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Twilight Traverse
4 years ago
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It started with a different turn than normal from work. I went straight instead of left to go home. Moments later I pull up to a building I should have visited ages ago, yet never bothered to until a month ago; my local library. I open the doors and open my eyes. A month later here I am. A heater by my legs, slippers on my feet, and the swing of a Traverse Town jazz remix in the air. There's a golden glow like college long ago from a shelf lamp behind me. Stars that gleam back to me like Traverse Town itself, peering down from heavenwards through my basement window. Who knew one book would take me from my library to this. My own Traverse Town retreat, where I can finally continue writing.
The book? The Modern Library Writer's Workshop by Stephen Koch. Quite honestly, there is no book on writing I have found or known better suited to help a writer. It is as essential to a writer as The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White is to the copy line editor. It's from this borrowed book, that I learned to keep a notebook of all my ideas as I work. Or how I need only a place to write, and to just begin, to make stories come to life. Perhaps the best thing of all that I learned is what a Vignette is, and how I can write daily every day now. Well, as much as life allows haha!
So what's a Vignette? Google will tell you it's "a brief evocative description, account, or episode." That's close to what it is! But the way I am learning about it is the old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words." In the book, it suggests writing about 1,000 words a day if that's your range (don't worry it's actually not that scary when you do it). So if an image is worth 1,000 words, and a vignette is an image of an account, then a vignette could be 1,000 words to describe some setting or idea. Thus, writing a vignette per day caught on pretty well!
I have written three of them thus far. I have plans to make another five more at least. Before long, they'll be one per day if I can help it. As many as can fit a normal schedule. My question for you all; would you like to see what I make? Typically this kind of writing is not refined. There will be typos, grammatical mistakes, missed opportunities for bad puns, and more. They would also be what I call N.C.P.P. - Non canon, pura passio, which is just me being unnecessarily fancy for "Non-canon". So if Balans appears in them and does a thing, it wouldn't be canon to what he actually does for example. But it could still make for good reading!
I'd love to hear what you all think. For now, I am just excited to be back into writing again. Even if it's not like Underwater Halfdan-ce, a short story. I am working on more of those I promise. For now, it's just good to find my own Traverse Town to write in. I have my flame, I have my writing, I have my reflections. I think it's time to write again.
But after sleep. It's 12:30 am as I write this haha! Goodnight all, and see you again soon!
The book? The Modern Library Writer's Workshop by Stephen Koch. Quite honestly, there is no book on writing I have found or known better suited to help a writer. It is as essential to a writer as The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White is to the copy line editor. It's from this borrowed book, that I learned to keep a notebook of all my ideas as I work. Or how I need only a place to write, and to just begin, to make stories come to life. Perhaps the best thing of all that I learned is what a Vignette is, and how I can write daily every day now. Well, as much as life allows haha!
So what's a Vignette? Google will tell you it's "a brief evocative description, account, or episode." That's close to what it is! But the way I am learning about it is the old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words." In the book, it suggests writing about 1,000 words a day if that's your range (don't worry it's actually not that scary when you do it). So if an image is worth 1,000 words, and a vignette is an image of an account, then a vignette could be 1,000 words to describe some setting or idea. Thus, writing a vignette per day caught on pretty well!
I have written three of them thus far. I have plans to make another five more at least. Before long, they'll be one per day if I can help it. As many as can fit a normal schedule. My question for you all; would you like to see what I make? Typically this kind of writing is not refined. There will be typos, grammatical mistakes, missed opportunities for bad puns, and more. They would also be what I call N.C.P.P. - Non canon, pura passio, which is just me being unnecessarily fancy for "Non-canon". So if Balans appears in them and does a thing, it wouldn't be canon to what he actually does for example. But it could still make for good reading!
I'd love to hear what you all think. For now, I am just excited to be back into writing again. Even if it's not like Underwater Halfdan-ce, a short story. I am working on more of those I promise. For now, it's just good to find my own Traverse Town to write in. I have my flame, I have my writing, I have my reflections. I think it's time to write again.
But after sleep. It's 12:30 am as I write this haha! Goodnight all, and see you again soon!
