Threadbare souls

I saw this quote today that got the mental wheels turning:

"Often behind silken apparel lies a threadbare soul." (unknown)

How would that play out in a character in a novel? In their relationships? Can you think of a character, either in film or literature, that this would sum up? If you're looking for something to get your gears turning today, give this one a shot.

I remember reading (some time ago) Forever Amber, a novel written in 1944 but set in the luxurious courts of 17th century England. (It also had the distinction of being banned as pornography in 14 states when it was published so let that be your guide about whether you want to invest the time to read it or not.) My lasting impression of the heroine as I closed the back cover on the book was "Wow, she still doesn't get it." Gone With the Wind, similar. Some sense of this too, in Vanity Fair. Why do you suppose the first characters I think of are women? Is it that they are more likely to guild the lily to hide the soul? What male characters display the same traits?

Really, my question is this - can you be satisfied with a character that has a threadbare soul?

Fancy words & fanciful words

I came across something today that might develop into a real writing tool for me.

I was posting a comment to a friend's blog today and it was one of those that requires you to enter a password before posting. The "word" that came up was REMIDDLE.

I like that non-word. It seems delightfully familiar but of course I don't have a clue what it means. And as I let my mind wander to try to find a meaning, I found a sentence, then a paragraph forming about the process of "remiddling." It had a fantasy flavor to it and I may take time to play with it some more.

Yesterday, it was VADAL. Sounds adjectival, don't you think? Now it turns out that Vadal is actually the name of a community in India. I hadn't know that. So I could do some research and choose to write a short story set in Vadal, or I could work on a setting where the appropriate - the only - descriptive word for some noun would be that it was "vadal."

Keep your eyes open. Those passwords might just open the door to some truly vadal writing.

Turn up the heat

I mentioned in my last blog the temperatures that are jumping around above the 100 degree mark in my area. It's summer and probably soon the sky will start to haze over with forest fires or thunderstorms (or both, or in sequence).

But I got thinking about this today - the impact of something is always notched up when we turn up the heat. For example:


Molten lava vs. solid rock
A sheen of sweat vs. a cool facade
Melted chocolate vs. solid chocolate with a dusty haze
A roaring fire vs. a drizzling rain
Burning desert sands vs. murky ocean floor
The heat of an argument vs. rational discussion
A sizzling steak vs. raw meat
"hot-headed" vs. "icy, null and void"

So it begs the question - how can I ramp up the temperature to give my writing more sizzle?

A pictorial prompt

One of the blogs I love to follow is Organized Doodles by Rick Green. His sense of humor is a delight and I enjoy his drawings. I even heard a hint that he might be considering moving into book illustration! Rick's "doodles" always spark a story for me, even when he doesn't share the background. And he's pretty generous with his drawings if you flatter him a little bit. (Okay, check out his blog for the real terms.)

Here's one for you to get your creative currents stirring:

My story about this aromatic avenger involves a shortage of blueberries. What story would you write about this caped critter?

"Super Skunk" (c) Rick Green. Used under his copy-and-share-if-you-dare policy. Thanks, Rick!