A way to write verbs and nouns without using a dictionary

[Theglasshouse]

I present to you this webpage which I am using.

https://randomwordgenerator.com/noun.php

You can generate even adjectives.

You can create character goals by generating verbs. What does the character want? Go to the generator. I posted how to create some character objectives a while ago. This is a free association exercise, it won't hamper your creativity. That is you still do the brainstorming and writing.

Need verbs when you writing needs them for prose? This could help maybe in that regard too.

Let's imagine mail is a verb. To create an objective simply add the word "to" so that you can create a scenic objective. "To mail something important." That is the external objective. The internal objective you decide upon.

Look for nouns and so forth. It was an awesome find for me, because I struggle with concrete imagery.

Character relationships is what I am researching how to do in my story by creating conflict between two people. This can do just that.

The exercise is taken from will dunne. While it is not a book for beginners since you need to know how to brainstorm something for example. It's a good way to imagine. By completing some writing exercises such as the one above.

[Darkkin]

This is akin to using computer software to writing poetry...It takes the human element out of the creative process. Look into reading Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut. I can understand using something like this if someone struggles with reading and writing because of a brain difference like dyslexia or sensory processing, but to writers who have no such issues, or those who have learned to cope with their learning complications, it is a total cop out. Good writing takes time and conscious effort and intuitive leaps don't happen when a computer is hand you the words. That is not writing, it is passive acceptance. Writing is an active process. Something like this completely negates the process of conscious critical thought. How is it going to actively help a writer improve if it does not actively engage the brain in solving a problem. It hands them an easy answer, which is a one size fits all and that is never the answer.

And a dictionary, it takes the same amount of effort to look up a word and see that it is both a verb and a noun, or a noun and an adjective.

[Theglasshouse]

I know your opinions on writing. I will say this isn't a lot of work for me. I respect your opinion on writing being spontaneous. As an exercise, I write dialogue but need to know the characters better to write a better story.

Here's a quote from a well-regarded writer on this that sums up my feelings on writing.

" You see things; and you say Why? But I dream things that never were; and I say Why not? "

George Bernard Shaw

People use a dictionary and a thesaurus to write stories sometimes to get inspired. I understand you said you like to write spontaneously. I do both.

I wrote a 3000 word story but didn't like it. I brainstormed my way by writing dialogue.

I will copy the exercise that I am using, part of it, because I am rewriting a story. Even if you disagree, you can always use a generator not as a planner but as a way to gain inspiration. For example you say it is a cop out for prose maybe. I may agree there.

This is part one of how to generate a conflict. Some people use character interviews, to understand their character. I use this as a way to understand mine.

1. In a particular scene (relationship episode) pick five verbs, nouns, or adjectives, to express a character's wish.(desire)(w- you can think in terms of objectives) for anyone relationship. The scene could have two or more characters in it. Do this for all the relationships in the play.

Source: tools and techniques for character interpretation, a handbook of psychology for actors, writers, and directors written by (robert blumenfeld) page 171.

Look up the book, to see the rest of it. I know writers shun books for the creativity aspect needs to be spontaneous, but I think my story will be better by being more original than before. I am trying to stir the reader's emotions. I eventually will post that story when finished if you ever want to read it in the workshop. It is the very next story.

This isn't the only website that does this. (generate random words)

Yes I have some dyslexia it seems from all the feedback I get. Picking the right word could make a big difference for me. The thing is this lets you see things that are not there. That is the writer's muse. I respect your process and will not think your opinion is wrong. If I am giving the wrong advice, then I don't know. This is what works for me to get my writing going.

[Darkkin]

Vocabulary is something is developed through use and exposure to words. e.g. Reading and writing. An example, when I wrote my piece Lullaby of the Selkie, I sat down with my thesaurus and looked up words pertaining to water and its actions. Some of them, I did not know, so I looked them up. Not on google, but with an old fashioned dictionary. I learned more from reading the cross referencing material than I would have from a random word generator.

One thing I would love to see is the results of Functional MRI scans done on people in an active state of writing, those running without a word generator or prompt, and those using the word generator. It would be interesting to see which parts of the brain are actively engaged during either process.

Like I said, it might work for some, but there are people who want to be writers and will use something like this as a shortcut. Some people need the visuals, but for most people the creative process is hugely random. A word on a sign, a falling leaf, an improbable thought. Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer does a decent job making the process tangible.

[Theglasshouse]

Thank you. That's honest. It's a fair analysis of what could go wrong in the hands of someone with a lot of rules. My next story uses this as an exercise. But my brother works a lot. I don't know when it will get proofread. While you didn't agree 100% at least my advice if bad will be critiqued. I will let anyone tell me why this won't work. It's fair. If you disagreed this way, I think that is an opinion worth writing for people to consider.

[Darkkin]

Opinions are neither right nor wrong, but for someone to become generally efficent at something, the brain has to become active in the process. Neural pathways established through stimuli such as forming a word, saying a word, or reading a word. Input from the senses, audio and visual. The whole idea of use it or loose it. Much like the studies showing the creativity of younger generations of children in the US are steadily declining, due in part to the amount of information readily available, but also because of an over regimentation of structured education. Free play is not something all children excell at. For some kids, they need to be stimulated chronically whether with a screen or personal interaction. Phone addictions as an example, for both children and adults. No phone, they don't know how to respond. Issues like this are why I tend to be leary of tools that are based on technology. We become dependent and we lose or never develop the ability to make the leaps of imagination. Each individual is unique, but if a basic, neurobased method can be established in childhood, it stands individuals on firm foundations, should technology not be readily available. To be able to pull ideas, concepts, conversations, whole novels out of thin air without the aid of computers is becoming more and more rare among the population.

In Gail Saltz's book The Power of Different she looks at people with biological brain differences. Studies done with the fMRI, and she interviewed individuals with the disorders, (I hate to call it that because I am ASD and ADHD), but according to the DSM they are psychological disorders...Anyway, one of the things she focused on was how people with this differences, (ADD, ASD, ADHD, Bipolar, Schizoaffective/Divergent thinking, Depression, and Dyslexia) process information and how they adapt to issues that arise from the biological brain differences.

For some, something like this could be a boon, but from the aspect of one with a profound brain difference, it takes away the fluidity and supernova connections of insight. The moment when goosebumps raise and the imagination feels like it is on an endorphin spiked high. An idea like a singing stone, whose songs become sentient living creatures because they are imbued with such potent vitality. An idea born at the breakfast table merely from reading the name of a sew machine and liking the sound of it. Or an imagined conversation between a little boy and a girl in an old painting, the inciting source, annoyance at the city for cutting the center branches out of countless maple trees to make way for electrical cables. Small things, usually missed by the masses lead to some of the greatest ideas. Words on a screen, you are in a fixed time and place, the fluidity of the imagination is much further away than it is when these small moments struck. Looking up words pertaining to the ocean, full immersion in the creative constructs.

[Theglasshouse]

I think you know where creativity comes from. I haven't read the other book. The one you read on the creative process. I think digital resources are a boon for me. It may not be the solution as you said for everyone as you pointed out. There's a whole school of thought that suggests something else. I wish I could tell researchers as you said, try to give people more options to determine if they can be creative. The word bank I used helped me finish it. I have a friend, a member on this forum who will read it. I don't know how well I did. Emotion is the most important element of writing fiction for me. If I can find a way to insert it into a novel or a long story. Short stories retain people's attention spans more it seems. It's rare when a novel gets people's attention since the emotional core must be strong.There are studies I disagree with that say autistic people have less mirror nerves. To feel emotions. I kind of disagreed with that study since I am bent on becoming a writer.

I saved the words, I used from the word bank in case anyone is curious. I wrote a story that is of a different genre that I wanted since science ficiton is tricky to write.
(I took out just one word)

enquire
reach
follow
correspond
recruit
exam
garbage
marketing
passenger
mall
1. stranger
2. speaker
3. garbage
4. child
5. chapter
6. hat
7. comparison
8. description
9. elevator
10. medicine
Unhappy, conscious, helpful,embarrassed, boring, powerless, flippant. Astonishing, fearful

That being said, not everyone will get the same result and I agree with that. Creativity is associated with different things.

[Darkkin]

Those with autism don't comprehend social cues very well, which can impare and impede both communication and social skills, but it is often much more complicated than that. Mirror neurons are also only one of the theories of autism, largely discredited at this point. There are issues with sensory input and processing, and a myriad of other nuances specific to the individual. If one is looking for a well rounded read on autism look into Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism by Steve Silberman. And it takes all kinds of writers to make the world go round.

I am a human filing cabinet, weird information, locations of anything and everything I handle, filed and stored with frightening accuracy, (handy working at a bookstore, scary and weird anywhere else), but that morass of seemingly random information is a tangible construct within my mind. (Think string theory in 4D, everything is connected, balanced...) To access the information when I'm working on a project or not really focused on anything, I put music on repeat and set a repeat motion, keeping time with my music, whether it is my balance ball at home, spinning in a chair in the breakroom at work, or on a swing at the park. Everything syncs, the world falls away and imagination kicks in with a random phrase on repeat. It keeps up, a cadence in my head until I follow the idea to whatever end it leads.

It is how I ended up with a tribe of shapeshifters who wield elements through song, rabbits with glass bones, warrior unicorns, astral travelling foxes made out of scraps, pirate pelicans, a postmaster dodo, and irrational numbers that make perfect sense in geometric constructs that rest undetected by normal minds. Most people see the ability of hyperfocus as a mere side effect of the imbalances and imperfections in my brain, but those who do not have it don't understand the places and pieces that it can and has lead to. I don't know about other people, but to have access to such a pocket of ordered chaos is a huge boon to my own creative process. In all honesty, I think as bizarre as my brain is, the rapid access to the randomness in my head is as good if not better than an algorithm because the words and information are all based on personalised context. The original context of the ideas, the impressions, and the themes carry over.

And yes, it would be possible for me to write something using a word generator, but it would not have the same quality as my other work, quite simply because it is something I was not overly interested in the writing. If it is a subject that interests me, like this one, I tend to go filing cabinet mode. Pointless tangents that I won't shut up about, but with a word bank I can produce a decent, readable piece without straining too much. Will it be interesting, probably not, because it is preselected content, not something I had an active role in choosing. A bit like standardised testing. I can do it without much conscious effort, but it will fit squarely in the box, when in reality I tend to be an icosagon, with brain wiring so far out in left field I'm coming back around to the right side.

But as you said, for some people it is enough to get them pointed in the right direction. Road signs, if you will. I also think that some of the quality that comes out of things like that is determined by the interest of the writer in the provided content. Given that the creative process is something I find interesting, I have a decided opinion on the subject, which is why I keep nattering on when I probably should have wrapped up this post three paragraphs ago. And while I don't like the idea of word generators, it has sparked an interesting discussion. Agreeing to disagree.

Just some thoughts.

- D.

[Theglasshouse]

I am indeed aware of social cues being confusing because of autism spectrum disorder which I know since as I mentioned I was diagnosed. That's emotion or rituals in my view that go undetected. Go be something as simple as seeing someone crying over something (unresponsive). Or how not to talk about the same topic all the time. It's the social ritual, and poor facial expression recognition, and bad timing. Not minding how other people do feel and bad emotional readers in general.Not knowing how to react to feelings, situations, and other small details.

I also talk about specific subjects that are very narrow of interest to very few people. But someday if I am not feeling blue, I can manage a conversation that can make me seem like a different person. Just because of schizoaffective disorder. My brain when it feels happy can concentrate better. I have poor facial recognition too. Everyone seemed to know me in high school except I did not know them. Which is funny. It still happens to me. Lately, I am not feeling blue, I have peak days when my mood has been good enough to talk to anyone even the most unsociable of people. Higher order interests, in some are we become obsessed with topics. We cannot stop learning. I consider it a way to entertain myself, but it is like a double-edged sword. Lonesomeness is another personality trait it seems that happens with people with aspergers. I was born into a family with 9 uncles and 3 aunts. (mother is included in the list of children) So for the time being I was lucky on that side of a potential problem growing up.

You seem a very boorish person and know a lot of different things (read a lot that is and know things pertaining to creativity.). I don't know I wish sometimes I could be funny in real-life with people, and relate more. Some people have used devices to feel emotions in some universities for people who lost some of it in cases such as Aspergers. Anyways the creative side I hope of my brain is active. The right and left hemispheres of the brain operate differently I imagine. I was reading about it in Gabriel Rico's book. But the theory of that is now considered outdated on how the brain works. But the subconscious is indeed important and I want to write that way. A very fixed approach will never work to bring out the best and most original story out of a person. I'll await the day if I can find a better way to write since I am different I do know.

Thanks for sharing your opinion. The more food for thought the better it becomes and even easier hopefully writing could become instead of being difficult.

[Darkkin]

Sorry if comes across as boorish, one of the ritual traits....Finding out anything and everything I can about things that incite a response out of me. The information intake is massive, often overwhelming to most people. Obscure concepts and histories absorbed almost be accident. And it is a big part of why I tend to avoid people when I don't have to interact. Quite simply because they do not understand, nor do they have the patience to listen to how Tangent A connects to Concept Q. Sounding like an encyclopedia without meaning to, can make conversations difficult. People assume: Know-it-all when in reality is a translation matrix adaption to cope with other shortcomings. Empathy learned through the eyes of fictional characters as direct correlations are made along the linear foundations of archetype amd psychology.

Most people don't want to deal with such a profound level of weird, which is understandable. As such awareness to nonverbal cues heightens because one is leary of strangers and alien responses. Action and reaction, avoidence so much better for all involved. But just because I don't interact doesn't mean I don't notice. Patterns, repeat behaviours, nuances in context and intonation in written form. A more effective, but also limited type of communication, (if one pardons the pun)...The nonverbal cues are entirely absent, but it levels the playing field, words and their context the only medium.

Full, instant access to the matrix. Global pattern connection, (left and right hemisphere usage and access). And the creative process, just like playing an instrument is (in most cases) a global ability with neuron pathways drawing from both sides, not just one. It is the information and pathways of the matrix that determine the context of the individual. Something the majority of the population never thinks about, considers, or sees. As Smeagol said to Frodo in the Two Towers. 'I found it. The path through the marshes. Orcs don't know it; orcs don't use it. They go round for miles and miles.' Like a fixed perspective the path around the marshes, followed out of habit and normal neuron patterns. The path through the marshes, one sees into the deeper ecosystems, not just an immediate area along the known trajectory. It is why most people laugh at jokes and understand metaphors. The concepts are ingrained in the brain's wiring, precoded context, they don't have context information saying, 'Hey, this is not logical within the determined parameters of this construct...'

With thinking like that, why should I inflicit it on others? And yes, I understand if it comes across as boorish, but it is not intentional, it is a side effect of my translation matrix. A matrix derived from too much reading, too little sleep, and abnormal neuron function. It is like looking at two ends of the creativity spectrum with these posts. It would be interesting to see where other members land. From total free form to the boons of technology.

- D.