Sunday, July 01, 2007

Top 10 tabloid headlines for July 2007

wwn.jpgFirst of the month and here's the Top 10 Tabloid Headlines from July 2005 since the City Newstand list is on hiatus.

From the City Newstand in Chicago, for writing prompts or just for fun :-)

Top Ten Tabloid Headlines from JULY 2005
  1. DEADLY WOODPECKERS TURN STREETS RED WITH BLOOD! — WWN
  2. HONESTY FALLS TO THIRD AS 'BEST POLICY' — WWN
  3. MAN CAN SEE ONE SECOND INTO FUTURE — WWN
  4. Bricklayers entomb annoying co-worker — WWN
  5. MAN DATES GAL ON INTERNET FOR SIX MONTHS — AND IT TURNS OUT SHE'S HIS MOTHER! — WWN
  6. MEEK SUE TO INHERIT THE EARTH! — WWN
  7. JACK THE RIPPER WAS MY GRANDMOTHER! — WWN
  8. ONE-LEGGED MAN SUES STORE FOR MAKING HIM BUY A PAIR OF SHOES — WWN
  9. I WAS ATTACKED BY MONGOLIAN DEATHWORM! — SUN
  10. LITTLE GIRL ACTUALLY SINGS HER HEART OUT! — WWN

"There is real magic ..."

Q-Thereisrealmagic.jpg

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Create a Character

TypingChimp.jpgCreate a Character: You're given several boxes to fill in and it adds some background and personality (determined by Enneagram Personality Type).

Here's an example:
Your Character
Zeni, age 35, is a very perceptive and intellectual person, interested in understanding the world. Most consider him/her a genius, but Zeni knows he/she has a lot to learn. Originally from Willowbrook, Zeni now lives in Fan Hamish to get a tip on the whereabouts of Vengorth and holds a job as a vampire slayer. Zeni is separated from a spouse and has a child. She's rangy, with a scar running down the side of her face."

As a child, Zeni lived among others with incredible skills, perhaps his/her father or mother was a brilliant scientist. Zeni's parents were probably neglectful. As a result, Zeni learned to look to the outside world for answers. Combine this with a more recent loss or disappearance of a loved one, and you get an overwhelming urge to understand and correct some social problem or to eliminate an evil force. Zeni's flaw is the belief that experiences are for learning and not for fun. He/she may not have a lot of fun, but secretly wants to. She wants to defeat Vengorth.
(Their software, Character Pro 5, is a more in depth version.)

Also at Typing Chimp is Character 101.

And articles on character development.
Science of a Good Character.

Simple Motivation--What Would YOU Do?

Define What's Missing.

Relating Character to Story.

Is Your Character an Adult or Child (not age)?

Creating Adult and Child Characters for Juvenile and Adult Fiction

Beginning to Understand Great Dialogue

Fluffing up a Boring Secondary Character

Give Every Character a Theme

What Exactly is a Character Arc?

Finding the Perfect Tragic Past
Tips.
Top Ten Character Tips.

How to Differentiate Characters.

Using Stress to Reveal Character.

Giving a Minor Character Life.

The Seven Deadly Sins and Character Motivation

And a page about how Enneagrams are used in their character development software. (Which ties in the the post here on Enneagram of Personality)

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Fear of fears

audrey2.jpg Your character has an unusual fear. Choose one of the following and writing about him, her or it for 10-15 minutes.

You could place him in a position where your character is faced with his or her fear (like Indiana Jones and snakes). Or you could convince people that what your character fears should be eliminated from society. Or how your character goes about functioning in life avoiding what they fear without letting other people know they have the fear. Or ...

anthophobia
Fear of flowers.

aerophobia
Fear of air and drafts.

aibohphobia
Fear of palindromes.

astrophobia
Fear of stars.

barophobia
Fear of gravity.

bibliophobia
Fear of books. 

batophobia
Fear of passing a tall building.

cacophobia
Fear of ugliness.

catoptrophobia
Fear of mirrors.

chionophobia
Fear of snow.

chromophobia
Fear of colours.

doraphobia
Fear of fur.

geniophobia
Fear of chins.

gephyrophobia
Fear of crossing a bridge.

lachanophobia
Fear of vegetables.

limnophobia
Fear of lakes.

linonophobia
Fear of string.

lunaediesophobia
Fear of Mondays.

megalophobia
Fear of large objects.

microphobia
Fear of small objects.

nephophobia
Fear of clouds

onomatophobia
Fear of a specific name.

phobophobia
Fear of fearing.

placophobia
Fear of tombstones.

rhabdophobia
Fear of magic or being beaten with rods.

tridecaphobia
Fear of the number thirteen.

uranophobia
Fear of heaven.

venustaphobia
Fear of beautiful women.

vermiphobia
Fear of worms.

zelophobia
Fear of jealousy.

There are over 600 fears listed at Phobia Words.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Charming scoundrel

adamandtheants.jpgPlay around with character. Create a charming villain, one that is most cunning, intelligent and handsome, but evil nonetheless. Whether he be murderer, wife beater, robber or some other character, make him as irresistible as you can, with the exception of his one evil habit. Now write a descriptive scene of him doing his worst.

This is from the Writing Sparks creative writing prompts at Once Written.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Squeak quakes

glare.jpg"All the life's wisdom can be found in anagrams. Anagrams never lie." -- Anu Garg

Well I hope the lived/devil anagrams are lying but the Weekly World News keeps reminding us that Elvis indeed lives.

Anu Garg sends out A Word A Day newsletter through Wordsmith.org. He also has the Internet Anagram Server there.

The best anagrams come from phrases and names, like:
Sopranos ends = Snoops snared
Gas prices highest = These piggish cars
Claude Monet, Self Portrait = Coloured paints flatter me
William Shakespeare, The Bard of Avon = He, of silken phrase, at a live drama. Bow.
(There are more at the Anagram Server above and, well, all over the internet!)

But here are some (mostly) one word anagrams. Use each pair in a sentence.
squeak - quakes
ashman - shaman
heroes - reshoe
froth - forth
lived - devil
listen - silent
funeral - real fun
regal - glare
heart - earth
cold - clod
kiss - skis
dog - god
wrong - grown
mashed - shamed
ganged - nagged
mating - taming
wolves - vowels
paging - gaping
thorn - north
Elvis - lives

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Obfuscated polysyllabic philosophies

catbag.jpgTurn the following common proverbs into obfuscated polysyllabic philosophies.

Here's a couple of examples:
Who sums the yet unfractured shells of bipeds gallinaceous
Is apt to find his calculations woefully fallacious.

A futile superfluity of culinary aid
Will mar the gastronomic juice of osseous tissue made.
You don't need to make them rhyme ... but you can if you'd like!
  • A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
  • Beggars can't be choosers.
  • Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
  • Haste makes waste.
  • If you can't beat them, join them.
  • Let the cat out of the bag.
  • Money doesn't grow on trees.
  • Necessity is the mother of invention.
  • Quality is better than quantity.
  • The pen is mightier than the sword.
  • Where there's smoke, there's fire.
  • You can't have your cake and eat it too.
Inspired by the Plethora of Polysyllabic Poetic Proverbs.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Word Imperfect

energizerbunny.jpgAt Word Imperfect everyday the author chooses an obscure word and posts the definition then invites people to make up defintions. There are quite a few participants each day.

Kymograph

A kymograph sounds like an instrument for measuring the sound of high heel shoes on various floor surfaces. It would be used by design engineers to choose the ideal floor surface in places like shopping malls in order to keep noise levels down.
  • Kymograph (v.) To Kymograph is to dance like Kylie Minogue.
  • Kymograph, also Cymograph. A tool used to measure waviness in all things. erived from Greek Mythology as told in the Theogony - a well told poem by Hesiod. Kymo was one of the 50 Nereids who were the daughters of Nereus (The Old Man of the Sea) and Doris (The Daughter of Okeanos who was one of the original Titans. Kymo translates roughly as 'the wavy one' as her hair was so ... well ... wavy.
  • Kymograph (n): device used for measuring the swelling level of pregnant women's ankles. It uses a scale of 1 (not swollen at all) to 200 (about to explode). Example: Mergatroid was shocked to read the kymograph's reading of 199 because in her opinion, her ankles *felt* normal. Then again, she hadn't actually seen her ankles for over two weeks. Ah, well, as they say, Kymographs never lie!
  • Kymograph: Measuring the activity of children. Some are like the Energizer Bunny (keeps on going, and going, and...), couch potatoes (how much time is spent watching TV, playing Nitendo, on the computer, etc.). Many observed a big difference in the kymographs of children at the beginning of summer to the end of summer. Some get restless and bored by the end of summer and some are just as active as usual.
  • Kymograph - an instrument for recording the moment-by-moment stress level of those betting on the Kentucky Derby. Most often used by wives on their husbands to see if they are really telling the truth about not betting on the horses anymore. "Just before Barbaro crossed the finish line, Martin's kymograph reading was off the charts and he knew he'd be sleeping on the couch tonight."

Jobation

A jobation is a lengthy reprimand. I have a tendency to enter a period of jobation every now and again with my children. However, they soon let me know when I've made my point and the jobation is complete.
  • JOBATION (n): Originating from the story of Job in the Bible; means to bitch and/or moan about your life. An act of JOBBING (v).
  • JOBATION-It originated from the word 'JOB'which means, 'the work done in anticipation of money in return'. I do embroidery as a hobby.. when I change this hobby to a job, that process is called 'Jobation' e.g. I am planning to jobate my hobby of doing embroidery on silks.
  • Jobation: A drink in celebration of a fortuituos turn of events following a season of calamity. "I fancy a jobation, I do. I'm buyin'. Pint o' Guinness. Whadda you boys havin'?"
  • Jobation is the practice, increasingly more common nowadays, of reducing a company's official headcount numbers (thus making them look better in investors' eyes) by laying off permanent employees, and then hiring them back as contractors through temp agencies.

Nonage

Nonage actually describes being under age, a minor or immature. Quite the opposite of some of today's invented meanings. But that's a good thing in my book.
  • Nonage is your age between the time you were born and your first birth anniversary. So you dont exactly have a number to tell someone when they ask you how old you are. (or you're not old enough to understand the question)
  • Nonage refers to a person with no useful skill sets or academic training, as in "he's a nonage". Derived from the Latin "nonactius" (often used by Julia to describe her grandson Claudius).
  • Nonage is a plug or stopper designed to silence nagging wives. It comes in a larger size for men called a footnage. The kids one is flavoured and called a sucknage.
  • It's what happens when you turn 40 and get tired of getting older so you just stop. I'm a nonagent.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Veggie-Eating Mother has Green Baby

Baby_with_mother.jpgUse one of the following as inspiration for a children's picture book.
  • Veggie-Eating Mother has Green Baby
  • Giant Pigeon Terrorizes New York
  • Saturn is a Giant UFO
  • Dog Gives Birth to Kittens
  • Giant Earthworms Terrorizing Nevada
  • Screaming Houseplant Saved My Life
  • Porcupine Falls Head Over Heels in Love -- With a Broom
  • Plumber goes Down the Toilet
  • Air Force Pilot Reports Seeing Flying Pigs
  • Terror Toads Invading America's Toilets
  • New Beach Peril: Squirrel Fish
  • Obnoxious Kids Drive Ghosts from Haunted House
  • Metal-Eating Bugs Can Chew Through a Car in Just 5 Days
(These were found at Writing Bugs.)

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Meercat with a fear of crickets

meerkat.jpgWhat CAN they do?

This is a random fantasy idea generator. As the author suggests, it's mean as a spark for writing. Try to use as many of the points as possible, but if you head off in another direction, go with it!

Here are some examples to use or go create your own. There are a few typos but the combinations and ideas are quirky and unusual.


Your character is a....
meercat with trouble sleeping and a fear of crickets. Their only goal in life is to destroy the keep! But to do so, they must find the Tattered Rat.

Alas!

The Black Prince, who is inflicted with an inferiority complex -- has sworn to kill them and take the item. What WILL they do?

What can they do?


Your character is a....
giant with no confidence and a fear of fire. Their only goal in life is to be a parent! But to do so, they must find the Missing Eagle's Feather.

Alas!

The Mysterious Lump, who is inflicted with corrupt officals -- has sworn to kill them and take the item. What WILL they do?

What can they do?

Saturday, June 09, 2007

Random colorful characters

Legend of Zelda:Twilight PrinceWhen your novel gets to the saggy middle, that's the time to drop in some random colorful characters! This was posted by Fenix on the National Novel Writing Month forums for 2005.
Found some stuff online...

I [Fenix] found a list of possible side stories online, many different sites, decided to put them into categories that I thought would work best:

Outcast:
  • Is on a personal quest for vengeance.
  • Is paranoid and over-protective of the town that cast him out.
  • Cannot stop complaining, and will complain to anyone near them but knows key information hidden among the complaints.
  • Is an outcast in the community for no good reason.
  • has a valuable treasure but does not know who to turn to and trust for the sale
  • Fears being alone because of a recent incident.
  • Is heavily in debt and is fleeing/hiding from creditors.
  • Is a fan (to the point of fanaticism) of a spectator sport of the time (jousting, cockfighting, bearbaiting, whatever) and has gotten into gambling/stalking trouble.
  • Fears he's being watched and is looking for someone who he can trust to recover a valuable object buried nearby
Trader:
  • NPC has invented a new piece of equipment and is looking for a test subject.
  • Wants PCs to 'lend' him the main plot item after they retrieve it, before they hand it over to the main plot instigator. The motivation could be pure (i.e. item needed to lift a deadly curse) or nefarious (i.e. item used to raise an army of undead).
  • Sells rare and unusual spells.
  • Sells magical equipment that looks fake or non-magical.
  • Has a craving for rare herbs and spices that unknown to the PCs are used to create a powerful narcotic.
  • NPC is a merchant looking to open trade with other races and spot a non-human PC.
  • Is looking for a business partner.
  • Is a pacifist who tries to convert the party to the ways of non-violence.
  • Wants the PCs to promote her business by wearing or using her product prominently whenever possible (fashionable cloaks, very tasty trail rations, a specific musical instrument, etc.).
  • Is an artist trying to sell his works.
  • Is collecting parlor games from across the lands.
  • Acts as a local guide to the PCs.
  • Desperately needs an item only available through the Black Market.
  • Acts as a representative for the Black Market.
  • Sells rice cakes with magic rings inside.
  • Is a wandering amateur chef looking for new recipes and ingredients.
  • Is a pacifist who tries to convert the party to the ways of non-violence.
  • Is a writer trying to sell his works.
  • Tries to pass off lousy equipment as magical.
Wanted man:
  • Is in disguise (for reasons real or imaginary).
  • Has had an operation to change his/her race, but still manifests cultural mannerisms of his/her original race.
  • Is an outcast for forgotten crimes
  • A 'wanted man' sought by a particular non-human good race (i.e. Elves, Halflings, Dwarves, etc.) for some past misdeed or misunderstanding.
  • Has a racial enemy or is banned from racially dominant areas.
  • Is deadly terrified of shadows. He'll only meet with the PCs in places completely devoid of shadows.
  • Was recently injured in a random attack and seeks his attackers for revenge.
  • Is a vigilante who kills in cold blood convinced that the ends (i.e. eliminating a criminal element) justify the means (using excessive force, killing hostages, etc.).
  • Has been falsely accused and has just posted bail and is now looking for proof of his innocence.
  • Is trying to ditch the city guards, who are chasing him for a minor crime.
  • Is a skilled amateur gambler looking to break into the pros or find the 'big game'.
  • Greedy -- always demands first dibs and/or larger shares when dividing treasure troves based on exaggerated contributions to the party's success.
Secretive guy:
  • Has been given a task by his boss and his boss would punish him if it was known he was 'wasting time' with the PCs.
  • Wants the PCs to 'accidentally retrieve' an item while they are investigating clues.
  • Is searching for a lost family heirloom -- the heirloom may not have any value other than sentiment.
  • Is on a secret military mission.
  • Is a worshipper of a death god(dess) or a necromancer who wishes to serve as a mortician of the city but needs documents proving his/her good intentions/standing.
  • Is secretly recruiting for the military or a special guild.
  • Knows of 'lots of great adventures' that are, unfortunately, all dead ends.
  • Is quiet, brooding, and short tempered due to medical problems.
  • Is an informant for the local thieves' guild with nothing to report and is ready to make something up.
  • Is tainted in some way and tries at all costs to keep the taint a secret.
  • Is a failed adventurer with much emotional baggage who seeks to sabotage other adventurers.
  • Is a binge drinker who tends to get in trouble due to violent, drunken bouts.
  • Is trying to find out how to join a certain secret cult.Is a failed adventurer with much emotional baggage who seeks to sabotage other adventurers.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Three for one offer

turkeys.jpgAn ad for a new book says: "What if you had to kill three people to save your best friend's life, would you do it?"

What if?

What if it were a god asking for the sacrifice of three to save one?

What if your friend were a vampire in need of nourishment?

What if your friend needed the body parts of the victims?

What if it were three demons?

What if it were three turkeys?

What if it were three sentient androids?

What if it were a crazed kidnapper trying to see how far he could push you to act?

What if it were three world leaders the kidnapper was opposed to?

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Cats and snakes

snakecate.jpgDescribe a cat fight (with another cat, with its prey, with an attacker) in snake terms. Try to work in as many terms you'd use to describe snake appearance, behavior, attitude into the description.

(Feel free to substitute other creatures but make one of the animals familiar.)

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Myth brainstorming machine

mythmachine.jpgAt Scholastic is a Myth brainstorming machine.

(If you're on dialup it may take a while to load. Unfortunately it doesn't look like it's loading, just sitting there with a yellow and purple screen, so you'll need to be patient!)

There are several settings, gods/goddesses and monsters to choose from, and some special effects to change the time and mood. At the end you have a picture and a word version of the picture (names, mood, personality, ...) (Note, you can click on "Effect" on both the Idea Drawing and Idea Outline.)

Pretty nifty!

To expand on that, in the Writing with Writers section, there are Myth making ideas from Jane Yolen:
A myth is a made-up story that explains the existence of a natural phenomenon — such as where thunder comes from or why snow falls from the sky. Myths — which often include gods and goddesses and other supernatural characters who have the power to make extraordinary things happen — are popular even when people know the actual reasons for natural phenomena.
There is a myth of her own there, plus "Brainstorming", "Write Your Myth" and "Publish Online".

At Scholastic there are several Writing with Writers series:
  • Biography Writing
  • Descriptive Writing
  • Folktale Writing
  • Mystery Writing
  • Myth Writing
  • News Writing
  • Poetry Writing
  • Speech Writing
  • Writing a Book Review

Friday, June 01, 2007

Top 10 tabloid headlines for June 2007

WWN-arnold_alien_wwn.gifTop Ten Tabloid Headlines from JUNE 2005 
  1. SEEING EYE SQUIRRELS FOR DOGS! — WWN
  2. RACE OF SNOWMEN FOUND — WWN
  3. CIRCUS ELEPHANT GIVES BIRTH TO HUMAN BABY! — WWN
  4. BUSH WANTS TO SELL HAWAII! — WWN
  5. GOP UNVEILS LIBERAL-SNIFFING DOGS — WWN
  6. SCIENTIST INVENTS 'REVERSE LIGHTBULB' THAT MAKES ROOM DARKER — WWN
  7. STUDY FINDS MOST STUDIES ARE STUPID — WWN
  8. MAN ELECTROCUTED BY LIGHTNING BUG — WWN
  9. THIRD GENDER DISCOVERED IN OZARKS! — WWN
  10. I WAS ATTACKED BY A 12-FOOT PYTHON — WHILE DRIVING 70 M.P.H. — SUN

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Smells of things that don't smell (much)

snowflakenose.jpgWhat is the smell of:
  • the moon
  • sadness
  • a child's joy in watching a soap bubble
  • grief
  • cowardice
  • snow
  • velcro
  • a nasty letter
  • silver
  • mystery
  • sand
  • a sidewalk in summer
  • the middle of the earth
  • purple
  • a contented dog napping
  • a cloudless spring sky
  • gold
  • a dollar bill
Once you've finished, circle the three you like the best and use as a writing prompt.

This is one of a year's worth of writing prompts written by C.M. Mayo and archived at DAILY 5 MINUTE WRITING EXERCISE.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Wretched creature in a nightshirt

washtubgovernment.jpgChoose one or more of the following characters then use the phrases below in a story about them.

The characters
ed the wondering langmuir
beguerdon the maximal
electron the tunis
arpa the hove
The phrases
wretched creature in a nightshirt
washtub government
some rich drool
pastel ashman
phunky mix
redbreast reduction
hard trance
unkempt barrier

Saturday, May 26, 2007

The Genuine Haiku Generator

demoness.jpgThe Genuine Haiku Generator

Genuine? It's not about nature. Haiku? It does have the structure of a surprising observation at the end. Generator? It does generate some pretty nifty dark fantasy images of 5-7-5 syllables that have peculiar haiku rhythm and feel :-)

Here are some examples:
rainstorms juggle, hard
demoness descends, owl jumps
apprentice shines, fierce

  . .. ... .... ... .. .

happily entranced
determined deaf chimera
rises evilly

  . .. ... .... ... .. .

careless river rusts
hatefully, rainmakers lurk
mirthfully, flesh snarls

  . .. ... .... ... .. .

plowshares replenish
coolly, reflection murmurs
careworn lizards choke

  . .. ... .... ... .. .

boasting moodily
wife softens, unaided sad
mournful devils break

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Cannon fodder

minions.jpgYou have been serving His Great Vileness for 3 years as canon fodder, throwing yourself in front of all manner of deadly attacks directed at him by his enemies as you watched your comrades drop like ... cannon fodder. You feel it's time you moved up to minion status. Write a persuasive letter telling him why, what you can do for him and how you may serve him better in the new position.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Ugly is beautiful

uglyisbeautiful.jpgOne person's trash, as they say, is another's treasure. To some people a house full of stuff is a mess but to another it's loaded with treasures yet to be (re)discovered. Guy warthogs think girl warthogs look beautiful and vice versa :-) No matter how ugly something is *to us* it's beautiful to someone else.

Write about something most people think is ugly and describe it from the point of view of someone who thinks it's beautiful: they've caught their first sight of it and they're enraptured.

An overflowing trash can to a homeless person.

A packed to the gills junk shop to a collector.

A wrecked alien space craft to an extraterrestrial enthusiast.

Crumbling inventory pages from a lost civilization to an archaeologist.

If you need a picture, here are a couple: a baby hyena (original or copy) and blue turkey (original or copy).

Inspired by (the now defunct) About: Teen Writing.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Script Frenzy

scriptfrenzy.jpgFor those who brought you National Novel Writing Month, now comes Script Frenzy!

30 days to a finished script. If you know nothing about writing scripts, and my few-days-ago prompt wasn't enough, there are tips and essays on script writing at the website, a plot machine (with some very bizarre plots that would be a true challenge to adopt ;-), a young writer's program, forums and some other goodies. :-)

From Chris Baty:
Thanks to Earth's slouchy axis, NaNoWriMo's contingent of Australian and Kiwi authors get to take part in NaNoWriMo in the summer. It's always sounded so nice to us---warm weather, cold drinks, and a few pages of prose between laps in the pool---that we wanted to share the experience with the northern hemisphere.

Which is why we're proud to announce the birth of a second major event in the Office of Letters and Light family. Script Frenzy---in which first-time scriptwriters and old pros get together to write feature-length movies and plays in June---has launched.

Like NaNoWriMo, it's free to participate. And also like NaNoWriMo, we're going to spend a great, hilarious month pushing our creative limits, getting in over our heads, and churning out pages of brilliance and embarrassing drivel. In Script Frenzy, you can even write with a partner!

Do you love watching movies? Ever been moved by a play?

It's time you wrote one. Come join the Frenzy. You can even sign into the Script Frenzy site using your NaNoWriMo username!

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Purple ninjas

purpleninja.jpgUse the following nouns as verbs in sentences. To up the challenge, use them all in the same paragraph.
ninja
purple
paradise
bubble
soul
cavern
moss
dagger
sage
blood
(Hint, to turn them into verbs try adding -ed.)

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Fluttering in the spirit breeze

jayloo.jpgA bit from one of my NaNoWriMo projects.

Here's the beginning:

"You need to do something about this!" Oniss Larae demanded when Teah had joined her. "There! Do you see?" Oniss pointed across the garden to a tall pine tree. The top was like a spindle, bare of branches and needles. And from it, fluttering in the spirit breeze like two flags were the ghosts of Jayloo and Dandor.

Take it from there.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Six word memoir

barristerbarista.jpgWrite your memoir in 6 words and submit it to Smith magazine for potential inclusion in a book to be published in 2008 by HarperCollins.
Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in six words. The result was "For sale: baby shoes, never used."

Since SMITH [magazine] celebrates the personal side of storytelling, our twist on this classic concept is the six-word memoir--the short, short true story of your life.

It could be the title of your autobiography, or maybe your epitaph. Shorter than haiku and meatier that a one-liner, it truly makes you take stock of who you are. Try it.
Here are some examples from the website:
Barrister, barista, what’s the diff, Mom?
– Abigail Moorhouse

"What? Lemony Snicket? Lemony Snicket? What?"
– Daniel Handler

"My spiritual path is 100 proof."
– John House

"He wore dresses. This caused messes."
– Josh Kilmer-Purcell

"Yes to every date, met mate."
– Maria Dahvana Headley

"Shy Jersey kid, overcompensating ever since."
– Ariel Kaminer

"Take a left turn, then fly."
– Hillary Carlip

"Haunting dad, spotlight mom, retrieving marriage."
– Nell Casey

"Big hair, big heart, big hurry."
– Larry Smith

Eight thousand orgasms. Only one baby.
– Neal Pollack

I still make coffee for two.
– Zak Nelson

"On the seventh word, he rested."
– Stephen J. Dubner

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Visual poetry

visual-poetry
The bit of code at Visual Poetry translates sentences into visual images. It searches for each word and returns an image from Google.

Type in a sentence or a bit of poetry into the prompt box and click Go.

Use the images it returns as a writing prompt. Some sentences work better than others so play around with it a bit. (There are some sentence on the page that people tried -- though the images you'll get will be different than what they got. I didn't see any non-PG-13 photos come up but there as a statue. It was art! but no guarantee that there's a filter on what it returns.)

No need to tie your initial sentence into the story, just as many of the images as you can.

(You can also do a similar thing with Flickr by typing in a word or three into the search box at Flickr Search.)

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Astro-Zombie

astrozombie.jpgChoose one of the following movie title and write the opening scene in screenplay format:
The Astro-Zombies
The Devil Rides Out
Attack of the Crab Monsters
Barn of the Blood Llama
Body Melt
The Brain from Planet Arous
(These are all real movies by the way.)

If you've never seen a movie script, there are plenty stored on the internet. One site that is easy to navigate and well organized is SimplyScripts.

Over on the left you can choose to have them listed by letter or genre.

Unfortunately not all of the scripts are in the what-makes-it-look-unique industry standard format which will have indented, centered dialog and scene notes (that is noting whether it's interior (INT) or exterior (EXT) and a bit about the scene. A shooting script will also include camera angles and movement, pan, close up, wideangle. And I'm really reaching my limit of knowledge about movie scripts!) Here's the link to Batman that is in industry standard format.

And, if you're finding this interesting, here's a script written in standard format about writing a script in standard format :-)

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Enneagram of Personality

Color-wheel-triadic.jpgSounds like some wizard or wise man.

The Enneagram of Personality is a theory that our personalities derive from how "nine principal ego-archetypal forms or types of human personality ... are psychologically connected."

Yeah. Well, regardless of the wonky science, it does come up with the foundations for some interesting characters (and some nifty cryptic figures to represent each of the nine.) :-)

Here are brief descriptions of the nine personalities from Wikipedia. (There's also a test you can take. Scroll down below the list of characters.) If you click on the link above to go to the page the descriptions came from, each of the personalities links to a longer article to get even more inspiration for your characters.

1 perfectionist.jpgOnes: Reformers, Critics, Perfectionists - People of this personality type are focused on personal integrity. Ones can be wise, discerning and inspiring in their quest for the truth. They also tend to dissociate themselves from their flaws or what they believe are flaws (such as negative emotions) and can become hypocritical and hyper-critical of others, seeking the illusion of virtue to hide their own vices. The greatest fear of Ones is to be flawed and their ultimate goal is perfection.

The "deadly sin" of Ones is anger in the form of resentment and their "holy idea" or essence is Holy Perfection.

Under stress Ones express qualities of Fours and when relaxed qualities of Sevens.

2 giver.jpgTwos: Helpers, Givers, Caretakers - Twos, at their best, are compassionate, thoughtful and astonishingly generous but they can also be particularly prone to clinginess and manipulation. Twos want, above all, to be loved and needed and fear being unworthy of love.

The "deadly sin" of Twos is pride and their "holy idea" or essence is Holy Will.

Under stress Twos express qualities of Eights and when relaxed qualities of Fours.

3 performer.jpgThrees: Achievers, Performers, Succeeders - Highly adaptable and changeable. Some walk the world with confidence and unstinting authenticity; others wear a series of public masks, acting the way they think will bring them approval and losing track of their true self. Threes are motivated by the need to succeed and to be seen as successful.

The "deadly sin" of Threes is deceit and their "holy idea" or essence is Holy Law.

Under stress Threes express qualities of Nines and when relaxed qualities of Sixes.

4 tragic romantic.jpgFours: Romantics, Individualists, Artists - Driven by a desire to understand themselves and find a place in the world they often fear that they have no identity or personal significance. Fours embrace individualism and are often profoundly creative and intuitive. However, they have a habit of withdrawing to internalize, searching desperately inside themselves for something they never find and creating a spiral of depression.

The "deadly sin" of Fours is envy and their "holy idea" or essence is Holy Origin.

Under stress Fours express qualities of Twos and when relaxed qualities of Ones.

5 observer.jpgFives: Observers, Thinkers, Investigators - Fives are motivated by the desire to understand the world around them, specifically in terms of facts. Believing they are only worth what they contribute, Fives have learned to withdraw, to watch with keen eyes and speak only when they can shake the world with their observations. Sometimes they do just that. However, some Fives are known to withdraw from the world, becoming reclusive hermits and fending off social contact with abrasive cynicism. Fives fear incompetency or uselessness and want to be capable and knowledgeable above all else.

The "deadly sin" of Fives is avarice and their "holy idea" or essence is Holy Omniscience.

Under stress Fives express qualities of Sevens and when relaxed qualities of Eights.

6 devil's advocate.jpgSixes: Loyalists, Devil's Advocates, Defenders - Sixes long for stability above all else. They exhibit unwavering loyalty and responsibility, but once betrayed, they are slow to trust again. They are particularly prone to fearful thinking and emotional anxiety as well as reactionary and paranoid behavior. Sixes tend to to react to their fears either in a phobic manner by avoiding fearful situations or by confronting them in a counterphobic manner.

The "deadly sin" of Sixes is cowardice and their "holy idea" or essence is Holy Faith and Strength.

Under stress Sixes express qualities of Threes and when relaxed qualities of Nines.

7 epicure.jpgSevens: Enthusiasts, Adventurers, Sensationalists - Sevens are adventurous and busy with many activities with all the energy and enthusiasm of the Puer Aeternus. At their best they embrace life for its varied joys and wonders and truly live in the moment but, at their worst, they dash frantically from one new experience to another, too scared of disappointment to actually enjoy themselves. Sevens fear being unable to provide for themselves or to experience life in all of its richness.

The "deadly sin" of Sevens is gluttony and their "holy idea" or essence is Holy Wisdom".

Under stress Sevens express qualities of Ones and when relaxed qualities of Fives.

8 boss.jpgEights: Leaders, Protectors, Challengers - Eights value their own strength and desire to be powerful and in control. They concern themselves with self-preservation. They are natural leaders, who can be either friendly and charitable or dictatorially manipulative, ruthless and willing to destroy anything in their way. Eights seek control over their own lives and destinies and fear being harmed or controlled by others.

The "deadly sin" of the Eight is lust (in terms of being 'excessive') and their "holy idea" or essence is Holy Truth.

Under stress Eights express qualities of Fives and when relaxed qualities of Twos.

9 mediator.jpgNines: Mediators, Peacemakers, Preservationists - Nines are ruled by their empathy. At their best they are perceptive, receptive, gentle, calming and at peace with the world. They also, however, tend to dissociate from conflicts and to indifferently go along with others people's wishes. They may also simply withdraw and act via inaction. They fear the conflict caused by their ability to simultaneously understand opposing points of view and seek peace of mind above all else. Nines are especially prone to dissociation and passive-aggressive behaviour.

The "deadly sin" of Nines is sloth and their "holy idea" or essence is Holy Love.

Under stress Nines express qualities of Sixes and when relaxed qualities of Threes.
The Triadic Enneagram Test

This only takes 5-10 minutes and pretty much nailed one of the characters in the current story I'm working on. This is what it came up with:
Seven
Primary Intelligence: Mental
Coping Style: Positive
Social Style: Assertive
Hierarchical Style: Ideals

Sevens use their mental intelligence to create a positive spin on life by coming up with various utopian possibilities about how things could be. They can be very inspirational as they assert their utopian ideals about how people can live better lives or make the world a better place. Robin Williams is a well-known Seven, and his character in the movie Dead Poets Society is an excellent example of this. By regularly imagining how things can be good or made better, Sevens tend to be very optimistic, and their optimism gives them the confidence to assert themselves in the world, going after whatever it is they want.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

"No!"

PrinceFielder.jpgThis is from an exercise in Unjournaling. Write 10 sentences that say no without using the word "no". Or, come up with a scenario where one character must repeatedly say no -- but doesn't use the word no -- to the other character.

Here's the scenario Kat came up with that you may use if you wish: Tiger and Star, two cat people, are arguing. Tiger -- who believes that Martians are real -- wants to burn Star's collection of Prince Fielder (1st Base, Milwaukee Brewers) baseball cards because the cards will bring the Martians to invade.

Write a conversation between Tiger, who is begging and trying to persuade, and Star, who is saying no. Have Star tell Tiger "No," but without using the word "no" at least 10 times.

Adapted from Unjournaling: Daily writing exercises that are Not personal, Not introspective, Not boring! by Dawn DiPrince and Cheryl Miller Thurston. It has a lot of fun writing prompts that live up to the title :-)

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Lean Mean Thirteen + 1

13cover.jpgKat's favorite writer, Janet Evanovich, author of the Stephanie Plum series of mystery/adventure novels, is running a contest (through August 31) to name book 14. The titles aren't tied to the plot just the atmosphere of the series. If you win, you get the title on the book, your name mentioned and a signed copy of the book :-)

Stephanie Plum is a Jersey Girl working for her cousin Vinny as a bounty hunter to pay the bills and buy more shoes. The strengths of the series are wonderfully quirky characters, high humor and a quick pace.

There's a form and rules at Name Book Fourteen.

Here's a list of her previous books to give you an idea of the type of title she uses:
  • One for the Money
  • Two for the Dough
  • Three to Get Deadly
  • Four to Score
  • High Five
  • Hot Six
  • Seven Up
  • Hard Eight
  • To the Nines
  • Ten Big Ones
  • Eleven on Top
  • Twelve Sharp
  • Lean Mean Thirteen
In addition to a lot of frequently updated material about her series, she also has a Q&A pages about writing (the source of the material for her book "How I Write"). (There's a link to it on her Plum Fun page on her home page if you're searching around her website for it.)

Top 10 tabloid headlines for May 2007

WWN-Coyotes.jpgFrom the City Newstand in Chicago, for writing prompts or just for fun :-)

Top Ten Tabloid Headlines from MAY 2005 (since the City Newstand list is on hiatus).
  1. I'M GOING TO CLONE THE WORLD'S UGLIEST DOG! — SUN
  2. COWARDLY MATADOR ONLY FIGHTS RABBITS — WWN
  3. 6-LEGGED HORSE BANNED FROM RACING! — WWN
  4. Maggots are good medicine — SUN
  5. FRANCE'S NEW FOOD FAD: ESCARGOT SMOOTHIES — WWN
  6. MAN ARRESTED FOR WEARING ZIPPER IN 'NO FLY' ZONE! — WWN
  7. CHENEY ARRESTS MAN FOR MAKING HIM LAUGH — WWN
  8. BUSH HIRES DUMB BLONDES . . . so he'll look smart — WWN
  9. SATAN HIRES PUBLICIST TO IMPROVE HIS IMAGE! — WWN
  10. MAN INVENTS ROTARY CELL PHONE — WWN

Death becomes her

skullwithbraids.jpg Enough poetry for a bit!

Write a eulogy that the bad guy has written for the good guy. Death can be the bad guy's doing or old age or an accident or caused by a different bad guy or ... Bad guy can be pleased or saddened or conflicted or irritated or ...

It can be your favorite pair of antagonists. Or make them up as you write. Just let the ideas flow and you may discover two characters you'd like to know more about.

A typical eulogy might include how they met, humorous memories, a quote or favorite saying, what the eulogy giver most admired, will miss the most and will remember most about the deceased.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Goth-O-Matic Poetry Generator

gothic.jpgLike your goth tongue in cheek? Check out Dead Lounge where resides the Goth-O-Matic Poetry Generator

From the website:
Interested in birthing your own bastard of diabolically morose proportion? There's nothing simpler. Choose one of the classic topics of Darkly Gothic poetry below, then you'll be taken to the Goth-O-MaticTM Poetry Generator. Construct the opus by making the selections that best fit your tormented desires, and choose an appropriate image to loom ominously over your creation. Tap the "Create Your Poem" button, and you'll be able to cut and paste your new expression of pain and angst into your own Web page!

Care to create a Darkly Gothic poem? The Goth-O-MaticTM awaits the touch of your agonized mind:
Here's the one I made from "The Eternal Love of Vampires":
It is a night of ethereal pain, a song of dark desire,
wolves vent their loneliness. The thirsting one
wakens.

Curling, icy wisps of death shrouds her gaunt form,
an everlasting desire.

Her midnight hair cascades over
translucent ivory shoulders, and her
full really very deeply crimson lips part slightly, to taste the
red tears streaming from the
pale flesh beneath her.

Now a night of ecstasy,
I hunger.
Tips, also from Dead Lounge, if you'd like to try writing your own Darkly Gothic Poetry without the generator:
You're probably wondering how such tormented and artistic individuals pen such magnificently dark epics, where they got their expressive names, and how you can crank out the same self-pitying drivel, uh, create your own shadowed and unearthly opus. Read this list of handy tips for the proper creation of Darkly Gothic Poems. Then choose an appropriate subject from the page of poems, and the Goth-O-MaticTM will help you express your inner angst!

Darkly Gothic Tip 1: DarkRaven's probably already taken

Choose an appropriate gothic moniker by which you wish to be addressed. Feel free to throw a couple of appropriately dark and wicked words together to form something mysterious with which to impress your nonpoetic friends. Adding a color to a predatory bird is still reasonably popular, as is naming yourself after one or two of the notable entities in Hell.

Darkly Gothic Tip 2: Choose an appropriate subject

Things such as darkness, loss, pain, grief, madness, death, night, and the bloodthirsty undead make good topics for darkly gothic poems. You cannot create a darkly gothic emotional abyss about how hard your Spanish class is, or how Mom gives you grief for wearing black eye liner.

Darkly Gothic Tip 3: Read Edgar Allan Poe

If you don't know Poe...

Darkly Gothic Tip 4: Feel free to hurt!

Go ahead and let that emotional turmoil draw you into depression. It makes you create better. You can always pull out of it, right? You don't want to commit suicide, but you want to make everyone think you do. Oh, and don't be that person that goes to schools and starts gunning down innocents; those people have some sort of weird revenge or God complex, and they never write good poetry.

Darkly Gothic Tip 5: Don't try to create a darkly gothic poem at 2:15 on a sunny Friday afternoon in a hip artsy coffee house drinking a decaf mocha espresso

Enough said.

Darkly Gothic Tip 6: Go ahead and chop it up

Don't worry about how short the lines of your darkly gothic poem are. Feel free to devote every line to a scant few words or even a single word. Remember, solitude makes something stand out by itself, um, well, by definition. Consider the following:
'Falling ever darkly into
the ebon abyss of feral eyes,
screaming against
the groping fingers of your
black obsessive passion,
torment.'
...Wow! Did you feel that torment at the end? We know we did. Hey, entire outpourings of tormented souls have been contained within a couple of fingerspans on the left. The best poems will make you scroll down a Web page after only twenty words or so.

Darkly Gothic Tip 7: Yeah, yeah, dark, blood, heard that one before

Grab that thesaurus and rape it. The more methods you have of saying the same word over again will vastly increase your wordsmithing. Using little-known words like 'eidolon,' 'inexorable,' 'vitae' or 'etiolated' will give you a depth which not-so-darkly gothic poets will envy.

Darkly Gothic Tip 8: Blow it way out of proportion

Go off about that personal angst. Rant in a depressingly deep way about the heartless one who left you alone and barren in the world because you were too depressingly deep. Describe the vision of the ethereal path you have chosen; make sure there's dark fog wisping through it. Display your broken and tattered soul for all to see. Occasionally stopping and reaching your arms out in the stigmata position helps stretch those creative muscles. Take minor everyday objects (a clock) and make them looming and malicious (a stark, cruel reminder of inevitable mortality, blank and accusing, every second drawing inexorably closer to oblivion).

Darkly Gothic Tip 9: Use those bleak images!

If you're building a poetry Web page, or any goth page for that matter, it is imperative that you include any picture of an angel statue or gravemarker you can find. Those weeping Mary ones, or angels with heads bowed, make your poetry that much more painful to read. Ah, I mean convey your pain all the more. If you can combine it with images of dead roses and a few spinning-ankh bars, so much the better.

Darkly Gothic Tip 10: Get inspired!

Of course, one can't always be at one's utmost ghoulish. Sometimes, even the undead can get that pesky writer's block (let alone the occasional artery block). Be creative! Go out to a local cemetery and read the tombstones. Find a large flat one and lie down upon it, reveling in your closeness to the dead. Lock yourself in a darkened room and read H.P. Lovecraft stories to yourself until you sob with horror. Got that feeling that needs creative writer's block healing? The brave even move toward ancient Celtic, or even Runic manuscripts for that special surge of dark energy. Feel free to go to European cathedrals and sit through those Latin choir hymnals with a tape recorder. Practice saying everything in Vincent Price's voice.

Darkly Gothic Tip 11: Get classy with some regional interest

For a special esoteric flavour that leaves the reader aching, er, moved to their centre, go ahead and spell using the Queen's English. Go check out that great medieval literature, the ever-popular Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Use names like Ethelred, Morgoth and Vincegatorix for darkly powerful supernatural beings. Check out a medieval book from the library and write a poem about the torment of translating Middle English while blinking from the blood dripping into your eyes. Let your imbalanced humours bleakly shine!

Darkly Gothic Tip 12: Don't be (that) afraid of sunlight

Every Darkly Gothic Poem need not be written about distant fogs rolling through twilight graveyards (but boy, do those poems taste good). Let the sun bring to light in your poetry your horrible guilt, your significant other's hypocrisy, and your self-absorbed pity, I mean, your hidden meekness. Let that eye-searing daystar expose your naked insignificance, burning you to your angst-ridden soul.

Darkly Gothic Tip 13: Have fun with it!

Wait... no, forget that, I'm sorry. Don't have fun with it. This isn't about fun.
To get you inspired to write your own, here is some non-automatically generated original Gothic Poetry.

When you're done there, check out the Random Gothic Lyric Generator.

Here's an example:
by Suspiria Malaisia

Devils shroud red glossolalia
Serpents feign mocking treachery
My solitude whispers blasphemous innocents
Blazing pinions run amuck through embittered effervescence

Hunger scoffs at crucified abattoir
Wolves recoil from dying sepulchre
Lonliness entangles sanguine soul
Serpents lock up trembling disillusionment

Evil kisses celestial fragments
Fire consumes severed poison
Vengeful cripples feign spectral torment
My Master howls hollow brilliance

Wolves hide under baleful fragments
Wolves languish luscious clutches
The stench unleashes mocking innocents
Terror whispers dark caresses

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Oh, Most Reviled One

lockerbeesAs a counterpart to the blessing poem from the Oh, Most Revered One prompt, call down the ire of the gods and goddesses or Ruler of Hell on some one, some thing or some endeavor with a curse poem.

It's the opposite of the blessing poem. You can begin by addressing the higher power and then like a warm up, you can start each line with "May" or "Let". Like a list poem, it can be a list of things you want harmed and the harm you want to befall them. It can be a list of harms you want to befall someone who has really upset you. It can be events you want to go awry to foil your rival.

Here's a few lines from Paul Janeczko's curse poem: (His is rhyming couplets. You don't need to rhyme (but, in his poem's case, it helps give it a less serious tone :-)
May your gym shorts drop below your knees
May your locker fill with killer bees

May your parents find out what you did
May the bully find out where you hid

May you get a pimple on your nose
May you grow an extra pair of toes
From Poetry from A to Z by Paul B. Janeczko.

The third eye

thirdeyeFor the poetry warm up today, use the template: "The third eye can see ..."

The third eye can see what regular eyes can't or is only open when the regular eyes are closed.

Here are some examples of children's poems from the book:
The third eye can see inside me
The third eye can see my voice
The third eye can see my bones
The third eye can see the wind
From Wishes, Lies, and Dreams: Teaching children to write poetry by Kenneth Koch.