7 February 2008
by 
9 CommentsThe Mysterious Page 123
The lovely Janna of Something She Wrote invited me to join the Page 123 Meme! Imagine all the intrigue and insight we could gain from a few lines of the 123rd page of a random book. Will it have an weird connection to you in the moment? Will it provide some captiviating tidbit of information? Will it spark off a story idea you might have otherwise never considered?
I don’t know, lets see!
1. Pick up the book nearest you:
This happens to be a book I’ve borrowed from a friend titled, “10-Minute Clutter Control: Easy Feng Shui Tips for Getting Organized” by Skye Alexander
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the following 3 sentences
Empty them often. Stale, smokey air produces atmosphereic clutter and stuck ch’i. Use an air filtration system or fans or open windows regularly to keep fresh air and healthy ch’i circulating through your home.
5. Tag five others
I’m going to break this rule, or maybe just alter it a little. Please, add your 123 in the comments. I’d love to know what book is nearest you and what weird and wonderful information can be gleaned from the 123rd page. If you’d like to carry over this meme to your blog you’re welcome to do so.
If you have favorite lines from any book, feel free to share those too!
The AW January Blog Chain Finale
Another month has come and gone. We rolled into February a little but we did finally finish the Absolute Write January Blog Chain. January’s topic was writing and it was incredible to see the degrees of separation each new blog entry wandered into. The comments are interesting and insightful.
Your imagination, inspiration, and motivation will be sparked by these incredible posts. They’ll get you thinking about writing in a whole new way. Please, browse at your leisure.
living my life all over again
Spontaneous Derivation
Jenny Greenleaf: Working Writer
Peregrinas
Techtainment
Anything That Pays
Polenth’s Quill
wfg thinks out loud
Spittin’ (out words) Like a Llama
A Thoughtful Life
The Speakeasy
Virtual Wordsmith
The Writer’s Round-About
My Copious Notes Blog
Tennessee Text Wrestling
Writings
Twisted Fantasy
No related posts.
“By knowing things that exist, you can know that which does not exist. That is the Void. People in this world look at things mistakenly, and think that what they do not understand must be void.”
The book nearest me only had 95 pages so I had to improvise. It’s The Book of 5 Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi. I have it on my desk at the moment because I’m wrapping up a 6 part series that compares the teachings of this 17th century samurai to writing.
Thanks for the tag, I love this kind of stuff.
“We’ve been to the other Old Places. We didn’t reach them in time to give any warnings. The witches were already gone – or dead.”
Anne Bishop – Shadows and Light
How I can apply this: Do not forget about what always was in the excitement of what is new. Once you realize the value of what we take for granted, it may not be there any more.
On a side note, I cheated. Because the closest book was the Little, Brown Compact Handbook. That one came to the section on Varying Sentence Structure, and I quote:
“If most of your sentences contain thirty-five words or more, your main ideas may not stand out from the details that support them. Break some of the long sentences into shorter, simpler ones. If most of your sentences contain fewer than ten or fifteen words, all your ideas may seem equally important and the links between them may not be clear.”
Hm. That’s good advice.
” Fueled by the discovery, Holloway insists on exploring at least some of the immediate hallways branching off the staircase. Soon enough he is stalking doorways, leading the dancing moon of Jed’s flashlight with the barrel of his rifle, and always listening. Corners, however, only reveal more corners, and Jed’s light only targets ashen walls, though soon enough they all begin to detect that inimitable growl, like calving glaciers, far off in the distance, which at least in the mind’s eye inhabits a thin line where rooms and passageways must finally concede to become a horizon. ”
House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski
(Fantastic book– read it if you haven’t. It breaks every writing convention I know, and does so brilliantly.)
Your sentences make me want to “Spring clean”, Rebecca!
Since Janna tagged me as well, and I promised her I’d get to it this weekend, I’ll just come back and leave a link to my own 123 meme post here in the comments. How’s that?
This is kind of neat!
Smiles,
Michele
“Those little daily steps forward are the moments that really define us and determine our path. They happen when we put back that second cookie, when we turn off the TV and sit on the floor for a tea party, when we wash the dishes before we leave the kitchen, and when we roll out of bed and get our bodies going instead of getting a few more minutes of sleep. Back in grade school, we alwasy wanted to be at the head of the line.” — From Hannah Keeley’s Total Mom Makeover.
It’s fun to see others out here with this meme. I posted mine a few days ago. I agree with the “stale, smoky air” image…yuck…
What an intriguing exercise. Thanks for posting it.
I followed it up with my own post, but here’s the short version:
“I didn’t expect you so early. Jesus just brought the paper in. It’s on the table.”
– from Windswept by Ann Macela
@ Harrison: Wow! This is a powerful and intriguing segment that makes me want to find and read the book. I’m going to check out your 6 part series right now!
@ James: Interesting lines. It is a like a hook right there in the middle of the book. The handbook sounds like it contains a wealth of good advice.
@ Eliza: Wow, powerful imagery and wonderful word choices. Mark Z. Danielewski must also be a poet if his prose reads so majestically. Of course, as you mentioned even in these few lines he breaks writing conventions. I thought I was the only one who wrote run on sentences like those.
@ Michele: That’s exactly what the book is all about, Michele.
It’s a guide to getting out of clutter. It’s a good thing it’s Spring now.
@ Jenn: Total Mom Makeover sounds like a brilliant book. I agree that the stronger your start to the day the more empowered the day that follows will be.
@ Eric: Thanks for stopping in Eric. Love your post!
@ Haley: Thanks for joining in Haley. Your sentences spark my interest.