Observations Regarding 'I Can Almost Picture It'

I refer to I Can Almost Picture It as the online storytelling equivalent of an illustrator's sketchbook, a space that exists just to get me to write every day. That's not entirely accurate; as part of the challenge, I try to make sure that each post feels at least like a complete scene. But everything up there gets posted with minimal revision, start to finish in a day, and some of it's pretty rough as a result.

So it's always a thrill when one of the posts strikes a note with someone. I have wonderfully supportive friends who offer feedback and encourage my madness, of course. Additionally, because there's a mirror site on Tumblr, and I've gone crazy experimenting with hashtags when I post there, I've seen some of the posts get shared by some of the Tumblr accounts that specialize in curating Tumblr-based writing, and that's pretty nifty. TumblrFiction reblogged "Green River Float" and "Automated Teller Machine," and Burning Muse picked up "The Next Big Thing Is Here."

A few thoughts about that:

1) I had no idea that sites that are essentially Tumblr 'zines even existed. What a fabulous idea! (Imagine me grinning the way your ninety-year-old grandma did when she sent her first e-mail.)

2) It's inevitable that the pieces I think are weaker are the ones people will respond to (though "Automated Teller Machine" stands as an exception to that rule--I had fun with that one). I think I can live with that, although it does make me wonder if, instead of submitting to literary journals the few stories I like, I should just flood them with all the pieces I have that I view as crap.

3) Continuing from #2: Really, are you sure you all wouldn't rather read about dragons?

"Bird Day"

"Bird Day" by Nisi Shawl is one of my favorite interpretations of the idea of a birthday celebration. Ms. Shawl actually posted the entire story online a few years back; if you like it, I'd recommend checking out Filter House, the story collection in which she published it. I found the whole book is amazing, with "The Water Museum" being the piece that moved me the most.

You can read "Bird Day" here (and "The Water Museum" here).

Not an April Fool's joke.

Just some stories that run a-fowl of good taste.

Mary Karr

Wanted to make sure that I posted this today. I had the pleasure of hearing Mary Karr read in person a couple of years back, and I highly recommend attending one of her readings if ever you have the chance. She's funny, sarcastic, and completely self-deprecating--everything a poet's not supposed to be!

In the podcast linked below, she's pretty blunt about her faith. I love her take on the Eucharist at the end of the first poem.

A Poet in Hell's Kitchen: Mary Karr on "Poetry Off the Shelf"

Proust-Billings

I'd like to say that I found this author, but in truth, this author found me, through Tumblr.

With I Can Almost Picture It, I've been writing short, unrelated stories based on pictures I take of my surroundings. The author behind Proust-Billings is developing an entire work in short bits, with accompanying images, about two people who meet as students at a music conservatory. I'm not sure where it's going to go or how long it will keep going, but I find the idea intriguing.

Check it out!

The Other Blog

I swear I'm not cheating on this one. It's an open relationship.

But I actually have been updating "I Can Almost Picture It" every day for almost a month now. As with anyone's sketchbook or journal, some bits of the material are better than others; it's just a way to make sure I think every day about writing. If you haven't seen it, and you're wondering where I go for days at a time, why not come visit?

Jay DeFeo: A Retrospective

I'm not familiar with Jay DeFeo's work. This article, however, described it in such a way that it made me really wish I could see this exhibit, especially "The Rose," in person. To be in the same room with a twelve-foot-high work created by layering and scraping paint for more than seven years... I'd probably end up crying. There's a slideshow accompanying the article.

Jay DeFeo: A Retrospective