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
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
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.
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."
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."
Monday, August 16, 2010
Writing Practice 49: Is that a problem?
Damon writes about being socially attacked quite frequently.
He's been accused, so his journal entries state, of being selfish, egotistical and self-centered.
Usually, when people are accused of such things, they get defensive and try to explain themselves out of their social spotlight.
Damon, more often than not, responds to his accusers with: "Yeah. Is that a problem?"
"Yeah, I'm self-centered. It works. But I'm self-centered without being rude and I'm self-centered without it being at the expense of anyone else. I don't step on people's head to be self-centered, I simply am self-centered. And I'm self centered in the best of ways. So, why do you have a problem with that? This is who I am and I've worked to be this person in the best ways possible. Why would you criticize my efforts? You're trying to insult me because I have a flaw, and I've been working to improve that flaw. Your comment does nothing but deter me from being any different. The point here is.... why are you focusing on my bad instead of my good? Why don't you just say: "You are who you are and we don't see eye to eye." Why would you communicate that thought as: "I don't agree with you, you're less of a person than I am?" What does that say about you?"
Damon was, to MOST people, a fucking asshole.
Richard loved him.
He's been accused, so his journal entries state, of being selfish, egotistical and self-centered.
Usually, when people are accused of such things, they get defensive and try to explain themselves out of their social spotlight.
Damon, more often than not, responds to his accusers with: "Yeah. Is that a problem?"
"Yeah, I'm self-centered. It works. But I'm self-centered without being rude and I'm self-centered without it being at the expense of anyone else. I don't step on people's head to be self-centered, I simply am self-centered. And I'm self centered in the best of ways. So, why do you have a problem with that? This is who I am and I've worked to be this person in the best ways possible. Why would you criticize my efforts? You're trying to insult me because I have a flaw, and I've been working to improve that flaw. Your comment does nothing but deter me from being any different. The point here is.... why are you focusing on my bad instead of my good? Why don't you just say: "You are who you are and we don't see eye to eye." Why would you communicate that thought as: "I don't agree with you, you're less of a person than I am?" What does that say about you?"
Damon was, to MOST people, a fucking asshole.
Richard loved him.
Writing Practice 48: Richard and Dalia
Damon writes: "I used to drink to get drunk. I didn't pay attention to the process, I simply knew that I liked being drunk and so I drank to be drunk. It took me a long time to realize that being buzzed from alcohol feels better than being drunk. It's a good feeling that I can experience while being comfortable and while still being able to organize my thoughts and communicate them. See, I wasn't paying attention to the process. I said: "Drunk is good, and a few drinks is not drunk." Now, I have a few drinks, feel buzzed and think to myself: "I need to maintain the buzz." So, when a good buzz is going on, I shouldn't be having another drink. I should be having another drink when I can identify that my buzz is fading. By now, you must think that I'm an alcoholic. Well, I am. I accept that and I don't see it changing. Alcohol is too impressive a social lubricant to exclude from my life. But the process of drinking is more important than the end result. Alcohol can be used instead of abused and I can justify liking it so long as I'm not abusing it. It's all about the process. It's all about checking in with myself to see how I feel before I decide that I'm not where I assumed I should be. I drank to get drunk. If I wasn't drunk, I wasn't there yet. It's simpler than that. I like alcohol. I should pay more attention to every single step of the way."
Richard has frustrated many a lady. He's a cosmologist. He lives and breathes cosmology. He doesn't define himself by a relationship and, to be honest, doesn't REALLY need one. It would be nice, but he's got his own life to live and if a relationship pops up, so be it. But he also finds himself uncomfortable around women. He doesn't know it, but that's simply because he's never found the right woman.
He never thought: "If everyone is different and wants different things, then only about 1 out of two-hundred people met and spent time with will perfectly click with my life. I'm not SUPPOSED to get along with everyone, and with something as important as a relationship, beauty should be rare, not common."
Damon writes: "I'm a puzzle piece. I'm part of the bigger picture. There are a maximum of 4 pieces that fit perfectly with me - and that's out of 6.5 Billion, which is the population of Earth. I have to be careful not to try and smash puzzle pieces into me when I simply WANT them to work. I can't be so lonely that I'll grab anything and try to make a picture with it. To get a sense of the bigger picture, I need to be patient and honest and only pursue the natural "clicks". For a clearer, bigger picture, I need to search endlessly and find those that naturally "click" with me. It's about forming the bigger picture, and it's NOT about clicking. I don't want to produce an ugly picture by smashing myself into another piece that doesn't fit. I want myself and someone else to simply fall into place and have life make sense."
This is why Richard is interested in Dalia. She's her own person. She's got her own life and she's pursuing her interests. She's so interested in what she's doing that she's only got room for people who perfectly accomodate. She's on a rocket, firing at top speed down her path. If someone can keep up, cool. If not, she's busy.
Not needing a relationship is why women have tried so hard to be with Richard. He doesn't need it and that's not the focus of his life. So, women try incredibly hard to be with him. To "win" his attention. Richard, a realist, ends up seeing them as desperate and relates his experiences with women to this statement: "Relationships are too much trouble."
Damon writes: "Relationships are an addition to the life you are already living. They are not a brand new life."
Richard and Dalia share a workspace, share an interest in the universe and they share... how would you say it? ... they share..... "Being their own person".
What they like about themselves they like about each other.
C'est L'amour.
Richard has frustrated many a lady. He's a cosmologist. He lives and breathes cosmology. He doesn't define himself by a relationship and, to be honest, doesn't REALLY need one. It would be nice, but he's got his own life to live and if a relationship pops up, so be it. But he also finds himself uncomfortable around women. He doesn't know it, but that's simply because he's never found the right woman.
He never thought: "If everyone is different and wants different things, then only about 1 out of two-hundred people met and spent time with will perfectly click with my life. I'm not SUPPOSED to get along with everyone, and with something as important as a relationship, beauty should be rare, not common."
Damon writes: "I'm a puzzle piece. I'm part of the bigger picture. There are a maximum of 4 pieces that fit perfectly with me - and that's out of 6.5 Billion, which is the population of Earth. I have to be careful not to try and smash puzzle pieces into me when I simply WANT them to work. I can't be so lonely that I'll grab anything and try to make a picture with it. To get a sense of the bigger picture, I need to be patient and honest and only pursue the natural "clicks". For a clearer, bigger picture, I need to search endlessly and find those that naturally "click" with me. It's about forming the bigger picture, and it's NOT about clicking. I don't want to produce an ugly picture by smashing myself into another piece that doesn't fit. I want myself and someone else to simply fall into place and have life make sense."
This is why Richard is interested in Dalia. She's her own person. She's got her own life and she's pursuing her interests. She's so interested in what she's doing that she's only got room for people who perfectly accomodate. She's on a rocket, firing at top speed down her path. If someone can keep up, cool. If not, she's busy.
Not needing a relationship is why women have tried so hard to be with Richard. He doesn't need it and that's not the focus of his life. So, women try incredibly hard to be with him. To "win" his attention. Richard, a realist, ends up seeing them as desperate and relates his experiences with women to this statement: "Relationships are too much trouble."
Damon writes: "Relationships are an addition to the life you are already living. They are not a brand new life."
Richard and Dalia share a workspace, share an interest in the universe and they share... how would you say it? ... they share..... "Being their own person".
What they like about themselves they like about each other.
C'est L'amour.
Writing Practice 47: Hold on a second
There are THREE things that need practice, effort and attention when it comes to doing what I'm trying to do.
1) I have to spend time with my story and my characters.
2) I have to practice the craft of writing
3) I have to practice getting myself to write
Writing the brainstorm is a brilliant method, because it means I'm practicing the craft of writing while I spend time with my story and my characters.
I'm not having too much trouble with number three, which makes me think I should be giving it extra attention.
I would hate to see number 3 as a standard, not feed it and have that part of me die.
If number 3 is where I want it to be, I should ensure that it stays that way. I should be giving more attention to maintaining it.
See, if I think it's important and I feel it's happening, it's even more important to maintain it.
I should be coming up with new and creative ways to inspire myself to write.
Now that it's there, I need to NOT relax about it.
That's my biggest problem with relationships. People work to get what they want, then relax and see how long it lasts, or, they just forget about it and it dies naturally.
I cannot fall victim to this concept, especially since it involves writing.
As for 1 and 2, I'm not so sure I'm fully satisfied with saying that I'm practicing the craft of writing just because I'm writing the brainstorm of my idea.
That's good, and I'm glad that the end result of writing my brainstorm has me practicing writing.
But I'm practicing in just one way.
I'm always brainstorming in my own voice, and I'm not really pushing myself to practice the craft of writing.
I cannot let myself accept that it's "good enough" practice just to be writing out this brainstorm.
I should start alternating my entries.
I should be brainstorming with one entry, then practicing craft with another.
I will, however, accept that my brainstorm is writing practice if I kick up the craft of my brainstorm to another level.
I shouldn't just be writing to practice.
I should be practicing to get better.
So, I either have to better craft my brainstorms with what I consider to be more impressive writing (I.E. I should be practicing to improve the language and flow of each brainstorm) OR I should simply be taking little "warm up" breaks.
In fact, if an athlete warms up before a race, maybe I should warm up before each brainstorm.
Poetry, language, word-craft, whatever.
I should get myself inspired to write in creative ways, then, warm up, THEN do my writing.
This is tough.
That's how I know it's good for me.
1) I have to spend time with my story and my characters.
2) I have to practice the craft of writing
3) I have to practice getting myself to write
Writing the brainstorm is a brilliant method, because it means I'm practicing the craft of writing while I spend time with my story and my characters.
I'm not having too much trouble with number three, which makes me think I should be giving it extra attention.
I would hate to see number 3 as a standard, not feed it and have that part of me die.
If number 3 is where I want it to be, I should ensure that it stays that way. I should be giving more attention to maintaining it.
See, if I think it's important and I feel it's happening, it's even more important to maintain it.
I should be coming up with new and creative ways to inspire myself to write.
Now that it's there, I need to NOT relax about it.
That's my biggest problem with relationships. People work to get what they want, then relax and see how long it lasts, or, they just forget about it and it dies naturally.
I cannot fall victim to this concept, especially since it involves writing.
As for 1 and 2, I'm not so sure I'm fully satisfied with saying that I'm practicing the craft of writing just because I'm writing the brainstorm of my idea.
That's good, and I'm glad that the end result of writing my brainstorm has me practicing writing.
But I'm practicing in just one way.
I'm always brainstorming in my own voice, and I'm not really pushing myself to practice the craft of writing.
I cannot let myself accept that it's "good enough" practice just to be writing out this brainstorm.
I should start alternating my entries.
I should be brainstorming with one entry, then practicing craft with another.
I will, however, accept that my brainstorm is writing practice if I kick up the craft of my brainstorm to another level.
I shouldn't just be writing to practice.
I should be practicing to get better.
So, I either have to better craft my brainstorms with what I consider to be more impressive writing (I.E. I should be practicing to improve the language and flow of each brainstorm) OR I should simply be taking little "warm up" breaks.
In fact, if an athlete warms up before a race, maybe I should warm up before each brainstorm.
Poetry, language, word-craft, whatever.
I should get myself inspired to write in creative ways, then, warm up, THEN do my writing.
This is tough.
That's how I know it's good for me.
Writing Practice 46: My whole world
I'm writing enough now to be thinking about writing when I'm not writing.
I woke up this morning wanting to write. I was tired and groggy and was facing an overall mood that needed a kick start.
Here's how I'm used to starting my day.
1) A shower
2) Coffee
I've got two things that I"ve convinced myself will help me wake up in the morning and I've relied on those things for so long they're automatic kick starts. I wake up thinking: "If I want to get myself fully awake, I need a shower and I need some coffee.
This is nothing more than habit. Two things work for me and I've always done them. That's how I wake up - a shower and a coffee.
I can beat that.
What if I suffered through a week of waking up and working out?
There's two ways I'd rather wake up.
1) Exercise
2) Sunshine
Well, sunshine is conditional to nice days. So, let's restate.
1) Exercise
2) Nature
If I wake up and it's raining, why not step out into the rain?
Or, why not go on my front porch and smell the rain in deep inhales.
3) Breathing
I never think about breathing, which means I could be doing it wrong and not be noticing.
I breathe, but I'd never say I'm doing it properly.
Well, I'm alive so it must be working but am I breathing to maximum efficiency?
I'd say no. And I say that because whenever I concentrate on breathing and take a few proper, deep breaths I instantly feel better.
1) Exercise
2) Being outside
3) Breathing
If my new habit is wanting to write and I know I write better depending on my mood, I should be crafting new habits in order to constantly feel better so that I'll more frequently be in the mood to write, and, when I do, I'll be writing better.
To be a better writer, I have to be a more positive, more healthy, more energetic person.
Be a better person, be a better writer.
Constant reminder: To be good at anything, you've got to practice.
Spend time with the thing, repeat.
This goes for habits, interests and life.
It's going to suck to start working out.
I'm going to be bad at it at first, and it's going to be very difficult to sustain.
Accept that. Accept the training period. Accept that anything I don't do needs time to do better.
Accept the difficulty and understand that it's the process to ease.
This will only be hard for a while.
Then, it'll be a permanent, beneficial habit.
I woke up this morning wanting to write. I was tired and groggy and was facing an overall mood that needed a kick start.
Here's how I'm used to starting my day.
1) A shower
2) Coffee
I've got two things that I"ve convinced myself will help me wake up in the morning and I've relied on those things for so long they're automatic kick starts. I wake up thinking: "If I want to get myself fully awake, I need a shower and I need some coffee.
This is nothing more than habit. Two things work for me and I've always done them. That's how I wake up - a shower and a coffee.
I can beat that.
What if I suffered through a week of waking up and working out?
There's two ways I'd rather wake up.
1) Exercise
2) Sunshine
Well, sunshine is conditional to nice days. So, let's restate.
1) Exercise
2) Nature
If I wake up and it's raining, why not step out into the rain?
Or, why not go on my front porch and smell the rain in deep inhales.
3) Breathing
I never think about breathing, which means I could be doing it wrong and not be noticing.
I breathe, but I'd never say I'm doing it properly.
Well, I'm alive so it must be working but am I breathing to maximum efficiency?
I'd say no. And I say that because whenever I concentrate on breathing and take a few proper, deep breaths I instantly feel better.
1) Exercise
2) Being outside
3) Breathing
If my new habit is wanting to write and I know I write better depending on my mood, I should be crafting new habits in order to constantly feel better so that I'll more frequently be in the mood to write, and, when I do, I'll be writing better.
To be a better writer, I have to be a more positive, more healthy, more energetic person.
Be a better person, be a better writer.
Constant reminder: To be good at anything, you've got to practice.
Spend time with the thing, repeat.
This goes for habits, interests and life.
It's going to suck to start working out.
I'm going to be bad at it at first, and it's going to be very difficult to sustain.
Accept that. Accept the training period. Accept that anything I don't do needs time to do better.
Accept the difficulty and understand that it's the process to ease.
This will only be hard for a while.
Then, it'll be a permanent, beneficial habit.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Writing Practice 45: My instincts
My instincts tell me I should be writing.
What do I say? I have no idea.
Why do I feel like writing?
Because writing is good for me, that's why.
I'm not about to let something as simple as "not knowing what to write" stop me from writing.
I like to paint, too. I can't paint, but I like to do it. Should I let my lack of skill stop me from painting? No. I don't care if I simply cover my hands in paint and smear color onto canvass... i like doing it and so I should be doing it.
So, i feel I should be writing.
What do I write?
Well, this,I suppose.
These are words and I've just practiced writing.
What do I say? I have no idea.
Why do I feel like writing?
Because writing is good for me, that's why.
I'm not about to let something as simple as "not knowing what to write" stop me from writing.
I like to paint, too. I can't paint, but I like to do it. Should I let my lack of skill stop me from painting? No. I don't care if I simply cover my hands in paint and smear color onto canvass... i like doing it and so I should be doing it.
So, i feel I should be writing.
What do I write?
Well, this,I suppose.
These are words and I've just practiced writing.
Writing Practice 44: Some Philosophy
I was just thinking: "Am I decided that this Richard story is going to be a book? Maybe it'll work better as a short story." Then I thought: "I really have no idea how this story will manifest itself. Hell, I might turn it into a play."
Immediately after thinking that, I thought: "Who cares how this story manifests? That's not something you have to think about right now. What you need to focus on is spending time with the characters and the story and when the story is where it needs to be, you'll know what it needs to be."
Practice. Reminder of practice. You're working a story, here. You're trying to get the details right. You're brainstorming.
Flesh out a story and then start writing it. If ends up being a book, cool. A short story, cool. A whatever, cool.
Work the story and it'll manifest itself how it wants to when it's ready.
Write the brainstorm.
Spend some time with the story and the characters.
Practice writing.
That's all you have to focus on.
Keep doing that. Everything else will come.
It's PRACTICE.
So, PRACTICE.
This is what you're doing.
Stop worrying about anything else.
Immediately after thinking that, I thought: "Who cares how this story manifests? That's not something you have to think about right now. What you need to focus on is spending time with the characters and the story and when the story is where it needs to be, you'll know what it needs to be."
Practice. Reminder of practice. You're working a story, here. You're trying to get the details right. You're brainstorming.
Flesh out a story and then start writing it. If ends up being a book, cool. A short story, cool. A whatever, cool.
Work the story and it'll manifest itself how it wants to when it's ready.
Write the brainstorm.
Spend some time with the story and the characters.
Practice writing.
That's all you have to focus on.
Keep doing that. Everything else will come.
It's PRACTICE.
So, PRACTICE.
This is what you're doing.
Stop worrying about anything else.
Writing Practice 43: Richard likes who his ex-friend talks about liking
Richard's ex-friends journal (this is getting ridiculous, this ex friend needs a name) is mostly populated with commentary about social situations in which the ex-friend talks about liking someone. The ex-friend loved strangers, and most of his journal entries were about exactly that. Each entry pinpoints a particular person who the ex-friend liked for a particular reason.
Richards loves to read about the people who his ex-friend has liked. He loves reading the descriptions and imagining these people. He loved how his ex-friend thought, and loves the things his ex-friend respected about people. Each entry focuses on a respectable character trait from strangers the ex-friend has met. Half the journal had been written in bars, where the ex-friend had gone, drinking alone at first and eventually ended up talking to a stranger. It was the ex-friend's favorite hobby - meeting as many people as possible in order to find truly interesting people.
Richards loves to read about the people who his ex-friend has liked. He loves reading the descriptions and imagining these people. He loved how his ex-friend thought, and loves the things his ex-friend respected about people. Each entry focuses on a respectable character trait from strangers the ex-friend has met. Half the journal had been written in bars, where the ex-friend had gone, drinking alone at first and eventually ended up talking to a stranger. It was the ex-friend's favorite hobby - meeting as many people as possible in order to find truly interesting people.
Writing Practice 42: The way it's gonna go
Richard's ex friend kept a journal. The friend was interested in people, was most likely something of a sociologist, and, at times, will strongly represent Richard's ability to see things artistically or interject a point of view to the facts he's interested in. See, Richard is in the search for facts and truth, and his ex-friend will represent "How Richard sees the world." That is to say that, beyond Richard's facts, his point of view will end up being optimistic and creative. There will be an artistic side to how Richard describes the things he's discovered. Richard's optimistic bias will be a strength, and his ex-friend will have been the water that has helped this particular strength grow and flourish.
Richard likes to read his ex-friend's journal. He's been reading it since his ex-friend died. His favorite entry details a party his ex-friend went to where he spent some time with a Haitian man named Eddie.
I'm sure sure if I want the entire journal to be a form of narrator for Richard's inner-mind during the story. Perhaps I'll focus on the one Party-Entry Richard likes to much. I'll have to write that one journal entry as Richard's ex friend, and jam pack it full of social perception. This will be the story that shows most clearly how his ex-friend thinks and interacts with people.
Richard likes to read his ex-friend's journal. He's been reading it since his ex-friend died. His favorite entry details a party his ex-friend went to where he spent some time with a Haitian man named Eddie.
I'm sure sure if I want the entire journal to be a form of narrator for Richard's inner-mind during the story. Perhaps I'll focus on the one Party-Entry Richard likes to much. I'll have to write that one journal entry as Richard's ex friend, and jam pack it full of social perception. This will be the story that shows most clearly how his ex-friend thinks and interacts with people.
Writing Practice 41: Lunch Break
Eddie told a story about being a journalist in Haiti.
Eddie was a well-fed and well built Haitian man. He strictly worse dress pants and dress shirts. He was as black as a man can get before starting to turn blue. His voice was deep and powerful. His smiles were genuine and his eyes were honest. " There was a small group of people who had decided to protest the government. They were going on, how do you say it? Hungry strike? Yes, a hunger strike. After ten days, I look at their faces and their faces don't look like they hadn't eaten for ten days. If you don't eat for ten days, your face don't look like that. So, I see that every day a truck comes in and these men take barrels from the truck and into a warehouse. They go in, lock the door and come back out after a while to go back to their protest. One day I take my camera, go up to the door and BOOM I kick through it and take a picture of what's in there." He smiled to himself. "I got a great picture." He laughed a little. "They were all eating! I get a picture of everyone with a surprised look on their faces, everyone holding sandwiches and chewing and looking so surprised." He laughed a lot. "I caught people on a hunger strike having lunch!"
Eddie was a well-fed and well built Haitian man. He strictly worse dress pants and dress shirts. He was as black as a man can get before starting to turn blue. His voice was deep and powerful. His smiles were genuine and his eyes were honest. " There was a small group of people who had decided to protest the government. They were going on, how do you say it? Hungry strike? Yes, a hunger strike. After ten days, I look at their faces and their faces don't look like they hadn't eaten for ten days. If you don't eat for ten days, your face don't look like that. So, I see that every day a truck comes in and these men take barrels from the truck and into a warehouse. They go in, lock the door and come back out after a while to go back to their protest. One day I take my camera, go up to the door and BOOM I kick through it and take a picture of what's in there." He smiled to himself. "I got a great picture." He laughed a little. "They were all eating! I get a picture of everyone with a surprised look on their faces, everyone holding sandwiches and chewing and looking so surprised." He laughed a lot. "I caught people on a hunger strike having lunch!"
Writing Practice 40: The Journal.
I know what I have to do.
I have to put Richard's ex-friend's thoughts on life into a journal, which Richard will read through over the course of the story.
The Eddie story, for example, will be in the ex-friend's journal.
The first story in the journal will be the ex-friend saying that his mother kept something he wrote from when he was five years old. On the paper was written the question, in crayon, of course: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The ex-friend, at five years old, wrote his response: "Not a grown-up."
The journal goes on to say: "I learned a very valuable lesson from this... You might not know what you want, but you always know what you don't want. You might not know what you need to include in your life to be happy, but I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that you know what you could exclude. If you're unhappy and you don't know how to get happy, just stop doing whatever you're doing. Whatever you're doing has made you unhappy. Your habits, your routines - whatever you're doing is making you sad. You might not know where to go, what to add or how to fix things - just know that you need a change. Your standard has led you to your unhappy mood - change your standard. Just don't do what you've been doing."
(again, not the perfect sentiment, not perfectly written, but you'll get the gist of what you were trying to say here when it comes time to write the ex-friend's journal, and you'll write it ten times as good as you just have. This is an idea you've just jotted down to record for future reference. Good for you, keep doing that. Keep writing. Write the brainstorm. Spend time with your idea. Write, write, write!)
I have to put Richard's ex-friend's thoughts on life into a journal, which Richard will read through over the course of the story.
The Eddie story, for example, will be in the ex-friend's journal.
The first story in the journal will be the ex-friend saying that his mother kept something he wrote from when he was five years old. On the paper was written the question, in crayon, of course: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The ex-friend, at five years old, wrote his response: "Not a grown-up."
The journal goes on to say: "I learned a very valuable lesson from this... You might not know what you want, but you always know what you don't want. You might not know what you need to include in your life to be happy, but I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that you know what you could exclude. If you're unhappy and you don't know how to get happy, just stop doing whatever you're doing. Whatever you're doing has made you unhappy. Your habits, your routines - whatever you're doing is making you sad. You might not know where to go, what to add or how to fix things - just know that you need a change. Your standard has led you to your unhappy mood - change your standard. Just don't do what you've been doing."
(again, not the perfect sentiment, not perfectly written, but you'll get the gist of what you were trying to say here when it comes time to write the ex-friend's journal, and you'll write it ten times as good as you just have. This is an idea you've just jotted down to record for future reference. Good for you, keep doing that. Keep writing. Write the brainstorm. Spend time with your idea. Write, write, write!)
Writing Practice 39: An Important Reminder
With your last entry, you barfed out your idea raw.
You scribbled down a basic scene that you knew was important and you posted it.
Reminder: This is a scribble pad for your brainstorm. Remember to write for you. You recorded: "the gist" of an idea and you left it unedited. Good for you. When the time comes, you'll rewrite the scene how it's supposed to be. But, drunk, in the middle of the night, you got an idea and you used this blog to write it down.
Now yer gettin' it.
You scribbled down a basic scene that you knew was important and you posted it.
Reminder: This is a scribble pad for your brainstorm. Remember to write for you. You recorded: "the gist" of an idea and you left it unedited. Good for you. When the time comes, you'll rewrite the scene how it's supposed to be. But, drunk, in the middle of the night, you got an idea and you used this blog to write it down.
Now yer gettin' it.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Writing Practice 38: Eddie
Sarah said: "Eddie seems upset tonight. Have you noticed that?"
HE said: "Yeah, I've noticed that."
She said: "Why do you think he's upset?"
Now, maybe HE should have been a little more gentle in how he put it. HE had had a few drinks, HE had been philosophizing about the nature of honesty in his head during all the boring parts of the evening and HE, in one way or another, felt no risk in being brutally honest.
So, HE said: "Eddie's from Haiti. He's the only member of his family who got out of there and tonight we're celebrating his birthday. Haiti's just been struck with a horrific natural disaster and people are being shot in the streets by the police for trying to carry bags of rice from the store to their families. They're being shot for trying to survive. His mother's sleeping in a tent and everybody's asking about his family. He's in slippers and he's being served cake while we sing to him, and he's worried about whether or not his brothers and sisters will, you know, still be alive next month. Do you really think this guy wants to be celebrating? His family might die. And we're not being very good at giving him a distraction, either. Because all anybody keeps asking him is: "What's Haiti like?" And "How's you're family?" We're treating him like he's an information booth in a museum. "Oooo, look, a man from Haiti is at our party. Where's your family? In tents? Why? It's dangerous? Go on, keep talking about the things that are worrying you more. And have some more cake and get fat off it while you do it."
HE knew he was going off on a rant, getting angrier and angrier. And HE knew that Sarah must feel like she'd just been hit in the face with a social sock full of quarters. He figured that she must have been terrified to hear what he had just said. This wasn't her usual chit chat, someone was actually saying something and she was not accumstomed to dealing with reality.
Before he even checked her expression, he said: "Look. It's a cultural thing, that's all. What we do in this culture is ask about family. That's a pretty common way we show that we care. "How's your mother? How you're father?" You know? But in this case, that's the worst way we can show this guy kindness because that's the last thing he wants to be thinking about. And he sure as shit doesn't want to be celebrating the good life while he's thinking about it, you know? You asking him about his culture and his family was polite and kind in nature. What you were doing was demonstrating, in the way that you're used to, that you're interested in who he is as a person. You were being nice. You're a nice person. It's just - you know. I just think we should talk about something else."
(HE is Richard's ex-friend)
HE said: "Yeah, I've noticed that."
She said: "Why do you think he's upset?"
Now, maybe HE should have been a little more gentle in how he put it. HE had had a few drinks, HE had been philosophizing about the nature of honesty in his head during all the boring parts of the evening and HE, in one way or another, felt no risk in being brutally honest.
So, HE said: "Eddie's from Haiti. He's the only member of his family who got out of there and tonight we're celebrating his birthday. Haiti's just been struck with a horrific natural disaster and people are being shot in the streets by the police for trying to carry bags of rice from the store to their families. They're being shot for trying to survive. His mother's sleeping in a tent and everybody's asking about his family. He's in slippers and he's being served cake while we sing to him, and he's worried about whether or not his brothers and sisters will, you know, still be alive next month. Do you really think this guy wants to be celebrating? His family might die. And we're not being very good at giving him a distraction, either. Because all anybody keeps asking him is: "What's Haiti like?" And "How's you're family?" We're treating him like he's an information booth in a museum. "Oooo, look, a man from Haiti is at our party. Where's your family? In tents? Why? It's dangerous? Go on, keep talking about the things that are worrying you more. And have some more cake and get fat off it while you do it."
HE knew he was going off on a rant, getting angrier and angrier. And HE knew that Sarah must feel like she'd just been hit in the face with a social sock full of quarters. He figured that she must have been terrified to hear what he had just said. This wasn't her usual chit chat, someone was actually saying something and she was not accumstomed to dealing with reality.
Before he even checked her expression, he said: "Look. It's a cultural thing, that's all. What we do in this culture is ask about family. That's a pretty common way we show that we care. "How's your mother? How you're father?" You know? But in this case, that's the worst way we can show this guy kindness because that's the last thing he wants to be thinking about. And he sure as shit doesn't want to be celebrating the good life while he's thinking about it, you know? You asking him about his culture and his family was polite and kind in nature. What you were doing was demonstrating, in the way that you're used to, that you're interested in who he is as a person. You were being nice. You're a nice person. It's just - you know. I just think we should talk about something else."
(HE is Richard's ex-friend)
Friday, August 13, 2010
Writing Practice 37: Thirty-Seven?! - Clerks
I get it.
You're training yourself to be a writer.
That goes beyond the computer.
You're not a writer when you sit down on the computer and write.
You're a writer when you're walking around, talking to people and going places.
If a computer is busy, you SHOULD be inspired to grab a pen and paper to write down good ideas.
If you're training yourself to be so inspired that you're constantly conceiving good ideas, you need to be ready to put them down on paper, wherever you are, and work with them later.
Be ready.
Carry a pen and a pad of paper.
Or, carry a laptop.
Hell, carry a typewriter in an awkward case if you have to.
But be ready to record the spoils of what you're trying to inspire
"Shit, someone's on the computer. I guess I can't do some writing."
Excuses, excuses, excuses.
If your writing inspiration comes down to needing to be sitting at a computer, you've limited yourself in a horrific way. Being a writer is not about having access to a computer.
Being a writer is about writing.
And, if you're prepared, you can write anywhere.
Be prepared to write when you want/need to.
You're training yourself to be a writer.
That goes beyond the computer.
You're not a writer when you sit down on the computer and write.
You're a writer when you're walking around, talking to people and going places.
If a computer is busy, you SHOULD be inspired to grab a pen and paper to write down good ideas.
If you're training yourself to be so inspired that you're constantly conceiving good ideas, you need to be ready to put them down on paper, wherever you are, and work with them later.
Be ready.
Carry a pen and a pad of paper.
Or, carry a laptop.
Hell, carry a typewriter in an awkward case if you have to.
But be ready to record the spoils of what you're trying to inspire
"Shit, someone's on the computer. I guess I can't do some writing."
Excuses, excuses, excuses.
If your writing inspiration comes down to needing to be sitting at a computer, you've limited yourself in a horrific way. Being a writer is not about having access to a computer.
Being a writer is about writing.
And, if you're prepared, you can write anywhere.
Be prepared to write when you want/need to.
Writing Practice 36: Cracks
Adam: I never got along with circles. I don't like spheres. They represent something endless. I like answers. Planets are spheres, the sun is a sphere, black holes work in spheres and this whole universe is spherical. Fucking toilets even flush in circles. Spheres and circles are how the universe works. What does that say about me? I don't like spheres. They bug me. I don't seem to get along with the flow of this universe. Do you have any idea how hard that is to understand? I was on a plane once and I looked down at the landscape below and I saw a river. From so high up, the whole river had a shape. It looked like a a bolt of lightning. It was jagged and worked in what seemed to be straight lines back and forth. It looked like a blue crack in the earth. A river ran through the landscape in a lightning pattern.Rivers, from overhead, look like someone dug out a lightning bolt in the ground and filled it with water. I see the same shape in tree branches. Tree branches look like wooden lighting reaching out from the trunk. Rivers, lightning, trees. I was amazed one day when I looked at a human nervous system and saw that the nervous system branches off like trees, like lightning and like rivers. It goes off in all directions in little branches. This shape is prominent in nature. It makes me suspect that trees are nature's nervous system. I don't really think that, but it's a nice little connection. Anyway, I relate much more to this shape - this breaking and jagged manifestation of nature. Not spherical nature, but something else. Another presence. Something breaking through. And I think that's how I'm going to do it. Like the cracks in a windshield that break off in tree-branch or lightning form - I think I have to crack the fabric of reality before I can be certain that there's something to crack at all. And if I can crack it, I can break it. If I can break it I can travel through it.
Writing Practice 35: The way that Richard thinks
Richard: I used to drink milk from the bag when I was a kid. I used to drink from the carton, too. But after cartons because bags I would drink straight from the bag. I would hide it, too. I was good at it. I'd drink from the lip and when I was finished I'd blow air back into the bag. When I drank from the bag, the lips would stick together. That's evidence that I was drinking from it. Blowing back into the bag opened the lips and obfuscated my crime. This became habit. If nobody was watching, I'd drink from the bag. One evening, I was thirsty and I grabbed the jug of milk. I was alone in my apartment. Nobody was watching. I thought: "Why use a glass?" Then I thought: "Using a glass represents sophistication and culture." Those are two things I figured were good to practice. So, I got a glass. And I haven't taken a drink from the bag since.
Writing Practice 34: The way that Adam thinks
Adam: After my grandmother died - this was my mother's mother - I never asked my mother if she was ok. I wanted to, but it was communicated to me that my grandmother's death was a touchy subject. I got the impression that it was too hard on my mother to even mention my grandmother's death, so, I didn't. I thought the best thing I could do for my mother was to act out my assumption, which was to leave the subject alone entirely. I wanted to ask, it's just... I was told not to. As it turned out, my mother ending up feeling like I didn't care about her. In her mind, if I gave a shit I would have asked her if she was OK. I suppose it was my fault to have accepted the information that was communicated to me. I guess you could say it was a test. I was discouraged from doing the right thing and I thought it best to avoid doing it. I was fooled. I fell for it. And, it's just... man. People sure don't make it easy for me to do the right thing. I trust people too much and I suppose that I shouldn't. They don't even know what they're talking about when they're talking about themselves.
Writing Practice 33: Empowerment
Zen is so simple, it's difficult to understand.
Try to explain to someone that they need to be themselves to be themselves.
Try to explain to them that when they ask: "What is the meaning of life" and a bird chirps, they've gotten their answer.
Try to explain to them that just by doing anything, as they feel like doing it and just by being themselves as they feel like being - they're very Zen.
And try to explain that you can be Zen without understanding Zen. That whether you like it or not, or even know what it is, you're Zen.
I hope, one day, to be able to properly and clearly communicate the following sentiment, as I understand it.
"Write to write"
If you wanna write, write.
If you wanna be good at writing, write.
If you suck at writing and don't like it, write.
If you don't know what to write, write.
If you feel discouraged about writing, write.
If you're thinking about writing and have no idea what to do with it, write.
If you can't think of an idea to write, write.
If you can't think of a place to start writing, write.
Ten times out of ten, how do you solve a writing problem?
You write.
Write to write!
It's so simple!
Try to explain to someone that they need to be themselves to be themselves.
Try to explain to them that when they ask: "What is the meaning of life" and a bird chirps, they've gotten their answer.
Try to explain to them that just by doing anything, as they feel like doing it and just by being themselves as they feel like being - they're very Zen.
And try to explain that you can be Zen without understanding Zen. That whether you like it or not, or even know what it is, you're Zen.
I hope, one day, to be able to properly and clearly communicate the following sentiment, as I understand it.
"Write to write"
If you wanna write, write.
If you wanna be good at writing, write.
If you suck at writing and don't like it, write.
If you don't know what to write, write.
If you feel discouraged about writing, write.
If you're thinking about writing and have no idea what to do with it, write.
If you can't think of an idea to write, write.
If you can't think of a place to start writing, write.
Ten times out of ten, how do you solve a writing problem?
You write.
Write to write!
It's so simple!
Writing Practice 32: One single sentence about my idea
Richard's ex-friend was an alcoholic over-smoker and died of throat cancer.
Writing Practice 31: "Yes, you do." A conversation with myself
I don't want to write.
Yes, you do. You just don't know what or how. You wouldn't be here if you didn't want to write, and you wouldn't have to think about saying the sentence: "I don't want to write" if you weren't considering it. You do want to write. Don't make excuses.
I'm not making excuses.
Well, I think you are. But, let's say you're not. If you're not making excuses then you're talking to yourself with the wrong language. Regardless of knowing where to go from here, what do do or how to start... do you FEEL like writing? Do you wish you were writing? Do you want to be good at writing? Does a writer's career appeal to you? Don't answer beyond that thought. It's not about whether or not you think you're good or could sustain the attention it takes to write something or whether or not other people will think it's coo.... the question is: "Do you want to write?"
Yes.
Then don't ever use the sentence: "I don't want to write." That puts the wrong thing in your head and ends any further exploration. I hate to hear it, but say: "I suck at writing" if you have to. At least then you can give yourself somewhere to go. If you suck, you can practice. If your craft is lacking, you can be creative about it. If you spend some time with it, you can create your own writing voice. But all of those options have nothing to do with your want, and you WANT to write.
... i'm listening...
Thank god! Now, what are you worried about? Be honest. Use direct language. Think beyond the point you usually think to that makes you give up. What's the trouble, here?
Well, ok. At this point, i'm worried that I've created a story with potential. See, I'm loving the Richard and Dalia story. And for completely different reasons I'm loving the Adam story. And I'm worried about whether or not they work together. I described the story so far to a friend of mine by starting with Richard and Dalia. I explained their love, how they met and why it's important they connect. Then I said "As well, the universe might be destroyed." and the response I got was: "You just HAD to throw that in there, didn't you?" So, I'm worried that I'm taking away from the potential of the story of Richard and Dalia by interjecting a second interest, which is the love I have for villains and the idea of the entire universe being destroyed.
Who are you writing for?
If I'm writing a book it's for an audience.
Asshole, you're writing a blog and it's for practice.
Let's not lie to ourselves here. If I am writing something for people to read, there's no way that the writing isn't about the reader. Obviously, I want someone to read it and like it. That's being brutally honest.
No, being brutally honest would be to say that you hope you can make a career out of your interests, you're just not sure if enough people will find it interesting enough to make a career out of. Stop talking to yourself in easy ways. Be clear. You're being vague so that you have an excuse to cut out early. Talk honestly so that when a problem comes up you can work to fix it. Right now it's like you're thinking if there's a problem you're a failure. You're only a failure if you identify a problem and do nothing about it. Don't be scared of evolving. Admit you're not perfect and fix what you can. Now, you say you want SOMEONE to read it. SOMEONE, or EVERYONE?
Well, someone. You know, I don't even know what I'm talking about. That's a problem, right? I'm worried and I'm trying to find word to justify it. I'm just worried. This is a big fat undertaking. I have no idea what I'm saying right now. Am I writing for other people? I don't know.
Not with this blog, you're not. Look, you're practicing to be a writer and so you should be working to inspire yourself. You're inspiring yourself to spend more time with your idea by interjecting things you find to be interesting. You're throwing things in there that you like to talk about and, to be honest, everything you've talked about so far does relate to the story you say you love. There's love and then there's science. There's conflict. Scientists, in real life, are opening black holes...that's not far off from "potentially destroying the universe. And, in your story, we have brilliant scientists. All you're doing is saying that they are so brilliant that the universe might be at risk, and one of them has something to lose from that and the other doesn't. That's interesting! Besides, you're working to be a better writer so, when the time comes to write the thing, you'll be pretty damn good at conveying what you find interesting in perfect harmony with the theme you're conveying. You'll be better at writing by then and, by then, you'll have spent so much time with your story you'll know how to do what and where. You're just not there yet!
But...
Shut the fuck up! You wrote it, YOU know that's interesting. That's why you wrote it. You put it down on e-paper because you though it was cool and you see potential in it. This is all a test. This is all practice. And you should be encouraging yourself, not coming up with things to say that'll knock you out of your mood. You're working to try to find a way to write more because writing more makes you a better writer. So, how dare you open an entry with: "I don't want to write." How dare you say to yourself that what you know you find interesting might not be interesting. Why don't you just keep writing, see where it goes and decide later whether or not it works? I mean, you're judging the infancy of an idea and saying "Is this a good idea or not?" You don't know, you haven't worked it yet. Who's to say you can't portray your idea in a way that is interesting to more people than you? You're an amateur writer working on an amateur idea. What you're working on is your ability to write. I don't wanna hear anymore about "i can't do this" and "i suck" and "i don't know what to do" Just write. You're practicing. You're an amateur. And if you're an amateur at the art, you don't have the experience required to be a critic of it. Don't be criticizing yourself until you know what you're talking about.
So, what now?
Now, you take a breath, come to understand that you are most certainly writing for yourself and take some pleasure in writing about the things you like. And pat yourself on the back for including things you find interesting because those things have motivated you to write. And don't worry, you don't see how all of this connects yet because you're not there yet. Write. And get there. And you'll see then. But not now. Just write. Cool?
Cool.
Ok, cool. And, by the way, I do not accept this an an entry. You're not finished until you write another one. You should be writing about your story. Nothing is worth anything unless it's moving forward. If you want your idea to be great, constantly contribute MORE than is necessary to it. Don't just keep it from drowning, swim it somewhere. Write one single solitary sentence about it if you have to, but go do it.
You're right.
You, write!
Yes, you do. You just don't know what or how. You wouldn't be here if you didn't want to write, and you wouldn't have to think about saying the sentence: "I don't want to write" if you weren't considering it. You do want to write. Don't make excuses.
I'm not making excuses.
Well, I think you are. But, let's say you're not. If you're not making excuses then you're talking to yourself with the wrong language. Regardless of knowing where to go from here, what do do or how to start... do you FEEL like writing? Do you wish you were writing? Do you want to be good at writing? Does a writer's career appeal to you? Don't answer beyond that thought. It's not about whether or not you think you're good or could sustain the attention it takes to write something or whether or not other people will think it's coo.... the question is: "Do you want to write?"
Yes.
Then don't ever use the sentence: "I don't want to write." That puts the wrong thing in your head and ends any further exploration. I hate to hear it, but say: "I suck at writing" if you have to. At least then you can give yourself somewhere to go. If you suck, you can practice. If your craft is lacking, you can be creative about it. If you spend some time with it, you can create your own writing voice. But all of those options have nothing to do with your want, and you WANT to write.
... i'm listening...
Thank god! Now, what are you worried about? Be honest. Use direct language. Think beyond the point you usually think to that makes you give up. What's the trouble, here?
Well, ok. At this point, i'm worried that I've created a story with potential. See, I'm loving the Richard and Dalia story. And for completely different reasons I'm loving the Adam story. And I'm worried about whether or not they work together. I described the story so far to a friend of mine by starting with Richard and Dalia. I explained their love, how they met and why it's important they connect. Then I said "As well, the universe might be destroyed." and the response I got was: "You just HAD to throw that in there, didn't you?" So, I'm worried that I'm taking away from the potential of the story of Richard and Dalia by interjecting a second interest, which is the love I have for villains and the idea of the entire universe being destroyed.
Who are you writing for?
If I'm writing a book it's for an audience.
Asshole, you're writing a blog and it's for practice.
Let's not lie to ourselves here. If I am writing something for people to read, there's no way that the writing isn't about the reader. Obviously, I want someone to read it and like it. That's being brutally honest.
No, being brutally honest would be to say that you hope you can make a career out of your interests, you're just not sure if enough people will find it interesting enough to make a career out of. Stop talking to yourself in easy ways. Be clear. You're being vague so that you have an excuse to cut out early. Talk honestly so that when a problem comes up you can work to fix it. Right now it's like you're thinking if there's a problem you're a failure. You're only a failure if you identify a problem and do nothing about it. Don't be scared of evolving. Admit you're not perfect and fix what you can. Now, you say you want SOMEONE to read it. SOMEONE, or EVERYONE?
Well, someone. You know, I don't even know what I'm talking about. That's a problem, right? I'm worried and I'm trying to find word to justify it. I'm just worried. This is a big fat undertaking. I have no idea what I'm saying right now. Am I writing for other people? I don't know.
Not with this blog, you're not. Look, you're practicing to be a writer and so you should be working to inspire yourself. You're inspiring yourself to spend more time with your idea by interjecting things you find to be interesting. You're throwing things in there that you like to talk about and, to be honest, everything you've talked about so far does relate to the story you say you love. There's love and then there's science. There's conflict. Scientists, in real life, are opening black holes...that's not far off from "potentially destroying the universe. And, in your story, we have brilliant scientists. All you're doing is saying that they are so brilliant that the universe might be at risk, and one of them has something to lose from that and the other doesn't. That's interesting! Besides, you're working to be a better writer so, when the time comes to write the thing, you'll be pretty damn good at conveying what you find interesting in perfect harmony with the theme you're conveying. You'll be better at writing by then and, by then, you'll have spent so much time with your story you'll know how to do what and where. You're just not there yet!
But...
Shut the fuck up! You wrote it, YOU know that's interesting. That's why you wrote it. You put it down on e-paper because you though it was cool and you see potential in it. This is all a test. This is all practice. And you should be encouraging yourself, not coming up with things to say that'll knock you out of your mood. You're working to try to find a way to write more because writing more makes you a better writer. So, how dare you open an entry with: "I don't want to write." How dare you say to yourself that what you know you find interesting might not be interesting. Why don't you just keep writing, see where it goes and decide later whether or not it works? I mean, you're judging the infancy of an idea and saying "Is this a good idea or not?" You don't know, you haven't worked it yet. Who's to say you can't portray your idea in a way that is interesting to more people than you? You're an amateur writer working on an amateur idea. What you're working on is your ability to write. I don't wanna hear anymore about "i can't do this" and "i suck" and "i don't know what to do" Just write. You're practicing. You're an amateur. And if you're an amateur at the art, you don't have the experience required to be a critic of it. Don't be criticizing yourself until you know what you're talking about.
So, what now?
Now, you take a breath, come to understand that you are most certainly writing for yourself and take some pleasure in writing about the things you like. And pat yourself on the back for including things you find interesting because those things have motivated you to write. And don't worry, you don't see how all of this connects yet because you're not there yet. Write. And get there. And you'll see then. But not now. Just write. Cool?
Cool.
Ok, cool. And, by the way, I do not accept this an an entry. You're not finished until you write another one. You should be writing about your story. Nothing is worth anything unless it's moving forward. If you want your idea to be great, constantly contribute MORE than is necessary to it. Don't just keep it from drowning, swim it somewhere. Write one single solitary sentence about it if you have to, but go do it.
You're right.
You, write!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Writing Practice 30: Just practicing
These are words.
I've just practiced.
Know what I've just practiced?
Getting myself to write.
Know what I'm doing right now?
Writing.
I'm making a habit of writing.
I don't care if I don't know what to write I've got to write.
I need to get used to writing being part of my routine.
It has to be an essential part of my life.
It's something that I want.
I want to be a writer.
Success in the field aside, as a craft alone I'd like to hone it
So, I've got to do it
I want to get better at writing.
I need to practice writing, practice wanting to write and practice getting myself to write.
This is me writing.
Practicing the "doing" of writing.
Getting myself writing without giving myself excuses.
These are words
And I've just practiced writing
I've just practiced.
Know what I've just practiced?
Getting myself to write.
Know what I'm doing right now?
Writing.
I'm making a habit of writing.
I don't care if I don't know what to write I've got to write.
I need to get used to writing being part of my routine.
It has to be an essential part of my life.
It's something that I want.
I want to be a writer.
Success in the field aside, as a craft alone I'd like to hone it
So, I've got to do it
I want to get better at writing.
I need to practice writing, practice wanting to write and practice getting myself to write.
This is me writing.
Practicing the "doing" of writing.
Getting myself writing without giving myself excuses.
These are words
And I've just practiced writing
Writing Practice 29: Adam's Root
Adam: I got involved with cosmology because I wanted to understand the universe. Math and physics - there's a right and a wrong answer. I was in art class when I was a little kid and my teacher asked me what I saw in this one painting - can't remember which one right now - but I told her what I saw and she told me it was wrong. She told me that my interpretation was not what the painter was intending. I know it's a little moment in my life but it had an incredible impact. It was really difficult. I needed to be right after that. Math was an art where I could always be right. Math always has an answer.
Other: The teacher frustrates me. Regardless of what an artist was inspired to say with their art, good art should have people interpreting all sorts of things. Every person should like a painting for a different reason. We should all see different things.
Adam: I don't care about art.
Other: No, now you care about being right.
Adam: No, I used to care about being right.
Other: And now?
Adam: Now, I'm scared. There's only one question that matters. And it's a matter of opinion.
Other: Are you still talking about physics?
Adam: Yes.
Other: What's the question that matters?
Adam: One day, a man told me he was an optimist. I asked him to describe his optimism and he said: "No matter how bad things get, given enough time they'll get better." I thought it was such a stupid answer, because if things are good, given enough time they'll get worse. It's a cycle, right? It's Ouroboros. Given enough time, there is only one thing that will certainly happen. One thing that won't cycle beyond it's happening. Everything comes down to one thing. For certain - FOR CERTAIN - given enough time everything will come to an end. And the question that matters is: "How do you feel about that?" That's what everyone has to ask themselves. "Everything will end and how do I feel about that?"
Other: And how do you feel about that?
Adam: Well, I think I'm a pessimist. I can't be an optimist because that idea scares the shit out of me. I think I'm a little bitter about it.
Other: The teacher frustrates me. Regardless of what an artist was inspired to say with their art, good art should have people interpreting all sorts of things. Every person should like a painting for a different reason. We should all see different things.
Adam: I don't care about art.
Other: No, now you care about being right.
Adam: No, I used to care about being right.
Other: And now?
Adam: Now, I'm scared. There's only one question that matters. And it's a matter of opinion.
Other: Are you still talking about physics?
Adam: Yes.
Other: What's the question that matters?
Adam: One day, a man told me he was an optimist. I asked him to describe his optimism and he said: "No matter how bad things get, given enough time they'll get better." I thought it was such a stupid answer, because if things are good, given enough time they'll get worse. It's a cycle, right? It's Ouroboros. Given enough time, there is only one thing that will certainly happen. One thing that won't cycle beyond it's happening. Everything comes down to one thing. For certain - FOR CERTAIN - given enough time everything will come to an end. And the question that matters is: "How do you feel about that?" That's what everyone has to ask themselves. "Everything will end and how do I feel about that?"
Other: And how do you feel about that?
Adam: Well, I think I'm a pessimist. I can't be an optimist because that idea scares the shit out of me. I think I'm a little bitter about it.
Writing Practice 28: An object that cannot be stopped
Note to self: One thing you have to improve on with your writing is spelling and grammar. Re-reading these entries, I found wrong words picked, reused word and blah blah blah. Gotta clean that up.
Note right back to self: Go fuck yourself. Don't criticize me on that right now. I said this blog was my god damn scribble pad and that's exactly what I'm using it for. I'm jotting down an idea as it forms and I'd rather catch the flow of it than worry about making sure every letter is in the right place. This is the brainstorm part, remember. When "I" re-read this blog "I" will know what "I'm" talking about. Thanks for your note and all, I'll watch that, but I'll hopefully be paying an editor soon to clean that shit up for me.
Note re-back to self: Jesus, ease up. I'm just logging something for you to pay attention to in the future or as you go. Something I've noticed that could be better. You wanna be a better writer I'm writing down where you have to improve so YOU can read it later and YOU can do whatever the hell YOU want with it.
Note to self: I know, I'm just sayin'.
Note to self: I know. I'm just sayin', too.
Note to self: I know.
Random questions are good to ask about an idea. Think about the idea from all angles, even bizarre and nonsensical angles. It's a way to spend some time with the idea and really get to know the idea. I don't know too much about Richard and Adam so far, but I asked myself out of sheer curiosity: "Who would win in a fight? Adam or Richard."
Well, at first I said Adam.
If it comes to fists, Adam takes Richard down.
But Richard's smart.
He might be able to outsmart Adam.
So, in a fight Richard might win, because he'd lead Adam into a trap or something.
I figure it'll be more fun to write the thing if Adam simply cannot be stopped.
I've said Adam is a villain but I have yet to call Richard the hero.
This gives me two fun, creative options for an ending.
Either Adam learns something by the end and decides to stop himself
OR
He succeeds.
I can play with this premise as I write the story.
It's like a race, right?
Do your best to evolve Adam quickly enough to have him to stop himself by the end.
OR
Fail, and have him succeed.
Neat.
I asked a bit of a fun question about my idea so far and it fired a creative arrow that flew right to the end of my story.
I should ask more of these questions!
Now, who would win in a Disco-Dance Off during a John Travolta Impersonation Contest?
Hrmmmmmm....
...it's gotta be Richard, right?
Yeah, Adam would take it too seriously and try way too hard.
Note right back to self: Go fuck yourself. Don't criticize me on that right now. I said this blog was my god damn scribble pad and that's exactly what I'm using it for. I'm jotting down an idea as it forms and I'd rather catch the flow of it than worry about making sure every letter is in the right place. This is the brainstorm part, remember. When "I" re-read this blog "I" will know what "I'm" talking about. Thanks for your note and all, I'll watch that, but I'll hopefully be paying an editor soon to clean that shit up for me.
Note re-back to self: Jesus, ease up. I'm just logging something for you to pay attention to in the future or as you go. Something I've noticed that could be better. You wanna be a better writer I'm writing down where you have to improve so YOU can read it later and YOU can do whatever the hell YOU want with it.
Note to self: I know, I'm just sayin'.
Note to self: I know. I'm just sayin', too.
Note to self: I know.
Random questions are good to ask about an idea. Think about the idea from all angles, even bizarre and nonsensical angles. It's a way to spend some time with the idea and really get to know the idea. I don't know too much about Richard and Adam so far, but I asked myself out of sheer curiosity: "Who would win in a fight? Adam or Richard."
Well, at first I said Adam.
If it comes to fists, Adam takes Richard down.
But Richard's smart.
He might be able to outsmart Adam.
So, in a fight Richard might win, because he'd lead Adam into a trap or something.
I figure it'll be more fun to write the thing if Adam simply cannot be stopped.
I've said Adam is a villain but I have yet to call Richard the hero.
This gives me two fun, creative options for an ending.
Either Adam learns something by the end and decides to stop himself
OR
He succeeds.
I can play with this premise as I write the story.
It's like a race, right?
Do your best to evolve Adam quickly enough to have him to stop himself by the end.
OR
Fail, and have him succeed.
Neat.
I asked a bit of a fun question about my idea so far and it fired a creative arrow that flew right to the end of my story.
I should ask more of these questions!
Now, who would win in a Disco-Dance Off during a John Travolta Impersonation Contest?
Hrmmmmmm....
...it's gotta be Richard, right?
Yeah, Adam would take it too seriously and try way too hard.
Writing Practice 27: Ok, ok... Adam time
I believe that I write more for the creative practice of writing more than I write for the art of it.
I'd like my wordcraft to be sharpened, don't get me wrong...
But what inspires me about writing is creating.
I like to make a game of writing, where I write my own parameters and then write to play the game.
The more interesting the content, the more I'll be inspired to write it.
The more I spend time with it, the more interesting it'll be.
A circle, yes, but not a vicious one.
And I would like to focus on "Making Things Work" as my speciality in writing.
I'd like to take a bunch of things I find interesting and figure out a way to make them work in a story.
I don't know why, but I'd like the Ex-Friend's words to Richard - the words that inspired him so - to be the undertone of Adam's insanity.
It's almost as if I'd like the reader reading a concept that Ex-Friend portrays to Richard, and then through Adam show a gross misinterpreation of that wisdom. I think I'd like to use Adam as a prime example of "great philosophy misunderstood" and have that be the driving force behind his villainy.
He is the villain. I want him to be a villain.
A cool, twisted version of a villain
But, yeah, in the back of my head, Adam is titled: "The villain"
He could potentially destroy the universe, you know?
You don't get much more "villain" than that.
Important Contribution To The Story From This Entry: Adam could have been a Richard, but he just doesn't "get it".
I'd like my wordcraft to be sharpened, don't get me wrong...
But what inspires me about writing is creating.
I like to make a game of writing, where I write my own parameters and then write to play the game.
The more interesting the content, the more I'll be inspired to write it.
The more I spend time with it, the more interesting it'll be.
A circle, yes, but not a vicious one.
And I would like to focus on "Making Things Work" as my speciality in writing.
I'd like to take a bunch of things I find interesting and figure out a way to make them work in a story.
I don't know why, but I'd like the Ex-Friend's words to Richard - the words that inspired him so - to be the undertone of Adam's insanity.
It's almost as if I'd like the reader reading a concept that Ex-Friend portrays to Richard, and then through Adam show a gross misinterpreation of that wisdom. I think I'd like to use Adam as a prime example of "great philosophy misunderstood" and have that be the driving force behind his villainy.
He is the villain. I want him to be a villain.
A cool, twisted version of a villain
But, yeah, in the back of my head, Adam is titled: "The villain"
He could potentially destroy the universe, you know?
You don't get much more "villain" than that.
Important Contribution To The Story From This Entry: Adam could have been a Richard, but he just doesn't "get it".
Writing Practice 26.5: Come here first
I need to make this blog my homepage.
Before I go surfing on web waves, I should come here.
And when my internet opens, this page should pop up.
Even if I don't write a single thing in it, I should look at it.
See that it's there every time I get on this computer.
Sometimes I'm bored and I surf the web to cure my boredom.
This will be a reminder: You're bored? You should be writing. There. That's something to do. Now, do it.
This blog needs to be my homepage.
And I should try to write in it every time I see it.
Before I go surfing on web waves, I should come here.
And when my internet opens, this page should pop up.
Even if I don't write a single thing in it, I should look at it.
See that it's there every time I get on this computer.
Sometimes I'm bored and I surf the web to cure my boredom.
This will be a reminder: You're bored? You should be writing. There. That's something to do. Now, do it.
This blog needs to be my homepage.
And I should try to write in it every time I see it.
Writing Practice 26: One last thing, before we get to Adam
Richard's Ex-Friend. The dead guy.
He needs to represent something important to me, and that's one person's ability to help a loved one cope with their death. How do you help someone deal with you dying? Actively contribute to the evolution of their character as efficiently, selflessly and as frequently as possible. Then, hopefully, by the time you die they'll be at such peace with life that it won't hurt as much.
It'll hurt, not as much. They're wiser people than they used to be.
They'll see more beauty than pain, really.
They'll cry for all the right reasons.
It's a grandios concept. But I think The Ex-Friend's biggest contribution to Richard needs to be that he helped Richard come to terms with himself and helped him discover parts of himself that he never knew about. By the time the ex-friend is dead, Richard is at such a peace with his character and has taken so much from the friendship that he is now "Ready" to take on someone like Dalia.
He is ready to do enlightening and wise things, like not dwelling on his ex-friends death, for example.
Like realizing when it's time to grab onto something.
He'd never been comfortable with women because he, at his age and as a cosmology celebrity, had still not been able to be fully comfortable with who he was. And so, he was uncomfortable around anything else that was incredibly important. You know, like love.
He wasn't ready to be himself yet, so, how could he be himself FOR someone else?
His Ex-Friend would argue: Sometimes you need to accept the fact that we're social creatures and we're at our best when we're collaborating. Sometimes you can let someone else help you find yourself. You don't have to know everything about yourself before you let someone else in. There's things about yourself you can't know unless you collaborate, so obviously it's not a bad thing for two amateurs to collaborate and see how they evolve together.
Philosophy aside, in practice the Ex Friend gave Richard the kind of friendship that really only does come around once in a lifetime. This ex-friend had Richard comfortable with himself and with life by the time he died. What a gift!
Richard uses Dalia's analogy at the ex-friends funeral and, in a poetic way, Dalia and the Ex-Friend share a moment, or an environment, where it's understood that both essentially represent the same thing.
Richard, thanks to the ex friend, now recognizes the things that are good for him.
He also recognizes that it's up to him to acquire the things that are good for him.
To spend time with them, collaborate with them and encorporate them into his life.
Dalia is good for him.
He needs to represent something important to me, and that's one person's ability to help a loved one cope with their death. How do you help someone deal with you dying? Actively contribute to the evolution of their character as efficiently, selflessly and as frequently as possible. Then, hopefully, by the time you die they'll be at such peace with life that it won't hurt as much.
It'll hurt, not as much. They're wiser people than they used to be.
They'll see more beauty than pain, really.
They'll cry for all the right reasons.
It's a grandios concept. But I think The Ex-Friend's biggest contribution to Richard needs to be that he helped Richard come to terms with himself and helped him discover parts of himself that he never knew about. By the time the ex-friend is dead, Richard is at such a peace with his character and has taken so much from the friendship that he is now "Ready" to take on someone like Dalia.
He is ready to do enlightening and wise things, like not dwelling on his ex-friends death, for example.
Like realizing when it's time to grab onto something.
He'd never been comfortable with women because he, at his age and as a cosmology celebrity, had still not been able to be fully comfortable with who he was. And so, he was uncomfortable around anything else that was incredibly important. You know, like love.
He wasn't ready to be himself yet, so, how could he be himself FOR someone else?
His Ex-Friend would argue: Sometimes you need to accept the fact that we're social creatures and we're at our best when we're collaborating. Sometimes you can let someone else help you find yourself. You don't have to know everything about yourself before you let someone else in. There's things about yourself you can't know unless you collaborate, so obviously it's not a bad thing for two amateurs to collaborate and see how they evolve together.
Philosophy aside, in practice the Ex Friend gave Richard the kind of friendship that really only does come around once in a lifetime. This ex-friend had Richard comfortable with himself and with life by the time he died. What a gift!
Richard uses Dalia's analogy at the ex-friends funeral and, in a poetic way, Dalia and the Ex-Friend share a moment, or an environment, where it's understood that both essentially represent the same thing.
Richard, thanks to the ex friend, now recognizes the things that are good for him.
He also recognizes that it's up to him to acquire the things that are good for him.
To spend time with them, collaborate with them and encorporate them into his life.
Dalia is good for him.
Writing Practice 25: Naming Her
Her name is Dalia.
Note to self: Richard's friend who has recenty died - gotta spend some time with him.
Why did Richard connect with him so much?
What made them such good friends?
This is for another time.
For now, her name is Dalia and I've got to figure out more about Adam.
Note to self: Richard's friend who has recenty died - gotta spend some time with him.
Why did Richard connect with him so much?
What made them such good friends?
This is for another time.
For now, her name is Dalia and I've got to figure out more about Adam.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Writing Practice 24: More time with Adam
You know, he must have just been good with science all his life.
It just made sense to him.
He was naturally good at it and it was the only thing he was good at so he excelled in it to feel good about himself.
He figured he sucked at everything else, everyone told him so, and figured his only chance for happiness was to continue with the one thing he was good at.
Kinda grim, is you ask me.
That's a sad perception for someone to have.
To be frightened out of exploring other options.
I hate that idea.
So, I love that idea.
That idea makes me feel something.
Sorry, Adam, but that's how you felt.
You never understood that if you had practiced your other interests as much as you practiced science you'd be just as good at them by now.
But, you devoted all of your time and attention to science...
And you became a scientist.
And, to be honest, you're brilliant and no one can take that away from you.
You practiced that field more so than most practice anything.
Practice works. Investing time is important.
You ARE a genius.
Ok, let's see.
What do I like about Adam?
So far, I've most fondly spoken on his ambition.
That's a part of him I feel I get excited about.
The balls he's got to have to dream of doing what every scientist dreams of doing, which is to do what no other scientist has ever done.
In this case, it's leaving this universe.
It's a quest with purpose, too; It's a journey with a destination.
He doesn't just want to poke his head through and take a look around.
No, he's looking for where all of everything started.
He has found that his (and our) universe is a bubble that has inflated off the side of the primary universe.
What got him thinking this?
What was the catalyst?
The major forces.
Gravity, Electromagnetism and the Weak and Strong Nuclear forces. (I believe... i'll look this up later and make sure)
Gravity is weaker than all the other forces.
Why? Nobody really knows.
All the other forces are at about the same power level.
But gravity doesn't match up.
Jump off a building.
You'll splat on the pavement.
Why don't you break through the ground and continue into the Earth's core where the planet's gravity is most intense?
Because electromagnetism stops you when you hit the ground and it's a stronger force than gravity.
Adam discovered that it's likely for gravity to be squeezing through from the primary universe. Somwhow, the gravity stream is blocked, so to speak, and it's not streaming out as ferociously as the other forces. This universe's gravity is only accessing a portion of the full force of gravity, which is streaming freely in the greater verse.
From there, he figured it was best to break some scientific ground and see if there was a way for him to travel out of this universe.
Yeah, that's ambitious.
Hannibal Barca.
I love that guy.
He was the General of Carthage and he hated Rome.
So, he attacked it. Walked through the Alps to do it.
Won every battle he ever fought except his last.
Lost the war. He never accomplished what he wanted.
He never destroyed Rome.
Why do I respect this figure so much?
It's because of his ambition.
Success aside, it was the level or intensity of his ambition that locked him down in history.
Adam is dangerously ambitious.
It just made sense to him.
He was naturally good at it and it was the only thing he was good at so he excelled in it to feel good about himself.
He figured he sucked at everything else, everyone told him so, and figured his only chance for happiness was to continue with the one thing he was good at.
Kinda grim, is you ask me.
That's a sad perception for someone to have.
To be frightened out of exploring other options.
I hate that idea.
So, I love that idea.
That idea makes me feel something.
Sorry, Adam, but that's how you felt.
You never understood that if you had practiced your other interests as much as you practiced science you'd be just as good at them by now.
But, you devoted all of your time and attention to science...
And you became a scientist.
And, to be honest, you're brilliant and no one can take that away from you.
You practiced that field more so than most practice anything.
Practice works. Investing time is important.
You ARE a genius.
Ok, let's see.
What do I like about Adam?
So far, I've most fondly spoken on his ambition.
That's a part of him I feel I get excited about.
The balls he's got to have to dream of doing what every scientist dreams of doing, which is to do what no other scientist has ever done.
In this case, it's leaving this universe.
It's a quest with purpose, too; It's a journey with a destination.
He doesn't just want to poke his head through and take a look around.
No, he's looking for where all of everything started.
He has found that his (and our) universe is a bubble that has inflated off the side of the primary universe.
What got him thinking this?
What was the catalyst?
The major forces.
Gravity, Electromagnetism and the Weak and Strong Nuclear forces. (I believe... i'll look this up later and make sure)
Gravity is weaker than all the other forces.
Why? Nobody really knows.
All the other forces are at about the same power level.
But gravity doesn't match up.
Jump off a building.
You'll splat on the pavement.
Why don't you break through the ground and continue into the Earth's core where the planet's gravity is most intense?
Because electromagnetism stops you when you hit the ground and it's a stronger force than gravity.
Adam discovered that it's likely for gravity to be squeezing through from the primary universe. Somwhow, the gravity stream is blocked, so to speak, and it's not streaming out as ferociously as the other forces. This universe's gravity is only accessing a portion of the full force of gravity, which is streaming freely in the greater verse.
From there, he figured it was best to break some scientific ground and see if there was a way for him to travel out of this universe.
Yeah, that's ambitious.
Hannibal Barca.
I love that guy.
He was the General of Carthage and he hated Rome.
So, he attacked it. Walked through the Alps to do it.
Won every battle he ever fought except his last.
Lost the war. He never accomplished what he wanted.
He never destroyed Rome.
Why do I respect this figure so much?
It's because of his ambition.
Success aside, it was the level or intensity of his ambition that locked him down in history.
Adam is dangerously ambitious.
Writing Practice 23: So, what's up with Adam?
I need to spend time with the primary idea that I already like.
I love the ambition of wanting to seek out the source universe.
For whatever reason, Adam wants to get in touch with the real world.
Well, not the real world. The first world.
Huh. Interesting. It's kind of like wanting to go back to the womb. Maybe people shouldn't revisit places that spit them out for a good reason.
Ooooo. Ominous.
I also need to spend time with Adam and relate him to the other characters.
It feels like Adam doesn't have anything truly fulfilling going on in his life.
He's a brilliant scientist but that's his role, or profession.
He's good at it, he's got that - but his life never fleshed out other things of value for him.
Richard gets a genuine satisfaction from his profession. He is fulfilled with a sense of purpose.
Adam most likely became a scientist to see if it could help him find a purpose.
Adam must feel quite lost.
He figures his purpose is to go "back".
Back to the source.
Experience the first and true universe.
So, Adam doesn't have anything.
Richard's never had anything until now.
He loves his job, it gets him by.
But he's fallen for a girl. He's got something.
Something more. Something he's never had before.
He's been awkward around women because he's only ever met the wrong women.
Now, he's found WhateverHerNameWillBe and they're getting along.
Not only that, he's a millionaire who lives in a shit-hole.
He can spend all his money on elaborate dates.
He can be romantic. He's always been romantic, it's just never comfortably manifested until now.
This is all neat, because now we have sides of an eventual conflict.
Is this research risky?
Adam would say it was worth the risk and Richard would say that it wasn't.
Bingo.
After set up, story starts there.
That is the essence of this story's conflict.
I see.
It's a Man+Man Vs. Nature
Then it's a Man Vs. Man
Ultimately, it'll be Man Vs Himself
I love the ambition of wanting to seek out the source universe.
For whatever reason, Adam wants to get in touch with the real world.
Well, not the real world. The first world.
Huh. Interesting. It's kind of like wanting to go back to the womb. Maybe people shouldn't revisit places that spit them out for a good reason.
Ooooo. Ominous.
I also need to spend time with Adam and relate him to the other characters.
It feels like Adam doesn't have anything truly fulfilling going on in his life.
He's a brilliant scientist but that's his role, or profession.
He's good at it, he's got that - but his life never fleshed out other things of value for him.
Richard gets a genuine satisfaction from his profession. He is fulfilled with a sense of purpose.
Adam most likely became a scientist to see if it could help him find a purpose.
Adam must feel quite lost.
He figures his purpose is to go "back".
Back to the source.
Experience the first and true universe.
So, Adam doesn't have anything.
Richard's never had anything until now.
He loves his job, it gets him by.
But he's fallen for a girl. He's got something.
Something more. Something he's never had before.
He's been awkward around women because he's only ever met the wrong women.
Now, he's found WhateverHerNameWillBe and they're getting along.
Not only that, he's a millionaire who lives in a shit-hole.
He can spend all his money on elaborate dates.
He can be romantic. He's always been romantic, it's just never comfortably manifested until now.
This is all neat, because now we have sides of an eventual conflict.
Is this research risky?
Adam would say it was worth the risk and Richard would say that it wasn't.
Bingo.
After set up, story starts there.
That is the essence of this story's conflict.
I see.
It's a Man+Man Vs. Nature
Then it's a Man Vs. Man
Ultimately, it'll be Man Vs Himself
Writing Practice 22: Hitting A Snag
I get wonderfully exited by ideas.
Most often times I'll brainstorm an idea and leave it alone, saying to myself: "I've written down the basic idea and I'll come back to it when I feel like it. Now, onto the NEW idea!"
As I was saying before with relationships, where good relationships build on what they've established - I've got to do the same with my ideas. If my habit is to leave an idea once it's been established, then I abandon my idea. If I'm not longer working toward making a relationship better once I enter into it, then I'm a terrible boyfriend.
Maybe I'm just scared of the next step, which is putting it all together.
Maybe I'm just worried that when it comes time to write the thing, I'll have no idea where to start.
I've never gotten to that stage.
So, I've got an idea and some characters. How do I get started?
I've never done this before.
I've got to brainstorm a new level of idea. I've brainstormed a concept and now I've got to brainstorm how it works to get it moving.
With everything I've brainstormed so far, how does this story flow, where does it go and what's it really about?
I dunno.
So, what now?
Write the brainstorm.
What do I have to brainstorm?
Primarily - what is this story all about?
Looking at the elements, what am I interested in working toward?
I have two basic stories going on here.
1) (summarize what you know about it) Richard's nervous around girls and he finds a girl that makes him comfortable. He's inspired by her because she's creative. She's an ex-biologist who turned to cosmology and has been working in Richards laboratory. Richard is a world famous, celebrity cosmologist. He got into science because he liked balloons and he's a brand new Einstein.
2) (summarize what you know about it) Adam is a scientist who has seen Richard's work and wants Richard's help. See, Adam figures that this universe was created from the black hole of another universe and Adam wants to know if it's possible to get into the greater universe. He wants to tap into the source universe and wants Richard's help because Richard is a genius.
Ok, glad I wrote that out.
I can see just by re-reading it that I'm happy with story 1 and not so happy with story 2.
Oh, i see! Story two isn't a story yet, it's just an idea.
Story 1 has life, I've spent more time with it. There's a love story, character origins - yeah. There's a story in there.
Not 2. 2 is just a cool idea.
It's important to note what's just happened.
I didn't know what to do next, wrote what I knew and saw which part needed work.
I know what to do next, and that's get more detail about story number 2.
I've got to spend enough time with it so that it gets a life of it's own.
Aha! See, I like story number 1 because just thinking about it, it moves itself forward.
It's got the right kind of details, and kinda writes itself.
Flesh out story number 2.
That's what I do next.
That's where I go from here.
Write everything!
Write the brainstorm!
If I hadn't written the words: "So, what now?"
I never would have gotten here.
Coming up next!
Writing Practice 23: So, what's up with Adam?
Most often times I'll brainstorm an idea and leave it alone, saying to myself: "I've written down the basic idea and I'll come back to it when I feel like it. Now, onto the NEW idea!"
As I was saying before with relationships, where good relationships build on what they've established - I've got to do the same with my ideas. If my habit is to leave an idea once it's been established, then I abandon my idea. If I'm not longer working toward making a relationship better once I enter into it, then I'm a terrible boyfriend.
Maybe I'm just scared of the next step, which is putting it all together.
Maybe I'm just worried that when it comes time to write the thing, I'll have no idea where to start.
I've never gotten to that stage.
So, I've got an idea and some characters. How do I get started?
I've never done this before.
I've got to brainstorm a new level of idea. I've brainstormed a concept and now I've got to brainstorm how it works to get it moving.
With everything I've brainstormed so far, how does this story flow, where does it go and what's it really about?
I dunno.
So, what now?
Write the brainstorm.
What do I have to brainstorm?
Primarily - what is this story all about?
Looking at the elements, what am I interested in working toward?
I have two basic stories going on here.
1) (summarize what you know about it) Richard's nervous around girls and he finds a girl that makes him comfortable. He's inspired by her because she's creative. She's an ex-biologist who turned to cosmology and has been working in Richards laboratory. Richard is a world famous, celebrity cosmologist. He got into science because he liked balloons and he's a brand new Einstein.
2) (summarize what you know about it) Adam is a scientist who has seen Richard's work and wants Richard's help. See, Adam figures that this universe was created from the black hole of another universe and Adam wants to know if it's possible to get into the greater universe. He wants to tap into the source universe and wants Richard's help because Richard is a genius.
Ok, glad I wrote that out.
I can see just by re-reading it that I'm happy with story 1 and not so happy with story 2.
Oh, i see! Story two isn't a story yet, it's just an idea.
Story 1 has life, I've spent more time with it. There's a love story, character origins - yeah. There's a story in there.
Not 2. 2 is just a cool idea.
It's important to note what's just happened.
I didn't know what to do next, wrote what I knew and saw which part needed work.
I know what to do next, and that's get more detail about story number 2.
I've got to spend enough time with it so that it gets a life of it's own.
Aha! See, I like story number 1 because just thinking about it, it moves itself forward.
It's got the right kind of details, and kinda writes itself.
Flesh out story number 2.
That's what I do next.
That's where I go from here.
Write everything!
Write the brainstorm!
If I hadn't written the words: "So, what now?"
I never would have gotten here.
Coming up next!
Writing Practice 23: So, what's up with Adam?
Writing Practice 21: Filtering Through Richard
The universe is an interest in mine.
As I've been discovering, a good idea usually comes down to how much time you spend with it.
I've spent a lot of time with the universe. I've learned about constelleations, star-based ancient cultures, black holes, quasars, quantum mechanics....
It's important to note that these are just interests. I don't understand quantum mechanics, but I'm always interested to watch documentaries about it.
Quantum Mechanics, to me, is like the Zen of science.
I say that only because it seems that masters of each category always claim that they don't understand their field. Furthermore, they say that nobody will ever understand it. It's even been said: 'If you think you understand Quantum Mechanics, you don't understand Quantum Mechanics.
A favorite Zen story of mine has a student of Zen going up to his master and saying: "All this Zen stuff makes no sense and it's absolutely fucking ridiculous."
The Zen master replied: "Wow! You're a Zen master!"
There's a lot about science I like to write about and a lot that I've found to be interesting. I certainly want Richard to touch on the most interesting points of my science-travels. There's a lot of cool things about the universe I'd like to discuss. That's something I'd like to write.
But I'm not smart enough about it to write a textbook on it, so I've gotta be creative in how Richard represents his intelligence on the subject. I can't have him writing formulas, because I can't write formulas, but I can have him sharing his opinions. I can do that creatively.
However, I've got to make Richard his own person. Whatever I display through Richard has got to filter through his optimism and manfiest itself in a "Richard" sort of way.
I'll have to be careful not to make Richard too much like myself. At the same time, that's impossible.
So, I should throw out things about the universe that I find interesting, and then have Richard discuss what he finds interesting about the subjects I'm throwing out.
I pick the subject matter and it's Richard who's got to find his own interesting part to talk about.
He's famous. He's a celebrity.
He's absolutely got to be involved in debates.
Representing the scientific world with such celebrity, religious leaders will want to debate him greatly.
I've got to write a few transcripts on things Richard had said on tv during his debates.
"I'm not saying there isn't a creator. I'm saying that I've found no evidence of a creator so far. I don't disregard the idea. There are concepts in this universe we'll not be able to recognize or comprehend for a very long time.
I have to say, and this is very important, that the human race needs to continuously keep updating our findings. New should be constantly replacing old, but we seem to have latched onto an old idea a little too much.
The idea of God came from a time when we were very, very young and making assumptions about how things worked. We had no information but we needed some explanations and we made some up.
You know, some cultures used to think that a godess would come and turn the world to ice each year, this was how they understood winter. They assumed the entire world froze as a result of the power of the godess. And they thought this simply because they didn't know the world was round, hadn't seen the other side of it and didn't realize that when it was night time in one place it was day time in another.
Information. Understanding the truth of this universe is information. And if we don't keep updating it we won't be moving ahead with the world as quickly and as fluently as we should be."
As I've been discovering, a good idea usually comes down to how much time you spend with it.
I've spent a lot of time with the universe. I've learned about constelleations, star-based ancient cultures, black holes, quasars, quantum mechanics....
It's important to note that these are just interests. I don't understand quantum mechanics, but I'm always interested to watch documentaries about it.
Quantum Mechanics, to me, is like the Zen of science.
I say that only because it seems that masters of each category always claim that they don't understand their field. Furthermore, they say that nobody will ever understand it. It's even been said: 'If you think you understand Quantum Mechanics, you don't understand Quantum Mechanics.
A favorite Zen story of mine has a student of Zen going up to his master and saying: "All this Zen stuff makes no sense and it's absolutely fucking ridiculous."
The Zen master replied: "Wow! You're a Zen master!"
There's a lot about science I like to write about and a lot that I've found to be interesting. I certainly want Richard to touch on the most interesting points of my science-travels. There's a lot of cool things about the universe I'd like to discuss. That's something I'd like to write.
But I'm not smart enough about it to write a textbook on it, so I've gotta be creative in how Richard represents his intelligence on the subject. I can't have him writing formulas, because I can't write formulas, but I can have him sharing his opinions. I can do that creatively.
However, I've got to make Richard his own person. Whatever I display through Richard has got to filter through his optimism and manfiest itself in a "Richard" sort of way.
I'll have to be careful not to make Richard too much like myself. At the same time, that's impossible.
So, I should throw out things about the universe that I find interesting, and then have Richard discuss what he finds interesting about the subjects I'm throwing out.
I pick the subject matter and it's Richard who's got to find his own interesting part to talk about.
He's famous. He's a celebrity.
He's absolutely got to be involved in debates.
Representing the scientific world with such celebrity, religious leaders will want to debate him greatly.
I've got to write a few transcripts on things Richard had said on tv during his debates.
"I'm not saying there isn't a creator. I'm saying that I've found no evidence of a creator so far. I don't disregard the idea. There are concepts in this universe we'll not be able to recognize or comprehend for a very long time.
I have to say, and this is very important, that the human race needs to continuously keep updating our findings. New should be constantly replacing old, but we seem to have latched onto an old idea a little too much.
The idea of God came from a time when we were very, very young and making assumptions about how things worked. We had no information but we needed some explanations and we made some up.
You know, some cultures used to think that a godess would come and turn the world to ice each year, this was how they understood winter. They assumed the entire world froze as a result of the power of the godess. And they thought this simply because they didn't know the world was round, hadn't seen the other side of it and didn't realize that when it was night time in one place it was day time in another.
Information. Understanding the truth of this universe is information. And if we don't keep updating it we won't be moving ahead with the world as quickly and as fluently as we should be."
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Writing Practice 20: My Characters
I'm thinking about them.
I've spent some time with them.
I'm staring to really like them.
How crafty is this girl I've created?
Why is she working with Richard?
What's Richard working on that needs a "Team?"
At least - what laboratory is he in? What are they doing?
He's famous, right?
He's working on something.
He's leading a project.
And something about his project in particular has attracted Adam's attention.
Hrm.
Thinky-think.
I'll get back to that.
This girl, this SHE, whatever her name is....
What made her go from biology to cosmology?
Was is Richard?
He's famous.
Did he do an experiment? Some kind of demonstration that was broadcast around the world?
Did he say something during a lecture?
Is he famous for his point of view?
Maybe she saw him give a talk about cosmology.
Maybe she read a transcript in a newspaper.
Maybe the way he talked about physics was somehow enlightening to her.
Maybe it was beautiful.
Maybe what he said was simply so mind-blowing that he seemed like a new Einstein to have said it.
Maybe Richard is destined to be the last chapter in the history of this universe.
He might pull an Oppenheimer and aid Adam to a devastating degree.
Maybe she sees his potential, and his collaboration with Adam will be the worst possible manifestation of his potential.
Maybe whatever she was interested in in the first place simply naturally gravitated her toward Richard and his interests.
Maybe he said something enlightening in the now famous: "Rung Around Uranus" article and she followed his career from there.
Hrm.
There's a lot to think about here.
Questions.
The evolution of a good idea is reliant on questions.
Is any of this any good?
Who cares.
You're practicing, remember?
All of this will somehow evolve into something that proves your time was worth spending on it.
Even if the idea goes nowhere, you've been writing your brainstorm.
You're practicing writing.
I've spent some time with them.
I'm staring to really like them.
How crafty is this girl I've created?
Why is she working with Richard?
What's Richard working on that needs a "Team?"
At least - what laboratory is he in? What are they doing?
He's famous, right?
He's working on something.
He's leading a project.
And something about his project in particular has attracted Adam's attention.
Hrm.
Thinky-think.
I'll get back to that.
This girl, this SHE, whatever her name is....
What made her go from biology to cosmology?
Was is Richard?
He's famous.
Did he do an experiment? Some kind of demonstration that was broadcast around the world?
Did he say something during a lecture?
Is he famous for his point of view?
Maybe she saw him give a talk about cosmology.
Maybe she read a transcript in a newspaper.
Maybe the way he talked about physics was somehow enlightening to her.
Maybe it was beautiful.
Maybe what he said was simply so mind-blowing that he seemed like a new Einstein to have said it.
Maybe Richard is destined to be the last chapter in the history of this universe.
He might pull an Oppenheimer and aid Adam to a devastating degree.
Maybe she sees his potential, and his collaboration with Adam will be the worst possible manifestation of his potential.
Maybe whatever she was interested in in the first place simply naturally gravitated her toward Richard and his interests.
Maybe he said something enlightening in the now famous: "Rung Around Uranus" article and she followed his career from there.
Hrm.
There's a lot to think about here.
Questions.
The evolution of a good idea is reliant on questions.
Is any of this any good?
Who cares.
You're practicing, remember?
All of this will somehow evolve into something that proves your time was worth spending on it.
Even if the idea goes nowhere, you've been writing your brainstorm.
You're practicing writing.
Writing Practice 19: Her name
That's it.
It's driving me crazy.
She's got to have a name.
What's her name?!
It's got to be dorky, yet elegant.
Firm, but flexible
Assertive, but open to change.
Ayo. It's West African for "Joy."
Good meaning, and brings to mind a certain-looking kind of girl.
I announce Ayo as a contender for her name.
Let's see if I can beat that....
Basha. It's Swahili for "Act Of God"
I'm liking the sounds of the more foreign or exotic names.
Nothing is set, let's keep searching.
Dalia. It means "Gentleness in her soul"
I don't mean to keep going by meaning, but if Richard sees her beyond her skin then that's where I've got to start too.
The meaning of her name is vital.
It's her essence that Richard has fallen for.
Emma might work.
It means: "Universal."
Farah means Joy (again), Gita means "song", Hope, oddly, means "Trust"...
Isoke has a very interesting meaning. It means: "A SATISFYING gift from God"
Janna means "Heaven"
Katherine is pure.
Layla is the evening star.
Marcia is brave.
Nanette is the "little, graceful one"
Oni.... oooOOOooooo.... "Born in sacred space"
Pia: Faithful
Renee: Reborn
Serena: Calm
Talia: Blooming
Ulani: Heavy Rain
Verena: Truth
Wendy: Cause I personally like Peter Pan
No way in hell I'm going with Xena
Yalena: Light
Zukisa: Be patient.
Did I skip the letter "C"?
I did.
Shit, I skipped Q, too.
Ok.
Cressida means "The Golden One"
and
Querida means "The Loved One"
I suppose it's important to note that it's important to spend time with every single little part of whatever I'm going to write, even character names.
I still don't know what her name is, but it's one of the names on this list.
It's driving me crazy.
She's got to have a name.
What's her name?!
It's got to be dorky, yet elegant.
Firm, but flexible
Assertive, but open to change.
Ayo. It's West African for "Joy."
Good meaning, and brings to mind a certain-looking kind of girl.
I announce Ayo as a contender for her name.
Let's see if I can beat that....
Basha. It's Swahili for "Act Of God"
I'm liking the sounds of the more foreign or exotic names.
Nothing is set, let's keep searching.
Dalia. It means "Gentleness in her soul"
I don't mean to keep going by meaning, but if Richard sees her beyond her skin then that's where I've got to start too.
The meaning of her name is vital.
It's her essence that Richard has fallen for.
Emma might work.
It means: "Universal."
Farah means Joy (again), Gita means "song", Hope, oddly, means "Trust"...
Isoke has a very interesting meaning. It means: "A SATISFYING gift from God"
Janna means "Heaven"
Katherine is pure.
Layla is the evening star.
Marcia is brave.
Nanette is the "little, graceful one"
Oni.... oooOOOooooo.... "Born in sacred space"
Pia: Faithful
Renee: Reborn
Serena: Calm
Talia: Blooming
Ulani: Heavy Rain
Verena: Truth
Wendy: Cause I personally like Peter Pan
No way in hell I'm going with Xena
Yalena: Light
Zukisa: Be patient.
Did I skip the letter "C"?
I did.
Shit, I skipped Q, too.
Ok.
Cressida means "The Golden One"
and
Querida means "The Loved One"
I suppose it's important to note that it's important to spend time with every single little part of whatever I'm going to write, even character names.
I still don't know what her name is, but it's one of the names on this list.
Writing Practice 18: They should spend some time with each other
Richard, a cosmologist, is spending time with HER, an ex-biologist.
Richard: What is the fastest way to determine the sex of a chromosome?
Her: What?
Richard: Pull down its genes.
(they laugh)
Her: Ok. What's the name of the first astronomy detective?
Richard: Tell me.
Her: Sherlock Ohms.
(they laugh)
Richard: Clever.
Her: I thought so.
Richard: Hey, did you learn that physics joke for me?
Her: Um. Did you learn that biology joke for me?
Richard: Maybe.
Her: Then, maybe.
Richard: Then, yes.
Her: Then, yes, too.
(they smiled)
I see what's happening here.
This is the only woman Richard has felt comfortable around.
That means I'm going to have to write Richard being uncomfortable on bunch of dates from his past that failed terribly. That's gonna be fun.
Richard: What is the fastest way to determine the sex of a chromosome?
Her: What?
Richard: Pull down its genes.
(they laugh)
Her: Ok. What's the name of the first astronomy detective?
Richard: Tell me.
Her: Sherlock Ohms.
(they laugh)
Richard: Clever.
Her: I thought so.
Richard: Hey, did you learn that physics joke for me?
Her: Um. Did you learn that biology joke for me?
Richard: Maybe.
Her: Then, maybe.
Richard: Then, yes.
Her: Then, yes, too.
(they smiled)
I see what's happening here.
This is the only woman Richard has felt comfortable around.
That means I'm going to have to write Richard being uncomfortable on bunch of dates from his past that failed terribly. That's gonna be fun.
Writing Practice 17: Let's talk about Adam
Adam can't be satisfied with life.
He's willing to leave this entire universe.
He's got to be a little crazy. But crazy is a genius way.
His mind might as well essentially be that of a twisted super villain.
He doesn't know that what he's trying to do might sacrifice all of reality.
What have I said about Adam so far?
He's interested in finding the source universe.
He wants to get... what does he want to get?
To reality? No, he's a scientist. He knows he's in a branch of reality.
What does he want?
Is he a sort of fish?
Wanting to swim back to his birthplace?
How dangerous can Adam be?
Well, scientists are attempting to create black holes in laboratories.
That sounds dangerous.
So, it's not that much of a stretch to think that Adam might be capable of leaving this universe and going into a greater universe - and it's fun to think that doing so might destroy this lesser universe.
He might want to find where this universe ballooned from, or, he might want to form a sort of pin to pierce this universe and pop it like a balloon, sending him through this universe's material and into the air of the greater universe, so to speak.
I like thinking of this character Adam as a villain.
The one that might destroy everything that Richard loves. And what does Richard love? His purpose. His life. His understanding of the universe.
But his love of understanding is what will attract him to Adam's project.
It's a form of poison he can't resist drinking.
His purpose is to understand truth.
If there's a greater universe, he won't be able to help himself exploring it.
I like thinking that Adam is more or less a positive revolutionary.
Willing to sacrifice more than anyone ever has in order to move our understanding of the universe forward in larger leaps than we've ever taken.
And I like thinking of this as a deeply villainous trait.
Adam is this story's venom.
I also like the feeling of contrast I'm getting between Adam's story and the story of Richard and "WhateverHerNameEndsUpBeing"
Richard's story seems so human, so real.
Adam's story seems so huge and science-fiction-based.
I do admit that I am interested in this juxtaposition.
Love stories and space stories.
These are my interests.
But this is all practice.
Anything could happen or change.
I should spend some more time with these stories and learn how to best harmonize them.
He's willing to leave this entire universe.
He's got to be a little crazy. But crazy is a genius way.
His mind might as well essentially be that of a twisted super villain.
He doesn't know that what he's trying to do might sacrifice all of reality.
What have I said about Adam so far?
He's interested in finding the source universe.
He wants to get... what does he want to get?
To reality? No, he's a scientist. He knows he's in a branch of reality.
What does he want?
Is he a sort of fish?
Wanting to swim back to his birthplace?
How dangerous can Adam be?
Well, scientists are attempting to create black holes in laboratories.
That sounds dangerous.
So, it's not that much of a stretch to think that Adam might be capable of leaving this universe and going into a greater universe - and it's fun to think that doing so might destroy this lesser universe.
He might want to find where this universe ballooned from, or, he might want to form a sort of pin to pierce this universe and pop it like a balloon, sending him through this universe's material and into the air of the greater universe, so to speak.
I like thinking of this character Adam as a villain.
The one that might destroy everything that Richard loves. And what does Richard love? His purpose. His life. His understanding of the universe.
But his love of understanding is what will attract him to Adam's project.
It's a form of poison he can't resist drinking.
His purpose is to understand truth.
If there's a greater universe, he won't be able to help himself exploring it.
I like thinking that Adam is more or less a positive revolutionary.
Willing to sacrifice more than anyone ever has in order to move our understanding of the universe forward in larger leaps than we've ever taken.
And I like thinking of this as a deeply villainous trait.
Adam is this story's venom.
I also like the feeling of contrast I'm getting between Adam's story and the story of Richard and "WhateverHerNameEndsUpBeing"
Richard's story seems so human, so real.
Adam's story seems so huge and science-fiction-based.
I do admit that I am interested in this juxtaposition.
Love stories and space stories.
These are my interests.
But this is all practice.
Anything could happen or change.
I should spend some more time with these stories and learn how to best harmonize them.
Writing Practice 16: Why she's so cool
Let's talk about that girl.
She began as a biologist.
As a girl, she loved frogs.
Bullfrogs, in particular.
She loved watching their throats inflate.
In her career as a biologist, something inspired her in such a way that she began looking at the universe as a form of being.
She was not religious, but she did often refer to the universe as God.
She switched professions. She studied and she became a Quantum Physicist.
She told Richard about the Bullfrogs when they started working together.
Richard pictured their throats inflating and it made him think of balloons.
Then she said: "I feel like studying quantum physics is like studying the biology of God."
See, Richard didn't like her because her bullfrog story made him think of balloons.
He liked her because after she reminded him of balloons, she said something that was far more beautiful than balloons had ever been to him. She had said such a beautiful and creative thing, and it snapped him out of thinking about balloons.
She was interested in the atomic universe.
And one day she said to Richard: "I like to think that sometime, somewhere out there someone will figure out how to access a atom's memory. Energy never dies. My energy will go on long after I'm dead. And I figure after it gets sucked into the sun and the sun explodes - my energy will be fired out into the universe. And some crazy-brilliant being will have mastered the ability to tap into everywhere those atoms have been and everything they've every experienced - they'll see everything that my atom's have ever been a part of and when they do it they'll see my life. They'll see what I'd discovered and how happy I was. They'll know about me. About us. About here. It's just a thought. But the universe is infinite, right? Anything can happen."
Richard, inspired by the comment, used it in his eulogy for his dead best friend. After saying it, he realized that the perception she had shared with him was comforting, and that she had helped him feel better about tragedy. That's the moment Richard knew he was falling in love with her.
She began as a biologist.
As a girl, she loved frogs.
Bullfrogs, in particular.
She loved watching their throats inflate.
In her career as a biologist, something inspired her in such a way that she began looking at the universe as a form of being.
She was not religious, but she did often refer to the universe as God.
She switched professions. She studied and she became a Quantum Physicist.
She told Richard about the Bullfrogs when they started working together.
Richard pictured their throats inflating and it made him think of balloons.
Then she said: "I feel like studying quantum physics is like studying the biology of God."
See, Richard didn't like her because her bullfrog story made him think of balloons.
He liked her because after she reminded him of balloons, she said something that was far more beautiful than balloons had ever been to him. She had said such a beautiful and creative thing, and it snapped him out of thinking about balloons.
She was interested in the atomic universe.
And one day she said to Richard: "I like to think that sometime, somewhere out there someone will figure out how to access a atom's memory. Energy never dies. My energy will go on long after I'm dead. And I figure after it gets sucked into the sun and the sun explodes - my energy will be fired out into the universe. And some crazy-brilliant being will have mastered the ability to tap into everywhere those atoms have been and everything they've every experienced - they'll see everything that my atom's have ever been a part of and when they do it they'll see my life. They'll see what I'd discovered and how happy I was. They'll know about me. About us. About here. It's just a thought. But the universe is infinite, right? Anything can happen."
Richard, inspired by the comment, used it in his eulogy for his dead best friend. After saying it, he realized that the perception she had shared with him was comforting, and that she had helped him feel better about tragedy. That's the moment Richard knew he was falling in love with her.
Writing Practice 15: Note To Self
I'm practicing, getting my mind in the right place, I'm investing in time with the characters, I'm practicing the art of brainstorming - the book will be my Olympics and this blog is my gym.
I never thought to write out the brainstorming process before. I figured brainstorming was pacing back in for in a room waiting for a good idea to come along.
This is much better.
I've always said that if you want to get better at drawing you should get a sketch pad. Never erase or throw away anything. Draw something in it every day. Then, when you fill the book, compare the last page with the first page and see that you've improved.
Same deal here. I'm logging ideas, working them and writing while I do it.
Writing the brainstorm.
Love it.
I never thought to write out the brainstorming process before. I figured brainstorming was pacing back in for in a room waiting for a good idea to come along.
This is much better.
I've always said that if you want to get better at drawing you should get a sketch pad. Never erase or throw away anything. Draw something in it every day. Then, when you fill the book, compare the last page with the first page and see that you've improved.
Same deal here. I'm logging ideas, working them and writing while I do it.
Writing the brainstorm.
Love it.
Writing Practice 14: Giving Her Credit
Richard and this girl...
He's smart and he sees potential in her.
After his misfired joke, things got uncomfortable.
To credit Richard's intelligence and good judge of character, I can't allow this girl to simply accept things being uncomfortable in the laboratory. After a short while, she'd come to terms with the joke, see it as amusing to the point of being cute and she'd make an effort to re-break the ice.
If she accepted things being uncomfortable and she became a stereotype conflict, then she'd be an average character and Richard would lose credit on his intelligence.
But she's the kind of person to contribute...
To make things better.
"Richard." She says to him one afternoon.
"Yes?" He responds with genuine interest. Her contributions are always welcome.
"Can I ask you something?" She says. "It's personal. But I need you to answer honestly."
"Sure."
"Is there a ring of dust around your anus?"
His smile was immaculate. "Why, yes. Yes there is."
He's smart and he sees potential in her.
After his misfired joke, things got uncomfortable.
To credit Richard's intelligence and good judge of character, I can't allow this girl to simply accept things being uncomfortable in the laboratory. After a short while, she'd come to terms with the joke, see it as amusing to the point of being cute and she'd make an effort to re-break the ice.
If she accepted things being uncomfortable and she became a stereotype conflict, then she'd be an average character and Richard would lose credit on his intelligence.
But she's the kind of person to contribute...
To make things better.
"Richard." She says to him one afternoon.
"Yes?" He responds with genuine interest. Her contributions are always welcome.
"Can I ask you something?" She says. "It's personal. But I need you to answer honestly."
"Sure."
"Is there a ring of dust around your anus?"
His smile was immaculate. "Why, yes. Yes there is."
Writing Practice 13: Recognition
Some character have emerged from this blog without my trying to create them, really.
All I did was practice writing and character naturally came out of the woodwork.
I couldn't help but start working and idea.
Exposure.
Exposure to writing is essential for writers.
Writers who think they suck probably do because they never practice.
Everyone sucks at everything when they start.
It's about taking the time to hone the skill.
I'm no master, I shouldn't be preaching - I simply like to observe that something significant is forming and all I had to do was write a while.
All I did was practice writing and character naturally came out of the woodwork.
I couldn't help but start working and idea.
Exposure.
Exposure to writing is essential for writers.
Writers who think they suck probably do because they never practice.
Everyone sucks at everything when they start.
It's about taking the time to hone the skill.
I'm no master, I shouldn't be preaching - I simply like to observe that something significant is forming and all I had to do was write a while.
Writing Practice 12: So, why does he like that girl?
I dunno.
I can't think of a reason.
Maybe I can think of one that's personal to Richard.
Maybe I can suggest a reason and not say one.
Show, don't tell, right?
I'd also like to explore lazy writing.
I like to give anything merit, really.
Lazy writing is still writing.
So, even if it's lazy, no good, shitty, whatever - it's writing.
And writing ANYTHING is good.
It could be a style, lazy writing.
I wonder if I could do entertaining "lazy writing"
Why does Richard like that girl?
1) Because her theory about supernova's was impressive. I'd explain it to you, reader, but it's way too complicated. Anyway, it was awesome. And totally right! It'd blow your mind - IF you went to school for physics for, like, eight years.
2) Because her voice has a cute little squeak to it and it reminds Richard of squeezing air out of balloons.
3) Even better, because she's got a picture of her kid on her desk and the kid is holding a balloon. So, of course, Richard connects.
RECORD SCRATCH!!!!
Fuck that idea. I mean, there's a lot of potential for stuff to happen with that situation but it's just too... i dunno... "Airplane Movie", you know?
New 3) Because she likes him. Could be as simple as that. She likes him, that feels nice so he likes her.
Not fair...
Too easy. See, now I'm already out of lazy writing mode and I'm back to working on this story.
This illustrates a VITAL point.
To reaffirm an earlier statement - writing makes me want to write.
Even if I start silly, I'll end up in the mood to do some good work.
So far, this whole blog has been a segmented brainstorm as I practice writing in order to better write what I'm brainstorming.
Ok, sorry to break the mood. Don't mean to make track 4 hip hop while tracks 1, 2 and 3 were all country - but I'm now more interested in seriously investing in the story I've been investing in.
I've written and I feel like writing!
why, Why, WHY does Richard like this girl?
What's her name?
Olive?
No.
She's a cute scientist girl.
Well, is she cute? Maybe he's stunning in her attractiveness.
What's her race? What's her background?
She's a scientist, she's gotta be younger and Richard thinks she's attractive and interesting.
Richard would be attracted to her primarily through her mind. Or perhaps through her feelings.
But his attraction would be deep, first, then it would pull back to the surface.
He'd look at her and see so much more than her physical features.
She's attractive because she's.....
Intelligent?
No. Too easy.
Playful?
No. Yes and no. But no in this case.
Creative?
........ yes.
YES!
She's creative. Creative with cosmology.
She's a lateral thinker when it comes to how the universe works.
What's her name?
Myra.
Nah, too porno.
K? K-k-k-Kendra?
Kyla?
Keely?
Keely? Is that her name?
Nope. It's Jenna.
You know what? This is taking too long. She's "that girl" until SHE makes me think of a name.
But, yes - to bring it back to the title, Richard likes her because she's creative.
That is the driving force behind his interest in her.
I can't think of a reason.
Maybe I can think of one that's personal to Richard.
Maybe I can suggest a reason and not say one.
Show, don't tell, right?
I'd also like to explore lazy writing.
I like to give anything merit, really.
Lazy writing is still writing.
So, even if it's lazy, no good, shitty, whatever - it's writing.
And writing ANYTHING is good.
It could be a style, lazy writing.
I wonder if I could do entertaining "lazy writing"
Why does Richard like that girl?
1) Because her theory about supernova's was impressive. I'd explain it to you, reader, but it's way too complicated. Anyway, it was awesome. And totally right! It'd blow your mind - IF you went to school for physics for, like, eight years.
2) Because her voice has a cute little squeak to it and it reminds Richard of squeezing air out of balloons.
3) Even better, because she's got a picture of her kid on her desk and the kid is holding a balloon. So, of course, Richard connects.
RECORD SCRATCH!!!!
Fuck that idea. I mean, there's a lot of potential for stuff to happen with that situation but it's just too... i dunno... "Airplane Movie", you know?
New 3) Because she likes him. Could be as simple as that. She likes him, that feels nice so he likes her.
Not fair...
Too easy. See, now I'm already out of lazy writing mode and I'm back to working on this story.
This illustrates a VITAL point.
To reaffirm an earlier statement - writing makes me want to write.
Even if I start silly, I'll end up in the mood to do some good work.
So far, this whole blog has been a segmented brainstorm as I practice writing in order to better write what I'm brainstorming.
Ok, sorry to break the mood. Don't mean to make track 4 hip hop while tracks 1, 2 and 3 were all country - but I'm now more interested in seriously investing in the story I've been investing in.
I've written and I feel like writing!
why, Why, WHY does Richard like this girl?
What's her name?
Olive?
No.
She's a cute scientist girl.
Well, is she cute? Maybe he's stunning in her attractiveness.
What's her race? What's her background?
She's a scientist, she's gotta be younger and Richard thinks she's attractive and interesting.
Richard would be attracted to her primarily through her mind. Or perhaps through her feelings.
But his attraction would be deep, first, then it would pull back to the surface.
He'd look at her and see so much more than her physical features.
She's attractive because she's.....
Intelligent?
No. Too easy.
Playful?
No. Yes and no. But no in this case.
Creative?
........ yes.
YES!
She's creative. Creative with cosmology.
She's a lateral thinker when it comes to how the universe works.
What's her name?
Myra.
Nah, too porno.
K? K-k-k-Kendra?
Kyla?
Keely?
Keely? Is that her name?
Nope. It's Jenna.
You know what? This is taking too long. She's "that girl" until SHE makes me think of a name.
But, yes - to bring it back to the title, Richard likes her because she's creative.
That is the driving force behind his interest in her.
Writing Practice 11: Where Richard Lives
You know, I think Richard lives in that building.
That building of red brick.
Old. Got personality.
Windowsills with flowers, remember?
Yeah. Richard lives there.
He's rich. He's an incredibly successful cosmologist.
He's worked with the History Channel, the BBC...
He's become a cosmology-celebrity.
He's a new Hawking, that's who Richard is.
That's why his Balloon experiments are famous.
He loves balloons. And he's explained the universe to television audiences using them.
That's why the black-hole guy knows to contact him. But I digress....
He's richer than most scientists are. And he's chosen an apartment in a cheap, old, more or less run down red brick building.
Minimum wage could support his living conditions.
Richard, while personable and humble, exists for nothing else but cosmology.
He's not interested in taking vacations. He loves his work too much. It fulfills him.
He's not interested in coasters, curtains, matching furniture or bath mats.
He eats when he's hungry, he sleeps when he's tired and for the rest of the time he's a dedicated cosmologist.
That's why he's famous.
He's more dedicated to his field than most other people have ever been.
Einstein had seven suits, one for each day of the week. That's because he didn't want to waste his brainpower thinking something as trivial as: "What should I wear today."
Richard is in that class of character.
Yet, while in the office, so satisfied with his career choice and so empowered with a sense of purpose - he seems far from obsessed. He is incredibly kind and easy to talk to. He likes making jokes and he's just fine at telling them.
His presence is fuzzy. It's nice to be around him.
He's never rude and he's hardly akward. (only around someone he finds attractive)
He simply is nothing if he's not a cosmologist.
To be continued in Writing Practice 12: Why Richard is attracted to the girl he told the wrong joke too (and, no, it's not her balloons)
That building of red brick.
Old. Got personality.
Windowsills with flowers, remember?
Yeah. Richard lives there.
He's rich. He's an incredibly successful cosmologist.
He's worked with the History Channel, the BBC...
He's become a cosmology-celebrity.
He's a new Hawking, that's who Richard is.
That's why his Balloon experiments are famous.
He loves balloons. And he's explained the universe to television audiences using them.
That's why the black-hole guy knows to contact him. But I digress....
He's richer than most scientists are. And he's chosen an apartment in a cheap, old, more or less run down red brick building.
Minimum wage could support his living conditions.
Richard, while personable and humble, exists for nothing else but cosmology.
He's not interested in taking vacations. He loves his work too much. It fulfills him.
He's not interested in coasters, curtains, matching furniture or bath mats.
He eats when he's hungry, he sleeps when he's tired and for the rest of the time he's a dedicated cosmologist.
That's why he's famous.
He's more dedicated to his field than most other people have ever been.
Einstein had seven suits, one for each day of the week. That's because he didn't want to waste his brainpower thinking something as trivial as: "What should I wear today."
Richard is in that class of character.
Yet, while in the office, so satisfied with his career choice and so empowered with a sense of purpose - he seems far from obsessed. He is incredibly kind and easy to talk to. He likes making jokes and he's just fine at telling them.
His presence is fuzzy. It's nice to be around him.
He's never rude and he's hardly akward. (only around someone he finds attractive)
He simply is nothing if he's not a cosmologist.
To be continued in Writing Practice 12: Why Richard is attracted to the girl he told the wrong joke too (and, no, it's not her balloons)
Writing Practice 10: Messing with Richard
If Richard's workmates like Richard's joke, Richard might get it in his head that he's a sort of lab comedian. He wouldn't overplay it, he's not cocky or egotistical - I figure Richard has a Santa kind of kindness to him. He's not fat, he's more like Freud, but overall he's jolly and warm.
He'd be happy that others were happy, and if his joke was what did it he'd probably go find another.
So, that's exactly what he did.
Why do chemists like Nitrates so much?
Because they're so much cheaper than day rates.
I'll say this much, Richard is no good with women.
In fact, they make him nervous.
He looked like an ass the day he told an attractive female coworker his joke.
He nervously tripped over the punch line and said "Date Rapes" instead of "Day Rates"
She has since avoided eye contact with Richard.
She's a new character. What is her name?
He'd be happy that others were happy, and if his joke was what did it he'd probably go find another.
So, that's exactly what he did.
Why do chemists like Nitrates so much?
Because they're so much cheaper than day rates.
I'll say this much, Richard is no good with women.
In fact, they make him nervous.
He looked like an ass the day he told an attractive female coworker his joke.
He nervously tripped over the punch line and said "Date Rapes" instead of "Day Rates"
She has since avoided eye contact with Richard.
She's a new character. What is her name?
Writing Practice 9: The joke that Richard Likes
I know a thing or two about Richard now.
And I've found a joke that he would like.
First of all, Richard would tell this joke with some crafty wit. He'd say it with a good sense of timing. He wouldn't tell it like a joke with a regular set up, no - he'd tell it more personally, like a story or an experience...
He's say something along the lines of: "A new textbook about Helium just came out. I was reading it the other day. I couldn't put it down."
Then, he'd crack a sly, slick, slight smile and see if anyone caught the joke.
He gets amused in humble ways. That's Richard.
And I've found a joke that he would like.
First of all, Richard would tell this joke with some crafty wit. He'd say it with a good sense of timing. He wouldn't tell it like a joke with a regular set up, no - he'd tell it more personally, like a story or an experience...
He's say something along the lines of: "A new textbook about Helium just came out. I was reading it the other day. I couldn't put it down."
Then, he'd crack a sly, slick, slight smile and see if anyone caught the joke.
He gets amused in humble ways. That's Richard.
Writing Practice 8: Who is Richard?
If any form of writing whatsoever is practice, then if I write to brainstorm a character I will not only evolve some form of story but also practice writing overall. Writing out some basic ideas about this Richard character is good for me in two ways. If I stick with Richard, I figure he'll end up being endlessly interesting.
I might as well draw some interesting things from my own life and apply them to Richard.
I'm interested in science.
Richard is a scientist.
I'd like to promote optimism, so, Richard is an optimist.
How do I show a man who is scientific in his optimism, or, who manifests optimism through his interest in science?
Richard stands before a crowd, seated in a church.
He is speaking in memory of his life-long best friend, who has just died.
It's the funeral.
Richard begins to speak into a microphone.
"There are too many problems with life. Too many forces fighting against life. If this planet were any closer to the sun we'd all burn and if it were any farther from it we'd all freeze. We're just the perfect distance away - we're in the Goldilocks Position. It's just right.
The chances of life existing on this planet were essentially Nil and we made it. Of all the places in the universe, life happened here. And I was born in the same geographical location as my friend in the coffin here. And I was born in the same period of history. We found each other, connected, had a friendship and we improved each other as people. We evolved.
The chances of me meeting him were unfathomable. But it happened.
I'm a scientist. I don't believe in an afterlife. So, where's my comfort here?
I don't have any regrets from our friendship. I loved him and I told him so. He knew it.
His company clearly made me happy, and my happiness was a clear thanks to his contributions.
I learned about myself while we were friends. I unlocked parts of my character I would have never discovered without that particular collaboration.
Everybody dies. It happens. But our friendship was everything it could have possibly been. We achieved that connection's full potential.
And so, here I stand before you, proudly. I knew this man.
I'm glad to have known him.
And one day this planet will be consumed by the sun.
And one day that sun will explode.
And when it does, the energy that composed this friend of mine will be shot out into the universe.
His atoms will be subject to discovery
The Atomic Memory of his atoms will be viewed.
And his life will be recognized.
Until then, it's up to us to appreciate.
Appreciate our sadness for this loss.
The sadder it is, the more we loved him and the better the person he was."
Now, I don't know what Richard looks like, sounds like, dresses like or walks like - but him saying that surely gives him some character, in my opinion.
That's a start. I like this route. Model a character on their philosophy, as opposed to their actions of physical appearance.
Sidenote: I don't like giving physical descriptions of characters. I'd rather be able to write such an intricate character that the reader pictures them perfectly without me ever having to really describe what they look like.
Sidenote 2 - The Revenge: I gotta be careful not to simply spew my own philosophies into this character, or I'll end up using him as a megaphone for my own personal politics. He'll also come across as nothing more than the voice of me, and I'm not writing me I'm writing him.
Personal Goal: Aim to eventually have Richard not think and talk like I do. Use him now, temporarily, to rant my own ideas but slowly craft him into someone other than myself.
I might as well draw some interesting things from my own life and apply them to Richard.
I'm interested in science.
Richard is a scientist.
I'd like to promote optimism, so, Richard is an optimist.
How do I show a man who is scientific in his optimism, or, who manifests optimism through his interest in science?
Richard stands before a crowd, seated in a church.
He is speaking in memory of his life-long best friend, who has just died.
It's the funeral.
Richard begins to speak into a microphone.
"There are too many problems with life. Too many forces fighting against life. If this planet were any closer to the sun we'd all burn and if it were any farther from it we'd all freeze. We're just the perfect distance away - we're in the Goldilocks Position. It's just right.
The chances of life existing on this planet were essentially Nil and we made it. Of all the places in the universe, life happened here. And I was born in the same geographical location as my friend in the coffin here. And I was born in the same period of history. We found each other, connected, had a friendship and we improved each other as people. We evolved.
The chances of me meeting him were unfathomable. But it happened.
I'm a scientist. I don't believe in an afterlife. So, where's my comfort here?
I don't have any regrets from our friendship. I loved him and I told him so. He knew it.
His company clearly made me happy, and my happiness was a clear thanks to his contributions.
I learned about myself while we were friends. I unlocked parts of my character I would have never discovered without that particular collaboration.
Everybody dies. It happens. But our friendship was everything it could have possibly been. We achieved that connection's full potential.
And so, here I stand before you, proudly. I knew this man.
I'm glad to have known him.
And one day this planet will be consumed by the sun.
And one day that sun will explode.
And when it does, the energy that composed this friend of mine will be shot out into the universe.
His atoms will be subject to discovery
The Atomic Memory of his atoms will be viewed.
And his life will be recognized.
Until then, it's up to us to appreciate.
Appreciate our sadness for this loss.
The sadder it is, the more we loved him and the better the person he was."
Now, I don't know what Richard looks like, sounds like, dresses like or walks like - but him saying that surely gives him some character, in my opinion.
That's a start. I like this route. Model a character on their philosophy, as opposed to their actions of physical appearance.
Sidenote: I don't like giving physical descriptions of characters. I'd rather be able to write such an intricate character that the reader pictures them perfectly without me ever having to really describe what they look like.
Sidenote 2 - The Revenge: I gotta be careful not to simply spew my own philosophies into this character, or I'll end up using him as a megaphone for my own personal politics. He'll also come across as nothing more than the voice of me, and I'm not writing me I'm writing him.
Personal Goal: Aim to eventually have Richard not think and talk like I do. Use him now, temporarily, to rant my own ideas but slowly craft him into someone other than myself.
Writing Practice 7: Synonyms
If was a beautiful day.
No, it wasn't.
It was picturesque.
You know what? It was splendiferous, resplendent.
It was gorgeous, glorious and sightly.
You should have seen it.
It was stunning.
He was a happy man.
No, he wasn't.
He was much more than that.
His mood was Elysian.
He was joyful, pleased and content.
His smile was prosperous.
She was a stupid girl.
Well, not stupid....
More bluntly, she seemed brainless.
She was an unintelligent, unthinking, witless and obtuse imbecile.
She was an asinine chump.
The dog was dirty.
Oh, not just dirty...
That dog was foul, fecal and filthy.
I'd guess it was infected.
It was nasty and grungy.
No, it wasn't.
It was picturesque.
You know what? It was splendiferous, resplendent.
It was gorgeous, glorious and sightly.
You should have seen it.
It was stunning.
He was a happy man.
No, he wasn't.
He was much more than that.
His mood was Elysian.
He was joyful, pleased and content.
His smile was prosperous.
She was a stupid girl.
Well, not stupid....
More bluntly, she seemed brainless.
She was an unintelligent, unthinking, witless and obtuse imbecile.
She was an asinine chump.
The dog was dirty.
Oh, not just dirty...
That dog was foul, fecal and filthy.
I'd guess it was infected.
It was nasty and grungy.
Writing Practice 6: The Writer's Do
If I'm to be a writer, I need to constantly be feeding my inspiration to write.
I'm got to manifest the mood required to make me want to write, then work to maintain the mood.
Eating right puts me in a good mood.
Getting enough sleep puts me in a good mood.
Exercise puts me in a good mood.
A clean work space puts me in a good mood.
If I simply become a better person, I'll be more inspired to write.
I'm got to manifest the mood required to make me want to write, then work to maintain the mood.
Eating right puts me in a good mood.
Getting enough sleep puts me in a good mood.
Exercise puts me in a good mood.
A clean work space puts me in a good mood.
If I simply become a better person, I'll be more inspired to write.
Writing Practice 5: Training
Gotta practice writing.
Doesn't have to involve story or character.
Just write.
Descriptions are important.
Practice descriptions.
Doesn't matter if it's a good description.
It's not supposed to be good, that's why you're practicing.
Just do it. Describe something for practice.
A building.
It's a building of red brick.
It's old. It's got personality.
It's got windowsills with flowers.
The apartments inside are catching the white noise of a New York-esque city.
Three, maybe four floors.
There's two patio chairs on the roof.
Someone's been looking at stars.
There's a satellite dish, but it's small and it's dusty. Not very expensive, but it works.
The dish looks out of place. It's a modern technology tacked onto a ninety year old block.
It's got big front steps. They're TV show-worthy.
There are sidewalk cigarettes. Someone's been smoking on those steps.
Or dropping them down from the roof, or both.
And there's a bright red fire hydrant out in front of it.
No cars can park to block the view.
This building looks great on warm, sunny days.
It's a summer building. People hang out there.
That's when the front steps get some company, when it's sunny.
Up to five people at a time have been seen sitting on those steps, doing nothing.
Just enjoying the day. Taking in the sun. Maybe someone brings a basketball and dribbles it, who knows?
Vocabulary is important.
Practice vocabulary.
Richard was angry.
No, he was irate.
Wait, he was livid.
Richard was livid, as he read the newspaper headline.
"Is there a ring of dust around Uranus? Scientist says: "Yes!"
He threw the paper down on the counter in a huff.
He no longer wanted to read the interview he gave about his findings.
He was more than frustrated. "Great." He said sarcastically. "I'm gonna be the Dusty Anus Guy."
Doesn't have to involve story or character.
Just write.
Descriptions are important.
Practice descriptions.
Doesn't matter if it's a good description.
It's not supposed to be good, that's why you're practicing.
Just do it. Describe something for practice.
A building.
It's a building of red brick.
It's old. It's got personality.
It's got windowsills with flowers.
The apartments inside are catching the white noise of a New York-esque city.
Three, maybe four floors.
There's two patio chairs on the roof.
Someone's been looking at stars.
There's a satellite dish, but it's small and it's dusty. Not very expensive, but it works.
The dish looks out of place. It's a modern technology tacked onto a ninety year old block.
It's got big front steps. They're TV show-worthy.
There are sidewalk cigarettes. Someone's been smoking on those steps.
Or dropping them down from the roof, or both.
And there's a bright red fire hydrant out in front of it.
No cars can park to block the view.
This building looks great on warm, sunny days.
It's a summer building. People hang out there.
That's when the front steps get some company, when it's sunny.
Up to five people at a time have been seen sitting on those steps, doing nothing.
Just enjoying the day. Taking in the sun. Maybe someone brings a basketball and dribbles it, who knows?
Vocabulary is important.
Practice vocabulary.
Richard was angry.
No, he was irate.
Wait, he was livid.
Richard was livid, as he read the newspaper headline.
"Is there a ring of dust around Uranus? Scientist says: "Yes!"
He threw the paper down on the counter in a huff.
He no longer wanted to read the interview he gave about his findings.
He was more than frustrated. "Great." He said sarcastically. "I'm gonna be the Dusty Anus Guy."
Monday, August 9, 2010
Writing Practice 4: Life Practice
If I can get writing to evolve me in more than one way, I'll be more inspired to write.
I like to write. Selfishly, I'm inspired to write when my writing is good.
Unfortunately, for lazy people like me, there's work involved in getting better.
If I'm gonna be good, I'm gonna have to try. If I don't try, I won't be good and I won't be inspired to write cause everything I write won't be good.
So, I'll have to try to inspire myself to work in order to write.
Write what you know. That's what they always say. Write what you know.
I can do better than that.
Write what you want to know, then learn it so you can write it.
If I know I'm interested in certain things, I should learn more about them.
If I know a lot about a thing, it'll be easier to write.
If I'm writing about something I'm interested in, I'll be inspired to keep writing.
In my last entry, I created Richard and got to know him a little bit.
He's a scientist of the stars who loves balloons.
How am I going to fit him into a story?
Well, I better learn a few things about the stars before I do that.
If Richard is good at what he does, I have to know about what he does.
I went researching cosmology and found an article where a scientist suggests that black holes are spawning alternate universes. Furthermore, THIS universe was created by another universe's black hole.
Neat.
I also found a documentary about a guy who reserved time on the Hubble space telescope. He focused it on a single chunk of outer space and let the images get more and more clear as time went on. I believe he got one million seconds of photography on the same area of space, and got to more or less see back in time to when the universe was young. Light takes a long time to travel, he was looking at the light from another, younger time.
Hubble's a neat guy, so my research tells me. We had no idea that the stars in the night sky were outside of our own galaxy until that telescope went up. We had no idea how big this universe was.
And what's cool is that all the stars, everywhere, are moving away from each other as this universe expands.
As a matter of fact, if you blow some air into a balloon and draw some stars on it, then, continue to blow up the balloon, you'll get to watch all the stars on the balloon move away from each other, just like is happening in this universe.
Richard would think that was SO neat.
So, obviously, there's going to be a scientist who supports the theory of alternate black hole universes who gets in touch with Richard. See, Richard, in his love of balloons, always included them in scientific research and demonstration. So, when this other scientist, let's call him Adam, discovers that this universe is from the black hole of another universe - he's going to enlist Richard's help. After all, universes pop out of black holes like balloons being inflated.
They both invest in renting the Hubble telescope for two-million seconds, and trace the big bang down to a single source point.
That is where the larger universe spit our universe out.
Adam and Richard will go on a quest, following a series of ballooning black holes back to the SOURCE universe - the universe that started it all.
So, what just happened?
1) I invented Richard, spent some time with him like spending time with a friend and, like a friend, I got to know him.
2) I researched science, since Richard was a scientist, and learned more about it.
3) Knowing Richard, in my research, I found things that would interest and relate to him.
4) Research inspired ideas.
5) I now have a good story base AND I know more about the universe.
I'm a better writer and a more educated man.
Writing just helped me be more than a writer.
I like to write. Selfishly, I'm inspired to write when my writing is good.
Unfortunately, for lazy people like me, there's work involved in getting better.
If I'm gonna be good, I'm gonna have to try. If I don't try, I won't be good and I won't be inspired to write cause everything I write won't be good.
So, I'll have to try to inspire myself to work in order to write.
Write what you know. That's what they always say. Write what you know.
I can do better than that.
Write what you want to know, then learn it so you can write it.
If I know I'm interested in certain things, I should learn more about them.
If I know a lot about a thing, it'll be easier to write.
If I'm writing about something I'm interested in, I'll be inspired to keep writing.
In my last entry, I created Richard and got to know him a little bit.
He's a scientist of the stars who loves balloons.
How am I going to fit him into a story?
Well, I better learn a few things about the stars before I do that.
If Richard is good at what he does, I have to know about what he does.
I went researching cosmology and found an article where a scientist suggests that black holes are spawning alternate universes. Furthermore, THIS universe was created by another universe's black hole.
Neat.
I also found a documentary about a guy who reserved time on the Hubble space telescope. He focused it on a single chunk of outer space and let the images get more and more clear as time went on. I believe he got one million seconds of photography on the same area of space, and got to more or less see back in time to when the universe was young. Light takes a long time to travel, he was looking at the light from another, younger time.
Hubble's a neat guy, so my research tells me. We had no idea that the stars in the night sky were outside of our own galaxy until that telescope went up. We had no idea how big this universe was.
And what's cool is that all the stars, everywhere, are moving away from each other as this universe expands.
As a matter of fact, if you blow some air into a balloon and draw some stars on it, then, continue to blow up the balloon, you'll get to watch all the stars on the balloon move away from each other, just like is happening in this universe.
Richard would think that was SO neat.
So, obviously, there's going to be a scientist who supports the theory of alternate black hole universes who gets in touch with Richard. See, Richard, in his love of balloons, always included them in scientific research and demonstration. So, when this other scientist, let's call him Adam, discovers that this universe is from the black hole of another universe - he's going to enlist Richard's help. After all, universes pop out of black holes like balloons being inflated.
They both invest in renting the Hubble telescope for two-million seconds, and trace the big bang down to a single source point.
That is where the larger universe spit our universe out.
Adam and Richard will go on a quest, following a series of ballooning black holes back to the SOURCE universe - the universe that started it all.
So, what just happened?
1) I invented Richard, spent some time with him like spending time with a friend and, like a friend, I got to know him.
2) I researched science, since Richard was a scientist, and learned more about it.
3) Knowing Richard, in my research, I found things that would interest and relate to him.
4) Research inspired ideas.
5) I now have a good story base AND I know more about the universe.
I'm a better writer and a more educated man.
Writing just helped me be more than a writer.
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