Writing Prompt 64: End
Somebody once told me that the people who make the best classical guitars in the world, leave a small imperfection somewhere in their masterpiece, unseen unless you look closely.
This imperfection makes no difference to the sound or playability or high quality of the instrument. What the musician holds in their hands is still a thing of beauty.
The photograph above shows the image taken right at the end of a roll of film. The final exposure has been punctured by the clip used to hold the film up to dry. There's a rectangular shape, stuck right over the corner of the photograph, fading the image underneath. I'm drawn to this photograph for some reason. How those puncture wounds pierce the edge of the picture, the irregular manner of that rectangular shape. The beauty of the landscape feels injured yet something is interesting here.
Our imperfections might frustrate and irritate us or cause us real harm with how we think about ourselves. Social media has accentuated the desire for perfection in ourselves, our looks, the way we live our lives, our homes, and where we go on holiday. It's a struggle in the midst of all of this visual noise to manage how we feel about our flaws.
In this week's writing explore this notion of perfection/imperfection and what it reveals for you. Is there frustration, beauty, or a deeper truth? You could write from your perspective or the point of view of another character. As always the choice is yours.
Photo of Chesterman Beach, 2018 by Tanya Clarke
