Daily Nourishment for September 16, 2024: Which Stories Have Been Omitted with Guidance from Matthew Salesses
Daily Nourishment Read Time: 40 seconds
Pause/Prompt/Practice Time: 15 minutes
“Craft is the history of which kind of stories have typically held power—and for whom—so it also is the history of which stories have typically been omitted.” - Matthew Salesses, Craft in the Real World
Pause.
Set a timer for two minutes, close your eyes, and rest.
Prompt.
Here’s more from Matthew Salesses:
“Craft is the history of which kind of stories have typically held power—and for whom—so it also is the history of which stories have typically been omitted.
That we have certain expectations for what a story is or should include means we also have certain expectations for what a story isn’t or shouldn’t include. Any story relies on negative space, and a tradition relies on the negative space of history. The ability for a reader to fill in white space relies on that reader having seen what could be there. Some readers are asked to stay always, only, in the negative. To wield craft responsibly is to take responsibility for absence.”
Practice.
Set a timer for 12 minutes and begin completing the writing exercise below from Craft in the Real World:
In five minutes, write as many sentences as you can that follow this format: If s/h/t hadn’t __________, __________ wouldn’t have ___________.
(For example: “If she hadn’t tried to cross the road, her boyfriend’s car wouldn’t have flipped over.”)
Expand one of the sentences into a paragraph, including a full set of actions and character(s). Expand the paragraph into a scene.
Want More?
Read Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Matthew Salesses
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Workshops, Gatherings, & Resources
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—The September Co-Writing calendar is live.
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—The Great Belonging Project is live here and The Great Belonging Project October Refresh will take place Oct 1-Oct 31.
Today’s Daily Nourishment was provided by Charlotte Donlon.
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