but perhaps you'll find some echoes...

"Religious man experiences two kinds of time -- profane and sacred.  The one is an evanescent duration, the other a 'succession of eternities,' periodically recoverable during the festivals that made up the sacred calendar.  The liturgical time of the calendar flows in a closed circle; it is the cosmic time of the year, sanctified by the works of the gods."  Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane, quoted in Your Mythic Journey by Sam Keen and Anne Valley-Fox

"But this moment and the meaning of this moment -- fact and interpretation -- are not separable.  Human beings inevitably are philosophical animals.  We interpret, discover, and create meaning in the act of perception.  We think with our senses, see with our hearts, and feel with our brains.  We use images, analogies, and metaphors to understand the world around us and the meaning of life as a whole.  We live within a framework that gives meaning to our experience.  The philosophical context within which we live determines the way we perceive the content of our days." Your Mythic Journey by Sam Keen and Anne Valley-Fox

I think Mircea missed something, in describing sacred time as always a circle.  For indeed, disasters and deaths and other events often seem to "kick" us into the sacred time, the unending now that focuses our lives and attentions and emotions, putting our being into the fires where they forge a new reality.

September 11, 2001.  That date will ring for all of us living now, and those images will be a part of our lives.  And for many of us that moment, that sacred time that started that day, has not ended!

How many of you, turning on the TV, or talking with a friend, suddenly have tears, or reach out and embrace?  It may be something as seemingly trivial as a burly fireman talking about finding a raggedy ann doll, and having to stop and blink away his tears, and suddenly you are crying with him, or something more profound, those moments when you learn that... well, for me, that the husband of a past co-worker was somewhere in that catastrophe.  That emotional contact seems to me to be a hallmark of these sacred times.

Or reading something that makes you reach out and hug your wife, and look at the blue sky, and vibrate with aliveness!

(Or the mundane realization that you haven't even looked at mail since that day, and the bills and junkmail continue to pile up.  Walk in the door and turn on CNN.  Watch, absorb, hold hands with my wife, talk in disjointed sequences, try to pick up the scattered threads of work.  CNN, rumors and news, what have you heard today?  That setting aside of the ordinary priorities also seems a hallmark of these sacred times, when shock and the cycle of emotional reaction take us.)

Take a few minutes.  Capture your own timeline of these days.

As some have done, write down where you were that day, how you heard the news.

Or write down one of the stories that touched you, one of the many incredible outreaches going on here and everywhere.

Think about a child, five years from now, ten years, or more, asking what it meant to live through this time.  And think of the details, the sharpness and gracenotes, that you would like to share with that child.  Do you remember seeing grey snowflakes, and then realizing that they were walls and windows, shattered, like an obscene snowdrift when viewed from above?  Or maybe listening to the blind man who walked down from the 78th floor?

Whatever, get it down now.

And bask in the time that we have.  Touched by the sacred as humanity reaches out to itself, grounded in the profane actions that initiated the Great Catastrophe (with thanks to Alison for the label).
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 23:40:51 -0400

On a television program early this morning, they were talking with students in Cherry Hill, NJ, about the high school problems.

A statement made by one student rang oddly in my mind.

"There's just this natural fear of anyone different."

This was the justification for ostracizing and harassment of a local "freak" -- a student who dressed differently, likes Marilyn Manson (who is that?), and otherwise doesn't fit in.

Somehow, this notion that difference in some way justifies fear, anger, hatred... it doesn't ring true to me.  Certainly, we've all heard the tales of pink monkeys, but are we indeed trapped by such reactions, or are we able to look beyond our prejudices and reactions?

Anyway, a suggested exercise:

a.  Pick two 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

Now, pick a gaggle of characters, and one odd-ball(or ballette, as you decide).

Scene one -- introduce your characters, and establish that the gaggle feels one of your two emotions towards the odd-ball.

Scene two through n -- spend some time exploring those relations, the reactions of the odd-ball, the rising xxxxx of the gaggle, the bystanders joining in and raising the stakes.

Scene n+1 -- revelation.  Somehow, someway, let one or more of the gaggle get a good hard look at what they are doing, and at what walking in the shoes of the odd ball means.  This should result in the shift from the first emotion to the second one.

et diminuendo -- now, let us look at your second emotion, driven by the revelation.

Go ahead, spin that tale, warp those words, let the pink monkey dance on the table tops and humanity triumph!

(What, you don't like this one?  How about another tale, or a poem, based around the "natural fear" of difference?  Perhaps something about endogamy and exogamy?)
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
original posting: Sun, 06 Jan 2002 22:58:00 -0500

Here's a simple one.

Pick a character (any character?  Yes, any character.  Now, you have a character, and I still have 51 cards in this deck, right?  Oh, that's another trick?  Okay, back to the writing tricks.)

Got your character in mind?

What is their theme song?  When they walk on stage (into the middle of the scene, demanding their bit of time in the limelight), what melody, rock song, or other tune accompanies them?

Go ahead, put your characters to music, and let the rhythm tell in their dialog, the descriptive swatches you drape them in, and so forth.

charms to sooth the muses' breath?

Journal writing is a voyage to the interior. Christina Baldwin

and what shores may lie there? ... tink

[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 23:32:00 -0500

A Japanese friend took me to an art museum, showing paintings about India by Akino Fuku.

As we sat on the floor in front of one of his favorites, entitled simply "Ganges," he pointed to the heads of the cattle swimming in the torrent and said, "Those are people."  Then he asked if I knew a Japanese saying.

"Hi kurete, michi too shi."

"As the day draws to a close, the road still stretches ahead."  Or maybe "At the end of the day, the road is still long."

He explained that this is a saying referring to people's lives, that at the end of their life, their goals are still far out in front of them.

And he thinks the picture of the Ganges is another reflection of that.  The cattle swim, their heads just above the water, even as the evening dusk settles.

As the sun sets, the road still stretches ahead?

How would you say it?  And perhaps more interestingly, can you use that saying in a poem, or a tale?

Or is there an English saying that mirrors this?  I couldn't think of one, but maybe you can.
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 23:05:16 -0500

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10.  Have fun!


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