tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16957364.post114007921046837347..comments2023-04-14T21:22:35.178+10:00Comments on Down In The Hole: SensesDaniel Hatadihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00453583064175651509noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16957364.post-1140219802721208342006-02-18T10:43:00.000+11:002006-02-18T10:43:00.000+11:00Oblique Strategies! The cards are sitting on my sp...Oblique Strategies! The cards are sitting on my speaker, but I haven't tried using them for writing. Used to use them lots for music.<BR/><BR/>Great cards. And they're black. So's the box.<BR/><BR/>Black is good.Daniel Hatadihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00453583064175651509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16957364.post-1140218209945418192006-02-18T10:16:00.000+11:002006-02-18T10:16:00.000+11:00Because I'm a geek, and spend far too much time th...Because I'm a geek, and spend far too much time thinking of shit like this, it occurs to me that we need software that will pop up messages at random times in unobtrusive ways on our laptop screens. Like those carpal tunnel avoidance timers that go off every twenty minutes and tell you to get up off your ass and away from the internet porn.<BR/><BR/>I'm not thinking something obtrusive, just a small message window that fades in at the bottom of the screen with whatever sayings or platitudes you've put into it. Kind of like the <A HREF="http://www.rtqe.net/ObliqueStrategies/" REL="nofollow">Oblique Startegies</A> cards, but with more practical advice, or just things that inspire.<BR/><BR/>Hell, maybe there already is one. I haven't really looked.Stephen Blackmoorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01241134280141088631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16957364.post-1140213531449092552006-02-18T08:58:00.000+11:002006-02-18T08:58:00.000+11:00I used to have the senses printed up and stuck on ...I used to have the senses printed up and stuck on the border of my CRT, but now that I've got a laptop, I'll have to think of something else.<BR/><BR/>It never really helped me though. After a while, the sign becomes like furniture and I tend to ignore it.<BR/><BR/>Thinking with the senses is a good way to make sure you're in a character's head, but it's not like we have the nostrils of a cat, and we don't generally touch everything in sight, so yes, there must be restraint.<BR/><BR/>Cat, check <A HREF="http://paulguyot.blogs.com/inkslinger/meaningless_drivel/index.html" REL="nofollow">here</A>.Daniel Hatadihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00453583064175651509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16957364.post-1140193610582745202006-02-18T03:26:00.000+11:002006-02-18T03:26:00.000+11:00The important thing about doing exercises, which b...The important thing about doing exercises, which both my flabby prose and gut are testaments to, is that it allows you to do what you have to when you need to.<BR/><BR/>Gotta agree with Tribe, what you wrote is pretty damn good.<BR/><BR/>"It probably sounds silly, but I have a cue card with the five senses on my desk beside my computer."<BR/><BR/>I don't think that's silly at all. I keep meaning to put notes like that on my computer, but I tend to write on a laptop, and there's only so much room for post-its. :-(Stephen Blackmoorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01241134280141088631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16957364.post-1140190442866714982006-02-18T02:34:00.000+11:002006-02-18T02:34:00.000+11:00I know this is a little off topic, i was just wond...I know this is a little off topic, i was just wondering if you got the results of the write up that we voted for? <BR/>I was just curious if one of the ones I chose was your story? -the stain - guard your treasure - dollars and sense<BR/><BR/>hope all went well, does the winner get a prize? anyway have a good day and i hope you won!Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08316960984452149315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16957364.post-1140176590335129162006-02-17T22:43:00.000+11:002006-02-17T22:43:00.000+11:00It probably sounds silly, but I have a cue card wi...It probably sounds silly, but I have a cue card with the five senses on my desk beside my computer. Each scene I write now, I look at whether I've addressed sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.<BR/><BR/>Taste is the one I find I use least often, but the visual reminder helps me remember and sometimes helps me improve a scene on the spot.Sandra Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109584805469336742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16957364.post-1140154496469407082006-02-17T16:34:00.000+11:002006-02-17T16:34:00.000+11:00Thanks very much Tribe.It was too wordy for my tas...Thanks very much Tribe.<BR/><BR/>It was too wordy for my taste too, but it was just an exercise, so I didn't obsess.Daniel Hatadihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00453583064175651509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16957364.post-1140137099434677442006-02-17T11:44:00.000+11:002006-02-17T11:44:00.000+11:00Provost does say before the exercise that you usua...Provost does say before the exercise that you usually only use sight, sound and touch, in that order. Smells are usually reserved for strong ones.<BR/><BR/>I tend to underuse the senses in my writing, so it was just a good exercise to get me thinking about them more.<BR/><BR/>Time to add a gastric problem to my MC.Daniel Hatadihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00453583064175651509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16957364.post-1140109890523657182006-02-17T04:11:00.000+11:002006-02-17T04:11:00.000+11:00I'm always reluctant about using all the senses to...I'm always reluctant about using all the senses to describe a scene. When I do, it ends up too wordy. That's fine for the original draft, but if I'm not careful I'll get caught up in trying to make the description work, without actually changing it. Just reordering the pieces, because, you know, once my glorious words are on paper they can never, ever change. ;-)<BR/><BR/>Eventually, I'll get over it and a twelve sentence paragraph of stunning (*cough*) wordplay gets dropped in favor of, "He walked into the office."<BR/><BR/>I think the trick isn't necessarily to use all the senses, but rather to use the right ones that give the general details and let the reader's imagination fill out the rest. <BR/><BR/>The example I've always liked was a highly detailed description of a bar, noting everything in minute detail about the sights, sounds, and smells. It then got pared down to something like, "License plates on the back wall, sawdust on the floor. Merle Haggard rumbling from the jukebox." Of course, if the character walking into the place was blind, I'd say different senses should be emphasized.Stephen Blackmoorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01241134280141088631noreply@blogger.com