Tuesday 20 November 2012

So I'm doing a thing...

...which isn't the most original thing in the world, but will hopefully generate one or two.

You see, there comes a time when a blog can't survive on venom alone. Oh don't get me wrong, I love being angry and indignant about what the world has to throw at us. I enjoy daubing the vitriolic oozings of my spleen upon  this particular slice of digital soapbox.

Also, I don't want to upset the many (both) fans of this page that probably come here to see what's crawled up my vagina this week.

However the more observant of you will recall that when I started this blog, the intention was to squirt creative juices on these shiny pages. In lieu of that, it's got a little acidic and I figure it's time to neutralise the burning sensation and put some words out there. Made up words.

So in a desperate bid to generate muse, I've tasked a few folks I know with supplying some mind fodder. The format is fairly simple and I encourage any of you with creative leanings to give it a go.

  • Down the left hand side of a sheet of A4, write the numbers 0 to 9.
  • Add four column headings - Character, Location, Object, Motive.
  • Ask one friend to supply ten types of person or occupation.
  • Ask another friend to supply ten locations, specific or general.
  • Ask a third friend (if you have that many) to give you ten objects.

The last column should be completed by yourself and contain the following motives - Love, Money, Power, Survival, Revenge, Glory, Integrity and three others of your choosing.

Then ask an assortment of folks on Facebook to supply a four digit number. The number 4057, for example, will give you Character number 4 in Location number 0 with Object number 5, and the plot will be driven by Motive number 7. Now try to write a short story or a play scenario using these four elements.

The intention is not necessarily to come up with the next best seller, but to start the cogs turning. To find plots and characters from a very simple set of instructions. Most will be an exercise in scribbling and some may lead to other ideas. Suffice to say I'll bore you, gentle reader, with those that I feel safest putting on this page.

Then when I'm done with all that nonsense I'll write another post that's rude about car drivers or has pictures of cats.

See? You give a little, you get a little.