I haven’t had much opportunity to sketch or paint this week, but I fit in some time framing the short story I plan to write this month. I am trying a new approach to writing after years off. I used to get hooked on an image, and just started writing from there. I wouldn’t plot. I’d just let things materialize. Being a little rusty, I wanted to try treating this story as more of a design problem. I wanted to write an end of summer story with atmospheric elements and some sort of human dilemma. I am not motivated by a subject I am driven to write about now, nothing I want to work out through writing. Instead, I just want to tell an interesting, subtle story that allows me to take advantage of my writing style, which tends to be atmospheric–I am interested in the way the environment intrudes on the personal lives of the characters. I tended to showcase this by having sounds from locale involved in the conversation/interaction. Here’s a silly example (not from my new story):

“Good morning,” he said to the barista. Her name was Genevieve.
The door opened. A spoon fell on the floor.
She smiled. “What will it be today?”

If this continued, sounds and other things would intrude, prevent him from asking what he wanted to ask, etc.

We’ll see how this approach develops in my new story, but I think I have it pretty well framed now. Here’s a picture of my notes to frame things. Thanks for reading. More painting soon.