Midge Raymond's Blog, page 19

Weekly Writing: Noise pollution

Write about a noise that drives you mad. Be as detailed as possible; write a whole scene or poem about it.

 

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Weekly Writing: Love & Lies

Write about the last time you told a lie for love.

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Weekly Writing: Language

What word would you create and incorporate into the language if you could?

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How to create a sense of place from the other side of the world

As a writer, I’m big on creating a sense of place — using all the five senses, of course — and there is no better way to do that than to experience a place firsthand. Photos offer a great visual substitute if you can’t travel … but capturing the sounds of a place is far more challenging. So, if you can’t get to Stonehenge or Mexico or Arctic Norway, you just might be able to get a feel for the sounds of a place you’re writing about through Sound Transit.

On Sound Transit, you can search by sound and country (dozens are featured) to get a feel for what a Vietnamese market sounds like, or typhoon in Taipei, or a whale encounter in Greenland. It’s fascinating, addictive, and wonderful for capturing sounds that help evoke a sense of place. And even if you don’t have a place in mind, you might try hanging out on the site, listening to some of the soundtracks, and writing about what you hear — it’s a very cool experience to listen to the sounds of different parts of the world.

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What’s in a name? How to name your characters…

For Shakespeare’s Juliet, “that which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet” — but for a writer creating characters, a name can be a wonderful opportunity for enhancing character development.

Some writers must have a good character name before writing a the first word of a fictional story; for others, names are a bit of an afterthought. (Or, if you’re like my writer husband, you use the same three character names for every piece until your editor reminds you that some recycling isn’t actually for the best.)

Character names are more important than you might think…for one, having just the right name can offer a sense of context, history, culture, and personality — whereas having an ill-fitting or too-strange name can distract readers.

Here are a few tips for choosing the perfect names for your fictional characters…

look for names that aren’t too simple or too weird, unless this is for a very good reason
research the origin of the name; give it meaning
think about how it sounds in your ear and how it looks on the page
consider how the character feels about his/her name
use names consistently throughout (first name, or last name) to avoid distracting or confusing readers
if you’re writing about someone resembling a real-life person, change the name (as well as other identifying characteristics) to something really, really different

For inspiration and a plethora of name ideas, check out baby-name books, visit the Social Security Web site (where you can search name popularity by year), and search baby-name websites. You could also research the old-fashioned way: Dorothy Parker got her characters’ names from the telephone book and from the obituary columns.

Here are a few writing prompts to get you in the naming mood …

Write for 10 minutes about how you feel about your own name. Do you like it? Have you always liked it? Why/why not? What would you prefer your name to be if not the one you have? Has your name changed over the years due to losing or acquiring nicknames, marriage, etc.?
Write a list of your favorite names, both male and female. Next, write down characteristics you associate with these names, physical and otherwise.
Write down the names of all of your family members and/or close friends. How do their names help define who they are (or not)?

 

Weekly Writing: Cheating

Write about the last time you cheated, whether it was on a partner, in a game, etc.

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Weekly Writing: Film School

Take a scene from something you’re working on, and put on a film-school hat. As director, screenwriter, cinematographer, musical producer, whatever — rewrite the scene as it would appear in a film, paying close attention to (you guessed it) the actions of the characters, the dialogue, the setting, the sounds. Then take note of what you’ve discovered about this new scene, and incorporate these elements into your project.

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Weekly Writing: Trees

Imagine passing a logging truck on the road. What does the image bring to mind: a new home, an empty forest? Write a scene that captures the image and your emotional reaction with as much detail as possible.

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Weekly Writing: Fog

Write about fog, whether it’s a marine layer at the coast or a cloud hovering between mountain peaks or a mist you’re driving through at night. Describe all the sensations and emotions that fog brings to mind.

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Late summer news & events…

I just sent out an e-newsletter with late summer and early autumn news and events …

…and there’s a lot more going on than I realized until I put it all together.

The fabulous Sheila Bender will be in Southern Oregon … I’m reading (with Janée Baugher) and teaching in Port Townsend in September … there’s an all-day writing conference coming up in Ashland in October … I found a very cool online resource for writers … and I’m teaching an online class for the amazing organization Kahini in the new year.

You can check out the latest news here. And, if you’d like to receive news via email, click here to subscribe.

Hope to see you this fall!

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