Monday, May 10, 2010

WordPlay! WriteNet Week 17

Lena Horne, at the age of 92, has made her transition to join the great cast 0f musicians and actors in Heaven. A woman who was not afraid to challenge the limitations and stereotypes that confronted her during her career, she was a brilliant singer and actress whose brilliance was known by multiple generations. I especially remember her in the role of Glinda, the Good Witch, in "The Wiz." The loving generosity of the character in that film was a mirror image of the person who portrayed her.

Like Dorothy Dandridge before her and many others after her, including Halle Berry, Lena Horne had a physical beauty that transcended definitions of race. Although she experienced the humiliation of segregation, her pride and courage sustained her. "Believe in Yourself," as her character sang in "The Wiz," is valuable advice for each of us. I am emboldened to do so in the real world because of the presence of role models like Lena Horne in my lifetime.

Writing Exercises

External Exercises
(see previous posts for detailed instructions)

1. Observations Exercise
2. Reading Report
3. Writing Journal
4. Sensory Details Exercise
5.The Assumptions Exercise

· Start with a triggering assumption (any statement that could be true). Derive 10 new secondary assumptions (statements that also could be true if triggering assumption is true). For each of the derived assumptions, develop 10 additional tertiary assumptions. · Now you can use any of the assumptions as writing prompts or to develop a scene.

Weekly Exercises: May 10, 2010

1. What advice do you need to hear from a "fairy godmother" or "good witch?"

2. Write about a time when you were lost.

3. Start with the words, "if you only believe in yourself...," and keep writing.

4. If you were given an all-expenses-paid vacation to any destination you chose, where would you go and how would you spend your time there?


There is no WRONG WAY to do it: JUST WRITE!

Monday, May 03, 2010

WordPlay! WriteNet Week 16

Saturday night a potential car bomb was discovered in Times Square in New York City. A street vendor observed smoke coming from the vehicle and alerted police officers, who brought in the bomb squad. Here in Los Angeles, police also encourage citizens to be vigilant about suspicious behavior or events through the "IWatch" program. The global presence of individuals who are willing to hurt or kill strangers to underscore their political and religious beliefs has made such awareness critical. The threat to our personal safety is no longer "over there," but can affect us locally.

When I was a child, in five hours my parents could drive about 200 miles. Now, in five hours, I can fly across the continent. Seconds after the oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, the information was available on the internet. Now that the oil spill threatens the coastline along the Gulf and possibly even all the states along the eastern seaboard, the impact of this disaster on the ecology of the region is a global concern. I was horrified to see the destruction caused by the flooding in the South, including the bridge that collapsed after the soil underneath it was saturated. In the seventeenth century, John Donne observed, "No man is an island." Those words still ring true today.

Writing Exercises

External Exercises
(see previous posts for detailed instructions)

1. Observation Exercise
2. Reading Report
3. Writing Journal
4. Sensory Details Exercise

Weekly Exercises May 3, 2010

1. Write about being personally affected by a disastrous weather phenomenon (hurricane, tornado, flood, earthquake, tsunami, etc.).
2. Put yourself in the shoes of a shrimp fisher in the Gulf region now that the oil spill has occurred. Write in the voice of that individual.
3. Start the page with "no man is an island..." and keep writing.
4. Write a letter to the terrorist who left the car bomb in Times Square.

There is NO WRONG WAY to do it: just WRITE!