LRK’s high-wire act

For those of you who don’t–or didn’t–get the newsletter earlier this month, I’ll let you know some of what the comments posts were talking about, in this excerpt:

And now, your attention, please, as I introduce the death-defying trick we call Writer’e2’80’99s Improv, in which Laurie R. King will walk the literary high-wire.

I have been named Santa Cruz County Artist of the Year for 2006 (Pause for tumultuous ovation, whistles, and the throwing of confetti and streamers. Thank you.) This is a great honor, considering the richness of artistry in my home county’e2’80’94previous winners include poet Adrienne Rich, photographer Frans Lanting, dancer Tandy Beale, and writer James Houston.

The sponsor, the county’e2’80’99s Parks and Recreation department, has asked me to take part in their celebration of the book on May 20, 2006, and in the process of thinking about what I could do by way of artist’e2’80’99s performance, I decided that the most appropriate demonstration of a writer’e2’80’99s craft is not to talk about writing, but to do it.

So, in the morning (Pacific Standard time) of May 20, Muse willing and the electronic gods cooperating, I will be shut into a room with my trusty laptop and, with the words in full view of the book-loving public, set off to write a short story.

It’e2’80’99s, well, Writer’e2’80’99s Improv. The people in charge of the event will collect an assortment of prompts, around which I will shape the story. On the morning of the event, I’e2’80’99ll be given a selection of those prompts. I’e2’80’99ll let the ideas rattle around my brain for a few hours, then sit down in a quiet room at the school where the event is being held, plug into various cords and wires, and write. It will be a first draft, therefore pretty rough, and I probably won’e2’80’99t come anywhere near to finishing the story then and there (unless it turns out to be flash fiction) but the process will go onto a screen in the venue’e2’80’94AND online.

You read that right: Thanks to the miracle of modern technology (which I’e2’80’99m NOT in charge of, thank goodness) those of you interested in the writing process can log in and watch an actual, live and living writer plug away at her craft for a couple of hours. When I eventually finish the story, I’e2’80’99ll post that online, too’e2’80’94there may be a small download fee going to one of the organizations involved in the event’e2’80’94AND if the finished story turns out any good, I’e2’80’99ll be giving it to Dana Stabenow for her upcoming short story collection, Powers of Detection II. The before and after versions will remain posted on my web site, as a teaching tool and to cause more sensible writers to shake their heads in wonder.

Insane? Sure.

Fun? I hope so’e2’80’94this is all in the planning stage and something may come along and knock it off the air, but I’e2’80’99m going to try. Stay tuned for more information, and put May 20th on your calendar now.