Working With Imaginary Circumstances
Tag: Imagination
Jonathan Swift says…
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward
Writers and Their Imaginations
“For a consciousness to be capable of imagining…it needs to be free.”
― ‘The Imaginary’.
“In a work of fiction, everything is invented, even the things that are not, because once a true event is brought into the realm of the imaginary, it becomes imaginary.”
―
“Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and adventures are the shadow truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes and forgotten.”
― Neil Gaiman, ‘The Sandman #19’.
“Creativity is the brain’s invisible muscle that, when used and exercised routinely, becomes better and stronger.”
―
“Living alone, with no one to consult or talk to, one might easily become melodramatic, and imagine things which had no foundation on fact.”
― ‘Murder Is Easy’.
“It is only through fiction and the dimension of the imaginary that we can learn something real about individual experience. Any other approach is bound to be general and abstract.”
―
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward
Exquisite Corpse Parlour Game
This game can be adapted for writers, artists, poets and movie fans!
- There are two versions. The version attributed to the Surrealist Movement is when the weirdest possible head, torso, legs of the Exquisite Corpse are drawn by three different players, each folding over the paper so the next person can’t see the results until it is unfolded at the end of the game.
- “Consequences” is the original name of this literary pen and paper parlour game which has been played since the 1800s Victorian Era. A random sentence is written near the top of the page. The paper is folded over then passed to several other participants who add to it and fold until it reaches the last person, or the bottom of the page. The paper is unfolded and the whole “story” is revealed––often with hilarious results.
- Alternatively, photocopied lines from classic poems (see above) can be cut into strips and jumbled into a bowl. Each player blindly chooses nine strips but uses only seven to form a poem. The mind takes over, sorting and assembling into a reasonably cohesive format. The verse pictured above is what I put together in a recent Masterclass during a timed exercise. My Exquisite Corpse earned the comment “feels Gothic and dark”.
- To quote Academy of American Poets: “The only hard and fast rule of Exquisite Corpse is that each participant is unaware of what the others have written, thus producing a surprising—sometimes absurd—yet often beautiful poem. Exquisite Corpse is a great way to collaborate with other poets, and to free oneself from imaginative constraints or habits.”
- Minor changes have been added to Exquisite Corpse over time, from using a single word to including famous lines from books and movies. For example, you can jot down your favourite movie quote, fold over the paper then pass it on. See what you can pitch with Arnold Schwarzenegger or Hugh Jackman. In book mode, an amalgamation of Germaine Greer and Nora Roberts could prove interesting.
- The following formula for fun was kindly supplied by WordPress blogger Life After Sixty-Five who wrote––“Here is my favourite version of Exquisite Corpse, though I have played the version where a human body is drawn”––
He (male name, fold) – someone we all knew, or someone famous
met She (female name, fold) – could be someone famous, or someone playing the game etc.
at (place, fold)
He wore (description of clothes, fold)
She wore (description of clothes, fold)
He asked, (question, fold)
She replied, (answers question, fold)
And along came (person, fold)
And so they decided to (decision, fold)
And in the end…(finish, fold)
“…the gales of laughter at the silly stories…”
Language Is A Virus website has the history of Exquisite Corpse and suggested books on the subject. They started a poem which has been running since 2000 and you can add to the silliness.
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward
Saturday is young … then
Boredom sets in––
Think of something
Not cooking
Not cleaning
Not walking
Not tai chi
Not writing
Not doing anything
Boredom sets in––
Start a project
Ideas flow
Creativity expands
Love it
Best work ever
I can do more
Much more
Boredom sets in––
It is tricky
It is hard
It will never end
Why did I start
I don’t like it
I hate this thing
Had enough
Boredom sets in.
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward
Boredom – even the explanations are boring! Etymology and terminology:
(1) In conventional usage, boredom is an emotional or psychological state experienced when an individual is left without anything in particular to do, is not interested in his or her surroundings or feels that a day or period is dull or tedious.
(2) The word boredom comes from a device called a “boring tool”, a kind of drill that works slowly and repetitively; around 1768, bore, meaning “be tiresome” became a popular slang term and the word “boredom” soon followed.
Wishes – A Gloomy Quotation
THIS GLOOMY LITTLE QUOTATION WAS AT THE BOTTOM OF MY COMPUTER SCREEN ON JANUARY 2018 COURTESY OF FIREFOX:
“The nearest star is 4.25 light-years from Earth which is why most wishes take at least 9 years to come true.”
IT WON’T STOP ME!
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward
Daydreaming
Daydreaming is my addiction. “Well, if one’s going to daydream, one might as well make it a good one, don’t you suppose?” says Danielle Paige.
My biggest vice is the real estate section in Brisbane News or weekend supplements. I drool over million-dollar homes, daydreaming how I would rearrange the décor, or daydream about refurbishing an old mansion. Of course, I enjoy daydreaming about being effortlessly rich, benevolent, eccentric and having a chauffeur to drive me everywhere. Until Lily Amis reminds me “Daydreaming is a way of escaping from reality. But you can’t avoid the reality forever! Sooner or later you have to wake up and face it!”
Still, my mind wanders no matter what, usually while doing domestic tasks. My focus regularly trails away into the realms of daydream when I am reading, writing or watching a movie. As Neil Gaiman says “You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we’re doing it.”
A cautionary note comes from Jasper Fforde who says “My mind wanders terribly. I’m not wholly annoyed by my daydreaming as it has been of immense use to me as regards imaginative thought, but it doesn’t help when it comes to concentration. And writing needs concentration – lots of it.”
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward
P.S. Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (Le Corbusier) a 20th century architect said “Une maison est une machine-à-habiter” or “A house is a machine for living in”.
The Tall Table
A children’s picture book video.
When Jessie was small the table was tall.
She had to sit in a highchair to eat her meals.
One day she crawled on to the table.
But that was not a good idea.
Another time she pulled the tablecloth.
That was not a good idea.
As Jessie grew, she helped Tiny the dog on to a chair.
That definitely was not a good idea.
After dinner on Saturday, Jessie had a very good idea.
She didn’t need a chair cushion now,
And her feet could almost touch the floor.
So she helped clear the table.
She helped to wash the dishes.
Then Jessie went into her bedroom.
She tugged the top sheet off the bed.
She grabbed her favourite toys.
Jessie was tall enough to pull the sheet over the table.
It made a tent,
it made a cave,
it made a cubby,
and Jessie played until bedtime.
♥ Words : Gretchen Bernet-Ward
♥ Video : Mere Modicum
Elements of Literary Life
A humorous periodic table illustrating the highs and lows of a writer’s life. Word choices and re-writing seem to be part of it but if you are a genius with talent, you’ve got it made! I’ll stick with the hard work and dream my dreams.
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward
Hobgoblins Hate Books
Julia spun around and saw a tiny green blur scurry across the bookcase.
A scrabble of feet, a tiny sneeze, something squeezed out of sight.
A book of fairytales flew off the shelf and hit the floor with a thud.
“Who’s there?” Julia imagined a spiky grasshopper.
Carefully, so carefully, she put the book back where it belonged.
A tiny hand, a papery scrape, a puff of dust and the book whizzed off the shelf again.
“Ouch!” It hit Julia right on the nose. “That wasn’t very nice.”
Zing, clunk, thump! She heard a chuckle as more books pinged off the shelf.
“Stop that.” Julia rapped on the bookcase. “Don’t you like books?”
“No!” a tiny voice squeaked. “Hobgoblins hate books!”
And out of hiding came a tiny green hobgoblin.
He had a gold buckle on his pointy hat and gold buckles on his pointy shoes.
She replied firmly. “Then please leave my books alone and go away.”
“Was planning to make a pile of books up to your window,” he grumbled.
Julia thought for a moment. “Use a chair.”
“Can’t move a chair all by myself,” he mumbled.
The hobgoblin watched as Julia pushed the chair under the open window.
“Difficult for me to get way over there,” he huffed, arms folded.
Quickly Julia gathered the books and stacked them like a staircase.
It wobbled but the hobgoblin skipped down as light as a feather.
He tapped his foot while she built another staircase up to the seat of the chair.
He scrambled onto the leather seat and stopped. “Can’t grab the window ledge.”
With a voice like her mother’s, Julia said “Try.”
Bounce, bounce! The tiny hobgoblin tried kangaroo hops.
Several books shook, but it didn’t work.
He changed his frowny face into a crooked smile.
He raised his tiny green arms. “Would be most grateful if you’d pick me up.”
Julia felt uncomfortable, she wondered if he might bite.
“Miaow.” Julia’s cat prowled into the room.
With a squeal, the hobgoblin jumped high in the air and flew out the window.
In a flash, the cat raced after him.
Julia ran to the window and saw the cat jump down as the hobgoblin flew up.
The hobgoblin’s tiny, shiny wings caught the breeze and he flew over the fence.
Julia looked down at her wide-eyed cat. “Well, that was a mystery.”
The window stayed open as Julia heaped her books higher and higher and higher.
She placed her favourite book of fairytales on top.
Meanwhile her cat sniffed at a speck of green on the window ledge.
It was a tiny pointy hobgoblin hat.
Julia snatched it up and something fell out.
A teeny tiny book with a gold cover.
She laughed. “He does like books after all!”
Something tiny and green hovered just outside her window.
♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward
Thoughts Become Words 
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