The Bones of “A Blur of Color and Sound”
For Jordan, the party was like one of those Magic Eye books that was always in the dentist’s office. It started out as one thing and became something else, with the in-between mostly a blur of color and sound.
True story, writing/being a writer is a rollercoaster. Even during the high points, I often tell my wife that maybe I’ll get off the ride or move on to other creative endeavors. I’ve always wanted to be a mixed-media artist/sculptor, though I don’t know how anyone in Hawaiʻi has the space.
When I wrote this story, I was at a low point. It was just after my novel Between Sky and Sea: A Family’s Struggle was published, and I was going through the process of figuring out what to write about next. Out of that came a lot of false starts, including “A Blur of Color and Sound.”
In its original form, “A Blur…” was meant to be the first chapter of a YA/noir novel in the vein of Rian Johnson’s 2005 film Brick, but I never made it past chapter one, so it sat in my scraps folder for a while. Then, while working on another story, I rewatched Lorde’s performance of her song “Perfect Places” on Jimmy Fallon from back when Melodrama came out (this album is a masterpiece; if you haven’t heard it, please buy it/stream it ASAP). It reminded me what and who was at the core of the story and why I decided to explore the recreational drug scene in Hawaiʻi in the first place. After that, I revised it to stand alone.
Still, I wasn’t happy with some of the elements and almost decided to remove it along with another story (that one was ultimately removed).
Then, Cathy Song suggested moving the moment of the character’s baptism from the middle of the story to the conclusion, and Craig Howes made me realize that the way to save the story was with a simple POV switch. Those two things made such a difference and helped me to bring out what was already embedded into the story from the start.
Photo credit: Donald Carreira Ching
There have been a number of times that I’ve started out in one POV and then shifted to another in order to unblock a story. In a different way, I think when we’re on the low points of the writing rollercoaster (or any metaphorical rollercoaster), it’s hard to see the problem might be one of perspective. Changing our point of view can be helpful at seeing what’s in front of us. It can also help to make sense of the tracks behind us and what’s to come.
And of course, a prompt:
Put on a song or album that makes you feel something. After a few listens, channel that emotion into a scene or stanza. See where it takes you.
More soon,
Donald
If you write a short piece with this prompt feel free to share it in the comments below, or post it in the Bamboo Shoots Writing Community, Bones of Blood Work Prompts page.
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