NOTE: In preparation for the upcoming Let’s Be Brief writing contest, the continuing theme of posts this week and next will be generally (and admittedly sometimes very loosely) on the subject of writing. (For more information on the contest and how to enter, read my previous posts this week.)

What is the imagination?

During this past Christmas season, one of the movies Mrs. MZM and I had a chance to watch again (for about the nth time) was Miracle on 34th Street (the 1947 black & white version, that is – I can’t stand the new version). Near the beginning, there was an interesting conversation between skeptical young Suzy and the persuasive Kris Kringle about just what the imagination was.

KRIS: Do you know what the imagination is?
Suzy: Oh, sure. That’s when you see things, but they’re not really there.
KRIS: That can be caused by other things, too. No, to me the imagination is a place all by itself… a separate country. You’ve heard of the French or the British nation. Well, this is the imagine nation. It’s a wonderful place.

I love that image – the imagination as a whole a “separate country” (or, as we say in Texas: “It’s a whole other country.”) It’s a place all its own, with special qualities and rules that don’t necessarily exist in the “real” world. That’s what makes it so powerful.

As I pointed out in my post Eschew Obfuscation, imagination plays a big role in how readers interpret what they read. Hence the challenge of the Let’s Be Brief contest: how to write a six-word story that lets the readers fill in the rest such that a complete story is told.

A little story

Remember Hemmingway’s six-word story? (“For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.”) What did you hear? I don’t mean those six words, but what information did your brain fill in between the words? How did your imagination fill in the blanks? Your answer is going to depend largely on several things: how much you know (or think you know) about Hemmingway, your background and experiences, and how vivid your imagination is.

I’ll be the first to admit, without looking the man up on Wikipedia, I know very little about him, other than that he was a prolific writer, lived awhile back, in later years was considered a drunkard and something of a pain-in-the-butt… and has a line of furniture at Ethan Allen (OK, it’s only named for him). So my knowledge, or lack of it, influences greatly what I hear when I read that little story. My interpretation was that Hemmingway considered himself to have never had a childhood and was more-or-less “born grown up”, thus justifying his own behavior. To me, that was sufficiently bizarre as to appeal to me in a somewhat humorous way.

But when I shared the story with a friend of mine, his comment was, “Wow, that’s really sad.” Naturally I was surprised, and asked why. He answered that he and his wife had lost a baby and it made him think of “baby shoes, never worn” in that context. I’ve since discovered that Hemmingway did indeed loose a baby, and now my own interpretation of the story is totally different.

See what I mean?

And so it begins

OK, you’re primed and ready! Lined up at the starting line, waiting for the gun to go off, eager to prove to the world you have the stuff it takes to make it!

Once again, starting on Monday, January 15th, here’s all you have to do:

1. Read (if you like) the stories in this Wired article to get a feel for how it’s done.
2. Write a six-word story (a kinda obvious step, I know). In fact, write a group herd bunch – the more the merrier. (There are really only two rules to this contest: a) use exactly six words, and b) because this is for general consumption, I would appreciate it if you would please keep them G-rated!)
3. For those of you with blogs, post your entry on your blog, and link back to this post here at Middle Zone Musings. Then send me an email to let me know.
4. For those of you without blogs (and why haven’t you started one yet?), you can enter your submissions via the comments on this post. No need to email me in this case.
5. In return, I will link back to your post (or mention you by name, if you don’t have a blog) several times during the week, and once more in the archive post.

OK, writers get on your marks… get set…