seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Belgium
seen from Yemen
seen from Brazil
seen from Estonia
seen from Brazil
seen from Russia
seen from Croatia
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from Brazil
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from Ireland
Which one is most important? 👀
🔥 TIDE is repeating last year's hugely successful BIPOC Ticket Initiative! 🔥 We’re thrilled to announce the return of the Alchemy TIDE BIPOC Ticket Initiative! If you—or someone you know—are a person of color interested in attending Alchemy, TIDE wants to help make it happen. We’re offering FREE sponsored tickets specifically for BIPOC burners to help make your first (or next!) burn unforgettable. 🌈🔥 TIDE is also partnering with other Alchemy teams to support first-time burners with resources, guidance, and community connection. 📅 Applications close September 1st at 11:59 PM EST 👉 CLICK HERE Let’s keep the magic growing—please share with your friends and communities!
'While it's happening you think you're going to feel that way always, but you don't. The moment passes. You remember it but you can't feel it.'
Lev Grossman, from The Bright Sword
Uncut Gems (2019) opening sequence by the Safdie brothers & Anna Kornbluh on immediacy in Immediacy, or The Style of Too Late Capitalism (2024)
I had a dream about an immediacy ritual that I wanted to write down before I forgot it. It requires two sighted people and an Important Pointed Object, like a neat stick or a cool long rock or a crystal that doesn't mind being dropped. The ritual works like this:
First: the two people decide why the ritual is being performed, whether it's to Find a Solution, Connect with your Surroundings, or to Know each other Better.
Second: whoever has the Important Pointed Object drops it on the ground.
Third: each person sits/stands/otherwise positions themself on either side of the Important Pointed Object.
Fourth: the person for whom the Important Pointed Object points Left looks over the Left shoulder of their ritual partner and finds a question in the environment behind them, whatever catches their attention most deeply. The question can be anything, but it needs to come from what they see in that moment and not any preconceived ideas.
Fifth: the person for whom the Important Pointed Object points Right repeats the question as exactly as they can, then looks over the Right shoulder of their ritual partner and describes in as much detail as they are willing something that catches their attention. There is no need to be constrained to physical details; they can take their description anywhere, like how that thing makes them feel or what it free-associates them into thinking about.
Sixth: the pair may sit in silence to think about how the description answers the question, or they may discuss it aloud and come to a conclusion together, or some combination.
Seventh: once they've finished pondering the pair of exchanges, they may either rotate the Important Pointed Object 180 degrees and repeat the process, or pick up the Important Pointed Object and move on. Either way, the original question has been answered and is to be left behind.
I just dreamt this last night, though it's so simple I'd be shocked if it (or something very similar) doesn't already exist in some form, especially since dreams are reflections of our fragmented waking memories, and I'd love to hear about where it came from if so. If you try this, please let me know how it went!
Writing Description: Make Introspection More Engaging
Use Description to Make Introspection More Engaging. Poorly assembled introspection is boring, explores the obvious, and takes readers forever to cull. Progressive introspection isn't about what has already happened, it's about what might happen in the future. Use description to ponder what a character fears (or hopes) will happen next. Don't hesitate to ask tough, specific questions: What are the consequences of a character's actions? What are the consequences of her inaction? Introspection risks dulling a scene's immediacy. But it can also enhance readers' investment in finding answers to stated, understated, and unstated problems.
Additional Reading:
How to Write Excellent Introspection (September C. Fawkes)
The 5 Types of Lines We Use to Craft Stories (and How to Use Them to Reveal Character) (September C. Fawkes)
❯ ❯ Adapted from description-writing masterpost: 5 Times When You Should (and 4 Times When You Shouldn’t) Rely on Description
My tendency to want to hide away feels easier and the immediacy of picturing another place comforting to go
Alanis Morissette, Out Is Through
