October 2016 Daily Stepping

[Lynx]

Hi ya'll,

Oh, IS, i see what you mean. Okay, credit Joan and then me for passing on the tip.

It's very, very, interesting what you are saying about copying or speaking our writing. Artists are noted for going to museums and copying out the masters in their sketch books. COPYING the masters. They've been onto something for a long time. The common advice is to READ a lot if you want to be a writer, few say COPY a lot to become a better writer. A new secret in plain sight.

Are you seated because this next bit may skip us to the next plane.

In my insecurities around reviewing plays without a professional relationship to the theater I read a lot of books about the biz. The one I'm studying now is How to Read a Play: Script Analysis for Directors by Damon Kiely. As part of his research, he talked to dozens of directors and shares their practices. I just this week read about Kim Rubenstein. She had to direct a Shaw play as an assignment and her first impulse was to dress everyone as Shaw as they all spoke alike to her mind. But while reading the script with a piano concerto playing, she says it was like in the movie A Beautiful Mind when all the numbers come to him. "All of a sudden, the punctuation just leapt off the page because Shaw, his punctuation is insane. One sentence they'll be three ellipses, two exclamation points, dashes. And I was like, What the hell is going on here? Then I stood up and started reading aloud and walking the punctuation. I started to make up these different movements for the punctuation. And all of a sudden the score, I really could hear it. ...
"A colon is like a leap in thought. Colon sometimes can be about making a list. But I'm talking to you: Oh and then I have this other idea. It's like a based on the same thought except it's: Oh, I just had this other thought. Or: Oh shit I forgot this thing. It's like a leap in thought. A semicolon is a twist in thought. I'm talking to you about something and then; oh maybe it's this. So there's a way in which it actually shifts, but it's still the same sentence. It's like a gear shift."

Kiely says Rubinstein has her actors "walk the punctuation. They walk in a straight line while speaking; when they hit a period they can stop moving, then move again on the next sentence. But if they hit a comma, they make a turn. When they hit an exclamation point, they jump up; a colon is a leap forward in thought; a semicolon a twist. They experience the language viscerally."

I haven't played with this yet, |turn| but I will.

Lynx

[inspiresuccess]

Kiely says Rubinstein has her actors "walk the punctuation. They walk in a straight line while speaking; when they hit a period they can stop moving, then move again on the next sentence. But if they hit a comma, they make a turn. When they hit an exclamation point, they jump up; a colon is a leap forward in thought; a semicolon a twist. They experience the language viscerally."

Now I'm going to be walking around my living room reading Colette and jumping every time I see an exclamation point! I love dance, yoga, and many forms of exercise. Also, with my psychology background, I pay a huge attention to people's facial expressions and body language. For instance, I watched the presidential debates a second time with the sound off to focus on how they express themselves physically.

RE: Dragon talk. Unlike reading or typing, when I use the Dragon I have to SPEAK THE PUNCTUATION. Maybe that's another reason why it worked so well for me.

[Lyndon]

Went from overachiever wanna be plans to overwhelmed "Can I just go in my shell and turtle up", to now bobbing back to surface and sticking my head out.

Just waving before diving again. In a few hours (today or tomorrow) I should finish an annual volunteer project for an artist's group, and then get on with looking at comments I missed, and prepping for Nanowrimo.

I had a couple 2000+ word days in there. These got into "How did it get so dark all of sudden" sessions.

To be continued! (I'm not actually walking around, but I did dutifully hop for the exclamation mark.)

[Elaine Glimme]

I'll bet Ray Bradbury would also be a good author to try this out on. His prose is almost poetry.

And what about dashes? I write with a lot of dashes - sometimes dashes just feel right. And I have to hold myself back, or I'd have way too many dashes in my writing.

NowI'm all jazzed up for Nanowrimo.

[inspiresuccess]

And what about dashes? I write with a lot of dashes - sometimes dashes just feel right.

Put your hands in front of you, let them hang down at the wrists, and do two bunny hops forward. Hop, Hop. Dash, Dash.

"Awwwwwww -- what's up, Doc"? Chomp, Chomp. Hop, Hop.

[Elaine Glimme]

Chuckle, chuckle. I guess a dash IS something playful. Do the bunny hop - - - la la la la la la, la la la la la la, Do the bunny hop. - - -

I never used to get poetry, until my friend Lissa and I stared sharing what we wrote, and she writes poetry. And what she writes feels like she's playing with the words and with the sounds that they make. I'm still enjoy prose more than poetry, but now I get poetry - some poetry anyway.

I love reading work that has rhythm and sings, and I especially love it when I write something and it has that feeling.

[Lynx]

Hi ya'll,

Yesterday went pretty much as I planned it; today's plans pretty much went their own ways.

The biggest upset is a Chrome brand silver vinyl bag totally let me down today and let in mucho water. The plastic parts worked fine, it was the fabric behind the shoulder straps and a small area where the cover flap didn't quite cover completely. Everything is water logged, including another library book! What's my luck with these books? Anyway, I'll 'fess up this time as truly responsible and face the punishment.

My daytimer, soggy. A spiral notebook, drenched. Bandana, sopping. Computer seems fine though I forgot to use the sleeve today (naturally). Thank you Jon Ivey.

So, after stomping off my anger, I looked at getting a new bag, roll top, and supposedly waterproof. From a Portland, OR company — the Poler Stuff Rolltop Backpack. Due here in a week. $65.

Meanwhile, I've drafted another bag into service and as soon as the Chrome is sober it's out of here.

Thanks for allowing this rant.

G'night.
Lynx

[inspiresuccess]

Oh, Lynx. What a soggy mess! That deserves a good rant. Best wishes for a cozy, warm recovery.

[Elaine Glimme]

Funny how a little thing, such as a flap that doesn't flap properly, can create so much havok. How do you spell havok?

[Lynx]

eom

[Lynx]

November start in a couple of days. Anyon have an open for the thread bubbling up? Lynx

[Lynx]

An old classic from Victor Borge ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf_TDuhk3No

Lynx

[inspiresuccess]

I started the November thread. Maybe it will get me stepping again.

[inspiresuccess]

An old classic from Victor Borge ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf_TDuhk3No Lynx

I'm going to use this one instead of the walking around one. I got too dizzy with that one.

[Elaine Glimme]

I remember the Victor Borge bit from when it first appeared on TV.

Thanks for starting November IS.

So yesterday I cleaned out the inside of the car because I was giving my friend a ride. Today, my dog threw up and in general got sick and made a disgusting mess all over the back seat, the floor of the back seat and the passenger seat of my car. That's what I get for being thankful for my washing machine. Anyway, I got the disgustingness factor down from a ten to a three. There are cracks and crevices that I couldn't figure out how to clean. If I offer you a ride, the correct response, is "No, I'd rather walk." I'm grateful for disposable nitrile gloves and that she stayed off of the driver's seat. That's sarcastic. This is a rant.