Musicians are communicators. They use their craft to express many different ideas. Each one does it differently in their own style.

Here are some pictures of musicians. Write a short story about some or all of these photos. The story should tell me the following:

• What type of music is the musician playing?
• What are they thinking?
• Is there an audience? If yes, do they like what they hear?
• Anything else you want.

Be creative. Use your imagination.

 

Copyright 2007, Alan Cohen, All Rights Reserved	Copyright 2007, Alan Cohen, All Rights Reserved
Copyright 2007, Alan Cohen, All Rights Reserved	Copyright 2007, Alan Cohen, All Rights Reserved

Writing is not that hard. Like any discipline, following guidelines simplifies the process.

In school, I was taught to answer the 5 "Ws - Who, What, Where, Why, and When". This is great for newspaper writing and for describing events. Who was there? What happened or what is the event about? Where was it? Why is this important? When did it happen. If there is a technical aspect, answering "how" is also important - How does it work? How do I join?

I attended a writing seminar last week. I learned another important aspect - personalize, add an emotional component. If you write about a concert, tell the reader why you liked or disliked it. If you write about something that happened to you, tell the reader why it is important. Answer the "so what" question.

As a writer, you want to give your readers a reason to read what you write. You want your readers to become emotional about your characters. Love them or hate them. That is fine. Not caring either way does you no good.

The best way to write is to practice. Write often. The more you write, the better writer you become.

Remember - give your readers a reason to read your work. Answer the "so what" question.

I love photography. It is my passion. My favorite style is architectural. I love taking pictures of cities, especially gritty cities, those cities that are a bit rundown; those with both old and new houses.

I thought it would be fun to mix photography and writing. I'll post a photo and write about it. You'll do the same.

We can create a "photo chain". Someone posts a photo and writes about it. This acts as the beginning of the story. Another person adds the second photo which continues the story. This process continues until the story is completed.

The story is completely improvisational. The challenge is to use language to tie the pictures together into one story.

It would also be fun for all of us to include photos of our locales and culture. It would be educational and could generate interesting conversation.

I'm also working on a Google Earth idea. I'll write about it when I know exactly what I want to do.

Technology can be a great tool for learning. Let's explore the possibilities.