Firstly, I’d like to say happy International Talk like a Pirate day! I am posting this a day earlier than normal just to celebrate… I found out that this was today from reading a politics website – I guess that just shows that you can find fun facts everywhere!
Over the last two weeks I’ve had a lot of fun and seen some wonderful sights, so this weeks inspiration piece is all about bringing the different elements together into some creative form.
It’s an old-fashioned task really, but one that has already yielded a couple of short stories this week. I took elements of my fortnight off – locations, transport, weather and things that had to be passed/avoided. I did four of each. If you do this, don’t worry about being too precise – you can say beach rather than a particular beach, for example. Also, I chose not to go too off-the-wall but that’s because I cannot write sci-fi or fantasy, although there are supernatural elements in my work.
From there, it’s just a case of writing the story that comes to mind. You know all the elements so smells, textures etc are realistic, but it is not longer your specific experience. It’s one of those tasks where the more vivid your record of experiences, and the better your diary-keeping or notebook filling, the better the results. This kind of working appeals to me for a few reasons. Firstly, it breaks down the relationships in your mind – for example, if you visit London and it’s raining, this task lets you think about how it would feel to be there in sunshine, or fog, so you can access that information more readily in the future even if you’ve never experienced it. Secondly, it’s a challenge to alter your perception of a place – changing the scenery, access, the surrounding area (which is why being too precise can make this a harder challenge: you can’t relocate landmarks as easily). Thirdly, you can recall things you forgot, hadn’t written about or possibly even noticed at the time, and this can lead on to other work starting to form. This works when writing about childhood holidays and things too – once you start reminiscing, so much that you’d forgotten starts to flow back!
Of course I will also be doing straight poetry pieces and possibly using the experiences more directly in work – locations are always useful – but this was a fun return to work!
Here’s a short extract from one of the stories – my words were gardens, bus, drizzle and gate. The bus section has already passed at this point in the story. As always, it’s a first draft so not a polished piece, but hopefully you’ll get where I’m going…:
It only took fifteen minutes to reach the gardens. Andrea stood by the vast, ornate and beautifully intricate gates, and soaked in their splendour. This would be an amazing place to arrive in a classic Rolls Royce, she thought: pale grey, with a chauffeur wearing a black suit and hat. She twisted the latch and walked up the front path. Even in the flat murkiness of the drizzle, the sight was still gloriously bright and vivid.
Happy writing,
EJ
🙂
Becoming a writer 
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