[stylist] Writing from a blind perspective

Sun Oct 23 04:29:33 UTC 2011

The Writer Magazine contains many varied articles about writing in all of
the genres, articles about the methods used by famous writers of all sorts,
"How I Write", new developments in publishing, finding agents, writing about
plots, characters, and on and on. About the only thing I have not seen is
about the techniques of writing poetry when one is blind. You have to figure
that blind people do not read their magazine. As far as the website, it was
most difficult to sign up. You do have to get the magazine.
Poets and Writers is easier to get on, though I think I also got the
magazine when I accomplished that. I get "Poem a Day", Contest deadlines,
and many helpful articles in their e-mails about writers, events, and some
about writing.
I will try to forward one of their e-mails, but not today.
Six hours non-stop on this broken down computer!
Jackie 

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Ashley Bramlett
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 8:14 PM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing from a blind perspective

What is the Writer about?

-----Original Message----- 
From: Jacqueline Williams
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 9:47 PM
To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing from a blind perspective

Brad and all,
I got poets and writers, and The Writer magazine for years. With sight gone
they piled up. I got the Writer Magazine on cartridge for the last few
years, but so many of the pages are not scannable with great accuracy that I
ended them. I still get the tape for the Writers Magazine, but it is hard to
remember everything. It does inspire one to write and stay abreast, and
overtime there is much repetition of information, so it slowly sinks in.
I did sign up, and found that many of the articles are not printed per say
in the website version. Such as "Poet to Poet.
But it is informative.
Jackie

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Brad Dunse'
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 5:48 AM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] Writing from a blind perspective

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

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. --Oscar Wilde

http://www.braddunsemusic.com

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