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?

Pushmi-pullyu

As I'm getting back into the process of creative writing, a friend suggested that I find some blogs or tumblrs or writing sites that offer good writing prompts. I hadn't thought of it, but when she said that, it seemed so obvious! That's how rusty I am...

I have found one or two that I like on tumblr- though to be honest I only login once or twice a week- and a few good random ones here and here. We also have a book or two on our shelves here at home that have prompts, exercises, and ideas. I still enjoy the feeling of writing by hand for short pieces, so I think I want to answer prompts on paper and then take them to the computer if they seem to be leading somewhere.

I think a realistic goal I will set from this week until Christmas is to answer a prompt every other day- and I'll probably have the best luck with it at lunchtimes or before bed.

And I should be sure to put a little notebook in my new purse so I always have some paper around, since as I mentioned previously, my style of humour and storytelling is very observational.

One book about writing that I like to read for its own sake is Anne Lamott's sweet and honest book Bird By Bird. It makes me laugh every time I pick it up, and inspires me to try afresh. I also love her style of writing; she has a distinctively wry voice which sounds so plaintive yet playful.

I've also been re-reading L. M. Montgomery's Emily of New Moon trilogy (for the millionth time), and her diary entries usually make me feel that I might be better off venting or recording my thoughts on paper instead of generally dumping them on MM all the time. (He tries to listen but I don't completely blame him for tuning out.)

What other resources do you find useful in prompting new material?

Spinning stories

I'm really feeling perplexed about where to start over with my writing, as I've said before, and I think one of the frustrating things is that in real life, I'm not a bad storyteller, though I say it myself. I love telling stories of any kind, especially the weird/ odd/ dumb stuff that happens to me or that I do to myself- there's an endless source of punchlines- or about family moments.

I guess you could say I really love observational humour. I like it in standup comedy, I like reading it in novels, I like it when others share it- especially when catching up with friends far away who have stockpiled stories to tell since the last phone call. I try to jot down the outlines to jog my memory when my friend Pin, who is insatiable, says, "Tell me STORIES!". At first I can't think of any, but if I have written them down or when my husband says something to remind me, they come pouring out. My life is pretty low-key, especially the last 4 months of being home with the baby, and yet I often experience wonderfully goofy moments that affirm my belief that God has a sense of humour. We are made in His image, and so we were made with funny bones, and the ability to notice things to enjoy!

So I think I need to find a way to either use observation to fill my narrative more between the humourous moments, or expand those moments and their significance. I also need to work on plot, period. My mother used to say when I shared pieces of stories that never seemed to progress, "Where is this going?"

I'll share a couple of quick examples before I end this post- they're not recent but they give you an idea of the kind of thing that cracks me up, especially when I'm the one that says something loopy.


Me: "Are you sure you want to go to the drive-in theatre tonight? It might rain."

Mr. Monday (MM): "........we'll be watching from our car."
*****
 MM, at a winery tasting: "Well, I haven't finished testing your wine, but I tell ya, I love these chips!"
*****
At a hotel, I realize I left my tweezers at home, so in a rash moment of frustration with a very visible stray hair under my brow, I decide to try improvisation.
Five minutes later, MM is electrified to hear the bathroom door open and my announcement, ""You might think this sounds strange, but I cut my eyebrow while shaving with your razor!"

I have many more but they will have to wait- MM and I have a Super Mario Bros. date while the baby is sleeping!