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This week: Reading in Hi-def Edited by: Fyn  
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"You can observe a lot just by watching."~Yogi Berra
"The observation of nature is part of an artist's life, it enlarges his form [and] knowledge, keeps him fresh and from working only by formula, and feeds inspiration."~Henry Moore
To him that watches, everything is revealed.~ Italian Proverb
"If I were to prescribe one process in the training of men which is fundamental to success in any direction, it would be thoroughgoing training in the habit of accurate observation. It is a habit which every one of us should be seeking ever more to perfect."~ Eugene G. Grace
"He who can take no great interest in what is small will take false interest in what is great."~John Ruskin
"As a man is, so he sees."~William Blake
"All of us are watchers--of television, of time clocks, of traffic on the freeway--but few are observers. Everyone is looking, not many are seeing."~Peter M. Leschak
"Observation--activity of both eyes and ears."~ Horace Mann
"One must always tell what one sees. Above all, which is more difficult, one must always see what one sees."~Charled Péguy
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In a world where television screens are growing in size and allowing high definition clarity (often the picture on the screen seems clearer than the furniture in the living room!) or as of late 3/real/D viewing, the stories are told in an 'in your face' reality. Blood spurts, splashes, panic is revealed in eye whites or red-rimmed, tear balancing on eyelash precision. Details fly at us with high definition or three dimensional effect.
As viewers, we reap the benefit of the myriad opportunities to observe. Yet have you ever watched a movie a 2nd or 3rd time and still seen something new? Think back to 'Titanic' or 'Wall-E' or '24.' Movies or episodes are enriching the second time around because of the details: The new objects, motions, interactions that you might have missed first time through.
As writers of books, short stories or poetry, competing with television and movies has never been more of just that: A competition. Good writing can be every bit as effective, good storytelling is more than just a series of events happening to a set of characters because of the details. Hi-def is great, the mind's eye has it beat six ways from Sunday if--again IF--the writing immerses the reader into the world of the story. In acting it is called 'presenting in the moment.' The world of the particular stage becomes the now of the viewer's world. This is what good writing does: immerse the reader into the world of the story such that the edges blur, imagination takes over and we are 'there.'
This is only accomplished through details. Thus writers need to be keen observers of the real world around them so that they can pick and choose from a plethora of things they've seem/heard/imagined and twist/manipulate/reinvent then to fit their needs of the story.
From The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
Ed Punch talked out of the middle of his mouth. While he talked he examined Quoyle, noticed the cheap tweed jacket the size of a horse blanket, fingernails that looked regularly held to a grindstone. He smelled submission in Quoyle, guessed he was butter of fair spreading consistency.
Quoyle's own eyes roved to a water-stained engraving on the wall. He saw a grainy face, eyes like glass eggs, a fringe of hairs rising from under the collar and cascading over its starched rim. Was it Punch's grandfather in the chipped frame? He wondered about ancestors.
In those few words, we get a very good picture of Quoyle. (side note: A 'quoyle' is a method of coiling rope on a ship such that it is flattened to the deck and can be stepped on.) In the movie, those two paragraphs were about three minutes of film as we saw what each of the characters saw and heard their inner thoughts. Excellent book, great movie. Yet I am reminded of the oft expressed comment:"The book is better than the movie." What a compliment that is to an author.
Or think Gone With The Wind. Phenomenal movie. Especially given what was available in film making in 1939. Remade today, I'm sure it would be much different. Yet, I'd probably STILL think the book was better. Why? Because it is in the reading that we truly 'get' all the details that bring the characters, spaces, movements and motivations alive and what accomplishes this comes down to the use of details that gives the aforementioned their dimension, breadth. emotion and movement.
No writer can write in a vacuum. It is from active living, from interacting with people, from being aware of what goes on around us and from observing the little things that we can pull the details from one place and use them to make something totally different become real.
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I'm starting this off with two contests. Both are such that they are looking for excellent writing that bring the world of the story into focus.
These contests exemplify exactly what I've been talking about!!!
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The silence that surrounds me is not a silence that has no noise.
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. . .atop the hoist that was abandoned
to the rusted teeth of Time.
The pristine stillness held me captive as vapory wisps pirouetted like tiny ballerinas over the glassy surface, a pair of loons serenading in the distance.
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Entwined/Within those things of dreams –
moonlight wrought charcoal of pines |
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Reflections and comments of my last newsletter. Update: Both the boyfriend and Dominick's mother are in jail pending trials on varying charges of murder and abuse. The family is trying to get Dominick's Law put in motion that will have tougher penalties for child abuse as well as abuse witnessed by a minor child. May the wheels turn smoothly.
Just listing some of the responses to the newsletter. Great comments, ideas and suggestions. Thanking you for your responses!--fyn
LJPC - the tortoise  wrote:Thank you for sharing your deep feelings about this horrific tale. It makes the story so much more striking to read about your reactions and not just the facts. Thank you for bringing to our attention that April is Child Abuse Awareness month.
robert.atwood comments:Your story about child abuse in this weeks editorial really made me cry and it gave me the chills as well. My writing career has taken me to places such as Rwanda and Sudan and I have written about the terrible atrocities that have taken place there...almost to the point where I have been pigeonholed as a genocide writer. One of the biggest challenges I had was avoiding moral grandstanding. I needed to avoid simple evil and simple good in my narrative and in my scene...it wasn't enough to say that genocide and killing was bad everyone knew that...it became necessary to take a giant step backward in order to even function and I found that I was constantly depressed writing this material. SO I looked for happier spots to write in between these assignments and believe it or not it helped remind me that I was alive. I really enjoyed your piece and I look forward to your next.
Adriana Noir adds:Heartbreaking, Fyn.  I'd heard of this story as well and shed some tears for yet another innocent life lost. The world is ugly, at best. As hard as it may be, I think it's important to write stories that don't sugar-coat life. The truth, even in fiction, always rings the loudest and hits with the most impact. Great newsletter.
SHERRI GIBSON  says:Like always, this newsletter is great. Tears came to my eyes when reading about the little boy. How anyone can be demented enough to beat a child for any reason angers me. Abuse of any kind is apprehensible. Like you, it would be nearly impossible to keep my feelings out of it.
I would also like to thank you for choosing one of my poems for the newsletter.
Thank you for sharing this with the community, and bless you for wanting the story to reach everyone.
Mark writes:*shaky sigh* Thanks for letting me understand it, while having my own safe distance from this particular event. Every moment offers an opportunity to learn and grow, as Ken said, some good, some bad. Give it legs, open eyes, you never know who you might save. Use it. Good lesson, but as brutal and heart wrenching as there is.
Christine Cassello notes: I began to cry just reading this article. I can't imagine how I would react if it were someone I knew. I am glad you were able to share it and hope, like your husband said, someone may read it and be able to prevent a future event like it from happening. I find it very hard to be sympathetic, or rather empathetic to someone who could take out all of their anger and frustration on such innocent little victims, but those who use children for their gain are even more evil because they know what they are doing and still do it.
DRSmith  said: Another perfecto example of style with your <sanitized> discourse of a beaten, murdered child. It was not only captivating, but from a literary perspective, you clearly demonstrated how two types of writing can parallel each other with respect to applied technique and talent, but also of how journalism vs fictional accounts demand a distinctly different approach. Then, you put a lump in my throat with the little guy's photo at the end... had quite an impact...
Joy  writes in: I admire you for writing that story without putting yourself in it. If I wrote such a real-horror story involving a child, I could not escape from putting my slant in it. On the other hand, just stating the facts does leave an indelible mark, and the more indelible the better for the future of all children.
Thanks for the lesson and the newsletter.
atwhatcost suggests: What happened to me wasn't nearly as horrific as what happened to Dominick, but I, too, experienced something that made me wonder, "What caused her to do that?" I have had enough distance, I think, from the event to make it into a fictionalized story to try to answer that question, and have just added it to my highlighted section of my port. I told it through her eyes. I don't know if it makes good reading. It won't bring about justice. It did, however, give me some perspective, and had me realize specifically, what I've known for a long time - there is no good reason behind cruelty.
I agree with your husband - let yourself tell the story, or a fictionalized version, some day. It is, if nothing else, therapeutic.
Coolhand says: Compelling piece on the "real story" you chose to write. Nice job!
Caledonia Lass suggests: He is right. Write something that will potentially help someone someday. If you write a book about abuse, don't just sit back and be passive about it, get it into the hands of the victims. Give it away to churches to pass on to others. We may all write to sell our story, but when our stories are for the betterment of humanity, don't SELL it. GIVE it. Don't allow yourself to fall into the monetary aspect of it all.
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For Authors: May 19, 2010 Issue [#3745]
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