Talespeople Spiels
A change of perspective
This is part two of a short series on creative writing from Talespeople, the hosts of Sehri Tales, the annual Ramadan prompt-based flash writing challenge
I love reading about popular inventions which were originally created with a different purpose in mind. For instance, did you know that bubble wrap, that oh-so-ubiquitous packing material that doubles as a stress-relieving toy, was initially intended to be wallpaper? Imagine that! On the one hand, you have hours and hours of bubble-popping fun. On the other hand, probably a trypophobe's nightmare, so maybe not. Either way, March Chavannes and Alfred Fielding, the co-inventors of the material, thought they had a dud on their hands until IBM started looking for better packing materials for their delicate new computers. The rest is history.
The point of this story is that sometimes looking at something a little differently can completely transform the narrative. This is also applicable in the case of our Sehri Tale prompts. Sometimes, facing a blank white page is the scariest part of the writing process, but having a prompt to hang your story on, and using a little lateral thinking to glean new meaning from a familiar word, can open up a world of possibilities. Halfway into the month, it's been amazing to see the weird and wonderful ways our Talers reinterpret each prompt to create imaginative stories. We hope our readers have been enjoying the top stories every day, too.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates.
Sabrina Fatma Ahmad is a writer, journalist, and the founder of Sehri Tales.