Bridges

I've just come back from a holiday in France which is a country full of interesting details. Beautiful windows in homes, rows of fabulous trees, cakes that might be miniature works of art. Details are important. If I write a story about Frankie, who has a dog, well chosen details help build a picture. Is the dog a teacup chihuahua or a staffie? Is Frankie a Francis, Frances, Francesca, Gian-Franco? Is his or her t-shirt bright white or faded, designer made or cheap and cheerful?

While I was in France I crossed the Saint Nazaire Bridge on the West Coast. This gives access from Brittany to the Vendee and is a huge, curved, twisted, clever and awesome construction. When I first saw it, futuristic and apocalyptic, (I'm a wimp) I wanted to change my mind about crossing it. On the other side of it though, I felt as though a small achievement had been made and that I was somehow better for having crossed this uncomfortable looking construction.

Bridges can be physical or metaphorical.

Think about how the idea of a bridge can be used as a metaphor. Write any ideas that come to you onto paper. Persevere with gathering ideas until you have a point of view you've not considered before or something you'd like to write about.

Create a structure for writing a story that crosses from one place to another. Write it to any length that pleases you. 

Don't forget to concentrate on details to sharpen your story.
   
     

Glasgow, sport and poetic names.

I've just been watching the cycling element of triathlon events in Glasgow. Have a look at Glasgow on the map and write down any town and district names that appeal to you. Go further afield and search for other attractive Scottish names.

Try this idea. Begin with the line

When we set off from......... (Bearsden/Govan/Giffnock)  then say what happens.



Write a poem, story, piece of dialogue and then end it with.....



By the time we got to (Iona/Mull/battlefield) then say what happens.



This devise will enable a story to be told.

Post your ideas.

Fireworks and their names.

Fireworks are strangely joyful reminders of treasonous plots. From where I'm sitting I can see an old Catherine Wheel pinned to a post in my garden. Bastille Day has just been celebrated in France with fabulous fireworks (feu d'artifice) and celebrations akin to new years eve and bonfire night. 
If you look at firework catalogues you'll see that fireworks, like everything else, are given names. Some names acknowledge their bright and celebratory nature, for example Ruby Shower or Roman Candle or can make reference to the darker side of fireworks with names like Phantom  or Bomber.

fireworks.co.uk

Pick a few of the names.
Use them as headings for poems.
Concentrate on the dual nature of fireworks.
Avoid words commonly associated with fireworks. Sparkle. Dazzle. Explosion. 
Write in free verse.

See what you get.

BBC - Writing for children.

The BBC are open to submissions of work written for children. Television scripts for series and a range of children's output. This opportunity is for a limited time. Follow the link to their writers room for more  details and to see how to enter your work.  

 www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom

You'll find lots of information and advice on the site and can subscribe to a newsletter that will keep you informed of other opportunities.

I have written a couple of things for children and will look at them to see if they fit the bill.

Have you written for children?

Try writing an outline for a series for children. Think of characters and locations, time and style.

A discriminating audience - they have to be pleased or they won't watch!

wabi-sabi

The term wabi-sabi comes from Japan but the concept is universal. It is about appreciation of simple things, of things that are ageing, of being appreciative.

Look at wabisabi.org.uk for images and developed ideas.

I came across this when I was looking for the idea of 'beauty hunting'. It seems now to relate to beauty businesses and blogs but when I first came across it the idea was championed by a woman (I need to find her name) who worked in urban or overworked industrial locations with kids. She believed that if someone looked hard enough they would find a thing of beauty in their surroundings and from there could possibly learn to attach hope.

I need to come back to this woman and her ideas but in the mean time am interested in finding beauty in the mundane.

Think of the most tedious task in your life and write its components as a list.

Is there a poem in there.
Is the ritual more important to you than you think?


Don't stop at one.


Post your ideas. 

Hotel's as places to set a story.

Are hotels and B+B's friendly places or otherwise? I stayed in a B+B in London recently that was very lived-in. I once stayed in a hotel with carpets so thick it was strange to walk on them. What contrasts!

Write a dark and sinister story about a B+B or hotel. Characters in such places have a need to be there. Some to work, some to sleep overnight. Under what circumstances do they meet? What circumstances surround them? Do holiday or celebratory experiences have strange undercurrents?

Remember

who
where 
when
what 
why 
how

Use these questions to shape the story.

Don't aim for a word count. Write unselfconsciously until you've finished. 

stand up comedy and the elusiveness of laughter

I have stood up in front of audiences and been funny. Intentionally and unintentionally. It's not for wimps. If laughter results from your material and it was meant to, the feeling is amazing. If the laughter you were hoping for doesn't materialize then an ordinary minute feels like a week.

At a comedy club near to me I have laughed so much at comedians my ribs have ached. A friend once told me about an experience she'd had and we laughed raucously for days. Laughter is such fun, so healing and medicinal.

So. How can we make people laugh at our writing, in the right places?

First we need to know what makes us laugh. Here are two examples.

Inappropriate juxtapositions: 

If you've seen Little Britain TV Comedy  you will have seen the sketch about the young guy who fancies his mate's Gran. A young man hankering after a much older woman makes people laugh because the relationship could be seen as inappropriate. if you haven't seen it look on Youtube.

Misfortune: 

Sometimes we laugh when people hurt themselves or fall over. Other times if someone becomes very serious before they give bad news laughter can bubble up. Psychologists have looked at why this situation exists and written about it it in detail. This and slapstick humour are my weaknesses. If people fall over I want to chuckle. As an adult I have trained myself not to in case it offends. And it's not only me who finds misfortune and slapstick funny. One day as I walked briskly over ice I slid, flew up some way and landed on my back at a bus stop. I did this twice and a woman over the road from me was doubled up with laughter. The joke was on me.

Think of an inappropriate juxtaposition.  

Think of a time when misfortune has made you chuckle.

Your writing could take the form of a poem, a sketch or a short story. billbryson.co.uk is the website of Bill Bryson who has made books full of things that make people hoot with laughter. Get one out of the library and analyse it to see where his humour comes from.

For those wishing to write and perform stand up comedy Get Your Act Together - writing a stand up comedy routines by Jenny Roche is a book that will take you through the business of performing comedy.

Comedy isn't easy. Creating rounded characters and believable plots is a writers job. Making those people and situations funny is a very different skill.