[stylist] Does anyone have this?

Bridgit Pollpeter bpollpeter at hotmail.com
Wed Oct 27 18:45:50 UTC 2010


Donna and others,

Initially my attempts were not going to my sent folder.  Then they were,
but not showing up as a reply.

I told Robert this, but my email server, Hotmail, contracted a virus
which infected my computer.  Beware everyone because it was a strain of
a popular scam virus going around right now.

I logged onto Hotmail and before I could even go to my inbox, it
happened.  Then an alleged Microsoft message popped up about scanning
for viruses, then it wanted me to give credit card info because a few
files were not able to be saved.  This is when I figured it was a scam.
We just shut the computer down and a friend suggested researching the
virus before spending money to have it fixed.

We were able to Google the virus and fix it on our own, but it did screw
things up with my computer.

So, if this happens to you, one, do not give your credit card info, and,
two, you should be able to resolve it if you Google the particular
virus.

Anyway, I am sure this is why I was having issues yesterday, and though
my email is showing a message about virus protection outdated, I have
installed a security system so things are okay on my end, for now
anyway!  *smirk*

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
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------------------------------

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:
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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.
>>
>>      
> _______________________________________________
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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
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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 --------------
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------------------------------

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/>
>
> 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: 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
> 





------------------------------

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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
 





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