Dearest Friends,
In an effort to dust off the cobwebs of an unforgiving winter spent cowering underneath a heating blanket watching reruns of Peep Show, I want to embark on a new literary project. While I’ve been plugging away at several drafts of different short stories, poetry collections, and even a few misguided attempts at novels (not there yet) for years now, I’ve always had a problem with perseverance when it comes to my own literary ambitions. It could be because I already write for a living and when I come home, the last thing I want to do is spelunk into the nether regions of my brain to unearth some (hopefully) ripened nugget of wisdom. It could be because I have issues with limitations. Either way, I’m tired of having stacks of dusty journals staring angrily at me from my desk; tired of coming home and realizing that since I spent all day in an office writing about politics that I can’t think of anything beautiful; and most of all tired of simply not writing outside of work as often as I did only two years ago.
When I moved to town, I was broke, starving, and super fucking bored. So to try and stir the ice a bit (or more than I already was…ahem), I asked some friends to give me a topic – any topic – and I would then write a 1,000-word essay on it and post it to my blog. It was an experiment for me to keep my literary appendages limber as much as it was a fun whatehaveyou for whoever gave me the topic (assuming they’d even bother checking it out later…). And while that sad undertaking yielded but one actual essay – regardless of the tens of ideas I received – I am now convinced that through the ever-inspiring majesty of my current circle of cohorts, I might be able to try this again.
So here’s what I want from you, if you’re interested: I am looking for topics from my friends that I will backlog and choose from every single day for the rest of this year to write at least a few paragraphs on, if not more, and add it to my blog in a series called “Operation: Eavesdrop.” These topics can be questions, one-word nouns, pop culture references, foodstuffs, animal coital positions, etc. – essentially, they can be anything. I’m not saying I’ll be commenting on whatever it is with any sort of expert perspective. I’m not even sure it will make sense, but I know it will get me thinking, and it will force me to write something brand new everyday aside from my cheap attempts at baffling chore codes in Sharpie on my left hand.
If a topic is a question, I’ll try and answer it. Otherwise, there are no rules for this. And, to set the record straight, I feel like a bit of a dunce asking you to help me think of things to write about, but honestly, I’d rather do this than focus solely on re-editing my old stories out of boredom and a work-stressed head.
So what do you say? Please send up to five topics to ryan.prado@gmail.com, and I will begin as soon as I have a nice batch to work with. I appreciate your assistance, and look forward to reading whatever crazy shit you derelict assholes come up with.
Sincerely,
Ryan J. Prado
