On playing roles.

Today, employing both the Twitters and the Bookface, one Miss Kitty dropped storychum in the water using the quintessential "Once upon a time..." hook.  There were several results, including this.  And you know what?  It was fun.  Especially operating within 140 characters, having to hand the story over to your partner after your brief thought, trusting them to take the reins, to keep the story alive with their ideas of where the tale should go.

Now, I'm no stranger to collaborative storytelling.  Those of you who've known me for quite some time know (and consistently mock, you bastards) that I frequently write here, and that I can periodically be found here.  There's an inimitable joy in seeing where a story can go with only a few parameters to work with, to see how others see a situation and move the characters along.  Anyone who's written fiction knows at least a little of what I'm talking about, and anyone who's acted definitely understands.

Is it escapism?  Maybe a little.  But to take what you know of the world, to take your own emotions and experiences and craft them into a character with a history and a story to tell is one of the most cathartic and satisfying things I know.  Even if it never sees the light of day, I highly recommend it.  Take a second and envision someone.  Create them from scratch, dig deep into yourself to see what they look like, how they speak, how they act and react to the world around them.  Bring them to life, even if it's just in your own head.

Because if you don't stretch your imagination from time to time, how can you know it's really there?  And if you don't write it down, how can you know it ever existed?