Snapshots

Recently, during my creative writing class, I came across a very interesting piece. It was about this girl and a spider, basically describing the spider walking on her skin. While I was reading it, all I could think was "THIS IS REALLY COOL!", but toward the end I read the word "snapshot" and suddenly a light shone in my mind. What if I had a whole section in my magazine dedicated to snapshots? Oh, yes! So I did some thinking, because I needed to come up with a feasible way to make this happen. The best option I could come up with was: the hypothetical photographers would got out in the beautiful, wild world to take many pictures; then these photographs would be presented to a set of hypothetical writers, who would each choose one that inspires him/her and write something -yes, anything, that's the beauty of it. (In my mind I have a full working magazine on a tall, fancy building in New York City). The purpose is to keep it simple, but also meaningful, and to create a connection between the photograph and the piece; it's a way of having something unique and nice for readers to consume quickly.

The Guardian does something like that, but they only have the pictures, and they are all related to politics and world issues (1867 stays away from all that) -they call it "Twenty photographs of the week". That's how I got the idea of having my hypothetical photographers going out in the world to take pictures -to get snapshots of the moment, the right now, the current events. So I went there and looked around last week's pearls, and decided to create and example of how this would kinda go (keep in mind that on the real hypothetical magazine my hypothetical writers would have other hypothetical staff to read their pieces and perfect it; this was all me, myself, and I).

Picture I stole from The Guardian. Thanks, guys!

Black is for the emptiness. For that space in my closet that used to be yours. For that shelf on the bathroom that held your toothbrush and deodorant. For the void beside me on our bed that permeates eternal coldness and shivers and cries. For the spot in my heart that used to have your name written, now scratched by your hateful actions.

Purple is for all the marks. For all the bruises and scars that you left on me. For all the lessons you taught me on how to never let myself be treated again. For all your insane words that cut my skin and made me bleed and changed me for life. For all the purple bags underneath my watered eyes after a night pondering why you piously let me believe your lies.

Blue is for me, blue. For all the sadness you put me through. For all the wasted time I had to oblige my heart to consent with, while my blood got colder and colder each time you touched me. For all the nights my eyes grew the size of an apple, my tears were so abundant that they became scarce, and each sob threw a piece of my soul out of my body.

Green is for hope. Hope I carry above all others. Hope that guides me through this road and keeps me from hurting my toes with rocks or glass or dirt. Hope that wakes me up every morning after you left my body. Hope that whispers in my ear that today is just another day, tomorrow will be a better day, and the day after will be even better. Hope that keeps my head high looking for places to find happiness, since it’s been hard to find it within. Hope that shines in the distance, green, easy on the eyes, bright and beautiful, that speaks to me, yells that I can reach if I just keep pushing and pushing, because it is not far and it is not just in my mind.

My first demonstration of fiction writing skills in the blog, I hope you enjoy it!

Anyway, I'm saying, or better yet, writing all this because this might be my two-page spread. Yes, I know I said I was going to create "the system" before starting anything, but you can't program epiphanies. Epiphanies just happen. And they are so rare that when they do happen, you gotta make use of them right away. I couldn't let this one go because I very much like it, and I'd love to just go out in the wild, broad world taking pictures to inspire me to write.

"Twenty Photographs of the Week | Art and Design | The Guardian." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/series/twenty-photographs-of-the-week>. 

Powell, Jim. "The 20 Photographs of the Week." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 2016. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2016/mar/12/the-20-photographs-of-the-week#img-11>.