From: "who knows what..." To: "in the lights" Subject: EXERCISE: I Never Expected That! -------- (you can run, you can hide, but you can never, ever... ESCAPE!!!! tromp, tromp, tromp, the monster's coming, gnashing its teeth, and hungry for you... it won't quit for anything, even bad prose and broken rhythm won't stop the beast!:-) based on a notion from "Show, Don't Tell" by William Noble. 1. Start with an ordinary situation. Pick one: a. birthday party b. wedding c. funeral d. evening at a bar e. dinner party f. pick-your-own! 2. Quickly list the main characters. Just the key ones! 3. What emotions are associated with such a situation? list at least five. 4. What events are associated with such a situation? list at least five. 5. Now, to work. Pick one character, one emotion, and one event. They are feeling the OPPOSITE of the expected emotion. Depending on how severely disturbed they are, they may even cause the event to occur in an unusual way, to be stopped, or perhaps replace it with something totally incongruous to the situation (instead of blowing out the candles, they give the children a haircut?). Anyway, the "ordinary situation" is NOT going to be so ordinary, okay? 6. That's the core of this exercise--take an ordinary situation, reverse or replace one "expected" emotion or event, and write! So, on your keyboards, limber those fingers, and GO! (How does a sobbing mother fit into a birthday celebration? Why is the bride's maid carrying a gun instead of flowers? The coffin-bearers all wore clown uniforms? What gave the lounge singer a real smile for a change? Pick your situation, pick the emotion/event to change, and see where it leads you...) Everyday life, with a twist, makes a fine tonic for the writer. tell me a story, okay? tink [BTW--I'm not there, this exercise has been brought to you in absentia, but I will be reading the mail after I get back. Read you then!]