 Action/Adventure: February 07, 2007 Issue [#1535] |
  Action/Adventure
This week: Edited by: W.D.Wilcox  
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Let your imagination run wild... |
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*note* This newsletter is written in larger font for the seeing impaired.
A Child's Imagination
I had a very vivid imagination when I was young - and an undeniable knack for turning just about anything into an action-packed adventure.
I was raised on a dairy where I imagined our 250 head of milking cows were alien lifeforms from the Twilight Zone; or I would turn our haystack into a sheer mountain cliff that could only be scaled by me and a rusty pair of hay hooks; I communicated telepathically with my horse and she would carry me anywhere I wished just by me thinking it; and I transformed tightly wrapped bales of hay into an impregnible fortress; I made imaginary guns from pipe fittings and fashioned a functional bow with arrows from tree branches; built tree houses out of scrape lumber; buried myself beneath a mountain of landsliding grain; rode cows like a professional bullrider; dug three-foot trenches in the soft earth, and then covered them with boards and crawled through the the tunnels as if they were cave passages; I would jump off a moving trailer stacked with hay and pretend I had just parachuted into enemy territory, and then pick myself up and do it all again.
My parents thought I was nuts. Especially the time they caught me bull-fighting a cow with my mom's new red blanket. Whatever and wherever I played, the action was always fast-paced and adventurous.
Back then my imagination had no bounds. I could do whatever I wanted and never cared what anybody else thought about it. I lived in a world of my own making, and in my entire lifetime I can't remember ever being so completely happy.
But as I grew, I was accused of living in a dream world; told to grow up; and lectured at least once a week about getting my head out of the clouds.
Aw...youth, why do they try so hard to force the yoke of responsibility upon you? Why must we grow up? Peter Pan didn't have to.
All my life I have battled this slanted concept of age with "You are as young as you feel!". And I have continued to hold tight to my youth and imagination. I have written and sold songs. I have written and sold stories. I think the key to it all is actually getting paid. That shuts 'em up everytime. I like that. 
Let your imagination run free. Power to the imagination! Huzzah!
Until next time,
billwilcox
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TALK TO ME!
Wren  says:
I read your story before, but using it to show and tell was a great idea. It was a very good example.
Thank you, Wren 
fleckgirl adds:
WD - I've seen your work featured before and I think that this as well as previous newsletters by you have been GREAT! Keep up the good work!
-Fleck Girl
Thank you, Fleck
mariasmatrix agrees:
I thought this weeks newsletter was a fantastic way of both "telling" and "showing" how to write. I'm new here so don't have a comparison to make towards past newsletters but I found this one very helpful.
Thank you,
-Maria
Thank you, Maria...
werden  asks:
That is a wonderful story. You have a gift of tell telling. How do you come up with those action words? I am having a devil of a time in my work trying to show what is happening.
Thank you, for your email. I find great action words by reading other authors and writing them down for later use. Action words are usually very strong verbs that describe the scene perfectly. 
Waltz Invictus  puns:
A fine example of flash action / adventure story writing, Bill. Can we call the really short ones flaction? Anyway, thanks for featuring my story this week!
Thanks Rob, I think flaction is good, but flaction & fladventure is even better...
Vivian  explains:
What your commentator didn't take into consideration when stating you tell and not show in your newsletter is instruction is more explaining that illustrating, although when I can I try to have some examples, just not always possible.
~~ Viv
Thanks Viv, I have forwarded your email to the critic...
Mark confirms:
Bill, when you stated "The more a hero talks, the less I think of him." I thought, "Hey, that sounds familiar." Ah, yes! >>'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt. << Abraham Lincoln (from http://www.bored.com/findquotes/cate_587_Doubt.html ) It brought to mind playing characters off each other. Perhaps you could tell us something about contrasting characters to enhance traits, or when to exaggerate an aspect of personality? BTW, very good newsletter. Bravo!
Hey, thanks Mark. I like playing characters off each other. I mainly try to do it with dialogue. It's kind of like the hero and his sidekick: Batman and Robin, Cisco and Pauncho, Rocky and Bullwinkle, where their dialogue explains a lot about their personalities and gives you a chance to describe their features.
darkin gathers her nuts:
Wonderful newsletter, Bill!!! I enjoyed the explaination of showing, not telling And thank you for highlighting one of my stories this week!
-Darkin
Thank you, darling Squirrel...
Tehanu is too kind:
Hi W.D.~
For a moment I thought I was reading the Comedy Newsletter. You did a lovely and amusing job with this "show and tell" act. And, as usual, your action/adventure signatures are vibrant and fun. Thanks for another interesting 'letter.
Now if only those mounds of snow outside would stop looking at me funny...
Best to you, Tehanu
I am very flattered... |
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