A Creative Writing Project: Page 26 Line 26
Paul White and 26’s New Zealand chapter have been playing with the idea of taking a line from a book (page 26, line 26) and using that as a trigger to create their own 260-word story. We invited a group of our writers to do the same with a specially plucked line from a mystery book on Paul’s bookshelf:
For instance, it is nearly dawn…
They then commissioned AI (ChatGPT, Claude, Pi…) to write a story based on the same opening line with the same word count, and worked with AI to re-focus and refine the story, prompting it to develop its writing.
We already have three pairs of stories (from Julian Gorham, Hayden Maskell, and Julia Webb-Harvey), and we will be releasing three more in December and keeping the invite open after that.
If you would like to contribute a story to the project or discuss it, please get in touch with Alastair Creamer: alastair@creamerandmilliken.com
January
Mugabi Byenkya
For instance, it is nearly dawn. My cotton joggers absorb the moisture from the dewy blades of grass that prick, then squelch... Read more.
Alastair Creamer
“For instance, it is nearly dawn.” His eyebrows went up in enquiry. “Anyone?”
Silence. “Come on. Start your story somewhere for Christ’s sake.” … Read more.
December
Max Parfitt
For instance, it is nearly dawn. When the sun comes up, where will you be? ... Read more.
John Simmons
‘For instance, it is nearly dawn.’
I stared blankly at her. ‘No it isn’t, it’s the evening. A long night ahead.’ … Read more.
November
Julian Gorham
For instance, it is nearly dawn, the epic zeptosecond before early dawn. (A trillionth of a billionth of a second, they reckon.) Tiny time twixt one thing and the next... Read more.
Hayden Maskell
For instance, it is nearly dawn. You walk along the wet cracked concrete path, past picket fences, moving between pockets of safety carved from the rural black by soft yellow lamplight… Read more.