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Asc2Com (MorganSoft) | 1994-02-04 | 20.8 KB | 300 lines

VERSIFIER A Creativity-Enhancement Program For Poets Copyright (c) 1988 R.K. West Consulting P.O. Box 8059 Mission Hills, CA 91346 The "Creativity Package" distributed by R.K. West Consulting consists of two programs, VERSIFIER and THUNDER THOUGHT (executable files VERSE.EXE and THUNDER.EXE and related data files), and a book on disk, THINK THUNDER! AND UNLEASH YOUR CREATIVITY. VERSIFIER and all related files and documentation are copyright (c) 1988 by R.K. West. THUNDER THOUGHT and all related files and documentation are copyright (c) 1988, 1989 by Thomas A. Easton and R.K. West. The book, THINK THUNDER! AND UNLEASH YOUR CREATIVITY is copyright (c) 1989 by Thomas A. Easton. The authors reserve the exclusive right to distribute these materials, in whole or in part, for profit. You may freely copy and distribute the "Creativity Package" as long as (a) you have not made any modifications in any of the files, (b) you charge no fee, except a small copying fee, (c) you do not rename, change or omit any of the files or documentation, and (d) it is not distributed on the same disk with other poetry writing or creativity-enhancement programs. All distribution copies must contain the authors' copyright notices, documentation, and all the original modules. This program may not be advertised as "free", "public domain" or "cheap". Distributors must comply with the guidelines of the Association of Shareware Professionals. If you use this software, please become a registered user. Information on registration is included at the end of this document. WHAT IS VERSIFIER? VERSIFIER is a creativity-enhancement program for poets. Using your own vocabulary, the program combines words and phrases into different kinds of poems, which you can then save and edit. Although VERSIFIER follows a few grammatical rules and has a number of predefined structures for the poems, the choice of specific structure and the selection of vocabulary are random. This enables the program to put ideas together in ways you might not have thought of consciously -- yet they are still your own ideas, expressed in your own words. You can modify and improve each poem as much as you like to achieve a truly original finished work. To get you started, VERSIFIER comes with a small vocabulary. This vocabulary is not designed to give great poetry; it is just there to serve as a foundation while you learn to use the program. It is a good idea to run the program for a while using this vocabulary so that you become familiar with how it works. Then you can start replacing this vocabulary with your own words and phrases. The quality and style of your input control what the program is able to produce. The goal is for you to use only your own, original vocabulary, and to change the contents of the vocabulary often. GETTING STARTED Please make a backup copy of the original distribution disk before you begin. (See the DISKCOPY command in your DOS manual.) Put the original in a safe place and use the copy for all your work. VERSIFIER can be run from either a floppy disk or hard disk. You may prefer using your hard disk, because that will increase the amount of storage space available for your vocabulary files, and will let the program run faster. (After printing this manual, you can delete it from your working disk -- but not from the original master disk -- in order to leave more room for file storage.) Starting from the DOS prompt, type the word VERSE and press <ENTER>. The program will load, and then display the copyright and registration information. After carefully reading this, press <ENTER> to continue. You will now see the Main Menu: 1. Create poem style 1 2. Create poem style 2 3. Create poem style 3 4. Create haiku 5. Review poem vocabulary 6. Delete poem vocabulary 7. Review haiku vocabulary 8. Delete haiku vocabulary 9. Program setup A. Additional options X. Exit All the menus in this program are "light bar" menus. You can scroll through the selections by using the up and down arrow keys. As each selection is highlighted, a brief explanatory message appears at the bottom of the screen. When the choice you want is highlighted, press <ENTER>. Or, you can skip the scrolling procedure and simply press the number of the menu choice you want (without pressing <ENTER>), for instant selection. The first time you use VERSIFIER, you should choose Program Setup. This allows you to choose color or monochrome display and asks for other information needed to run the program properly. Back at the Main Menu: The first three choices are the different poems that can be created. Style 1 and style 2 are "free verse" poems. Style 3 is even freer than the first two. The fourth style is haiku. When you choose to create a poem, you will see the message on screen, "Here comes inspiration..." and a row of dots that lengthens as the poem is developed (the number of dots varies from poem to poem). Then the poem appears on screen. You now have the choice to Continue, Save, Print or Exit. If you continue, the poem disappears and another one is created. If you save, you will be asked for a file name, and then the poem will be saved in an ASCII file using that name. (Note that the program adds the extension "VRS" to any file name you select. You will need to use this extension when you work with this files in your word processor or DOS.) If you print, you will be reminded to have your printer ready, and then the poem will be printed. If you exit, you go back to the main menu. Review vocabulary: Styles 1 through 3 share the same vocabulary files, although they use them in different ways. If you choose to review the poem vocabulary, you will be asked whether you want to look at words or phrases. Whichever you pick, the procedure is similar. A menu listing the different types of words or phrases is displayed in screen. When you pick the type you want to work with, you will see a list of those words or phrases on screen. Your choices are More, Edit, Delete, Add, and Exit. If you ask for more, the screen will clear and show you the next group of words. If you want to edit or delete, you will be asked to enter the number of the phrase you want to change. This is the number that appears next to that phrase on screen. Just type the number and press <ENTER>. If you are editing, the phrase you have selected will appear at the top of the screen. Some instructions about the type of word or phrase you are using appear underneath. You can now make any changes you like. When you are finished editing, press <ENTER>, and the list of words is redisplayed, reflecting your changes. If you choose to delete, you will be asked if you are sure that is what you want to do. If you answer "Y" for yes, then that phrase will be deleted. Note that some words and phrases cannot be deleted. A certain number of records have been designated as "base vocabulary". These records are protected from deletion because without a minimum number of vocabulary elements on file, VERSIFIER will not be able to function. You can always edit the base vocabulary as much as you like. If you choose to add, you will see a screen giving you a detailed explanation and guidelines for the kind of word or phrase you are working with. It is worthwhile to take your time reading these guidelines and understand what they mean. Think very carefully about the kind of material you want to enter. This is the most difficult part of the program, and it is also the most important, so don't try to rush into it in a careless fashion. The results you get from VERSIFIER are a direct reflection of the kind of vocabulary you have on file. When you have entered a word or phrase, you are asked if it is okay. If not, you can go back and edit it some more. If it is okay, then it is incorporated into the vocabulary. You can keep adding as many words as you like. To quit adding, just leave the space blank and press <ENTER>. When editing or adding vocabulary, it doesn't matter whether you type in upper or lower case, since VERSIFIER will convert everything to upper case. (Although you can choose to have the poems printed in lower case if you like.) Remember that the type of vocabulary you enter directly affects the type of poetry you will create. To become more familiar with the way the program works, experiment with different types of words and phrases. An experienced, creative user will be able to turn out highly individual and interesting poems. One of the trickiest skills to master is that of inserting word symbols into the phrases you create. You will see a list of word symbols on screen when you are adding new phrases, and you can get more detail about the symbols by pressing the <F1> key during adding or editing. These symbols tell the program to randomly insert words of the designated type from your word vocabulary. This is an excellent way to get more variety and unpredictable results in your poems. Your awareness of the kinds of words you have on file will enable you to use this feature of the program to great advantage. We recommend that you have at least 200 of each type of word and phrase on file. The more you practice and learn to develop a vocabulary style of your own, the better your results will be. Remember, although VESIFIER is intended to enhance and contribute to your creativity, it is not a substitute for your own imagination and inventiveness. It is not intended to produce a "finished" poem by itself, but to provide you with assistance in your own writing. The program can help you develop your skills in manipulating words and exploring ideas if you invest some time and practice. Reviewing haiku vocabulary is similar to working with poem vocabulary. You are asked whether you want to work with five-syllable lines or seven-syllable lines. American haiku poetry typically uses a 5-7-5 pattern. Keep this in mind when you are entering lines. The five syllable lines will appear as either the first or last line of a haiku, and the seven syllable lines will always appear in the middle. If you do not agree with the strict 5-7-5 approach, you are free to deviate from the syllable count when you enter the vocabulary. However, the program will always put what it thinks is a five-syllable line in first or last position, and what it thinks is a seven-syllable line in the middle. You can insert word symbols into haiku lines just as you can in poems lines, keeping in mind that this will make a strict syllable count impossible. The vocabulary we have provided adheres to the 5-7-5 syllable pattern, but we encourage you to experiment with all kinds of short phrases. The haiku lines provided with the program are generally not very good, so you will probably want to change them as soon as possible. Delete vocabulary: If you are fed up with the vocabulary you have entered, you can get a fresh start by deleting it. If you delete poetry vocabulary, you will be asked to choose words, phrases, or both. If you delete haiku vocabulary, all lines go together. Because the program will not run properly without a minimum number of words and phrases on file, there is a "base vocabulary" that will not be deleted when unless you choose to "Zap" the vocabulary. If you do choose to "Zap", you must enter at least 50 of each type of word and phrase in order to use the program again. In the beginning you will probably want to keep the base vocabulary intact; it can always be edited as much as you like. ADDITIONAL OPTIONS This choice takes you to the File Options Menu: 1. Read poem directory 2. Read/Edit a saved poem 3. Print a poem 4. Delete a poem 5. Combine two poems X. Exit The first choice simply lets your read the directory of poems you have saved. The second choice lets you choose a poem you want to read or edit. You will see a list of poem names on screen. Use the up and down arrows to highlight the name of the poem you want, then press <ENTER> to select it. A "window" will appear on screen containing the text of the poem. You may now edit it. (For help with editing commands, press the <F1> key.) When you are ready to save the poem, press the <F2> key. If you want to exit without saving the changes you have made, press <ESC> instead. If you choose to print a poem, you will select the poem name from the directory list. You are reminded to make sure the printer is ready, and then you can press <ENTER> to print the poem. (If you change your mind you can press <X> instead, and the poem will not be printed.) When you want to delete a poem, you will select is name from the directory, and then confirm that you really want to delete it. If you choose to combine two poems, you will be asked for the names of the poems. The first name is the one that will appear "on top" of the editing document, and the second one will appear "below". You are also asked for a name to use when saving the new combination. You can now edit the document and save with the <F2> key. Note that poems can also be edited and printed with your word processor. USER SUPPORTED SOFTWARE: VERSIFIER and all related files and documentation are copyright (c) 1988 by R.K. West. The author reserves the exclusive right to distribute these materials, in whole or in part, for profit. You may freely copy and distribute VERSIFIER as long as (a) you have not made any modifications in any of the files, (b) you charge no fee, except a small copying fee, (c) you do not rename or change any of the files or documentation, and (d) it is not distributed on the same disk with other poetry writing or "creativity enhancement" programs. All distribution copies must contain the author's copyright notice, instruction manual, and all the original modules. If you use this software, become a registered user. The registration fee is $29.00. Your financial support is important to the improvement of this program and the development of new programs. If you paid a fee to a "distributor", you paid for the disk copying service only. This fee is not paid to the authors and is not part of the registration. Registered users are automatically entitled to receive the most current upgraded version and will be eligible for future upgrade service and other special offers. If you would like the source code for THUNDER THOUGHT (VERSIFIER source code is not available at this time), please mention it when you register. You can take $4.00 off the registration fee if you enclose three 5 1/4", double-sided, double-density diskettes (sorry we cannot accommodate 3.5" disks) in a sturdy mailer with SUFFICIENT return postage. (Please, if you want the discount, don't skimp on the postage. It should be at least the same as the postage needed to mail a five-ounce, first-class letter. Keep in mind that the container you use to send us your disk is the same container we will use to send the upgrade back to you.) If the disk you send is the original, unchanged disk you got from a distribution service that charged you a fee for this program, include the name and address of the service and take another $2 off your registration fee. In any case, please mention where you got your original copy of the program. DISCLAIMER VERSIFIER is sold for entertainment purposes only. This software, instruction manual, and reference materials are sold "as is", without warranty as to their performance, merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. The entire risk as to the results and performance of this program is assumed by the User. In no event will the Author be liable for any damages, including lost profits, lost savings, or other incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use of or inability to use these programs, even if the Author has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or for any claim by any other party. WRITE TO US Please send in your suggestions, comments, and bug reports. Your feedback is important. We would like to hear from you even if you haven't yet registered. Tell us what you think. R.K. West Consulting P.O. Box 8059 Mission Hills, CA 91346 If you are reporting a bug or other problem, please describe the problem in as much detail as possible and mention the type of hardware you are using, DOS version, resident programs, and other relevant information. If you believe you have found a serious bug, please send us the original distribution diskette so that we can find the source of the problem. Send the exact wording of any error messages that you may have seen (if possible, a print-screen illustrating the problem as it happened would be most helpful). We write and distribute other shareware programs, some of which are quite unusual. We will be happy to send anyone a catalog upon request. VERSIFIER user manual updated January 18, 1989.