Inspiration: Dry Erase Markers

A:
Who thinks they can have MY dry erase marker? Get your own! I wasn't one for sharing. No, I'm not an only child. Far from it. But father left me and my 6 siblings nothing. Every one of us for ourselves. You can say we've all got the only child syndrome. And if you ask the lot of them, I've got it the worst. They'd say, "She used up all the hot water in the house." Or "She used up all the TP and didn't bother to refill it." They'd say I was selfish that when father had been around, I turned him against every single one of them. He'd loved me the most and gave me the best presents... well, better than the ones he gave them. That's what they'd say, anyway. And you know why they'd say it? 'Cause they're jealous. I look more like him than any of the rest of them. They wish they had green eyes like us. They were stuck with plain old brown. They were nothing but God-awful regulars. And no one wanted to be like them. They didn't even like themselves because they all looked the same. And they all thought the same. They were jealous of me, always jealous of dad's little crush on me. But dad didn't throw anyone a bone... especially now that he's dead.

--------
A:
The one thing I remember most about dry erase markers... my boss. She used to sniff those suckers like they were flowers. Only... those weren't nearly as beautiful as real flowers... by no means. I don't know what her fetish was. Why she'd have to remove the cap from a blue one, sniff it, cap it, set it down. Pick up a green one, sniff it, cap it, set it down. Pick up the red one, sniff it, cap it, set it down... As if they all smelled different! Really? They were all the fucking same, woman! I wanted to scream at her. And that look in her eyes, her mouth twitching, everything grimaced, then relaxed. She knew she wasn't smelling the daisies... unless it was a dead one gasping for its final breath. And she was this way. Sniffing those things as if they were the last time she'd ever sniff. I wonder if her nose even functioned after this. I came in one day, wearing some pungent odor of a perfume. She didn't even notice. The wheels and cogs in her ol' olfactory stopped producing a scent. But they had a soft spot for dry erase markers.

5 Minute Writing Exercises

I write a lot in my notebooks, so I thought to translate them to digital format so I know where I can find them. (I haven't been very organized lately.) So stay tuned for some 5-minute writing exercises.

Winter Time by Charles Mee

Some online reading:
http://www.panix.com/~meejr/html/wintertime.html

Stretch Break 12: Muscles in the Mind

Did you know how important it is to exercise your brain? I've been playing Brain Age and Big Brain Academy for the past year now. I started out as an oldie - in my 60s. But once I played more and understood the nature of each test it was a lot easier and I am now in my twenties (which is, like the body, the best shape to be in according to this game.) They promote a good means to building muscle in the brain.

Such practices include:
- Memorize
- Visualize
- Analyze

Try it sometime. Or just play some games to jog the brain a little.

Workout 12: Create a Mind Poem

Exercise:
Create a poem, but don't write it down. Memorize it.

Purpose:
Before the written word existed, we had the spoken word. This oral tradition made it possible to pass down stories to the next generation. Later, when the written language came to be, people wrote these stories down, and often the stories were a little "watered down" or artifacts had been changed (reminiscent to the game "Telephone.") Because of this, story is one of the oldest art forms that represent the uniqueness of the human race.

Help Desk:
Keep it short and simple. That's all the help you can get. How are your memorization skills?

Pen Jousting 1 CHAMPION!

Congratulations to Deane Madsen for winning the pen joust!

Stay tuned for more tournaments!

Stretch Break 11: Writing What You Know

Remember that quirky neighbor you grew up with? Or that health food-obsessed woman you work with? Just look around you and you'll realize just how many different personalities there are out there from which you can draw your inspiration. Lord knows I have a lot of them to draw from... one of them is me!

Workout 11: Interview your Character

Exercise:
Imagine your character and ask him/her several different questions. Write down how he/she responds to these questions.

Purpose:
To get to know everything about your character.

Help Desk:
Some sample questions would be:
- What is your favorite childhood memory?
- Have you ever been in love?
- Would you prefer peanut butter and jelly or bologna?
- Do you have any siblings?
- Where is your favorite place to holiday?

Stretch Break 10: Write from the Soul

One thing I realized when I was doing this workout was that I had ten minutes left. With this much time I thought to lengthen the scene, but ended up making the scene worse. I thought, "sad endings won't sell in Hollywood." Hence, I wasn't writing from my soul. I was just trying to write to please others. But I've since learned:
1. Don't worry about explaining why to the audience, or if the ending is happy or sad.
2. Deepen the mystery and be cautious what you reveal. The audience will catch up.

And, if you finish the scene before the clock is up, either:
1. Introduce a new character or a new element
2. Go back and edit out what's not necessary
3. Stop where you are and start a new scene

Workout 10: Freewriting

Exercise:
Sit for 30 minutes and just write about whatever comes to your mind.

Purpose:
Just write from you muse, write from your soul. Who cares if this is published or produced. You're writing for you, right?

Help Desk:
Write what you know and who you know.

Stretch Break 9: Successful Exposition

Some exposition proves successful, as in Shakespeare's plays. A character enters scene with information and tells about what happened without stopping the story. A few examples include:

- Hamlet - ACT I, sc. ii/iii
- The Tempest - ACT I, sc. ii
- Julius Caesar

Non-Shakespeare examples include:

- Monty Python - cheese
- Merchant of Venice - Shylock

Away... Saving for Another Day

I've been away from the writing blog for a while. In many cases it is wise to put down something you are writing and just take a breather from it for a while... because, if you are anything like me, you get an idea and think it's the best idea ever, right? This, I believe, is why God gave us the gift of time. Set your piece aside for a while. When you get back to it, you'll see what needs to be improved, and you'll jump back to reality and realize that this wasn't the best idea ever. Sorry. But, if you believe it still has potential, pick it back up and maybe it will become a masterpiece!

Workout 9: Character Enters with a Gun

Exercise:
Write a scene in which two characters enter. One or both enter with a gun (a surprise.)

Purpose:
Disclose information with dialogue, not exposition. Have character enter scene and reveal information without stopping the story from progressing.

Help Desk:
REMEMBER: Argument is not conflict. Characters should be in agreement and work collaboratively to move the plot forward, even if they're enemies. As in courtroom dramas: whatever result we conclude, we'll agree on and abide by it (dramatic collaboration.)

Stretch Break 8: One Idea Leads to Another

One random moment in your life can spark a whole new idea. When speaking with professional writers, most get their inspiration from random moments in their lives. Many times I get an idea in the shower or a character will speak to me while I'm bored to death sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. But mundane moments like this may unravel a whole scene for your play. A moment, no matter how minute or vague can unveil inspiration for a masterpiece. Once you get started with this list, you won't be able to stop. Let the mind flow with the moment.

Workout 8: Poetry II

Exercise:
Part 1 - Like the poem before this, write a short poem set in a mundane moment. Again, avoid using adjectives or sentiment. You cannot write about love, death, the sky, the sea, or anything pretty.
Part 2 - From the moment you select, write a scene set in this same moment.

Purpose:
To go from one idea to creating one for a scene on stage.

Help Desk:
Mundane moments happen all the time. We just usually don't think of them because they're so mundane. Describe you brushing your teeth, taking out the trash, washing your car, putting on boots, dialing a phone number, etc.

Stretch Break 7: Finding Your Voice

We want to discover how to have a unique voice. We all know Shakespeare when we hear it. Can you tell the difference between a work by Joyce and a work of Moliere?

Richard Foreman comes from a peculiar place in theater. One trademark of his is his dialogue, which is much like nonsense. He forces the audience into self-consciousness, hoping to make the audience aware not of the joke itself but aware of why they laugh. For another example of unusual dialogue read James Joyce's "Finnigan's Wake."

A source of mythology seemed to abound in each of our pieces. We see the stage in peril. It's like the fear of death. How do you go? What will you do when the building's on fire?

Avoid dialogue that is:
- Pithy (brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression; full of vigor, substance, or meaning; terse; forcible: a pithy observation)
- Maudlin (1. tearfully or weakly emotional; foolishly sentimental: a maudlin story of a little orphan and her lost dog; 2. foolishly or mawkishly sentimental because of drunkenness)
[Note: definitions taken from dictionary.com]

Another playwright of note: Eugene Ionesco: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Ionesco

Workout 7: Gun on the Table

Exercise:
Write a scene in which two characters enter. One or both know of a secret in the scene. Hence, there is a gun on the table. What will they do with it?

Purpose:
To be able to create an unspoken element of drama.
To help find your voice manifested in dialogue.

Help Desk:
There should be an obvious change from beginning to end. Try to incorporate rhythm and melody in the dialogue.

Stretch Break 6: The Universal Truth

In doing this exercise, I've learned to be more grateful for the mundane things in life... for we cannot have the interesting without the mundane, and to discover just how interesting the mundane can be.

In writing these odes to such objects, I understand just how much I like to humanize things, to relate a universal truth and a universal meaning to pretty much anything. I had a battle of the sexes between an incense burner and an incense stick. I related blue chips with a subject of worship, a boot with an old flame, air with she who I took for granted, a computer to the sexy mind of a nerd I had fallen for once, the list continues...

It's fun. And I discovered something about my writing which I try to avoid but just can't - and that's the habitual desire to relate universal truths to the human mind and intentions. I just can't escape metaphors, themes, and sadly, exposition. I don't mean to be preachy or didactic, but sometimes I can't help it. I guess that's why I work on a preschool show, also a project from which I can't escape.

Workout 6: Poetry

Exercise:
In light of the aid memoir rules of avoiding the use of emotions or opinions, write a poem about a mundane object. Again, avoid using adjectives or sentiment. You cannot write about love, death, the sky, the sea, or anything pretty.

Purpose:
Poetry is an enunciation of personal and universal truths written in short hand. From a simple object, you can be relating describing your brother, your girlfriend, your boss, and/or universal personality traits and human behaviors. You'll find this amazing! This is one reason I especially love to write... to link one thing to a completely different thing and find out just how much the two have in common.

Help Desk:
Mundane objects can be found all around you. Describe the outlet on your wall, the chapstick in your pocket, the staple that keeps your papers together. It's easier than you think.

Stretch Break 5: Story through Dialogue

It may be difficult to describe something that happened offstage to the audience without using exposition. Just how much should you tell the audience? What are all the facts they need to know?

An example is in Shakespeare's "Hamlet," where Gertrude describes Ophelia's death. We don't know exactly how she died, but we get the truth according to Gertrude.

Another great example of this use of character POV is the playwright Chekhov:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Chekhov