This week on Fable and the Verbivore, we’re sharing an unscripted episode where we perform a writing exercise taking something that is socially normal and making it slightly unexpected.

Over the last year, we’ve done a wide range of topics — from writing about disabilities to writing with empathy —that took a lot of energy and preparation. We’ve also been doing this podcast for almost 5 years and as we celebrate our 250th episode this last month we felt it would be fun to do a series of episodes getting back to our roots of how this first began — through unplanned conversations about life, books, and the writing craft. So, for right now we’re continuing to see where our conversations take us, without planning in advance what we’ll talk about.

This idea was originally inspired during the episode from two weeks ago on preparing for conferences or book signings using the anecdote that author Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club) brings plastic severed mannequin arms to set out on his table and give out to attendees. It’s weird and creepy, but does a great job of representing his brand. We continue last week’s discussion on sticky images and surprising details that can help your work feel distinctive and stand out, by doing an on-the-fly thought experiment about how to change something typical (like brushing teeth or gargling) to make it surprising or memorable.

In this conversation, we talk about different thought processes that can help create something new and interesting. Things like:

• Switch out a typical detail for a more flavorful one - Having a character gargle with a shot of alcohol, blood (for a vampire), garlic (for a vampire hunter), or tabasco sauce or a wasabi drink (clean out sinuses)

• Have a character react surprisingly - Having a character turned on to another character gargling beer (New Girl)

• Create a desire to know the why behind a certain detail - Why does the character gargle beer? (Is it to experience more of the flavor?)

• Look at the unique preferences you have. Adjust it and add them to a character. (Ex. Kids only being able to use strawberry toothpaste to brush their teeth) - Would a vampire brush his teeth with blood, but only O+ blood?

• Notice what quirks you or those around you have that are a little peculiar or absurd - Deciding not to use toothpaste at all to brush teeth; Must brush teeth in rhythm to song “Staying Alive”

• Change or dial up a normal thing to make it funny or creepy (Ex. Having a small stock of items that are no longer made) - A cabinet filled with 100 toothbrushes of all the same type and color

• Adjust the context of the action - Can a character only brush teeth when sitting cross legged on the floor; Having a character gargle in a restaurant

Towards the end of this discussion, we talk about how little details help characters feel more real and relatable and connect us to stories. One of the best ways to come up with these types of details is to set your brain the task of noticing the interesting, particular, and absurd details all around you both in real life and in the entertainment you interact with such as books, movies, and Tv shows. Set your attention in a certain way or vein, and often ideas will come to you riffing off of the things you notice.

We hope you enjoy this episode and the more improvisational format of this series and that some of this connects with your own journey!

Keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!

Into the woods,

Fable & The Verbivore

Notes:

Fable and the Verbivore continue their conversation about sticky Images and surprising details by doing an on-the-fly thought experiment about how to take something normal (like brushing teeth or gargling) and make it surprising or memorable. This idea was originally inspired during the episode on preparing for conferences or book signings using the anecdote that author Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club) brings plastic severed mannequin arms to set out on his table and give out to attendees. It’s weird and creepy, but does a great job of representing his brand.

Books, Films, and Music Mentioned:

• New Girl Season 2

Music from:https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)