When a Writer’s Imagination Takes Flight
Great things happen when a good writer begins an epic tale
What happens when a writer’s imagination takes flight?
Who can take a simple instrument like a pencil or an inkpen and use it to create a magical world for millions of readers to experience from the comfort of a chair?
You can.
A writer’s imagination takes flight and suddenly you’re on an airplane full of snakes, or chasing a whale through the depths of the ocean, or navigating a spaceship through an ocean of stars.
And more.
Writers have the power to create worlds complete with unforgettable people who will never be flesh and blood, but are often more real to us than actual breathing individuals we talk to daily.
A competent writer uses description and details to bring characters to life, complete with motives and feelings, who make mistakes and good choices.
When they are sad, we grieve with them. When they are victorious, we cheer them on. When they stumble, we want to help them up. They can stir our anger, bring tears to our eyes, and keep us up way past our bed time because we love being in their company.
They invite us on their journey and we go willingly, eagerly. Sometimes we don’t want their story to end. That is the mark of a masterful writer.
Paul Mansfield proves you can pack a lot of detail into flash fiction:
“The wolves circle the gates, but they do not dare enter. Despite their hunger and unnatural desire for carnage, even they know it is certain death which awaits them if they do.They have no desire to die; only to feed and cry havoc, for they are the dogs of war.”
One of my favorite writers here on Medium is Don Drewniak. Seriously, this excellent storyteller can’t write fast enough to suit me! He proves that great writers can take real flesh and blood people I’ve never met and in 5 minutes, they’re not strangers anymore.
“Thankfully, we only had to endure Miss Willington’s 5th-grade music class once a week. I suspected that she taught music when the new Slade School opened in 1928…
With the classroom clatter ensuring only I could hear her, and her face uncomfortably close to mine, she said, “If you don’t sing during the assembly, you will get a good mark.” She then pulled away and acted as if I were invisible.
That hurt. I imagined her being trampled by Killer Cows. Or disintegrated by one of Retik’s Lunarium-powered ray cannons. Or trapped in a sewer with hundreds of hungry rats. Or dropped into a river filled with piranha.”
Gus Gresham knows his way around a computer keyboard for sure. This story will have you scratching your head and giggling:
LULU: It looks to me as if the buttons have been cut off. Deliberately.
ZOE: I hope you’re not suggesting I’ve cut them off?
(LULU raises the shirt to her nose.)
LULU: Have you worn the item, madam? Only it seems a touch whiffy and soiled around the underarms.
ZOE: What? Now just a second. I bought that shirt here in good faith, with good money —
LULU: For all I know you bought it in bad faith, with stolen money, wore it to go clubbing half the night — sweating your filthy stink all over it — then cut the buttons off in a fit of drunken lunacy and slept in the gutter.
These are just a few samples of the great talent that’s here on Medium. Whatever you’re looking for, style, topic, humor, history…you name it! We’ve got it. Excellent writers continue to spread their wings here and develop their skills.
Now you’ve got a front row seat to one of the best shows in town!
Watch as our imaginations take flight to bring you new worlds and new people for you to get to know and love.
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