An Outlet for Stories

I used to write a lot of fiction when I was younger. My parents bought a computer around 1988 - I used to spend lots of time at it, typing away. My parents were so happy, they thought I was studying like mad for my 'A' levels. I remember my father's disappointment when he realised that the tackataackatackat that came from the keyboard was not the result of biology, physics and maths thoughts hitting the screen, but lines of dialogue forming a play.

I've always written fiction or drama for pleasure. Luckily some of the plays or adaptations I wrote saw the light. While I have carried on writing non-fiction (articles, blogs, handbooks, fundraising applications...) I feel like I have neglected my "fictional writing side".

So I have decided to use the new electronic and self-publishing outlets as an incentive to continue writing fiction.

I would like to share with you the story I am now writing as it takes shape. I am writing it as a blog (the story is in the shape of a diary, so perfect) but you might want to read the posts in chronological order the first time you visit the site. (They are all listed on the right hand bar.)

So, in case you are a bit curious about what I'm going on about: www.thescienceofloneliness.blogspot.com.

I hope you enjoy most of it and do let me know what you think!

Gestures in the Digital Age

I've always been intrigued by the evolutionary reasons for crying. One of the most palatable answers I have come across is that, when we cry, we show everyone around us how upset we are. As we are a social animal and our survival as a species relies on us being close to others, I am happy with that explanation, for the moment.

Another aspect which has always intrigued me about the human race is our ability to speak. Let's rephrase that, the need to use language. It's fascinating to start to think of how speech evolved in the different parts of the Earth. Again, is language something that unites us, that gives us a sense of belonging? (A common example often found in multicultural settings, is that, everyone communicates in one language but as soon as two people realise they have a different language in common, they switch to that one. The more considerate ones, then quickly switch back to the original language so as not to isolate themselves or those around them.)

My third thought for today is the connection between gesture and speech. We all know that we pick up on visual clues as well as language when we talk to others. And we've all heard how much e-mail is destroying quality communication as it misses out on tone of voice, body language etc etc. Our need to communicate comes from our whole being, not just our speech muscles. The reason why this came to mind today, was that I observed a couple of people in the street gesturing widely, while talking on the mobile phone.

I often observe this and catch myself doing it often too. Mapping out the left/right/straight ahead combination when explaining to someone how to get to my favourite restaurant; or simply just waving my hands desperately when telling someone about my frustrating morning.

When I am in a voiceover session I make sure I use the whole of my body for "best results". Sharp, linear hand gestures work best for corporate work or instructions; facial expressions help when bringing character toys alive. No one can see my body moving, but it definitely affects the voice.

I try not to over analayse human nature and human interaction, but the biologist in me wakes up occasionally and today it has surfaced while reading Nigel Nicholson's Managing the Human Animal. (I'll leave further thoughts on this for a later post.)

So, while facial expressions are being replaced by emoticons, it seems like our bodies (and this includes our faces) refuse to be demoted to second place.

;-)   ;-)     P.S. Interesting, no emoticon comes up for the sad face  ;-(

Stepping into Other People's Shoes

A close friend of mine started a trial period in a small company in London. He was struck by how informal everything was: no project briefings, no team meetings (even though, apparently, there were teams), no paper contracts, no Health and Safety talks. Being laid back himself, this didn't worry him too much (and the emphasis here is on the "too").

But then the anecdotes of poor line management began. They seem simple and unimportant, but worth telling.


My friend, let's call him Carl, was working on some drawings for a scale-model. They weren't finished, the deadline was approaching. "I'm going home now", he said to his manager. "Oh", his manager (let's call him Sam) said. Silence.

Carl said:"Would you want me to take them home and finish them for tomorrow?"
"Yes, that would be great".
"Then why didn't you say so yourself?" went Carl's thought bubble.

Anecdote number 2: Carl arrived one afternoon after his lunch break. "Carl, " said Sam. "Would you go into the meeting with Martin? He's meeting a client."

"Sure. Anything I should know about it or anything you want me to look out for?" "No, just go in there with Martin". "That's considerate of Sam", thought Carl, still in his trial period and keen to be involved.

Following the meeting, Sam comes up to Carl: "Okay, brief me. What's going on with the project?"

Luckily Carl had his brain switched on (which is more than can be said for others) and was able to pass on the information, but surely a "Could you go into the meeting and brief me afterwards" would have been appropriate?

You can see how these anecdotes kept Carl and myself entertained for a while. Puzzled by all of this and knowing that Sam never really looked happy all day until he got to the pub, all I could of think of was, "Poor Sam, obviously he doesn't want to be a manager. He is one of these people who was a good model-maker and has been promoted to team leader, when all he wants to be doing is making models."

Oh how wrong I was. Not at all. My friend found out later that Sam had always wanted to be a manager, it had been his goal for some time. In trying to understand Sam's inability to communicate and manage others, I had come up with a whole story to make sense of it, when the answer seemed so much simpler. Sam is just really bad at his job, mainly because he doesn't talk to people.I had tried to make sense of a situation by putting myself in someone else's shoes - unfortunately, unaware of Sam's own parameters, I had used mine to solve the conundrum.


Needless to say, my friend is no longer working there. He was one of three people who left in a month.