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Welcome to WORD : CORPSE
A place for writers to collaborate.
Alchemize. Conjure. Create.
We've our pens crossed for gold, but, barring that, mutual inspiration will do.
A collaboration can begin a number of ways:
Post a Picture.
Find an evocative image. You know the kind, the sort of thing that catches your breath a little it’s so stunning/appalling/absurd/heartbreaking/grotesque... Something that cannot help but tell a story, or quicken the blood, or stir that dark swampy place in the back of your mind. You can post the image as is and wait for someone to start in on writing, or—better—you can write the first line to get things going. Keep all instructions, explanations and expositions at a minimum. Let the eyes words work on their own.
Post a Quote.
This may be tricky, because many quotes you’ll run into are all rather pithy and declarative and don’t leave much for one to add on to. In fact, most quotes readily searchable on google are more conversation enders than starters, a kind of ‘Ah-ha’ or even ‘Ha-ha’ flourish that can only leave one solemnly nodding or shaking their head in deep empathy. Best is to find that line or sentence you run into that is more enigma than epiphany. More non-sense (or un-sense) than “it-all-makes-sense” kinda thing. You can incorporate the quote in a first line, or follow it with something completely different.
Post five words.
Another writer will write the first line incorporating these five words, but will also include in their first line five additional words (indicated in bold) for the next writer to use. The process repeats. The best way to do this is to have direct interaction with the other writers of the piece. That way, the person can reciprocate, and their own word choices will be (consciously and unconsciously) guided by the other writers by that ghost of a story embedded in the words themselves. The repetition of the words should make of an interesting ‘end’ product (if the story ever ends).
Design your own rules
If you’ve dreamt up a really nifty idea, some kind of genius oulipoean master plan to guide our words, by choice and chance, to their ideal golden state, then write them out, as clearly and simply as you can manage and email it all the writers. The instructions won’t appear on the actual blog, unless you can manage some poetic rendering of the rules that everyone can understand.
Post a Line of Your Own
By far the simplest prompt, simply post one or a few lines and all can add on as they see fit. Though simplest, this may be not as much fun. There’s something about being bound to an arbitrary form that forces your brain to tread untrodden paths. And, in the end, that’s what I hope this little project will help everyone do. There’s something special that happens when your words are forced into conflict—with other’s words, with other words, with ideas, images and other stimuli new, strange, and different. Here’s to that something special. Here’s to words, corpses, and all bodies of mute brilliance.
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