  Noticing Newbies
This week: Using Items for Unusual Purposes Edited by: Sara♥Jean  
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Using Items for Unusual Purposes
This strategy works in movies and television shows, so why not in stories? I say, bring on the marshmallows!
Using unusual objects in a book scene is just as spectacularly funny as it is in a movie when someone uses a hubcap to block a ninja star that comes flying toward them, and then makes a surprised face.
There are just a few guidelines that need to be followed to make it work.
The scene needs to be written carefully, so it is both believable, and amusing. A marshmallow cannot be used in place of a bullet. It can, however, be used in the place of a spitwad, and some uncaring teenager can peel it off of their face, shrug, and eat it. A pot can double as a snowball fight shield. A shoe can be a weighted stinky torpedo if something is tucked in its toe that is appropriately stinky, and it is launched in the direction of an unsuspecting victim. A trash can lid can be a sled, turn into a snowball fight shield, and then become a home base bulldozer - albeit probably an unsuccessful one. Endless possibilities, as long as they are realistic enough that your audience will play along.
You can't fill every scene in your book or story with these type of shenanigans. It needs to be something special that happens once or twice. It can be referenced back to as characters are talking or teasing one another, but if these sorts of things happen all the time, the novelty wears off. There needs to be a balance of good and evil, funny and serious, hilarity and terror.
Ask someone else's opinion. Sometimes, we think our jokes are amazing, and they are just absolutely awful. AWFUL. Many of mine are, so I am very experienced at this awfulness. (Disclaimer: I did not check with anyone, so the things I think are funny in this newsletter might just be awful. If they are, I apologize ahead of time.) So, ask your friends. See if they think you are funny. If they do, go for it! |
For this month, I shall leave you with some newbie poetry. Don't forget to leave them some feedback!
| |  | The Mona Lisa (E)
A poem about a person in love with someone he feels to be way out of his league
#2165026 by Phamlay  |
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#2165015 by Not Available. |
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#2165001 by Not Available. |
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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In my last newsletter, "Noticing Newbies Newsletter (July 4, 2018)" , I asked what you do to relax and prepare for writing. Here are some replies I received:
ladeecaid said, "Being opposed to participating in stress, I don't have to relax to write. If there is a story I need to compose, I hash it out in my head while performing activities that don't require a lot of focus, such as riding to work, washing dishes, or just before sleep. I'd like to add that my life is not stress-free, but when I feel the first twinges of freak-out, I'm on it. Ridding myself of stress takes priority. I either fix my situation or my perception."
Altamont 🏳️🌈 said, "To get in the zone I usually eat something sweet to get the energy going and I put on some music or some form of ambience in the background to help me pace myself and to get a bit of a mood going."
Don't forget to write into the next newsletter with your answer to this question:
What other "tips and tricks" can we take from television and movies to enhance writing? |
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Noticing Newbies: August 01, 2018 Issue [#9035]
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