tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post8066740053254030018..comments2024-03-07T03:54:50.068-08:00Comments on Tyrean Martinson - writer, daydreamer, teacher, believer.: Laurel Garver's 5 Reasons to Write Letters Tyrean Martinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15356604721537744361noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-70546983708123649072016-08-12T05:49:45.591-07:002016-08-12T05:49:45.591-07:00He sounds like a great pen pal even if the IRL vis...He sounds like a great pen pal even if the IRL visit was awkward . . . :)<br />Tyrean Martinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15356604721537744361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-41483756203063267482016-08-10T15:18:50.675-07:002016-08-10T15:18:50.675-07:00Years ago, I used to write letters to my friends a...Years ago, I used to write letters to my friends and family ally the time. Then they pretty much stopped replying back because of technology. I'm one of those people who long for the old days.<br /><br />I've been thinking of writing letters to myself. Like to a younger or older me. I think that might be fun and a good form of therapy. Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-43455447165779585802016-08-10T14:54:20.305-07:002016-08-10T14:54:20.305-07:00Aww, so sad that he got girl-phobic. I had a reall...Aww, so sad that he got girl-phobic. I had a really awesome guy penpal I'd met at Christian camp when I was 14. We corresponded well into the college years. I couldn't pull the fake identity on him, since we met IRL--and again when I was a senior (it got a smidge weird then, since I'd outgrown my uber-awkward phase and he just stared and stuttered most of that visit. LOL.)Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-1747985880656674532016-08-10T14:50:04.339-07:002016-08-10T14:50:04.339-07:00Ha! Love that idea, Tamara. My mother's mantra...Ha! Love that idea, Tamara. My mother's mantra in the face of everyday disasters was "it will make a good story later." You're really honing those narration skills--especially the tension building and comic timing--with your holiday missives. Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-80421981755657101892016-08-10T14:47:46.622-07:002016-08-10T14:47:46.622-07:00Tapping into the fun you had with it as a kid can ...Tapping into the fun you had with it as a kid can be really motivating. Perhaps you might find those memories become story fodder too.Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-46515123166807564952016-08-10T13:56:06.372-07:002016-08-10T13:56:06.372-07:00MIssing a trip to Paris to go see a cranky relativ...MIssing a trip to Paris to go see a cranky relative sounds like a fantastic way to jump start the tension. I only write a Christmas letter each year and I know it's going out to a large number of relatives so I try to make it as entertaining as possible. The key? Writing about the worst things that happened over the year (in a slapstick fashion) instead of the best.Tamara Narayanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03725262301091012950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-74378154702963313752016-08-10T07:03:31.977-07:002016-08-10T07:03:31.977-07:00I totally had pen pals when I was a kid! And I rea...I totally had pen pals when I was a kid! And I really like the idea of having our characters write letters as well. Madeline Mora-Summontehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05529397293165046430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-23204710169239122822016-08-09T18:22:33.285-07:002016-08-09T18:22:33.285-07:00I think it's sweet. I had a pen pal from Franc...I think it's sweet. I had a pen pal from France who stopped writing me letters, so I kept writing a few to him and not sending them, imagining a conversation for a while. It didn't really work, but it gave me some imaginative verbal sparring. He had stopped writing when he realized that Tyrean was a girl's name.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08758645909554257089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-43997795461010703322016-08-09T12:04:33.226-07:002016-08-09T12:04:33.226-07:00Have fun with it, Susan! Have fun with it, Susan! Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-20761799741975506342016-08-09T08:25:58.743-07:002016-08-09T08:25:58.743-07:00That's a really interesting technique. It alre...That's a really interesting technique. It already has me thinking.Susan Gourley/Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02669793865290876168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-79507797632225579122016-08-08T20:41:05.483-07:002016-08-08T20:41:05.483-07:00Thanks for having me, Tyrean. I was rather worried...Thanks for having me, Tyrean. I was rather worried everyone would give me a hard time for sending envelopes full of lies to some sweet Texas girl back in the 80s. I convinced myself it was no big deal at the time because it was unlikely we'd ever meet IRL, having found her in a "pen pals wanted" ad in the Breyer horse collector magazine. Ah, the foolishness of our youth, that we pull these dumb stunts. Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-75042619817446365342016-08-08T20:29:30.021-07:002016-08-08T20:29:30.021-07:00Your storytelling has been shaped by that practice...Your storytelling has been shaped by that practice, no doubt, Natalie. All wonderfully transferable skills--especially audience focus and narration. I do like to use "epistle brainstorming" a great deal. It gets me unstuck more often than any other kind of brainstorming, in part because I am a voice-driven writer.Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-65984790979597678012016-08-08T20:26:08.221-07:002016-08-08T20:26:08.221-07:00I find it simply helps me direct the character cha...I find it simply helps me direct the character chatter in my head. They are a noisy bunch. :-)Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-74907675719241491612016-08-08T18:11:12.503-07:002016-08-08T18:11:12.503-07:00I've used letters a few times as storytelling ...I've used letters a few times as storytelling help, but not in the in-depth way that Laurel seems to be alluding to in this post. I did read a book recently that was half--written in letters between two characters who are coming together for the final half of the adventure. It worked really well and I enjoyed the book a great deal. Tyrean Martinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15356604721537744361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-47235735969448192682016-08-08T17:59:11.481-07:002016-08-08T17:59:11.481-07:00I like the idea of characters writing letters, too...I like the idea of characters writing letters, too. I think it could be a fun way to write a story.Tyrean Martinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15356604721537744361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-36423639197897734382016-08-08T17:58:32.726-07:002016-08-08T17:58:32.726-07:00I'm seriously impressed that you hand write th...I'm seriously impressed that you hand write thank you cards. I try to do that, but I often call and say thanks because I'm terrible at actually mailing the cards that I write.Tyrean Martinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15356604721537744361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-6717917119756778052016-08-08T17:49:04.459-07:002016-08-08T17:49:04.459-07:00I used to write a lot of letters, but none in ages...I used to write a lot of letters, but none in ages. I had never thought of writing them as a storytelling help.Natalie Aguirrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03756087804171246660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-43076487294444062022016-08-08T16:15:05.680-07:002016-08-08T16:15:05.680-07:00All great points! I would also add...it gets the v...All great points! I would also add...it gets the voices in your head to stop talking (for at least a while anyways). ;)Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01793077012143289985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-3967973382223638992016-08-08T13:14:43.065-07:002016-08-08T13:14:43.065-07:00Glad you found my brainstorming idea useful. Have ...Glad you found my brainstorming idea useful. Have fun with it!Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-86291370295714156912016-08-08T12:45:43.506-07:002016-08-08T12:45:43.506-07:00Fun post! Even though my generation grew up with t...Fun post! Even though my generation grew up with the internet, my family couldn't afford a computer, so I remember doing lots of letter-writing growing up. I still do it on occasion, whenever sending gifts and such through the mail. Really love #4 on this list. May have to try this kind of exercise out with my own characters sometime!Heather R. Holdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04309060285955963459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-16617519253990833272016-08-08T10:44:01.853-07:002016-08-08T10:44:01.853-07:00I've often wondered why men lost the art of le...I've often wondered why men lost the art of letter writing. You look at literary greats like T.S. Eliot, whose correspondence fills volumes, and it's clear letter writing was once a formative practice for both poets and fiction writers. Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3797583622244194866.post-31359424803921920092016-08-08T09:10:19.682-07:002016-08-08T09:10:19.682-07:00Never thought of it as a storytelling aid. I never...Never thought of it as a storytelling aid. I never wrote many letters. (Most guys don't.) I do still hand write thank you cards though.Alex J. Cavanaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09770065693345181702noreply@blogger.com