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Exercise #613: Self Knowledge
Posted 3/20/15
I saw a simple test once that gave the first and last letters of some simple words. How you filled in the middle would, supposedly, tell the other person a lot about you. One of these words was d--k. How would you fill in d--k to make a common word? If you want to know mine, email me. :-)
I seem to be having some hearing issues lately and how I hear the words (“I thought you said”) feels a lot like that simple test. The person said “uniform” but I heard “unicorn.” Not surprising, given my bent toward fantasy and science fiction.
But the potluck is harder. Around me at work, folk were preparing for a potluck. Since I’m not on that team, I wasn’t invited, but I heard a lot of the conversation. “Who brought the lumpia?” “Did Suzy make her guacamole dip?” and other comments surrounded me.
Through it all, I heard this:
Q: “What did you bring for the potluck?”
A: “Chainsaw.”
Say what? I *know* she didn’t say “chainsaw,” but that’s what my ears heard.
For today’s exercise, pay attention to what you hear. When you mis-hear something, write it down - what you heard and what it actually was, or what you think it was. (Was it “cole slaw,” maybe?) Then take some time to determine if you can tell why you heard it the way you did.
When you’re done, write up either:
a) a brief essay on what you learned, or
b) a scene showing us the event.
As always, you may show a character tackling this exercise instead.
Critiquers, you might choose to answer these questions for critiquing the piece:
* Did you catch any spelling errors or other standard proofreading items? If so, note them for the author.
* Could you relate to this? If so, how?
Word limit: 1200
Please use the subject line:
SUB: Exercise #613/yourname
I consider this a self-knowledge exercise because figuring out why we heard what we did can sometimes lead to better understanding of who we are. (Or maybe just the warning that we watch too many crime drama movies.)
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