Writing Practice 56: Suggested Practice 1 - A letter to Jesus

Today, nothing new about my story idea came to me.
Somehow, I feel I need a break from that world.
However, to honor that world and to proceed with my intentions with this blog, it's important I write something.
The more I write, the better I'll be able to write my story.

For anyone who's interested - when you're working on something and you don't know where to go with it, practice writing. Practice writing for writing's sake. If you don't know how to further your story, further your skill with writing.In place of not having direction, practice being a good writer until you do - but keep writing. Don't let a lack of an idea stop you from doing your job.

I asked someone to give me an idea for something to write for practice sake.

"Write a letter to Jesus."

Ok.

Dear Jesus:
My name is Desmond Turcotte.
If you're a supernatural being, I feel it's important to say that I've always believed you to be a man.
A man with great ideas. But not the son of God.
At least, no more than everyone else is - metaphorically.

I don't believe in God.
I'm undecided on whether or not there is a creator, but I'm pretty firm on thinking that there's no man with a white beard sitting on a throne in a robe absorbing every happening in the universe and influencing it.
This whole universe could have been created in the laboratory of some greater universe.
And some unfathomable scientist may have accidentally formulated it.
Under those circumstances, that scientist is the creator of this universe.
For all I know, we could be the size of an atom in a much more vast universe than this, and perhaps there are tiny universes in all the atoms we have here.

Where did it all come from?
Where did it all start?
If there's such a thing as a "primary universe", what started it all?

I don't know. I can't know. To be honest, I don't even have reason to think about it.
I'm decided that I could not possibly conceive the way things work.
I don't know, I'll never know and my brain is just too small and simple to "get it".

If I went as far as saying there MIGHT be a creator, even then I couldn't fathom any form of communication with that being. I'd never understand their intentions or begin to comprehend what, if anything, they want from me.

So, I'm going to officially address the Magic Jesus, and send this letter his way. This is on the off chance that you are magic. I'd like to ask you a few questions. 

I like your story, Jesus.
I really do. I love what you represent and I hate what's become of it.
I'm wondering...

Of what you see today....
Is that what you had hoped for? Is this the impact you wanted to have on the world?
What do you think of modern day organized religion?
Can you comment on your view of George Bush, who claimed to be a believer in you?
Is he a good Catholic, would you say?

Are people happier today than they were in your day?
Have things gotten better or worse?


Has "the average Christian" got it right?
Is Christianity working? Look into the minds and souls of your Christians.
Regardless of what they say, are they thinking and feeling the right things?
Are the generally acting accordingly when nobody's watching, behind closed doors?

Just curious.
I hope you're doing well.
Your Friend
Desmond

Writing Practice 55: A Dalia thing

Dalia likes to chew gum and drink drinks full of crushed ice.
She likes to wrap the ice shards in her gum, chew the ice into the gum and have it freeze temporarily.
She likes feeling the hollow, insulated cracks of the ice inside the gum.
And she likes chewing gum when it's cold and hard because she likes to feel it slowly get soft.
It's a process.
It makes her happy.
It makes chewing gum more interesting.

Writing Practice 54: What to do when you don't know what to do

So, let's say you're me.
And you've written all that I've written here.
And then, like me, you say: "What do I do now?"

Well, you remind yourself, like I'm doing now, that everything you've written so far is a scrap idea that will be worked on later when you write your book.
So, if you don't know where to go FROM all you have, spend time working WITH what you've got.

Rewrites.
Gotta practice editing too, right?
Rewrite things you've written, but better.
That's what you intend to do when the time comes.
Well, without a new idea for progress, might as well get to work on that.

Richard cracked jokes in his laboratory so wisely that his wit was constantly overlooked. Luckily, he told his jokes to entertain himself and to play, joyusly, with humor.

"A new book on helium came out last week. I started reading it and I couldn't put it down."

He'd dart his eyes around to see if anyone caught the humor, and then he'd smile deeply into his beard.

Women.
Women made Richard uncomfortable.
Well, that's not true.
Richard was uncomfortable around women he was attracted to.
Dalia, who worked in his laboratory, was such a woman.

He didn't notice it at first.Richard never fell for looks. She was gorgeous, to be sure, but that's not what peaked his interest.
One day he overheard Dalia, an ex-biologist, say: "I switched to Cosmology because studying the universe feels like trying to understand the biology of God."

The sentiment sat in Richard's head.
He watered it with thoughts of her and his interest quickly grew.

Richard told jokes to entertain himself, sure, but he also told them when he was uncomfortable to try to make his situations feels less bothersome.

The joke he tried to tell Dalia went as follows.
Why do scientists like Nitrates?
Because they're so much cheaper than Day Rates.

What he ended up saying, due to his discomfort was:
"Why do scientists like Nitrates? Because they're so much cheaper than date rapes."

She didn't talk to him for a while after that.
Poor Richard.

Writing Practice 53: The process of being more than a writer

Start slow.
Everything is a process.
Why can't I do 100 push ups?
Because I haven't practiced.
I haven't warmed up to doing that.

I am an amateur.
Accept it and then change it.
Do a little, often, then do a little more and slowly learn to do a lot.

Stretching is the first step.
It's gotta feel good to move, to use my body.

Go for walks, bike and do housework.
Get moving.
Get my body used to getting better and better and feeling good just by being.

Ready the body.
Step by step
Slowly over time.

Exercised this morning.
Wanted to last night, woke up and did it.

That's a success.

Writing Practe 52: Gonna do it anyway

I'm going to wake up tomorrow and officially start my day with exercise.
I'm not going to want to do it but I'm going to do it anyway.
It's going to be a pain in the ass, it'll be hard, I'll look foolish doing it and I won't be able to do it very well.
But I'm going to do it.

I'm going to practice doing it.
I'm going to practice getting myself to want to do it.
I'm going to practice doing it when I don't want to.

I'm going to practice wanting to constantly doing it.

I don't do it because I never want to.
That's not good enough.

Tomorrow begins my practice
My practice beyond the page

1) Exercise. It's gonna hurt. It's gonna be uncomfortable. It's gonna have to be a constant to work.
2) Diet. Gotta support the exercise. Gotta have energy. Gotta eat small, healthy things frequently throughout the day.
3) Work. Environment. Clear a space and unkeep it. Make it appealing to work in. Have a "nice" room I look forward to being in if i'm going to do some serious writing.
4) Outside. Be outside. Go outside. Do stuff outside. Get some sun. Vitamin D.
5) Vitamins! Yeah. Hell yeah.
6) Manscaping. I would like to look nice. Work on that. 

Writing Practice 51: Let's get crazy

Adam: I'm interested in Gravity, Richard. The four forces are gravity ,electromagnetism  and the weak and strong nuclear forces. Gravity's isn't as strong as the other forces. I believe that's because we're getting these forces from another dimension or universe and gravity is squeezing through to us somehow obstructed. I also believe that black holes in our universe create other, lesser universes. And I believe that this universe was created from a black hole in a greater universe. Now, the Hubble telescope was focused on the same strip of space for one million seconds. The picture they were taking of the universe was getting clearer and clearer and they were looking back in time. They were seeing the light of this universe from back when it was young. They focused their picture to within ten thousand years of the big bang. If we can get more time on that thing, we would be able to see back to when the universe was created, and we'll be able to see exactly where it started. That's where the greater universe spit us out. At first, I wanted to find that spot and see if I could figure a way to travel back through the hole. But, if our gravity is a fraction of the gravity of the greater universe, I'd never be able to escape. Not even light can escape a black hole's gravity in this universe, so there's no way in hell I'd make it out when I hit the other side of where I figure gravity is stronger than the gravity we know. Besides, the creation point would be insanely far away and how would I get there, you know? But you've often described the universe as a balloon. And if you put a piece of tape on a balloon you can poke a needle through without having the balloon pop. I want to find a way to stick a piece of tape to the fabric of our reality and then piece through it.

Richard: At the risk of popping the balloon? Or leaving an unnatural hole in it? I'd rather not explore the potential destruction of this universe.

Adam: I thought you'd say that. What do you think about making, how do I say it? The opposite of a black hole.

Richard: Look, you're thinking too destructively. If we made an inverse black hole it would rip pieces of this universe into your theoretical greater universe. You're talking damaging the fabric of reality by piecing it like a balloon - I don't want to damage my universe. I don't want to piece it, crack it or even bruise it. The consequences are far too great.

Adam: A doorway, then. If we can open a worm hole -

Richard: We haven't mastered wormholes and we can't escape the gravity of a black hole. You've got some big problems ahead of you, here. What you seem to require to do this is far beyond what science is so far capable of.

Adam: There's a way. There's got to be a way.

Richard: What if that way hurts this universe?

Adam: Aren't you interested in know about the source? Where all of everything came from?

Richard: It's more important for me to be alive than to know.

Writing Practice 50: Spending some time with Damon

1.
Damon: I think I'm going to lay off drinking for a while.
Richard: Oh, yeah? Why's that?
Damon: Because I'm broke.

Richard laughed.

2.
Damon was a heavy smoker. Throat Cancer attacked and killed him. Damon always had a pack of cigarettes on him, though he never shared. Damon rolled his own cigarettes and in each one he included a small portion of marijuana. It was a dose tiny enough that he could hardly feel it, but he could feel it. Smokers who had run out of cigarettes or had left their pack somewhere beyond arms reach would see Damon smoking and ask:
"Can I have a cigarette?"
Damon would respond the same every time. "Absolutely not. I don't support other people smoking and it's important I practice representing my morals."

Some would be surprised his phrasing and how well rehearsed it sounded. They wouldn't really hear every word beyond the surprise of  hearing "Absolutely not" and would get a little confused. The confusion replaced any trace of potentially being offended, and the situation would take care of itself. They'd say something like: "Oh. Alright, no problem." And ask someone else.

Some WOULD hear every single word past the "absolutely not", be surprisingly impressed and accept his response humbly and entirely.They'd say something like "Good for you."

But most would get offended by being denied a cigarette and would lash back at Damon in their frustration. They'd say something like: "And you're smoking? Doesn't that make you a hypocrite?"
To which Damon would respond: "I don't really want to explain, so, let's just not be friends."