Tag: Sherlock

Not my division

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I have a very bad habit of holding myself responsible for far too much; it’s not unusual for me to blame myself for not doing enough when the blame really ought to go elsewhere. I’m trying to reframe this way of thinking with some subtle reminders that I can’t help everyone and do everything, and DI Lestrade’s “Not my division” has been a great mantra for me — it reminds me not to take on other people’s jobs and it makes me smile or laugh at the same time. (I also like the phrase “Not my circus, not my monkeys” — or my Dad’s version, “Not my circus, not my fleas.”) If you have the same problem, I hope you can remember one of these phrases and use it to ease your mind in situations you can’t control.

(Thanks to the Calming Brits for reminding me of this great saying and giving me a Lestrade image to match the phrase.)

Pinterest knows me better than most

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Earlier today, I was stalling on Pinterest. I ran out of fresh pins on my home page, so I clicked the new option “Preview! Explore Interests” to see what that might yield. It turns out that Pinterest has analyzed my 2500+ pins and now has a really, really good idea of what I like. I was extremely impressed with how accurate it was, especially since there were a few items like magic, spell books and wizards that I couldn’t really connect to my pinning activity. About the only things missing are otters and chocolate.

I admit, there were a handful of categories that had me scratching my head (John Steinbeck? January Jones? Trailer homes?!?), but most of it is spot-on. I also liked the way it made bigger photos for more frequently pinned subjects like writing and board games. And there were multiple variations on my favorite pinning topics: the Avengers, Doctor Who, the Hobbit, Sherlock and writing.

Here’s the abridged version, eliminating outliers and redundancy; links go to Pinterest:

red pandasmandalasstress relief
Tom Hiddlestonavengers teas
writingnovels terry pratchett
richard armitagecastleskittens
board gamesdr horriblefirefly
sherlockbritishdoctor who
swordschristian kanegerard butler
cosplaybraceletssteampunk
hobbitmagicwarriors

Writing Exercise: Hats off

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top-hat-1395333-m“She wore a raspberry beret…”
Prince, Raspberry Beret

Some of my favorite fictional characters are known for wearing distinctive hats. Dirk Gently (of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, by Douglas Adams) is described as wearing a dark red hat with a flat brim — “…an elegant adornment… if the wearer were a small bedside lamp, but not otherwise.” Moist von Lipwig (from Terry Pratchett’s novels Going Postal, Making Money, and the upcoming Raising Steam is more readily recognized by his hats than by his ordinary features — first a gold hat with wings, then a top hat covered in gold glitter. Sherlock Holmes is another hat person; his association with the deerstalker is so indelible that the BBC’s modern re-invention of the character (portrayed expertly by Benedict Cumberbatch) uses the hat in one episode as an attempted disguise. In each case, wearing a hat conveys something about the wearer: eccentricity, flamboyancy, confidence.

Accessories and other items of personal decoration can help paint a vivid picture of a character. This week, write a scene that uses one or more physical objects to define a character.

Writing Prompt: Sherlock’s word hunt

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This prompt is inspired by episode two (“The Blind Banker”) of the BBC’s mystery drama Sherlock. (If you haven’t seen it, you really should check it out. I resisted the idea of a modern Sherlock Holmes, but it won me over with the premiere episode.)

Pick up a book at random and write down three words from it as follows:

  • Go to page 15 and write down the first word on the page.
  • Go to page 39 and write down the fifth word on the page.
  • Go to page 70 and write down the ninth word on the page.

Now take those three words and use them in a poem, scene or story. (If you end up with unhelpful words like conjunctions or articles, try again with a different book.)

Happy writing!

P.S. — Check out last week’s Discworld dialogue prompt if you missed it.

Check this article for some additional prompts.