Hello flash fictioners!

I hope you're enjoying the transition into Fall and getting lots of writing done! If you've not already, I'd love for you to subscribe to my popular FREE monthly Substack newsletter, The Art of Flash Fiction, where you will get craft articles, recommended reading, and some great writing prompts.

Today, I'd like to share with you my thoughts about Radical Noticing and how this benefits your creativity...

Recently on the first day of a retreat I was running, I gave the participants an “assignment” to walk around our lodge and outdoor spaces and just “notice” things. It’s a lovely, rustic place with lots of quirky art, photographs, musical instruments, and outdoors of course all the natural beauty of Colorado. I wanted them not to overthink the task, only to walk around in an open and receptive frame of mind and take photos of the things that captured their attention.

Because here’s what I believe: We are drawn to things, people, places, etc. for a reason. They “speak” to us on some level. There is some underlying significance worthy of further examination.

The second part of their assignment was to simply choose one of the things they noticed and write about it. Describe it. Ask it questions. Give it a history and a backstory. And as always, allow the writing to go where it led them. If the object evoked a memory, they were to go ahead and write about that, too.

We truly are experiencing our world at a faster, more frenetic pace than ever before. I, for one, gobble information like a crazed locust in a wheat field, skimming, clicking, consuming, moving on. I have started to spend time outdoors each day without phone or laptop, just allowing myself to daydream. It has done wonders for my mental health. But I digress.

The next day, I had them read their pieces to the group, asking speaker and listeners alike to “find the metaphors” in the work. To listen for what felt symbolic, what seemed to hold metaphorical significance. Often times the simple act of describing something sets our meaning-making brains to work.

A writer who very intentionally works with metaphor is Marilynne Robinson (author of Housekeeping and Gilead). She said in an interview once that she actually collects metaphors in her day-to-day life. She jots them down on index cards and refers back to them to inspire and enrich her writing.

“I have an enormous respect for metaphor. I tend to think of fiction as extended metaphor. Melville might agree. It does not disturb me at all to think that ultimate mysteries should be conveyed to us in parables, for example. Language has its limits, as do our powers of comprehension. And language also has amazing resources, which we discover when we test its limits. Emerson says every word was once a poem.” ~Marilynne Robinson

Look to your own writing. Especially if you’ve ever pulled together a collection of stories, you likely discovered some repeated images, objects, or actions. I believe these hold the same significance as dreams. Pay attention to what keeps coming up and examine those further. Radically notice your own inherent obsessions.

Our brains love to notice and create symbols and patterns. They are an integral part of our storytelling. Metaphor lends depth and beauty and significance to our stories.

Happy writing!

Kathy

Kathy Fish

Writer & Teacher

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