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Imagination is the beginning of creation. -- George Bernard Shaw "One can't believe impossible things," said Alice. "I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." ---- Alice in Wonderland "A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit." -- Richard Bach Clear and cool, clear and cool, By laughing shallow, and dreaming pool. --- from Water-Babies Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard.--Anne Sexton Here today, up and off somewhere else tomorrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement! -- Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows "I write when I'm inspired, and see to it that I'm inspired at nine o'clock every morning. -- Peter DeVries
Teach us delight in simple things, |
Riverwriting means jump in & go where the flow takes
you. Fast? Reflective? Funny? All over the place all at once? Yes, that's
riverwriting.
It means you DON'T:
Stop
to see what you've written so far
Check
to read how that sentence sounds
Worry
that you might not be writing on topic
Just jump in! There's plenty of time After
Flood Stage to build bridges, docks, and marinas (so to speak) to
focus and polish your points.
Fiction
Twist and Jump…in the River
You may, at first, view each of the following statements
one way.
But…
What if you jumped in the river…
And twisted them inside out?
Read the statements below. What's your first reaction? Don't start writing with your first reaction to what they mean. Twist them. Then start writing a scene or a dialogue between two characters. Maybe an interior monologue. Let the river take you where it will.
See what comes out. Then twist it again, jump in the river again and write a scene, conversation or interior monologue back to what you originally thought the statement would convey.
Statements: What do they really
mean…
"They know I'll be with them right
until the very end."
"Don't worry."
"I'll take care of it."
"I'll be right behind you."
"I'll never leave you.
Editing tips
Use
your computer word processing software "find" function and
search for "ly" (adverb).
Look
at each adverb and ask yourself if you could replace it with any of
the following:
A simile
A metaphor
An action verb
The character moving and/or thinking
Writing a British novel?
Check out http://www.planetware.com/briteqiv.htm
for the difference between American and British spellings.