Everything's a Writing Prompt Part 9: Other Art Forms
There's a long and strong tradition of writing poems and stories based on works of visual arts. Such a strong tradition there's a whole genre devoted to it, ekphrastic writing, which is a term that can mean either a vivid, dramatic description of a work of art or a piece inspired by a work of visual art, depending on the context and who you're talking to.
I've experimented with ekphrasis in the past and find it to be a fun exercise. I also find that music can be an excellent source of creative inspiration, either as a direct prompt for story ideas or as a way to set the right atmosphere for a setting or home in on the personality of a character. Then there are other forms of art that have a very direct and obvious way of potentially inspiring stories. Things like drama and movies, for instance, which can be directly adapted into a story or poem, or can serve as the jumping-off point to extend the story beyond what's shown in the original. Many songs fit into this category too, I think, especially ones with lyrics that already tell a story or introduce characters, and visual art that depicts an action-in-progress can function in the same way. I'll group these things together as “narrative art” because they have some kind of built-in plot progression.
What I wanted to focus on in this post are a few prompts for getting story ideas from non-narrative works of art—things like instrumental music, music with abstract lyrics, or visual works like statues, abstracts, still lifes, and landscapes. Here are some ways I've gotten ideas from other works of art that I thought might be helpful for other writers, too.
Exercise 1: That's a mood.
You can do this exercise with either a work of visual art or a piece of music. The idea is to capture the feel and spirit of the piece, so you can use something that has identifiable objects in it or something that's completely abstract.
If you picked a piece of music, play it through once and listen to it deeply, then jot down notes on the feelings it gives you or any images it conjures in your mind. It may be helpful to listen to it twice: once just to listen, and a second time while you're writing things down. For visual art, spend at least 5 minutes closely studying the piece and take similar notes on the feelings it evokes in you.
Once you've done this close study, take a second to brainstorm some storytelling elements from it. Does it feel like it exists in a specific place or type of setting? Are there any points of conflict or tension in the work? What kind of character is evoked by this music or visual?
Finally, set a timer for 10-15 minutes and freewrite from these ideas you've brainstormed.
Exercise 2: Soundtrack.
This one is specifically for a piece of music. It can be instrumental or with lyrics, whatever you're feeling in the moment. To start, listen to the piece you've picked out. Instead of drawing direct inspiration from it, though, use it as a source of extrapolation. Think about questions like:
- What kind of character would rank this among their favorite musical works? What does that reflect about them as a person?
- What places or settings would it feel natural to hear this song playing?
- Is there a specific period in history that you'd associate this song with (even if it's not the time period when the song was originally made)?
- Are there any particular fashions or artistic styles that this song makes you think of?
- What events or activities could you picture someone doing while this song is playing?
Brainstorm some answers to whichever of those questions feel like they make the most sense for the music you picked, or feel like they have the most storytelling energy for you. Then, write a story or poem where this musical work would make sense as its “soundtrack” by weaving together some of the elements you brainstormed.
Exercise 3: A study in structure.
This is another one that can be done with visual art or music. All forms of art, however abstract, have some kind of structure. This could be the composition of the different elements in a painting, the arrangement of phrases and chord progressions in a song, or the sequence of scenes in a short story. How the creator approaches the question of structure will be different between mediums, so by adopting the structure of, say, a song for a short story, you can open up new ways to approach your storytelling without needing to completely reinvent the wheel.
To start, pick a painting, photo, sculpture, or work of music that you want to study. This exercise could be a fun one to try with things like textile arts, jewelry, ceramics, or other three-dimensional works. Take a zoomed-out perspective, considering its core form instead of the details. It can be helpful to make sketches or diagrams that let you visualize how the different parts of the work come together into a whole. The key things you want to define are:
What are the major parts or sections of this piece?
What defines each one as distinct from the others?
How do the different parts connect, transition, or relate to each other?
Once you've defined that, brainstorm what that might look like in a story or poem form. Don't just think about the arrangement of scenes and stanzas, but also shifts in the mood or tone and how those structural differences could be reflected in things like the rhythm of the language or pacing of the narrative. Finally, write a story or poem that mimics or plays with that structure.
Exercise 4: Word association.
Now, let's twist the zoom knob the other way. This prompt focuses in just on the details, and can be used with either visual art or music. Here are the steps:
Study your chosen piece and write down a list of 15-25 adjectives that describe what you see or hear.
Based on that list of adjectives, come up with:
- A setting that integrates 3-5 adjectives
- A character that integrates 3-5 adjectives
- An object that integrates 3-5 adjectives
- A list of 3-5 smells or tastes you'd associate with those adjectives
- A list of 3-5 textures or touch sensations you'd associate with those adjectives
Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and write a scene or poem using that setting, character, and object that uses as many of the smell, taste, or touch details you listed as you can.
Exercise 5: Two for one.
For this last exercise, you're going to need two works. They can be from the same medium or different ones—two paintings, or a photo and a song, or whatever other combination of things strikes your fancy.
To start, study the two pieces of art. While you do, write down:
- The features that the two things share. This could be specific details like colors or items that are in both, or more abstract details like a similar mood
- The points of tension, contrast, or difference between the two things.
Next, create a character based on each of the works you studied. Aim to make each one embody some of those points of tension you noted when studying the works. So, for example, let's say you were listening to thrash metal but looking at a painting of a pastoral landscape. A point of tension might be that one is loud and frenetic while the other is peaceful. This could be translated into one high-energy character and another who's calm and laid-back.
Finally, use those shared features between the works when you're creating the setting and set-up for the story. Use this as the glue that keeps the two characters stuck together despite their differences.
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