 For Authors: February 19, 2013 Issue [#5524] |
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This week: Observations Over the Weekend Edited by: Fyn  
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To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” ~~Elliott Erwitt
“If you make listening and observation your occupation you will gain much more than you can by talk.”~~ Sir Robert Baden-Powell
“There is no more difficult art to acquire than the art of observation..."~~William Osler
“The Artist is he who detects and applies the law from observation of the works of Genius, whether of man or Nature. The Artisan is he who merely applies the rules which others have detected.”~~Henry David Thoreau
“Observation - activity of both eyes and ears”~~Horace Mann
“Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically
and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.~~”Marcus Aurelius |
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Observations over a Weekend
1. Those who are not off on the weekends seem to have a different mentality than those who are looking forward to two days off. It is the ‘It’s just another day’ crowd who either are jealous (I sure used to be!) or don’t have ‘Miserable Mondays’ because they are off and sleeping in! Just an observation on how what days a week people work or what days they have off, or the shifts they work does color their view points on various things. Just something to keep in mind….
2. “Why do all these people feel the need to be at Krogers/Walmark/Pick-a-store on Friday evening, anyway. I need to get to work and these lines are ridiculous.” Because it is payday, we just got off work, tossed the money in the bank and can now buy food. Seriously. Seems logical to me….
But the lady in the excellent business suit was unbecomingly steamed because there were folks doing their weekly shopping in line ahead of her. She could have gone to the ‘handful of items’ lines, but they were slammed too.
Timing. It is all in the timing. Personally, there are so many bigger things in life than getting upset over five minutes in line. I have no clue which way she was headed…but just possibly, she missed being in a humongous forty-five car pileup out on 275 because she was in line. Who knows.
3. Friday begets purely gleeful souls! Those who weren’t on their way to work, were busy corralling the children, tossing in bags of apples and wending their way around our store which, I might add, is in the midst of a mega-major remodel and I don’t think ANYthing is in the same aisle it used to be in.
No one could find anything and I swear they’ve played musical aisles since the last time I was here. (two days ago.) It was like we were all on a massive scavenger hunt with customers helping customers and it was actually the most fun my hubby and I have had shopping in ages. For some strange reason, the kids weren’t cranky, folks were in silly, happy moods and even being tired, we left the store in great moods. Good way to start a weekend!
4. Then we stopped for gas, which is now up over four dollars a gallon and the gripe-a-holics were out in force. *raises hand…guilty* Mentally adding up two vehicles worth of gas and grumbling under my breath, I heard my hubby comment to the man at the next pump something out back when gas was fifty cents a gallon. That started a story swopping fifteen minute long yack fest that lasted until folks in line got crankier and the guys had temporarily exhausted their tales of cars when they were teenagers forty years ago. Point being, my grumbles vanished and I heard a new story about hubby that was so wrong! And I laughed.
5. Personally, I work roughly 50-60 hour work-weeks. So does my hubby and tons of other folks. Usually, by ten at night, we are both ready to go face down and crash. I vaguely remember Fridays being a cause to stay up and party to the wee hours of the morning. Now, when we do, it just sort of happens.
As in when he offers to play the drums for a bit. He’ll build a fire, we head downstairs, kick the music on and he plays. Life is good. “Only going to play for maybe half an hour, Hon. My hands a kinda sore.”
And the neighbors pile in (hearing the music) and the next thing you know, there are five or eight extra bodies downstairs, and the beer is flowing, people are talking/singing/dancing and suddenly it is the wee hours of the morning.
Now the next morning, we somehow are still awake at the usual 5:30 AM and while coming to over coffee, wonder what happened to going to bed early. He calls our 30-something neighbor about something or other at 8:30 AM and wakes him up. Much teasing ensues over just who it is that is getting old.
6. Once it was light, we discovered it had snowed overnight. Hubby was out snow-blowing everyone’s driveway by 9. Groggy people (who’d been at our house until said wee hours) couldn’t believe he was awake, let along functioning and able to be out taking care of the whole neighborhood. First one out of their driveway left and returned with doughnuts for everybody. People were out in the street in coats and jammies drinking coffee and eating doughnuts. Kids and dogs romped. Beautiful Saturday morning.
7. Naps. Marvelous invention, naps are. Think most everyone on our street opted for a Saturday siesta. I know I crashed for about three hours. Woke up, made coffee and we started Saturday all over again. Including breakfast for dinner! Someone called wanting to know if he would be playing drums again last night. He looked at me. I glared back. “Nope, not tonight,” he answered cheerfully. We did dishes, washed laundry and were very domestic. By ten in the evening, we were both sawing logs.
I received an email last time around questioning the reasoning behind my ‘Observational’ newsletters. I shall answer, yet again, why I write these. Observations are a writer’s stock in trade. Being aware of the visual, aural and interactional surroundings are where a writer can learn so much of the varied behaviors of people. When we write, we create characters who need to have depth. They, in essence, need to physically take up space, interact, have opinions, fortes, foibles and both sense and non-sensible attributes. In other words, they need to be real, believable and concrete. Observing a wide variety of people, their mannerisms and individual characteristics, helps a writer build a vast bag of ‘possibles’ to draw from. So I offer up my observations in hopes they may strike a chord and remind writers of
1. people they might know,
2. to encourage them to be observant while they are out and about and 3. to glean as much about humane nature as they possibly can
because it will have a positive effect on their ability to write characters that are both true to nature and to themselves. This is, what writing is all about, isn’t it? Creating people, scenes, and interactions that the reader can and will believe in.
Do I come out and say I am doing this because of blah blah blah every time? Nope. I expect folks to be smart enough to figure this out all by themselves. I expect people to draw conclusions and realize that this isn’t a class; there are no quizzes but that the desire to write better is intrinsic to their being.
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short flash fiction piece - December 2008.
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Inspired by Carl Sagan, a personal journey that had stimulated the core of my psyche
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"Write a short love story about cannibalistic fairies. And it needs to have a duck."
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An adopted girl receives a rusty, old key. Will it unlock her life's mysteries?
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Quick-Quill  commented: Another interesting and very informative NL. You gave food for thought in a way that means I will print it and then use it as a tool. I know a few people that SHOULD read it, but who am I to point that out? 
That's why I write 'em. We all can use a reminder now and then! 
monty31802 said: Have to say: I like this newsletter. Not sure I agree with your Grandmother unless she was referring
to mankind, no other comments.
Assuming you meant the comment about 'two ears; one mouth' - yes she was!
DRSmith writes: Well, you did it again, Fyn. Yeah, I know... been a fan since day one, but just when I think I've seen it all, you manage to deliver yet another ice-cold pail of water square in the face. This NL is full of eye-openers. I especially liked "the desk"... never thought of that way, but so apropos. Then came the elusive little magic bunny, the two ears and one mouth, and good ol' Murphy sporting his ever-present mischievous grin...ALL of it with brilliance in delivery and substance that has already occupied a few of the many empty nooks in this aging brain.
Thanking you! I try.
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