[stylist] Writing what you don't know
Judith Bron
jbron at optonline.net
Wed Oct 27 18:12:12 UTC 2010
Bridget, As a mother I can say that moms don't always measure up to the
descriptions given on TV show reruns from the fifties. Perhaps your mother
went through something in her life that left her exterior hardened and she
can't let go, even for her children. Don't be hard on your mom. She has
demonstrated that when things got bad and her daughter needed her to be
strong and supportive you couldn't have a better advocate. Judith
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bridgit Pollpeter" <bpollpeter at hotmail.com>
To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 1:59 PM
Subject: [stylist] Writing what you don't know
> Judith,
>
> I actually wrote this because usually my mom displays a different
> personality. She is not always the warm and tender person I show in
> this piece. There is more to this piece than just this section. I
> tried to explore our relationship a bit. It surprised me when I was
> sick and she became this tender mother who was nurturing and consoling.
>
> Bridgit
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of stylist-request at nfbnet.org
> Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 12:00 PM
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Subject: stylist Digest, Vol 78, Issue 64
>
>
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Writing Exercises from Patricia Foster (Priscilla McKinley)
> 2. Re: Writing Exercises from Patricia Foster (Jacobson, Shawn D)
> 3. writing what you don't know (Bridgit Pollpeter)
> 4. Re: Writing Exercises from Patricia Foster (KajunCutie926 at aol.com)
> 5. Re: Writing Exercises from Patricia Foster (Robert Leslie Newman)
> 6. Re: writing what you don't know (Judith Bron)
> 7. Re: Writing Exercises from Patricia Foster (Donna Hill)
> 8. Re: Changes: a plot synopsis (Robert Leslie Newman)
> 9. off topic Home at last! (The Crowd)
> 10. Re: off topic Home at last! (Judith Bron)
> 11. Re: off topic Home at last! (Donna Hill)
> 12. Re: off topic Home at last! (Justin H. Williams)
> 13. Re: off topic Home at last! (Robert Leslie Newman)
> 14. Rippping, Burning, & Scribing (Marion Gwizdala, M.S.)
> 15. Re: Rippping, Burning, & Scribing (Judith Bron)
> 16. books I recommend (Jean Parker)
> 17. My recent short Story (kec92 at ourlink.net)
> 18. Writing what you don't know (Bridgit Pollpeter)
> 19. does anyone have this? (Bridgit Pollpeter)
> 20. Re: does anyone have this? (Robert Leslie Newman)
> 21. Re: books I recommend (Robert Leslie Newman)
> 22. Re: My recent short Story (Joe Orozco)
> 23. Re: Writing what you don't know (Judith Bron)
> 24. Re: My recent short Story (Chris Kuell)
> 25. Re: Writing Exercises from Patricia Foster (Chris Kuell)
> 26. Re: does anyone have this? (Donna Hill)
> 27. Re: does anyone have this? (Judith Bron)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 14:01:51 -0500
> From: Priscilla McKinley <priscilla.mckinley at gmail.com>
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing Exercises from Patricia Foster
> Message-ID:
> <AANLkTimJ76TWiYTo88gPD3nRTeBUYEefdXHVnPRuRur8 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
>
> Did anyone get this email? I didn't receive it in my inbox.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Priscilla
>
>
>
> On 10/26/10, Priscilla McKinley <priscilla.mckinley at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I'm trying to send this again. Can we not send attachments?
>>
>>
>> Hey, listers,
>>
>> I just received the writing exercises from Patricia Foster, our guest
>> speaker on Sunday night. She told me to let you know that these are
>> responses to other readings but that some will work without the
>> readings. She will get the book list together later, as she is rather
>
>> busy right now. Also, she said that she enjoyed chatting with
>> everyone on the conference call.
>>
>> I am pasting, as well as attaching, the exercises.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Priscilla
>>
>>
>> 1. First Things First: an exercise in memory
>>
>> You can use Edward Jones? ?The First Day? and Primo Levi?s ?The
>> Disciple? as examples.
>>
>> Write about a first ? yours or someone else?s. First haircut. First
>> airplane ride. First day of school. First date. First job. First
>> lie. First move to another city. First hospital stay. First time
>> eating ice cream or tiramisu.
>>
>> Begin ?in? the moment of action: the flash of the barber?s scissors
>> above your left ear as he leans over to cut into your dark, tangled
>> hair; rubbing the crumbs of a piece of toast on your nubby pajamas on
>> the morning of your first day at Longfellow school.
>>
>> Remember to include sights and smells and sounds and textures that add
>
>> particularity to your memory.
>>
>> Remember that underneath each concrete story there will be other
>> firsts: the first recognition of aloneness, the first stirrings of
>> shame, the first time falling in love with a place, the first foray
>> into grief.
>>
>> Concentrate on focusing your action with a single scene ? or a series
>> of scenes. A scene: action that takes place in a specific time and
>> place.
>>
>> 2. MEMORY ? Revising History
>>
>> We know that memory is fickle, that we consciously and unconsciously
>> remember events in certain ways to protect ourselves, to dramatize
>> ourselves, to make things more exciting. Sometimes we do not really
>> know what happened and our minds intuitively fill in the gaps.
>>
>> In both ?The Harvest? (Amy Hempel) and ?Snow? (Anne Beattie) the
>> narrators reveal the slipperiness of memory, how an event ? an
>> accident, for example ? can be told in such a way as to leave many
>> things out or how our memory of a time in our lives can be different
>> from the memory of another person who experienced the same moments.
>>
>> First:
>>
>> In this exercise, I want you to write about a particular event ? an
>> accident, a sudden illness, a dismissal, a moment in combat. Write
>> as close to the action as possible so that you place the reader ?in?
>> the moment of disruption. Write in past tense and begin with ?I
>> remember. . .?
>>
>> Later:
>>
>> Go back to your exercise and look at what you?ve left out and/or what
>> another person might have remembered differently. Do one of 2 things:
>>
>> 1. Add a postscript (along the lines of what Amy Hempel does in
> ?The
>> Harvest?) of what you left out (and implicitly why you left it out).
>> 2. Add someone?s differing memory as counterpoint (?You remember it
>> differently. . .?) and then some kind of synthesis or commentary
>> (?This, then, for drama. . .?)
>> 3. Let the reader see how feelings change with misinformation as in
>> ?Accident.?
>>
>>
>> 3. Using Gesture and Mannerism in Creating Character
>>
>> First:
>>
>> After reading William Boyd?s ?Beginning?:
>>
>> Character can be revealed through action, dialogue, as well as through
>
>> mannerism and gesture. Many times writers depend too much on action ?
>> what happens ? to reveal character whereas description of mannerisms
>> and gestures tell us as much as we need. Character can be achieved
>> through brushstrokes. The literary critic, James Woods, gives this
>> example from Maupassant?s story ?La Reine Hortense?: ?He was a
>> gentleman with red whiskers who always went first through a doorway.?
>>
>> 1. Consider an important character in your history/story. Think of
> a
>> gesture or mannerism or expression that pushes you to see this
>> someone: red whiskers; unshaved bristles on his cheekbones; going
>> first through a doorway, etc. Begin with a particular circumstance
>> that leads to remembering.
>>
>> 2. Why do I go on about this? Tell the reader why you are obsessed
>> with this person, why she/he is important to your story.
>>
>> 3. Draw a picture of the place (room, car, beneath the tree) where
>> this takes place. Put whatever details/objects might be in this
>> place. Where are you? What are you doing? Describe the scene.
>>
>> 4. Show this person in a moment of action. It might be as simple
> as
>> washing dishes or turning down the a/c or as important as slapping
>> someone?s face. Let yourself imagine what this person is thinking.
>> Ask this person a question you?ve never asked before but always wanted
>
>> to know. Imagine the person answering, then returning to the activity
>
>> of the beginning.
>>
>>
>> 4. Emblematic Moments ? Creating Scenes
>>
>> Readings: ?What Happened During the Ice Storm?; ?Illumination
>> Rounds?; ?Killing Chickens?; excerpt from Matterhorn.
>>
>> Scenes represent moments of choice or turning points. Here, something
>
>> (often difficult) is decided or revealed that changes the direction of
>
>> the narrative. Scenes represent immediacy, something happening
>> ?before your eyes.?
>>
>> In-class
>>
>> Choose a moment in which you ? or your character ? make a decision. We
>
>> will start with a moment in childhood, something that still has
>> emotional weight in your life. It might be a moment when you betray
>> or save someone/something close to you or are betrayed/saved by
>> someone else. Once again, we will stay very close to the moment
>> itself, revealing ?what happens? as if through a close-up lens. We
>> will use ?What Happened During the Ice Storm? as our guide ? a small
>> action that is redemptive (though if you go the betrayal route, then
>> you?ll be showing the opposite ? though both sides reveal
>> vulnerability).
>>
>>
>> 5. Immersion/Immediacy/Atmosphere
>>
>> Think of an incident from your past that happened in a particular
>> atmosphere: at night; while it was raining; in a storm; during a snowy
>
>> morning; in extreme heat or fog. Choose an incident that has some
>> meaning to you, one that provokes some strong emotion and feeling. The
>
>> feeling could be positive or negative ? a moment when you felt
>> frightened, isolated, safe, euphoric, powerful. Try to remember as
>> much detail as you can about the event and about the physical nature
>> of the atmosphere. Consider how the atmosphere becomes a significant
>> part of the event, how it plays a role in your memory, becomes if not
>> a character, then a defining aspect of the event.
>>
>> Write as close to the moment/incident as possible. Write in first
>> person, present tense as if you are right there, re-living it.
>>
>> Retrospective Point of View/Atmosphere
>>
>> Now that you?ve written a close-up of this incident, take a different
>> tact: look at the incident from your current perspective but write in
>
>> third person, past tense. Let us see the same incident but allow the
>> narrator to have, perhaps, a different cognition on the event and the
>> people involved. The retrospective narrator might comment on this
>> moment in a way that suggests how time changes your perspective
>> (sympathies, decisions, even moral concerns).
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 6. FORM: A Day in the Life
>>
>> This kind of essay often takes a journalistic stance, reporting the
>> ?contents? of a day, often for one or two purposes: to show an
>> ordinary side of strange, remote lives or to show a strange side of
>> ordinary, familiar lives. In the case of Robert Heilman?s essay
>> ?Overstory: Zero,? perhaps it is the latter. In this essay, Heilman
>> breaks up and names the parts of his day ? making the form modular ?
>> and takes the reader deeper into the politics of a company
>> reforestation crew.
>>
>> Formally, he uses second person point of view, present tense, modular
>> structure.
>>
>> In this exercise, I want you to consider the modular structure and do
>> the following: pick an area of your life that lends itself to
>> dailiness and to a revelation of the day?s meaning. It might be your
>> job; it might be your social activities; it might be volunteer work;
>> it might be ?A Day in the Life of a Loafer? or ?A Day in the Life of a
>
>> Waitress,? or ?A Day in the Life of a Single Mom/Dad? or ?A Day in the
>
>> Life of an Asian Traveler.?
>>
>> The main thing is to find something that compels you, that seems ripe
>> for unraveling. And something you haven?t written about before.
>>
>> To simplify the exercise, consider it as having four parts:
>>
>> 1. Beginning of a day ? the introduction to your story (this
> doesn?t
>> mean it has to start in the morning, by the way). The beginning of
>> your particular story as a hitchhiker in Nepal may begin at 2:30 in
>> the afternoon when you?re dying of thirst.
>> 2. A list ? Just as Heilman gives a list of what he takes with him
> in
>> ?Kamikazes,? make a list that is important to this person?s life.
>> Incorporate it into a paragraph.
>> 3. An Event ? something that ?happens? and can be told as a story.
>> Ex: you spill salad dressing all over a customer and the customer
>> first yells, but then charms you and leaves you a big tip; you sleep
>> through a test and in your panic at what you?ve done, you rush out
>> into traffic and immediately make an illegal turn and get a ticket.
>> Something happens!
>> 4. End of day ? a ?moment? that reflects the day?s waning.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 7. Sequence/Scene (fiction)
>>
>> This is a long exercise in sequence. The point is to explore how a
>> story moves from a situation to a complication to a turning. We will
>> explore this not as an intellectual concept but through process. In
>> the process we will look at the close-up scene, the flashback moment,
>> the movement from emotional response to action. If you are already
>> working on a character, feel free to use this character in the
>> exercise. If not, the exercise will evoke a character.
>>
>>
>> I will give you the first sentence of a situation and then prompts to
>> stay in sense memory. Stay with character.
>>
>> Situation: 1) waking up not in your bed. You feel surprise and
>> anxiety. Look around the room. Let us see the room through the
>> senses ? the light, the sounds, the smells, the objects, your
>> narrator?s body.
>>
>> 2) Let one particular object catch your attention and suggest a strong
>
>> connection to your anxiety. Touch it. Experience it sensually.
>>
>> 3). Let this object evoke a memory, one based on wanting, desiring
>> something, a surface thing you want: a touch, a gesture, an object.
>> Experience this surface thing through your character?s sensibility.
>>
>> 4). Let the memory of this desire include a moment when a second
>> memory is evoked. This second memory involves another object,
>> different from the one you are touching or wanting but similar in its
>> basic sensual pattern. The wanting deepens into a state of being, a
>> state of self.
>>
>> 5). Second memory moves you to an action. Let the action happen
>> moment by moment.
>>
>> 6). Some part of the action will bring you back to the first object.
>> Your sensual perception is reshaped by emotion and yearning of the two
>
>> linked memories.
>>
>> 7). Now in the present you take an action.
>>
>>
>>
>> 8. Creating Shape in Scene: Image as Strategic Bookend
>>
>> Choose a person you know well, someone with whom you have had intense
>> engagement (pleasure/disagreements/issues) in the past. Let yourself
>> drift back to a particular moment with this person.
>>
>> 1. Start with an image. For example, describe this person?s hands
>> (one or two sentences).
>> 2. Narrate an action. Describe something she is doing with her
> hands
>> (this may be only a small task: your grandmother wiping her hands with
>
>> a dish towel).
>> 3. Describe something about the surroundings, giving the reader a
>> sense of where you are and what the situation is (in the kitchen with
>> your grandmother while she peels carrots and you sulk at the table
>> because your boyfriend didn?t call).
>> 4. Ask this person a question you?ve always wanted to ask or begin
> a
>> dialogue about the problem or issue (Did your grandfather ever ignore
>> her this way?).
>> 5. Let the question be a catalyst for a scene. If in real life you
>> didn?t ask a question directly, but always wanted to, you can push the
>
>> scene by imagining the other person?s response and telling the reader
>> that this is a dialogue in your head. Imagining the response is not
>> cheating. It?s a legitimate way to let the reader see more deeply
>> into your character and into your perception of the other person.
>> 6. Come back to the image of the person?s hands. The image will be
>> slightly different because the narrator?s perception has been aroused
>> by the exchange.
>>
>> The important thing in this exercise is progression from image to
>> action to setting to conflict and back to image.
>>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:03:36 -0400
> From: "Jacobson, Shawn D" <Shawn.D.Jacobson at hud.gov>
> To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List' <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing Exercises from Patricia Foster
> Message-ID:
>
> <A1A3EBA504582C449F7E37E5039CCD17115C4D079A at EXMAIL03A.exh.prod.hud.gov>
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> I got the earlier Email.
>
> Shawn
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Priscilla McKinley
> Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 3:02 PM
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing Exercises from Patricia Foster
>
> Did anyone get this email? I didn't receive it in my inbox.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Priscilla
>
>
>
> On 10/26/10, Priscilla McKinley <priscilla.mckinley at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I'm trying to send this again. Can we not send attachments?
>>
>>
>> Hey, listers,
>>
>> I just received the writing exercises from Patricia Foster, our guest
>> speaker on Sunday night. She told me to let you know that these are
>> responses to other readings but that some will work without the
>> readings. She will get the book list together later, as she is rather
>
>> busy right now. Also, she said that she enjoyed chatting with
>> everyone on the conference call.
>>
>> I am pasting, as well as attaching, the exercises.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Priscilla
>>
>>
>> 1. First Things First: an exercise in memory
>>
>> You can use Edward Jones' "The First Day" and Primo Levi's "The
>> Disciple" as examples.
>>
>> Write about a first - yours or someone else's. First haircut. First
>> airplane ride. First day of school. First date. First job. First
>> lie. First move to another city. First hospital stay. First time
>> eating ice cream or tiramisu.
>>
>> Begin "in" the moment of action: the flash of the barber's scissors
>> above your left ear as he leans over to cut into your dark, tangled
>> hair; rubbing the crumbs of a piece of toast on your nubby pajamas on
>> the morning of your first day at Longfellow school.
>>
>> Remember to include sights and smells and sounds and textures that add
>
>> particularity to your memory.
>>
>> Remember that underneath each concrete story there will be other
>> firsts: the first recognition of aloneness, the first stirrings of
>> shame, the first time falling in love with a place, the first foray
>> into grief.
>>
>> Concentrate on focusing your action with a single scene - or a series
>> of scenes. A scene: action that takes place in a specific time and
>> place.
>>
>> 2. MEMORY - Revising History
>>
>> We know that memory is fickle, that we consciously and unconsciously
>> remember events in certain ways to protect ourselves, to dramatize
>> ourselves, to make things more exciting. Sometimes we do not really
>> know what happened and our minds intuitively fill in the gaps.
>>
>> In both "The Harvest" (Amy Hempel) and "Snow" (Anne Beattie) the
>> narrators reveal the slipperiness of memory, how an event - an
>> accident, for example - can be told in such a way as to leave many
>> things out or how our memory of a time in our lives can be different
>> from the memory of another person who experienced the same moments.
>>
>> First:
>>
>> In this exercise, I want you to write about a particular event - an
>> accident, a sudden illness, a dismissal, a moment in combat. Write
>> as close to the action as possible so that you place the reader "in"
>> the moment of disruption. Write in past tense and begin with "I
>> remember. . ."
>>
>> Later:
>>
>> Go back to your exercise and look at what you've left out and/or what
>> another person might have remembered differently. Do one of 2 things:
>>
>> 1. Add a postscript (along the lines of what Amy Hempel does in
> "The
>> Harvest") of what you left out (and implicitly why you left it out).
>> 2. Add someone's differing memory as counterpoint ("You remember it
>> differently. . .") and then some kind of synthesis or commentary
>> ("This, then, for drama. . .")
>> 3. Let the reader see how feelings change with misinformation as in
>> "Accident."
>>
>>
>> 3. Using Gesture and Mannerism in Creating Character
>>
>> First:
>>
>> After reading William Boyd's "Beginning":
>>
>> Character can be revealed through action, dialogue, as well as through
>
>> mannerism and gesture. Many times writers depend too much on action -
>> what happens - to reveal character whereas description of mannerisms
>> and gestures tell us as much as we need. Character can be achieved
>> through brushstrokes. The literary critic, James Woods, gives this
>> example from Maupassant's story "La Reine Hortense": "He was a
>> gentleman with red whiskers who always went first through a doorway."
>>
>> 1. Consider an important character in your history/story. Think of
> a
>> gesture or mannerism or expression that pushes you to see this
>> someone: red whiskers; unshaved bristles on his cheekbones; going
>> first through a doorway, etc. Begin with a particular circumstance
>> that leads to remembering.
>>
>> 2. Why do I go on about this? Tell the reader why you are obsessed
>> with this person, why she/he is important to your story.
>>
>> 3. Draw a picture of the place (room, car, beneath the tree) where
>> this takes place. Put whatever details/objects might be in this
>> place. Where are you? What are you doing? Describe the scene.
>>
>> 4. Show this person in a moment of action. It might be as simple
> as
>> washing dishes or turning down the a/c or as important as slapping
>> someone's face. Let yourself imagine what this person is thinking.
>> Ask this person a question you've never asked before but always wanted
>
>> to know. Imagine the person answering, then returning to the activity
>
>> of the beginning.
>>
>>
>> 4. Emblematic Moments - Creating Scenes
>>
>> Readings: "What Happened During the Ice Storm"; "Illumination
>> Rounds"; "Killing Chickens"; excerpt from Matterhorn.
>>
>> Scenes represent moments of choice or turning points. Here, something
>
>> (often difficult) is decided or revealed that changes the direction of
>
>> the narrative. Scenes represent immediacy, something happening
>> "before your eyes."
>>
>> In-class
>>
>> Choose a moment in which you - or your character - make a decision. We
>
>> will start with a moment in childhood, something that still has
>> emotional weight in your life. It might be a moment when you betray
>> or save someone/something close to you or are betrayed/saved by
>> someone else. Once again, we will stay very close to the moment
>> itself, revealing 'what happens' as if through a close-up lens. We
>> will use "What Happened During the Ice Storm" as our guide - a small
>> action that is redemptive (though if you go the betrayal route, then
>> you'll be showing the opposite - though both sides reveal
>> vulnerability).
>>
>>
>> 5. Immersion/Immediacy/Atmosphere
>>
>> Think of an incident from your past that happened in a particular
>> atmosphere: at night; while it was raining; in a storm; during a snowy
>
>> morning; in extreme heat or fog. Choose an incident that has some
>> meaning to you, one that provokes some strong emotion and feeling. The
>
>> feeling could be positive or negative - a moment when you felt
>> frightened, isolated, safe, euphoric, powerful. Try to remember as
>> much detail as you can about the event and about the physical nature
>> of the atmosphere. Consider how the atmosphere becomes a significant
>> part of the event, how it plays a role in your memory, becomes if not
>> a character, then a defining aspect of the event.
>>
>> Write as close to the moment/incident as possible. Write in first
>> person, present tense as if you are right there, re-living it.
>>
>> Retrospective Point of View/Atmosphere
>>
>> Now that you've written a close-up of this incident, take a different
>> tact: look at the incident from your current perspective but write in
>
>> third person, past tense. Let us see the same incident but allow the
>> narrator to have, perhaps, a different cognition on the event and the
>> people involved. The retrospective narrator might comment on this
>> moment in a way that suggests how time changes your perspective
>> (sympathies, decisions, even moral concerns).
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 6. FORM: A Day in the Life
>>
>> This kind of essay often takes a journalistic stance, reporting the
>> "contents" of a day, often for one or two purposes: to show an
>> ordinary side of strange, remote lives or to show a strange side of
>> ordinary, familiar lives. In the case of Robert Heilman's essay
>> "Overstory: Zero," perhaps it is the latter. In this essay, Heilman
>> breaks up and names the parts of his day - making the form modular -
>> and takes the reader deeper into the politics of a company
>> reforestation crew.
>>
>> Formally, he uses second person point of view, present tense, modular
>> structure.
>>
>> In this exercise, I want you to consider the modular structure and do
>> the following: pick an area of your life that lends itself to
>> dailiness and to a revelation of the day's meaning. It might be your
>> job; it might be your social activities; it might be volunteer work;
>> it might be "A Day in the Life of a Loafer" or "A Day in the Life of a
>
>> Waitress," or "A Day in the Life of a Single Mom/Dad" or "A Day in the
>
>> Life of an Asian Traveler."
>>
>> The main thing is to find something that compels you, that seems ripe
>> for unraveling. And something you haven't written about before.
>>
>> To simplify the exercise, consider it as having four parts:
>>
>> 1. Beginning of a day - the introduction to your story (this
> doesn't
>> mean it has to start in the morning, by the way). The beginning of
>> your particular story as a hitchhiker in Nepal may begin at 2:30 in
>> the afternoon when you're dying of thirst.
>> 2. A list - Just as Heilman gives a list of what he takes with him
> in
>> "Kamikazes," make a list that is important to this person's life.
>> Incorporate it into a paragraph.
>> 3. An Event - something that "happens" and can be told as a story.
>> Ex: you spill salad dressing all over a customer and the customer
>> first yells, but then charms you and leaves you a big tip; you sleep
>> through a test and in your panic at what you've done, you rush out
>> into traffic and immediately make an illegal turn and get a ticket.
>> Something happens!
>> 4. End of day - a "moment" that reflects the day's waning.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 7. Sequence/Scene (fiction)
>>
>> This is a long exercise in sequence. The point is to explore how a
>> story moves from a situation to a complication to a turning. We will
>> explore this not as an intellectual concept but through process. In
>> the process we will look at the close-up scene, the flashback moment,
>> the movement from emotional response to action. If you are already
>> working on a character, feel free to use this character in the
>> exercise. If not, the exercise will evoke a character.
>>
>>
>> I will give you the first sentence of a situation and then prompts to
>> stay in sense memory. Stay with character.
>>
>> Situation: 1) waking up not in your bed. You feel surprise and
>> anxiety. Look around the room. Let us see the room through the
>> senses - the light, the sounds, the smells, the objects, your
>> narrator's body.
>>
>> 2) Let one particular object catch your attention and suggest a strong
>
>> connection to your anxiety. Touch it. Experience it sensually.
>>
>> 3). Let this object evoke a memory, one based on wanting, desiring
>> something, a surface thing you want: a touch, a gesture, an object.
>> Experience this surface thing through your character's sensibility.
>>
>> 4). Let the memory of this desire include a moment when a second
>> memory is evoked. This second memory involves another object,
>> different from the one you are touching or wanting but similar in its
>> basic sensual pattern. The wanting deepens into a state of being, a
>> state of self.
>>
>> 5). Second memory moves you to an action. Let the action happen
>> moment by moment.
>>
>> 6). Some part of the action will bring you back to the first object.
>> Your sensual perception is reshaped by emotion and yearning of the two
>
>> linked memories.
>>
>> 7). Now in the present you take an action.
>>
>>
>>
>> 8. Creating Shape in Scene: Image as Strategic Bookend
>>
>> Choose a person you know well, someone with whom you have had intense
>> engagement (pleasure/disagreements/issues) in the past. Let yourself
>> drift back to a particular moment with this person.
>>
>> 1. Start with an image. For example, describe this person's hands
>> (one or two sentences).
>> 2. Narrate an action. Describe something she is doing with her
> hands
>> (this may be only a small task: your grandmother wiping her hands with
>
>> a dish towel).
>> 3. Describe something about the surroundings, giving the reader a
>> sense of where you are and what the situation is (in the kitchen with
>> your grandmother while she peels carrots and you sulk at the table
>> because your boyfriend didn't call).
>> 4. Ask this person a question you've always wanted to ask or begin
> a
>> dialogue about the problem or issue (Did your grandfather ever ignore
>> her this way?).
>> 5. Let the question be a catalyst for a scene. If in real life you
>> didn't ask a question directly, but always wanted to, you can push the
>
>> scene by imagining the other person's response and telling the reader
>> that this is a dialogue in your head. Imagining the response is not
>> cheating. It's a legitimate way to let the reader see more deeply
>> into your character and into your perception of the other person.
>> 6. Come back to the image of the person's hands. The image will be
>> slightly different because the narrator's perception has been aroused
>> by the exchange.
>>
>> The important thing in this exercise is progression from image to
>> action to setting to conflict and back to image.
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site:
> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org
> <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> stylist:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/shawn.d.jacobso
> n%40hud.gov
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 14:04:46 -0500
> From: Bridgit Pollpeter <bpollpeter at hotmail.com>
> To: writers division <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [stylist] writing what you don't know
> Message-ID: <SNT136-w277AA96583394867CD1F9EC4420 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>
> Priscilla,
>
> Yes, I am the "she" in this, but I only share my mom's thoughts,
> attempting to understand how she felt in the situation.
>
> Bridgit
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:09:39 EDT
> From: KajunCutie926 at aol.com
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing Exercises from Patricia Foster
> Message-ID: <765cc.d790d24.39f88173 at aol.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> I dot it too Priscilla... thanks..))
>
>
> In a message dated 10/26/2010 2:03:02 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
> priscilla.mckinley at gmail.com writes:
>
> Did anyone get this email? I didn't receive it in my inbox.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Priscilla
>
>
>
> On 10/26/10, Priscilla McKinley <priscilla.mckinley at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I'm trying to send this again. Can we not send attachments?
>>
>>
>> Hey, listers,
>>
>> I just received the writing exercises from Patricia Foster, our guest
>
>> speaker on Sunday night. She told me to let you know that these are
>> responses to other readings but that some will work without the
>> readings. She will get the book list together later, as she is
>> rather busy right now. Also, she said that she enjoyed chatting with
>
>> everyone on the conference call.
>>
>> I am pasting, as well as attaching, the exercises.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Priscilla
>>
>>
>> 1. First Things First: an exercise in memory
>>
>> You can use Edward Jones? ?The First Day? and Primo Levi?s ?The
>> Disciple? as examples.
>>
>> Write about a first ? yours or someone else?s. First haircut. First
>> airplane ride. First day of school. First date. First job. First
>> lie. First move to another city. First hospital stay. First time
>> eating ice cream or tiramisu.
>>
>> Begin ?in? the moment of action: the flash of the barber?s scissors
>> above your left ear as he leans over to cut into your dark, tangled
>> hair; rubbing the crumbs of a piece of toast on your nubby pajamas on
>
>> the morning of your first day at Longfellow school.
>>
>> Remember to include sights and smells and sounds and textures that
>> add particularity to your memory.
>>
>> Remember that underneath each concrete story there will be other
>> firsts: the first recognition of aloneness, the first stirrings of
>> shame, the first time falling in love with a place, the first foray
>> into grief.
>>
>> Concentrate on focusing your action with a single scene ? or a series
>
>> of scenes. A scene: action that takes place in a specific time and
>> place.
>>
>> 2. MEMORY ? Revising History
>>
>> We know that memory is fickle, that we consciously and unconsciously
>> remember events in certain ways to protect ourselves, to dramatize
>> ourselves, to make things more exciting. Sometimes we do not really
>> know what happened and our minds intuitively fill in the gaps.
>>
>> In both ?The Harvest? (Amy Hempel) and ?Snow? (Anne Beattie) the
>> narrators reveal the slipperiness of memory, how an event ? an
>> accident, for example ? can be told in such a way as to leave many
>> things out or how our memory of a time in our lives can be different
>> from the memory of another person who experienced the same moments.
>>
>> First:
>>
>> In this exercise, I want you to write about a particular event ? an
>> accident, a sudden illness, a dismissal, a moment in combat. Write
>> as close to the action as possible so that you place the reader ?in?
>> the moment of disruption. Write in past tense and begin with ?I
>> remember. . .?
>>
>> Later:
>>
>> Go back to your exercise and look at what you?ve left out and/or what
>
>> another person might have remembered differently. Do one of 2
>> things:
>>
>> 1. Add a postscript (along the lines of what Amy Hempel does in
> ?The
>> Harvest?) of what you left out (and implicitly why you left it out).
>> 2. Add someone?s differing memory as counterpoint (?You remember it
>> differently. . .?) and then some kind of synthesis or commentary
>> (?This, then, for drama. . .?)
>> 3. Let the reader see how feelings change with misinformation as
> in
>> ?Accident.?
>>
>>
>> 3. Using Gesture and Mannerism in Creating Character
>>
>> First:
>>
>> After reading William Boyd?s ?Beginning?:
>>
>> Character can be revealed through action, dialogue, as well as
>> through mannerism and gesture. Many times writers depend too much on
>> action ? what happens ? to reveal character whereas description of
>> mannerisms and gestures tell us as much as we need. Character can be
> achieved
>> through brushstrokes. The literary critic, James Woods, gives this
>> example from Maupassant?s story ?La Reine Hortense?: ?He was a
>> gentleman with red whiskers who always went first through a doorway.?
>>
>> 1. Consider an important character in your history/story. Think
> of a
>> gesture or mannerism or expression that pushes you to see this
>> someone: red whiskers; unshaved bristles on his cheekbones; going
>> first through a doorway, etc. Begin with a particular circumstance
>> that leads to remembering.
>>
>> 2. Why do I go on about this? Tell the reader why you are
> obsessed
>> with this person, why she/he is important to your story.
>>
>> 3. Draw a picture of the place (room, car, beneath the tree) where
>> this takes place. Put whatever details/objects might be in this
>> place. Where are you? What are you doing? Describe the scene.
>>
>> 4. Show this person in a moment of action. It might be as simple
> as
>> washing dishes or turning down the a/c or as important as slapping
>> someone?s face. Let yourself imagine what this person is thinking.
>> Ask this person a question you?ve never asked before but always
>> wanted to know. Imagine the person answering, then returning to the
>> activity of the beginning.
>>
>>
>> 4. Emblematic Moments ? Creating Scenes
>>
>> Readings: ?What Happened During the Ice Storm?; ?Illumination
>> Rounds?; ?Killing Chickens?; excerpt from Matterhorn.
>>
>> Scenes represent moments of choice or turning points. Here,
>> something (often difficult) is decided or revealed that changes the
>> direction of the narrative. Scenes represent immediacy, something
>> happening ?before your eyes.?
>>
>> In-class
>>
>> Choose a moment in which you ? or your character ? make a decision.
>> We will start with a moment in childhood, something that still has
>> emotional weight in your life. It might be a moment when you betray
>> or save someone/something close to you or are betrayed/saved by
>> someone else. Once again, we will stay very close to the moment
>> itself, revealing ?what happens? as if through a close-up lens. We
>> will use ?What Happened During the Ice Storm? as our guide ? a small
>> action that is redemptive (though if you go the betrayal route, then
>> you?ll be showing the opposite ? though both sides reveal
>> vulnerability).
>>
>>
>> 5. Immersion/Immediacy/Atmosphere
>>
>> Think of an incident from your past that happened in a particular
>> atmosphere: at night; while it was raining; in a storm; during a
>> snowy morning; in extreme heat or fog. Choose an incident that has
>> some meaning to you, one that provokes some strong emotion and
>> feeling. The feeling could be positive or negative ? a moment when
>> you felt frightened, isolated, safe, euphoric, powerful. Try to
>> remember as much detail as you can about the event and about the
>> physical nature of the atmosphere. Consider how the atmosphere
>> becomes a significant part of the event, how it plays a role in your
>> memory, becomes if not a character, then a defining aspect of the
>> event.
>>
>> Write as close to the moment/incident as possible. Write in first
>> person, present tense as if you are right there, re-living it.
>>
>> Retrospective Point of View/Atmosphere
>>
>> Now that you?ve written a close-up of this incident, take a different
>> tact: look at the incident from your current perspective but write
>> in third person, past tense. Let us see the same incident but allow
>> the narrator to have, perhaps, a different cognition on the event and
>
>> the people involved. The retrospective narrator might comment on
>> this moment in a way that suggests how time changes your perspective
>
>> (sympathies, decisions, even moral concerns).
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 6. FORM: A Day in the Life
>>
>> This kind of essay often takes a journalistic stance, reporting the
>> ?contents? of a day, often for one or two purposes: to show an
>> ordinary side of strange, remote lives or to show a strange side of
>> ordinary, familiar lives. In the case of Robert Heilman?s essay
>> ?Overstory: Zero,? perhaps it is the latter. In this essay, Heilman
>> breaks up and names the parts of his day ? making the form modular ?
>> and takes the reader deeper into the politics of a company
>> reforestation crew.
>>
>> Formally, he uses second person point of view, present tense, modular
>
>> structure.
>>
>> In this exercise, I want you to consider the modular structure and do
>
>> the following: pick an area of your life that lends itself to
>> dailiness and to a revelation of the day?s meaning. It might be
> your
>> job; it might be your social activities; it might be volunteer work;
>> it might be ?A Day in the Life of a Loafer? or ?A Day in the Life of
>> a Waitress,? or ?A Day in the Life of a Single Mom/Dad? or ?A Day in
>> the Life of an Asian Traveler.?
>>
>> The main thing is to find something that compels you, that seems ripe
>
>> for unraveling. And something you haven?t written about before.
>>
>> To simplify the exercise, consider it as having four parts:
>>
>> 1. Beginning of a day ? the introduction to your story (this
> doesn?t
>> mean it has to start in the morning, by the way). The beginning of
>> your particular story as a hitchhiker in Nepal may begin at 2:30 in
>> the afternoon when you?re dying of thirst.
>> 2. A list ? Just as Heilman gives a list of what he takes with him
> in
>> ?Kamikazes,? make a list that is important to this person?s life.
>> Incorporate it into a paragraph.
>> 3. An Event ? something that ?happens? and can be told as a story.
>> Ex: you spill salad dressing all over a customer and the customer
>> first yells, but then charms you and leaves you a big tip; you sleep
>> through a test and in your panic at what you?ve done, you rush out
>> into traffic and immediately make an illegal turn and get a ticket.
>> Something happens!
>> 4. End of day ? a ?moment? that reflects the day?s waning.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 7. Sequence/Scene (fiction)
>>
>> This is a long exercise in sequence. The point is to explore how a
>> story moves from a situation to a complication to a turning. We will
>
>> explore this not as an intellectual concept but through process. In
>> the process we will look at the close-up scene, the flashback moment,
>
>> the movement from emotional response to action. If you are already
>> working on a character, feel free to use this character in the
>> exercise. If not, the exercise will evoke a character.
>>
>>
>> I will give you the first sentence of a situation and then prompts to
>
>> stay in sense memory. Stay with character.
>>
>> Situation: 1) waking up not in your bed. You feel surprise and
>> anxiety. Look around the room. Let us see the room through the
>> senses ? the light, the sounds, the smells, the objects, your
>> narrator?s body.
>>
>> 2) Let one particular object catch your attention and suggest a
>> strong connection to your anxiety. Touch it. Experience it
>> sensually.
>>
>> 3). Let this object evoke a memory, one based on wanting, desiring
>> something, a surface thing you want: a touch, a gesture, an object.
>> Experience this surface thing through your character?s sensibility.
>>
>> 4). Let the memory of this desire include a moment when a second
>> memory is evoked. This second memory involves another object,
>> different from the one you are touching or wanting but similar in its
>> basic sensual pattern. The wanting deepens into a state of being, a
>> state of self.
>>
>> 5). Second memory moves you to an action. Let the action happen
>> moment by moment.
>>
>> 6). Some part of the action will bring you back to the first object.
>
>> Your sensual perception is reshaped by emotion and yearning of the
>> two linked memories.
>>
>> 7). Now in the present you take an action.
>>
>>
>>
>> 8. Creating Shape in Scene: Image as Strategic Bookend
>>
>> Choose a person you know well, someone with whom you have had intense
>
>> engagement (pleasure/disagreements/issues) in the past. Let yourself
>
>> drift back to a particular moment with this person.
>>
>> 1. Start with an image. For example, describe this person?s hands
>> (one or two sentences).
>> 2. Narrate an action. Describe something she is doing with her
> hands
>> (this may be only a small task: your grandmother wiping her hands
>> with a dish towel).
>> 3. Describe something about the surroundings, giving the reader a
>> sense of where you are and what the situation is (in the kitchen with
>
>> your grandmother while she peels carrots and you sulk at the table
>> because your boyfriend didn?t call).
>> 4. Ask this person a question you?ve always wanted to ask or
> begin a
>> dialogue about the problem or issue (Did your grandfather ever ignore
>
>> her this way?).
>> 5. Let the question be a catalyst for a scene. If in real life
> you
>> didn?t ask a question directly, but always wanted to, you can push
>> the scene by imagining the other person?s response and telling the
>> reader that this is a dialogue in your head. Imagining the response
>> is not cheating. It?s a legitimate way to let the reader see more
>> deeply into your character and into your perception of the other
> person.
>> 6. Come back to the image of the person?s hands. The image will
> be
>> slightly different because the narrator?s perception has been aroused
>
>> by the exchange.
>>
>> The important thing in this exercise is progression from image to
>> action to setting to conflict and back to image.
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site:
> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org
> <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> stylist:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/kajuncutie926%4
> 0aol
> .com
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 14:33:30 -0500
> From: "Robert Leslie Newman" <newmanrl at cox.net>
> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing Exercises from Patricia Foster
> Message-ID: <01ef01cb7544$ab72bb40$025831c0$@cox.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Priscilla
>
> Bad news, the recording of last night did not work. I played it back and
> it was a short series of clicks. This is bad, a first time and an
> unfortunate time.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Priscilla McKinley
> Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 10:02 AM
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [stylist] Writing Exercises from Patricia Foster
>
> Hey, listers,
>
> I just received the writing exercises from Patricia Foster, our guest
> speaker on Sunday night. She told me to let you know that these are
> responses to other readings but that most will work without the
> readings. She will get the book list together later, as she is rather
> busy right now. Also, she said that she enjoyed chatting with everyone
> on the conference call.
>
> I am pasting, as well as attaching, the exercises.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Priscilla
>
>
> 1. First Things First: an exercise in memory
>
> You can use Edward Jones' "The First Day" and Primo Levi's "The
> Disciple" as examples.
>
> Write about a first - yours or someone else's. First haircut. First
> airplane ride. First day of school. First date. First job. First
> lie. First move to another city. First hospital stay. First time
> eating ice cream or tiramisu.
>
> Begin "in" the moment of action: the flash of the barber's scissors
> above your left ear as he leans over to cut into your dark, tangled
> hair; rubbing the crumbs of a piece of toast on your nubby pajamas on
> the morning of your first day at Longfellow school.
>
> Remember to include sights and smells and sounds and textures that add
> particularity to your memory.
>
> Remember that underneath each concrete story there will be other
> firsts: the first recognition of aloneness, the first stirrings of
> shame, the first time falling in love with a place, the first foray into
> grief.
>
> Concentrate on focusing your action with a single scene - or a series of
> scenes. A scene: action that takes place in a specific time and place.
>
> 2. MEMORY - Revising History
>
> We know that memory is fickle, that we consciously and unconsciously
> remember events in certain ways to protect ourselves, to dramatize
> ourselves, to make things more exciting. Sometimes we do not really
> know what happened and our minds intuitively fill in the gaps.
>
> In both "The Harvest" (Amy Hempel) and "Snow" (Anne Beattie) the
> narrators reveal the slipperiness of memory, how an event - an accident,
> for example - can be told in such a way as to leave many things out or
> how our memory of a time in our lives can be different from the memory
> of another person who experienced the same moments.
>
> First:
>
> In this exercise, I want you to write about a particular event - an
> accident, a sudden illness, a dismissal, a moment in combat. Write
> as close to the action as possible so that you place the reader "in" the
> moment of disruption. Write in past tense and begin with "I remember. .
> ."
>
> Later:
>
> Go back to your exercise and look at what you've left out and/or what
> another person might have remembered differently. Do one of 2 things:
>
> 1. Add a postscript (along the lines of what Amy Hempel does in
> "The
> Harvest") of what you left out (and implicitly why you left it out).
> 2. Add someone's differing memory as counterpoint ("You remember it
> differently. . .") and then some kind of synthesis or commentary ("This,
> then, for drama. . .")
> 3. Let the reader see how feelings change with misinformation as in
> "Accident."
>
>
> 3. Using Gesture and Mannerism in Creating Character
>
> First:
>
> After reading William Boyd's "Beginning":
>
> Character can be revealed through action, dialogue, as well as through
> mannerism and gesture. Many times writers depend too much on action -
> what happens - to reveal character whereas description of mannerisms and
> gestures tell us as much as we need. Character can be achieved
> through brushstrokes. The literary critic, James Woods, gives this
> example from Maupassant's story "La Reine Hortense": "He was a
> gentleman with red whiskers who always went first through a doorway."
>
> 1. Consider an important character in your history/story. Think of
> a
> gesture or mannerism or expression that pushes you to see this
> someone: red whiskers; unshaved bristles on his cheekbones; going
> first through a doorway, etc. Begin with a particular circumstance
> that leads to remembering.
>
> 2. Why do I go on about this? Tell the reader why you are obsessed
> with this person, why she/he is important to your story.
>
> 3. Draw a picture of the place (room, car, beneath the tree) where
> this takes place. Put whatever details/objects might be in this place.
> Where are you? What are you doing? Describe the scene.
>
> 4. Show this person in a moment of action. It might be as simple
> as
> washing dishes or turning down the a/c or as important as slapping
> someone's face. Let yourself imagine what this person is thinking. Ask
> this person a question you've never asked before but always wanted to
> know. Imagine the person answering, then returning to the activity of
> the beginning.
>
>
> 4. Emblematic Moments - Creating Scenes
>
> Readings: "What Happened During the Ice Storm"; "Illumination Rounds";
> "Killing Chickens"; excerpt from Matterhorn.
>
> Scenes represent moments of choice or turning points. Here, something
> (often difficult) is decided or revealed that changes the direction of
> the narrative. Scenes represent immediacy, something happening "before
> your eyes."
>
> In-class
>
> Choose a moment in which you - or your character - make a decision. We
> will start with a moment in childhood, something that still has
> emotional weight in your life. It might be a moment when you betray or
> save someone/something close to you or are betrayed/saved by someone
> else. Once again, we will stay very close to the moment itself,
> revealing 'what happens' as if through a close-up lens. We will use
> "What Happened During the Ice Storm" as our guide - a small action that
> is redemptive (though if you go the betrayal route, then you'll be
> showing the opposite - though both sides reveal vulnerability).
>
>
> 5. Immersion/Immediacy/Atmosphere
>
> Think of an incident from your past that happened in a particular
> atmosphere: at night; while it was raining; in a storm; during a snowy
> morning; in extreme heat or fog. Choose an incident that has some
> meaning to you, one that provokes some strong emotion and feeling. The
> feeling could be positive or negative - a moment when you felt
> frightened, isolated, safe, euphoric, powerful. Try to remember as much
> detail as you can about the event and about the physical nature of the
> atmosphere. Consider how the atmosphere becomes a significant part of
> the event, how it plays a role in your memory, becomes if not a
> character, then a defining aspect of the event.
>
> Write as close to the moment/incident as possible. Write in first
> person, present tense as if you are right there, re-living it.
>
> Retrospective Point of View/Atmosphere
>
> Now that you've written a close-up of this incident, take a different
> tact: look at the incident from your current perspective but write in
> third person, past tense. Let us see the same incident but allow the
> narrator to have, perhaps, a different cognition on the event and the
> people involved. The retrospective narrator might comment on this moment
> in a way that suggests how time changes your perspective (sympathies,
> decisions, even moral concerns).
>
>
>
>
> 6. FORM: A Day in the Life
>
> This kind of essay often takes a journalistic stance, reporting the
> "contents" of a day, often for one or two purposes: to show an ordinary
> side of strange, remote lives or to show a strange side of ordinary,
> familiar lives. In the case of Robert Heilman's essay
> "Overstory: Zero," perhaps it is the latter. In this essay, Heilman
> breaks up and names the parts of his day - making the form modular - and
> takes the reader deeper into the politics of a company reforestation
> crew.
>
> Formally, he uses second person point of view, present tense, modular
> structure.
>
> In this exercise, I want you to consider the modular structure and do
> the
> following: pick an area of your life that lends itself to
> dailiness and to a revelation of the day's meaning. It might be your
> job; it might be your social activities; it might be volunteer work; it
> might be "A Day in the Life of a Loafer" or "A Day in the Life of a
> Waitress," or "A Day in the Life of a Single Mom/Dad" or "A Day in the
> Life of an Asian Traveler."
>
> The main thing is to find something that compels you, that seems ripe
> for unraveling. And something you haven't written about before.
>
> To simplify the exercise, consider it as having four parts:
>
> 1. Beginning of a day - the introduction to your story (this
> doesn't
> mean it has to start in the morning, by the way). The beginning of your
> particular story as a hitchhiker in Nepal may begin at 2:30 in the
> afternoon when you're dying of thirst.
> 2. A list - Just as Heilman gives a list of what he takes with him
> in
> "Kamikazes," make a list that is important to this person's life.
> Incorporate it into a paragraph.
> 3. An Event - something that "happens" and can be told as a story.
> Ex: you spill salad dressing all over a customer and the customer first
> yells, but then charms you and leaves you a big tip; you sleep through a
> test and in your panic at what you've done, you rush out into traffic
> and immediately make an illegal turn and get a ticket. Something
> happens!
> 4. End of day - a "moment" that reflects the day's waning.
>
>
>
>
> 7. Sequence/Scene (fiction)
>
> This is a long exercise in sequence. The point is to explore how a story
> moves from a situation to a complication to a turning. We will explore
> this not as an intellectual concept but through process. In the process
> we will look at the close-up scene, the flashback moment, the movement
> from emotional response to action. If you are already working on a
> character, feel free to use this character in the exercise. If not, the
> exercise will evoke a character.
>
>
> I will give you the first sentence of a situation and then prompts to
> stay in sense memory. Stay with character.
>
> Situation: 1) waking up not in your bed. You feel surprise and anxiety.
> Look around the room. Let us see the room through the senses - the
> light, the sounds, the smells, the objects, your narrator's body.
>
> 2) Let one particular object catch your attention and suggest a strong
> connection to your anxiety. Touch it. Experience it sensually.
>
> 3). Let this object evoke a memory, one based on wanting, desiring
> something, a surface thing you want: a touch, a gesture, an object.
> Experience this surface thing through your character's sensibility.
>
> 4). Let the memory of this desire include a moment when a second memory
> is evoked. This second memory involves another object, different from
> the one you are touching or wanting but similar in its basic sensual
> pattern. The wanting deepens into a state of being, a state of self.
>
> 5). Second memory moves you to an action. Let the action happen moment
> by moment.
>
> 6). Some part of the action will bring you back to the first object.
> Your sensual perception is reshaped by emotion and yearning of the two
> linked memories.
>
> 7). Now in the present you take an action.
>
>
>
> 8. Creating Shape in Scene: Image as Strategic Bookend
>
> Choose a person you know well, someone with whom you have had intense
> engagement (pleasure/disagreements/issues) in the past. Let yourself
> drift back to a particular moment with this person.
>
> 1. Start with an image. For example, describe this person's hands
> (one or two sentences).
> 2. Narrate an action. Describe something she is doing with her
> hands
> (this may be only a small task: your grandmother wiping her hands with a
> dish towel).
> 3. Describe something about the surroundings, giving the reader a
> sense of where you are and what the situation is (in the kitchen with
> your grandmother while she peels carrots and you sulk at the table
> because your boyfriend didn't call).
> 4. Ask this person a question you've always wanted to ask or begin
> a
> dialogue about the problem or issue (Did your grandfather ever ignore
> her this way?).
> 5. Let the question be a catalyst for a scene. If in real life you
> didn't ask a question directly, but always wanted to, you can push the
> scene by imagining the other person's response and telling the reader
> that this is a dialogue in your head. Imagining the response is not
> cheating. It's a legitimate way to let the reader see more deeply into
> your character and into your perception of the other person.
> 6. Come back to the image of the person's hands. The image will be
> slightly different because the narrator's perception has been aroused by
> the exchange.
>
> The important thing in this exercise is progression from image to action
> to setting to conflict and back to image.
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:58:30 -0400
> From: Judith Bron <jbron at optonline.net>
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] writing what you don't know
> Message-ID: <E01B41121DAF4BCBBD7D9504CD1C851E at dell5150>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1;
> reply-type=original
>
> You did a fabulous job transmitting the feelings of both the girl and
> the
> mom. Whatever the medical problem, you went through hell! Perhaps all
> of
> us have our own personal hell, but the hell of someone else can sound
> more
> severe. Your mom sounds like a sweety. I hope she enjoys the woman you
>
> turned out to be. Judith
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bridgit Pollpeter" <bpollpeter at hotmail.com>
> To: "writers division" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 3:04 PM
> Subject: [stylist] writing what you don't know
>
>
>>
>> Priscilla,
>>
>> Yes, I am the "she" in this, but I only share my mom's thoughts,
>> attempting to understand how she felt in the situation.
>>
>> Bridgit
>> _______________________________________________
>> Writers Division web site: http://www.nfb-writers-division.org
>> <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>>
>> stylist mailing list
>> stylist at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> stylist:
>>
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/jbron%40optonli
> ne.net
>>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:02:36 -0400
> From: Donna Hill <penatwork at epix.net>
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing Exercises from Patricia Foster
> Message-ID: <4CC733DC.1090503 at epix.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
>
> Hi Priscilla,
> I got both of them. I thought we used to be able to send attachments,
> but I guess that was a while ago.
> Donna
>
> Read Donna's articles on
> Suite 101:
> www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/donna_hill
> Ezine Articles:
> http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=D._W._Hill
> American Chronicle:
> www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3885
>
> Connect with Donna on
> Twitter:
> www.twitter.com/dewhill
> LinkedIn:
> www.linkedin.com/in/dwh99
> FaceBook:
> www.facebook.com/donna.w.hill.
>
> Hear clips from "The Last Straw" at:
> cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
> Apple I-Tunes
> phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=25924437
> 4
>
> Check out the "Sound in Sight" CD project
> Donna is Head of Media Relations for the nonprofit
> Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind:
> www.padnfb.org
>
>
> On 10/26/2010 3:01 PM, Priscilla McKinley wrote:
>> Did anyone get this email? I didn't receive it in my inbox.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Priscilla
>>
>>
>>
>> On 10/26/10, Priscilla McKinley<priscilla.mckinley at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I'm trying to send this again. Can we not send attachments?
>>>
>>>
>>> Hey, listers,
>>>
>>> I just received the writing exercises from Patricia Foster, our guest
>
>>> speaker on Sunday night. She told me to let you know that these are
>>> responses to other readings but that some will work without the
>>> readings. She will get the book list together later, as she is
>>> rather busy right now. Also, she said that she enjoyed chatting with
>
>>> everyone on the conference call.
>>>
>>> I am pasting, as well as attaching, the exercises.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Priscilla
>>>
>>>
>>> 1. First Things First: an exercise in memory
>>>
>>> You can use Edward Jones? ?The First Day? and Primo Levi?s ?The
>>> Disciple? as examples.
>>>
>>> Write about a first ? yours or someone else?s. First haircut. First
>
>>> airplane ride. First day of school. First date. First job. First
>>> lie. First move to another city. First hospital stay. First time
>>> eating ice cream or tiramisu.
>>>
>>> Begin ?in? the moment of action: the flash of the barber?s scissors
>>> above your left ear as he leans over to cut into your dark, tangled
>>> hair; rubbing the crumbs of a piece of toast on your nubby pajamas on
>
>>> the morning of your first day at Longfellow school.
>>>
>>> Remember to include sights and smells and sounds and textures that
>>> add particularity to your memory.
>>>
>>> Remember that underneath each concrete story there will be other
>>> firsts: the first recognition of aloneness, the first stirrings of
>>> shame, the first time falling in love with a place, the first foray
>>> into grief.
>>>
>>> Concentrate on focusing your action with a single scene ? or a series
>
>>> of scenes. A scene: action that takes place in a specific time and
>>> place.
>>>
>>> 2. MEMORY ? Revising History
>>>
>>> We know that memory is fickle, that we consciously and unconsciously
>>> remember events in certain ways to protect ourselves, to dramatize
>>> ourselves, to make things more exciting. Sometimes we do not really
>>> know what happened and our minds intuitively fill in the gaps.
>>>
>>> In both ?The Harvest? (Amy Hempel) and ?Snow? (Anne Beattie) the
>>> narrators reveal the slipperiness of memory, how an event ? an
>>> accident, for example ? can be told in such a way as to leave many
>>> things out or how our memory of a time in our lives can be different
>>> from the memory of another person who experienced the same moments.
>>>
>>> First:
>>>
>>> In this exercise, I want you to write about a particular event ? an
>>> accident, a sudden illness, a dismissal, a moment in combat. Write
>>> as close to the action as possible so that you place the reader ?in?
>>> the moment of disruption. Write in past tense and begin with ?I
>>> remember. . .?
>>>
>>> Later:
>>>
>>> Go back to your exercise and look at what you?ve left out and/or what
>
>>> another person might have remembered differently. Do one of 2
>>> things:
>>>
>>> 1. Add a postscript (along the lines of what Amy Hempel does in
> ?The
>>> Harvest?) of what you left out (and implicitly why you left it out).
>>> 2. Add someone?s differing memory as counterpoint (?You remember it
>>> differently. . .?) and then some kind of synthesis or commentary
>>> (?This, then, for drama. . .?)
>>> 3. Let the reader see how feelings change with misinformation as in
>>> ?Accident.?
>>>
>>>
>>> 3. Using Gesture and Mannerism in Creating Character
>>>
>>> First:
>>>
>>> After reading William Boyd?s ?Beginning?:
>>>
>>> Character can be revealed through action, dialogue, as well as
>>> through mannerism and gesture. Many times writers depend too much on
>>> action ? what happens ? to reveal character whereas description of
>>> mannerisms and gestures tell us as much as we need. Character can be
> achieved
>>> through brushstrokes. The literary critic, James Woods, gives this
>>> example from Maupassant?s story ?La Reine Hortense?: ?He was a
>>> gentleman with red whiskers who always went first through a doorway.?
>>>
>>> 1. Consider an important character in your history/story. Think of
> a
>>> gesture or mannerism or expression that pushes you to see this
>>> someone: red whiskers; unshaved bristles on his cheekbones; going
>>> first through a doorway, etc. Begin with a particular circumstance
>>> that leads to remembering.
>>>
>>> 2. Why do I go on about this? Tell the reader why you are obsessed
>>> with this person, why she/he is important to your story.
>>>
>>> 3. Draw a picture of the place (room, car, beneath the tree) where
>>> this takes place. Put whatever details/objects might be in this
>>> place. Where are you? What are you doing? Describe the scene.
>>>
>>> 4. Show this person in a moment of action. It might be as simple
> as
>>> washing dishes or turning down the a/c or as important as slapping
>>> someone?s face. Let yourself imagine what this person is thinking.
>>> Ask this person a question you?ve never asked before but always
>>> wanted to know. Imagine the person answering, then returning to the
>>> activity of the beginning.
>>>
>>>
>>> 4. Emblematic Moments ? Creating Scenes
>>>
>>> Readings: ?What Happened During the Ice Storm?; ?Illumination
>>> Rounds?; ?Killing Chickens?; excerpt from Matterhorn.
>>>
>>> Scenes represent moments of choice or turning points. Here,
>>> something (often difficult) is decided or revealed that changes the
>>> direction of the narrative. Scenes represent immediacy, something
>>> happening ?before your eyes.?
>>>
>>> In-class
>>>
>>> Choose a moment in which you ? or your character ? make a decision.
>>> We will start with a moment in childhood, something that still has
>>> emotional weight in your life. It might be a moment when you betray
>>> or save someone/something close to you or are betrayed/saved by
>>> someone else. Once again, we will stay very close to the moment
>>> itself, revealing ?what happens? as if through a close-up lens. We
>>> will use ?What Happened During the Ice Storm? as our guide ? a small
>>> action that is redemptive (though if you go the betrayal route, then
>>> you?ll be showing the opposite ? though both sides reveal
>>> vulnerability).
>>>
>>>
>>> 5. Immersion/Immediacy/Atmosphere
>>>
>>> Think of an incident from your past that happened in a particular
>>> atmosphere: at night; while it was raining; in a storm; during a
>>> snowy morning; in extreme heat or fog. Choose an incident that has
>>> some meaning to you, one that provokes some strong emotion and
>>> feeling. The feeling could be positive or negative ? a moment when
>>> you felt frightened, isolated, safe, euphoric, powerful. Try to
>>> remember as much detail as you can about the event and about the
>>> physical nature of the atmosphere. Consider how the atmosphere
>>> becomes a significant part of the event, how it plays a role in your
>>> memory, becomes if not a character, then a defining aspect of the
>>> event.
>>>
>>> Write as close to the moment/incident as possible. Write in first
>>> person, present tense as if you are right there, re-living it.
>>>
>>> Retrospective Point of View/Atmosphere
>>>
>>> Now that you?ve written a close-up of this incident, take a different
>>> tact: look at the incident from your current perspective but write
>>> in third person, past tense. Let us see the same incident but allow
>>> the narrator to have, perhaps, a different cognition on the event and
>
>>> the people involved. The retrospective narrator might comment on
>>> this moment in a way that suggests how time changes your perspective
>>> (sympathies, decisions, even moral concerns).
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 6. FORM: A Day in the Life
>>>
>>> This kind of essay often takes a journalistic stance, reporting the
>
>>> ?contents? of a day, often for one or two purposes: to show an
>>> ordinary side of strange, remote lives or to show a strange side of
>>> ordinary, familiar lives. In the case of Robert Heilman?s essay
>>> ?Overstory: Zero,? perhaps it is the latter. In this essay, Heilman
>>> breaks up and names the parts of his day ? making the form modular ?
>>> and takes the reader deeper into the politics of a company
>>> reforestation crew.
>>>
>>> Formally, he uses second person point of view, present tense, modular
>
>>> structure.
>>>
>>> In this exercise, I want you to consider the modular structure and do
>
>>> the following: pick an area of your life that lends itself to
>>> dailiness and to a revelation of the day?s meaning. It might be
> your
>>> job; it might be your social activities; it might be volunteer work;
>>> it might be ?A Day in the Life of a Loafer? or ?A Day in the Life of
>>> a Waitress,? or ?A Day in the Life of a Single Mom/Dad? or ?A Day in
>>> the Life of an Asian Traveler.?
>>>
>>> The main thing is to find something that compels you, that seems ripe
>
>>> for unraveling. And something you haven?t written about before.
>>>
>>> To simplify the exercise, consider it as having four parts:
>>>
>>> 1. Beginning of a day ? the introduction to your story (this
> doesn?t
>>> mean it has to start in the morning, by the way). The beginning of
>>> your particular story as a hitchhiker in Nepal may begin at 2:30 in
>>> the afternoon when you?re dying of thirst.
>>> 2. A list ? Just as Heilman gives a list of what he takes with him
> in
>>> ?Kamikazes,? make a list that is important to this person?s life.
>>> Incorporate it into a paragraph.
>>> 3. An Event ? something that ?happens? and can be told as a story.
>>> Ex: you spill salad dressing all over a customer and the customer
>>> first yells, but then charms you and leaves you a big tip; you sleep
>>> through a test and in your panic at what you?ve done, you rush out
>>> into traffic and immediately make an illegal turn and get a ticket.
>>> Something happens!
>>> 4. End of day ? a ?moment? that reflects the day?s waning.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 7. Sequence/Scene (fiction)
>>>
>>> This is a long exercise in sequence. The point is to explore how a
>>> story moves from a situation to a complication to a turning. We will
>
>>> explore this not as an intellectual concept but through process. In
>>> the process we will look at the close-up scene, the flashback moment,
>
>>> the movement from emotional response to action. If you are already
>>> working on a character, feel free to use this character in the
>>> exercise. If not, the exercise will evoke a character.
>>>
>>>
>>> I will give you the first sentence of a situation and then prompts to
>
>>> stay in sense memory. Stay with character.
>>>
>>> Situation: 1) waking up not in your bed. You feel surprise and
>>> anxiety. Look around the room. Let us see the room through the
>>> senses ? the light, the sounds, the smells, the objects, your
>>> narrator?s body.
>>>
>>> 2) Let one particular object catch your attention and suggest a
>>> strong connection to your anxiety. Touch it. Experience it
>>> sensually.
>>>
>>> 3). Let this object evoke a memory, one based on wanting, desiring
>>> something, a surface thing you want: a touch, a gesture, an object.
>>> Experience this surface thing through your character?s sensibility.
>>>
>>> 4). Let the memory of this desire include a moment when a second
>>> memory is evoked. This second memory involves another object,
>>> different from the one you are touching or wanting but similar in its
>
>>> basic sensual pattern. The wanting deepens into a state of being, a
>>> state of self.
>>>
>>> 5). Second memory moves you to an action. Let the action happen
>>> moment by moment.
>>>
>>> 6). Some part of the action will bring you back to the first object.
>
>>> Your sensual perception is reshaped by emotion and yearning of the
>>> two linked memories.
>>>
>>> 7). Now in the present you take an action.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 8. Creating Shape in Scene: Image as Strategic Bookend
>>>
>>> Choose a person you know well, someone with whom you have had intense
>
>>> engagement (pleasure/disagreements/issues) in the past. Let yourself
>
>>> drift back to a particular moment with this person.
>>>
>>> 1. Start with an image. For example, describe this person?s hands
>>> (one or two sentences).
>>> 2. Narrate an action. Describe something she is doing with her
> hands
>>> (this may be only a small task: your grandmother wiping her hands
>>> with a dish towel).
>>> 3. Describe something about the surroundings, giving the reader a
>>> sense of where you are and what the situation is (in the kitchen with
>
>>> your grandmother while she peels carrots and you sulk at the table
>>> because your boyfriend didn?t call).
>>> 4. Ask this person a question you?ve always wanted to ask or begin
> a
>>> dialogue about the problem or issue (Did your grandfather ever ignore
>
>>> her this way?).
>>> 5. Let the question be a catalyst for a scene. If in real life you
>>> didn?t ask a question directly, but always wanted to, you can push
>>> the scene by imagining the other person?s response and telling the
>>> reader that this is a dialogue in your head. Imagining the response
>>> is not cheating. It?s a legitimate way to let the reader see more
>>> deeply into your character and into your perception of the other
> person.
>>> 6. Come back to the image of the person?s hands. The image will be
>>> slightly different because the narrator?s perception has been aroused
>
>>> by the exchange.
>>>
>>> The important thing in this exercise is progression from image to
>>> action to setting to conflict and back to image.
>>>
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Writers Division web site:
>> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org<http://www.nfb-writers-division.or
>> g/>
>>
>> stylist mailing list
>> stylist at nfbnet.org
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>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> stylist:
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>> pix.net
>>
>>
>>
>>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 8
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:23:03 -0500
> From: "Robert Leslie Newman" <newmanrl at cox.net>
> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Changes: a plot synopsis
> Message-ID: <020a01cb754b$97a65b10$c6f31130$@cox.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Katie
>
> I'm not so sure if others saw your message. I read it a week or more ago
> and it got buried. I just read your synopsis and I first will tell you ,
> that I like how you made the synopsis read. I believe I have a good
> understanding of the makeup and flow of the book. In terms of if it
> makes me want to read it --- I personally do not get turned on by vamps
> and wolves. There again, reading it would help me to know how it is that
> "you" a new author has completed the task of creatively writing and ---
> well to see just how good you are!
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Watson, Katherine M
> Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 11:13 PM
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [stylist] Changes: a plot synopsis
>
> Hello everyone,
> Since we are on the subject of synopses, I thought I'd throw mine
> out there for critique. It is for my young adult, fantasy novel, titled
> "Changes." Enjoy, and let me know what you think. Does this make you
> want to read the book? --Katie
>
>
> Changes Plot Synopsis
>
> Main Conflict:
> Eighteen-year-old Casey Newman is okay with herself as a blind
> person, but she has trouble accepting herself as a werewolf. She avoids
> phasing unless it is the time of the full moon-or unless absolutely
> necessary. While attending college in present-day Denver, Colorado,
> circumstances force Casey to accept her duel nature.
>
> Synopsis:
> On a warm Thursday in September, Casey's human best friend,
> Justine, invites Casey to go to a club with her and her boyfriend, Tony,
> that night. Casey agrees to go. She meets Tony at a restaurant
> beforehand. She is horrified when she discovers that Tony isn't human.
> He doesn't eat anything at dinner, and his scent is too sweet. Casey
> struggles to keep her inner wolf in check, so she doesn't change into a
> wolf in the middle of the crowded restaurant.
> Later, at the club, Casey is attacked by werewolf Rob. She is
> rescued by werewolf Nate and his Alpha, Seb. Casey is attracted to Nate;
> this is the first time she meets others of her own kind.
> The next day, (Friday) Justine discovers Casey is a werewolf when
> Casey phases in front of her accidentally.
> Justine breaks down emotionally, but when Tony calls her, her mood
> shifts to one of a giddy romantic. Casey warns Justine, but it doesn't
> change Justine's feelings for Tony.
> The following day, (Saturday) Casey and Justine go downtown, and
> come across Nate and Seb. Nate tells Casey he is a werewolf, and he
> knows that she is, too. She is glad to have found another like her. Nate
> also tells Casey that his twin, Marissa, was with him when he phased
> once. He fears that he may have bitten her, and that Marissa may be a
> werewolf. They go to Marissa's dorm and discover she is still human.
> Nate accidently phases in front of Marissa. Marissa faints, and Casey
> hopes Marissa will just wake up and think it was a bad dream.
> The day after that, (Sunday) Casey goes to get ice cream. She finds
> Marissa working at the ice cream shop. Marissa has figured out that Nate
> is a werewolf, and tries to talk to Casey about it; Casey is reluctant
> to share, although she likes Marissa.
>
>
> The next night, (Monday) Casey saves her roommate, Georgina, from a
> vampire.
> Later that night, Casey discovers that Tony's scent is similar to
> that of the vampire, and he reveals to her and Justine that he is a
> hybrid-half human, half vampire. Justine's love for him is unchanged.
> The next day, (Tuesday) Nate and Casey go on a "date". Georgina
> tells Casey that she is moving out immediately because she knows about
> Casey's duel nature. Casey accidentally phases in front of Georgina,
> almost killing her.
> Nate takes Casey to Ouzel Falls-where she was changed into a
> werewolf. Casey remembers that it was Seb who bit her.
> The day afterward, (Wednesday) Casey finds Marissa. In need of a
> new roommate, Casey asks Marissa if she will move in with her. Marissa
> agrees, because she knows Nate will be hanging around Casey. She gets in
> a car accident while moving her things to Casey's apartment. Nate gives
> Marissa his blood, saving her life, but the blood changes Marissa into a
> werewolf.
> A few days later, Casey kills Seb in a fight and becomes Alpha. She
> discovers that she can feel Nate and Marissa's emotions, and she has an
> influence over whether the twins change forms.
> Two weeks pass, and Casey is consumed by her duties as Alpha.
> Justine confronts Casey, saying that she has seen reports of a
> guy-Seb--who looked to have died from wild dogs. His body was found in
> a dumpster, and Justine suspects Casey. Casey is made aware of how
> different she is from humans because of her instincts, and wonders if
> werewolves have an immortal soul. Marissa and Nate come up with no
> concrete evidence proving that they have souls. Casey is concerned about
> where she will spend eternity, and whether she can still be friends with
> Justine, even though they are members of different species.
> A few nights later, (Thursday) Casey gets a call from Justine's
> cell phone, but it isn't Justine-it is Georgina. Georgina informs Casey
> that she has captured Justine, and Casey figures out that Georgina is
> now a vampire. Casey and the twins are able to save Justine before
> Georgina drinks her blood, but Georgina has bitten her. Georgina also
> bites Casey, but Tony arrives and is able to suck both of their blood
> clean.
> The next day, (Friday) the same vampire tries to attack Marissa and
> she is able to transmit her memories to Casey, since Casey is her Alpha.
> When Casey arrives, she finds another werewolf, Jenae, waiting with
> Marissa. Tony and Justine arrive. Tony thanks Casey for saving Justine
> and invites her and Nate to go out with them that night. Casey accepts,
> although she is suspicious of Tony's true motives. Later that night, he
> gets Casey alone with him, and tries to kill her. Casey sends her
> memories of the attack to Nate and Marissa, and Nate arrives just in
> time. He kills Tony. Later that night, Nate reveals to Casey that he
> plans to go home and work at a hospital to earn money for medical
> school.
> The following morning, (Saturday) Justine thanks Casey for saving
> her from Tony and admits that Casey was right about him. Later that
> morning, Nate takes Casey Geo-Caching in the woods and admits his love
> to her. This makes Marissa angry because she feels like Nate is leading
> Casey on. Casey goes out for coffee with Jenae to find out more
> information about her, since Jenae wants to join Casey's pack.
> Meanwhile, Marissa attacks Nate, forcing him to leave before originally
> planned.
> Justine suggests that the girls go out for burgers, and while they
> are at the restaurant, Rob shows up. He points a gun at Casey, but Jenae
> jumps in the way, taking the silver bullet instead. Casey accepts Jenae
> into her pack as she dies.
> Casey spends the next month in a daze. She meets Savannah, a human
> who likes to party. Depressed and inebriated most of the time, Casey
> tries to cope with Jenae's death and Nate's absence.
> Casey has an epiphany; she realizes that she only half-knows
> herself, and decides to spend some time in her wolf form.
> While in the woods running as a wolf, Casey meets an actual wolf
> who almost instantly guesses what she is. He explains the differences-in
> his mind-that exist between humans and wolves. Casey decides she likes
> being human better, because she feels the human world gives her goals to
> achieve and a more purposeful life. That night, the vampire attacks Nate
> while he is at work. Nate survives, escapes and sends his memories to
> Casey.
> The next day, Nate returns. Later that day, Savannah calls,
> informing Casey that a vampire is looking for her. The vampire captures
> Savannah, and Casey and her pack run to Savannah's rescue.
> When they arrive, they find Savannah staring into space. Everyone
> except for Casey falls into a similar state. Casey is unaffected because
> she is blind and cannot see the illusions created by the vampire. When
> Casey attacks the vampire, his movement frees the others from his
> visions. Casey's pack destroys the vampire.
> The twins tell Casey they saw the souls of the people the vampire
> killed, including those of werewolves. Convinced she isn't damned for
> eternity, Casey realizes she has accepted herself as a werewolf.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site:
> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org
> <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> stylist:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/newmanrl%40cox.
> net
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 9
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:29:08 -0500
> From: "The Crowd" <the_crowd at cox.net>
> To: <newmanrl at cox.net>, "Writer's Division Mailing List"
> <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [stylist] off topic Home at last!
> Message-ID: <91CD49EBCC3A4ADC9D30CFCF22D38048 at JazminRainPC>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
> Thanks for the good wishes. It wasn't a kidney infection, they said my
> kidneys were unremarkable! How about that!
>
> I think it was the most violent colitious attack in history and though
> it is
> not resolved I go see my specialist tomorrow.
>
> Note:
> Do not internalize stress. Bad, bad, bad kittie.
>
> love,
> Atty
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 10
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:44:59 -0400
> From: Judith Bron <jbron at optonline.net>
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] off topic Home at last!
> Message-ID: <DB871B2BC23442F4A3B90A427D0E0D40 at dell5150>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1;
> reply-type=response
>
> Welcome home Atty! All of us are so thankful you are on the right road.
> No
> more of this sick stuff. It isn't good for the health! Judith
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "The Crowd" <the_crowd at cox.net>
> To: <newmanrl at cox.net>; "Writer's Division Mailing List"
> <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 5:29 PM
> Subject: [stylist] off topic Home at last!
>
>
>> Thanks for the good wishes. It wasn't a kidney infection, they said my
>> kidneys were unremarkable! How about that!
>>
>> I think it was the most violent colitious attack in history and though
>
>> it
>> is not resolved I go see my specialist tomorrow.
>>
>> Note:
>> Do not internalize stress. Bad, bad, bad kittie.
>>
>> love,
>> Atty
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Writers Division web site: http://www.nfb-writers-division.org
>> <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>>
>> stylist mailing list
>> stylist at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> stylist:
>>
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/jbron%40optonli
> ne.net
>>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 11
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:17:57 -0400
> From: Donna Hill <penatwork at epix.net>
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] off topic Home at last!
> Message-ID: <4CC75395.5010109 at epix.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Hi Atty,
> Welcome back home and to the list. On behalf of your kidneys, I would
> like to protest that any functioning kidney is pretty darn remarkable!
> Don't doctors have the most curious way of stating things?
>
> Hope you continue to improve until the docs think you are entirely
> unremarkable. *grin* We'll all still know that you really are. Love,
> Donna
>
> Read Donna's articles on
> Suite 101:
> www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/donna_hill
> Ezine Articles:
> http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=D._W._Hill
> American Chronicle:
> www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3885
>
> Connect with Donna on
> Twitter:
> www.twitter.com/dewhill
> LinkedIn:
> www.linkedin.com/in/dwh99
> FaceBook:
> www.facebook.com/donna.w.hill.
>
> Hear clips from "The Last Straw" at:
> cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
> Apple I-Tunes
> phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=25924437
> 4
>
> Check out the "Sound in Sight" CD project
> Donna is Head of Media Relations for the nonprofit
> Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind:
> www.padnfb.org
>
>
> On 10/26/2010 5:29 PM, The Crowd wrote:
>> Thanks for the good wishes. It wasn't a kidney infection, they said my
>
>> kidneys were unremarkable! How about that!
>>
>> I think it was the most violent colitious attack in history and though
>
>> it is not resolved I go see my specialist tomorrow.
>>
>> Note:
>> Do not internalize stress. Bad, bad, bad kittie.
>>
>> love,
>> Atty
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Writers Division web site: http://www.nfb-writers-division.org
>> <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>>
>> stylist mailing list
>> stylist at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> stylist:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/penatwork%40e
>> pix.net
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (7.0.0.514)
>> Database version: 6.16160
>> http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor-antivirus/
>>
>
>
>
>
> E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (7.0.0.514)
> Database version: 6.16160
> http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor-antivirus/
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 12
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:25:07 -0400
> From: "Justin H. Williams" <justin.williams2 at gmail.com>
> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] off topic Home at last!
> Message-ID: <4cc75546.d142e60a.433e.fffffe93 at mx.google.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Welcome back partner.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of The Crowd
> Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 5:29 PM
> To: newmanrl at cox.net; Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: [stylist] off topic Home at last!
>
> Thanks for the good wishes. It wasn't a kidney infection, they said my
> kidneys were unremarkable! How about that!
>
> I think it was the most violent colitious attack in history and though
> it is
>
> not resolved I go see my specialist tomorrow.
>
> Note:
> Do not internalize stress. Bad, bad, bad kittie.
>
> love,
> Atty
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site:
> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org
> <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> stylist:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/justin.williams
> 2%40
> gmail.com
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 13
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 19:29:18 -0500
> From: "Robert Leslie Newman" <newmanrl at cox.net>
> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] off topic Home at last!
> Message-ID: <022901cb756d$fe6443e0$fb2ccba0$@cox.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Hurray! When health is at question, getting back home is a good thing.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of The Crowd
> Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 4:29 PM
> To: newmanrl at cox.net; Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: [stylist] off topic Home at last!
>
> Thanks for the good wishes. It wasn't a kidney infection, they said my
> kidneys were unremarkable! How about that!
>
> I think it was the most violent colitious attack in history and though
> it is not resolved I go see my specialist tomorrow.
>
> Note:
> Do not internalize stress. Bad, bad, bad kittie.
>
> love,
> Atty
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site:
> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org
> <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> stylist:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/newmanrl%40cox.
> net
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 14
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:22:55 -0400
> From: "Marion Gwizdala, M.S." <marion.gwizdala at verizon.net>
> To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [stylist] Rippping, Burning, & Scribing
> Message-ID: <00e901cb7575$7c580dc0$0201a8c0 at marion475ae1fe>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Dear All,
> Though this list is mostly concerned with the art of writing, I
> thought perhaps there might be someone here who could answer my
> question. I recently completed studio work on four spoken word audio
> programs and would like some advice concerning duplicating these
> programs. I want to produce them with a professional appearance but
> without the professional price tag. (Duplicating them myself could save
> me as much as 75% on the total cost of the product.) My question
> concerns the ripping/burning/scribing process. I have attempted this a
> couple of times in the past with no success. Perhaps it is because of
> the software I am using, though I don't really remember which one I
> tried. I have Windows Media Player and Real Player. My wife has burned
> CDs using Real Player but she had some sight at the time. What software
> is best and most accessible for this job using JAWS? Are there any
> multiple disk burners that can be used non-visually? Also, is Scribe
> Lite software accessible? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 15
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:44:54 -0400
> From: Judith Bron <jbron at optonline.net>
> To: "Marion Gwizdala, M.S." <marion.gwizdala at verizon.net>, Writer's
> Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Rippping, Burning, & Scribing
> Message-ID: <2A8F7D3F01F74F679A655731CE6C8F19 at dell5150>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1;
> reply-type=original
>
> Marion, I sometimes burn CD's with Windows Media Player. I can go back
> to
> my notes and see if I have any notes on the subject. It's been awhile.
> Judith
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Marion Gwizdala, M.S." <marion.gwizdala at verizon.net>
> To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 9:22 PM
> Subject: [stylist] Rippping, Burning, & Scribing
>
>
>> Dear All,
>> Though this list is mostly concerned with the art of writing, I
>> thought
>> perhaps there might be someone here who could answer my question. I
>> recently completed studio work on four spoken word audio programs and
>> would like some advice concerning duplicating these programs. I want
> to
>> produce them with a professional appearance but without the
> professional
>> price tag. (Duplicating them myself could save me as much as 75% on
> the
>> total cost of the product.) My question concerns the
>> ripping/burning/scribing process. I have attempted this a couple of
> times
>> in the past with no success. Perhaps it is because of the software I
> am
>> using, though I don't really remember which one I tried. I have
> Windows
>> Media Player and Real Player. My wife has burned CDs using Real Player
> but
>> she had some sight at the time. What software is best and most
> accessible
>> for this job using JAWS? Are there any multiple disk burners that can
> be
>> used non-visually? Also, is Scribe Lite software accessible? Any
> guidance
>> would be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> Fraternally yours,
>> Marion Gwizdala
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Writers Division web site: http://www.nfb-writers-division.org
>> <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>>
>> stylist mailing list
>> stylist at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> stylist:
>>
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/jbron%40optonli
> ne.net
>>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 16
> Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 08:16:55 +0530
> From: "Jean Parker" <radioforever at gmail.com>
> To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [stylist] books I recommend
> Message-ID: <AA997A70DC0A4EFAA7FDEB80D59B2F49 at jean1ca8e1ee6b>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 17
> Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:20:39 -0700
> From: kec92 at ourlink.net
> To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [stylist] My recent short Story
> Message-ID: <55723.1288153239 at ourlink.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
>
> Hello,
>
> Sorry I haven't been posting that much lately, but I've been
> busy with writing a new short story and with my schoolwork. I wanted
> feedback on the short story that I wrote. If you could give me
> feedback, that would be great. Thank you,
>
> Katie Colton
>
> -------------- next part --------------
> A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
> Name: Up Against The Wall.doc
> Type: application/octet-stream
> Size: 57856 bytes
> Desc: not available
> URL:
> <http://www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/stylist_nfbnet.org/attachments/20101026
> /2e24e3f6/attachment-0001.obj>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 18
> Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:21:26 -0500
> From: Bridgit Pollpeter <bpollpeter at hotmail.com>
> To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [stylist] Writing what you don't know
> Message-ID: <BLU0-SMTP21B3408135CD4746E95228C4430 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1250"
>
> Priscilla,
>
> Yes, I am the "she" in this, but I attempt to understand how my mom felt
> in the situation. I write from her perspective. That is one of the
> reasons I wrote it in third person
>
> Bridgit
>
> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
> Checked by AVG.
> Version: 7.5.560 / Virus Database: 0.0.0/0 - Release Date: <unknown>
> 12:00 AM
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 19
> Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:23:56 -0500
> From: Bridgit Pollpeter <bpollpeter at hotmail.com>
> To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [stylist] does anyone have this?
> Message-ID: <BLU0-SMTP357565E123413A4A8C167FC4430 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1250"
>
> I am having problems replying or sending new messages to Stylist. Not
> sure why, but wondering if my messages are getting through, or if others
> are having this problem. Again, it is only Stylist that is not working,
> and yes, I did delete everything in the original email, but this one is
> a new message.
>
> Bridgit
>
> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
> Checked by AVG.
> Version: 7.5.560 / Virus Database: 0.0.0/0 - Release Date: <unknown>
> 12:00 AM
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 20
> Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 03:59:18 -0500
> From: "Robert Leslie Newman" <newmanrl at cox.net>
> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Bridget Pollpeter <bpollpeter at hotmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] does anyone have this?
> Message-ID: <026c01cb75b5$3d289030$b779b090$@cox.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Bridget I'm sending this to the list and to your personal inbox.
>
> Your 12:00AM message did go to STYLIST. Interesting, your virus database
> says it is out of date; read on down into your original message.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Bridgit Pollpeter
> Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 12:24 AM
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [stylist] does anyone have this?
>
> I am having problems replying or sending new messages to Stylist. Not
> sure why, but wondering if my messages are getting through, or if others
> are having this problem. Again, it is only Stylist that is not working,
> and yes, I did delete everything in the original email, but this one is
> a new message.
>
> Bridgit
>
> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
> Checked by AVG.
> Version: 7.5.560 / Virus Database: 0.0.0/0 - Release Date: <unknown>
> 12:00 AM
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site:
> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org
> <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> stylist:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/newmanrl%40cox.
> net
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 21
> Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 06:11:32 -0500
> From: "Robert Leslie Newman" <newmanrl at cox.net>
> To: "'Jean Parker'" <radioforever at gmail.com>, "'Writer's Division
> Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] books I recommend
> Message-ID: <026d01cb75c7$b688a020$2399e060$@cox.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> I am reading "South of Broad" by Pat Conroy. At first, I wanted to tell
> this author to quit talking, describing building the feel of it all, but
> then Pat (guy or gal) did get into the characters and a sense of the
> plot and now I appreciate this person's style- very literary,
> interesting.
>
> And for a great story teller, good character develop and much social
> comment, try George Pelecanos He has some stand-alone books and at least
> one series about a guy that is sort of a non-official PI, vigilante.
>
> Or, ooo Andrew Vachss if you want to meet some super characters,
> colorful and its all on the very seedy terrible side of life- this
> author was or is a defender of abused children and he takes from their
> lives and you see some of the stuff that no one should ever have to
> experience; but the good guys always win out in the end (lots of
> payback).
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Jean Parker
> Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 9:47 PM
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [stylist] books I recommend
>
> Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site:
> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org
> <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> stylist:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/newmanrl%40cox.
> net
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 22
> Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 08:57:21 -0400
> From: "Joe Orozco" <jsorozco at gmail.com>
> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] My recent short Story
> Message-ID: <CFF3211525F44BAFBF766A1C13445B5A at Rufus>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Interesting story. I would dispense with the opener, but if you keep
> it, I would keep it first person so as to avoid confusion. I realize
> the conclusion is also in the third person, but it flows better there
> than it does at the beginning. There are some grammatical and
> logistical flaws here and there, but overall the writing is tidy, great
> use of detail. In my opinion, this is one of those pieces that will
> benefit from the one-tenth rule where you delete one-tenth of the
> semi-final draft to make it that much more polished. Keep up the great
> work.
>
> Joe
>
> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their
> sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam
> Ewing
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of kec92 at ourlink.net
> Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 12:21 AM
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [stylist] My recent short Story
>
>
> Hello,
>
> Sorry I haven't been posting that much lately, but I've
> been busy
> with writing a new short story and with my schoolwork. I wanted
> feedback on the short story that I wrote. If you could give me
> feedback, that would be great. Thank you,
>
> Katie Colton
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 23
> Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 09:12:57 -0400
> From: Judith Bron <jbron at optonline.net>
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing what you don't know
> Message-ID: <07BF764D6E474BF9BA2F2AEC30E5BB7F at dell5150>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1;
> reply-type=original
>
> You did a heck of a job. When reading it the reader feels the pain of
> the
> patient and the pain of the mother. Judith
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bridgit Pollpeter" <bpollpeter at hotmail.com>
> To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 1:21 AM
> Subject: [stylist] Writing what you don't know
>
>
>> Priscilla,
>>
>> Yes, I am the "she" in this, but I attempt to understand how my mom
>> felt in the situation. I write from her perspective. That is one of
>> the reasons I wrote it in third person
>>
>> Bridgit
>>
>> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
>> Checked by AVG.
>> Version: 7.5.560 / Virus Database: 0.0.0/0 - Release Date: <unknown>
>> 12:00 AM
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Writers Division web site: http://www.nfb-writers-division.org
>> <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>>
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>>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 24
> Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 09:22:53 -0400
> From: "Chris Kuell" <ckuell at comcast.net>
> To: <kec92 at ourlink.net>, "Writer's Division Mailing List"
> <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] My recent short Story
> Message-ID: <008E1168075D4BA08E865A4E652990D9 at ChrisPC>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="utf-8";
> reply-type=original
>
> Hey Katie,
>
> This is an interesting story, but I think it's a little boring. This is
> due
> to all the details you write about every movement. The reader wants
> something significant to happen, and details about which fingers she
> used to
> get her pills out, or how she put on her deodorant--these aren't
> important
> to the story, and should be cut to move the action along. Consider
> trimming
> out a lot of those mundane details, and add more of a flashback when she
> was
> in high school. Show the reader, rather than telling the reader, what
> happened that day when she wanted to explode. You might do something
> similar
> when she's cooking breakfast. Simply write--I went to the refrigerator
> for
> eggs and cheese, grabbed a pan and spatula and set about to making an
> omelette. The simmering eggs send up that earthy odor which always
> reminds
> me of Fall. And Dan... you get the idea. Also, watch out for
> repetitions.
> Several times you say the same thing twice, and should cut one of them.
>
> Good luck with your edits,
>
> chris
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 25
> Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:03:45 -0400
> From: "Chris Kuell" <ckuell at comcast.net>
> To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing Exercises from Patricia Foster
> Message-ID: <D0B98D913B76449282654650A798DCBF at ChrisPC>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="Windows-1252";
> reply-type=original
>
> Here's my response to the 'first' exercise.
> First Love
>
> By Chris Kuell
>
> When I was 10, we lived in the suburbs outside of Cincinnati, in what my
>
> parents referred to as a subdivision. Streets ran periodically north and
>
> south, east and west, and were named after trees or presidents.
> Everybody
> had a uniform quarter acre lot, with only five or six basic designs
> among
> the hundreds of homes. Variations usually involved putting the garage on
> the
> left, then in the next identical house, putting it on the right. Shrubs
> or a
> Japanese maple made another clone unique. It was a great place to be a
> kid,
> mainly because it was totally blue-collar families, with lots of other
> kids
> to play with.
>
> On one side our neighbors were the Steinhaus family, Dot and Ed, who
> often
> shared beers and played cards with my parents. They had two kids, and I
> once
> started a fire with their son Mark, but that's a story for a different
> day.
>
> To the other side were the Mann's, an older retired couple with four
> kids,
> all of them grown; three already out on their own. Their youngest
> daughter's
> name was Vicky. She must have been 19 or 20 at the time, and we barely
> knew
> she existed until she came home one day in a gold Firebird, with a
> mythical
> fire-breathing creature adorning the hood. Every kid on the block
> noticed
> the car, including me. But, unlike the others, I also noticed Vicky.
>
> Our backyard had a chain link fence, because we always had a dog or two,
> and
> my parents didn't believe in caging them or putting them on a run. So,
> they
> had freedom and we had to watch where we stepped. What I remember most
> about
> my tenth summer, was that our backyard had a clear view into the Mann's
> backyard, and Vicky liked to sunbathe on her days off work.
>
> I would find any excuse to go out in the backyard, play catch with
> Fatima,
> our basset hound, or toss Frisbee to myself, all the while checking out
> Vicky in her lemon yellow bikini. Her long ash blonde hair, her bronzed
> skin, and boobs. Not at all the same kind of boobs my mom or Mrs.
> Steinhaus
> had; Vicky's boobs made me sweat, made blood flow through my body in new
> and
> interesting ways. I couldn't get over how Vicky could just sit out
> there,
> oil coating her tender flesh, so exposed, virtually naked. It
> fascinated
> me, and left me wondering why I had the strange feelings I did.
>
> When her parents weren't home, Vicky's friends would come over. Several
> young ladies would hang out, soaking up the sun with Vicky, listening to
> the
> radio and laughing about things I couldn't overhear. Occasionally a
> long
> haired guy or two in short cut off jeans would come over as well, acting
>
> cool in their mirrored sunglasses. I noticed the guys usually smoked,
> and I
> would observe Vicky taking a puff or two. It didn't really surprise me,
> after all, she was an adult. However, I did notice she only smoked when
> the
> guys were around, and she would laugh in a silly way that was different
> than
> when only girls were there.
>
> As far as I know, Vicky lived in her own world and had no idea I even
> existed. I would wave to her sometimes as she drove by, or speed after
> the
> golden Firebird on my bike, but she never acknowledged my attempts at
> friendship.
>
> One day, I was tossing baseball in our side yard with my older brother
> David. He was pitching, and I was catching. David was a pretty big kid,
> and
> he could really hum a baseball. We didn't have a catcher's mitt, and my
> palm
> hurt from taking so many hits, protected only by a thin layer of
> leather.
>
> I had just tossed the ball back to David, when Vicky came around the
> corner
> of the Mann?s house. She carried a soda, her hair loose around her
> shoulders, wearing the type of short shorts and a virtually translucent
> tube
> top that was fashionable in 1972 and undoubtedly labeled obscene today.
> She
> looked straight at me and smiled wide, with flawless teeth and eyes
> bluer
> than any color paint than I had in my paint by numbers kit.
>
> "Hi," she said, and my heart stopped.
>
> I wanted to be cool, grown up, say, "Hi Vicky. Gonna catch some rays
> today?" Or, maybe, "Damn, Vicky, you're lookin' foxy today".
>
> I wanted to tell her how I thought of her at night. That I daydream
> about
> rubbing oil on her lusciously tanned body. That if she ever needed
> anything,
> I mean anything, just call out. I wanted to sing to her, like David
> Cassidy,
> "I think I love you."
>
> But I didn't. Instead, a sixty mile and hour fast ball bounced off my
> right
> temple and I had to be rushed to the emergency room.
>
> I got quite the egg on the side of my head, and I suffered chronic
> headaches
> for about three months. But, it was worth it, just for that one second
> where
> Vicky and I were connected, when her attention was focused completely on
> me.
> The first time I felt special in a way that family can't make you feel.
> A
> different kind of love, one that blurs out everything else in the world.
> One
> worth taking a crack to the skull for.
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 26
> Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:41:47 -0400
> From: Donna Hill <penatwork at epix.net>
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] does anyone have this?
> Message-ID: <4CC8564B.9090704 at epix.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Bridget,
> I've seen 2 so far from you that came through fine this morning --
> "First "Writing what you don't know" and this one. When I reply, I have
>
> it set to send me a post acknowledgement and I also get my own messages
> and it's been working fine. Are your replies making it into your Sent
> folder?
> Donna
> Read Donna's articles on
>
> Suite 101:
> www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/donna_hill
> Ezine Articles:
> http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=D._W._Hill
> American Chronicle:
> www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3885
>
> Connect with Donna on
> Twitter:
> www.twitter.com/dewhill
> LinkedIn:
> www.linkedin.com/in/dwh99
> FaceBook:
> www.facebook.com/donna.w.hill.
>
> Hear clips from "The Last Straw" at:
> cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
> Apple I-Tunes
> phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=25924437
> 4
>
> Check out the "Sound in Sight" CD project
> Donna is Head of Media Relations for the nonprofit
> Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind:
> www.padnfb.org
>
>
> On 10/27/2010 1:23 AM, Bridgit Pollpeter wrote:
>> I am having problems replying or sending new messages to Stylist. Not
>
>> sure why, but wondering if my messages are getting through, or if
>> others are having this problem. Again, it is only Stylist that is not
>
>> working, and yes, I did delete everything in the original email, but
>> this one is a new message.
>>
>> Bridgit
>>
>> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
>> Checked by AVG.
>> Version: 7.5.560 / Virus Database: 0.0.0/0 - Release Date:<unknown>
>> 12:00 AM
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Writers Division web site:
>> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org<http://www.nfb-writers-division.or
>> g/>
>>
>> stylist mailing list
>> stylist at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> stylist:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/penatwork%40e
>> pix.net
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (7.0.0.514)
>> Database version: 6.16160
>> http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor-antivirus/
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
> E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (7.0.0.514)
> Database version: 6.16160
> http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor-antivirus/
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 27
> Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:53:26 -0400
> From: Judith Bron <jbron at optonline.net>
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] does anyone have this?
> Message-ID: <9D94D33E45E144AFB63491B5E1BA7F46 at dell5150>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1;
> reply-type=response
>
> Bridget, So far since I think it was Sunday I haven't had a problem.
> Judith
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
> To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 12:41 PM
> Subject: Re: [stylist] does anyone have this?
>
>
>> Bridget,
>> I've seen 2 so far from you that came through fine this morning --
>> "First "Writing what you don't know" and this one. When I reply, I
> have
>> it set to send me a post acknowledgement and I also get my own
> messages
>> and it's been working fine. Are your replies making it into your Sent
>> folder?
>> Donna
>> Read Donna's articles on
>>
>> Suite 101:
>> www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/donna_hill
>> Ezine Articles:
>> http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=D._W._Hill
>> American Chronicle: www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3885
>>
>> Connect with Donna on
>> Twitter:
>> www.twitter.com/dewhill
>> LinkedIn:
>> www.linkedin.com/in/dwh99
>> FaceBook:
>> www.facebook.com/donna.w.hill.
>>
>> Hear clips from "The Last Straw" at:
>> cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
>> Apple I-Tunes
>> phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244
>> 374
>>
>> Check out the "Sound in Sight" CD project
>> Donna is Head of Media Relations for the nonprofit
>> Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind:
>> www.padnfb.org
>>
>>
>> On 10/27/2010 1:23 AM, Bridgit Pollpeter wrote:
>>> I am having problems replying or sending new messages to Stylist.
>>> Not sure why, but wondering if my messages are getting through, or if
>
>>> others are having this problem. Again, it is only Stylist that is
>>> not working, and yes, I did delete everything in the original email,
>>> but this one is a new message.
>>>
>>> Bridgit
>>>
>>> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
>>> Checked by AVG.
>>> Version: 7.5.560 / Virus Database: 0.0.0/0 - Release Date:<unknown>
>>> 12:00 AM
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Writers Division web site:
>>> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org<http://www.nfb-writers-division.o
>>> rg/>
>>>
>>> stylist mailing list
>>> stylist at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> stylist:
>>>
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/penatwork%40epi
> x.net
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (7.0.0.514) Database
>>> version: 6.16160 http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor-antivirus/
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (7.0.0.514)
>> Database version: 6.16160
>> http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor-antivirus/
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Writers Division web site: http://www.nfb-writers-division.org
>> <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>>
>> stylist mailing list
>> stylist at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> stylist:
>>
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/jbron%40optonli
> ne.net
>>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>
>
> End of stylist Digest, Vol 78, Issue 64
> ***************************************
>
> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
> Checked by AVG.
> Version: 7.5.560 / Virus Database: 0.0.0/0 - Release Date: <unknown>
> 12:00 AM
>
>
> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
> Checked by AVG.
> Version: 7.5.560 / Virus Database: 0.0.0/0 - Release Date: <unknown>
> 12:00 AM
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site:
> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>
> stylist mailing list
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