[stylist] Writing from a blind perspective

Mon Oct 17 18:26:08 UTC 2011

Jim,
No, I do not have a digital recorder. And how does one get on BARD?
Always so much to do. It makes me think of Shawn's haiku.
Jackie

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Homme, James
Sent: Monday, October 17, 2011 4:42 AM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing from a blind perspective

Hi,
I found "Writing Down the Bones" and downloaded it. They also had "The right
to Write." That's R i g h t to W r i t e.

Both books are on BARD.

Jackie, do you have one of those digital player things?

Jim

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Jacqueline Williams
Sent: Saturday, October 15, 2011 7:09 PM
To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing from a blind perspective

Ashley,
I looked for my workshop and found the presentation about the senses. I was
not blind when I did this, and I suspect that all of my examples were on
separate sheets that I did not scan into the computer. I will forward this
much, and since I have an aide going through my files with me, perhaps she
will come across them.

Poetry Class    October 25, 2005                                Topic:
Poetry Using the Senses

I heard the following quotation concerning the characteristic of each sense.
I am not sure I agree with all of these.  Here is the quotation:

A French philosopher said, "I found that of the senses, the eyes the most
superficial, the ear the most arrogant, smell the most voluptuous, taste the
most superstitious and touch the most profound and philosophical."

I have enclosed several poems, which treat of the senses a poet's
interpretation of these senses.  The poets are well known, not so well known
or anonymous.   I would like to have us share in reading these and then have
you do the following assignment for next week's class:

Concentrate on primarily one of the senses.  Try to heighten your awareness
of that sense by wearing sleep shades (vision); wearing ear plugs (hearing);
wearing knit gloves and knit slippers with leather souls (touch); wearing a
clothes pin on your nose (smell); and just imagine that you have no sense of
taste.  Think of your visit to the dentist when he numbed you and your
tongue went dead.  Do each long enough that you experience not watching TV,
not hearing TV, not understanding friends on the phone, trying to cook, put
on makeup, use the computer, imagine being a leper, a diabetic, tightrope
walker, ad infinitum.  See if you can isolate and appreciate an aspect of a
new experience.

The quotation from Writing Down the Bones on the last page of this handout
wraps up all the senses of a writer.

Georgia, you asked for a copy of this:

Poetry: Exercise for the Mind from the Writer, July 2005

Preliminary research by psychologists at two Scottish universities indicates
that it takes more brainpower to read poetry than it does to read prose.
Using an infrared beam, researchers study the eye movements of subjects as
they read passages of either poetry or prose.  The results showed that
subjects reading poetry generated far more eye movement, which is associated
with deeper thought. Using brain imaging technology greater levels of
cerebral activity were also found when subjects listened to poems being read

aloud.  Dr. James Daubler a literature expert and member of the research
group tells the Edinboro Scotsman when readers decide that something is a
poem, they read it in a different way. As literary critics we would like to
think that this is a more thoughtful way, more receptive to the text
richness and complexity but in psychological terms it is the same sort of
reading produced by a dyslexic reader who finds reading difficult.  The next
time you want to exercise your mind you might want to reach for the work of
John Dunn instead of Jane Austin.

There is another subject packet dealing with personification, which I will
pass out if we have time to read the entire three and one half pages and two
samples.  It is from the Writer, October 2005 and deals with our confusion
over the pathetic fallacy and personification.  I am happy to do this
another time if you are interested.

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Jacqueline Williams
Sent: Saturday, October 15, 2011 11:37 AM
To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing from a blind perspective

Ashley,
I seem to remember several of the members saying that have trouble opening
attachments (which I also have) so I am looking for another solution.
How do I make sure my text is in plain text if I copy and paste the poem?
Jacqui

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Ashley Bramlett
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2011 12:55 PM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing from a blind perspective

examples sound good. I think you can send as attachment as well. Just use a
common file type like .doc or .txt.

-----Original Message-----
From: Jacqueline Williams
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2011 1:23 PM
To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing from a blind perspective

Bridget,
Right on. Several years I taught a poetry workshop about writing and finding
poetry using all of the senses. When I get through these too many e-mails, I
will try to find some examples of other than visual and forward them. I
still hesitate to copy and paste from word because it so often changes the
format. That is not so important in prose, but it can be deadly in poetry if
it is a form instead of a prose poem.
I wonder who did the screenplay for that movie, "Wait Until Dark" starring
Audrey Hepburn. I am waiting for a novel featuring a blind sleuth using all
the senses we use to solve a crime. Let me know if any of you already know
of one.
Jackie

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Bridgit Pollpeter
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2011 2:15 PM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] Writing from a blind perspective

Chris and others,

That's bullshit- pardon the French. Smile. That others would tell you
your story has holes because of a lack of visual descriptions is just
stupid, and much like in our real lives, people are only focusing on the
blindness and nothing else about a person, or in this case a character.

Sensory descriptions are not just visual. As we know in real life,
nonvisual means exist to do many, many things, yet so many question how
anything can be done without sight. It's the same when providing sensory
descriptions in a story. It can be done, and done quite well, without
actually giving visual details.

In my classes, we were expected to provide details beyond visual ones so
readers had a full sensory experience. As a sighted writer, it will
usually be natural to write more visual descriptions, but at least we
were encouraged to seek new perspectives. In a poetry workshop, we had
to write a poem about a piece of art but not to give any visual details.
At first, most of the class found it difficult, but the poems turned out
really good. It was quite the learning experience, even for me.

To be honest, I rarely write blind characters- oddly enough, I find it
difficult. Even though I'm totally blind, I was sighted before, which I
know many of us were, but I still am extremely visual. I have visual
memories now of things I can't "see," and though I can't say how
accurate my memories are, nonetheless, the memories are there. So when I
write, it's natural to include visual details. However, I've been
working on writing other sensory descriptions because I don't want to
end up in a rut unable to rely on other descriptions beyond the visual.

One way, Chris, you can try to provide more detail about how your
character goes about something is to use descriptive language when they
do something. For example, not that this will be a good one, but you
could try something like, "The electronic voice droned from the speakers
as he paid bills online." Or, "The mailbox clanged as he tapped his cane
against it. Sliding the back of his hand along the top, he found the
handle, opened the door and dropped his letter into the depths of the
mailbox." Or, "Her sultry voice suggested a matching body. I moved
closer picking up a hint of jasmine. Grabbing her hand, I weaved my
fingers through her slender ones. She leaned against my chest, and I
felt the weight of her breast as images scorched my mind."

You don't necessarily have to describe exactly how things are done, or
provide the inner workings of things, but add a few verbs and details
that signify what the character is doing. And I don't think it has to be
written in first person to accomplish this. That's obviously a choice
you make, but don't let others dictate that choice. I know we have to be
mindful of how readers perceive our plots and characters, but at some
point we also have to stay true to what we believe are the right
choices. To me, this sounds like a case of people focusing on one aspect
of a character, refusing to look deeper.

Also, a story is about perspective. If a character is blind it stands to
reason that we will "see" the story from the perspective of a blind
person. Actually, in an open, or omniscient perspective, you can pan out
providing descriptions even if characters can't see since it doesn't
have to be the blind characters narrating, but if you limit the POV to
that blind character, regardless of first or third person, you'd still
want to remain in that nonvisual world. It's insane that anyone would
suggest a story told from the POV of a blind character should have
visual descriptions. Unless you have a omniscient POV, it makes sense
the story would lack visuals, though have other sensory details to make
up for it. A limited POV doesn't divulge certain information like what
other characters think or do unless in the presence of the POV
character, so if they're blind, the story would be in this perspective
if told in a limited POV.

During my first convention, while attending a Writers' Division event, a
young girl asked how to write visual descriptions. She was blind from
birth, but was always told her stories were lacking because no visual
details were present. This was just ludacris to me. Her perspective was
different, and she should celebrate it. Certainly one can learn to write
visually, but as a writer, you also want to find a unique voice. If you
can't describe something visually, why do it? Use what senses you have
to paint a picture, or maybe, rather, record a song. Smile. Perspective
is what creates a story full of depth. If your perspective is a
nonvisual one, there is nothing wrong with that. We're always told how
we're "lacking experiences," or slightly inferior because we can't see.
I get sick of this. I certainly don't feel lacking in experiences or
anything else. The same goes for our writing if we write from a
nonvisual perspective. And just a side note, if you aren't providing
enough, or good enough, sensory descriptions, you probably wouldn't give
great visual descriptions either. I just realized how this sounds- I'm
not meaning you, Chris. Smile.

You have to make any description germane to the story, which includes
visual descriptions along with other sensory details. Just as it doesn't
make sense to constantly drop in how-to descriptions for every action a
blind character takes, it also doesn't make sense to give visual details
that the character wouldn't see. It would go against the perspective of
the story.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/

"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 3
Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2011 20:55:21 -0400
From: "Chris Kuell" <ckuell at comcast.net>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Hemingway quote
Message-ID: <5A8AA93EAB9A441695CDB7DCBC00FC4F at ChrisPC>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=response

Hey Brad,

I've heard the gist of that quote before, and now it's got me thinking.
I'm
currently winding up a novel about a blind massage therapist caught up
in a
sticky love triangle, and after writing the first 5 chapters in third
person
POV, I started over again and have been writing it in first person. The
reason for the change was that 1. people generally prefer the stories
I've
written in the first person , and 2. I wanted potential readers to be
inside
the head of a blind guy. It's been interesting, but very challenging to
pull
off an entire novel. I belong to a critique group, and 2 'complaints'
I've
received are that I never describe my main character, or my other
characters
visually, with the exception of one luscious female, but even then it's
a
description of her fabulous body, and the reader, like the character,
knows
nothing about her face, eyes, smile, hair, etc... I know all the books
about
craft tell you that you need to get in a description of your main
characters
early, and I've noticed that most novels do. But, in Hemingway's novel
'For
Whom the Bell Tolls, the main character has a fling with a former female

prisoner, I forget her name but it begins with a P (Pia?), and Hemingway

describes only her short hair and the hat she wore. I've tried the
remembering-a-photograph technique, but it strikes me as awkward and I
cut
it out.

The second criticism is that people are interested in technology, or how
my
character 'does things. This is where your Hemingway quote came to mind.
I
know how Dan, my character does things, and I've mentioned a few, but I
haven't gone into detail, which I feel is appropriate. He's got a
computer
with a screen reading program, which I mention in chapter 1 with about
that
much detail, and from then on he just uses his computer. I don't mention
how
he tells time, or pays his bills, although at one point I say a friend
helped him go through his mail. I say he takes the bus, but I don't say
how
he finds the bus or puts his money in the little thingee. He cooks, but
I
don't describe how he cooks, etc... In part, I think it's more
natural--I
mean, if he wasn't blind and you said he cooked a lasagna, you wouldn't
want
to know how. And in part, I just think it's awkward. Several years ago I

read a novel with a blind character. The character lived in Baltimore,
and
to the author's credit (it was a sighted writer), she'd obviously done
her
research, and showed it off--too much, in my opinion. She stopped the
flow
of the story every time she had to take half-a-page to describe how the
blind lady did the mundane things we all do in life.

Anyway, your post made me think of it.

chris

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