Month: March 2018 | the Wakefield Doctrine

Six Sentence Story -the Wakefield Doctrine-

March 22, 2018 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

Starting early, as I have my regular computer in the shop and typing is surprisingly difficult and typo-prone on a different key board.

This is, of course, the Six Sentence Story.

Our new host, Denise requests that all who would participate follow six very simple rules: write a story six (and only six) sentences in length.

We can do that, right?

Sure we can.

(Did someone say, ‘cyberpunk’? Sure… lets go for that genre this week)

The word?

Activate.

The hydraulic sneeze of a toilet somewhere on another floor brought a fragile consciousness, my bare legs moved slowly over the sheets, seeking the warmth of the old water-bed; I didn’t want to get up, preferring the, use-once-and-throw-away embrace of blankets that smelled of girl, passion and the hint of ether.

Favored by the well-heeled bio-enhancement tourist seeking basic creature comfort and post-op care, the hotel’s morning sounds triggered the memory-image of an attractive woman warning me that the anesthesia might mess with my memory.

“After a brief recuperation, you’ll be the proud owner of the latest in cerebral augmentation,” the surgeon’s real eye was beautiful, the scars on her other temple extended into her dark hair and were done in a deliberately elaborate pattern, like a 21st Maori with a medical degree and a scalpel. “It’ll override your HHS ID implant and read ‘100% country club genotype’, at any security checkpoint in the world,” she paused a second, “If you’re short the credits, I’m willing to take that multi-phasic corneal implant in your left eye as a partial trade; not that I care, but why the stealth, frankly this tech is over-the counter these days.”

“Well, doc, my grandfather was what they called, back in the 20th, a private eye and he was the best at what he did; nothing artificial in him other than society’s conditioning to consume and, maybe, the desire to impress any girl who gave him a second look; I’m just trying to uphold the family tradition. So what say you leave my cornea be, put the thing in my head, activate it and lemme go home; I got me some social network secrets to steal.”

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: the Wakefield Doctrine

TToT -the Wakefield Doctrine-

March 18, 2018 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

‘Cottage in the Woods’
(landscape orientation)
Like an old, worn, threadbare blanket, the blue of the lake can be seen through the winter trees that hold the earth into the shape of a steep hill.
As if a decoration on a wedding cake, placed with determined but un-skilled hands, the cottage shows in the center-middle-left of the photo.
With the help of a winding (question-mark-wannabe) path that begins in the foreground, we see the only color (other than the uncertain-dark-blue) of the lake.
The front door is painted in a shade of red a very shy fireman might pick out if sent to the store.

Remember that cottage in the woods from last week’s TToT? No, not ‘Cabin in the Woods’.. (an excellent movie with screenplay by one of my writer heros, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard ...cottage in the woods.)

1) the Wakefield Doctrine. A new person at my office. A young woman and a clark. I’m funny about keeping the Doctrine out of my workplace (at least it terms of day-to-day business and such) but she is such a clark, I couldn’t resist. A couple of easy ones, you know, examples of scotts. (lol) In any event, at the beginning of the week she looked up as a left my office and said, “I thought of you this weekend. There was a situation at the supermarket and I thought, ‘Thats got to be one of those scotts.”

2) (1.5) …We continued to talk. I suggested some of the characteristic of the scottian worldview. Finally as I left, I said, (with the raw enthusiasm that I exhibit almost exclusively when talking about our little personality theory), “The single thing that made this all worth the effort? When we realized that the peculiar form of aggression that rogers exhibit around clarks, what we refer to as ‘lashing out’ was all about them and not us. Most clarks, particularly in the workplace, when subjected to a roger lashing out, carry away a certain amount of uncertainty. We tend to think that, perhaps, it was justified somehow. The fact that we as clarks could identify with this feeling lead to the realization that it was not us, it was them. The Wakefield Doctrine, by making this perspective available (and the sharing of a common experience), allows us to drop the guilt and uncertainty.” I concluded, “It was one of the best things to happen to me and to see it happen for the other clarks who realize it. That alone made all the rest worthwhile.”

3) Went back out to the Cottage in the Woods yesterday. (Picture at top of Post). Not so much that I had to, but because I could and I sometimes need to remind myself of that kind of thing.

4) Josie Two Shoes for her un-flagging efforts at keeping this bloghop up and running, available to all.

5) something, something

6) Una

The Black-and-White World between Winter and Warmth.
(Landscape orientation)
Una is the darkest of shapes in this photo of white snow, resisting decay. The trees along the top third of the photo, standing like primitive mathematical symbols, seem resigned to merely exist until a greater purpose for their simplicity can be discovered.
That incipient higher level can be seen in the near-shapes of the letters of Una’s garden along the bottom third.

7) Phyllis. Who at the moment is playing the new family approved pasttime, online jigsaw puzzles. (Thanks ‘15 and Meowing‘ …a lot.) lol We have a new family pet in the house, a totally hyper, multi-piece monkey ready to jump out of the computer and onto our respective backs. Speaking of the Wakefield Doctrine… it’s not a surprise that Phyllis’ skills far surpass mine. It’s not that I don’t have superior visualization, I do, its simply a matter that what she has and I do not, is a personal reality in which everything is meant to fit together. The work of a roger playing a jigsaw puzzle is assembly. The work of a clark playing a jigsaw puzzle is creation. There is no certainty in the world of the Outsider. That produces a need to discover (which, in the eyes/mind of a clark is synonymous with creation) the world inherent in the shapes of the puzzle pieces.*

8) * seeing how this is a Doctrine Weekend I’ll let you in on a little secret. These online games are excellent in that (they) allow you to use your own pictures. Phyllis achieves her remarkably quick time most often when using photos of the house and Una and Bella and ‘all things home’. I seem to do best when I use photos from Victoria’s Secret ad campaigns. (As they say, ‘If it works, don’t fix it.’)

9) This Space Available (for anyone on the fence about participating in this here bloghop here who might benefit from a ‘leg up’, just write your grat in a comment and we’ll totally paste it here.)

10) Secret Rule 1.3

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: personality types, psychology of personality, the Wakefield Doctrine

Finish the Sentience Friday -the Wakefield Doctrine- “Its a stream of consciousness theme this Friday and who doesn’t enjoy a good stream of consciousness post, well, I’ll tell you who…wait, is this thing on?”

March 16, 2018 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

Here is this week’s official Finisher’s Guidelines and Orientation Packet

We’re on tonight with this week’s Finish the Sentence Stream of Consciousness post! Write 5 minutes on the prompt word “Laughter.” So hoping to see you there. We can do this! It’s just five minutes right? Write!
The linkup will go live tonight at 10pm and remain open through Sunday evening. Link up with Kenya G. Johnson or moi here:
kenyagjohnson.com
findingninee.com

Lets try something a little different. No, really!

Five minutes?! Do they mean like, five…. half of ten….

shit

hey, you know the hardest things about doing an SOC, at least doing it the ‘right’ way? It that ‘corralling effect’. Like when you were a kid, in summer at the swimming pool (not your own backyard one, but a country club or some place where they had rules and one of the rules was adults only for 15 minutes on each hour and then, the kids, knowing that the time is approaching try their best not to crowd the sides of the pool and jostle for position…. like that.

But that’s not the damn topic this morning (and it’s important that I get on topic, ’cause I’m using an actual timer on my phone and theres a minute left!!)

Laughter… it’s a near spiritual condition, like great sex, as soon as you’re aware of how successful (and good you are at it)…it stops and becomes something mundane…

Time’s up!!

…well, perhaps not my most polished FTSF. But, what’s a writer gonna do.

I know what I’m gonna do (yeah, this is the ego getting all Kanye on my keyboard right here and now. I. Am. Not. Going. To. Read. What. I. Wrote*

*til way later in the day. (yeah, ooh baby, you dangerous!)

Thanks.

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: the Wakefield Doctrine

Six (Dark and Stormy) Sentence Story -the Wakefield Doctrine-

March 15, 2018 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

A new name on the masthead of the Six Sentence Story bloghop. Denise, writer of girlieontheedge takes the helm (wait for it*) from the able (but very busy hands) of zoe (aka ivy) at Uncharted.

(On a more personal note, It was during zoe’s tenure that I got involved with this ‘hop. And, in no way a coincidence, my efforts at ‘this writing thing’ advanced by leaps and bounds. zoe has that rare gift of encouraging others to realize their potential, well beyond what the person may imagine is possible. I will always be grateful to zoe for that…. and her little dog too! Thanks, z)

Hey! Remember last week’s pre-writing musing about maybe I should try to write a Six in other genres? Well, in case anyone thought I lacked self-confidence (justified or not), lets give it another shot.

This week’s prompt word:

CURTAIN

Doctor Thaddeus Throckmorton, backlit by the roaring hearth in the overly large, but under-furnished great room of Edgarton mansion, took refuge from the pleading eyes of the man and his wife by polishing his spectacles, as if, by doing so, he might regain a view of the modern world, a world he was certain of when he left his office in London.

“Our daughter Daphne, always a healthy and happy child, has barely stirred from her bed since,” glancing briefly at her husband, as if confiding a terrible secret, Caliphony Edgarton continued, “she attended the party given in honor of the Viscount’s return from abroad.”

Her iron will, only recently surrendered to the siege of whispered rumour, lay as helpless as the linen handkerchief that she twisted impotently, as if attacking a threat she was certain was padding low through the gardens and lawns of the Edgarton estate.

Up the broad staircase through double-locked doors, their only child lay on her bed, awaiting the sun’s return from beyond the seemingly endless night; the wavering candlelight birthed shadows across the curtains. Suddenly the wind howled and battered the stone mansion, and the pleats and folds were drawn outwards through the french doors.

Daphne stirred in her sleep, a blush rose from her chest, laying claim to the delicate features of her face, make-up applied with a skill and passion beyond her eighteen years; the billowing of the curtains slowed and took the shape of a man.

*arrhh! Joules!

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: the Wakefield Doctrine

Two tools -the Wakefield Doctrine-

March 12, 2018 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

Hey. A little beta reading help?

I have a favor to ask of any Friends of the Doctrine who may be stopping by today (Monday March 12, 2018). I belong to a writers group (Rhode Island Romance Writers) and I volunteered to write an article for the April newsletter. It goes without saying, at least for you guys, that, as a clark, I’ve been in a total ‘knock down/drag out’ with my inner critic, from the moment I watched my pen sign me up; the demographic of the RIRW is about 80% published, (traditional and self-published) authors. However, equally unnecessary to mention is, that from the day I hit ‘Publish’ on the first post of this here blog here, I’ve been doing things that should totally have me hiding under the bed, waiting for the well-meaning real people to leave.

So, without introduction, this is the article I will be submitting (probably tomorrow). If anyone has any thoughts, suggestions and/or feedback, I’ll totally appreciate it. (er… no, I won’t be including the music. Thats just for you, ’cause, well, this is a Doctrine post.)

Two Perspective-tools Helpful in Creating Locations and Characters; One, Fun and Practical, the Other…Kinda Weird.

There is an old saying in the blogosphere: ‘Nail the title and the rest will be a piece of cake’. Granted, the mantle of tradition from a world in existence less than twenty years, still has some novelty-shine detracting from it’s gravitas. Nevertheless, I’m here, writing this article only because of the time I’ve spent in the world between the wires. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Allow me the safety blanket of the time-honored incantation, ‘The purpose of this article is to…’

…Offer a perspective on writing opposite-gender characters and suggest a fun way to explore strange and exotic locales. Bear with me, as one of these two paths requires much more effort than the other.

(btw. I volunteered to write this article for only one reason, and it had nothing to do with a burning desire to help my fellow writers. I am writing this for the same reason that I joined the group; i.e. one of two fundamental laws of magic, the Law of Contagion. My understanding of this principle suggests that by associating with those possessing qualities, skills and abilities I desire, the likelihood of my acquiring them increases. And so, the volunteer thing… you should have heard my inner critic when I put my name in the article sign-up book!)

Part II

Creating complex, detailed and engaging characters is every fiction writer’s goal. They are the actors on our paper stages. Our challenge in creating these characters shares much with the experience of watching a skilled actor, we strive to help the reader forget that it is all make-believe. Of course, given how few of us are, as Joss Whedon writes in the screenplay of the movie, ‘The Avengers’: ‘Take that suit off, what are you?‘ ‘Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.’ we sometimes encounter a problem. Interesting characters have interesting qualities, not always those we writers possess. But then, part of the fun of this writing thing is imagining what it is like, (or, at a higher skill level, how it feels) to be a billionaire (or) a ketchup-packet-soup drinking poor person; how might a character of genius-class intelligence respond if they find themselves emotionally involved with a person on the other slope of the bell curve. We write our scenes and interludes, plots and climaxes such that our character’s actions and responses read as both reasonable and credible. It usually works out.

And then, there is gender.

Writing opposite-gender characters can be risky. Writing opposite-gender characters by ‘leveraging a perspective’, can be a lead-pipe cinch. The risk I’m referring to is the dissonance felt by the reader when an opposite-gender character’s behavior is incorrect. Usually it’s not so much that the Reader might throw your book across the room, shouting, “No way he’s a woman! Colonel Mustard is a man and always has been!” Rather our story would suffer a diminution of the character, the opposite of our ambition (of) creating the people in the make-believe world of our story. Of course, if we write from the POV of a same-gender character, that risk is greatly reduced.

Suppose you find yourself writing an opposite-gender character in the 1st Person.

(Full Disclosure: I stumbled into this whole writing and trying-to-get-published thing by accident. I was quite happy writing my blog, explaining my personality theory, the Wakefield Doctrine, for online friends and fans. Only problem was, my writing skills left something to be desired. In the drive to write a better blog post, I stumbled onto a story idea; I decided to follow the tale and see where it lead. To my surprise, (and initial consternation), my main character was a young woman, Sister Margaret Ryan (yeah, I know). Trouble was, the more I wrote, the more she seemed to tell the story. Naturally I followed along, very much the faithful Mr. Watson. Needless to say, with a female main character, I needed to find a way to ‘write her’ without distracting the Reader.)

Examples of cross-gender Writing Fails:

your female character prefers to sleep in the nude, all the time. Male readers will buy that.

your male character meets (your) heroine and thinks, ‘What beautiful hair she has, the waves and shine, my god! I’m in love!’ Female readers might like that thought.

So what’s the tool mentioned in the title? Find yourself a personality theory predicated on a person’s relationship to the world, as opposed to categorizing behavior and traits and such. Be sure to find one (personality theory) that is gender-neutral. Most, popular ‘personality theories’, are merely self-reporting of a person’s behavior. Not so useful. Those that focus on the relationship between the individual and the world around them can be useful, provided we can extrapolate across the gender gap.

For the purposes of this article, I will use an anecdotal, artisanal, personality theory called the Wakefield Doctrine. It proposes that everyone is born with the potential to experience one of three characteristic realities: the reality of the Outsider, the world of the Predator and the life of the Herd Member. At an early age, (the Wakefield Doctrine holds), we all settle into one, (and only one), of these ‘worldviews’. We proceed to grow and mature, developing interpersonal skills and social strategies appropriate to the world as we are experiencing it. The advantage of this schema is that it is gender neutral. All that is required is to apply your culture’s expectation of acceptable behavior per gender and you’re all set! The predator (personality) is aggressive, action-oriented, mercurial and not given to introspection, however, in the current culture, physical aggression is considered acceptable in men but not women. All the that drive to be aggressive, action-oriented, etc remains, whats a girl to do? This same extrapolation is applied to the Outsider and Herd Member personalities. Understanding how a person relates themselves to the world around them makes a minor detail like writing accurately opposite-gender characters as easy as… making a scott laugh, getting a roger upset or mis-understanding a clark.

The second perspective-tool?

Google Street View. Want to write a small town in the high desert of Arizona? Pick a town (any town) and get down to street view. Click the arrow ahead of you and drive the streets of Winslow or Holbrook and be sure to ‘swivel’ the view, the small stores and shoppes are worth the effort in and of themselves.

Thank you for your time reading this article.