Writing Right with Dmitri: Lazy Writer Day
Created | Updated Nov 13, 2016
Writing Right with Dmitri: Lazy Writer Day
Yawn, yawn, yawn. The weather's turning colder, the sky is grey, and I'm bored and dull-witted. And then I'm supposed to write something inspirational to writers. I'm not inspired. What can we do?
I know. Let's practice our imaginative skills again. Wait while I find us a picture. Off to raid the Library of Congress. . . they're used to it. . .
Here.
This photo was taken in June, 1944 in New York City. 1944 would explain the uniforms. It's in a theatre, so live performance, presumably. We don't know what they're watching. The archivists have no more information for us than what's on their cards, so we're on our own.
Oh, goody. That means we can make it up. Let's play with this thing.
Cartoon Version
Exercise 1: Pretend it's a cartoon. Add thought bubbles. Figure out what different people are thinking. When you do this, you could try to be:
- Historical: what's going on in the world that they might be thinking about?
- Humorous: what might they be thinking about each other, or what's going on at home while they're in the theatre?
- Psychological: Some of these people might be couples, or dating. What might be going on in their minds?
- Implied: What might they all be watching? How might they be reacting to what they're seeing? You could imagine something logical, like a variety show or patriotic appeal. Or, you could imagine something totally surreal, like a philosophy lecture by Slavoj Zizek.
If you want to send in the pictures, I promise to load them and include them in the h2g2 Post. Why not? It's a legitimate creative exercise. And it might inspire some of you to become cartoonists. (We have room, and I could use the rest.)
Getting Inside Their Heads
Exercise 2: Get inside some heads. Most of these people seem to be enjoying what they're watching – but not all of them. Look closely at the faces. Do you spot one where you see something else going on? Imagine being that person. Make up a story about why they're reacting differently to what's on the stage.
Alternate version: Count the faces that aren't smiling. Some of them aren't amused. Why not, we wonder? Iffy jokes? A reference that touched a nerve? Are some of the audience more evolved than others? Is it a man/woman thing? Can you make up a story about that?
Fashion Commentary
Exercise 3: Use this picture for snarky commentary on 1940s fashions.
Alternate exercise: Decide someone in this picture is providing evidence of time travel. Write a script for your Youtube exposé explaining why.
Starting an Adventure
Pick someone in this audience. Figure out what their story is. Starting with their attendance at this theatre, follow them out the door and into their lives. Make up a tale about what happens to them, and what they do about it.
You know, the more I look at that picture, the more I become convinced that the right-hand woman on the front row is wearing a hairpiece of some kind. Some or all of that has to be a wig. And I'm wondering why. She looks like a kind person, I get that kind of vibe. . . I can sort of hear an Eastern European accent. . . I know: she's a married lady from Brooklyn of the Orthodox Jewish persuasion. Hence the wig. The blond young man on her left is her son, who's in the service. She's proud of him. He's on leave, and he takes his mom out for the evening. . .
The woman behind her wearing a scarf is really Danny Kaye in disguise. He's infiltrating his old neighbourhood, and if he doesn't go incognito he'll be mugged for autographs. . .
The guy with the cigarette in his mouth should get punched for annoying indoor behaviour. But he won't. . . it might be fun to go around NYC in June, 1944, and notice all the people smoking. . .
Okay, yeah, that's the lazy writer's cure for writer's block. It's pretty effective, though. And just think: the US taxpayers are footing the bill for your inspiration.
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