Kahuna Lactates for Genie's Wernicke (Genie Post)

Topic: Pete: "Write a scene in which a character finds an object and a genie pops out."

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“Labradors deflate if menaced by collared jerky,” the young man in the open-slit white gown

replied.

Genie stared in disbelief at the members of the Aphasia Group I of the Suffolk County Temporary Rehabilitation Center as they milled about in the Center's rec room. Never before had one wish taken so long to grant. In her 1000 years so far, this was the first time the whole process had taken this long. Truth be told, she liked it that way. Being a genie used to be easy: a human would ask for something loved, lost, or forgotten and the genie would supply the craved for necessity. The life became routine: humans always asked for the same types of wishes: love, property, revenge.

Yet these fools wanted nothing from that list. Or maybe they did. Genie couldn’t really tell what these humans wanted. Every word uttered made little or no sense to her. Their randomness was particularly infuriating for a genie because genies could innately understand all human languages. Mayan peasant, no problem; deaf, not an issue. However, that pan-lingual perfection did not apply to these folks. These folks spoke in a language that escaped even a genie.

What was a genie supposed to do when her grantees made statements like, “The tapioca eats a blanket.” That isn’t a wish; it isn’t even a real thought. Genies grant wishes, not fragments. While the blankets request was bad enough, the scene only became worse. Each person was crazier than the next.

Genie was used to more sophisticated circles: Arab princes, European elites, American CEOs. Dealing with invalids seemed to violate all the standards a genie would expect for herself. In the old days, fools like these would turn the lamp over to a priest or a liege lord. That hierarchy may have been pretentious, but at least it was predictable.

In that world, a prospective grantee would always go along with the flow. Genie explains the rules, the grantee accepts, and the wishes commence. Invariably a genie must deal with responses like, “To Hell with thee” when the wish goes awry, but generally the system worked well.

“Octagon tucks feline to stir saddlebags,” a petite young woman interjected to disrupt Genie’s thoughts.

How many more days of this could Genie take? Immortality enhances the potential for patience, but doesn’t eliminate the possibility of frustration. Genie still remembered her first moments of recognition in this place. Renovations in the building led the uncovering of an antiquated, rusty kettle inside one of the walls and the discoverers simply assumed that the object belonged to a former patient. However, none of those construction workers bothered to hold the kettle without gloves.

If only, Genie thought, then I wouldn’t be stuck here. The patients though had no such qualms; being curious, a new patient grabbed the kettle as it lay on the ground unprotected and squirreled it away in his room. Shortly thereafter, Genie had appeared to the young man unable to speak.

At first, Genie assumed it was another awestruck human. It wasn’t uncommon for a human to be amazed at the sight of real magic. So many had forgotten. Sometimes the human wasn’t awed by magic, but fearful of religion. Either way, the effect wore off and Genie could get down to work. But this…Genie really feared that she would be stuck in one place forever. Forever takes on new meaning when one can never die.

Genie didn’t really know what would happen if she was left in the human world for eternity. At most, she had been outside the kettle for a few years. Being entombed in an object felt differently; time didn’t pass the same away nor did her mind wilt so quickly. Here though, she really feared being left in the outside world for a millennium. She had already queried every human in the ward to whom she could gain access and by rule, she could only travel where her summoner went. If only she could find a way out...

“I want to take your place,” a small boy yelped from behind the adults. The genie turned…

Setting the scene: resources

What's a scene? why is it important?

Gerard Beirne on his blog lets us know right up front:

"Scene is not just important in fiction, it is the basic unit of fiction. If you can write a scene, you can write whatever you want. If you can't write a scene, they tell me Engineering is a pretty good stock in trade."


Fiction editor Elsa Neal tells us at Bella Online:

"Imagine your story is played out on a stage as your reader experiences it. The stage begins in darkness, and then two actors appear on stage, only their heads visible as they're dressed in black jumpsuits to blend in with the darkened stage. They begin talking, two heads floating in nothingness. This is what your story looks like without description to anchor it. But how you add that description is important too."

Dory Lynch, from Indiana University, has this to say:

"The opening scene takes much more work because in it you must propel the plot forward, develop characterization, AND orient the reader. Make sure that the reader can follow where the story takes place, and what is happening to whom. You can orient the reader in a few sentences but you must make them feel comfortable in the story."

Ken Brosky writing at Suite101 about fiction writing tells us:

"Here are some basic questions to ask whenever putting characters into a new scene:

1. Where are the characters standing?

2. When are the characters moving?

3. What is happening in the surroundings?

By answering these questions in detail and holding onto them throughout a particular scene, readers will be able to more easily visualize the story"

2nd item

The main character comes into contact with some sort of object,
manipulates it somehow, and discovers a genie.

Just the scene; no story needed, though if you want to write one... well, ya know.