[Naeya's Scrapbook] Cosmic Love

[Sliver]

In response to your question about Dune, I have never read it. I think I should before I ever attempt to watch the videos again because I sat through about an hour of the series before I was bored out of my skull. (To be honest I was only watching them because they had James McAvoy in them (aka: This Fellow) because I was on a kick of movies starring and or featuring him prominently. Suffice to say Dune ended that particular journey lol, though I should really read them. Also I was doodling Miz related things and did this! it is very simple, but your boxes are so pretty I thought: Hey I'll try to put something nice into Naeya's Scrap too! Naeya doodle! : Love your scrap!

[Naeya]

I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am. I am. I am. Sylvia Plath.

[Naeya]

Every word must fall like a brick. This is an exercise in descriptive writing, borrowed from Caelum's scrap as a reminder to myself to try it out asap. You can find the original post here. I miss you, Katie. Thank you for all you've shared with Miz. Descriptive Writing Exercise Hereinbelow is a descriptive writing exercise I talked about on a fellow player’s scrap. You can apply it in different ways, but this is what might work best for forum. Warning: it only does you any good if you are completely brutal about following the rules of it. Take your PC and then take away their sight. Render them completely and utterly blind. Force yourself to write them doing something, complete with full descriptions, that are absolutely exclusive of anything sight based. Write this from first person point of view. (No, I'm not kidding. First person POV is the only way this is going to work. People have a habit of declaiming 1st POV as a statute of poor writing. This is patently wrong. While I agree 1st person does not belong as an MOD in a forum such as this one, it nonetheless retains many laudable values to both writer and reader when it is done right. As it pertains here, it can have the invaluable attribute of assisting a writer in not only finding but “hitting the right note” of their character’s voice.) You cannot talk about color unless it is in a metaphoric sense. (Night swept out of the ground like the color blue, cool and peaceful on my skin.) Don't use shape unless it is learned via another sense. Don't mention the expressions on a person's face unless you are talking about how they are evident in the tone of their voice. Et cetera, et alia. The second layer of the exercise is to delete any word that isn't necessary. You will find yourself distilling your descriptions in such a way that forces you to select the EXACT right word, using phrasing games to make the way a cup of tea smells reflect the present emotional state of your character. Don't let yourself write their thoughts. Keep thinking "show, don't tell" and you can bring that down further and further. Try not to settle for your first sentence or phrase structure idea and keep asking yourself in what other, perhaps more impacting ways X or Y can be said. For example, you can say: "She thought the way picture on the mantel shined in the sunlight was beautiful." Or you can say: "The glow of sunlight off the picture illuminated the very air she breathed." On the other hand: “Daylight’s glance against her mother’s picture felt not unlike benediction.” And on. And on. And on. It needs to be said this is an exercise for strengthening descriptive technique. It is not a guidebook on how it is strictly done. In summation: - Take away sight - 1st person POV - Every word must fall like a brick - Don’t cheat If you decide to try this and end up liking what you’ve done, post it here or in your scrap or in Dreamscapes even. Let me know if you do. I’d love to read it. - katie.

[Naeya]

Two more days and I'm home-free. Phew! Thank you everyone for your endless patience. I know I have a lot to catch up on (with both PMs and threads), and I very much look forward to being able to do so on Monday. Love&love&love.

[Naeya]

xo.

[Johanne]

[Naeya]

I've just finished reading Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (after two years of feeling it stare down at me from my bookshelf, decrying my procrastination). It's beautiful, terrifying, enthralling, poignant. If you haven't read this book and you enjoy dystopian fiction (or, let's face it, fiction), I highly recommend it. It's been perfect company as I prepare to enter "the real world" as a university grad. Plus, Atwood's Canadian. Hollaaaa. Oh, and if anyone here has a GoodReads account, I'd love to add you & share book interests! Just shoot me a PM. PS. Naeya will be back soon, I promise. I'm very sorry to everyone who's been waiting on me for posts. Thank you so much for your patience as I try to sort out my time, my life, and my other Miz responsibilities. xo "When any civilization is dust and ashes," he said, "art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning - human meaning, that is - is defined by them." Margaret Atwood. Oryx and Crake.

[Gossamer]

I loved that book too. Sometimes i would just sit and stare at passages thinking them over. it is really a vibrant lucid sort of feel. I also enjoyed the perspective being male and sort of examining humanity as a whole.

[Colombina]

Naeya,

I always enjoy your scrap. It's frequently lovely, aesthetically pleasing and never a downer. I am thrilled to see you picked up Dune after we spoke about it. I hope it didn't disappoint. It's a little dry in parts (GET IT?), but the world was engrossing. If you haven't read White Noise by Delillo, I think you would enjoy it as well. Disappointing ending, but has a lyric style that clutters imagery in a wonderful way. Quick read too.

Also, thanks for swinging by my scrapbook and giving the little writing exercise a try. It was tough for me!

Also, I made your PC with a hipster tattoo for a gnosis mark. I have ZEE BEST Photoshop skills EVAR. I'll put a unicorn horn on her next. It'll be great.

[Naeya]

Gossamer - I'm glad you enjoyed it! I completely agree. It was really easy to get lost in my head, thinking about the different passages and the ideas and the future of humanity. When I'm still ruminating on a book days later, I know it's a keeper. Bina - UM. YOU ARE AMAZING. That hipster lily speaks to my soul. Seriously - thank you so much for putting that together for me! I am on cloud nine (although Naeya's going to be a nightmare. She'll be all, "Pfft, I had a lily tattoo gnosis before it was cool" to everyone she talks to). Dune was absolutely wonderful, by the way. I'm so glad you talked to me about it, otherwise I might never have picked it up! I also discovered that my fam owns book two and three in the series, which means I have no excuse not to read them. As for White Noise, I'll definitely be stealing it from the boyfriend and letting you know what I think. Thanks so much for your great recommendations! Also, unicorn horn pls.