Writing Elements

  1. USA

    Too long for the Favorite Quotes thread, but classic PJ O'Rourke: “I was having dinner…in London…when eventually he got, as the Europeans always do, to the part about “Your country’s never been invaded.” And so I said, “Let me tell you who those bad guys are. They’re us. WE BE BAD. We’re the baddest-assed sons of bitches that ever jogged in Reeboks. We’re three-quarters grizzly bear and two-thirds car wreck and descended from a stock market crash on our mother’s side. You take your Germany,...
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  2. Poetry in Prose

    Art elicits emotion, and in A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, Edmund Burke proposes that poetic verse is the most effective art form in evoking an emotional response. The title of this blog—I Dwell in Possibility— is a nod to Emily Dickinson and her poem that celebrates poetry: I dwell in Possibility I dwell in Possibility – A fairer House than Prose – More numerous of Windows – Superior – for Doors – Of Chambers as the Cedars –...
  3. Perspective and Perception

    Perspective is something you have and perception is something you do. Information comes in. Where do you look for it? That’s your perspective. You control it. It’s what you see. It’s your point of view. It’s what you focus on, be it narrow or broad. It’s what you consider. And in considering, you make sense of what you see. You interpret. That’s your perception. Perspective affects perception. A wider perspective sees more. For example, putting myself in another’s shoes may change my...
  4. Symmetry

    Symmetry Our psychology seeks symmetry. Pattern and balance feel right. We want our forces to complement one another. Excesses and deficiencies make us lopsided. Irregularity and unpredictability get us off our game. Sight brings us butterflies, flowers and snowflakes, and lovely human faces, all ordered and proportionate. The symmetry we see is appealing. As symmetrical beings, we fit well in a symmetrical world. The familiarity is comforting. I can feel symmetry when I am moving,...
  5. Wild Woman – A message to women

    Wild Woman – A message to women You know her. She lives inside of you. She is your instinct and intuition. She is the experiences and lessons of your ancestors encoded in your DNA. If you trust her, and let her live, you can be your authentic self. Hell with dogma. If you let her come to the surface, you will realize all your original gifts. Folklore is rich in the psychology of women. For this reason, I encourage you to get a copy of and read Women Who Run With the Wolves, by Clarissa...
  6. What a Year!

    As 2022 comes to an end, most of us are reflecting back on the year and others mine as well be in 2023. getting those resolutions ready to be forgotten about by the second week of January if they're lucky to make it that long. I've tried that I don't know how many times and I never felt like I was actually changing. well until this year. The beginning of the year had all the magic; I thought 2022 was gonna be the year where everything just magically turned perfectly. Between trying to be a...
  7. Character Web

    I didn't post this video because it's about The Walking Dead. I never really cared much for that show. Watched a few episodes, then lost interest pretty fast. Maybe because there's no identifiable theme? I don't know. I posted the video because it's about Character Web and how to go about creating one. Each character should have a particular stance on the main theme, or possibly a secondary theme for some of them. Otherwise they don't belong and are just along for the ride and weighing...
  8. Angela Carter on the Tale vs the Story

    Getting back to my posts concerning different kinds of stories, here's something I've posted on the board that I'd like to be able to find, so I'm putting it here in my online notebook (the first part is by yours truly): Fairy tales are not like regular stories because they're archetypal. They're about types rather than individuals. Even if an individual has a name in a fairy tale, they represent a type. The names are often strange, like 'Horsehair went to wash himself in the creek as he...
  9. Current status

    Currently working on a fantasy trilogy, I think it will be a trilogy, but you never know an idea may hit that extends it beyond that. Book 1 has the MC and companions sucked into a prophecy, the MC doesn't believe in, and is basically forced into helping with. For the gamers out there it is a basic escort quest. The story uses an onion villain, though at this point we only really see the outer layer villains. This work has been through a few edits, and is currently out to beta readers....
  10. The experiment with POV (750 words). Feedback encouraged.

    Here are three of the PoV shifts, of a total of six for the chapter. I am trying to show both sides of the battle by doing this, and keep the events in Chronological order. Rather than repeat the events from the opposing POV in a second scene. Does this work, or is it just confusing to the reader? The intruders came charging into the temple. How dare they invade the sacred space like this! He would teach them some manners. With a gesture, his undead began moving toward the invaders....
  11. On Virgins

    Subversion is always shallow. Thematic correctness doesn't change when a trope is subverted, it only changes in satire. Satire subverts the theme, not the tropes, because it needs the tropes in order to signal its identity. For example, the virgin or child saviour. She hasn't yet entered society fully, so she hasn't yet been fully corrupted by it. Her perspective is quite figuratively virginal: "But stabbing other people is wrong." The two men look up from their knife fight, understanding...
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  12. The Inner Life (when characters come to life)

    I'm using this entry to collect together certain threads where I've expounded on my ideas about the inner life—of human beings and of characters. Here's the thread that sparked this: Whence the theme? But the underlying ideas connect up with my thoughts on characters having an inner life of their own, which I wrote about rather extensively in these threads: Downloading Characters Characters are not listening to me. Help. Do you feel a responsibility to your characters? ... And maybe a...
  13. What can be learned from Buffy?

    When I first joined this message board, I had just finished watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the series, from beginning to end. I think it was the best show ever made, bar none. Despite some heavy contenders like Breaking Bad, or Jessica Jones—none of them have anything like the perfect mix of creativity, humor, and fun Buffy offers, along with intense drama, sometimes to the point of tragedy. I bought the entire series as a DVD box set, which included behind the scenes for some episodes,...
  14. Side stories in a novel.

    I have begun to take a closer look at an idea I encountered in "the Wandering inn" Series by Pirataba. The main story is on the theme of the fool triumphant, save the cat story type. But in addition to POV shifts between characters, the author also inserts side stories into the series, which have different characters are are shorts embedded within the novel. These shorts are related to the fantasy world of the story, but instead of distracting from the story, serve to flesh out the story...
  15. World building

    I am continuing to go back through the "Wandering inn" Series by Pirateaba. This series is a fascinating case study in world building. Since the genre is fantasy, the author has multiple races to deal with. There is a detailed profile for each race, Drakes, Gnolls, Goblins, Antinium, Humans which are the main races on the main continent in the story. Each race is detailed in culture and politics. Things are gradually revealed using an ignorant character, learning about the world. The culture...
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