Curiosity and Questions

Do you like to argue? Whether or not YOU do, you probably can think of someone who seams to enjoy disagreeing. Arguments are contagious. I've gotten pulled into many arguments that eventually went nowhere and didn't contribute any progress to anything at all. So why argue?

We argue to prove a point. We argue to convince. We argue to change behavior. But, how effective is that? Not very.

Whenever I catch myself arguing now, I pause long enough to breathe deeply and think of a question. And then another question. And then another question. 

It's harder to argue with a question.

And with a question, we both might learn something.

-- doug smith

What have you learned today?

Creativity Thrives in the Doing

If you paint, paint a lot. If you write, write constantly. If you sing, sing everywhere. Creativity thrives in the doing.

 -- doug smith

Scene Prompt: Confused In Time

 

Each character believes it to be a different time, epic, and era and must deal with unexpected darkness.

Bonus: add sound effects.

Double bonus: bring the time together at the end.

The Writer Sleeps

in a dream

she wrote a revolutionary 

novel

one chapter at a time like

visions trickling thru her hair

wondering "what did he mean when he said that..."

and

writing it all down

turned the storm walls of calling

into

the dream walls of joy

"what if novels didn't have to be sad?" she said

-- doug smith

Picture This: Journals on My Bed

 

I've changed morning pages to evening pages, when I do them, because other things have gotten in the way of writing first thing in the morning. I still do sometimes, but mostly the journal writing comes at night. 

Is that a good idea?

I'm not sure. I've written so many volumes over such a long time. They prod me, the comfort me, they process me, they inspire me. It's some little bit annoying to think that no one will ever read them. For goodness sake, I don't even have time (or the inclination) to read them so why would anyone else? Unless there is value in the work and a joy in the treasure hunt. 

That could be fun.

Lately as the ticking of mortality peppers the soundtrack of my psyche, I think about once greatly well known people who you hardly ever hear about any more because they are gone (no, dead not gone. They didn't go to Cleveland for the week and they aren't missing.) Bernard Shaw. Gertrude Stein. Salvadore Dali. Ginger Rogers. Hellen Keller. The list is endless. High quality and successful folks now blips in the radar screen of eternity. 

That's life.

Some long gone folks have even passed from fame to loss of favor -- not just forgotten but officially cancelled for non-currently-acceptable ideas. Maybe that makes sense, and maybe its hubris to arbitrate now. But we do that a lot now, don't we? We judge. We criticize. We arbitrate. We decide.

That's premature.

We don't know how it all turns out if it even turns out at all. Believers believe we know how it ends -- but even that's not the ending because there is an entire eternity after that and what happens then hasn't been written about. Yet. Not that we'd have the time, or inclination, to read thru it all. It must be thousands of pages.

Like my journals.

-- doug smith

Picture This (writing prompt)

1. Find a random picture.

2. Write non-stop for 5 minutes and only 5 minutes.

Scene Prompt: The Window

Scene for two people in a public place, like a restaurant, or an office break room, or a place of your choosing.

Prompt:

"I couldn't help but look thru your window, and I saw what you did."

Go.

Scene Prompt: In the Basement

 

You wake up on the floor of a strange basement. You see two doors. Behind one door you hear strange noises. Behind the other door you can see a person or body of a person on the floor.

Go.