 Action/Adventure: February 03, 2010 Issue [#3528] |
  Action/Adventure
This week: Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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Greetings! Welcome to this week's edition of the WDC Action & Adventure Newsletter!
Each day is a blank page, an adventure to be written, action and re-action ~ be pro-active. Writing itself is action ~ creating an adventure for your readers to embrace in prose or verse. I've been a frequent guest editor here and, I suppose like the guest who leaves behind first a pencil, a notebook, a copy of The Old Man and the Sea, StoryMaster and StoryMistress decided I might as well have a room of my own.
So, I'm honored to join the Action & Adventure team and hope you continue to invite us to your virtual homes to explore with us this versatile, creative and vital form of writing in both prose and verse
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Fellow writers, don't you sometimes feel like you're cast adrift in a miasma of words and images and your pencil feels like a lead pipe and your fingers forget where they placed the keys (on the keyboard) and you hunt for words and letters that suddenly become alien symbols . Well, take it a step farther - what if you really were cast adrift; apart from your friends, co-workers, family, and you had to not only figure out where to find a piece of paper, but where to find your next meal, or fresh water. And, what if you weren't alone - if there were 'others' competing for the same food and water and, oh yes, shelter from the elements?
If this should happen to me, either by virtue of being tossed off a yacht (yeah, like I'd be invited on one ) or by morphing those lost words and letters into a solitary adventure in prose or verse, I can create for myself and my readers a Robinsonade.
No, it's not a libation on ice with a cute umbrella, although you may figure out how to fashion such a treat from what your brain to pencil (or keyboard) uncovers. It's a literary term (yes, putting the letters together) for a story or poem fashioned after Daniel Defoe's The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Defoe write his fictional memoir of a man shipwrecked who has to fend for himself as a castaway on a tropical island back in the early 1700's and it gained immediate popularity globally.
Sorry, folks, Robinson Crusoe wasn't a real person (spoiler here), although some literary historians postulate that Defoe arrived at the idea for his 'memoir' from reading the account of a person who had been shipwrecked and lost for several years. Haven't you at least once been incited to write a story or poem after reading something in the news
The term itself, 'Robinsonade,' was coined in Germany a couple of decades later and embraced by French writers during the latter half of the 18th century, before being memorialized in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1847 citing to Defoe's story, "These outcasts from civilisation, the adventures of most of whom would furnish abundant materials for a Robinsonade."
Today, a Robinsonade commonly describes works in which a hero is snatched without warning from the comforts of civilization, must survive in difficult circumstances through wit and personal stamina. This type of story may pre-date Defoe by centuries, but let's move forward with our exploration of this adventure.
Since the 19th century, the Robinsonade has branched out into three main subgenres: a utopian or dystopian political novel (i.e., Lord of the Flies, the desert island fiction adventure story, and an adventure story aiamed at children and adolescents.
What you will find (and create  ) in such a story or poem:
 Isolation
A new beginning
Encounters and engagement with natives
A commentary on society (positive or denigrating)
A storyline that either rebuilds or rebuffs civilization
Nature as an unfriendly host
Exploring a new world (either on earth or elsewhere)
Note that Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe's 'memoir' in first person, a deviation from most current action-adventure writing; but often a comfortable venue for emerging writers. Robinsonade's can be conceived and written in first person, or just as effectively in limited omnipotent viewpoint, or third-person, showing the immediate action and reaction of the character(s).
Whether you choose to write a fictional 'journal' or envision being cast adrift in an epic verse, or as a member of a crew on a 'Three Hour Tour' (Yes, Gilligan's Island was a comedic Robinsonade), why not give it a try and share your adventure with us. But first, read on for some adventures, both serious and comedic, envisioned by members of our Community. I've managed to keep us on our planet this week, although the journey can be as far as your muse creative dares to travel.
Write On!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading |
Check out a few stories of those lost on deserted islands (or facsimiles of the like) and how they cope, survive, perhaps even thrive. You will see some 'acting-out' (a screenplay) and even some comedic relief envisioned by our versatile group of writers.
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#1017920 by Not Available. |
| |  | The Sea Witch (13+)
A ship smuggler finds himself stranded on a not-so-deserted island. (Critiques desired!)
#1381580 by Silwolffe  |
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#1454456 by Not Available. |
Now, having shared some creative adventures with others in our Community, what if . . . ~
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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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Thank you for sharing this exploration with me. I'd like to share a comment from one of our members in response to a prior exploration a couple of weeks ago ~ and invite you to check out Krish's portfolio and join in the adventure ~
From Krish D.
You said: "Avoid first person viewpoint if possible"
I wanted to say that I am happy you said this. I've found that so many others have been doing this that when I first joined, I figured I'd try it too. It seemed easier, and more accepted, but I didn't like doing it because it's not my style.
Thanks for your article, it helped to keep a fresh perspective on my story.
Thanks for writing! If you check out this week's exploration, first person can work in an adventure story, but remember to keep the action moving with vivid verbs and, even in a journal or memoir format, avoid lengthy reflection and backstory. Most of all, have fun writing your adventure, and your readers will do likewise.
Until we next meet, thank you for your welcome and wish you each joy in creating your adventures, and find your way back to this newsletter next week, when your host will be esprit .
Write On!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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