Last weekend, Crystal from Invitation to Understanding and I decided we were going to collaborate on a writing project a la The Postal Service's album "Give Up." Except with writing and no music. Maybe we'll need a soundtrack too? Who knows...
Anyway, we spent the evening writing the first few paragraphs of a short story together...but we don't really know if it's a short story or something bigger yet. When I write creatively, I always use a piece of art as a springboard-sort of like Tracy Chevalier (love her!) with Girl with a Pearl Earring and some of her other books. For example, I based my senior honors thesis in college on John Singer Sargent's "Madame X" and found the prospect of visual art connecting with written expression, and vise versa, so absolutely thrilling! So since then, a lot of what I write is directly inspired by works of art.
"Madame X," -John Singer Sargent
Since last weekend, we've been emailing each other a new paragraph to add to the weaving thread of our story. So far, it's so fun. It's especially exciting not to simply write your own thoughts and actions and descriptions for the life of a character, but to see how another person directs the story as well. I am just about to email my latest bit to Crystal--can't wait to see what she cooks up for our characters next time.
So Crystal, be watching your email! And anyone else reading this---try this out with another creatively-minded pal---you may be surprised just how awesome it is.
"Brouillard, Avenue de l'Observatoire" -Brassai (and our current inspiration)
1 comment:
Aww, your post made me smile. But dang girl, your "cliffhangers" are too good...I have to think about for a day or so before I know what to write! =)
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