the fields of babylon

thank you! i am actually speechless rn 

When I wake I -turn off my alarm, roll overfeel my own pink warmthbefore beginning my morning routinethe fire starts almost immediately, but not too immediate so I am duped into thinkingperhaps today is the dayI open up the chatroom Several messages missed2:32am2:42am3:14am4:25am 

The fire swirls - wait - no lavaI close my macbook air

On my morning walk I passa retro gaming storea cat asleep upon a fence a charity box for homeless folk (I add my loose change)a lawn recently moweda hunched woman brushing the outside of her storethe fish market with that morning’s finds

When I return home one unread message on the chatroom9:10amI type a message I will never send I think thoughts I never want

Later -I sit by the fireflames dance

I chop vegetables ready for the next dayI apply a face maskI water my plantsI iron my clothesI sit to write-and nothing 

The flames dance I looked for hoursI lo ok ed throughthe keyhole into what I had to doI logged outAir comes back to me, again.

I enjoy when language is used playfully and doesn’t take itself too seriously. The sky doesn’t always have to be blue. The air can feel goopy. Think abstractly. You create your own worlds. How do the clouds taste? Like acid, honey, coffee, toothpaste? Sometimes writing about worlds and feelings that are unrealistic (and/or surrealistic) can be the best ways to get an atmosphere or vibe across. 

Sometimes language that semantically makes the least sense has the best desired effect. I’ve been enjoying toying with language that makes the cogs in our minds churn, go “wait - what?” and try to dismantle it. There’s no right or wrong, good or bad with language. It’s okay to be experimental and actively try to shift the semantics of a word to fit your voice. Sometimes I use language not because semantically it fits, but the phonology of a word can accurately shape the surrounding language to get a particular message across. 

Think about your adjectives, your verbs, your adverbs. Think about word play and how it sounds on your tongue. It’s okay to be simplistic. It’s okay to be excessive. Don’t think only about image - but about rhymes and the psychology behind your word choices. Why should particular words/phrases be repeated/exaggerated? (or why not?) What connotations of words and worlds are you trying to get across? Think about semantic fields. About metaphors 

If you have characters think about their individual speech patterns, their individual word/language choices and how/why they would use this. Are your characters around family? Perhaps they’d use different language than they would around their lover. Where are they? What is their purpose for speaking what they say?  What terminology have they brought with them from their childhood?