Verb Challenge

Our second challenge this month, to go with the SURE Challenge (see previous post), is the Verbs Challenge.

Write something following these verb rules:

• No "to be" verbs
• No unhelpful helping verbs
• No adverbs
• No buried verbs

Actually, it's probably easier to write something just trying to follow those rules but then revise the piece.

Remind me, what are the "To Be" verbs we can't use?
Let's conjugate!

infinitive: be
past tense: was, were
present participle : being
past participle: been
present tense: am, are, is (I am, they are, she is)

What are Helping Verbs again?
Here's a good explanation of helping verbs. Have, Be, Do, Can .... these are helping verbs. They have no meaning of their own and are used only to help the main verb in the sentence. Remember, you can use some helping verbs but only ones that are actually helpful. Don't just throw them in there for the fun of it.

Just for the heck of it, What's a adverb?
Adverbs modify verbs: Rachel spoke quickly. Quickly is the adverb telling us how Rachel spoke-- for this exercise we want to say Rachel prattled, or Rachel blurted. Find verbs that don't need help to convey your meaning.
Adverbs can also modify adjectives: It's a strangely orangish bird. Strangely tells us that this bird wasn't just orange, the orange was a strange orange.

Okay, but what's a Buried Verb?
I have my suspicions. Suspicions is a verb that has been buried in a noun. Instead let's say: I suspect.
Buried verbs end in -ment, -tion, -sion, -ful, or -ance.
Don't have investments, invest.
Don't make commitments, commit.
Don't be joyful, rejoice.

After all, "I hope you enjoy this challenge" is much clearer and easier to read than " I am really hopeful that you will have enjoyment when working on this challenge."

SURE Challenge

Bring with you to the next meeting an older piece of writing. Pull out something that's been sitting in the drawer unedited.
Look at it to make SURE it's as tight as it can be:

S -- are the words you chose Simple and Straightforward?
U -- if you use a big word is it Unique? There's no other way to say it?
R -- are you using a Rich vocabulary, or just showing off your vocabulary?
E -- are your sentences Economical? Have you used a phrase where a word would do?

Symbolism Challenge Poem

.
The Owls

These do
dip and glisten,
fog and sway,
pass and dwell.

Tell secrets to the saw-whet owls.
Fogs shift, stars convene, and forests listen.

These do
blue and silent,
stark and gleam,
moon and wise.

Find a place among the pines.
Summer wanes and long eared owls lament.

These do
past and prelude,
green and still,
grey and soon.

Leave the ghost owl to its logic.
Forests settle, reveal, and are renewed.

These do
cloud and bare,
new and night,
glide and know.

Literary Symbolism Challenge (continued)

Okay, are you ready for the next part of the challenge?
Have you chosen a color (see previous post) and a number between 1 and 12?
Great.
Here are the numbered lists -- remember in whatever you write you are to use at least three of the symbols that correspond to the number you chose (the color being one of the symbols).

Animals:
1) Cat: familiars(witchcraft), magic, cunning, forethought
2) Dog: loyalty, faithfulness (snarling dogs: ingratitude)
3) Dove: peace, purity, simplicity
4) Fox: slyness, cunning, cleverness
5) Lamb: Spring and renewal, innocence, sacrificial element
6) Lion: the sun, power, pride
7) Mouse: meekness, timidity
8) Owl: wisdom, logic, messengers of death
9) Peacock: pride, vanity
10) Raven: death, destruction, prophecy
11) Salmon: instinct, ancient traditions, perseverance
12) Snake/serpent: temptation, evil


Compass Points and Seasons:
1) North: coldness, alienation, hostility, death
2) South: warmth, comfort, relaxed attitude
3) East: renewal, youth, celebration, song
4) Far East = exotic mystery
5) West: evening, age, decline, ending
6) American West = lawlessness, unconquered or unexplored territory
7) spring: birth, newness, beginning
8) summer: maturity, knowledge
9) autumn: decline, age
10) winter: death, sleep, stagnation
11) Easter: rebirth, hope, salvation, miracles
12) Christmas/Advent: expectation, wonder, miracles, birth

Jewelry and Climate:
1) diamonds: romantic love, hardness
2) gold: wealth, perfection
3) pearls: associated with water as in life or as in tears, also knowledge, or great worth (not wealth)
4) rubies: good fortune
5) sapphires: contemplation, purity
6) silver: object of desires
7) snow: covering, obscuring, blinding
8) fog/mist: isolation, muddled thinking, indefinite (as in waiting, or prelude to a decision/revelation)
9) rain: sadness, despair, or bringing life
10) wind and storms: violent human emotions
11) lightening: power, strength, spark of life or death, suddenness
12) thunder: the voice of Deity

Nature:
1) Darkness: evil, ignorance, danger
2) Dawn: beginnings, promises, freshness, time of blessings
3) Flowers: beauty, youth, gentle strength
4) Forests: secrets, hidden things, often evil or fearful places
5) Light: truth, safety, knowledge, warmth
6) Moon: change, women, passage of time
7) Mountains: the meeting of heaven and earth, pride
8) Pine Tree: immortality (evergreen)
9) Rainbows: heralds of rebirth or change, promises
10) Sun: heat and light, source of life, royal power (usually masculine)
11) Water: regeneration, origin of life
12) Weeds: outcasts, disorder, wildness (not of society)

So if your number is #2 then you could write about this faithful little Southern dog -- warm and comforting to his mistress Dawn, as she begins to seek her blessings and search for the great golden wealth she has been promised but encounters difficulties from the menacing man in the solid black suit.

Whereas the #11 might opt to go with a sci-fi story about blue waters coming to life after being struck by lightening... Or something more poetic, like the using the "ancient traditions" symbolism of salmon, plus their seasonal upstream antics, to connect the life/rebirth symbolism of Easter and Water against a background of blues.

The possibilities are endless.

If you're not a blog author, please feel free to participate and publish your writing to the comments section of this post.

Color Theory and Symbolism

For December we will be looking at Literary Symbolism.
Sometimes a tree is just a tree, and sometimes it's an oak tree that represents strength and wisdom, or a sycamore representing vanity, or the evergreen pine whose branches clue us to a theme of immortality. You can give your writing depth by knowing and using symbolism in your novels or poems (it even works in non-fiction).

The easiest way to start is with color symbolism. Here's a simplistic example:
The sea flashes grey under the stormy skies as the fishermen cast their nets upon it.
The color grey represents both life and death -- in this example the sea might bring life in the form of food (fish) but it might also bring death or at least danger to the fishermen. (And storms usually represent violent human emotions by the way.)

So here's the list of Colors and what they usually represent:
1) white = life, good guy, purity
2) black = death, enemies, bad guy
3) grey = life and death (ie grey sea =fish/food+ danger/death)
4) red = pain, violence, blood (scarlet – emotional or physical pain)
5) gold = wealth
6) brown = earth/ farmer brown
7) green = birth or rebirth (in some cultures green = death /mold/decomposition)
8) pink = femininity (note: red and white)
9) purple = royalty
10) yellow = defined in context, often light/revelation/enlightenment , also blindness
11) blue = reflected off water is life symbol, contextual meaning (also calm, or Christianity)
12) orange = lust, fire, consuming

For our Monthly Challenge we will use one of the colors (in its prescribed meaning) along with at least two other aspects of symbolism. Any format as long as it's readable -- no sculptures, okay?

So pick a number between One and Twelve (can be the same number as the color you want to use) and watch this spot.
Tomorrow I'll post some other examples of literary symbolism.
In numbered lists.
Whatever number you picked, that'll be the symbols you'll work with for this exercise.
Oh, I know you'd rather choose for yourself, but remember this will stretch you, and stretching is good for your writing muscles.

November Meeting Cancelled

Unless otherwise announced, we will not be meeting for the month of November. Our next meeting then will be the third Monday of December (the 15th) 6-8 PM.

Our challenge which will now be extended until December, is to write a characterization -- several pages detailing the appearance, background, motivations, etc. of a character (this need not be about a character in a story you are currently writing). This information helps round out the characters for the writer though much of it might never be told to the reader of the story. The purpose is to know your character inside and out so that you (the writer) can portray that character with more realism and continuity. Feel free to use a picture (i.e. from a handy mail-order catalogue) to create an "illustration" of your character. This can be a helpful jumping off point to begin your characterizations.

Also, as we will now have two months to work on this challenge, you may wish to work on a brief scene (containing dialogue and description) using the character developed from that exercise.

One Syllable Words Writing Challenge

.
"I Think, Therefore I Am."

When the hills bend with trees to shape a pause, to stop the world…
When all that I know will not hold thoughts of time with out end,
vast clear seas, one small cell
or moon, or bone, or dirt,
leaves and wings and death…
When all that I can tell you is less than you can learn
from birds who fly south and north
from signs and clouds and the sun stained sky
when day first breaks …

When the ease, the cheer, the sigh,
the voice in my head,
brings peace that is not my own…
I am formed, made new
shaped and bent, pressed like clay
torn and sewn, patched like quilts
carved and hewn, like wood planed smooth
in His hands.

When these things spin in my mind…
When the hushed wind that moves crowned peaks bends to speak…
When the child is born,
and the rocks cry out,
and I see who He makes me…
When I reach that place,
I know
He is
I AM.

September - October Writing Challenge

Think of something that is important to you -- a life changing experiance, a sorrow, or a great joy. Write one page, double spaced (about 250 words) about this. BUT you may only use one syllable words.

Three exceptions:
1) You may not lie, so don't say "I was born in Maine." if you were born in Michigan.
2) You may use contractions of one syllable words. So, for example, you can say "couldn't" instead of "could not."
3) You may use two syllable words if they are under 5 letters long. (i.e. into, over, upon).

(Certain one syllable words, swear words, should be avoided still.)

This writing exercise comes from a class (at Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference) taught by Susan King an editor with The Upper Room, and is used with permission.

Free

The woman fell at his feet, exhausted

“No!” The girl screamed, flopping on her pallet.

Touching his dusty feet, the woman felt a surge of strength. Hope remained.

The girl felt what little strength remained begin to flow out of her body. Why wouldn’t they leave her alone?

“Please,” the woman cried out, her face in the dirt. “Heal my daughter. Make her clean!”

The cloth rough against her face, the girl tasted blood from where she’d bitten her cheek.

“Its not right,” he said. The woman raised up her thin body, searching for his face. “Please! I’ll settle for the dog’s crumbs.”

The girl tried to breathe, but failed.

He bent and wiped away a tear. “Go. Your faith has healed your daughter.”

A focused shaft of sunlight found its way through the thin, threadbare curtain, revealing startled eyes. She was free.

Taste and See

Jesus heals
through faith

abundant grace

wherever
whenever
He gains

admission

The Feast of Crumbs

Hers is the voice
that cries out. She is
the dog at the children’s table.
She seeks. She finds.

She knocks and the door
is opened. The Bridegroom
welcomes her. He spreads the table,
anoints her head,

and pours out blessings. He saves
the crumbs for her.
He says, Partake
in remembrance of Me.

Feast upon the bread that was broken.
Partake of the crumbs, liberally spread,
she gathers seven baskets,
twelve baskets full.

Bread crumbs
scattered as a miracle,
as a sacrament.

The Children's Supper

I want to tell of feasts of bounty
the wedding at Canna
the table in the presence of mine enemies
the finer points of pre-medieval religious banquets

and I am left with crumbs
crumbs from His table like a dog
crumbs of a life liberally scattered
and spread like a feast

August - September Writer's Challenge

Use the passage from Mark 7:24-30 (also found in Matthew 15:21-28) about the faith of the Syrophonecian Woman, as the basis for your writing. Any format.


The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs." But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs." And he said to her, "For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter." And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
~ Mark 7:24-30