Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Mind Doodling
I couldn't think of a post for today. My mind just didn't have anything to say. I know. I was shocked too. I never run out of things to say.
But, in the immortal words of Pink, "Sometimes it be's like that".
So what was I to do? I stared out the window, which is usually the best way to stimulate my mind. Everyone around me at Starbucks thinks I'm staring at them, though, so I have to keep changing which window I'm looking at, just to keep the restraining orders down to a manageable level.
And sometimes staring out the window doesn't do anything but intrigue me with things that are never going to be writing-related. This week we've had a spate of pre-spring weather, so for the first time in a decade—okay, I exaggerate—make that a century. . .
Anyway, for the first time in a long time I can see dirt outside instead of an endless vista of white-ish snow. And now there are birds racing around and pecking in that dirt like they're in an aviary version of Supermarket Sweepstakes. I haven't seen these particular birds before, so it's like they were flown in just for this particular job.
Can I use that for my writing? I'm not sure. I've kind of twirled it around in my brain, thinking how I could analogize it to something, but nope. I got nuthin'.
So I've decided my brain has to do some doodling. I'll try to stir things up by giving it a writing assignment. Only it balks at the word assignment. So maybe I should characterize it as a treasure hunt. While my brain is off trying to find something good, I'll try to figure out a way to minimize its dismay when it learns there's no actual prize involved.
And for the word nerds (ahem, me), here's a little background on the word doodle. According to the all-powerful, all-knowing Wikipedia, doodle first appeared in the 17th Century, and it meant a fool or simpleton. That's the meaning in the Yankee Doodle Dandy song, which was used by the British soldiers in the colonial era. Wikipedia also speculates that the American word "dude" may be a derivation of doodle.
My favorite part, though, was the first use of doodle to mean "scribblings to help a person think". Apparently that was invented by screenwriter Robert Riskin for the movie "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town".
Ya gotta love writers and their made-up words.
Anyway, my brain needs some scribbling and doodling, and in case yours does too, I'm going to give us a starting point:
What would make your heroine cry?
Let your pen scribble around on a piece of paper for a while. Give your brain some space to wander around and see where it ends up. Maybe it'll bring back a new story idea. Maybe it'll conjure up the solution for something you've been fretting about.
There's no set ending, no goal, nothing but daydreaming and doodling. Let your mind, and your pen, have some fun.
Okay, if you care to share your doodling, let's hear it: what would make your heroine cry? Take it farther if you will. Does she hate to cry? Or does she cry at everything? How does the hero react? Let the doodling commence!
But, in the immortal words of Pink, "Sometimes it be's like that".
So what was I to do? I stared out the window, which is usually the best way to stimulate my mind. Everyone around me at Starbucks thinks I'm staring at them, though, so I have to keep changing which window I'm looking at, just to keep the restraining orders down to a manageable level.And sometimes staring out the window doesn't do anything but intrigue me with things that are never going to be writing-related. This week we've had a spate of pre-spring weather, so for the first time in a decade—okay, I exaggerate—make that a century. . .
Anyway, for the first time in a long time I can see dirt outside instead of an endless vista of white-ish snow. And now there are birds racing around and pecking in that dirt like they're in an aviary version of Supermarket Sweepstakes. I haven't seen these particular birds before, so it's like they were flown in just for this particular job.
Can I use that for my writing? I'm not sure. I've kind of twirled it around in my brain, thinking how I could analogize it to something, but nope. I got nuthin'.
So I've decided my brain has to do some doodling. I'll try to stir things up by giving it a writing assignment. Only it balks at the word assignment. So maybe I should characterize it as a treasure hunt. While my brain is off trying to find something good, I'll try to figure out a way to minimize its dismay when it learns there's no actual prize involved.
And for the word nerds (ahem, me), here's a little background on the word doodle. According to the all-powerful, all-knowing Wikipedia, doodle first appeared in the 17th Century, and it meant a fool or simpleton. That's the meaning in the Yankee Doodle Dandy song, which was used by the British soldiers in the colonial era. Wikipedia also speculates that the American word "dude" may be a derivation of doodle.
My favorite part, though, was the first use of doodle to mean "scribblings to help a person think". Apparently that was invented by screenwriter Robert Riskin for the movie "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town".
Ya gotta love writers and their made-up words.
Anyway, my brain needs some scribbling and doodling, and in case yours does too, I'm going to give us a starting point:
What would make your heroine cry?
Let your pen scribble around on a piece of paper for a while. Give your brain some space to wander around and see where it ends up. Maybe it'll bring back a new story idea. Maybe it'll conjure up the solution for something you've been fretting about.
There's no set ending, no goal, nothing but daydreaming and doodling. Let your mind, and your pen, have some fun.
Okay, if you care to share your doodling, let's hear it: what would make your heroine cry? Take it farther if you will. Does she hate to cry? Or does she cry at everything? How does the hero react? Let the doodling commence!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Books by the Crew
40 comments:
Wow, I stop by after the trauma of sending off my bookmarks and postcards to the printer... Yes, trauma as I'm worried they'll be wrong and come back looking like sh*t... I stop by the Revenge and you gave us homework!?
Well, actually I could use the writing prompt...be back later!
And just think, if you feel good about seeing dirt, how must the birds feel? WORMS! SEEDS! YIPPEEEEE!
(Chance, I use GotPrint, which is absolutely excellent and inexpensive.)
I'm so glad I stopped by here today to get me doodling. I've just started something new, and I don't totally know my characters yet. My heroine has experienced significant trauma, but I have a feeling she's too stubborn to cry. She's also much younger than I've been writing lately and I expect her to be unpredictable. My hero has a long journey back from whatever dark place he is, and I sure hope the heroine can bring him back. She won't cry, but he might. :)
Chance, I deliberately didn't call it an assignment! I called it a treasure hunt. LOL And it wasn't intended as homework. . .I'm just getting a tad burnt out. :)
That's a great point about the birds, though. Maybe that's why they are a variety I don't usually see--this could be their vacation spot!
Maggie, I'm glad the doodling will help with your newest story! Sounds like you're going to be torturing that poor hero. But I'm glad you're going to start it HERE. LOL We can all join in!
My brain is too distracted with other stuff this morning, but once I empty some of this stuff out of it (meaning clear stuff off my desk), there should be room for doodling.
Though, in all honesty, I've never been a doodler. Never drawn little circles or pictures around the edges of my papers. Just never been my thing.
Congrats on the snow being gone. We're back down in the 40s today and we're all freezing. LOL! But back to 70 for Friday!
Hmmm... Doodling. That's a fun way to brainstorm, I think.
What would make my heroine cry.... Hmmm.... She thinks she's learned to ignore her more impulsive nature. But when she realizes that she hasn't, when she takes a chance again and it bites her in the backside, I think she might be frustrated but I'm not sure that's enough to make her cry. But, she has a son, and he's going to be put in peril because of a choice she makes. That's definitely going to reduce her to tears.
She's definitely not the weepy type.
My hero thinks he's a failure of massive proportions. So, when she cries over her son and he realizes he's got a part to play in that, he's going to feel like all his feelings of inadequacy are valid. How can he expect her to love him if he can't keep her and her son safe?
I haven't figured out how they get around this stuff yet. But boy it's nice seeing it play out. I feel almost like a pantser these days.
Terri, I misspoke -- the snow is not GONE, it is GOING. LOL Which is why there are patches of dirt, and what used to be grass, peeking through. :)
No worries. We'll be doodling while you're getting undistracted. :)
FYI: Doodling is a hard word to type. Half the time it comes out "doddling", which I'm positive I don't want to do. LOL
Could be worse. You could be diddling.
Or maybe that would be better?
Yikes, Terri -- let me finish my first cup of coffee before you make me spew it! LOL
Marn--a pantser? *opens arms* Welcome to the Dark Side! LOL
I'm not sure why scribbling stirs up the brain. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe it's a Pavlovian response. The brain sees the pen moving and decides it better contribute. But hey, whatever works! Especially if the old standbys aren't working. LOL
From what you've said before, I wouldn't see your heroine as the weepy type, but I can see her crying if her son is in peril. I can't wait to see how you get your hero out of this. You sure are making him suffer! :)
*stares at the bo'sun* You've NEVER been a doodler? I don't know why this shocks me. I'm always doodling. I doodle on the phone, in meetings, at the movie theater. I doodle in my head, on paper, in snow, in sand. If a meeting is particularly boring, I'll write a poem. Then share it afterwards.
I too need to clear some stuff off my desk, but while doing so, I'll think about a situation which will make my heroine cry and share it.
We should have more writing prompt blogs. Good choice, Donna!
Thanks, Hellion. I didn't know it was possible to be a non-doodler, so that was enlightening to me! Although technically I guess our brains are always in "doodle mode", just without paper or pen. LOL
Nope, never doodle. Don't like to be asked to doodle. To my brain, doodles make things look messy. And since I have no artistic ability, it's a reminder that I can't draw to save my life.
As you say, I don't know why this shocks you. LOL!
It wasn't always pictures though. Sometimes I'd just write: Mrs. (whoever I had a crush on at the time). Over and over and over. Or my name, with the words ROMANCE NOVELIST below. *LOL*
Terri, you don't have to be a doodler. We accept all kinds here. LOL
Hellion, LOL about the Mrs. Whoever. I used to do that all the time too. (And hoped nobody would ever SEE my "practicing". LOL) I love the romance novelist one best though. :)
Yes, well, the romance novelist doodling was just yesterday, but you're never too old to doodle. I write Mrs. Deerhunter a lot too. And I usually don't do it where he'll ever SEE. OMG!
That would be a great way to throw him into a coma. LOL!
I used to write my name over and over, but that's it. In fact, my signature is the only thing I can write in cursive now. One more thing we were forced to learn in school that I don't use.
Hellie, maybe you better do that Mrs. Deerhunter doodling on an Etch-a-sketch. Just to be on the safe side. LOL
I was SO excited when we got to learn cursive writing--I don't know why exactly. I guess it seemed more grownup or something. Of course, thanks to taking notes in law school, my handwriting deteriorated so that it's not really cursive anymore. Cursed is more like it. LOL
My handwriting was always bad, while my mother and sister have gorgeous handwriting. Probably another reason at some point I gave up. Now it's a weird print-hybrid.
I like those print-hybrid things. I wish I could do that. Actually I wish I could just type all the time. LOL I'm really fast so I get a lot of words in that way.
I used to doodle a lot in college...not so much anymore. so many social internet things to do when brain is mushy...I'd probably do better to doodle.
But I've thought about what would make my current heroine cry. I mean, she's not a push over, but she can be very empathetic. Seeing the guy she's falling for doing something particularly tender with his son might do it. (But she'd be out of sight and thinking she can't be part of this, she doesn't have the right stuff, etc.)
I also subscribe to the 'so exhausted tears fall' school of thought. I might use that. Those are generally tears of frustration, especially if the exhaustion is due to missing a key link up point, or a chance to save someone by mere seconds...
Yes, I write adventure!
Now, I have 90 minutes before my clutter specialist shows up... Need to clean a bit.
Maggie! Wish I'd asked you sooner for a recommendation on the bookmarks, etc!
Chance, I like the tears of exhaustion too. It reminds me of when my mom would say she was "too tired to sleep" and I thought she was nuts. LOL Until I experienced it!
I should doodle more--I usually do when I'm at Starbucks because I leave the laptop at home. But when the laptop is available, I doodle around on the internet. LOL
Can't wait to hear how it goes with the clutter specialist. Although, I guess she's a DEclutter specialist. LOL (*I* am a clutter specialist!)
I've done that exhausted cry. I used to never cry. Now, I'm old. I cried last night watching Biggest Loser. LOL!
I'm still getting to know my new heroine so I'm not sure what would make her cry. I do believe it's getting really angry. Well, getting hurt so much that it makes you angry at the stupid boy who hurt you. Those are the tears I'm very familiar with and I think that's what will set her off.
I hate doing that angry cry thing. Aaaugh! LOL It makes it seem as though your anger isn't really ANGER when that happens!
I think it's easier to cry when you get older, because you have more understanding of, and experience with, heartache. :) So consider it a good thing.
T-minus 10 minutes. Bathroom cleaner, bedroom, dusted, vacume done, dishes done, spider webs from high corners, gone...
Yeah, well, this is gonna be interesting. I made Steph stay home from work since I didn't do this alone! This is a quick walk through, discussion of how far I want to go and she's going to give me several options for help, all depending on how much I want to spend...
I will report back.
Now, this could make me cry! What's funny? Steph gets all attached to the crap. "I remember when I wore/used/got this..." I get all analytical... "Can I use this someday?" He spreads, I stack.
We're both really good at ignoring the amount and work needed to fix it all and do other things we want to do... Like I write and he plays X-box.
Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the blog. But as I said, all of this makes me want to cry!
You didn't hijack the blog. :) I think we're all taking it easy today, which we probably all need.
I get attached to things too. It's hard to let go of things you spent time accumulating! And I can ALWAYS come up with a use for something as I'm getting ready to toss it out. It's tough to get through organizing projects because of that.
I never doodle. Never leave evidence like that lying around!
I do sometimes daydream though, when bored.
For example in a recent tedious lecture, the Feynman diagrams covering the board started distorting and dancing in my imagination. Sort of like an orgee on the beach.
Just shows you what romance novels are doing to physics.
You ladies have a lot to answer for! :lol:
Oh. The question!
My latest short story involves a little girl flying to the home of her ancestors in Georgia. She's tough and has already survived an air crash without crying. Then the arm falls of Big Ted (her teddy bear). She becomes inconsolable!
Funny what makes children tick. :?
LOL, Q -- I hadn't thought of it as "evidence". Mmm. You've got a point though! I like the idea of romance novels making physics get all wacky. Behold, the power of romance! :)
Of course the little girl would be inconsolable when Big Ted suffers an injury! You can only take so much before you fall apart. Poor thing. *sniff*
Finally, something we can be proud to take credit for.
And speaking of falling apart, I'm getting there. Gah! It's like my coworkers got together and said, "Let's throw all the stupid we can muster at her today."
They are mustering A LOT!
How is it a month ago I could have eaten an entire pizza by myself but I just had a cup of food - a CUP - and feel like I've eaten an entire buffalo?
I should just go home now...
Wonder why they picked today to get all motivated! LOL
Good question, Donna. Is there some retrograde thing going on? Or an extra-exhorbitant amount of stupid in the air. Like, more than usual?
Alright, I've had enough. I'm going home to take a nap. Sitting up. LOL! But at least I'm not crying!
Hope you feel better, Terri!
Maybe I should doodle "Mrs. Ryan Reynolds" where Deerhunter can see. The last time he was in town, there was a magazine with RR on it and Holly said something about how cute RR was and Deerhunter got all competitive. "I have abs like Ryan! See!" We practically rolled off the couch laughing.
I'm cracking up that 2nd is cleaning before the clutter specialist comes. Isn't that like crash dieting before going to your doctor's for your yearly weigh in?
Okay, not so bad. I have my assignment... Steph has his... One room at a time will be my mantra. Now, not to screw up the whirlwind of cleaning we accomplishedf because someone was coming to the house... Yup, it takes company to do cleaning at our house.
So, to stay clean we need more company? More often? Well, not until we have somewhere for people to sleep...
But I'm feeling hopeful!
Hellie, you're too funny. Why don't you "doodle" a note FROM Ryan, and leave it out for Deerhunter to see? LOL
Chance, that's good that you're hopeful. Small bites. Just like writing. You don't do a whole book all at once!
Post a Comment