A Picture Is Worth....

Let's start with a picture. Choose an image you have discovered in the course of your research, or one that has inspired or otherwise impacted your current writing project. Describe the image and the story it suggests. 

Who are these people? What brought them together? Where are we? Use creative license here—the goal is not to caption the photo or recreate its history, but rather to bring this place, these people, this moment to life.

Whether you are writing a work of fantasy or scholarship, you are in the business of world building. Think of this exercise as building a slice of that world. Details—the way a couple leans together, the sticky film of cola on the table, the quiet twang of a guitar in the background—help us see what you are thinking and looking at (to borrow from Ms. Didion). Even if the resulting flight of fancy has no place in your final project, this exercise can help you make your world real.

Is it wrong to say 1000 words?

Cover photo: Marion Post Wolcott, “Couples in a Juke Joint, Moore Haven, Fla.” LACMA