[stylist] Writing from a blind perspective

Tue Oct 18 12:48:00 UTC 2011

The Writer is a good magazine. Though I haven't done this myself, I 
was told by another blind writer, if you call The Writer and tell 
them you get their magazine through NLS, they'll , get you hooked up 
on their web account for access to member's info.

Web Braille also has a text  mag called Poets and Writers I think 
though I've never read it.

Brad

Brad

On 10/18/2011  06:21 AM Homme, James said...
>Hi Everyone,
>I was just looking at the Magazines on BARD yesterday afternoon. 
>They have one called "The Writer," I'm going to get an issue of it 
>and see what's in it.
>
>Jim
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
>On Behalf Of Ashley Bramlett
>Sent: Monday, October 17, 2011 10:19 PM
>To: Writer's Division Mailing List
>Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing from a blind perspective
>
>Thanks for sharing.
>Is the Writer a reference book?
>What is Writing down the bones? These sources were referenced here. And
>interesting finding that we use more brain power to read poetry.
>
>Ashley
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: 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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Brad Dunse

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