Prompt: Anagrams

 

 

 

So, in my constant search for new and ever more inventive ways to procrastinate on my writing, I stumbled across this little tool:

http://wordsmith.org/anagram/

The Internet Anagram Server (a.k.a. I, Rearrangement Servant) will, for sure, provide you with hours on end of dilly-dallying that is not writing.

It can also, however, provide you with some really interesting word combinations that make for the start of a really interesting piece of writing.

Put your name, or your character’s name, or your dog’s name, or whatever into the Anagram Server and see what kind of unusual word strands you get.  Can you make them make sense in a piece of writing?

My own name brings up some pretty great combinations, such as:

Barely Crayon Jamming

Cry, Glimmer Joy Banana

Join Almanac Berry Gym (which I’m sure exists somewhere in New England)

Jar Me My Cannibal Orgy

and (my roommate’s personal favorite) Bare Clammy Ninja Orgy

 

Make sure to use the advanced options, which will allow you to make anagrams with words you particularly like.  One of my favorite words was Magical and I will admit to also putting Orgy into the “required words” slot.

Anyone come up with anything good?

 

 

 

Creative Commons love to http://www.flickr.com/photos/bartmaguire/ for the photo! Thanks!

Prompt: Rasputin

One of my favorite themes is re-imagining history.  The stories of history have so many holes of details waiting to be filled and re-envisaged.  There is so little we know about most of history, about the people and the details.

It is, after all, a story.  We may piece together the best we can using clues, sleuthing like backwards-looking Sherlock Holmes.  But the real life of a story is in the details and often times when it comes to the past, the details are mere conjecture.  That conjecture is necessary to bring history to life.

Also, history holds great characters.  Take Rasputin, for example.  Lover of the Russian Queen. A pious figure in Russian history, and also Russia’s greatest love machine, apparently.  These characters themselves can make incredible stories, ala Abe Lincoln, Vampire Hunter.

Who are some of your favorite characters in history?  How can they be brought to bear on the story telling of today?  What kinds of situations would you like to see them in?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvDMlk3kSYg&w=420&h=315]

Also, this song is super dance-able.

 

 

 

 

You can see me trying my own hand at this prompt here:  http://lightningdroplets.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/akhenaten-winter-2012/