Writing prompt: echo & voiceprint
By Rose Lindsey
For this month’s theme of love through community connection and care, our writing prompt will focus on the elements of echo and voiceprint. These are two forms of intertextual craftwork – working in relationship to other texts – that will help in enriching our own written works. As always, writing prompts are invitational; feel free to follow these instructions as closely or as loosely as you wish.
To begin with, choose a writer you know that you have an admiration for. In particular, I’d encourage you to select a writer who you share some kind of direct relationship with. For instance, you might choose a friend of yours who’s a poet, or a local writer you saw a reading for recently. If you can’t think of someone with whom you’re directly familiar, your favorite writer is a welcome choice. Either way, choose someone that will inspire you towards your own composition.
Give their work a scan, and find one of your favorite pieces or passages, whatever grabs your eye most at this moment. Take this instance to reread the work carefully, reabsorb the way it’s written. Ask yourself the following questions: What about their writing style differs from my own? What kind of rhythm does each line have? What diction are they employing – are their words notably short or long? How are they utilizing sound devices throughout the excerpt? What strikes you as you’re reading, makes you think, if only I could write like this? Note all of your discoveries down – now’s your chance to employ exactly what you find!
Once you’ve got a strong reading of what makes your chosen passage effective and distinct, reread yet again, and this time determine which line catches your attention the most. On a separate piece of paper or document, record down the line. This will be the basis of the piece to follow.
With this chosen line, create a brainstorm flowchart for yourself, building out the possible associations you find with it. For instance, consider what happens if the meaning of the word in the line changes; alternatively, consider what memories the line inspires on a first read on its own. Continue out in every direction you feel your associations drawn towards, and allow yourself to build naturally on what speaks to you at the heart of the line. Give yourself at least five minutes for this, but continue on as long as feels necessary.
When you’ve found yourself coming to a slow, the material for your new piece will be in front of you. Put the original line at the top of your work document or paper, and then start to create. At any point, you’re welcome to introduce that original line into your new composition – this will be your instance of echo in your work. Otherwise, allow yourself to be influenced by the voice of the author you borrowed from – this will help to create a voiceprint of the inspirational writer.
By the time you’ve finished composing your piece, you’ll have participated in a long-standing tradition of authors influencing other authors! Accepting inspiration from a peer or role model is one of the best ways to demonstrate your love for their craft. If you’re close with the original writer, this could even make for a potential gift for them. Regardless of if you share it, though, you can wrap up with the knowledge that you participated in a larger literary community in a caring way.