4/30

Number 4--
Looking for an easy way to throw yourself into new thought patterns and create a draft that surprises you? Try this Up and Down technique and see what happens.

1-Choose any phrase or sentence that happens to be in your head – the title of a song, a television show, or even a common saying and write it vertically down the page. Then turn the process around and write the same phrase from the bottom up.
Then use these pairs of letters in one of several ways:


my phrase is "So long and thanks for all the fish"

2-Write two-word lines using the pairs as starting letters for each word.
my word list.

secrets hidden

overtly sanctioned

liberating information

offensive fabrications

never enlightening

ghost hallucinations

altering temptations

nurturing lamentations

diverted landmines

targets acquired

hunting restitution

already overachievers

negligibly formatted

karmically secure

soothing kinetics

forensic narcissism

outraged acrimony

ritualistically hounded

academically tragic

linguistic dynamics

liberal neutrality

thunderous appetite

honeycomb gluttony

empirical nothing

federal obituary

Ignorant lummox

sovereign oscillation

human sacrifice

3-Start the line with a word using the first letter and end the line with a word using the second letter.


As you can see, each approach gave the same idea a slightly different twist. Once you have a draft completed, go ahead and break the pattern for revision. Draft isn’t cohesive and not salvageable as is? Pull some of your best language and free write from there. The possibilities are endless!

My revision

secrets remain hidden

overtly sanctioned atrocities opposed to

liberating information in favor of

offensive fabrications

never enlightening the dullard population

left breathing the ghost hallucinations

of bait and switch altered temptations

and the nurturing lamentations of forgotten soldiers

diverted landmines and theoretical snipers with

targets acquired

left hunting restitution

already weeping overachievers

negligibly formatted for their distasteful duty

karmically secure as patriots instead of men

soothing kinetic bolt action motion

experts in the art of forensic narcissism

and pretending to outraged acrimony

ritualistically hounding the lost and

academically tragic

bereft of linguistic dynamics

and willing to be swayed from the comfort of liberal neutrality

leaving a misguided and thunderous appetite

the honeycomb gluttony of starving grizzly bears

lost in the forest of an empirical nothing

and the lip service of an eloquent federal obituary

given by an Ignorant lummox

spinning promises and platitudes of sovereign oscillation

its all just fancy words for human sacrifice