The chasm between
Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression. The chasm is never completely bridged. We all have the conviction, perhaps illusory, that we have much more to say than appears on the paper.
Isaac Bashevis Singer
When I do any kind of art work I feel this chasm the most. In my head my vision for my art piece is complete and beautiful…on the page it falls flat. Recently, I bought some new water color pencils, maybe I just need the right tools and then my art will be better. The pencils are beautiful but still the finished piece is lacking. Talking to my brother-in-law about this he says you just have to keep working on it, like writing the more you do it the better you become. It is hard to think he ever drew flat pieces like I do. But I think he’s right. Practice, practice, practice…and on that note a prompt. Whenever I am stuck with the blank page these prompts seem to get my keys and/or pen in motion.
- I remember (in the style of Joe Brainard)
- I have eaten-(in the style of William Carlos Williams poem This is Just to Say)
- I am
- I believe
- I forgot
- I want
- I need
- I love
- I hate
- The last time
- The first time
- I felt
- I was about to
- In________ fill in the blank with a place or a year
- On Fridays
Today, take one of several of these prompts and freewrite for thirty minutes. In October, a free write of “I remember” for Halloween yielded 3 pages and many amazing memories. Try it! Now get back to work!
Lovingly,
The Writing Nag
Pat! I can’t believe that the first prompt is Brainard’s “I remember.” That’s at the top of my list for a collaboration piece. An intermixed “I remember” collaborative poem…
I worked with it last semester and I loved it. It was a great memory sparker, story starter, poetry inspiration.