Flexibility

Flexibility.

Such a familiar word--except, maybe, in how it applies to writing. This is another thing I learned from Cook's How to Write with the Skill of a Master/Genius of a Child.

Cook suggests an exploration exercise: "Select a finished story--your own or somebody else's--and play the 'How Many Endings?' game with it. How many different ways could you end that story? Don't judge, analyze, or otherwise evaluate...just capture the ideas. When you think you can't think of any more endings, think of one more."

With reservations, I decided to try this with my children's historical fiction manuscript. At first my brain cramped. After all, I've written the book--how could I possibly approach the ending any differently? But I grabbed a notebook and pen, and forced myself to begin freewriting ideas.

I jotted down first one, two, then three variations--and immediately scratched them. No, I mumbled, I'll stay with what I already have, thank you very much. No sense in changing things this late in the game.

But the drill wasn't finished. Even though I was sure I couldn't come up with any more endings, the suggestion was to try to think of one more. So I stayed with the exercise just a bit longer...

That's when a neat little twist--not a major rewrite, mind you, but a burst of something extra--came to my mind. An idea that has potential to strengthen my story, give it a touch more depth. Wow.

"The master writer," Cook says, "brings this sort of childlike flexibility to her writing. She ignores limits and sees instead the possibilities in a scene, an image, a word...She tries new angles, new combinations, new points of view...Master writer and teacher Ellen Hunnicutt puts it this way: If you only write the story that is planned, you will miss the story that is revealed."

See what a little extra stretching will do? Why stop at the knees--reach for the toes!

Color Bursts

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. --Pablo Picasso

Are you, like me, desperate for color--somewhere, anywhere--when the sky has stood still in a gray slicker for days and the snow, which was once bright and pristine, is now dirty and blah? At least I can add color to my office, so I did a search in Publisher's clipart and downloaded this picture to my computer desktop. Ah, that's better.

Yet color does surround us, if we look for it. Here's an exercise that's sure to lift a person's spirits--assign a color to something that recently "popped" in your corner of the world. Here are colors that burst into mine...

Purple--for the promise of publication. A friend of mine just received notice that one of her articles will be published this spring. Yeaaaaa!

Red--for energy and love. You'd know what I'm talking about if you saw our little one dance the "happy dance" for her mommy when she came in from work the other day. Now that's truly a bright spot.

Yellow--for the light of home, and thankfulness that my dad could come home from the rehabilitation center this week.

Blue--for the new grandbaby on the way, a little boy, and--shhh--the knitting project in the works. (But the shade--teal, cobalt, pastel, turquoise? Not telling yet, Suzan :-)

Green--for renewal, not only in a coming spring we sorely anticipate, but in the renewing of friendships--something I was able to do by snail mail and e-mail this week. Fantastic to hear from you all.

"Color, rather than shape," artist David Katz says, "is more closely related to emotion." For the fun of it, I'll be exploring the idea of color and emotions in my writing this week.

I feel my spirits lifting already. What "color bursts" lift yours?

For a cool, color-related activity,check out this link. Looks like fun for children--or anyone of any age, for that matter.