the weight of stillness, the power of white space

Photo by Filip Kominik on Unsplash

“In the spring, when I decided to write about white things, the first thing I did was make a list.” The White Book ~Han Kang

Hello, friends! Today’s post is the free monthly version of this newsletter which goes out all 9.9K of you. I hope you are doing well, holding up, and writing lots amidst all the changes and transitions September brings. What follows is an excerpt from a post from a few years ago, on the anniversary of my mother’s death, in which I was contemplating the loss of her, and the white space her absence created in my life. I have included a writing prompt to help you lean in to stillness, negation, and white space in your flash fiction. Further down, I announce some upcoming workshops and there’s also a special discount just for Art of Flash subscribers for a cool new educational venture called Deep Dive.

Thanks, as always, for your readership and support. It means the world to me. With love & gratitude,

Kathy

From: “Absence, Negation, and White Space: On Loss & Spareness” ~November, 2022

Today friends, I’m very much thinking of absence and negation, and what role they play in crafting powerful stories and memoir. I wonder if some form of loss lives in the white space of all our stories, whether we’re aware of it or not.

Above, I quoted the first line of Han Kang’s quietly aching The White Book. A story told in the sparest of short, beautifully written chapters. I highly recommend it to anyone, but flash writers and readers especially.

Here is the list that followed: Swaddling bands / Newborn gown / Salt / Snow / Ice / Moon / Rice / Waves / Yulan / White bird / “Laughing whitely” / Blank paper / White dog / White hair / Shroud

The pieces culminate in a haunting and profound contemplation, a deeply moving story of family and loss. For the reader there is the sense, always, of what is left out, what has been lost, and what is unspoken.

What can flash writers learn from Kang’s approach? The individual pieces read, many of them, like prose poems, but collectively they form a story. What can you subtract from your work-in-progress? How does negation serve to heighten a sense of loss within the text? When you show the reader what didn’t happen, what does this tell them about what did? How loud is the unspoken? What is missing? What words hang in the air? And what crazy mathematics creates a feeling of more from the act of subtraction?

“There is a time in life when you expect the world to be always full of new things. And then comes a day when you realize that is not how it will be at all. You see that life will become a thing made of holes. Absences. Losses. Things that were there and are no longer. And you realize, too, that you have to grow around and between the gaps, though you can put your hand out to where things were and feel that tense, shining dullness of the space where the memories are.” ~Helen Macdonald

In my workshops, I have taught an exercise where the writer must create a whole flash out of showing us what didn’t happen. Where the couple didn’t honeymoon. Or what wasn’t said when they broke up. What the family didn’t eat that Thanksgiving.

Consider the power of the thing that never gets mentioned. Family secrets. Why do we cover things up (literally and figuratively)? We writers are told to include lots of rich detail, but what if we don’t? What kind of story emerges from that spareness?

For you, the flash fiction writer, this can present an intriguing challenge.

Read “Sneakers in the Sand” by Dina L. Relles in River Teeth. And read The White Book by Han Kang if you’ve not already.

Read my January post on lending weight to our stories:

The Things We Carry

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YOUR PROMPT

Make a list as Han Kang does on the first page of The White Book. Consider framing it around a certain, evocative color as she does. Begin in simplicity, not knowing where you’re going with this. Let your mind wander a little. Ten items.

Now, over the course of the next several days, set about writing short pieces based on these items. Be sparing with your words. Consider using negation. What didn’t happen? Who wasn’t in attendance? What don’t you remember? What loss lives in the white space? Challenge yourself to do much with very little.

The result may be some sad, strange beauty. The result may be unexpected. The result may be a little scary. Or magical. The result may be the beginnings of your next chapbook.

Your reader’s brain will seek out story and poetry and if you trust in that and your own inimitable voice enough, they will likely find it.

Upcoming Workshops

I’m honored to be leading a two-hour generative session for Cleaver Magazine on Sept. 28th! Sign up via Submittable HERE. SESSION WILL BE RECORDED.

Thanks to all of you who took part in Saturday’s 3-in-90 workshop on rendering powerful emotion in flash fiction!

“Thanks for yesterday’s generative workshop. Your prompts gave me a fresh approach to a flash I’ve been working/thinking/ dreamstorming about for a long while. The initial inspiration came from a childhood experience but your prompts gave me tools to reshape it. I’m excited to continue the revision. You delivered a ton of gifts in 90 minutes.” ~Rosemary Porto

The FINAL 3-in-90 of this series takes place Saturday, October 11th at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, U.S. More info and register by clicking the link below:

The Weight of Stillness: Crafting Quiet Power in Flash Fiction

SPECIAL OFFER FOR ART OF FLASH SUBSCRIBERS!

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