Comments on: Story Starters: The Writer’s Idea Bank http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2008/12/story-starters-the-writers-idea-bank/ Ridiculous Pursuits, Solemn Matters Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:28:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Writer’s Idea Bank (Pictorial Edition) http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2008/12/story-starters-the-writers-idea-bank/comment-page-1/#comment-13447 Writer’s Idea Bank (Pictorial Edition) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:44:50 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=2413#comment-13447 [...] just gotta get moving at the keyboard, but have nothing to move you, you can turn for instance to automated brainstorming aids. You might play with reCaptcha word pairs (like here or here), or take a handful of simple emotions [...]<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('13447','Writer’s Idea Bank (Pictorial Edition)'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('13447','Writer’s Idea Bank (Pictorial Edition)','[...] just gotta get moving at the keyboard, but have nothing to move you, you can turn for instance to automated brainstorming aids. You might play with reCaptcha word pairs (like here or here), or take a handful of simple emotions [...]'); return false;">Quote</a></div> [...] just gotta get moving at the keyboard, but have nothing to move you, you can turn for instance to automated brainstorming aids. You might play with reCaptcha word pairs (like here or here), or take a handful of simple emotions [...]
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]]> By: John http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2008/12/story-starters-the-writers-idea-bank/comment-page-1/#comment-2073 John Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:01:27 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=2413#comment-2073 Sarah: Providing ASL translators in the early 1980s -- before the ADA started to "sensitize" employers -- was pretty progressive. How great was it that your brother landed at IBM, then? Pretty great! And then there's the Dark Side, naturally... that they discontinued the program LATER. (Giant corporations are soooo erratic about this sort of thing.) I had a Second Life account a few years ago -- right after SL opened its doors, when researching the technology for a column I wrote about XML. I think I visited that world maybe twice... Now I bet it's much more interesting (and correspondingly much harder to pry one's mind away from :).<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2073','John'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2073','John','Sarah: Providing ASL translators in the early 1980s -- before the ADA started to \"sensitize\" employers -- was pretty progressive. How great was it that your brother landed at IBM, then? Pretty great!\r\n\r\nAnd then there\'s the Dark Side, naturally... that they discontinued the program LATER. (Giant corporations are soooo erratic about this sort of thing.)\r\n\r\nI had a Second Life account a few years ago -- right after SL opened its doors, when researching the technology for a column I wrote about XML. I think I visited that world maybe twice... Now I bet it\'s much more interesting (and correspondingly much harder to pry one\'s mind away from :).'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Sarah: Providing ASL translators in the early 1980s — before the ADA started to “sensitize” employers — was pretty progressive. How great was it that your brother landed at IBM, then? Pretty great!

And then there’s the Dark Side, naturally… that they discontinued the program LATER. (Giant corporations are soooo erratic about this sort of thing.)

I had a Second Life account a few years ago — right after SL opened its doors, when researching the technology for a column I wrote about XML. I think I visited that world maybe twice… Now I bet it’s much more interesting (and correspondingly much harder to pry one’s mind away from :).

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]]> By: Sarah http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2008/12/story-starters-the-writers-idea-bank/comment-page-1/#comment-2047 Sarah Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:26:57 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=2413#comment-2047 My brother worked for IBM back in the early eighties. They had a cool human resources program whereby they provided ASL translators when he needed to talk to his boss or attend meetings (he's deaf). He learned alot about programming, but then IBM discontinued the interpreter program so he lost the gig. On a happier note, he's now the head IT guy at the School for the Deaf here in the Bay Area, and loves it. I don't know why this post reminded me of that- except that he likes these kinds of programs too and I plan on sending him this post. Now he's a big Second Life fan...<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2047','Sarah'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2047','Sarah','My brother worked for IBM back in the early eighties. They had a cool human resources program whereby they provided ASL translators when he needed to talk to his boss or attend meetings (he\'s deaf). He learned alot about programming, but then IBM discontinued the interpreter program so he lost the gig. On a happier note, he\'s now the head IT guy at the School for the Deaf here in the Bay Area, and loves it. I don\'t know why this post reminded me of that- except that he likes these kinds of programs too and I plan on sending him this post. Now he\'s a big Second Life fan...'); return false;">Quote</a></div> My brother worked for IBM back in the early eighties. They had a cool human resources program whereby they provided ASL translators when he needed to talk to his boss or attend meetings (he’s deaf). He learned alot about programming, but then IBM discontinued the interpreter program so he lost the gig. On a happier note, he’s now the head IT guy at the School for the Deaf here in the Bay Area, and loves it. I don’t know why this post reminded me of that- except that he likes these kinds of programs too and I plan on sending him this post. Now he’s a big Second Life fan…
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]]> By: John http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2008/12/story-starters-the-writers-idea-bank/comment-page-1/#comment-2034 John Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:24:51 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=2413#comment-2034 marta: Let me know if you need help figuring anything out. (Well, about the Google home page anyhow -- with the headache, you're on your own. :) They changed the interface a little while ago and I haven't quite adjusted to it. And I've got WAY too much stuff on the home page to pay attention to most of it, most of the time. But it is cool.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2034','John'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2034','John','marta: Let me know if you need help figuring anything out. (Well, about the Google home page anyhow -- with the headache, you\'re on your own. :)\r\n\r\nThey changed the interface a little while ago and I haven\'t quite adjusted to it. And I\'ve got WAY too much stuff on the home page to pay attention to most of it, most of the time. But it is cool.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> marta: Let me know if you need help figuring anything out. (Well, about the Google home page anyhow — with the headache, you’re on your own. :)

They changed the interface a little while ago and I haven’t quite adjusted to it. And I’ve got WAY too much stuff on the home page to pay attention to most of it, most of the time. But it is cool.

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]]> By: marta http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2008/12/story-starters-the-writers-idea-bank/comment-page-1/#comment-2022 marta Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:09:15 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=2413#comment-2022 Just because of you and Kate I'm going to see about starting this google home page thingy--though all these ideas are making my head hurt.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2022','marta'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2022','marta','Just because of you and Kate I\'m going to see about starting this google home page thingy--though all these ideas are making my head hurt.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Just because of you and Kate I’m going to see about starting this google home page thingy–though all these ideas are making my head hurt.
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]]> By: John http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2008/12/story-starters-the-writers-idea-bank/comment-page-1/#comment-2019 John Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:22:54 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=2413#comment-2019 Kate: I had a Burning Lines installment almost ready to go a few days back. But he (or she) who hesitates there is often lost, and by waiting an hour to ponder the installment, I ensured it would be unusable. :) (Congratulations on having wrought such a monstrosity, btw.) Jules: There are authors and there are authors. You may think, say, "working on a book" equates to "being an author" but YOU are definitely an author. Or if that makes you uncomfortable, think of it as an author in the works. So I'm not at all surprised you liked the Idea Bank thingy!<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2019','John'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2019','John','Kate: I had a Burning Lines installment almost ready to go a few days back. But he (or she) who hesitates there is often lost, and by waiting an hour to ponder the installment, I ensured it would be unusable. :) (Congratulations on having wrought such a monstrosity, btw.)\r\n\r\nJules: There are authors and there are authors. You may think, say, \"working on a book\" equates to \"being an author\" but YOU are definitely an author. Or if that makes you uncomfortable, think of it as an author in the works. So I\'m not at all surprised you liked the Idea Bank thingy!'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Kate: I had a Burning Lines installment almost ready to go a few days back. But he (or she) who hesitates there is often lost, and by waiting an hour to ponder the installment, I ensured it would be unusable. :) (Congratulations on having wrought such a monstrosity, btw.)

Jules: There are authors and there are authors. You may think, say, “working on a book” equates to “being an author” but YOU are definitely an author. Or if that makes you uncomfortable, think of it as an author in the works. So I’m not at all surprised you liked the Idea Bank thingy!

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]]> By: Jules http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2008/12/story-starters-the-writers-idea-bank/comment-page-1/#comment-2016 Jules Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:57:07 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=2413#comment-2016 So, I'm not an author, but that' s just cool as hell.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2016','Jules'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2016','Jules','So, I\'m not an author, but that\' s just cool as hell.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> So, I’m not an author, but that’ s just cool as hell.
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]]> By: Kate Lord Brown http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2008/12/story-starters-the-writers-idea-bank/comment-page-1/#comment-2015 Kate Lord Brown Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:32:40 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=2413#comment-2015 Oh dear lord, I know ... what is going on over there? I find it fascinating ... what happens when the story is developing along normal patterns then WHAM someone throws a surreal element in there (clive). It's like watching ink seep through water. Good will out!<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2015','Kate Lord Brown'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2015','Kate Lord Brown','Oh dear lord, I know ... what is going on over there? I find it fascinating ... what happens when the story is developing along normal patterns then WHAM someone throws a surreal element in there (clive). It\'s like watching ink seep through water. Good will out!'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Oh dear lord, I know … what is going on over there? I find it fascinating … what happens when the story is developing along normal patterns then WHAM someone throws a surreal element in there (clive). It’s like watching ink seep through water. Good will out!
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]]> By: John http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2008/12/story-starters-the-writers-idea-bank/comment-page-1/#comment-2010 John Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:42:40 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=2413#comment-2010 Kate: That's a GREAT one! Now if only they could come up with a way to let the author seed the generator with keywords -- like, oh, say... dwarf... and key... and hamster...<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2010','John'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2010','John','Kate: That\'s a GREAT one! Now if only they could come up with a way to let the author seed the generator with keywords -- like, oh, say... dwarf... and key... and hamster...'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Kate: That’s a GREAT one! Now if only they could come up with a way to let the author seed the generator with keywords — like, oh, say… dwarf… and key… and hamster…
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]]> By: Kate Lord Brown http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2008/12/story-starters-the-writers-idea-bank/comment-page-1/#comment-2009 Kate Lord Brown Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:31:55 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=2413#comment-2009 Ha! You won't believe it - I've just added it to my iGoogle homepage and the first one starts: 'Describe Romeo and Juliet breaking up with a box of erotic novels.' I love this ... the Surrealists would have loved this. Great link John!<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2009','Kate Lord Brown'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2009','Kate Lord Brown','Ha! You won\'t believe it - I\'ve just added it to my iGoogle homepage and the first one starts: \'Describe Romeo and Juliet breaking up with a box of erotic novels.\' I love this ... the Surrealists would have loved this. Great link John!'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Ha! You won’t believe it – I’ve just added it to my iGoogle homepage and the first one starts: ‘Describe Romeo and Juliet breaking up with a box of erotic novels.’ I love this … the Surrealists would have loved this. Great link John!
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