The Narrator

We Thanked Them

2010-07-13T12:57:00.001-07:00

The neighbours were here
they bought us their seeds
to grow us a new lawn

they promised it would be
much greener
"thank-you"

they came back and said
they would take care of it always
so that we didn't have too

all we said was,
"thank-you"

it was politics as usual.

Individual Writing Exercises

2010-05-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

The following exercises can be used to practice significant detail, rhythm, and use of action verbs along with a variety of other writing techniques.

Significant Detail - the surest way to hold the attention of the reader is by being specific, definite and concrete. Reporting details that matter.

Rhythm - The flow of prose and how it effects meaning.

Action Verbs - An active voice will paint a more vivid story than a passive voice. Although there are times when a passive voice is necessary, an active voice should be present for the majority of your story because it makes the story more exciting, and enables the reader to dive right in rather than simply dipping their toes.

Individual Writing Exercises

1. Story Trigger. One way to test your skill in the use of concrete, significant detail is to create a reality that is convincing-- and yet literally impossible. the begin, draft a story in which a single impossible event happens in the everyday world. (For example, the moon writes secrets in the stars, a dog does accounting, or everything is on fire yet never burns.) First, focus on using detail to create the reality of both the normal world and the impossible event--the more believable the reality is, the more seamlessly readers will accept the magic.

2. Write a scene where your character is deprived of one of their five senses. Then, set the character in a situation where missing that particular sense would have an especially significant impact. the situation might put them at an advantage or disadvantage, but in any case, they will have to compensate, wringing every bit of useful information they can out of their other senses. Make the situation dramatic. This will test your ability to actively use telling detail with the senses.

Practice Writing

2010-05-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

This is an opening scene I just wrote for a short story I've been wanting to write. I'm not sure where I want this to go, but it's been a story that's been replaying and reshaping itself in my mind for the past few years.

---
The line flowed rhythmically in progression towards the lady at the terminal. When they arrived at the counter, it took only a few mere questions before they were whisked away, rushed down the terminals, spurting here or there, only to be faced with another slow, rhythmic line when they got to wherever they were headed. Oliver waited in one of these lines and felt as though he were headed towards a waterfall. As he waited he took to an old hobby that had always entertained yet relaxed him, watching the people around him: The red-faced man at the front of the line arguing about the size of his carry-on, the elderly couple who beamed with fresh tans and renewed smiles, and the woman who kept scolding her son to stand beside her patiently. Oliver watched them all as he waited for his turn.
   The knot in his stomach tightened. Dragging his suitcase along, he reached the front terminal.
   “Hello, boarding pass please.” ordered the stout lady. Oliver handed over his ticket. “Has your luggage been in your possession the whole time?” she asked. “Has it left your sight?”
   “Yes.” he replied.
   “It left your sight?” she pressed, jutting her head forward and lowering her brow.
   “No no.” Oliver shook his head. “I mean yes the luggage was always with me, and no it hasn’t left my sight.”
   “You sure?” she leaned forward and watched him. Oliver nodded in agreement. The lady chuckled to herself, satisfied with his answer. “You sure look nervous.” she teased.
   “I am.” was his only reply. And with that, she stamped his ticket and Oliver was carried off by the current of people towards the next line.

The Trade-Off

2010-05-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

Cam pressed his thumb into the buzzer, stepped back, and listened for the approaching patter of footsteps against marble floors. The house loomed three elegant stories above him, and Cam admired all the beautiful details of its construction. The house looked as though it were brand-new, although the architecture suggested it was an ancient Greek palace. Cam tried to guess how much it was worth, but laughed at the thought. It didn’t matter; he could never afford such a place. Through the thick doors Cam heard the approach of footsteps followed by the squeak and heavy thud of what sounded like a deadbolt the size of his arm.

Standing there was a large burly man who let his eyes crawl over Cam before locking them on the black duffle bag that hung around his shoulder. The man gave Cam a large grin that although was warm, was also intimidating in its own way.
“Welcome, Cam.” he said, as he gestured him inside. Cam hesitated only for a moment before entering the towering mansion. Cam had never seen this man before, and his eerie warm behaviour made Cam uncomfortable. The last time he was here, the guard who had ushered him in had been distinctly Italian man with long shaggy hair and an expensive looking suit. This man looked American, was bald, and wore a silk polo with jeans.
“I don’t believe we’ve met before.” Cam said as he extended his hand. Without returning the gesture, the man said, “And I don’t foresee us meeting again. Please follow me, he’s waiting.”
As Cam followed the man through the house, he couldn’t help but admire the tall ceilings, the numerous paintings and sculptures, or the spicy scent that drifted off the mahogany paneled walls. The burly man stopped in front of a set of doors and knocked. The knock echoed through the stretching hallway and suggested that the doors were extremely thick and heavy. The man turned, looked at a small camera that hung from the ceiling, and said, “Its Cam, he’s got it.” There was a pause before Cam heard a click and the guard pushed the door open with one of his large paws. He gave Cam one more creepy grin before saying, “The Don will see you now.”

* * *

Eric sunk deeply into the cushion of his seat and looked down at the packages of drugs that lay on the table in front of him.
“Do you know what this is?” said a man from the other side of the desk. His tone suggested that he better know exactly what the packages were. It was a tone of pure business, and this man reeked of business. If the mansion that he lived in wasn’t enough evidence of this, the expression which seemed permanently etched into the stone of his face would have been enough. He had a chiseled jaw and a mouth that seemed incapable of smiling. Perched on top of high cheek bones, his eagle like eyes constantly watched and evaluated. They called him ‘The Don’.
Eric picked up one of the packages and brought it a little closer for inspection.
“Yes, it’s cocaine.” He said confidently as he placed the package back onto the table. The Don’s eyes dug into Eric before he said bluntly, “No.” Eric twitched in his seat a little, letting the silence that followed shame him. The Don pressed his gaze into the space in between Eric’s eyes and let time drag. Eric’s composure broke and leaning forward, hands clasped together he begged The Don, “Please don’t kill me. I will repay every cent. I promise!” The Don ignored him and continued,
“What you’re looking at is not just cocaine. It’s the best cocaine money can buy-” The Don paused, and for a moment Eric thought he saw the crack of a smile flash on his face before he continued, “- and you’re going to sell it for me.”
Becoming noticeably uncomfortable, Eric shifted in the thick cushioned seat gaining his composure back while picking his words carefully.
“What I say next, is only because of the pure respect I have for you and your business. I don’t know anything about drugs. I’ve never sold drugs before. And it is only because I respect you and your business, that I think someone else would be better for this job.” Eric said nervously, taking a moment to shift some more in his seat before concluding, “It’s just, I don’t trust myself. I don’t want to fail you my Don.” Eric’s eyes welled up with tears.
“Please. I will pay you back, I swear.” The Don leaned forward and pressed his eyes deeper into Eric.
“It’s interesting that you mention trust Eric. Because in a business like mine, trust is all a man has. If you do not trust yourself, then how could I ever trust you? I would have no need for you.” The Don paused to make sure Eric understood what he meant and continued, “So Eric, why don’t you go out there and give me a reason to trust you?”

* * *

Cam leaned against a rusty old locker, nervously playing with a key as he waited in the change room, turning it over in his hands. He was lucky to still have hands he thought to himself as he evaluated his current situation. The knot in his stomach tightened and the inner conflict between what he wanted to do and what he must do raged. Oh how he wanted to run away, jump on a plane and never come back. But Cam knew that eventually they could, and would, find him.
An elderly gentleman rounded the corner and opened a locker a few down from Cam’s. The old man had just come from the showers and began drying himself off while Cam continued to stare off into space.
“You gay or something?” the old man snapped at Cam. Cam’s thought process abruptly ended and his focus shifted towards the old man.
“You gonna’ just stand there and watch me change? You a fag or something?” the old man said angrily. Cam was taken off guard and didn’t know what to say, until he reminded himself of why he was here. Taking a step towards the old man he said, “What the fuck did you just say to me?” The old man could see Cam’s anger, could sense violence, and without saying a word, wrapped his towel around his mid-section and shuffled his way out of the change room, still dripping wet.
Cam felt bad for intimidating the old man but he had to get into character. Any minute, someone would walk into the change room with a bag full of drugs and demand money from him. Although Cam had never done anything like this before, he was quite certain that people who dealt drugs were dangerous and the last thing he wanted was to look like someone asking to be taken advantage of.
Almost as if on cue, a man walked into the change room carrying a duffle bag exactly like the one Cam had locked in the locker beside him.

* * *

An old man shuffled past Eric as he entered the change room, looking around at the paint peeling off the concrete walls and at the rusty rows of lockers. The room stank of chlorine and was empty save for the man who looked like he had no business in a change room at all. Eric caught his gaze, and the two nodded in recognition. Puffing out his chest, Eric approached the man.
The two looked at each other in what were the most unsure moments of both men’s lives. Neither seemed to know how to address the other. The man broke the awkward silence and asked, “What you got in that bag of yours?” Eric deepened his voice, and replied, “That depends on what you have.”
“Oh right!” said the man as he turned around, and with shaky hands, opened one of the rusty lockers. The man took out an identical black duffle bag and handed it to Eric. Nodding towards Eric’s bag, the man said, “And yours.”
Each man opened the others bag right then and there, inspecting that all contents were present.
“Hey” the man said angrily. Eric looked up and saw a pair of eyes filled with tears of fear and anger staring him down.
“I gave you forty-thousand. I need two kilos.”
“It’s fifty-thousand for one.” Eric replied. He was afraid, who knew what this man would do for his drugs.
“Look, I’ve been guaranteed that it’s the best stuff out there. It’s worth fifty-thousand.”
The man grabbed Eric by the shirt collar and threw him up against a row of lockers, a handle digging itself into his back.
“Listen mother fucker, I need two kilos. I need them. You don’t understand, I’m in a lot of trouble here. I fucking need them.” Eric shoved the man off him, sending him backwards into his own set of lockers.
“I don’t fucking have two kilos.” Eric said. Silence filled the change room as the pair looked at each other, the reality of their situation slowly sinking in.

* * *

The pair of men stood not two arms lengths away from each other, unsure of what to do as they watched each other. Cam watched the drug dealer eyeing him up, and he knew that something was about to go down. Cam slid his hand backwards, steady now with the flow of adrenaline, and slowly tried to make a grab for the switch blade he had put in his back pocket. He was filled with a sense of relief that he had brought it along with him. ‘I knew it’ he thought to himself, ‘I knew he was going to try and fuck me – fucking drug dealer’. But before Cam could get the knife out from his back pocket, the drug dealer made a dive for his duffle bag.
A fist coming out of nowhere hit Cam in the jaw, sounding more like a slap than a thud. In a slight daze Cam saw the man grab both duffle bags and make a sprint for the door.
“Oh no you don’t!” Cam shouted as he jumped towards the drug dealer. Grabbing a hold of one of the duffle bags, he swung his weight to one side and sent the drug dealer tumbling into a wall. The duffle bags skid across the floor, and some of the money scattered into the air like confetti. Cam jumped on top of the man, mounted his torso, and began hitting him in the face. The drug dealer managed to get one of his hands free from under Cam’s groin and used it to shield his face. Neither of the two were big men, and Cam had never been into a fight before. As his punches bounced off his face, the drug dealer pleaded, “Please”. Cam popped him right in the nose, sending a thin trickle of blood pouring down the man’s upper lip.
“You don’t-” he said. Cam threw another punch, but the drug dealer grabbed his wrist with his free hand.
“Please, you don’t understand!” he yelled as the two wrestled, for control.
“Fuck you, you no good drug dealer!” Cam yelled back. The man was stronger than he looked and was able to throw Cam off his midsection. The two rolled around pathetically for a moment before either was able to get up. The drug dealer rushed Cam, and pounced at him. The two slammed backwards into a set of lockers, rattling the whole row.
And then it stopped. The two just looked at each other. Cam watched as the drug dealer’s eyes widened into disbelief, while a look of shock and terror swept over Cam’s face. In the fight, Cam had managed to get his switch blade loose, and looking down, he saw it lodged into the drug dealer’s chest. The drug dealer fell backwards and lay bleeding on the floor.
“You…you ran into me!” Cam accused. Looking around the change room, Cam yelled at nobody, “He ran into me!”
At that moment, the old man shuffled his way back into the change room, but stopped when he saw Cam standing bloody with the knife.
“Oh my god!” the old man screamed. Throwing his hands into the air, his towel fell to the ground, and the old man ran naked out of the change room.
With tears streaming down his cheeks, Cam picked up what money he could find, threw everything into one duffle bag and ran as fast and as hard as he could.

* * *

The Don sat behind a large oak desk, and motioned Cam to come in. As Cam approached, he noticed the shaggy haired Italian that he remembered from before standing in the corner. Before Cam was able to take a seat The Don said to him,
“And what do you have for me here? Hmm?”
Cam lowered himself into the cushioned seat and placed the duffle bag on the desk between them.
“There was a problem. The guy didn’t have two kilo’s, but I was able to get you one kilo, and I was able to keep all the money you gave me.” Cam said as he unzipped the bag to show The Don what was inside.
“See? It’s all there.” he pleaded.
“And how did you go about getting one kilo for free?” The Don asked.
“I ugh…” Cam’s voice trailed off.
“You killed him?”
Cam nodded silently, his head lowering in shame.
“Yes.”
“That’s wonderful! You just saved me the trouble!” he said enthusiastically. Cam looked up to see The Don smiling at him, his grin beamed from ear to ear. It seemed so unnatural on his hardened face.
“What?” Cam asked.
“His name was Eric, and he was in a situation just like yours Cam.”
“But the drugs-” Cam sputtered, “The money!”
The Don laughed, and it was a whole hearted laugh that caused him to lean backwards and grab his stomach in the process.
“I don’t give a fuck about your kilo of flour or your pocket change!” The Don managed to say between chuckles. Then, after only a moments notice, The Don became all business again. Leaning forward in his seat he let his eagle eyes dig themselves into Cam’s face.
“You know what I do care about though?” he teased. Letting time drag he gave Cam a chance to answer. When only silence answered him, he continued, “No? It’s Respect. And when a man says he’s going to do something and doesn’t, do you know what that is Cam?”
Cam’s eyes darted between The Don and the Italian who had inched his way calmly over to his side. Unable to think of anything to say, his mind whirred in confusion. The Don recognized this and continued.
“It’s called disrespect Cam, and it’s a bitch. And you Cam, you fucked me. You disrespected me when you failed to pay me back what was owed to me.”
“Please, I never meant-” Cam started.
“Shut up!” The Don shouted before continuing, “I don’t believe a damn word you say. You already fucked me once Cam. And in a business like mine, trust is all a man has.”
The Don turned and nodded at the Italian who stood motionless, awaiting his cue.
“Trust is a trade-off Cam, and I just wanted you to know what it felt like to be on the shit end of the stick before I killed you.” he said. Giving him one last nod, The Don said calmly, “Goodbye Cam.”

Our Disposable Lives 2

2010-05-04T00:15:00.000-07:00

The theory here is that based how our society operates is very much influenced by the consumerist attitude that has consumed us. Because of urban overload, besides close family, our interactions with the outside society is almost strictly on a customer / customer service type relations. Almost always we are treated as a customer rather than a person, or the way people normally would treat each other.

Society acts as Customer Service in a consumerist culture.

Something to consider for distopian novel with focus on consumerism.
Post 1 - Here

Spring Love

2010-04-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

His skin tingled with the warmth of the sun and everything around him glowed with life and the scent of promises to come. Suddenly, he was all too aware of the cellphone in his pocket. Taking it out, he smiled as he made a call. The voice on the other end sounded,
"Hey babe, what's up?" to which he replied,
"Its beautiful outside. The sun is warm and bright and somehow reminds me of you. You've thawed my better half, the half that needs you to survive. I'm calling because I want to thank you in the only way I know. And that's what I mean, when I say I love you."

Our Disposable Lives

2010-04-19T20:30:00.001-07:00

With the rise of a consumerist culture the message that is constantly being drilled into our head is ‘buy, buy, buy’. Everything is made to be disposable now, whereas before, it was the quality of a product was revered, everything now comes with a short expected shelf-life. The idea is to keep us buying, upgrading, re-furnishing, and then starting over from scratch. Making products this way is cheaper for the companies that manufacture them, because this enables them to use cheaper materials and overlook long-term design flaws. This also ensures that once their product breaks down that you’ll be in the market for another one, ready to stick their hands in your wallet once again. From a business perspective this makes sense, but what impact is this having on our culture?

I believe that consumerist culture is focused with not with owning things, but with obtaining new things. There is no end in sight either. It appears that this growing trend towards owning things is becoming mainstream consciousness. The scary inclination here is that the mentality is that it’s never enough. This obsessive need to continue owning things seems to only be growing as our society becomes more accustomed to it. It seems that people cannot own enough things, working themselves into debt to obtain a new gadget or replace an old one.

Global effects of this consumerist phenomenon can’t be good. Although from a business stand point, creating shotty, disposable products is a great way to continue dipping into your customer’s pockets (and if everyone’s doing it you can get away with it too), think of the waste it’s creating. I’m sure mother earth isn’t pleased. Think about all the people who go without in other countries who could never understand this greed that has consumed us all.

I believe that this mentality that’s driven into us by this consumerist culture has spilled over and changed how we perceive things in our lives that are unrelated to being a consumer. What of our romantic lives? With the divorce rate steadily inclining, is it possible that this consumerist culture of use and replace has seeped its way into our way of thinking about relationships? I believe it’s starting too. People are becoming greedier and more self-focused than ever before and are unwilling to put in the time and effort to create lasting healthy relationships. Why fix it when you can replace it? That’s what you do right?

Eventually something will need to change, either the economy or the earth will crash and burn or this wasteful, useless overconsumption will bring WWIII upon us; the war for resources. There is no way we as a society can continue this lifestyle. Not only has the value of a dollar lost it’s value, I believe so have our lives.

Dystopian novel anyone? I think so.

Hiatus

2010-04-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

Well it's been about a month since I've posted ANYTHING on here. I'm not even sure what this post is for, but if I put off writing something, anything, for any longer it'll be bad. Finals are destroying my soul. Got a whole wack of job offers and I think I'll be taking two.

When I look in my notebook I find the following jotted down:

- How characters tell stories to each other
- Different conflict structures for scenes
- Deepening Characters - How can the past expand character and plot? How can the current plot deepen character? Changes / Show something unexpected / Provide insight into motives
- Dialogue in Essay Structure?
- Dialogue differences in 3rd person to 1st person?
- last line of dialogue for each character should be a skillful summary of their whole conflict / interaction somehow summed up into 1 line each. emphasis the conflict. gives the story a sense of direction. the key here is SKILLFUL SUMMARY, not making it too obvious.

- Cut-off mystery endings for scenes / shouldn't be done with climax scenes / should be done with minor plot issues / keeps reader guessing & adds suspense./ Example: Charlie was a drug addict but has been clean for a while now. They find drugs. rather than show Charlie pick up some and put it in his pocket, end scene with Charlie looking down at the drugs. it could end up going either way. I think my personal instinct would be to show him doing something whether it be picking it up or leaving it alone, but a trained writer would know that cutting the scene off early would be better for the story in the long run. when the scene picks up again, you are still wondering and Charlie's decision will be unveiled at a time when conflict reaches a peak.

If you couldn't already tell from the last one there, these are just notes I jotted down from watching Lost in the last few weeks in-between studying. I'll probably end up going over these notes and making more in depth observations about each subject later.

Jester's of Time

2010-03-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

How ignorant we are to think that as a species we could possibly adapt and survive endlessly through the grinding cosmos. Everything must end, and it will be the true definition of irony that our demise will be brought about by our own hands.

My Life Without You

2010-03-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

The Man had grown old and dim and grey, and his skin could no more crease.

He wished not to live another day, and prayed for his own decease.

For once a time there was another, and his days were filled with love.

It was she who he called lover, his angel taken to heavens above.

Although this young man was strong at heart, and he lived a healthy life.

It drove him mad to be apart, the torture of time without his wife.

And age brought on a bitterness, and the void continued to grow.

His attitude became “there is no point to this”, and his emotions all became sorrow.

And it didn’t take long before he was left weak, his spirit surely broken.

His life left dull and bleak, his story pains true token.

“Why oh why” became his teary sobbing, followed by a wish for one more day.

Back in time before his dreary robbing, he longed for a chance to say:

“I love you, I do, there is no other, and you make my life complete.

I’d miss you my dear, my only lover, and it means everything that we did meet. ”

This is of course my life without you, and I’ve been foolish not to see.
Every moment between us two, is richer than any treasure from the sea.

One day I know you’ll be gone, and maybe that’s what gives it value.
So I vow that from this day on, to appreciate and wow you.

So take the promise found in this fable, of a life I wish not to live,
That every moment made available, my hearts true love to give.

A Weeks Recap

2010-03-07T00:44:00.000-08:00

I love it! I can't believe I didn't get into poetry sooner. It has opened my eyes to themes and has entertained me with deep, enriching rhymes. Word choice and flow also seem to take me away as fiction does. I'm noticing a lot of the writers I love must also be poets, or very aware and skilled at word choice and flow. Neil Gaiman for example wrote the following for a short story of his: "They found a terraced house on a cobbled street, high and old and deep." It may not be poetry but, damn, it goes nicely.

Anyway, this is the first 'journal' type entry I've ever made on this blog, but hopefully one day in the far future I will come back and re-read everything and the flame of inspiration will recycle it's old forgotten fuel.

Hate's Conquest

2010-03-07T00:26:00.001-08:00

They came for me in the night,
and filled me with their loathing,
Their hate.

A primal urge I had to fight,
that pierced my fleshy clothing,
the pounding, mashing, and grinding that was,
Their hate.

Only man, I slowly gave,
a piece of me they whipped and slaved,
through the fiery pain that was,
Their hate.

By dawn it had consumed me round,
closed my eyes and broke new ground,
as a part of me flew away forevermore,
with the ravens of nevermore,
they filled me with,
My Hate.

Poetry

2010-03-04T22:43:00.000-08:00

like POE, i TRY
to explain the world around me,
in a way that says,
its beauty simply astounds me.

Untitled - [If I were religious]

2010-03-04T22:26:00.000-08:00

If I were religious,

I would stop,
and breathe,
and think,
and love,
and thank God in the heaven's above.

But instead,

I'll just stop,
and breathe,
and think,
and love.
and appreciate the mystery that is,
my life.

Art is

2010-03-04T22:14:00.000-08:00

appreciating what is,
exploring what isn't,
and placing yourself,
somewhere in-between.

City Lights

2010-03-04T22:10:00.000-08:00

It's easy to loose focus,
when the orange of the street lights,
bare down to choke us.
And for all the nights,
where I would love to see,
a piece of existance,
a part of the galaxy.
To put into perspective,
what I should already know,
that life will come,
and life will go.
That times true value,
is not money and wealth.
Cherish your friends,
look after your health.

So tonight, I think that I might,
stop, and set my mind right.
And remind myself that,

there is more beyond these city nights,
beyond the unnatural glow of city lights.

Notes: needs some editing / cleaning up

If Leprechauns Wrote Ransom Letters

2010-03-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

The following is just written for fun, meant to be read out loud and to an upbeat rhythm.

Dear Bradolf,

I'm sure by now you're looking,
for your precious porn collection.
I can only offer you this advice:
you’re looking in the wrong direction!

You will not find it here nor there,
or in any other place.
For I have taken it, stashed it away
and saved you from disgrace!

You must be thrilled and filled with relief,
with this news which I have brought.
And so I expect payment, and rightly so,
for this porn that I still have got!

That is of course if you wish to see,
it ever again in your life.
Although you could always just not pay me
and I could let it find your wife!

[I wrote this last night]

2010-03-01T11:23:00.001-08:00

I wrote this last night,
on a bit of a buzz,
with no other reason,
than simply because.

The Sound of Traffic

2010-03-01T11:22:00.001-08:00

The Sound of Traffic,
Far enough off to seem only like an instance,
of a nightly wolfs howling,
in the long stretching distance.

But no matter the distance,
I understand what it means,
As it enters my night and haunts my dreams.

A Snap Spring Crack,
the smack of something nears.
It’s the Sound of Traffic,
and it will pound away for years.

Unseen and Unheard,
it Dictates and Directs.
Growing with time,
it strengthens and projects.

The sound is consuming,
a void loneliness.
It leaves my thoughts zooming,
there is no escape from this.

A flash of lights,
a sign of humanity,
towed under,
by the drag of insanity.

Pulled forward by greed,
it’s The Sound of Traffic.
Fast through the night,
terrifying and Jurassic.

Loss of passions, society of greed.
Consuming, consuming.
A bottomless feed.

And for all the nights to come,
I’ll hear it.
The Sound of Traffic

Poetry - The Journey Begins

2010-02-28T20:17:00.000-08:00

I'm in a very write worthy mood tonight. Something that has been on my mind lately; poetry. I don't get it. That's probably because I haven't been trying to get it. I haven't devoted anytime to the art of poetry. Some great advice has been given to me though, and I intend on following through with some of it. See Advice

I really want to understand poetry and be able to create my own. I think as someone who wants to become a fiction writer, it will be beneficial on many levels:

Exploring themes & ideas.
Promote better word choice, description, & flow
Explore emotions
And of course, writing practice in general

Look at Micheal Ondaatje. Poet turned fiction writer. His work, The English Patient is a marvelous work. I think this is namely because of Ondaatje's ability to provide poetic description which formed a deep emotional story which is easily experienced by the reader.

I think the key here will be just devoting time to reading and understanding poetry. And like any skill...practice. Those who do not try, can never succeed.

I'll pop up a link in a few days when I have something written...I'll make it a goal to have something, regardless of how good, written by the end of the week.

Passion & Life

2010-02-28T19:57:00.000-08:00

Rant: Here's what gets me. People who don't have a passion in life. Why? How? I don't understand how you can be happy with life simply existing from moment to moment. I recall asking a few people, some of them close friends of mine: "What do you want to do with life? What are you looking to get out of it?" I would get answers like, "I donno." or "I want to get rich.". Okay...Sure. Maybe a question like that without the necessary build-up will produce answers like that.

But look around. How many people have passions. I'm talking about strong ones. The Olympics--which just ended today--are a great example of people with passions. These people are dedicated to the extreme with their passions. I wouldn't expect most people to have that kind of time or motivation to devote that much time to their passion. But for the most part, I don't see many people with a strong passion for anything in particular. They seem content to coast, day to day.

My passions include anything literature related. I love reading, writing, and exploring the endless possibilities and truths that is the human condition. I want to experience life. It's short! I want to appreciate everything from the minuscule to the grandeur. The 'good' AND the 'bad'. Life is an adventure and I want to explore and marvel at its awesomeness. I'm a romantic at heart. I reek of it too. Anyone who gets to know me will be able to see this.

Even without writing I could take pleasure in life just through appreciating and experiencing it. It's taking the time to. So maybe that's what other people do? I doubt it. I really do. I hope this might just be a culturally based thing. Perhaps we are so caught up with 21st century urban life--the go-go-go lifestyle-- that people are being brought up and raised into, that they are just too busy to find a passion. Is our culture responsible for this? After living you're whole life with this type of lifestyle it is understandable that people don't have any passion. Is this the reason people don't 'stop to smell the roses' anymore? How many people will stop and marvel at a gorgeous sunset now-a-days? To quote my friend "That's gay." I think it's really sad.

Maybe we should blame the education system (and this is coming from an educator). We're training a generation to just coast-on-through. School is NOT hard. Unless you have a learning disability, I would guess that most students can coast through school. School has long been looked at as 'training for life' and maybe enabling them to coast through school is setting them up for coasting through life. School is not challenging to most students. It doesn't push them to their limits, let them discover who they really are. It disappoints me. I wonder how the economy will be affected with a workforce of people just expecting to coast.

That's pretty much it for this rant, but I think this is a topic that needs to be explored. As for writing there are so many themes in here that need to be picked apart and explored.

The Lost Philosopher

2010-02-28T19:27:00.000-08:00

I haven't really posted anything yet theme related. This is something I need to start doing! I have been studying the art of story telling almost religiously at every chance I get. I have been exploring the essence of creating deep characters, lucrative plots, and the how-to's of peeling back a story layer by layer. I spend hours dreaming up stories and scenarios, scenes and descriptions. But very little attention has been given towards theme.

Realistically, theme is just a philosophy. It's why a piece matters. What the reader / viewer walks away with. Without theme, there is no point. I remember when I was in my early / mid teens I would spend hours thinking about the world, people, society, the tangible and the intangible. Everything from physics to politics to religion. I was very much a mini-philosopher. I miss that part of me. Now it seems I neglect that side of me. Why is that? Maybe it was just a part of growing up, as my brain developed, I tried to understand the abstract. Maybe I've grown to take my knowledge of my surroundings for granted (which, of course is the foundation for ignorance).

I think it's worth devoting time to. It's in those moments of reflection when creative and strong themes for stories will jump out at me. It's this type of thinking that will help me grow as a person, a writer, an intellectual and I should devote as much energy to this as anything else I desire passionately.

And so, again, as writing has acted as a method of sorting through my thoughts and feelings, I am left motivated for more. There are two particular themes / philosophies floating on the surface of my consciousness that I need to explore and write down immediately before they sink into the tangled abyss and out of consciousness.

True Sanity

2010-02-25T11:30:00.001-08:00

True sanity is being able to cross that thin line, argue with Einstein, play chess with Lucifer, and be home in time for dinner. - Devon Martin

The Voyeur

2010-02-25T00:59:00.001-08:00

I’m standing on a pile of what smells like sweaty gym clothes, waiting in my friend’s closet for him to come home. I try to shift around, searching for a spot where I can’t feel the soggy sweat patches against my bare feet. There is none. Between being nervous and the cold air my skin is crawling so much I think it’s going to jump off. I should probably mention that I’m naked. Pants down, hands lubed, ready to go.

It wasn’t always like this. This voyeurism thing is relatively new. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t be doing it at all. I’d be doing what normal guys in the early twenties do when they need to get off. Dating, the bar scene, hell, even the internet. I’ve tried them all.

It’s not that I don’t want to. I really, really, desperately do. Ever since the she-bitch that is my ex-girlfriend tore my heart out I’ve had intimacy issues. Intimacy issues is my way of saying I can’t get it up for any other woman. As I said, it’s a sensitive and embarrassing topic for me.

My mind is racing even faster than my heart. ‘Where is he, already?’ I think to myself. My legs are sore from standing in one place so long and I can’t stand the smell of my friends drying undergarments. I step out of the closet, although I use that term loosely. By closet, I mean a small space separated only by a bead curtain that has the design of a weed leaf printed on. The real classy stuff. I cross the dark room and plop my bare ass onto his bed. The fresh air is nice, although I can still detect garlic and musk wafting over from behind the curtain of beads.

Wriggling my ass around, I admire my friend’s choice of comforter. Maybe this is how he manages to get laid. Although I can’t see it in this light, I can tell it has a high thread count and was probably expensive. I grind my cheeks into it a few more times, imagining its silk. That only distracts me for a moment before the voice in my head is back reminding me how fucked up this situation is. ‘How did it come to this? Sitting in my friend’s room, naked and waiting for him, coated in…’ I pop a finger in my mouth and give it a taste. ‘…in strawberry kiwi lube.’ God I’m pathetic. The voice continues, ‘Why do you do it man?’ I already know the answer, but for some reason interrogating myself distracts me from the shame, distances me in some way.

My mind wanders as I begin to play psychologist.

It started after the night I proposed to her. Candles in the dining room accentuated the twinkle that was already in my eye. I remember how excited I was, cooking dinner, constantly looking up at the clock, anticipating her arrival. My hand kept finding its way into my pocket, feeling up the small velvet box. The whole time I chopped, stirred, and fried I practiced my speech.

“You’re the one for me.”

“No one makes me happier than you.”

“I don’t want to spend another day without you.”

“I love you so much.”

Hell, I even remember practicing the whole one-knee gig. Then the moment arrived and I hear a faint knock on the door. There she stood, beautiful as ever, my angel.

I couldn’t even make it through the whole meal.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you sick?” she asked me. She could tell something was up. Maybe it was the sweat or the nervous look on my face that said, ‘any minute now my hearts going to explode’. That’s when I did it.

“I need you to marry me.”

It took me a moment to remember to get down on one knee. I fumbled around for a bit, forgetting which pocket the ring was in before almost throwing it at her. A word to the wise gentlemen, no matter how much you practice, you will never get your speech right. It will vanish the moment you get down on one knee and leave you mumbling like a dork. It’s best to just get a nice big rock that will make up for all the mumbling. I’m sure your woman would agree anyway.

“Oh. Um. Listen, it’s just.” She stuttered. The next words hit me like Thor’s hammer.

“I cant. Sorry. No.” Next came the excuses, but I wasn’t paying attention. Between gasps of air I sobbed, trying to catch my breath.

“I should go.” She said. And just like that, it was over. I still don’t understand why.

It was weeks later, after I started eating and showering again, when I found out that I was impotent. I tried to masturbate, but anything sexual just reminded me of her. Even porn was useless. The rough monkey sex was too stark a contrast to the sweet sensual love making we used to make. And so for weeks to come, I couldn’t.

It wasn’t until a particularly pathetic night where I was able to get off. Consoling myself with tears and beer I sat on my balcony and wished the night away. That was until I glanced through the window of a neighboring condo and saw a couple going at it. It was slow. It was sensual. It was the definition of making love. It reminded me of her, and just like that I was rock solid. With a beer in one hand and my dick in the other I went at it, tears still dripping down my face. You couldn’t imagine a more pathetic scene.

After that, I waited nightly for a show. The time’s I actually saw anything were rare and far in between, but seeing as how it was the only way I could get off, it was better than nothing.

Eventually the shows stopped all together. Maybe they found out, maybe they broke up, maybe they moved away, I don’t know. But by then I was hooked.

My friends, being the good friends they are decide to drag me out and hit up some clubs. It wasn’t until halfway through the evening, after getting razzed for not chasing tail where I confessed. I don’t think they believed me because after a few good laughs and a few more beers, the night continued like as if I hadn’t just said, “Women are a waste of time. The only way I can get off is watching other people go at it.”

One of my friends, Rodney, he must have taken me seriously because that next morning he left me a voicemail.

“Hey man, it’s Rod. About your sex problem, you can watch me if you want. I donno, give me a call.” It was perhaps the weirdest voicemail I have ever received.

I wasn’t going to call him back. The thing about Rodney is he’s one of the greasiest slime balls I know. Truth is, I don’t even know how we ended up being friends. I wasn’t sure how he got laid at all, but he managed. Rodney will stuff anything that will let him. I really wasn’t going to call him back. But when you’re balls are going to pop, literally pop, you’ll do pretty much whatever it takes to get off.

That brings me back to my current situation, sitting in Rodney’s dark room with an ass full of silk. He told me to show up around nine and that he’d for sure have a piece of ass back for ten. A small digital clock in the corner reads five to eleven. I’m beginning to contemplate washing my hands and calling it a night when I hear a faint buzzing. A small light fills the closet. It’s my cell. I walk over and dig into the pockets of my discarded jeans. Getting strawberry kiwi lube all over my phone I flip it open to see a text message, “See you in ten!” And just like that I’m back behind the curtain with Rodney’s dirty laundry.

I click open the small cap on the bottle of lube and give myself another healthy dose, rubbing it in while I wait. The next ten minutes seem to take as long as the last two hours.

The slam of a door. The sound of laughter down the hall. Rodney’s home. My skin goes back to trying to escape and this time my heart tries to go with it. I suddenly become aware of how loud I am breathing. Any second now they’ll burst through the door, I have to be quiet, so unbelievably quiet. I have an easy time seeing through the curtain and I can’t help but think that seeing me will be equally as easy. This is a terrible idea.

The door slams open as Rodney nearly pushes the girl into his room. They’re laughing and I can almost hear the saliva swishing around as they try to eat each others face. The room is dark but I can make out Rodney’s fat silhouette grinding and groping every piece of the girl he can get in contact with. I try to start masturbating but it sounds like someone is holding a microphone up to a jar of mayonnaise while their dog is humping it. Too much lube.

Rodney quite literally rips off the girl’s clothes and throws her onto the bed. She’s about to say something, but he’s already on top of her. Before I know it, the bed springs sound like they’re going to implode while Mr. Macdonald’s farm has a party on top. It’s punishment to all my senses. I don’t even try to masturbate.

“Oh yeah! You like that?” I hear Rodney grunt. Who says that during sex? They’re so into it I could probably sneak out without being noticed. I’m just about to try when I’m completely caught off guard.

“Come on baby! Scream for me!”

“Oooooohhhhh Rooodddneeey! FUCK ME!!”

I know that voice. Suddenly my heart tries a different escape tactic, sinking into the lowest part of my chest; it tries to dig a hole through my back. I’m no longer cold, my skin is red hot. I try to ball my hands into fists but there is too much lube.

Storming out from behind the curtain I scream in a rage, “What the fuck is this shit?!” My voice booms so loud it cuts through their animal moaning. She screams and runs out of the room faster than the rabbits they were imitating. Rodney just rolls himself over and sighs, “Dude, I was so close.” The front door slams shut.

“I can’t believe you man, that was the lowest thing you could have done.” I say. I want to attack him. I want to shove a fork in his eye and a spoon up his pecker.

“Are you kidding? I just did you the hugest favour. What could be worse than not being able to have sex?”

“So you’re idea of helping me is making me watch you pig-fuck my ex?!”

“Yeah, I know. She’s a terrible lay. Trust me, now you’ll be able to get over her.” I’m too stunned to say anything.

“Only for you man. I wouldn’t have touched that troll otherwise.” I can’t believe my ears. Without saying a word I go behind the bead curtain, grab my clothes, get dressed, and smear strawberry kiwi lube on his walls as I leave.

* * *

This is one of those stories you never really want anyone to find out about. But the guys found out, which means that everyone now knows. Things between Rodney and me will never be the same.

A few weeks pass before anything happens. But before I know it I’m back to having sex the normal way. Believe me, it was quite a relief.

Maybe it was because voyeurism would never be the same after that. Maybe it was seeing my ex with greasy Rodney. Maybe it was hearing Rodney call her a troll. I don’t know. But whatever it was, I was over my ex and my impotency problems we’re gone. Other than being turned completely off of anything strawberry kiwi flavored for as long as I live I guess things worked out for me in the end.

New Project!

2010-02-21T21:20:00.000-08:00

It looks like my blog is getting stuffed with a lot of 'how-to' information. I've decided to start a new project that will look great as a piece in my upcoming teaching portfolio while also giving me a chance to explore creative writing some more. It will be a more 'professional' site than this one strictly filled with writing how to's and writing exercises. Almost a Creative Writing for Fiction Wikipedia. It will also act as a teaching resource for me in the future which will really help with prep-time and lesson planning. I'm pretty jazzed about it. I figure it will take about two years to finish gathering / writing all the information I need. And so, I present, Creative Writing 101

Portraying Emotions

2010-02-21T14:16:00.001-08:00

“Fiction offers feelings for which the reader doesn’t pay—and yet to evoke those feelings, it is often necessary to portray sensory details that the reader may have experienced. Simply labeling a character’s emotion as love or hatred will have little effect, for such abstraction operates solely on a vague, intellectual level; rather, emotion is the body’s physical reaction to information the senses receive.”

Rather than just stating an emotion recall, the physical reaction that causes that emotion. For example: If you are walking through the mall with your friends and notice your ex-girlfriend walking with another guy, hand in hand. What do you feel? Jealousy might be the answer, but jealousy isn’t what you’re going to write. Such reactions might include:

A flush in the cheeks - shy / embarrassment

A ball in your stomach – anxiety

Fists clenched – anger

A sinking feeling in your chest – broken hearted

“Similarily, in written fiction, if the writer depicts the precise physical sensations experienced by the character, a particular emotion may be triggered by the reader’s own sense memory.”

This is a good way to relate the feelings that your character is experiencing to feelings that the reader has perhaps already experienced and can relate to, therefore, making the experience much more real to them.

“Get control of emotion by avoiding the mention of emotion.” – John L’Heureux

Writing Exercise: Create a scene where in it, a character will experience an emotion. The only rule is that you cannot say the emotion. If your character is angry, nowhere in the piece can the word angry appear.

Quotes from Janet Burroway, Writing Fiction – Chapter 2

An Interview With Hillary Ambrose

2010-02-19T01:08:00.000-08:00

Completely unrelated to writing, just goofing around with the love of my life.

A Common Mistake

2010-02-19T01:03:00.000-08:00

I’m sitting behind the wheel and all I hear behind me is some idiot jabbering on about nothing in particular. He says, “I mean, it looks like a seven, but it could easily be a one. Don’t you hate that? When seven’s look like ones, or when ones look like sevens.”

“Will you shut the fuck up already?” I snap.

His name is Daniel, although I’ve been calling him Danny. Ever since I picked him up he’s been driving me up the wall. I take a glance at the rearview mirror and watch him squint down at a soiled napkin. Who the fuck sits in the backseat when there are only two people in the car anyway?

“For Christ’s sake Danny, why didn’t you write it down on a normal piece of paper like a normal person’s supposed ta’?” I yell into the back.

“I don’t know. I mean, at the time I could read it. It’s a common mistake.” Danny mumbles to himself.

“Yea right, a common fucking mistake. They’re your fucking ones and sevens!” I hiss. I had to let out some steam.

“Gee, you sure got a mouth on ya.” he mumbles even quieter. I take a deep breath. I am stressed out. Not only have I never done a job like this before but I get paired up with this guy. It’s not that he’s slow or anything, but the shit that comes out of his mouth is enough to make you bleed from the ears.

“Okay look, just tell me the room number. Or what you think the number is.” I say. A few moments pass and the only sound I hear is Danny clicking his teeth together in an attempt to knock something out of his thick skull. He replies, “I donno. I think it’s four-eleven. It could be four-seventeen, or even –”

“That’s okay –” I interrupt “—the four is good. We know it’s on the fourth floor. That narrows our options down to two rooms, four-eleven, or four-seventeen. The rooms don’t go as high as four-seventy so we’re good. We’ll just have to guess.” His only reply is “Hey, you’re pretty smart, you know that?” I turn around, give him a friendly smile and say, “Thanks Danny. Now can you be a doll and shut the fuck up until we get there?”

* * *

The car rolls gently into the gravel lot of The All-Nighter. This place is a dump. Whoever designed it followed the example of every other sleazy motel out there. The neon lights, the fake palm trees, the hookers littering the lobby entrance. Danny leans forward, nudges me on the shoulder, and says, “This place is nice. Kinda’ pretty don’t you think?” I can’t help but laugh.

“Oh for sure.” I sarcastically return.

“I mean, the palm trees are fake. Did you know that? Palm trees don’t naturally grow in New York, but still, it gives the place –” Danny trails on. There he goes again. I turn and grab him by the shoulders, looking at him straight in the eye. “Danny, as much as I love hearing your opinion on this places choice of décor I need you to focus. We have a job to do. I’m nervous as shit. Unlike you, I haven’t done this before.” Danny chuckles and says, “Sorry, sometimes I can’t help it.” With the palm of my hand planted firmly over my face I mutter into it, “This isn’t a fucking game. This is serious. Do you understand? I don’t want to get caught.” That’s when Danny surprises me.

“Maybe for you, but for me, this is fun” he says unfurling a set of blades. The way he says fun really scares me. I’ve seen and done a lot of things, but even I would never consider cutting a man up into little cocktail sausage sized bits fun. Danny’s eyes sparkle as he examines his tools. Long blades, butcher knives, blades with serrated edges, all of them lined up from biggest to smallest. Danny smiles as he taps the smallest one, a scalpel, with his pinky.

“Okay, I’m ready” he says with a big grin.

* * *

The inside of The All-Nighter smells the way a salty fish cutlet would smell. Its times like these I’m glad there aren’t any airborne sexually transmitted diseases. Or are there? Suddenly I wasn’t sure.

Danny leans in and whispers, “That lady sure had big boobies. Do you think—” he stops to giggle, “Do you think they’re real?” he asks. I ignore him as I walk up to the front desk tapping the little silver bell on the counter. It takes a short while but eventually the night clerk appears. Without saying a word he simply gives the two of us a look, not even bothering to hide his annoyance. I notice he forgot to do up his fly. Probably boinkin’ one of the floozies’s in the back.

“We need a room. Fourth floor if you got one available.” I say. The clerk gives each of us a look over. A big smile shows that he’s missing a few teeth. It also tells me he thinks Danny and I are here for some kind of midnight romp.

“I’ll tell you what” I say as I slip a couple twenties out of my pocket and slap them on the counter.

“Forty bucks. We’ll be out of your hair within the hour.” Without hesitation the clerk pockets the cash and tosses me a room key. Giving the two of us a quick wink he says “Have fun you two!” ‘Go fuck yourself’ I think.

“Good luck getting that boner back after picturing us going at it.” I mutter to myself as I speed away.

“Wait, what did you just say?” Danny says as he chases after me.

* * *

Room four-fourteen. Danny sits on the bed and watches as I stuff some necessary tools into my cargo pants. Tonight, someone three rooms over is going to be very unhappy. Three rooms in which direction though neither of us had a fucking clue.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Danny pipes up. I don’t say anything. I’m too busy shoving things into my pants and worrying about what’s going to happen next. Danny scrunches up his face before he asks, “What did he do?” I finish stuffing the items into my pockets. Lock picks, leather gloves, a set of brass knuckles, thick garbage bags, and duct tape. The duct tape bulges out even in my extra spacious cargo pockets.

“I don’t fucking know Danny. We get a picture, a description, and a job to do. Asking questions isn’t exactly the way to move up in this industry.” I pause, trying to reposition the duct tape before continuing, “Anyway, one of our more powerful friends would like to see this guy disappear and that’s exactly what’s going to happen. For rookies like us this is a golden opportunity to move up. You know, assuming we don’t fuck up and get caught.”

Danny shrugs and then goes back to playing with his knives. I shake my head and say, “Come on, show me that napkin again.” He hands me the napkin and I try to make out the numbers. It’s then that I realize that Danny wrote on the napkin with ketchup and it looks like he used his fingers to do so. Deep breaths.

“Looks more like a seven to me.” I say.

* * *

Danny stands guard as I jiggle the slender picks back and forth feeling for the light taps of the lock. I can normally pick a lock in less than a minute and this one is no different. A satisfying click and we’re in. I motion Danny to come over to where I’m crouched.

After years of denied maintenance, the door creeks especially loud. I lean halfway in and try and listen. The distinct sound of nothing. I motion for Danny to follow me into the shadows.

The rooms are small, so it only takes me a few large steps to reach the bed. A big lump all curled up under the sheets. I throw back the sheets and shove one hand over his mouth while my other hand makes a grab for his throat. Before Danny can flick on the lights I already know we’re in the wrong room.

Whoever this man is he has one massive neck and is much larger than our slender target is supposed to be. The lights come on just in time for me to see a pair of startled bloodshot eyes staring back at me before a fist connects with my face. The world is a haze. I stumble backwards.

It takes a few moments before I can see straight. Except what I see is the biggest, blackest, man charging me like a bull.

“Jesus Christ” is all I manage to sputter out before he tackles me to the ground. His naked body pressing down on me, his groin dangling over my face. I try to move my hands to block the shots I know are coming but they are trapped underneath this mans crushing weight. I can hardly breathe. With his massive cock only inches from my face I can’t help but feel pity for myself. This is not how it was supposed to end. I shut my eyes.

The man howls some kind of rage-fueled war cry. My eyes close tighter. Another roar, only this time it’s different. Nothing happens. I open my eyes to see the black goliath arched backwards in pain, his penis still dangling in front of my face. The weight pressing down on me lightens slightly. Behind the man I see Danny standing with a massive blade taking slices out of this mans muscular back. Swing after swing Danny plunges the blade deeper into this man’s flesh. The screams of pain are so loud the whole building is defiantly awake. Flailing his arms everywhere he tries to get up, to defend himself. It’s too late. Danny takes one final swing at the man’s neck and the blade makes a clean cut all the way through. His lifeless body falls backwards. I can finally breathe.

Looking up at Danny I say, “Fuck Danny, you saved my fucking life!” drenched in the man’s blood Danny says “There you go again with your mouth. You know you should really -”

“Yo Daddy, what the hollering about up in here?” says an approaching voice in the hallway. There, standing in the doorway, I recognize one of the girls from outside. Her mouth drops in disbelief as she sees the headless goliath lying in the middle of the room. More screams fill The All-Nighter. So much for quick and silent. The girl runs off down the hall still screaming at the top of her lungs.

“Danny we need to get the fuck out of here now!” I say, getting up and leaping over the corpse. Covered in blood the two of us exit the room and make a sprint down the hall towards the nearest set of stairs. My heart is racing. There’s a good chance we’re going to get caught, and it’s not even the right guy.

“I’m gonna fucking kill them!” a voice shrills. I stop at the banister and peer down to see a small army of whores making their way up the stairs.

“Oh fuck me.” I mutter. Crowbars, bats, knifes, the girls are armed to the teeth. Already on the second floor and coming up fast Danny and I need a new exit strategy. We turn and make a dash for the other set of stairs. Three quarters of the way there I realize there is another small army making its way up those stairs as well. Short on breath, I turn to Danny and say, “Danny we’re fucked, we’re done for.” The thought of being ripped apart by a mob of whores enters my mind. This is not how it was supposed to end. Danny returns my gaze and nods solemnly. We both knew what was about to come.

The door to our left creeks open. A man, half naked, standing in the doorway yells at us, “What in the fuck is going on out here? It’s three in the morning!” My gaze drifts upwards. It’s room four-eleven.

* * *

The leather of my glove wraps nicely around his mouth. It’s been a good few minutes and the madness in the hallway hasn’t toned down at all. I can hear the whores going door to door, searching each room with a zealous fury for their pimp’s killers.

“Okay look, don’t say a fucking word. Not one. If they find out we’re in here, we’re all dead.” I say as I whisper into the man’s ear. All three of us are crouched in darkness. It’s a good thing he came to his door when he did, otherwise Danny and I would be goners. I’m sure if he knew who we were and our true intentions he would have stayed in his room. Hell, he probably would have watched our slaughter through his peephole. The irony made me chuckle. I wish Danny could share this moment with me. Now all we have to do is kill our savior, avoid an army of armed whores, and escape without getting caught.

The whores don’t bother knocking. The old door makes a thud as someone on the other side tries to force it open.

“Open up, we need to see your room!” the voice on the other side says. The three of us wait in dead silence as the girl continues to wail on the door. My grip tightens around the priest’s mouth. A good minute passes before I realize I’m holding my breath. Deep breaths, long deep silent breaths.

Eventually the girl moves on to the next room, hollering and bashing away at the old wooden door. It doesn’t matter; we are only delaying the inevitable. It’s only a matter of time before they return with the spare room keys.

“Look, I’m going to let go of your mouth now, if you scream I’ll kill you before the whores can.” I whispered into the priest’s ear. Removing my hands I worked quickly.

“Jesus! What’s going on out there?” he whispered. This bought me just enough time to fetch the duct tape from my cargo pants.

“We’ll chat about it later.” I say as I rip off a strip and slap it around his mouth. Holding him down, I rip off more strips and tape up his hands and feet all the while I can make out his muffled curses. I turn to Danny, smile, and say “and you thought I had a potty mouth.”

The balcony is our only chance of escape. I don’t remember there being a fire escape but it’s worth a shot. I pull back the curtains and almost laugh at our luck. Right in front of the priest’s balcony is one of those large cheesy palm trees. I suddenly agree with Danny, they are pretty. Hell, at this moment, they’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I say “Danny, finish off the priest. Make it quick, he did save our lives after all.”

* * *

The ride back was a quiet one. The only sound I could hear was Danny’s whimpering. Our escape involved sliding down the palm trees the same way a fireman would slide down a pole. It was successful, except Danny slipped and broke his leg. Whatever they use to coat those fake trees was slippery. I had a few cuts from the landing but nothing worth complaining about. The fact was we were alive and fuck we were grateful for it. On top of that, the priest was dead, and I couldn’t think of any evidence left behind that would tie us to the murders. Except of course the descriptions the night clerk and whores would provide. But who takes junkies and whores seriously?

Without turning back I say to Danny “Hey kiddo, everything’s going to be all right. Do you mind passing me your cell?” Danny’s bloody hand appears in my peripheral vision and hands me his phone.

“What was the number we were supposed to call after the hit’s finished?” I say flipping the cover open. I can hear Danny fishing around in his jacket pockets. Danny says, “eight-four-two, seven-three-eleven.” Before I can finish dialing the numbers Danny interrupts, “oh wait. It could be one-three-eleven, or even…” his voice trailed off. I turn around and say “You gotta be fucking kidding me!”

Notes: Written in one sitting. Needs major editing, too much cussing, characters underdeveloped, no real theme, conflicts could be pieced together better. However, funny IMO.

A Critical Review - Blind

2010-02-17T01:07:00.000-08:00

Reading fiction is a great way to learn how to write fiction. Always look for writing that works. Whether that be the way the author has pieced together a plot, descriptions, characters, narrative, etc. It's also important to be critical as well. What could they have done differently? Can you make it better? Why? Try the following exercise and see if you can use what you learn to improve your own writing.

Exercise: Read the following postcard fiction and see if you can identify everything that the writer has done effectively. What have they not done effectively?

Blind

I like to have my head pointed up. I don't wear sunglasses, I don't have a dog or a cane, and I definitely don't collect a check. They tell me I am blind. I don't know what that means.

"Harv, whadd'ya wan'?" His voice is hoarse, like he needs to clear his throat. I could smell him coming, too, a moving jar of peanut butter. I briefly wonder about the smell; Jorge usually is the kind of guy to proudly smell like meat and grease, or, depending on the time, vodka. But, no, I definitely smell peanut butter.

"The same thing your wife wanted last night, Jorge, some beef." I don't laugh. I make jokes often, but I rarely laugh. The noise of the restaurant picks up, too loud to pick out any specific sounds. It's a dull roar that I can't understand. Feeling disoriented, I reach out to see if Jorge is still with me.

"Watch it! If my wife was wit' you last night, why you come reachin' for my junk?" He guffaws. I get hit in the face with garlic. At least, it was like a hit. Jorge needs to brush his teeth.

"Just get me some food, you mexican ****, and bring me a beer."

"Alright, Harv, whatever ya' say." I don't know why I come here. The crowd is usually smaller, which is nice, but the food sucks. The beer is usually skunk. The service is laughable. But.. I don't stand out in this crowd. People don't feel sorry for me, and sometimes, when there's noone bothering me - I can almost imagine I'm the same as anyone..

Being born blind, I never truly understood what sight was. It's another sense. I don't have that sense. Hearing footsteps, I swing my head around, sniffing hard.

"I smel't ya, Jorge. Wipe your ass, man!" A 'clink' warns me that my draft is arrived.

"I'm glad I can't see, 'cause I bet you're ugly as ****." Once again, no laugh from me. Not even a smile.

"Hah! You old ****, you're loco'." Jorge is an okay guy, born without a spine. I can tell my so-called condition makes him uncomfortable. Which is why I **** with him. A blind guy, and a spineless guy walk into a bar. Neither of us really know that we're handicapped. But, we are. My eyes, or so I am told, make people scared. I could face down, which to me, is a sign of defeat. I could wear a mask, put on some sunglasses, and parade around town. But no, I am not handicapped. I've never known sight, and reject the idea of it. So, with total disregard to everyone else, I tilt my head up, and 'look' people in the face.

* * *

At first read this is what I have come up with:

This reads more of a scene from a story rather than a story itself. I say this only because there is no real conflict or resolution. We get a nice set up of the characters and their attitudes towards their handicaps but nothing really happens.

On the other hand, you did a good job setting up the characters. In this short span I get a real sense of what these people are really like.

This particular line was confusing as a reader:"The same thing your wife wanted last night, Jorge, some beef." I don't laugh.
When I read, 'I don't laugh', it made me think the other guy was making the joke and the MC wasn't laughing at it. I had to re-read it, pause, shrug, and keep reading before I understood. A few extra words or re-wording would solve this.

My only real concern is that there is no conflict. And other than being handicap I don't see any real issues here. I think what you're trying to achieve at the end of the story, about the MC's attitude towards his handicap could be shown better if there was a conflict, and this is how he reacted at the end. It would deepen the story, get your point across better, and make it more interesting.

What did you come up with?

A Word on Theme

2010-02-15T22:54:00.000-08:00

Theme is why fiction matters, because it is the quality that gives the story a universal appeal. Some say theme is what the story is about, but that is too ephemeral a definition, which may get confused with the idea or the plot.

Theme enriches and inspires the reader while saying something profound about the human condition. Theme is the abstract concept behind the story forming the story's heart and soul that the exposition, dialogue, and action reflect every chance they get.

Theme is not the characters or the plot or the original idea that started the story. For example, a writer may begin with the idea of exploring family relationships between women, but as his story progresses, his theme may shape up as forgiveness and understanding between different generations of females.

Theme is implied, sometimes without the writer's knowing of it at the start; however, more experienced writers usually work on their theme harder than any other part of the story once they catch on to what it is they are writing about.

In non-fiction, the writer is advised to hone in to his theme and begin referring to it right at the first paragraph. In fiction, on the other hand, the theme usually blossoms through the writing as the story progresses.

An experienced and capable author never pronounces what his theme is about inside his story. For a story to be successful, its theme needs to stay invisible but hinted at with subtlety through other devices of fiction.

Theme is most visible in the protagonist's greatest choice in a story. The easiest way to pinpoint a theme is to put it in question form. Here the question to ask is: what is the protagonist's biggest emotional decision to resolve the story's conflict?

For example, if we take Charles Dickens's "A Tale of Two Cities" the main identifying theme may take the form of this question: Can one sacrifice his life for the one he loves? In the same story, many smaller themes are interwoven as well, like life and death, resurrection, revolution, justice and revenge, war and peace, and power or abuse of power, since many works of fiction carry several supporting themes that wrap around the main theme.

If the theme envelopes an emotion, its power becomes universal. When the writer creates and dramatizes his theme through an emotion, his expression of the truth leaves an unforgettable impact on the reader. Thus an ambitious writer may choose an emotion as the major part of his theme.

Another common technique is hinting at the theme in the dialogue, but the risk here is in becoming too obvious. Although this may be done successfully by an experienced author, the beginning writer should try to stay away from blurting the theme out through the dialogue.

A much used way to demonstrate a theme is through the actions of the protagonist and the antagonist, with the antagonist showing the dark side of the theme and the protagonist the positive side.

Communicating both sides of the argument equally, sometimes through both the antagonist and the protagonist, may define the theme with more impact. In Les Misérables, our softer side may stick with Jean Valjean, but we also see the righteousness in Inspector Javert.

One other way to emphasize the theme is through all the characters in a story, with each character representing an aspect of the theme, as in Godfather stories when the theme of power is presented with each character representing another facet of power.

Referring to the theme in recurring images, props, colors, settings, and situations may also be used in the presentation of the theme. The color red in the movie American Beauty gives an important tip-off in presenting the main theme of the story as it plays to the viewer's emotions each time it is shown.

Even when the plot is about something out of the writer's imagination that may not emotionally involve us, the story becomes unforgettable if the theme makes itself known. We may not care for Luke Skywalker's intergalactic triumph as much as we care about good winning over evil. Theme is very important to the overall success of any piece of fiction. When handled deftly, it will become a faithful servant to any writer.

- Written by Joy Cagil

Types of Conflict

2010-02-15T05:48:00.000-08:00

Character vs. Self
Character vs. Self (Person vs. Character)is when the central conflict of a story is internal to the main character, and is often portrayed as a conflict between the characters. Otherwise describes as an internal conflict in which a character struggles with himself. Such as a desire, or moral dilemma.

Character vs. Character
Character vs. Character is when, in a novel, there is a conflict of two forms of like beings. An example is the hero's conflicts with the central villain of a work, which may play a large role in the plot and contribute to the development of both characters. There are usually several arguments/disagreements before the climax is reached. The conflict is external. person vs. Person can usually be expressed by,for example, when a child is being ridiculed by a bully. An example is the conflict between Judah and Messala in Ben-Hur it can be any form of character.
Character vs. Society
Character vs. Society is a theme in fiction in which a main character's, or group of main characters', main source of conflict is social traditions or concepts. In this sense, the two parties are: a) the protagonist(s) or b) the society of which the protagonist(s) are included. Society itself is often looked at as single character, just as an opposing party would be looked at in aCharacter vs. Character conflict. Character vs. Society conflict gives the playwright an opportunity to comment on positive/negative aspects of a whole?
Character vs. Nature
Character vs. Nature is the theme in literature that places a character against forces of nature. Many disaster films focus on this theme, which is predominant within many survival stories. It is also strong in stories about struggling for survival in remote locales, such as the novel Hatchet or Jack London's short story "To Build a Fire". Also A Separate Peace is a good example with Leper not wanting to jump out of the tree. Some are not so remote such as Banner in the Sky.
Character vs. Supernatural
Character vs. a spirit. This could be ghosts, monsters, demons,etc. One common example is the movie Ghostbusters or the book Lord of the Ring where the main characters fight against goblins and against the evil powers of the ring.
Character vs. Machine/Technology
Character vs. Machine/Technology places a character against robot forces with "artificial intelligence". I, Robot and the Terminator series are good examples of this conflict.
Character vs. Destiny
Character vs. Destiny is a theme where one attempts to break free of a predetermined path chosen before him prior to his knowledge. If can also be referred to as an issue between fate and freewill. A common example is Shakespeare's Macbeth.
(Character vs. Destiny can also be commonly known as Character vs. Fate.)

- Taken from Wikipedia

H.P. Lovecraft - Poetry in Motion

2010-02-13T13:34:00.000-08:00

Inspiring excerpts from various shorts written by H.P. Lovecraft.

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age. - The Call of the Cthulhu

Scene Template

2010-02-12T00:36:00.000-08:00

Scene Information - 1/3

Scene Name: (Optional)

How does this scene add to the story?

Introduction

Conflict

Character Development

Mystery

What is the central event of this scene?

How does this event affect the overall plot?

Who are the characters involved in this scene?

Scene Information - 2/3

What is the setting of this scene?

How does this setting add to character development, relationships, conflicts, etc?

When does it take place?

Why did you place the scene where you did?

What is the mood of this scene?

Remember to write a sad gloomy day in a sad gloomy way, a fast exciting day in a fast exciting way, etc.

Scene Information – 3/3

What are the different sides to the conflict involved here?

Minimum two sides. Example: Protagonist V.S. Antagonist. What are the opposing goals, views, etc.
Side 1	Side 2

How does each side work towards their goals in this scene?

Side 1

Side 2

Character Template

2010-02-12T00:35:00.000-08:00

Character Information – Page 1/2

Name:

Description:

Age:

Distinguishing Features:

Hair:

Eyes:

Height:

Weight:

Misc / Other:

Key Character Traits:

Likes	Dislikes

What makes them human? (gives them dimension)

In Scenes

Character Information – Page 2/2

Motivation:

What is the Goal of this Character?

What is the Character's plan to achieve the goal?

The character's conflict (what prevents him/her from reaching this goal?)

The character's epiphany (what will he/she learn, how will he/she change?

DO YOUR LAPS

2010-02-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

Uses: During Guest Speakers or similar Presentations

Intended for studends in middle school but can be used for elementary as well. When planning a speaker or presentation, it's good to have handouts like these so the students will focus on the presentation rather than treating the class as a 'free period to doze off in'. A similar version of this can be reconstructed for highschool students.

Copy and paste into a word document and format for lesson

DO YOUR LAPS

For the next few minutes, you will

a. Listen to a speaker

b. Watch a movie or video called ___________

c. Enjoy a presentation

d. ____________________________(if you plan to include anything else)

LISTEN to the information presented to you.

ASK yourself the questions: What new, unusual words should I record? What questions do I need answered? What kind of information do I need to record? What did I learn?
(Insert Table)

PICTURE what you hear (and draw it)
(Insert Table)

SUMMARIZEwhat you’ve heard (in a paragraph or two)
(Insert Table)

Teaching Fractions

2010-02-09T09:59:00.000-08:00

For Grade 7 Math

Instructions:
Cut Poster Paper into the sizes indictated.
These can be used to help students grasp the concept of fractions. Suggested uses are included.

Download:

.Doc (Microsoft Word 97 - 2003)

.Dox (Microsoft Word 2003 and up)

Exercise - The Surge

2010-02-07T23:09:00.000-08:00

Remember yourself.

The Surge

He looked down at the set of weights lying unused in the dark corner of his basement. A punching bag hung silently from a rafter. Shifting his attention to a shelf in the opposite corner he walked over, and looked at a neatly folded bundle that used to be his uniform. Placed on top lay his black belt; coiled like a black cobra ready to strike. Picking it up he ran his hands over the embroidery that etched his name in golden thread. Taking a moment he reflected on the past. Had it really been that long? The more he thought about it the more he realized a piece of him had been lost with time. University had stolen his time, his friends, his feeling of ultimate control.

Martial arts had been a passion. It had represented everything about himself that he had embraced; dedication, discipline, swiftness, precision, and power. Martial arts had provided this young man with a rare confidence in himself.

The last four years had been spent pursuing new interests, studying hard, working towards various goals, and falling in love. He had discovered a whole new side to himself. He became a man of passion and desire who had a large capacity of love for life and for those who shared it with him. And yet, as he held his uniform in his hands he reflected on how easy it was to loose a piece of himself in the hurry to become something else.

In the dim light of his basement he stripped down and put on his old uniform. Looking at himself in a mirror he smiled. Although he hadn’t dared to put on his black belt he enjoyed the way he looked in the rest of his uniform. A rush of memories flooded his senses. A surge came over him.

He began with some stretches and quickly moved on to the weights. He was by no means out of shape and quickly discovered how much stronger he was by comparison to his late teens. Blood rushed through his muscles. Veins and arteries expanded and seemed to pop off the skin. His body burnt from the inside with every movement. He pushed forward. The endorphins kicked in and his body went into a high that he had long forgotten. It was a feeling of pure ecstasy.

Slowly he began to practice his old forgotten art. One step at a time he watched himself move in the mirror, critiquing himself as he went. Drop the shoulder, watch your footwork, recoil, follow through. Taking a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow he thought about how out of practice he was, but this served only to make himself more determined. Pivot, kick, watch your follow through. More power, faster, higher. HIGHER! For two hours he beat that punching bag and watched in the mirror as his muscles remember the years of his training, slowly becoming more fluid. By the time he was done his hands, elbows, and shins were red and raw. His body ached and he hurt all over. Taking one last look at himself in the mirror he thought to himself this is the best feeling in the entire world.

Changing back into his clothes he placed his uniform back on the shelf as he had originally found it. Silently making a vow to himself he decided that he would not ignore the side of himself that had gone neglected for too long. There was room for both delicate passion and raw power. With that thought he left his basement and flicked off the lights, ready to take on the world.

Social Psychology - Terms and Concepts

2010-02-04T14:02:00.000-08:00

Notes taken from text: Social Psychology aronson 4th Canadian Edition

Social Psychology

Chapter Two

Methodology – How Social Psychology conducts its Research

Social Psychologists are measuring and predicting social behaviour and social influence

Observational Method

The Observational Method can answer the following question : What is the nature of this phenomenon?

This method is extremely helpful in helping us describe social behaviour

The technique whereby a researcher observes people and systematically records measurements of their behaviour. This method varies according to the degree of participation by the observer (experimenter).

Experimenter doesn’t participate / interfere.

Experimenter passively participates / interferes

Experimenter actively participates / interferes

One of the major problems of observational research is that people change their behaviour when they know they are being observed.

It is important for the behaviours that are being measured to be clearly defined.

Types of Observational Methods

Ethnography – the method by which an observer attempts to understand a group or culture by observing it from the inside without imposing any preconditioned notions they might have. The goal is to understand the richness and complexity of the group by observing it in action. This is the chief method of cultural anthropology, the study of human cultures and societies.

To ensure that ethnography is accurate, researchers rely on interjudge reliability which is having more than one observer judge the observed behaviour, therefore reducing the chance of bias or wrong impressions.

Archival Analysis – a form of the observational method whereby the researcher examines the accumulated documents or archives of a culture (diaries, news papers, etc.)

Co relational Method

The technique whereby researchers systematically measure two or more variables and assess the relation between them. Questions that can be answered using this research method are: What is the relation between variable X and variable Y?

Extremely useful in helping us understand what aspects of social behaviour are related.

Correlational coefficient – a statistic that assesses how well you can predict one variable based on another. Correlational coefficients are expressed as numbers that can range from -1 to +1. A correlation of 1 means that two variables are perfectly correlated in a positive direction. Perfect correlations are rare. Correlation of 0 means that the two are not correlated.

Surveys – a correlational method in which a representative sample of people are asked questions about their attitudes or behaviour

Random selection – a way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of a population by giving everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for the sample.

One of the major problems of the correlational method is that it tells us that two variables are related, whereas the goal of the social psychologist is to identify the causes of social behaviour. When we use correlational method it is wrong to jump to conclusions that one variable is causing the other to occur. Correlation does not prove causation.

Experimental Method

The method in which the researcher randomly assigns participants to different conditions and ensures that these conditions are identical except for one independent variable (the one thought to have a casual effect on people’s responses) Questions that can be answered using this research method are: Is variable X the cause of variable Y?

This is the preferred method for social psychologists because it is the only method where experiments can be conducted that allow us to make cause and effect statements.

The experimental method always involves direct intervention on the part of the researcher.

Whenever we conduct experiments in psychology there is almost always a trade off between internal and external validity. That is, between –

a) having enough control over the situation to ensure that no extraneous vartiables are influencing the results and to randomly assign people to conditions

b) ensuring that the results can be generalized to everyday life

The trade off between internal and external validity can be referred to as the basic problem for the social psychologist.

Terms:

Hindsight Bias – is the tendency to exaggerate how predictable an outcome was after already knowing the results.

Theory - an organized set of principles that can be used to explain observed phenomena

Hypothesis – a testable statement or idea about the relationship between two or more variables

Observational Method – the technique whereby a researcher observes people and systematically records measurements of their behaviour

Operational Definition – The precise specification of how variables are measured or manipulated

Interjudge reliability – the level of agreement between two or more people who independently observe and code the set of data; by showing that two or more judges independently come up with the same observations, researchers ensure that the observations are not the subjective impressions of one individual.

Archival Analysis – a form of the observational method whereby the researcher examines the accumulated documents or archives of a culture (diaries, news papers, etc.)

Correlational Method – The technique whereby researchers systematically measure two or more variables and assess the relation between them

Surveys – a correlational method in which a representative sample of people are asked questions about their attitudes or behaviour

Random selection – a way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of a population by giving everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for the sample.

Experimental Method – The method in which the researcher randomly assigns participants to different conditions and ensures that these conditions are identical except for one independent variable (the one thought to have a casual effect on people’s responses)

Independent Variable – the variable a researcher changes or varies to see if it has an effect on some other variable.

Dependent Variable – the variable a researcher measures to see if it is influenced by the independent variable; the researcher hypothesizes that the dependent variable will depend on the level of the independent variable

Random Assignment to condition – the process wherby all participants have an equal chance of taking part in any condition of an experiment through random assignment, researchers can be relatively certain that differences in the participants personalities or backgrounds are distributed evenly across conditions. This is the most important part of the experimental method.

Probability Level (P-Value) – a number calculated with statistical techniques that tells researchers how likely it is that the results of their experiment occurred by chance and not because of the independent variable(s); the convention in science, including social psychology, is to consider results significant if the probability level is less than 5 in 100 that the results might be attributable t chance factors and not the Independent variables studied. The P value tells us how confidant we can be that the difference was attributable to chance rather than to the independent variable

Internal Validity – ensuring that nothing other than the independent variable can affect the dependent variable; this is accomplished by controlling all extraneous variables by randomly assigning people to different experimental conditions. When internal validity is high the researcher is in a position to judge whether the independent variable causes the dependent variable.

Control group – a group of participants in a study that do not receive the researchers intervention

External Validity – the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people. Note that there are two kinds of generalizability:

a) the extent to which we can generalize from the situation constructed by an experimenter to real life situations (generalizability across situations)

b) the extent to which we can generalize from the people who participated in the experiment to people in general (generalizability across people)

Mundane realism – The extent to which an experiment is similar to real life situations

Psychological realism – the extent to which the psychological processes triggered in an experiment are similar to psychological processes that occur in everyday life; psychological realism can be high in an experiment even if mundane realism is low.

Cover story – a description of the purpose of a study given to participants that is different from its true purpose; cover stories are used to maintain realism.

Replication – repeating a study, generally with different subject populations, or in different settings or using different methods. The ultimate test of an experiments validity.

Meta analysis – a statistical approach that averages the results of two or more studies and sees if the effect of the independent variable is reliable.

Cross cultural research – the find out how culturally dependent a psychological process is.

Field experiments – experiments conducted in natural settings rather than in the lab.

Basic research – research conducted for shits and giggles – curiosity – the pursuit of knowledge

Applied research – research conducted to solve a specific problem that affects us as humans.

Informed consent – researchers explain the nature of an experiment to a participant before it begins so they know what they are in for. You can still use a cover story to ensure accurate results as long as you don’t mislead them about what you will do to them.

Deception – a wonderful tool.

Debriefing – the process of explaining what happened in an experiment and telling the participants the true intent of the experiment if you used a cover story.

External Validity

o External validity is the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and other people.

o There are two kinds of generalizability:

§ Generalizability across situations

· The extent to which an experiment is similar to real life situations is called mundane realism

· The extent to which the psychological process triggered in an experiment is similar to psychological processes that occur in everyday life is called psychological realism

· In an experiment, psychological realism can be high, even if mundane realism is low.

· Can heighten psychological realism through a cover story

§ Generalizability across people

· The extent to which we can generalize from the people who participated in the experiment to people in general is called generalizability across people

· Typically, lab studies use a random sample from the university population

· Studies need to sample from the population as a whole for the results to truly apply to all persons.

o Replication (repeating a study, often with different subject populations, or in different settings) is the ultimate test of an experiment’s external validity.

o To make sense out of different results of many studies on one problem, we use meta-analysis, a statistical technique that averages the results of two or more studies to see if the effect of an independent variable is reliable

Social Psychology

Chapter Three

Social Cognition: How We Think About The Social World

Schemas also influence the way in which we process information. We often fill in the blanks with schema consistent information. This tendency allows for more efficient information processing, but it also can have tragic consequences.

Schemas are commonly referred to as stereotypes

Schemas also tend to influence what we remember. There is considerable evidence that people are more likely to remember information that is consistent with their schemas. It will not surprise you that memory errors also tend to be consistent with people’s schemas. Schemas become stronger and more resistant over time.

Schemas can affect accessibility for 3 reasons:

- some schemas are chronically accessible due to past experience. This means that these schemas are constantly active and ready to use to interpret ambiguous situations.

- schemas can become accessible because they are related to a current goal.

- schemas can become temporarily accessible because of our recent experiences

Heuristics do not guarantee the inferences that we make about the world will be accurate

There is considerable evidence that we are most likely to engage in counterfactual thinking when we ‘just missed’ avoiding a negative event.

People also feel greater sympathy for others in near miss situations

When it comes to thought suppression: the automatic part of the system called the monitoring process searches for evidence that the unwanted thought is about to intrude on consciousness. Once the unwanted thought is detected the more controlled part of the system called the operating process comes into play. This is the effortful conscious attempt to distract oneself by finding something else to think about. These two processes operate in tandem. (work together)

When we are tired it is more likely that thought suppression will fail and the unwanted thoughts will continue to bother us.

Terms

Social Cognition – How people think about themselves and the social world; more specifically, how people select, interpret, remember, and use social information to make judgments and decisions.

Automatic Thinking – Thinking that is non-conscious, unintentional, involuntary, and effortless

Schemas – mental structures people use to organize their knowledge about the social world around themes or subjects and that influence the information people notice, think about, and remember

Accessibility – the extent to which schemas and concepts are at the forefront of pepl’es minds and are therefore likely to be used when making judgments about the social world

Priming – the process by which recent experiences increase the accessibility of a schema, trait, or concept

Perseverance effect – the finding that people’s beliefs about themselves and the social world persist even after there evidence supporting these beliefs is discredited

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy – The case whereby people have an expectation about what another person is like which influences how they act toward that person which causes that person to behave consistently with their original expectations

Judgmental heuristics – mental shortcuts people use to make judgments quickly and efficiently.

Availability heuristic – a mental shortcut whereby people base a judgment on the ease with which they can bring something to mind

Representativeness Heuristic – a mental shortcut whereby people classify something according to how similar it is to a typical case

Base Rate Information – information about the frequency of members of different categories in the population.

Controlled thinking – thinking that is conscious, intentional, voluntary, and effortful

Counterfactual Thinking – mentally changing some aspect of the past as a way of imagining what might have been.

Thought suppression – the attempt to avoid thinking about something a person would prefer to forget

Overconfidence barrier – the barrier that results when people have too much confidence in the accuracy of their judgments; people’s judgments are usually not as correct as they think they are

Social Psychology

Chapter Four

Social Perception: How We Come To Understand Other People

Social Perception – The study of how we form impressions of and make inference about other people.

Nonverbal Communication – the way in which people communicate, intentionally or unintentionally, without words; nonverbal cues include facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures, body position and movement, the use of touch, and eye gaze.

- we tend to mimic other peoples facial expressions.

- we have mirror neurons

Encode – to express or emit nonverbal behaviour, such as smiling or patting someone on the back.

Example: We smile when we are happy, we are encoding our happiness.

Decode – to interpret the meaning of the nonverbal behaviour other people express, such as deciding that a pat on the back was an expression of condescension and not kindness.

Example: We see someone smile, we decode that they are happy.

Affect Blend – a facial expression in which one part of the face is registering one emotion and another part of the face is registering a different emotion.

Display Rules – culturally determined rules about which nonverbal behaviors are appropriate to display.

Example: You will not see someone laughing at a funeral, it goes against our display rules that at a funeral you are to act sad.

Emblems – nonverbal gestures that have well understood meanings within a culture and generally have direct verbal translations.

Example: The finger is a nonverbal gesture within north American culture that has a direct verbal translation “fuck you”

Social Role Theory – the theory that sex differences in social behaviour derive from a societies division of labour between the sexes; this division leads to differences in gender role expectations and sex typed skills, both of which are responsible for differences in men’s and women’s social behavioiur.

Example: In the process of evolution and survival it was necessary for men to go out and hunt and for women to stay home and take care of the babies. Therefore we expect men to act tough and women to act caring.

Implicit personality theory – a type of schema people use to group various kinds of personality traits together; for example, many people believe that if someone is kind, he or she is generous as well.

Attribution Theory – a description of the way in which people explain the causes of their own and other people’s behaviour

Internal attribution – the inference that a person is behaving in a certain way because of something about him or her, such as their attitude or personality rather than thinking about the situation or environment.

External attribution – the inference that a person is behaving a certain way because of something about the situation he or she is in; the assumption is that most people would respond the same way in that situation.

Co variation Model – a theory stating that in order for form an attribution about what caused a person’s behaviour, we systematically note the pattern between the presence (or absence) of possible causal factors and whether or not the behaviour occurs. The Covariation model assumes that we make causal attributions in a rational, logical fashion.

Example: You come to the conclusion that your friend is rude. We start by noticing the patterns of behaviour that we can remember. AKA recall times we remember them being rude. Then we think of possible reasons why they were rude. Bad day, the other person deserved it, etc. We come to a conclusion that the friend is rude. Comparing multiple prior behaviours to the situations they existed in and deriving a theory about it.

Consensus Information – Information about the extent to which other people behave the same way as the actor does toward the same stimulus.

Example: Using the above example, when we are thinking about whether our friend is rude or not we start by comparing them to other people. We would start comparing how other friends of ours would react in that situation. Comparing to other people

Distinctiveness Information – Information about the extent to which one particular actor behaves in the same way to different stimuli.

Example: Using the above example, this is the process where we would start to examine this persons behaviour rather than compare to others. The question trying to be answered with Distintiveness Information is, does this behavioiur persist through other situations? With our ‘rude’ friend we would be thinking about how they act in other situations. Comparing to other situations

Consistency Information – Information about the extent to which the behaviour between one actor and one stimulus is the same across time and circumstances.

Example: Using the above example, does our friend act the same way in different situations and in different times? Comparing throughout time

Correspondence Bias – The tendency to infer that people’s behaviour corresponds to or matches their disposition (personality) [Fundamental Attribution Error]

Perceptual Salience – Information that is the focus of people’s attention; people tend to overestimate the casual role of perceptually salient information. Salience is defined as "most noticeable or important."

Example: If you were to watch two men have an argument (Man-A and Man-B) but you only had a clear view of Man-A, chances are when asked ‘Who played a more active role in the argument?’ you would respond with Man-A.

Two-step process of attribution – Analyzing another person’s behaviour first by making an automatic internal attribution and only then thinking about possibly situational reasons for behaviour, after which one may adjust the original internal attribution.

Step 1 – We assume that a persons behaviour was due to something about the person (personality)

Step 2 – We take into effect envionrmental , situational factors.

Actor / Observer Difference – The tendency to see other people’s behaviour as dispositionally caused, while focusing more on the role of situational factors when explaining one’s own behaviour.

Example: You see your own behaviour as being the effect of a situation whereas someone else will see your behaviour as an effect of your personality. Think of an advise column. A woman writing in about how her boyfriend occasionally will physically abuse her is likely to ask questions like ‘how can I help to keep his temper under control’ and will attribute his abuse to the situation, eg. Having a temper. The person writing advice will be like, ‘WTF get out of that relationship he’s a douche who doesn’t respect you.’

Self Serving Attributions - Explanations for one’s success that credit internal, dispositional factors and explanations for ones failures that blame external, situational factors.

Example: You take two exams. One exam you get an A on, the other, a D. On the exam you got an A on you are likely to believe you got this mark because you are a smart person. With the D, you are more likely to blame situational factors, eg. The proff didn’t explain very well, you didn’t have time to study, etc.

Defensive Attributions – Explanations for behaviour that avoid feelings of vulnerability and mortality.

Unrealistic Optimism – A form of Defensive Attribution wherein people think that good things are more likely to happen to them than to their peers and that bad things are less likely to happen to them than to their peers.

Belief in a just world – a form of defensive attribution wherein people assume that bad things happen to bad people and that good things happen to good people.

Example: If you heard that a gang member was shot to death your initial reaction might be “good, one less bastard” whereas if you heard that a hard working university student got shot you would think “shit that sucks.”

When bad things happen to good people surprisingly you are often likely to think they deserved it by coming up with a scenario where they brought it upon themselves. Ex: you hear a female classmate got date raped, you are likely to imagine her acting like a slutty tease rather than a victim of date rape.

Social Psychology

Chapter Five

Self Knowledge and The Need To Maintain Self Esteem

Self Concept – the contents of the self; that is, our knowledge about who we are.

Self Awareness – the act of thinking about ourselves.

Self concept is like a book full of knowledge of the self. Self Awareness is like the reader (us) who can access that information but only pieces at a time.

Studies have proven that humans aren’t the only species who have a self concept. The rouge test was developed and tested apes on their ability to recognize themselves in a mirror after red odorless paint had been smeared on their forehead.

Self recognition starts around 2 years of age for people

Self schemas – mental structures that help us to organize our knowledge about ourselves.

Self schemas can affect memory and how you view other people

Self reference effect – the tendency for people to remember information better if they relate it to themselves.

Self regulatory resource model – studies suggest that self control is similar to a muscle that gets tired with overuse but will rebound with strength. People are worst at self control when they are stressed out and do best when they are well rested and relaxed.

Cultural differences in defining the self

Western cultures tend to have a more individualistic view of the self whereas asian cultures tend to have a more interdependent view of the self.

Independent view – defining ourself in terms of ones own internal thoughts, feelings, and actions and not in terms of the thoughts feelings and actions of others.

Interdependent view – defining oneself in terms of ones relationships to other people and recognizing that ones behaviour is often determined by thoughts feelings and actions of others

Gender Differences in defining the self

Women reflect more relational inderdependence, which means that they focus more on their close relationships such as how they feel about their romantic partner a friend or their child. Women rated relational traits as more self descriptive than did men.

Women were found to hold a more relational view of the self but only in individualist cultures, in interdependent cultures men and women were just as likely to have a relational view of the self.

Men are not completely lacking in relational views. Men tend to define themselves in terms of social groups, such as the sports teams to which they belong. This is known as collective interdependence.

Knowing ourselves through introspection

Introspection – the process whereby people look inward and examine their own thoughts, feelings, and motives.

According to a study only 8% of thoughts are about the self.

Self awareness theory – when people focus their attention on themselves they evaluate and compare their behaviour with their internal standards and values.

Even thought we often don’t know why we feel a certain way, it seems we are always able to come up with an explanation. This phenomenon is referred to as “telling more than we know” because people’s explanations of their feelings and behaviour often go beyond what they can reasonably know.

Casual theories – people have many theories about what influences their feelings and behaviour and often use these theories to help them explain why they feel the way they do.

Self-perception Theory – the theory that when our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous we infer these states by observing our behaviour and the situation in which it occurs.

Self perception theory also claims that people evaluate whether their behaviour really reflects how the feel or whether the situation they are in made them act that way.

Intrinsic motivation – the desire to engage in an activity because we enjoy it or find it interesting, not because of external rewards or pressures.

Extrinsic motivation – the desire to engage in an activity because of the external rewards or pressures, not because we enjoy the task or find it interesting.

The Over justification Effect – The case whereby people view their behaviour as caused by compelling extrinsic reasons, making them underestimate the extent to which their behaviour was caused by intrinsic reasons.

Task-Contingent Rewards – rewards that are given for performing a task, regardless of how well the task is done.

Performance-Contingent Rewards – rewards that are given based on how well the task was performed.

Looking Glass self – the idea that we see ourselves through the eyes of other people and incorporate their views into our self concept.

Social Comparison Theory – the idea that we learn about our own abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves with other people.

Downward Social Comparison – The process by which we compare ourselves with other people who are worse than we are on a particular trait or ability.

We often do this to feel good about ourselves

Upward Social Comparison – the process by which we compare ourselves with other people who are better than we are on a particular trait or ability.

Upward social comparison usually makes us feel worse about ourselves. However this is not the case if you upward social compare yourself with someone you are in a relationship with because you associate their success with yours.

Self Discrepancy Theory – we become distressed when our sense of who we truly are – our actual self – is discrepant from our personal standards or desired self-conceptions.

Example: A person sees themselves as a very smart intellectual. Getting a test back that had a very low mark would emotionally disturb this person more so than someone else with the same mark but does not view themselves in the same intellectual way.

Self-Enhancement – an unrealistically positive view of oneself

Self Verification Theory – a theory suggesting that people have a need to seek confirmation of their self concept whether the self concept is positive or negative; in some circumstances, this tendency can conflict with the desire to uphold a favorable view of oneself.

Social Psychology

Chapter Six

Terms and Concepts

Attitude – an evaluation of a person, object, or idea.

Affectively based attitude – an attitude based primarily on people’s emotions and feelings about the attitude object. Example: Snakes. Most people when thinking about snakes will think about how they feel about snakes rather than the pros and cons of snakes. They’re attitude on snakes was shaped by emotions, therefore it is an affectively based attitude.

Cognitively Based Attitude – An attitude based primarily on a person’s beliefs about the properties of an attitude object. Example: If you were at the store shopping for toasters you would base the toaster you buy on the attitude formed around each toaster. Price, features, style. All would be taken into account and evaluated. This is how we form cognitively based attitudes.

Behaviourally Based Attitude – An attitude based primarily on observations of how one behaves toward an attitude object. Example: Someone asks how we feel about eating after 8 pm. We would probably not have any emotions attached to this, nor would we be able to think critically about the pros and cons of such an act. Therefore we would base our attitude on our behaviour toward the attitude object, which in this case is eating after 8 pm. If we recall that we do it often we might have a positive behaviourally based attitude about eating after 8 pm. “Oh I love eating late, I do it all the time.”

Explicit Attitudes – attitudes that we consciously endorse and can easily report. Example: Racism. Most people would endorse an explicit attitude that would say racism is bad and they would not describe themselves as a racist. This is their explicit attitude towards racism.

Implicit Attitudes – attitudes that are involuntary, uncontrollable, and at times unconscious. Example: Racism. Although many people have an explicit attitude that racism is bad and they aren’t racist many people still have implicit attitudes that suggest they are. For example if you were brought up in a house that was racist some of that will be embedded into you even if you explicitly say racism is bad.

Theory of Planned Behaviour – a theory that the best predictors of a person’s planned, deliberate behaviours are the person’s attitudes toward specific behaviours, subjective norms, and perceived behaviour control.

- Specific Attitudes – attitudes toward the specific behaviour. Not just general attitude. Example: How do you feel about Greg – too general. How do you feel about Greg when he constantly talks about his girlfriend when your trying to eat lunch – specific attitude.

- Subjective Norms – people’s beliefs about how other people they care about will view the behaviour in question. Example: You love video games but you don’t want to let your girlfriend see you play them because you are afraid she will think you are a nerd.

- Perceived Behaviour Control – the ease with which people believe they can perform the behaviour. Example: if someone believes they are good at swimming they are more likely to jump in and save someone from drowning as compared to if you feel you are a horrible swimmer.

Persuasive Communication – communication advocating a particular side of an issue

Yale Attitude Change Approach – The study of the conditions under which people are most likely to change their attitudes in response to persuasive messages; researchers in this tradition focus on “who said what to whom” – that is, on the source of the communication, the nature of the communication and the nature of the audience.

Who – Credible and attractive speakers

What – people are more influenced if they do not believe people are trying to influence them. Two sided messages work best.

To Whom – distracted audiences, low intelligence, medium self esteem, 18-25 years old

Heuristic-Systematic Model of Persuasion – the theory that there are two ways in which persuasive communications can cause attitude change: people either process the merits of the arguments or are swayed by the factors that are peripheral to the message itself, such as “Experts are always right” or if the speaker is attractive or not.

Elaboration Likelihood Model – the theory that there are two ways in which persuasive communications can cause attitude change: the central route occurs when people are motivated and have the ability to pay attention to the arguments in the communication, and the peripheral route occurs when people do not pay attention but are swayed by surface characteristics.

Fear-Arousing Communication – a persuasive message that attempts to change peopl’s attitudes by arousing their fears.

Subliminal Messages – words or pictures that are not consciously perceived by that supposedly influence people’s judgments, attitudes, and behaviors.

Attitude Inoculation – the process of making people immune to attempts to change their attitudes by initially exposing them to small doses of the arguments against their position.

Product Placement – strategically placed products in the movies and television shows that are intended to persuade us.

Cognitive Dissonance – a feeling of discomfort caused by the realization that one’s behaviour is inconsistent with one’s attitudes or that one holds two conflicting attitudes. We are then motivated to take steps to reduce it.

Postdecision Dissonance – dissonance that is inevitably aroused after a person makes a decision; such dissonance is typically reduced by enhancing the attractivness of the decision made and devaluing the rejected alternatives. Example: Jodie marries Tim and breaks up with him for drinking to much. Starts a relationship with Al. Things go well and they consider getting married. Tim comes back and promises to quit drinking and begs to be taken back. Jodie gets back with Tim and they remarry. After 4 years everything is the same as it used to be. Tim still drinks lots and yet Jodie is even more commited to Tim than ever. This is because of Post decision Dissonance. She enchances the attractiveness of her situation “Tim and I were ment to be together, our time apart was simply to show me that”. Rather than accept that maybe she was better off with Al.

Justification of Effort – the tendency for individuals to increase their likeing for something they have worked hard to attain. Edample: If you get hazed to get into a group such as a frat. You will justify their actions by thinking “these guys are really okay” and that way you will be able to accept what has happened to you and feel good about being a part of the group.

External Justification – A person’s reason or explanation for dissonant behaviour that resides outside the individual. Example: “Why did you drink the dog pee?” “Because someone gave me $100 bucks!”

Internal Justification – the reduction of dissonance by changing something about oneself. Example: “Why did you punch that girl? “She’s a slut”

Counter-Attitudinal Advocacy – the process that occurs when a person states an opinion or attitude that runs counter to his or her private belief or attitude. When we do this with little external justification we start to believe the lie we told. Example: Some guy loves steak but his girlfriend is one of those greenpeace pussies. So he tells her he hates steak. If he does not have external justification of this IE. He no longer eats steak. He will start to believe he really just does not like it rather than he is not eating it because he is pussy whipped. (I think this is a proper example?)

Insufficient Punishment – the dissonance aroused when individuals lack sufficient external justification for having resisted a desired activity or object, usually resulting in individuals devaluing the forbidden activity or object. Example: Don’t play with your cousins toys! Kid is like holy shit but I want it so bad. Mom checks up with kid, did you play with the toys? No, I didn’t like them anyway. Kid lacks external punishment IE his mom won’t do shit if he plays with the toys but he resists anyway because he is a good boy. When he is asked again about the toys, because he cant find any external justification IE reason not to play with them other than ‘you told me not to’ he devalues the toys. Fuck starwars action figures.

Rationalization Trap – the potential for dissonance reduction to produce a succession of self justification that ultimately result in a chain of stupid or immoral actions.

Self-Affirmation Theory – a theory suggesting that people will reduce the impact of a dissonance-arousing threat to their self-concept by focusing on and affirming their competence on some dimension unrelated to the threat.

Cognitive Dissonance steps

1. Here you are, nothings wrong.

2. You do something that goes against your self view.

3. Dissonance occurs.

4. How? This is the step where you have to decide how to reduce it.

5. You could change behaviour

6. Change one of your cognitions.

7. You could add consonant cognitions. (Justify)

8. Doing anything from steps 5 6 or 7 will result in dissonance reduction leaving you back at step 1.

Using cigarettes as an example.

Nothing is wrong
You are trying to quit smoking, but give in and have one
Dissonance.
How will you decide what to do?
Stop smoking
Pretend smoking isn’t as bad as they say, or “just one doesn’t count”
Justify it. AH I needed it. Stressful day.
You’re back to being happy again. Dissonance reduced.

Social Psychology

Chapter Twelve

Terms and Concepts

Prejudice – A hostile or negative attitude toward a distinguishable group of people, based solely on their membership in that group.

Stereotype – a generalization about a group of people in which identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group, regardless of actual variation among the members.

Discrimination – unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group simply because his or her membership in that group.

In-group Bias – the tendency to evaluate in-group members more positively than out-group members. Example: Viewing north americans as better than anyone from middle east.

Out-group homogeneity – the perception that those in the out-group are more similar to each other than they a really are, as well as more similar than the members of the ingroup are to each other. Example: viewing people from the middle east as all very similar and thinking that there is much more individual uniquness among north Americans.

Meta-Stereotype – a person’s beliefs regarding the stereotype that out-group members hold about their own group. Example: Thinking that people view Canadians as simple minded but nice folk.

Ultimate attribution error – our tendency to make dispositional attributions about an entire group of people. Example: Indians are drunken fools.

Realistic conflict theory – the theory that limited resources lead to conflict between groups and result in increased prejudice and discrimination.

Mutual interdependence – a situation in which two or more groups need each other and must depend on each other in order to accomplish a goal that is important to each group.

Modern prejudice – outwardly acting unprejudiced while inwardly maintaining prejudiced attitudes. Example: John pretends he isn’t racist at work but when he is at home he complains about black people.

Stereotype threat – the apprehension experienced by members of a minority group that they might behave in a manner that confirms an existing cultural stereotype. Example: A black guy refuses to say ‘fo’shizzle because he doesn’t want people to group him into any negative stereotypes related to black people.

Disidentification – the process by which targets of negative stereotypes redefine their self-concept such that the performance domain is no longer part of their identity. The opposite of Stereotype threat?

Extended contact hypothesis – the mere knowledge that a member of one’s own group has a close relationship with a member of another group can reduce one’s prejudice toward that group. Example: you grew up in a household that was prejudice against blacks. Your best friend tommy starts dating a black girl. Just knowing that, your predjudice will be reduced.

Social Psychology

Chapter Seven

Terms and Concepts

Conformity – Influencing Others

Conformity – a change in behaviour as a result of the real or imagined influence of other people.

Informational Social Influence – conforming because we believe that others’ interpretation of an ambiguous situation is more correct than ours and will help us choose and appropriate course of action. Example: You hear a scream. HOLY SHIT! Is someone dying? Or are they one of those people who have one of those annoying laughs? Everyone around you ignores it. It is unlikely you will jump up and act a hero.

Private Acceptance – conforming to other people’s behaviour out of a genuine belief that what they are doing or saying is right.

Public Acceptance – conforming to other people’s behaviour publicly, without necessarily believing in what they are doing or saying.

When the situation is ambiguous – the more uncertain you are, the more you will rely on others. People are especially likely to be influenced by the actions of those around them.

Contagion – the rapid transmission of emotions or behaviour though a crowd.

When the situation is a crisis people are more likely to succumb to these forms of influence.

Mass psychogenic Illness – the occurrence of similar physical symptoms in a group of people for which there is no known physical or medical cause.

Another reason we conform aside from the need for information is so that we will be liked and accepted by other people.

Normative Social Influence – the influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them; this type of conformity results in public compliance with but not necessarily with private acceptance of the group’s beliefs and behaviours.

Social Norms – the implicit or explicit rules a group has for the acceptable behaviours, values, and beliefs of its members.

Social Impact Theory – the theory that conforming to social influence depends on the strength of the group, its immediacy, and the number of other people in the group.

Strength – How important is the group to you?

Immediacy – How close is the group to you in space and time during the influence attempt?

Number – How many people are in the group?

Social impact theory predicts that conformity will increase as strength and immediacy increase.

Idiosyncrasy Credits – the credits a person earns, over time, by conforming to a group’s norms; if enough idiosyncrasy credits are earned, the person can, on occasion, behave deviantly without retribution from the group.

Minority Influence – the case where a minority of group members influences the behaviour or beliefs of the majority.

The key to minority influence is consistency over time.

Compliance – a change in behaviour in response to a direct request from another person.

Door-in-the-face technique – a technique to get people to comply with a request, whereby people are presented first with a large request, which they are expected to refuse, and then with a smaller, more reasonable request, to which it is hoped they will agree too.

Reciprocity Norm – a social norm by which the receipt of something positive from another person requires you to reciprocate, or behave similarly, in response.

Foot-in-the-door technique – a technique to get people to comply with a request where people are presented with a small request first which they are expected to agree with and then a second, larger request, to which it is hoped they will also agree with.

Lowballing – a sales strategy where a price is negotiated and the customer agrees to it. At the time of sale the price is higher than agreed upon. Usually the customer will still buy the product regardless of the price increase.

Obedience – conformity in response to the commands of an authority figure

Social Psychology

Chapter Eight

Terms and Concepts

Group Processes – Influence in Social Groups

Group – A collection of two or more people who interact with each other and are interdependent, in the sense that their needs and goals cause them to rely on each other.

Another important feature of groups is that the members tend to be alike in age, sex, beliefs, and opinions. There are two reasons for the homogeneity of groups. First, many groups attract people who are already similar before they join. Second, groups operate in ways that encourage similarity in the members.

Social Roles – Shared expectations by group members about how particular people in the group are supposed to behave

Group Cohesiveness – Qualities of a group that bind members together and promote liking among them

Social Facilitation – The tendency for people to do better on simple tasks, but worse on complex tasks, when they are in the presence of others and their individual performance can be evaluated.

The presence of others increases psychological arousal. When such arousal exists, it is easier to do something that is simple (called the dominant response) but harder to do something complex or learn something new.

Why does the presence of others cause arousal?

Other people cause us to become particularly alert and vigilant
they make us apprehensive about how we’re being evaluated
they distract us from the task at hand

The concern about being judged is called evaluation apprehension

Social Loafing – The tendency for people to do worse on simple tasks, but better on complex tasks, when they are in the presence of others and their individual performance cannot be evaluated.

Women and Asians are less likely to engage in social loafing than men or people from western cultures

You need to know 2 things to predict whether the presence of others will help or hinder your performance. Whether your individual efforts can be evaluated and whether the task is simple or complex. If your performance can be evaluated, the presence of others will make you alert and aroused. This will lead to social facilitation.

Exercise: Think of yourself as a manager of a business. Will you put your employees in a group together to work on a project? How will you evaluate their performance?

Social Facilitation

Individual efforts can be evaluated

Alertness Evaluation apprehension Distraction-Conflict

Arousal

Enhanced Performance on Simple Tasks

Impaired performance on complex tasks

Presence of Others

Social Loafing

Individual Efforts cannot be evaluated

No Evaluation Apprehension

Relaxation

Impaired performance on simple tasks

Enhanced performance on complex tasks

Deindividuation – the loosening of normal constraints on behaviour when people are in a group, leading to an increase in impulsive and deviant acts.

Three things that lead to impulsive and deviant actions because of deindividuation:

the presence of others
the presence of others shifts people’s attention away from their moral standards
it increases the extent to which people obey the groups norm (conform to what they are doing)

Process Loss – any aspect of group interactions that inhibits good problem solving.

Transactive memory – the combined memory of two people that is more efficient than the memory of either individual. Example: An eldery couple is trying to remember about a holiday in the past. One of them remembers vividly the foods they ate and the places they visited while the other person remembers the people they met. Together they can piece together a greater portion of memory than they could have done alone.

Groupthink – a kind of thinking in which maintaining a group cohesiveness and solidarity is more important than considering the facts in a realistic manner. This type of thinking is negative for a group to encounter. They do not weigh other options and are often blinded to weaknesses in their logic. A good leader can take several steps to avoid groupthink:

1 Remain impartial

2 Seek outside opinions

3 Create subgroups

4 Seek anonymous opinions

Group Polarization – the tendency for groups to make decision that are more extreme than the initial inclinations of their members.

Great person theory – the theory that certain key personality traits make a person a good leader, regardless of the nature of the situation facing the leader.

Contingency theory of leadership – the theory that leadership effectiveness depends both on how task oriented or relationship oriented the leader is, and on the amount of control and influence the leader has over the group

Task-oriented leader – a leader who is concerned more with getting the job done than with the feelings of and relationships among the workers

Relationship-oriented leader – a leader who is concerned primarily with the feelings of and relationships among the workers

Social dilemma – a conflict in which the most beneficial action for an individual, if chosen by most people, will have harmful effects on everyone.

Tit-for-tat strategy – a means of encouraging cooperation by at first acting cooperatively but then always responding the way your opponent did on the previous trial

Negotiation – a form of communication between opposing sides in a conflict, in which offers and counteroffers are made and a solution occurs only when both parties agree

Integrative solution – a solution to a conflict whereby the parties take trade-offs on issues according to their different interests; each side concedes the most on issues that are unimportant to it but important to the other side.

AAA Lesson Plan Format

2010-02-04T13:32:00.000-08:00

I have decided to start uploading future lesson plans onto this page to back them up and act as a foundation for future lessons that I plan to teach. The following will be the lesson plan format in AAA format. The following is an example from a project I am currently working on.

Day 1 - Monday

An Introduction into Global Quality of Life

Rational	See: Writing a Rational
Behaviour Objectives	After watching a video and participating in a group discussion, students will re-evaluate how they perceive global quality of life and record this in their anticipation guides (Handout 2A) See: Writing a Behaviour Objective
Student Learning Outcomes	VE-016 Appreciate that quality of life is not solely determined by access to wealth, resources, and technologies. KI-006 Identify diverse cultural and social perspectives regarding quality of life.
Materials Needed: Clipboards (x number of students) Rug Samples (x number of students) Copies of Handout 1A and Handout 2A (x number of students) T.V. With VCR or DVD function A copy of Preparation: - Move the tables and chairs into another room / storage closet - Before the lesson begins the world map will need to be laid out on the floor using masking tape. - On top of that will be placed small rug samples in a circular formation. This is where the students will sit. - Copies of Handout 1A and Handout 2A will be attached to each clipboard.

Lesson Plan

	Activate No Desks, No Chairs – When Students walk into the room they will be startled and intrigued as to why there are no desks or chairs in their class. World Map – On the floor will be the outline of a world map made in masking tape. This will also intrigue the students further. Wants vs. Needs – When the students have settled into their seats they will be given a clipboard each which will have Handout 1A attached to it. The students will begin by engaging in discussion to answer the question “Are desks and chairs wants or needs in schools?”(Key Question 1) After they have this, they will begin to list their own wants and needs on Handout 1A while answering the question “What are the differences between needs and wants?” (Key Question 2)
	Acquire Begin the acquiring phase by asking the key question “What is school like in other parts of the world?” (Key Question 3) Anticipation Guide - Students will then fill out the beginning of Handout 2A which will include five key questions about life in other less fortunate countries. Video – Students will watch _____________ a video about ___________
	Apply Anticipation Guide – Students will finish the second part of Handout 2A. Guided Discussion – Students will be introduced to the key questions “Were the people in the movie happy with their lives?” (Key Question 4) & “What defines quality of life?” (Key Question 5) after sharing their thoughts from the anticipation guide.
	Assessment The evaluation method for this lesson will be informal. The anticipation guides at the end of class will be collected and reviewed and the guided discussion will be monitored to ensure that students are beginning to grasp an understanding on the similarities and differences in quality of life between North America and other nations in the world.

Working out a Plot Outline

2010-02-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

Lately I've started to seriously consider long term plot outlines. I find that this article is helpful and I will be posting it so that I can return to it later for reference. I hope to focus on story construction a lot in the near future in an attempt to really get a grasp on story construction.

Steps to Creating a Well-Constructed Plot Outline

Written by Vickie Britton

Some authors swear by a plot outline while others prefer to "wing it." The most difficult part of writing a book is plotting the storyline. No wonder authors balk at doing all the hard work first. Writers are often so anxious to get to the actual writing they are likely to skimp on the pre-work. But not having a good plot outline is rather like building the ceiling of a house without first laying down a proper foundation. The entire structure is in danger of collapsing.

An outline is more important for certain kinds of books than others. Literary novels usually have a looser plot structure and may not require a detailed outline . For more structured works such as mysteries and most commercial fiction, a tight plot outline is essential. However, any kind of novel will benefit by a little pre-planning.

How to Create a Workable Outline

A plot outline does not need to be long. Four to six pages is plenty to begin with. All that is needed is a few sheets of blank paper. A linear chart is the simplest to make. Because it is important to be able to see all the chapters at once, it is better not to write on the backs of pages.

Do the Math First

Decide on the length of the book, roughly how many chapters it will have, and approximately how many pages you will have per chapter. Make a heading for each chapter allowing a few lines for notes. An average-sized, 65,000 word novel will have about 260 pages. This can easily be divided into eighteen chapters of fourteen pages.

It helps to actually look at books similar to the one you are writing to get an idea of overall length and chapter length. Allow a little "growing room." Most books have a tendency to expand rather than shrink in the actual writing. Some chapters will turn out to be longer and others shorter, but it is always good to have a target chapter length in mind. An ideal chapter will usually not go over seventeen pages.

Divide the Book into a Three-Act Play

Next, divide the book into roughly three portions as if it were a three-act play. You may want to allow more chapters for the middle than the beginning and end.

Plan Each Chapter

Next, plan each chapter by jotting down what characters and events will happen in each chapter. Introduce a subplot if there is one and indicate in which chapter it will start and be resolved. If the book is a mystery, this is the time to plant clues and “red herrings.” It also helps to end each chapter with a question to forward the action.

By preparing a rough outline, you can make sure that each key event or clue is planted and that every event leads toward the ending. If you do not have a good idea of where events will happen in your novel, or where clues will be planted, you run the risk of having to go back and plant them once the book is written. This can make the work of writing the book twice as long.

Keeping the Muse Happy

What if you can’t write the outline because you really don’t know where the book is leading? Many writers feel that a tight plot outline hampers creativity or they just work better writing freely. An outline can still be of use. If the plot doesn’t come to you right away then don’t put off writing the book until you have an outline. Write a chapter or two until you begin to get a sense of direction. As soon as you have that sense of direction, create as much of the outline as possible.

Some writers don’t like to use an outline because they rebel at the thought of knowing the ending of the story. Remember that a plot outline does not need to be set in stone. You can always change it. Even if you change the story at the last minute, the plot outline still helps because it is much easier to get a clear picture of the entire novel if you have a solid structure to refer to. It is just as creative to build within a framework as outside of it, and far more productive. If you do not have a clear outline, good writing can often be wasted as passages and entire chapters may have to be discarded if they do not further the plot.

When you have a careful plan, everything you write contributes to the outcome of the novel. An outline ensures that every bit of writing you do is taking you closer to the conclusion. Remember, whatever pre-work you do on your novel is like money in the bank. It will save you steps in the long run. Any time working on the plot outline is time well spent.

The Hero's Journey

2010-02-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

This is the basic plot of any hero from any story. Of course there are variations but it is worthwhile noting that these are the stages a hero generally goes through to make a good story. Remember this is not only a physical journey but an emotional one as well

The Twelve Stages

1. The Ordinary World

Set it before the journey so we can contrast it
Intro hero into ordinary surroundings doing ordinary things
Begin as a non-hero: innocent, young, simple, humble

2. Call to Adventure

Catalyst that sets story in motion; pushes hero into extraordinary adventure
The dilemma / Central Question
Sets the stakes and the hero's goal

3. Refusing the Call

There is generally a reason why a hero doesn't want to take part in the adventure (danger for example)
Need a change in situation
Either another offense against the natural order of things or encouragement from a mentor.

4. The Mentor

Usually an unusual source
Usually has special knowledge, information, and skills.
Gives advice, guidance, or magical equipment

5. Crossing the First Threshold / The Extraordinary World

End of Act 1 - The reaction to the dilemma - First turning point in the story
Needs to be a radical contrast to the ordinary world

6. Tests, Allies, Enemies

Intro of special world
Obstacles necessary to overcome enemy and accomplish goals
Character development comes from their reactions to situations

7. Approach to the Inmost Cave

Place where object is hidden, most dangerous spot in the extraordinary world
mid point where character goes from passive to active in relation to solving his / her dilemma

8. Supreme Ordeal

Low Point
Black moment for audience; suspense as to whether hero will live or die.

9. Reward, or Seizing the Sword

Hero takes possession of whatever it is he/she was seeking

10. The Road Back

Pursued by those hero has wronged

11. Resurrection

Final Obstacle for hero, to see if he/she's learned lesson from Supreme Ordeal

12. Return with the Elixir

Either an object, or knowledge and experience

The Three Acts of a Story

2010-02-01T19:10:00.000-08:00

Today in class we covered the general outline for most stories. I thought it interesting but necessary to jot this down, regardless of how basic it may seem.

Act 1

Point of Entry (Pages ~1-5)
(Objectives)
Paint the world
Meet the protagonist
Establish the status quo
Establish protagonist's desire.

Inciting Event (Pages ~6-8)
(Objectives)
Event that propels us into the rest of the story.
Tells us what's at stake

Point of No Return (Pages ~26-30)

(Objectives)

An event that changes the rules forever

Protagonist can never go back to status quo.

Act 2

Mid Point (Page ~60)
(Objective)
Protagonist takes control of his or her own destiny.

Big Gloom (Page ~90)
(Objective)
Protagonist's lowest point.

Act 3

Climax (Page ~110)
(Objective)
High point of the story.
Everything that comes before should build to this one scene.

Resolution (Pages ~112)
(Objective)
Wrap up story.

The Lonesome Adventurer

2010-01-20T13:52:00.001-08:00

It felt as though a lifetime had passed since he made the decision to leave. Ever since, his dreams have been haunted with beauty. He yearned for Australia; wishing no more than to leave the life in which he had been placed to start anew. Since his decision, his life had become queued in the long line of bureaucratic senselessness. He simply could not hop on a plane and leave. He must wait in the purgatory that had become his life.

The decision had been made two years prior when the full realization of his life came to surface. He needed adventure, a challenge, beauty. All of this he convinced himself was the remedy to his ailment. Australia had become a beacon of hope, a far off land unlike his own, waiting to be conquered. With promises made and plans crafted, time became his only delay, an enemy.

As he waited for the day to finally come he slowly filled with a growing unrest. Only when this unrest became overwhelming did our adventurer break down and see the true intent of his desire. Through tears he understood the hollow loneliness that was his life. It was not a regular type of loneliness. Friends to associate with, women to love, he could find that here. It was his passion for life that he wished to share. The mysteries, the adventures, the undiscovered sensations, the awe of it all. Nowhere could he find someone to share his excitement with. No one would listen to his thoughts, and anyone he tried to share with would simply brush him off and say that he was different and out of place. The worst part was he knew they were right. To them intangibles were unimportant because they had never existed. To him they were a life within a life waiting to be explored.

Books provided hope, a source of relief. There he found adventurers such as himself who embarked on journeys so wondrous even he had yet to imagine them. Engrossing himself in volumes of books he found inspiration in its many forms, and most importantly, confirmation that he was not alone. Books shared with him, and he quickly embraced their warmth.

Books themselves would be enough to satisfy his dreams of Australia, to rid his hollow emptiness, if only he could share back, engage them somehow. But the dream lived on.

* * *

He still awaits his challenging journey of self discovery and adventure; his quest for beauty. His only hope, that the rest of his journey has company. His only fear, that this new land be inhabited by the same old people.

"As I knock on the hearts of the people I meet I hope that one day I will not be answered with a puzzled look and a hollow ring."

More Quotes

2010-01-16T20:23:00.001-08:00

"It always ends. That's what gives it value."
- Neil Gaiman

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it…"
- Confucius

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world"
- Gandhi

"Never argue with a fool. Someone watching may not be able to tell the difference."
- Anonymous

"Temper gets you into trouble. Pride keeps you there."
- Anonymous

"The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible." - Anonymous

"Truth fears no questions."
- Anonymous

"A dreamer lives for eternity."
- Anonymous

"The future belongs to those who dare."
- Anonymous

"Not all who wander are lost."
- J.R.R. Tolkien

A Hard Decision

2010-01-16T14:34:00.001-08:00

It was the hardest decision she had to make in the last fifteen years. Before this were the monumental decisions of marriage and motherhood; both of which had brought storms of joy that would flourish and grow as the years ticked by. As she stared at the computer screen she could feel the wells of her eyes slowly fill with sadness. This was much different.

A confident woman, a professional. This is how she saw herself, how she knew others saw her. Thirty-two years ago she began her career with the city. Starting as a clerk and moving up throughout the years. Energetic; jumping from position to position as lightning does in a storm. Nine jobs she had filled. Nine jobs she had mastered. Ushered forward by her expertise and work ethic she thrived on success.

Eighteen years into her career she finally landed her dream job; manager of the insurance branch. Everything the city did needed to be insured. Buildings, construction projects, workers, policies. Her job was exciting and offered the challenges she desired. Predicting tragedies, potential law suits, she treated her work as a game of chess covering every potential move the city could make.

Fourteen years later it was time to retire. On the screen before her was a retirement notice, a letter of resignation. A tear slowly rolled down her cheek. And then another. And another. Staining the sandy blonde curls that brushed her cheeks. Sadness. Frustration. The age old question of why returned to haunt her. Listing over and over the reasons why she should retire she tried to beat back the question with reason. But logic and reason never mixes well with emotion. The tears began to fall harder.

There was no fall-back plan. No insurance that guaranteed she would find the same joy in life that her career provided her. She would have to rediscover herself and her place in the mystery of life. She could not predict what was going to happen, how it would affect her.

She took a deep breath and collected herself. The worst of the storm had passed. Thinking to herself she came to a conclusion. She could not do it, there was no way. Retirement was too scary, too unknown, a challenge she was not ready to face.

A smile crept slowly onto her face as she mulled over that last thought. The last tear tumbled down her cheek and struck her index finger as it hovered above the mouse. At that same moment she clicked the send button. Message sent; there was no turning back now. Was it her doing or a reaction? She was not sure.

Rising out of her chair she looked around her living room and felt as though a layer had been pulled back, revealing everything as new and fresh again. Wandering to the kitchen she poured herself a cup of coffee and began to think about all the challenges that lay ahead.

---
This was an exercise on perception. Trying to get inside the head and emotions of someone very different from me experiencing something very distant from what I normally experience.

Likeable Quotes from Writing Fiction

2010-01-16T12:06:00.000-08:00

A probable impossibility makes a better story than an improbable possibility

- Aristotle

A short story is a writer's way of thinking through experience...Journalism aims at accuracy, but fiction's aim is truth. The writer distorts reality in the interest of a larger truth.
- John L'Heureux

When a writer is successful in using a story taken from experience, it is not told exactly the way it happened, but in the way that reveals, through all one's beliefs, hopes, and fear, how the event should have happened.
- Craig Nova

Forget Inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won't. Habit is persistence in practice.
- Octavia Butler

"Write a theme that you feel strongly about. If you have to hunt for a theme, don't bother. Just write a good story.

Whatever you do, don't sledgehammer a theme into the reader.

If you write without a deliberate theme, you'll often find that a theme finds its way into your writing anyway, unless you truly have no opinions on anything. Don't force it."
- Cogito

Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 Quotes

2010-01-14T23:21:00.000-08:00

"Do you know why books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores. It has features. This book can go under the microscope. You'd find life under the glass, streaming past in infinite profusion. The more pores, the more truthfully recorded details of life per square inch you can get on a sheet of paper, the more 'literary' you are. That's my definition anyway.Telling detail. Fresh detail. The good writers touch life often. The mediocre ones run a quick hand over her. The bad ones rape her and leave her for the flies."

"Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask no guarantees, ask for no security, there never was such an animal."

[Fire]"Its real beauty is that it destroys responsibility and consequences."

"I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it'll make sense."

There are only two ways to live forever

2010-01-06T21:04:00.000-08:00

Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing. - Ben Franklin

Poker Stars Has Great Customer Support

2010-01-03T16:12:00.000-08:00

HostRebeccaM: Hello Devon, this is Rebecca from PokerStars Deposit Assistance Department, I see you are having problems making a deposit, is this a good time to contact you to see if I can help?
DvnMrtn: Sure

HostRebeccaM: Thank you.
HostRebeccaM: I'm afraid your card is not working due to online gaming restrictions set by your financial institution, I understand how this can be very frustrating, as it is much easier to deposit simply using your card; fortunately, we have a great alternative for you to deposit successfully.
HostRebeccaM: The most popular and convenient one is called Instant eChecks, it will be quicker and easier to explain by phone. Do you have a phone number I can call you at?
DvnMrtn: How come my visa works with fulltilt and not pokerstars? Wouldn't the restrictions be the same?
HostRebeccaM: I understand Devon.
HostRebeccaM: As PokerStars works identified as an on-line gaming site any financial institution having gaming restrictions will not accept transfers from us.
HostRebeccaM: Some other sites work under a different code.
DvnMrtn: I'd rahter not use eChecks...but thanks for asking
DvnMrtn: I killed a man once by mistake using eChecks...not something I’d like to re-experience
HostRebeccaM: Oh, I am sorry to hear that.
DvnMrtn: It was brutal.
HostRebeccaM: What about a prepaid card?
DvnMrtn: You mean the kind you get at gas stations like the vanilla mastercard?
HostRebeccaM: Correct.
DvnMrtn: Phew, let me tell you about those. There I was, 21 years of age. I was in my prime you see...but then on an uneventful late October night I decided to purchase a vanilla mastercard giftcard. All seemed well....until
DvnMrtn: the government tracked all my purchases using the vanilla system. It was designed to track white people and their use of money. Hense the term vanilla. I know it’s strange...but there’s more
HostRebeccaM: Oh I am so sorry you had to go through those bad experiences Devon.
DvnMrtn: Within the next week a man showed up at my door. He introduced himself as Jhonny Boy. He was wearing a dark suit with even darker shades...he said I was in grave danger and that I needed to come with him immediately. I found it very cliché and laughed at him.
HostRebeccaM: Have you considered the MoneyMart card?
DvnMrtn: Little did I know that Jhonny Boy was sent by the government. Apparently my spending habbits matched that of an Al Qa'ida terrorist.
DvnMrtn: Now I told you it was to track white people which, as you might know, there aren’t very many of in Al-Qa'ida...but apparently they were starting their own sect here in my small town
HostRebeccaM: That is not good Devon.
DvnMrtn: Needless to say, I spent weeks with horrid pain being zapped into my nipples through a machine called the titilator...Canada's newest hightech torture machine.
DvnMrtn: That was until they realized I was innocent. So you see, my experiences with the Vanilla Mastercard have been less than optimal.
HostRebeccaM: Is there anything else I may assist you with?
DvnMrtn: Well....
DvnMrtn: Actually the titilator was pretty fun...I think I'll just go get a vanilla card after all. You talked me into it.
DvnMrtn: :) thanks for your help
HostRebeccaM: Thank you for choosing PokerStars.

Story Idea - Debit / Credit Card Scam

2009-12-27T14:25:00.000-08:00

Chip that goes into the debit pin pad.
Records debit / credit numbers
Scammer gets job as a pizza delivery guy switches into pinpad.
- not traceable to store, seems random, no cameras, easy to switch out after wards.
- pizza jobs often work for cash under the table
- joints can be found run by the mob. therefore if they get caught it will look less suspicious for you
saves numbers at end of night
after 6 months takes chip out and quits.
THEN can spend money

Laundering money

The Dramatic - Charasmatic Character Profile

2009-12-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

The Dramatic is the type of person who makes a show out of everything they do. They draw their charisma from the excitement they radiate. To them everything has a sense of grandeur. They stand out in a crowd. The reason people are drawn to The Dramatic is because they offer a sense of release from a boring reality. They are exciting to listen to and will often draw a crown. People will describe them as humorous. This is because humour is needed to sustain a continued sense of grandeur without it becoming overkill. The Dramatic is often skilled at making people feel like they are involved in an inside joke. An example of a Dramatic would be a flamboyant gay man.

Targets: The people who are most drawn to The Dramatic are those who long for a sense of excitement in their life; people who are bored with their daily routine. The Dramatic offers themselves up as their medicated dose of excitement and humour.

The biggest potential downfall with The Dramatic's charisma is that often it is easily overdone. They may often take things too far, overstep their boundaries, or simply flood the person with TOO much grandeur. The key to sustaining a positive charismatic influence with this character type is to know your boundaries. Being able to interpret body language properly is a key skill for all charismatic types but especially so for Dramatics. Being able to know when your reaching the boundaries for any particular topic, avoiding off topics, or lowering the grandeur depending on the other persons mood.

Personality Descriptions: exciting, funny, up-beat, over-the-top, flamboyant, energetic.

Tattoo

2009-12-13T12:51:00.000-08:00

The full process from 2008. I love tattoo's. This is my first.

Artwork:

Outline:

Shading / Final Product:

Art

2009-12-13T00:17:00.000-08:00

Art, in it's many forms, is the appreciation of all the little things; the seizing and cherishing of your existence, leaving you inspired for more.

- Devon Martin

Blanka Dvorak

2009-12-09T02:03:00.000-08:00

This artist has a style that is beautifully disturbing. Here are some of my favourites. The rest can be viewed here.

The Lost Tribe

2009-12-03T01:25:00.000-08:00

The following is a movie pitch, a screen adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

Synopsis:

My story is about Dr. Marlow travelling from London to the heart of the Australian outback to find his mentor, Dr. Kurtz after receiving word of a great new discovery; a tribe undiscovered by modern man. Dr. Marlow craves the knowledge and academic recognition that would accompany this discovery. Dr. Marlow runs into trouble when he finds his old mentor, Dr. Kurtz, and realizes that the tribe he has discovered could be described as nothing short of evil. Dr. Marlow eventually has to make a daring escape. The story ends with Dr. Marlow’s insight which for him (and the reader/viewer) has been that humanity is better off not knowing everything.

The Lost Tribe

Act I

1. Meet Dr. Marlow

The opening scene will introduce Dr. Marlow with a montage of his hard work and dedication to the pursuit of knowledge. He is portrayed as a hard working man who focuses on his work within the University he studies and teaches at. At the end of said montage, we are introduced to Dr. Price a colleague of Dr. Marlow’s who comes to visit Dr. Marlow in his office. Dr. Price reminds Dr. Marlow that it is getting late and he should get some rest for tomorrow’s distinction awards ceremony.

Value: (+), Sequence: A

2. A Disappointing Night

Skip to the next night where we find Dr. Marlow preparing for the awards ceremony. Various colleagues and friends have paid him a visit during the day to wish him luck for his nominations. Dr. Marlow has high hopes and is excited to attend the ceremony. However, during the ceremony his spirit is crushed when not a single award is won out of the many nominations he was put up for. He becomes depressed and questions the amount of time and effort he has put into his research.

Value: (-), Sequence: B

3. A Longing Desire

Skip to the next day where Dr. Price stops by to visit Dr. Marlow in an attempt to cheer him up. Dr. Marlow expresses his frustration over the lack of recognition. He feels his work is going unnoticed and feels he may be exerting his efforts for nothing. Dr. Price tries to reassure Dr. Marlow, but Dr. Marlow merely thanks him for his efforts and sends him on his way stating that he would rather be alone.

Value: (-), Sequence: B

4. The Letter

Weeks pass and Dr. Marlow’s state of mind remains melancholy. However, a letter comes addressed from Dr. Marlow’s old friend and mentor Dr. Kurtz. Dr. Marlow bursts into Dr. Price’s office with an excitement that has not been seen since prior to the award ceremony. Dr. Marlow explains that Dr. Kurtz is on the brink of a great discovery and has invited him to join in the research. Apparently, Dr. Kurtz has discovered an indigenous tribe in the vast Australian outback that has had no contact with modern man. Dr. Price tells Dr. Marlow not to get his hopes up and reminds him that Dr. Kurtz is known around the academic circle as ‘borderline insane’.

Value: (+/-), Sequence: C

5. Let the Journey Begin

Dr. Marlow ignores Dr. Price’s warnings and decides to join his mentor in the Australian outback. Dr. Marlow prepares for the journey and then heads off in search of knowledge and the glory that will accompany it. To Dr. Marlow this journey isn’t so much about the research as it is about comforting himself. He wants to feel relevant. As we watch Dr. Marlow prepare for the journey we can tell that he is ecstatic and any trace of his former depression has vanished. The scene ends as the plane takes off the runway.

Value: (+), Sequence: C

Act II

6. Welcome to Australia

Dr. Marlow lands in Australia and finds that the people are friendly, the weather is nice and his spirits are high. However, after mentioning his intentions to join his mentor and study a lost tribe he finds the locals attitude change drastically towards him. Although this puzzles him to an extreme degree he decides to adapt and tell people he is simply on vacation.

Value: (+/-), Sequence: A

7. Dr. Kurtz - MIA

The search for Dr. Kurtz begins as Dr. Marlow visits the return address on the letter that Dr. Kurtz had mailed him; a local University. However, authorities at the University state that Dr. Kurtz was discharged nearly six months ago for discrediting the University after publishing wild notions unsupported by evidence. Dr. Marlow asks if perhaps these ‘wild notions’ involve an indigenous tribe and is ‘kindly’ escorted off campus.

Value: (-), Sequence: B

8. We Regret To Inform You

Dr. Marlow is convinced that something is amiss. Before Marlow was escorted off campus, he was able to find out where Dr. Kurtz was staying before his discharge. Unfortunately, it appears that around the same time Dr. Kurtz was discharged from the University he also moved out of his temporary residence. The land lady shocks Dr. Marlow by giving him her condolences and regrets to inform him that Dr. Kurtz’s is dead and his body has yet to be recovered.

Value: (-), Sequence: B

9. All Hope Is Not Lost

Dr. Marlow suspects that the locals are lying. He decides to check out Dr. Kurtz’s missing status with the police. They tell him that Dr. Kurtz was last seen heading into the outback about six months ago and has yet to return. Although no one is certain he is dead they make the assumption because of the outback’s harsh nature. Dr. Marlow believes that his mentor is still alive.

Value: (+/-), Sequence: B

10. The Proposition

Dr. Marlow makes the decision to explore the outback in search of his mentor. He has not given up hope yet. Looking at ads in a local paper, Dr. Marlow discovers the services of a young man, Jonathon Swift, whose livelihood is centered on giving tours of the outback to tourists. After contacting Swift, Dr. Marlow lies and says that he is a geologist looking to make a detailed record of the outback. He tells Swift that he will be paid handsomely; Swift accepts.

Value: (+), Sequence: C

11. Long Afternoons

The decision is made to begin exploring the outback around three in the afternoon after the intense heat from the sun dies down and go until sunset. Everyday the two embark and everyday a little more of the outback is uncovered. Dr. Marlow keeps a detailed map where he marks off the areas they’ve been. A friendship between Dr. Marlow and Swift build. However, after a few weeks there is still no sign of Dr. Kurtz.

Value: (+/-), Sequence: C

12. What About Over There?

After nearly a month of scouring the outback, there is still no sign of Dr. Kurtz. Dr. Marlow notices there is a region that Swift has left largely uncovered in their journey. He questions Swift about this and Swift avoids the topic.

Value: (-), Sequence: C

13. Canyon Of No Return

Dr. Marlow believes this area is where Dr. Kurtz is and demands that Swift take him there. He says the whole trip will have been a waste if this large section of the outback remains uncovered. Swift tells Dr. Marlow that the place he is looking for is called The Canyon of No Return and is an evil place, marked by death and misfortune to all who travel there. Only upon the threat to withhold money does Swift agree to take Dr. Marlow there.

Value: (+/-), Sequence: C

14. The Truth

The next day, Swift demands his money up front before they head into the outback. Upon nearing the canyon, Swift tells Dr. Marlow that they will drive around the perimeter of the canyon rather than go through it. Dr. Marlow confesses his true intent for exploring the outback and insists that they penetrate the canyon. A fight between the two breaks out. Dr. Marlow gets out of the land rover and heads into the canyon himself. The two part ways.

Value: (-), Sequence: C

15. Hope on the Horizon

In this scene, Dr. Marlow is beginning his journey into the canyon by himself. He is bothered b the heat and tires easily. He curses himself for leaving Swift. However, before the first sundown, Dr. Marlow makes out the silhouette of people on the horizon. He tries to call out to them, but darkness soon engulfs the canyon. Strange sounds frighten him and cause him to take shelter in some nearby bushes.

Value: (+/-), Sequence: D

16. A Warm Welcome

After a sleepless night in the bush hiding from a strange and frightening howling, Dr. Marlow begins his journey towards where he figures he sighted Dr. Kurtz. The early afternoon sun beats strongly down on Dr. Marlow and causes him to become dehydrated. However, Dr. Marlow spots Dr. Kurtz in the distance towering above what must be the indigenous tribe. Yelling and hollering, Dr. Marlow makes a dash towards his mentor, however, when he gets close enough to see the tribe he passes out from a combination of horror, dehydration, and heat exhaustion.

Value: (+/-), Sequence: D

Act III

17. Welcome to Hell

Dr. Marlow wakes up next to Dr. Kurtz in a shaded part of the canyon with a small cup of water beside him. He almost doesn’t recognize him because of how dark the sun has made him. Dr. Marlow expresses his joy of finally finding him and laughs that he was so dehydrated he hallucinated seeing demons. Dr. Kurtz explains that those were no demons, but the tribe of which he spoke. The scene ends with Dr. Kurtz introducing Dr. Marlow to the tribe. Dr. Marlow is horrified by their appearance which is impish and deformed.

Value: (+/-), Sequence: A

18. A Theory

Dr. Marlow can hardly get over the appearance of the tribe and insists that they are not human. Dr. Kurtz explains that his theory is that these people are alone in the wilderness and probably survived this long through inbreeding which has resulted in their impish and distorted appearance. Dr. Kurtz explains how adapted to the environment they are and are masters at surviving the harshness of nature. Dr. Marlow notices the power Dr. Kurtz holds over these people.

Value: (+/-), Sequence: A

19. A Frightening Night

When night falls upon the canyon Dr. Marlow witnesses firsthand the horror that is the tribe’s culture. The howling that he heard from the other night turned out to be the tribe performing some type of demon chant. While dancing and howling the tribe begins to have a violent and grotesque orgy. Although frightened and disgusted at the site, Dr. Marlow takes not of this in his handbook. The site of Dr. Kurtz participating in the ceremony deeply disturbs Dr. Marlow.

Value: (+/-), Sequence: B

20. A Morning of Despair

In the morning Dr. Marlow confronts Dr. Kurtz about the prior night. Dr. Kurtz claims that research must take many forms, including participation. Dr. Marlow cannot grasp this concept, yet Dr. Kurtz insists that Dr. Marlow participates in the culture if he intends to stay with them. He forces Dr. Marlow to eat insects and a lizard and claims that this is the staple of their diet.

Value: (-), Sequence: C

21. You Won’t Be Needing This

Dr. Marlow asks to see Dr. Kurtz’s research notes. Dr. Kurtz tells him not to worry, the research process takes a long time and to relax. He explains that he has been living with the tribe for nearly six months and it will be much longer before he even begins to report on his research. Dr. Kurtz takes his notebook and refuses to let him take notes until he participates in the culture.

Value: (-), Sequence: C

22. Compliance is Necessary

That night Dr. Kurtz insists that Dr. Marlow participates in the ceremony. Upon refusal, a fight occurs between the two and ends up with Dr. Kurtz striking Dr. Marlow and encouraging the tribe to take part in his beating. Dr. Marlow sees that Dr. Kurtz is no longer the man he used to be and begins to fear for his life.

Value: (-), Sequence: C

23. Realization

In this scene Dr. Marlow is simply observing the tribe during the day and Dr. Kurtz’s interactions with them. This scene is the true realization of his situation he either must join the tribes culture or they will kill him. He remains injured from the night prior. In an attempt to escape he tries to convince Dr. Kurtz to let him return to town telling him that he will return with supplies. Dr. Kurtz laughs and says that the only way to experience the culture is to learn to survive as they do.

Value: (-), Sequence: C

24. Cannibalism

Dr. Marlow notices how violent and selfish the tribe is and realizes that this is survival of the fittest. That night, a member of the tribe who has been ill is violently beaten to death. The smell of its flesh cooking makes him ill. He believes that because of his injuries and inability to adapt to the outback that it is only a matter of time before he is next. He vows that by tomorrow night he will run away, even if it means him perishing in the cruel outback.

Value: (-), Sequence: C

25. The Escape Plan

Although he is still slightly injured, Dr. Marlow figures he can outrun the tribe due to their stature. He is still in possession of the map he used to mark off territory when he was with Swift. He thinks during the night, after everyone is asleep after the nightly rituals he will head in the direction of the nearest town. He spends the day stashing supplies and planning his route.

Value: (+), Sequence: D

26. The Horror

During the night Dr. Marlow takes off into the wilderness. He turns and wishes what is left of his mentor farewell. The scene fades away and fades back to show Dr. Marlow in his office beaten, bruised, but alive. Although he is home he feels a part of him was left in the outback. The rest of the scene switches back and forth between Dr. Marlow in his office and his journey back from the canyon accompanied by his inner dialogue. Finally acknowledging that the members of the tribe really were human he thinks “the horror, the horror.” He decides that the horrors of the tribe need to stay where they are. The decision is made to pursue knowledge that will help propel mankind into the future rather than tie them in with their dark past. The scene ends zooming out of focus from Dr. Marlow struggling through the outback giving the audience a full view of how long he still must travel.

Value: (-), Sequence: E

Personal notes:

- More development of Dr. Marlow's time spent in the tribe and it's activities are required.

- Sloppy Ending

Pierre Farel

2009-11-11T22:19:00.001-08:00

I love this mans work. The light pastel colours, and the unique style jump out at me. Here
are a few of my favourites, the rest can be viewed here.

The Use of Multiple Story Plots

2009-11-10T23:39:00.000-08:00

A good story is one that flows with motives, conflict, resolution, excitement, and twists. A great story is one that can incorporate more than one story at a time and can make the transition between the two seamless and unnoticeable to the audience / reader.

An example of this would be the film The Boondock Saints, a group of a vigilantes going around killing people they perceive as 'evil'. This characters have motives and goals and will encounter many obstacles along their way. Incorporated in this story is also the story of the police detective trying to solve the case of the murders. The two sides are opposed and yet connected and the switch between them is seemless. The climax of both stories is when both worlds are brought together resulting in a conclusion for both.

With The Boondock Saints, each half of the story was equally important to the whole of the story and roughly took up around half of the movie each. However, this same strategy can be incorporated into subplots. Think of the following questions:
- What is the story I am trying to tell?
- What are other stories that can come out of, or be incorporated with, my story?

The idea is to give your story more depth. This will add excitement and give you more layers to work with for adding exciting plot twists. Each new layer, or subplot will require it's own story formula.

Keep this in mind while creating a story plot for your next piece.

Story Formula

2009-11-05T11:23:00.001-08:00

To Create a Story Synopsis try the following:

1. My story is about [X=character = protagonist] in [setting y time and z place].
2. S/he wants more than anything to find [A – object of desire] because [B – motivations]
3. Her / His journey begins when [in in] and s/he decides to [C – action].
4. S/he runs into trouble when/with [conflict/antagonist(s)] which s/he tackles by (C+actions)
5. The story ends when [crisis-decision] and [climax-change] and s/he discovers that [value]

Sydney - The Advice

2009-11-04T22:38:00.000-08:00

The cafe buzzed with people coming in to grab a coffee on their lunch breaks, a steady flow of people. In the corner Sydney sat with the girl and watched as she gathered her thoughts and picked her words carefully. Not only did he know what she was about to ask, he already knew the answer.

Sydney interrupted her strain of thoughts "You want to know is if he loves you, right?" Her attention snapped away from the coffee in front of her, her eyes locking into his. For a moment her face was a clash of confusion and amazement, but slowly she let a smile break the wonder as she remembered who she was dealing with.
"Yes." she replied, sheepishly looking back down at her coffee. Sydney took a moment and pretended to think it over.
It was obvious to him that the guy wanted nothing more than someone to lay down with when he got lonely, or more accurately put, when he needed to get laid. It showed in the way he addressed her, how his eyes wandered when they talked, the level of interest he had, and so forth. This girl was getting played and all the signs were there. Sydney couldn’t stand being the one to have to point them out. He needed to stay in her good books, and telling her she's unloved wasn't an option.
He finished humming around, looked at her and said, "I'm not really sure, but I know a way you could find out." He was going to help this girl. He could solve her problem and avoid being the deliverer of bad news.
"I gotta’ know though, have you guys had sex yet?" Sydney asked, letting his goofy grin flash. He had meant to stay serious but he couldn't help it, he knew how this girl was going to react to his question.
"And just how is that important?" she answered skeptically eyeing him over. Sydney could tell she was re-evaluating his judgment, so he chose his next words carefully.

Unfinished

Exercise

2009-10-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

Freewrite

What makes a person likeable?

When it comes to character development I'm trying to make a chracter that does bad things become likeable. I think the best way to do this is to justify his actions and to somehow make the reader comet o acc...find common ground with the chracter. this begs the question what makes a person likeable? I think honesty peopleskills humility and __are all good examples. if a person is honest they dont have anything to hide and they seem more open and approachable. if you are open with the person they are more likely to be hopen with you and to trust you if you are good at reading body language then you will be able to pick up on certain ques and expose the person ...that wasn't waht I menat but i have to keep writing. i think a person that is likeable has a certian charm where that charm comes from or what exactilly it is is the question that i am trying to find out. i think i t really only boils down to body language though. have two people ion the room saying the exact samet higns but change the body language you change everything a likeable person knows what notes to hit a the right time and will engage the person in a way that they see fits the situation which they will figure out by reading the persons body language with they're skill. humility is always good because no ones likes a arrogant prick. BREAK

oepn minded nisess makes someone likeable and also not imposing your beliefs on the other person. manners. coutrisy. ediquit. humour. showingin interest

Exercise #2 - Know your Characters

2009-10-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

Putting Yourself in the universe you have created.

Think about...

Vegas Floozies
Casino Dealers
Casino Owners / Hotel Manager / Business People
Poker Stars / Celebs
The Mob
Random Hussles

How do they all tie together?
What are their individual stories?
Give them a personality, a life.

Write a random scene that involves the characters from your story and try to answer some of those questions.

Character Profile - Sydney Connors

2009-10-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

Rough Character Profile

What makes him special?: What makes Sydney special is the contrast between his kind and extremely likeable personality and his ability to be ruthless and cold-hearted. The reader will come to like Sydney not only because of his charm and wit but because he is genuinly a good person. The reader will come to love Sydney because of his ability to con.

His ability to see right through a person.

The Challenge - Creating a likeable person who does bad things. ex steals.
Robin Hood effect.
Justify actions
Selective chaos

Attitude and Beliefs
The two sides of Sydney;

The Likable Genuine Sydney: Sydney sees everyday as a gift. Happy, Charismatic,
The Hussler Sydney - Ruthless, coldhearted

Adjectives
Ruthless, Cunning, Smart, Handsome, Charismatic, Intuitive, Observant, Mindful, Adaptive

Physical Appearance
Not important ATM

Story Idea - King of Hearts

2009-10-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

Spend a few minutes in the presence of Sydney Conners and it will feel like you've been reunited with the long-lost best-friend you never had. It's his gift. A gift he tends to exploit. His whole life has been about getting what he wants through charisma, trickery, or a bit of both. But after making the mistake of hustling one of the bigger players in the mob Sydney finds himself in a situation that will take a lot more than a dashing smile and some cunning wit to make it out alive.

Identity - Who are we? Are we ever really true to ourselves?
The idea of 'a face' - someone who is more concerned with perception than reality
Perception is reality
Love
War
Money
Sex
The notion of 'uniqunes' vs the universal human model
satire on social norms
social script
Adventure - why we crave it

Exercise

2009-10-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

Intrapersonal Questioning

One step above freewriting. No stopping to edit but taking time to sort through your thoughts.

What Am I Afraid Of?

I am afraid of failure. I've made my goals and ambitions such a central part of my life that if I were to fail at them I would be devestated. At the same time however my goals are always being tweeked and altered slightly. when I think about it even more the only real goal that I am afraid of failing is Australia. University is easy enough and I'm almost done with the "difficult" part of that. At the same time though I cant figure out why I'm afraid to fail my dreams of Australia so bad. I"ve been wanting this for a few years now but realistically it should be the least of my worries. What is it about this sense of adventure, of putting myself to the test, of exploring something new that is so important to me that I am begging for the chance to throw everything away for it? I'm a rational person who thinks with his head rather than his emotions yet Australia is the only subject I seem to be so headstrong obsessed about that it defies logic. Everyone needs a passion. Why Australia seems to be one of mine I'm not sure but I think finding out the reason for this will help me become a better writer.

Freewrite

2009-10-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at a freewrite I'm not sure what it is that I'm supposed to be writing about and it feels funny trying to type faster than I can thinkin. i keep going back to press the backspace button even though my mind is telling me to push forward. I wish I could do this to become a betterwriter i think that i can do it if i really try. i stopped writing to itch but I think it was just an exucse because i feel uncomfortable doing this. i hope one day I can think back and read this and realearh remember how iw as feeling at this time. i hope that by then I am much better at this and writing in general