B3: Questioning Belittle

Why do people belittle one another?

It's an easy question to ask, but an uncomfortable one to answer. Some of my characters do it - one in particular comes to mind, but I've never understood why he does it, and that's always held the story back. I know he's a dick, but I don't know what made him that way.

Why do real people belittle each other? To make themselves feel better? Learned behavior? A weakness for an easy joke?

I wish I knew. Maybe I could stop myself from doing it, as well.

A3: Questioning Amazing

What does it mean to be amazing at something? Is it a relational judgment? Amazing suggesting: "better than almost everyone"?

Or, is being "amazing" something more internal and personal - something maybe only one other person in the whole wide world can see?

Hopefully, we are all told we are amazing at some point in our lives - in response to a song sung, a diorama, the span of a running leap, a project completed under deadline. But what is it to be deeply amazing as a fact of life?

Can anyone make that claim?

Z2: Zone

Zone not one set of friends from another; keep not the extended members of your family away.

W: Who, What, Where, Why, When?

Apparently, I neglected to write my 50 "W" words - perhaps the lingering pain of the Bush II years?

It's timely, however, as I've been considering next steps for the 3rd round of the alphabet game. My thinking of late has been that it might be more vibrant a project if I were to write questions using the required words (A3, B3, C3, etc) to see if it sparks any interest in the wider world.

The blog is intentionally internal facing, but maybe it's time to open that up?

Alex

V2: Virgin

Virgin he would always remain.

U2: Unified

Unified in their mission of adventure, the two boys set out heartily just after breakfast, determined to reach the far edge of the field.

T:2 Terrific

I accidentally typed "terrrific" with three Rs, and it made me nostalgic for youth, sweet cereal, and long mornings waiting on Mom or for friends to arrive.

Terrific, it is, to remember the younger days, but much harder to recapture their joy.

S2: Synecdoche

Seriously?

Synecdoche, a word I'm not even certain I can spell. (It's spelled correctly here, thanks to google.)

A synecdoche (which I want to pronounce sin-eck-doshe) refers to a specific thing used to reference the whole, or the whole to reference a something specific. The example I read was "Croesus" for "a rich man" or "rich men."

So how does one start a sentence with "synecdoche"?

Maybe this is the exercise today, to think about the idea of synecdoche. What "specific" do I use to refer to the whole?

R2: Regain

What does it take to regain your faith in yourself? Regain your commitment to exercise when you'd rather lie on the couch? Regain your enthusiasm for the novel that keeps slip-sliding away?

Regain your commitment little grasshopper: Only you could have let it slip away.

Q2: Quick

Another less-than-inspired day. I keep looking at the new novel, then looking away. One sentence, Alex, just one:

Quick now, children, into the cupboard, you must'nt dilly-dally all day.

P2: Pontificate

What do I have to pontificate about? Nothing, really. I'm feeling guilty for not working yesterday afternoon - a wasted exercise, no doubt. And wondering about the best way to navigate forward professionally these days, at a job I *mostly* love. Pontificate feels pointed, and a bit pompous (all words, at least, that start with "p"!), and not like the opening of any sentence I'd naturally write.

"Pontificate?" He asked, his voice rising in indignation? "Pontificate," he huffed. "Not I!"

Ah well. Not every day can win.

O2: On

Another dullsville word, but -- and why is this the case? -- another easy one. Are the least interesting words the most apprehendable? Do our minds, whether as writers or speakers or just people navigating a given day, automatically default to those simple constructions ("on," "the") that are most populous?

It lends a certain additional value to this process, for me. Yes, it's a bit of a game to keep me writing, but it's also keeping me writing: deeply engaging with words.

On his way into the shop that morning, Nate's foot and leg gave way for a tiny, terrifying second, as if all the strength had left him, as if his ability to move forward was being toyed with or yanked away.

N2: Nascent

Words are fun, after all. What a neat run. And "N" seems appropriate as I've rediscovered the novel project starring "Nate." Here we go:

Nascent as relationships go, there was something airy and expectant in the way they walked together down the trail between the trees.

M2: Mustard

This one makes me happy, since this morning I actually wrote! And what I wrote about was Nate and his family. And Nate runs a deli. And delis are certainly one place where "mustard" is not in short supply.

"Mustard, mayo-naze, ket-chup, pickles, pickle relish, and shredded lettuce," says Reston, repeating the same paranoia-reassuring litany he requests for his turkey and salami sandwich every day.

L2: Limn

Finally, a word that excites me - even its sound has a shimmering, eye-opening feel: "limn."

Limn this man on canvas, daughter, but take care to capture both his physical carriage and his soul.

K2: Krypton

Krypton is the extinct home of Superman, and rocks from the planet can kill him; What is my kryptonite, my achilles heel?