Skipping Rope Paradigm Shift

One of the breathtaking moments of life can come with a paradigm shift. 

We use it in writing all the time - the bad guy through and through, who turns out to be a hero (think poor old Snape in Harry Potter), or vice versa (The Usual Suspects), or anything similar. 

I had a milder, but still lovely paradigm shift this week courtesy of an unusual inspiration - 

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No, it's not some torture implement I keep handy, before you ask. 

I was doing a bit of throwing out and discovered a skipping rope. Given my attempts to skip at the gym resemble a lame elephant who's had a couple of pints too many, I was going to discard it as well, when...

Inspiration came. 

All week, I've been struggling with a problem about teaching this summer. I'm covering characterisation, and the opposing pulls of risk and reward.

I was thinking about using a set of scales for a metaphor, but that didn't quite appeal to my desire to get the group more involved (and my sense of melodrama, perhaps more accurately.)

The rope, however, oh the rope, set off the fireworks in my mind. And in a few seconds the solution was there, and it was all very lovely, and kept me grinning for a couple of days.

(Yes, I know small things make me happy, but that's me.)

I won't reveal exactly what I'm going to do with the rope yet, as I like surprises (yes, yes, and more melodrama.) But it may just involve a tug of war with volunteers.

The curious case of the skipping rope, as Holmes might call it, was a lovely double paradigm shift. Something I was going to chuck out suddenly became a valued friend. 

And a session of teaching which could have been bland has sparked on into life. 

Paradigm shifts - moments to dance with.