Let's Assemblé at the Orchid Ballet
Somebody Write This Book
Hi! Hello! I’m Kirk Reedstrom and this is the Somebody Write This Book newsletter where I send monthly, occasionally (okay, okay—often) absurd creative prompts to your inbox. You probably signed up for this on my website or on Twitter. If you’d like to unsubscribe, just click that link at the bottom of the newsletter. One click, all done, goodbye and sayonara.
A Prompt:
I love the idea of plants dreaming, and this image was too whimsical to pass up. It will surprise no one that my favorite kind of ballet is Olympic Ski Ballet, but I also love to draw characters dancing. Quick tip: If you want to practice drawing characters in motion, go to YouTube and search for a ballet, ice skating, gymnastics, or a musical. Pause the video when characters hit a dramatic pose, and you’re ready to go. Anyway, let’s get back to this prompt, and make our own flower ballerina as a squiggle character. If you need a refresher on how to create a squiggle character, you can find instructions in my first newsletter. Ready?
Here’s my squiggle:
And here’s my ballerina:
This month, I filmed my squiggle character drawing again. So if you want to see my process from beginning to end, you can watch the video on my YouTube channel. If you want to continue to grow this story, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
What kind of music does the ballerina dance to?
Who watches the orchid ballet?
Are there other flowers that dance? Do they dance in different styles?
What happens during the winter?
What is the orchid afraid of?
Who does the orchid dream of dancing with?
Try setting a timer for 23 minutes and free write a little story that’s about 100-200 words from the perspective of the orchid or its dance partner. You can go over or under that word count. You can write for a longer or shorter amount of time. If a story’s not your cup of tea, try a poem or four panel comic. Again, there are no rules!
Three Four Neat Things:
A Give Away:
A bonus neat thing! Earlier this week, I crossed the 100 subscriber threshold. To celebrate, I’m going to give away a squiggle drawing to one of you. The drawing will be random (the prize drawing—though actual squiggle drawing will also be random), and it’ll take place this weekend.
A Giant Typewriter:
Speaking of dancing, I can’t get over this giant typewriter dance number. Enjoy.
A Show:
Lost Ollie premiered on Netflix not too long ago. I remember seeing a very early version of it as story boards when I interned at Moonbot Studios way back in the day, and it is so cool to see it come to fruition. Congrats to William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg, and the whole Moonbot/Reel FX crew who worked on the many versions of this story.
A Poem:
Grasshopper
by Mary Ruefle
Have you ever tried
to catch a grasshopper?
It is practically impossible
but those who make
a close study of life
believe that under the surface
is a pillar of motionless time
Now is the time
to add a grasshopper
to your viatica
to abandon endless
exposure, and embrace
unnoticed life
Now pounce
Remember, he weighs
less than an ounce
and under him
is a pillar of
motionless time—
Thanks for reading. If you’re hankering for more prompts, you can read the archives here. If you really enjoyed it, forward this email to a friend or arch nemesis.
If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time (Hello friend or nemesis!), you can subscribe here.
-Kirk
www.kirkreedstrom.com