NOTHING BUT THE FACTS....
Facts are some of the most interesting (and useless) pieces of information.
A CAT HAS 32 MUSCLES IN EACH EAR
As I said, interesting but what good does it do us?...and of course we all know someone that will dredge up facts at a quiet dinner amongst friends or at a party. Throw them at us and then sulk when we don't give thunderous applause for now knowing the scintillating fact that-
A JELLYFISH IS 95 PERCENT WATER
.
But sometimes when faced with a blank page, when a case of the dreaded writers block strikes, facts can be a starting point for a piece of writing. Could be a short story, a poem, even the basis of a novel. All you need is a fact that intrigues you, that sets you thinking 'what if'.
EVERY PERSON HAS A UNIQUE TONGUE PRINT
Hmm, the mind begins to swirl....a detective story where the tongue print is the key to finding the killer? Could they cut off a tongue in the same way they burn the fingers of victims - making it harder to identify a body? Do identical twins have similar tongue prints? Questions are raised.
AN AVERAGE PERSON LAUGHS ABOUT 15 TIMES A DAY.
So who is average? (I'm beginning to count how many times a day I laugh to see if I'm 'average') And consider a character that hardly ever laughs, are they then considered 'not normal'? And if the fact they rarely laugh is one 'strange' characteristic, what else would they have? Most would assume they would be a sour and lonely figure but what if they were a very sociable and outgoing personality? Why then this lack of laughter? Is it a medical condition (does such a thing exist?) More questions are raised.....and ideas abound.
I've used facts a few times in my writing. A fact that intrigues me, or makes me think.
IN ORDER TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE HEART, THE LEFT LUNG IS SMALLER THAN THE RIGHT.
This was the starting point for my short story Heartsease- published in Short and Twisted 2010.
I began to think of the significance of the heart - I mean the left lung is smaller to make way for this very important organ. And with this thought came a character in the eternal search for love, any kind of love - and then of course what happens to the heart when love is never found, never returned. When that fairytale of happy ever after never occurs...
HEARTSEASE
“In order to make room for the heart, the left lung is smaller than the right.”
Imagine, if you will, a fairytale setting. A precious newborn child is held by adoring parents. A glimmer of light and the ubiquitous uninvited fairy appears, a vision in tulle and dust motes. A tiny wand is waved and a curse is cast. The baby grows, from child to woman, a belief set forever in her heart. ...
Try using a fact for a jumping off point. It's amazing where it will lead.
A CAT HAS 32 MUSCLES IN EACH EAR
As I said, interesting but what good does it do us?...and of course we all know someone that will dredge up facts at a quiet dinner amongst friends or at a party. Throw them at us and then sulk when we don't give thunderous applause for now knowing the scintillating fact that-
A JELLYFISH IS 95 PERCENT WATER
But sometimes when faced with a blank page, when a case of the dreaded writers block strikes, facts can be a starting point for a piece of writing. Could be a short story, a poem, even the basis of a novel. All you need is a fact that intrigues you, that sets you thinking 'what if'.
EVERY PERSON HAS A UNIQUE TONGUE PRINT
Hmm, the mind begins to swirl....a detective story where the tongue print is the key to finding the killer? Could they cut off a tongue in the same way they burn the fingers of victims - making it harder to identify a body? Do identical twins have similar tongue prints? Questions are raised.
AN AVERAGE PERSON LAUGHS ABOUT 15 TIMES A DAY.
So who is average? (I'm beginning to count how many times a day I laugh to see if I'm 'average') And consider a character that hardly ever laughs, are they then considered 'not normal'? And if the fact they rarely laugh is one 'strange' characteristic, what else would they have? Most would assume they would be a sour and lonely figure but what if they were a very sociable and outgoing personality? Why then this lack of laughter? Is it a medical condition (does such a thing exist?) More questions are raised.....and ideas abound.
I've used facts a few times in my writing. A fact that intrigues me, or makes me think.
IN ORDER TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE HEART, THE LEFT LUNG IS SMALLER THAN THE RIGHT.
This was the starting point for my short story Heartsease- published in Short and Twisted 2010.
I began to think of the significance of the heart - I mean the left lung is smaller to make way for this very important organ. And with this thought came a character in the eternal search for love, any kind of love - and then of course what happens to the heart when love is never found, never returned. When that fairytale of happy ever after never occurs...
HEARTSEASE
“In order to make room for the heart, the left lung is smaller than the right.”
Imagine, if you will, a fairytale setting. A precious newborn child is held by adoring parents. A glimmer of light and the ubiquitous uninvited fairy appears, a vision in tulle and dust motes. A tiny wand is waved and a curse is cast. The baby grows, from child to woman, a belief set forever in her heart. ...
Try using a fact for a jumping off point. It's amazing where it will lead.
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