Meg Sefton's Blog, page 30

Inktober: Drooling

Based loosely on a true story. I just love it when siblings are heroes to each other. —Margaret

The Breath of God by Dee Ashley, flickr

She had been drooling on her pillow but wasn’t worried until she saw her face: It was twitching. Her brother took her to the ER but the nurse brushed them off: She was too young to have a stroke. Her brother yelled for the doctor and saved her life.

Blaze

Guitar by Quinn Dombroski, flickr

There’s an excellent film on the life of Blaze Foley available for streaming on Amazon with an AMC subscription. I think it may be available through the end of September.

I only learned of Blaze Foley when I started listening to John Prine (for example, Prine’s cover song of Foley’s “Clay Pigeons”). Foley is a stage name the musician took up because of his admiration for the legendary country musician Red Foley. He also had a close relationship with Townes Van Zandt.

Sibyl Rosen, his wife, wrote about their life together in Living in the Woods in a Tree House. The film covers their life as detailed in the book, their life trying to start Foley’s music career, and the years following their separation.

Ethan Hawke directed and produced the film and just about everyone sings in this movie and does so beautifully – the actors who play Blaze and Van Zandt as well as the actress playing Sybil Rosen. Although he doesn’t sing in this movie, Kris Kristofferson plays a major part as Foley’s father.

After the movie, I watched an interview with Ethan Hawke and Ben Dickey—who played Foley—on KEXP (youtube). There is singing and guitar playing and insights about the movie and the choices made regarding why and how to film.

Inktober: Chicken

Floating Feather by Paul Kitchener, flickr

After miscarrying, I started sleeping in the nursery under the Chagall print—a chicken drawing a carriage for a couple and their baby. While I was asleep one night, Marty left a note: “I love you but I can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry.”

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Inktober: Spell

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

Having endured white torture overseas, the journalist returned home to Florida. White rooms, chalk floors, soundlessness—the sensory deprivation of his confinement had cast the spell of Lethe. He did not recognize family and yet he panicked at the prospect of being left alone.

Inktober: Roasted II

Photo by Yuzki Wang on Unsplash

I lost favor with the Bible study group and my then-husband when I over-roasted the brisket and vegetables. Rather than helping me save face by suggesting ordering pizza, they whispered to each other. A couple of years later, they attended my ex’s divorce party.

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Inktober: Roasted

siluet by JuanRax, flickr

Young men of the Ivy League fraternity hosted a “pig roast,” a competition to score high in bedding women. Tie breakers were won using the scale: The man who slept with the heaviest young lady reigned supreme. There was institutional punishment but heartfelt contrition of members was nowhere in evidence.

Inktober: Tranquil

Shattered by Valerie Everett, flickr

Tranquil, Jesus-loving hippies, seduced by the revolutionary music of a new religious movement, found themselves engaging in “flirty fishing” for the cause of God. “The Law of Love” superseded “The Law of Moses” said their guru. Years later, former cult members mourn lost innocence. Some don’t survive the shattering.

Inktober: Poisonous II

Coca Cola Vintage by Antonio Marín Segovia, flickr

Florida man, sociopathic genius, Mensa member, chemist, having silenced his neighbors’ barking dogs for good, laces the boisterous family’s soda bottles with thallium. Like the dogs, the mother loses her hair. Her liter are poisoned. The mother dies, but the Florida man is dismayed to find prison especially noisy.

Inktober: Poisonous

Paper (I am Not) by Brad Greenlee, flickr

As she ascended the stairs to her bedroom, her mother’s poisonous words followed her: “Just go on up there and write to your God!” And the poison dripped out of her eyes as she bent over the once-private journal, dampening the paper and blurring the lines.

Inktober

I found this list of awesome Inktober prompts on DeviantArt by Lineke-Lijn.

These are obviously prompts for visual artists but I think this particular list is also stellar for writers and here’s why: the nouns are specific and concrete; the verbs are action verbs; the verbal adjectives are equally expressive and action-oriented; the nominal adjectives are precise, concrete. One-word prompts that are abstractions and nonspecific are non-starters.

The kind of prompts listed above translate into powerful sketches and drawings. And I think these give writers that mental picture we need to begin translating an interior vision into the written word. You may think you’re not a screenwriter, but if you want to write powerful fiction, you will think in scenes and images.

If you are interested in an exploration, even if you’re an experienced writer, start jotting down small pieces in a notebook or document. It is highly likely first drafts will go over the fifty-word count that is set in flash fiction writing for Inktober. Over time, as pieces are refined to meet the word count, a wonderful miniature will emerge, conveying the heart of something distinct. The word prompt may be included as a word in the piece or it can simply serve as the inspiration.

Even if you don’t want to write fiction or publish, exercises like this sharpens verbal ability; broadens thinking; enhances problem-solving; and develops voice and self-knowledge. Yours —Margaret

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