Sunday, January 29, 2012

"Writing is communication ..."


Ha! Though I would qualify "writing" as "writing for publication." It's accepted that people paint, create new recipes, take photographs without it being for other people. But there's a common assumption that people write to get published. It's okay to write stories and poems just for yourself.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

A Charm of Princesses

Pick a handful of princesses and throw them together. Perhaps a detective agency. Crime fighters. Jewel thieves. Dragon slayers. Dog-fighters in the war.

Or pit them against each other: Enchanted Princess Pageant. Chefs on a competition show. All unknowingly married to the same man. Advertising agents.

(A reader asked if TV Tropes had a similar list for Princes. Unfortunately not. But linked from their Prince Charming page are The Wise Prince, The White Prince, The Evil Prince, Prince Charmless and The Warrior Prince. And each of those has descriptions of their qualities. Not nice and neat like the Princess list though.)

Types of Princesses, or characters who are often Princesses
(From TV Tropes)

Tropes related to Princesses

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Good reasons for generous tipping

Yes, that is Hugh Laurie (House) as Wooster
Dulocracy: a government dominated by privileged slaves or servants.

So what would it be like for those with the money power to be under the legal power of those they employ or own? How would that come about? Did it start out as something very different that evolved into this? Was it a way to keep the rulers from letting power go to their heads? Why didn't the employers just fire the servants? (But of course, the servants would be in charge of the laws that determined when they could be fired!)

(I have no idea if one ever existed. It was coined around 1650, probably by disgruntled aristocrats whose servants were trying to keep them in line. Much like Jeeves. ;-)

Monday, January 16, 2012

Deviant CLIFFS


Deviantly describe the scene without using the names of the objects. Don't use rocks, grass or bushes. Dig into what objects look and feel like rather than telling what they are.

Capture the senses' experience. What does it feel like to your whole body? Does it get inside your clothes? Does it get inside you? What does it smell like? Taste like? Sound like?

Go further and find a mood or personality of the place and let those inspire the descriptive words you choose.

Try unexpected adjectives and vivid verbs. For example, svelt, sleek, oozing, crouching aren't words normally associated with places, but can create fresh images.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Songmash

Doberman by Michel Keck
Use all the words from the lyrics of your favorite song in a story or poem.

Or try some Christmas carols. The national anthem. Other countries' national anthems. Happy Birthday. Monster Mash. Weird Al Lyrics.

Some suggestions from my daughter for science fiction and fantasy subjects. (The Vikings and Trolls are kinda loud so you may want to ease your speakers into them ;-)


If you'd like a list, paste the lyrics from the internet into a word processor. (Some sites are getting cagey about copying so it might take a few tries.) Replace all the spaces with carriage returns. Strip out the punctuation. Then paste the lyrics into Alphabetizer. It will remove the duplicates and sort them or randomize them for you.


Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Frozen Dead Guy Festival

There are legends and then there's the truth.

For 50 years the town of Gnaw Bone has been irreverently celebrating the anniversary of the frozen dead guy who floated into town on a freakish midwinter melt encased in a chunk of ice. During the festival, along with coffin races, ice sculptures and funeral-paced parades, tours of his chilly resting place where he remains frozen are available.

No one knows who he was but of course stories have grown into bigger-than life legends.

And then, with advances in cryogenics, a group offers to revive him. The town is divided. The Frozen Dead Guy is their one yearly opportunity to be more than a backwater town. He's also a human being with the opportunity to carry on with his life. Or did he give that up once he became frozen?

Take this in whatever direction you wish. You can create the legends. You can debate multiple sides of the issue. You can explore what happens if he is revived.

Inspired by Frozen Dead Guy Days celebrated in Nederland, CO.

Monday, January 02, 2012

Deviantly TATTOOed

TATTOO

.~          How does one Deviantly Describe?          ~.
Short version ...

From the given mundane, snoozer of a word, generate as many different-from-each-other descriptions as you can. (Set a timer for 10-15 minutes if you wish.)

Longer version ...

Is preserved at the HOME of the first Deviant Description.