>>> Item number 41722 from WRITERS LOG9412A --- (73 records) ----- <<< Date: Sun, 4 Dec 1994 13:20:52 EST Reply-To: WRITERS Sender: WRITERS From: sparkplug central Subject: EXERCISE: Write, one, two, three, Write... hokay! essayists, story-tellers, mayhap even power poets, gather round and give this one a swing... 1. Take your favorite book of quotes, aphorisms, poems, or other source of "well-known" sayings. Flip it open and as randomly as possible, pick one (yes, you can use dice, random numbers, or whatever you like). If you don't have a book handy, pick one of these (maybe not so well-known, but randomly plucked by my local fortune program): "Scientists are peeping toms at the Keyhole of Eternity " -- Arthur Koestler "Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops." -- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. "Never give a statist an even break. The State has never given us one." -- Andre Marrou "In addition I think science has enjoyed an extraordinary success because it has such a limited and narrow realm in which to focus its efforts. Namely, the physical universe." -- Ken Jenkins "Nothing can stop him. Not even common sense." -- Mark Komarinski 2. Now, pick four characters. They are talking, arguing, having some kind of interaction. One of your characters takes the stance (opinion, position, whatever) expressed in your quote--without ever directly stating it! The other three continue their foolishness in their very own ways, of course, while your "character with a message" just keeps trying to figure out the best way to get the message across... (oh--essayists? you might want to use three other positions, explicitly brought out and defined, with the fourth position--that of the quote--being implicitly described?) 3. The rest of the plot is up to you. Does the character convert everyone? Do the others convert the character? Do they split up, shake hands and go out for a beer together, pound the exercise meister into a quivering mass of words wrapped around an inclined bench, or...? [BONUS EXERCISE: Do the same thing, except--DON'T GIVE THE POSITION TO ANY CHARACTER--make the situation, setting, etc. implicitly make the statement! e.g. As the three men argued over exactly what Heaven intended them to do in this kind of situation, the raft tipped over the falls and... fell. All three were buried with due pomp and ceremony amidst many fine sentiments about the will of God. This put an end to their dispute.] So, on your keyboards, get ready, go! [and in case you haven't thought about it, don't forget that excellent advice of old... people yackity-yack all day, and waste the time of day, but Mr. Ed will never talk, unless he has something to say!] look forward to your writing tink