Tuesday, October 20, 2015

No Ideas But in Things


As part of our ongoing emphasis on narrative, today's blog posts will focus on narratives from inanimate objects. Please watch the video above of Marcel the Shell. It's fairly internet famous, so you may have already seen it, but note the absurd humor, as well as how Marcel feels like a fleshed-out character while still retaining his essential shell-ness.

For your blog post, feel free to comment on Marcel or share other examples of inanimate object narratives. Additionally, please write a 100-word narrative from the perspective of an object. Your object can be anything non-living (sidewalk, lollipop, public mirror). Think about what your object does: what would it find important? How would it see itself? Is it arrogant? Shy? Depressed? What human characteristics does it display?

Here's one I found online:

I wait, in dark, wanting to laugh, but quiet. You will find me. You won’t want to, but you’re drawn to me; to the bait.  And when you find me… I will kill you. Before you realize your mistake, before you pull away, between heartbeats even as close as yours, I will come down with a speed and a force unlike anything you’ve ever known… and I will try to break you in half. 

… And when your cold, lifeless body has been disposed of… They’ll add a bit more cheese… and I’ll call to your friends... They’ll die too.

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I'll identify the object in the comments. You can have people try to figure yours out, or you can tell us in the title. 

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