Improv Challenge Day Five

What’s going on?

It’s all explained in succulent detail here. But in a nut shell, other bloggers are setting tasks or constraints around which I have to improvise a post.

Today is the fifth consecutive day, Friday is the big one when the whole thing goes live – we think.

Up to now the ‘improvisation’ has had to be taken on trust though obviously I have had the luxury to use a spelling corrector and manipulate time if it has been necessary to think.

Yesterdays effort, required on and off thinking throughout a 24 hour period and a few scraps of paper with initial ideas were eventually thrown away.

Today’s suggestion comes from Anne, who said –

‘ One improv I love is stream of consciousness writing: 10 minutes of nonstop writing, the only rule is: No breaks! If you don't know what to write, you write "so what should I write now?" I do this as a pen and paper exercise. I wonder if it works in blogging?’

Dave in a moment of simplified clarity replied –

‘@anne I guess the only difference is that you wouldn't normally do that exercise in public would you. Chris is a brave man or something close to that... :-)’

I looked up brave in the dictionary to find something I was close to.

I came across ‘Brawny’, a word that no one ever has or ever will use to describe me.

The only brawny person I have ever met was my sport’s teacher at secondary school – a former Harlequin’s rugby player.
Or so he said.

He had us lie on benches, our head and torso lower than our legs and then placed weights in our hands and told us to do sit ups.

I was unable to move and would still be there today if the canteen lady hadn’t helped me when she came to put the tables out for lunch.

I also came across “Brazen” which is probably a better fit so I think I should take up Anne’s suggestion.

It might not lead to great writing but it will be the closest to pure improvisation so far as I will post what I write and there will be no pre thought and no breaks.

Hmm, looking at the result I decided to do a little editing - spelling mainly but I changed one word (maybe two) as it sounded better.

The original is posted below if you want to check.

The image at the top is of a notebook dating from the lat time I did any free writing like this, using a technique similar to that suggested by Anne – choosing a letter of the alphabet to start the first sentence and if a hesitation occurs to immediately start a new paragraph starting with the same letter.

Here goes…….


It’s 5 minutes to one in the morning, and i really should be snoring,
fast asleep tucked up and dreaming.
But Anne has set the challenge and I have to write for 10 minutes in a single steam of subconscious consciousness. Of course there is a big risk that I will splurge out a load of mis-meanings and rubbish – the last time I tried this exercise was so – in fact I’ll dig out a sheet and post it as an image so that the world can see the fruitless results.
At the time I falsely believed that it would free my creative writing goddess and that I would become published,, worshipped (not really - but it popped up when I wrote goddess) and living by the sea.
Another risk is that tomorrow I will feel like rubbish and I have to start work at 8.30 in the big city.
Dave says I am brave to do this, look in the comments, but is it really courage?
Where does courage come from?
Can it spring from some unseen well when danger looms or is it available from a local supermarket in handy packs?
I doubt it.
My local supermarket has the imaginative name – Shopi.
You can almost imagine the meeting of great minds charged with the mission of choosing a name.
“Er, how about er, um, Store?”
“No, people will think of Mr Bosh’s place across the river."
“ok, how about;;;;;”
Etc etc.
Anne says that if I get stuck in this, mid stream like a floundering fish, I can always add the line
So, what am I going to write now.
But if I learnt anything from the one improvisation course that I attended
…no, if I learnt two things from the only improvisation workshop that I have attended – long ago at Battersea Arts Centre in London – it was this.
1. Don’t go back for the second class.
2. Don’t think about what you are doing, just do.
3. What am I doing, not sleeping obviously.
4. If I was sleeping, perchance to dream.
5. I think it was David Cassidy….
I have just looked up and noticed that automatic thingys have added 5 points to my original 2 – that’s the power of improvisation.
I wanted to tell you about David , one of the few performers of international note that chose to quit at the top, when clearly they had something else to do.
But, alas, it’s 5 minutes past one,
and my task is done.



It’s 5 minutes to one in the morning. and i really should bein bed, fast asleep tucked up and dreaming. But Anne has set the challenge and I have to write for 10 minutes in a single steam of subconscious consciosness. Of course there is a big risk that I will splurge out a load of mis-meanings and rubbish – the last time I tried this exercise was so – in fact I’ll dig out a sheet and post it as an image so that the world can see the frutlessness results.
At the time I falsely believed that it would free my creative writing godess and that I would become published,, worshipped (not really) but it popped up when I wrote godfdess and living by the sea.
Another risk is that tomorrow I will feel like rubbish and I have to start work at 8.30 in the big city.
Dave says I am brave to do this, look in the comments, but is it really corage?
Where does courage come from?
Can it spring from some unseen well when danger looms ar is it available from a local supermarket in handy packs?
I doubt it.
My local supermarket has the imaginative name – Shopi.
You can almost imagine the meeting of great minds charged with th emission of choosing a name.
3Er, how about er, um, Store?”
3No, people will think of Mr Bosh’s place across the river;3
3ok, how about;;;;;”
Etc etc.
Anne says that if I get stuck in this, mid stream like a floundering fish, I can always add the line
So, what am I going to write now.
But if I learnt anything from the one improvisation course that I attended
…no, if I learnt two things from the only improvisation workshop that I have attended – long ago at Battersea Arts Centre in London – it was this.
1. Don’t go back for the second class.
2. 2. Don’t think about what you are doing, just do.
3. What am I doing, not sleeping obviously.
4. If I was sleeping, perchance to dream.
5. I think it was David Cassidy….
I have just looked up and noticed that automatic thingys have added 5 points to my original 2 – that’s the power of improvisation.
I wanted to tell you about David , on eof the few performers of international note that chose to quit at the top, when clearly they had something aelse todo.
But, alas, it’s 5 minutes opast one and my task is done.