Writing Through Improvisation

Start with one concrete observation from your immediate environment. Ask: "What happens if I follow this thread without knowing where it leads?"

Example: Notice ceiling cracks → What if they spread? → Ceiling caves in → See wires, pipes → Roof caves in → See clouds → Clouds fall → Only blue remains → Blue drains out → Stars visible → Stars fall → Black remains → That's the funeral shroud.

Phase 1: Pre-linguistic Observation

• Slow down completely
• Drop all assumptions about what you're observing
• Notice raw sensations before naming them
• Resist using "off-the-rack" phrases

Phase 2: Extended Following

• Pick one concrete detail
• Ask "What happens next?" repeatedly
• Stay literal, avoid rushing to symbolism
• Follow the thread until it reaches natural conclusion

Phase 3: Layered Description

• Think like a painter - consider horizontal layers
• Stack visual elements for the reader
• Let exterior description reveal interior character
• Treat inside/outside as coextensive, not separate

Phase 4: Patient Revision

• Expect some passages to take years
• Keep returning to calibrate language
• Stay with pieces until they feel right
• Remove any language used just for show

Example 1: Basic Observation Exercise Input: Swan boats on Boston Common pond Process: Sit and observe → Notice layers (water surface, reflections, movement patterns, children's reactions) → Stack these as painter would → Let character experience emerge through the description Output: "The swan boats carved white wakes through water that held three skies - the real one above, its reflection below, and the third sky created by the overlapping ripples, each carrying fragments of cloud and child-laughter."

Example 2: Following a Thread Input: Character notices something unexpected Process: Stay with the character → Don't explain away the observation → Follow where it leads literally → Let meaning emerge naturally Output: Like the ceiling cracks example - start with hallucination, follow to complete structural collapse, end with funeral shroud imagery