Tag Archives: slice of life

Post It Note Philosophy #19

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Creativity is not about your cleverness and ingenuity as an artist with pen, brush or camera. It is about telling your story effectively in your chosen media; for it to find  its way into the heart and mind of the reader, viewer or listener. It is to change their world that you create.

Playground Atrophy – Micropoetry

She swings back and forth
sky ground sky ground sky
Tempted to jump like her brothers
Momentum atrophies because
Choice remains

Post It Note Philosophy #18

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In this age of the immediate and the temporal, creativity that abandons the sanctity of tradition becomes superficial and disposable. Creativity is not beholden to tradition yet is informed by it, understanding its origins and genesis. Honouring tradition gives you permission to stand on the shoulders of your predecessors.

Very Short Story – Hot Chips as a Sustained Metaphor

For the full title: The Use of a Common Takeaway Comestible, Hot Chips, as a Sustained Metaphor for the Defining Characteristic of a Relationship

I.

They pooled their meagre resources, enough to buy hot chips; an impromptu first date. Their fingers touched reaching for the last chip.

II.

What do have last period?

Maths. You?

Study. Let’s skip it.

And do what?

Get some hot chips.

She hesitated.

Come on.

Yeah, ok.

III.

He watched her fresh from the surf, scoffing hot chips. The salt from the sea & chips crusted on his lips. Did her lips taste the same?

IV.

The 3am kebab gurgled ominously in his stomach. He reached for the communal hot chips.

“Bad idea.”

“Nah, I’m right.”

An eruption ensued.

V.

Wedding dress and suit hung over the backs of chairs. Seated in underwear they quietly ate from a bowl of hot chips.
“To Mr and Mrs.”

VI.

A Saturday night family ritual: paper for crockery and fingers for cutlery, eating fish’n’chips from the centre of the table, licking salty fingers.

VII.

Wearing Sunday best, seated in the corner of the takeaway, they shared a meal of fish’n’chips with plastic cutlery.

Old times, he said.

The Communion of Saints – TwitFic

This collection of twitfic came out of sitting in church during Communion (or Eucharist, depending on your denominational preference). In  the book of Hebrews, the writer says “we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…” (12:1) and in the Orthodox churches, there are often depictions of saints and regular people painted in the frescoes and iconography, as representatives of the witnesses.

Communion (Eucharist) is a significant aspect of the liturgical service and is a time for reflection on the sacrifice of Jesus. I wanted to extend the idea of the communion of saints into aspects of the everyday; times, places and situations where the extended kindness of humanity is shown in ways that best represent the ideal to “love thy neighbour” in a way that demonstrates an understanding that we do these things “for the least of these.” Most involve food and/or drink; a fitting reminder of the simple elements on the table used during the Last Supper.

Note: some of these are shorter than my normal twitfic because I used the hashtag #communionofsaints which takes up a large portion of 140 characters so I have edited some in places for clarity.

And as usual, I am keeping with my tally of seven twitfic.

The Communion of Saints

I.
“We have the same lunch box.”
“What’s in yours?”
“Vegemite sandwich. Yours?”
“Falafel roll.”
“Go halvesies?
“Yeah.”

II.
He balances two takeaway cups and two paper bags while shuffling back into the passenger’s seat.
“Got you a sausage roll and sauce.”
“Cool, thanks.”

III.

The abrupt call of the telephone.
You ok?
Honestly?
Honestly.
A pause.
Honestly shithouse.
Meet you for coffee.

IV.

While balancing her handbag, schoolbags, and thumbing for the key, the gift of bags of groceries on the back step give her pause.

V.

The froth slid down the inside of two empty schooners. Each man held the base of the glass, thinking.

Another?

Yep.

VI.

The rhythm section locked in, punctuating the horns, dancing around the guitar lines, watching the front row pulsate.

VII.

Twenty years of correspondence collected in a single embrace after having never spoken. Neither wanted to let go.

Post It Note Philosophy #16

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Creativity is not about talent and aptitude; skills and techniques can be taught and learned.

Creativity is about the ability to listen, to perceive, to understand so that when you speak in your chosen medium, your voice is clear and articulate.

Post It Note Philosophy #15

PINP 15

Creativity is the act of recreating, reversing, repurposing, reimagining, redirecting, redesigning. Its genesis is an awareness of the past, influenced by the present and focused on the future.

Have You Read A Very Short Story Today? Part 5

In between pontificating on aspects of creativity, living a creative life, and putting edits on my novel or throwing words at my novella, I like to continue playing with the very short form of fiction.

Here is this week’s round up of twitfic. And yes, there are not one, but two, fart jokes (I’m so mature).

I.

“Every time you slam the door a fairy loses its wings,” her mother yelled. She leant against the door and waited for the wings to float down.

II.

Beneath the starry expanse she placed a mirror on the grass; a square of sky on the ground. “On Earth as it is in Heaven,” she intoned.

III.

“Check out this view of Earth!”

They crammed into the small viewing port.

“You called me over ’cause you farted?”

“Yep.”

“Arsehole.”

IV.

Cuddled on the couch the stench wafted up nostrils.

“Romance is dead,” she said, shifting away.

“I tend to think of it as foreplay,” he said.

V.

Putting a pen into the cassette’s cog he respooled the mangled tape. He wanted to hear her voice one more time before it was erased.

VI.

The day her hair began falling out she pruned the roses; denuding it to a thorned stem and waited for the first hint of regrowth.

VII.

He selected his favourite brown paper bag containing photos, Lego pieces, textas and a marble.

“I am the collector of broken things.”

VIII.

He collected the sacred writings from public toilet walls and began to preach, “Today is the bidet of salvation.”

IX.

“We are all competent liars,” she said. “The truth lies in the one you believe in.” She leaned in and sealed her lips to his.

Post It Note Philosophy #14

PINP 14

At the heart of creativity is the belief in the power of the story, the image, the music to transform, to develop understanding and to be understood.

Post It Note Philosophy 12

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Creativity begins with permission. Grant permission with the gift of an instrument: a pen, a brush, a camera or a musical instrument.