Go on. Give one or both of them a try this weekend. I look forward to hearing your experiences.
1) Go outside and observe. Pick out a few people to watch and write down everything they do until you get to twenty items. I am sure it wouldn't be hard to them apply your imagination and come up with a story. You can do this for an optional exercise. However, writing a story is not the goal.
Now do it again. Pick out another few people and this time only note the things that happen that you find interesting ~ things that please you aesthetically or emotionally. It will take longer, but compile a list of twenty items again.
Now study the two lists. What appealed to you in the second? What you included in the second list or left out speaks volumes about how you see the world. If you do this exercise enough times, patterns will emerge. The world will not be revealed to you. YOU will be revealed.
2) Pick a new name. Imagine you could change your name. What would you choose? Would it be a name that sounded good or belonged to someone you admire? Would it make a statement about what you believe or how you want the world to approach you? What would you want it to say about you? This is not just an exercise in "what if." It's about identity--who you are and aim to be.
Join us next week for exploration of Chapter 4: Harness Your Memory.
Fun. I love these exercises.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea...people watching!!
ReplyDeleteBoth these things sound really cool. I like these ideas a lot. I've never liked my name so I've played the "what would I change my name to" thing a million times in my head. Sadly, I can't change my name, because nobody in my family/friends will get on board with calling me anything different. haha
ReplyDeleteI originally thought about writing under a pen name for this very purpose, but then I read that agents find that super-pretentious unless you have an actual REASON to do it. (like you are an established writer in one genre trying to write in another) So that was a no go as well. Looks like I'm stuck with Tamara forever. sigh.
Love this series, Marcie! I got this book from the library and took extensive notes about two years ago...it's funny to look back at some of the answers to see what i think now!
ReplyDeleteI can answer the name question.
I would NEVER change my name.
I've been known, in fact, to stick very fast to it.
I always joke with my sister that if she were born first,
she would have went just by Kathy,
or Ellen,
And been done with it.
But i love the weirdness of the double name.
And how, much like but not entirely like the Boy named Sue, I had to develop some tough skin sticking up for it.
Only later did I find out that Kathy and Ellen together?
They mean pure light.
Don't think I can get any better than that :)