>>> Item number 26647 from WRITERS LOG9403A --- (119 records) ---- <<< Date: Sun, 6 Mar 1994 18:35:02 JST Reply-To: WRITERS Sender: WRITERS From: Mike Barker Subject: Weather Report: Brainstorms All Day! (6) Exercise 6. As if it were a... Duck! This time, we're focusing on a method of "thinking" that isn't commonly recognized in the sciences and other "logical" fields, but has very important uses in the writing field. Perhaps we should say it is one of the strongest plants growing in that field, and can provide you with some very good timbers for building your house of writing. To be specific, this is the method of thinking by analogy - using the concrete and familiar as simile, metaphor, and transforming focus for thinking. It can be extremely powerful as a way of looking at processes, relationships, and other abstractions such as change, development, and activities. The basic rule for using an analogy is simple: relate your subject to the analogy, develop the analogy, and then relate the developments back to the subject. I should warn you - use this method to generate ideas, questions, new approaches. Don't worry about whether the analogy is correct. You're NOT proving anything, you are simply developing ideas. You don't need to fret about picking an analogy that "fits" well. In fact, some of the best ideas come from using analogies that don't (at first) seem suitable. Today's Practice Here are four of the "subjects" we've used in previous exercises. Pick one and then try the different practice items that follow... a. Description - a flower, a barn, a scene of some kind b. Character - one of yours or one from a book - pick one c. Conflict/Problems - the beginning of the plot d. Solutions - the end of the plot oh - almost forgot - pick one of the following a pet animal (be specific!) a grinding mill a car a kitchen utensil (be specific!) a natural sound a tornado a playground thing (slide, junglegym, etc. - be specific) brewing tea 1. Looking at different ways to relate - now, on one side, you've got your subject, and on the other, one of the specific analog-mobiles from the short list above. Set yourself a quota, then try thinking of different ways that these might be related. Perhaps they are similar, perhaps opposed, perhaps one contains the other, perhaps one is just a tiny little seed that grows into the other - dream up some different ways that these could be related. I often trade off - first a relation from subject to analog, then one from analog to subject. 2. changing the viewpoint and links as you develop - okay, having related your subject and the mobile, look at the mobile. Put it (at least mentally) through its paces, twisting it, running it, watching the kids jump on it, the sun beat on it, and maybe even having a major crack-up with it. Along the way, take a glance back at the subject now and then, and readjust the view and the links between the two whenever you want to or need to. One of the nice things about concrete analogs is that we "know" pretty well what happens to them, how they interact with other things, how they fall apart, who fixes them, and so on. So when we "walk" that pattern, we can look back at the subject and try to come up with matching (contrasting, complementary, etc.) pieces for it. I mean - you take your car to the mechanic when it needs repair, right? Who do you take a flower to when it needs fixing? Can you get a new muffler for it? Why not? 3. developing details and reviewing major points - as with the previous step, you can look at the details of the analog - and then see what that points to in the subject. Set a quota, rumble through details and bits of the analog, and see what they suggest about the subject. Don't forget to review the main points, highlighting them as you develop. 4. abstracting processes, functions, and relationships from concrete examples - systems people love processes, functions, and relationships, and you should too. These are abstractions - what process(es) does something follow or use? What functions does it perform? What relationships does it have both internally and externally? Okay - take your analog-mobile, and consider those questions in regard to it. Meet your quotas of ideas, and don't forget to look back at the subject to see what light the answers throw on it. You can start a car with a key - does a barn have a starter? What's the key? 5. make lists of analogies to be used - by now, you may be tired of the analog-mobile you've been using. so, change it! pick pieces of the external world, and make a list (another quota? this guy just doesn't quit, does he?). I'll suggest that making a list of analogies now (and adding to it sometimes) can be very helpful - especially when you take some favorite ones and apply them to a new subject, whether it seems to match initially or not. Try to use very concrete things that you know pretty well - these are the richest analogies for you. E.g., penguins (while I think they are cute and do like to watch shows about them) aren't especially good for me, because there is so much I don't know about them. Mongrel dogs, on the other hand, I have raised many times, from that first whimper in the animal shelter to the final goodbyes. 6. take 1 subject, develop multiple analogies - so, having decided on a subject, stretch your wings! bang it against several analogies, and see how it and the analogies develop. 7. take 1 analogy, develop multiple topics - you can also reverse this, taking a favorite analogy and banging it against multiple topics. you'll find the analogy gaining in depth and richness - and may end up with threads between the topics that you never knew were there before. So - don't let your subjects drag, let the duck honk at them and brighten up their darkness with analogy. ---------------------------------------