Day 14: Smudge your lines
alys longley, creator of SMUDGE Skittle
Endless models exist for smudging your writing style! (Photos by alys longley)
In creativity research, the value of intuitive, playful, and unpredictable studio methods is well accepted. There are times when conventional approaches to writing and the values of proof, explanation, predictability, analysis, and linear argument may constrain, rather than enable, creative research.
SMUDGE SKITTLE: A little inventory of resources for creative researchers is a collection of writing prompts that tangle artistic thinking with written reflection. Each card frames writing and knowing as playful, open-ended, idiosyncratic, and relational.
You may wish to try one or more of the writing prompts below, or you can click here to read the rules of play (spoiler alert: there aren’t any!) and deal your own cards.
4.5 Engaging duration and scale can telescope the imagination
Find some large sheets of paper — as large as you can manage. Find a bunch of different writing implements: pencils, pens, markers, paint brushes, graphite sticks, pastel sticks. Think of your writing practice and the spatial pathways and sensory textures of your work. Translate the sensory qualities of your research into passages of writing and drawing: soft, strong, brittle, leaning, resting. Let the tone of the movement lead the progress of drawn and written forms.
8.3 Writing rides on material sensory activity
Allow qualities of line in handwriting to come into collaboration with your research.
Rewrite (by hand) a section of text, focusing on angles, qualities, and densities of line:
loose vs direct
clear vs ambiguous
thick vs thin
rounded vs straight
See how these shifts in graphic quality and scale can shift the style and substance of your scholarship.
For more inspiration and examples of creative practice research, explore my online resources for writers, artists, and scholars:
alys longley, creator of SMUDGE Skittle
o my gosh I am so intimidated by this prompt! I think of myself as I think of myself as creative and adventurous but you are showing me my limits alys :))))) Thank you for doing so, I love it. And I can't wait to see what happens!
I'm struggling with all the theoretical frameworks and concepts. One of my professors suggested I use post-its, which I was struggling to somehow manifest... I'm looking forward to exploring this prompt as I find ways to learn about the different theorists and ideas to incorporate into my evolving research path and writing.