Monday, September 3, 2012

Imaginarium


I love slugging around, don't you? I especially love what I've dubbed a "British day",
where it's cool and rainy outside and I don my trusty bathrobe- the navy one with deep pockets that has a rip in the collar- to make several cups of tea per hour and try to read and write a little before returning my attentions to the laundry.

On such days my usual game is to imagine myself inside a favourite book- maybe Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, or Gaudy Night, or The Beekeeper's Apprentice.
I can turn this game into writing prompts by pretending to be Mary Russell, noticing details around me and trying to put them into a larger context.
Or playing at Harriet Vane, and turning everyday occurrences into scenes for a novel.

Another game which I invented years ago to make laundry and seasonal clothes-packing more interesting involves 'advertising' articles of clothing. (My sister and I used to play this in front of a big mirror as though we were on TV.) You hold up a piece of clothing and then describe it in detail- either accurately, or with advertising zeal, or even in a negative, affected fashion- and try to out-bid or out-do the other person.

I need to create a dialogue-based game, since I'm better at description and characterization than I am at generating good dialogue or plot points!

What's your ideal way to spend a quiet day?