Creative Writing Corner

Photo of the Week

Postcards from Far Away, originally uploaded by buttonmoOon.

The greyish melancholy of this scene, shot through with streaks of sunlight, is quite lovely. Hopefully it will get you in a writerly mood.

Photo of the Week

Golden Gate Lights, originally uploaded by Wiggum03.

It's wonderful when a photograph or a piece of writing can make the familiar seem abruptly otherworldly and new. This gorgeous image of the golden gate bridge makes it seem like we're looking at a different planet or through the lens of a dream. Will it inspire you this week?

Photo of the Week

nel frattempo..., originally uploaded by cavarica.

This week's photo is simple, but somehow thought-provoking. It gets me wondering about the setting around this lonely streetlamp. And who would be looking up at it with the perspective of this photograph? Think about it and try writing a little this week.

Photo of the Week

IC1396A The Elephant's Trunk Nebula, HaRGB, originally uploaded by write_adam.

To zoom out a little this week, take a look at this gorgeous image of the Elephant's Trunk nebula. Apparently there is a very bright star at the center of this mysterious formation of gas and dust. Pictures of the wonders of the universe always get me excited; what will it do for you?

Photo of the Week

a life together, originally uploaded by miii_bazz.

I love the casual intimacy of this shot. There are plenty of characters to write about in it, too, not just the main couple. What would you write about the character who's looking at them?

Read a Biography to See a Human Life

Stories and novels often begin at the beginning of a character's life and follow him/her right up to death, but as mortal beings ourselves, it's impossible to observe our own lives in their entirety. It's pretty difficult to observe another's entire life, as well; unless the person is born significantly after you and dies tragically young, you won't be able to see the whole long reach of a lifetime. So how is a writer to learn what a life is really like?

I suggest you take a break from reading fiction and pick up the biography of a person you're interested in. Whether it's the new Einstein biography, the massive account of Lyndon Johnson, or one of the many books on Lincoln, there are tons of great, creative biographies to choose from. Biographies can be very literary works themselves, with creative imaginings of what conditions were like in a different time and place. And no matter how much stuff a life is packed with, writers still have to carve it into a story arc, as I wrote in my post Life is Messy; Stories Aren't. Reading a biography, therefore, is a great way to see a human life turned into a story.

Biographies are also great for getting insights into other times and stages of life you haven't yet experienced. Want to write about an embittered old man? Try reading a biography of someone who's lived that life. Want to write about world war II? Any number of veterans' biographies can help you get the sights and sounds just right. Biographies are an often under-used resource. This week, consider changing that and check a book out of the library that tells the story of a complete life. For starters, it isn't strictly a biography but I recommend the memoir One Writer's Beginnings by Eudora Welty.

Photo of the Week

, originally uploaded by em.chill....

Here's a gorgeous fall shot to get you inspired this week. I love the play with focus the photographer uses. Does it get you in a pensive mood?

Write a Eulogy for Your Character

As a girl who grew up in Massachusetts, I've been unable to ignore the extraordinary attention that has been given lately to that legendary figure, Ted Kennedy, and his death. I've watched the speeches and eulogies delivered at the memorial service and funeral, and been moved by many of them. The best of the speeches, I found, were the ones that did not give the man empty praise, but rather humanized him through detail, freely acknowledging faults. The most loving praise given to a deceased person, I've always found, comes from a deep understanding of the person, including both good and bad.

That's why the eulogy or elegy is such an interesting writing form, and one that could really help your story.

Photo of the Week

flammenstuhl, originally uploaded by ponte..

There's room for a story in this photograph, with that strange kitschy orange furniture and that curious graffiti reading "No paradise." See where it takes you!

Poem of the Week: "Windigo"

This week's poem is by Louise Erdrich.  It's an interesting because it explores Native American themes from an inner perspective rather than the perspective of a white outsider. 

Windigo

For Angela 

The Windigo is a flesh-eating, wintry demon with a man buried deep inside of it. In some Chippewa stories, a young girl vanquishes this monster by forcing boiling lard down its throat, thereby releasing the human at the core of ice.

BY LOUISE ERDRICH

You knew I was coming for you, little one,

when the kettle jumped into the fire.

Towels flapped on the hooks,

and the dog crept off, groaning,

to the deepest part of the woods.

In the hackles of dry brush a thin laughter started up.

Mother scolded the food warm and smooth in the pot

and called you to eat.

But I spoke in the cold trees:

New one, I have come for you, child hide and lie still.

The sumac pushed sour red cones through the air.

Copper burned in the raw wood.

You saw me drag toward you.

Oh touch me, I murmured, and licked the soles of your feet.

You dug your hands into my pale, melting fur.

I stole you off, a huge thing in my bristling armor.

Steam rolled from my wintry arms, each leaf shivered

from the bushes we passed

until they stood, naked, spread like the cleaned spines of fish.

Then your warm hands hummed over and shoveled themselves full

of the ice and the snow. I would darken and spill

all night running, until at last morning broke the cold earth

and I carried you home,

a river shaking in the sun.