#6 You tell your friends that your favorite way to relax is galumphing."
-Ann Linquist, http://annlinquist.com/you-want-to-write-better-you-want-to-write-more
Recently, I was introduced to the literary exercise of Galumphing. My online teacher, Ann Linquist, taught this technique. Three lists of words, each assigned a number from 0-9 are organized into a chart. Without looking, you select a three digit number. First number references the first list, second to the second list and so on. You end up with three seemingly unrelated items in which you must weave into a short story. I got science teacher, sculpture, and beach. And here's how it went...
Matt was glad to leave his students behind to experience a
much needed get-away. He was not
normally so impromptu, but his life was changing fast. When he’d met Clarissa, he was at a
symposium and she was the artist that drew all the sketches. Her work was new and fresh. She was young, beautiful and
alluring. A brief introduction, a
cup of java, and three months later, she’s suggesting they take a jaunt to
Revere Beach to join some friends in a beach sculpting competition. Who would have thought? This science
teacher would find himself among Boston’s art culture, playing in the dirt with
the most non-traditional girl in the world. His nerves were at attention. This was completely uncharted territory
for him. This girl was whimsical,
nothing like the girls he fraternized in college. They were all business, ambition, and decorum. She was free, spontaneous and
daring. He was afraid of the leap
he was taking. Would this turn out
to be a rabbit hole that venturing too far down would be a bad idea? Drinking in the company of Clarissa was
like taking the “red pill and staying in Wonderland.” It was everything he wanted, and everything he feared.
Absolute the most fun exercise yet!
No comments:
Post a Comment