Through wars, recessions, and a pandemic, Riverside’s longest-running theater company has never gone dark—now it celebrates 100 seasons with an eye toward the future.
Greetings and salutations! Thanks to building standards, finding an “outlet” for your creative flow last week wasn’t the challenge—it was choosing which direction to channel those energetic ideas you came up with using electrical outlets. Did you find a story worth telling in the pattern of the plug-in? Was it time to let that toaster shine by scribing some flash fiction where it wins employee of the month? Even if all you did was lay down some surge protectors as a line of defense against uncertainty, harnessing the power around us until we need it is a way to positively charge up our days with several minutes of creative contemplation. Ready to race ahead and see what’s in store?
This week marks a special occasion, a century of nudges designed to spark your imagination and propel you toward unexpected artistic territories. For a bit north of two years, this column has been a space for playful exploration of our creative sides. Procrastination is a regular part of my creative process; having a weekly practice such as this is how I keep what matters front and center in my life.
Reaching this milestone feels like a shared secret unlocked—a hundred unique prompts brought to life through your engagement and open minds. I started this column to explore ways that generative AI (GenAI) can be used in my creative work. To that end, this column allowed me to experiment with this vastly transformative technology and learn how creative people can adapt and thrive in this unprecedented period in human history.
I also wanted to be a part of this grand media experiment that Justin Pardee envisioned. I really didn’t understand his plan, but I understood enough that I wanted to be a part of it. I pitched him my fantasy writing job, and now I’m nudged to write several times a week. To the growing team of people that publish The Raincross Gazette every day, and you 10,000+ subscribers: Thank you. You’ve given me another place to explore my creative sides, my better sides.
As I pause to acknowledge this centennial nudge, let's all reflect on the creative paths we've traversed and the boundless artistic horizons that await us, beginning with the intriguing enigma of… a secret.
This week, we delve into the veiled world of secrets, not to uncover wrongdoing or lies, but to mine their rich creative potential. What stories do they let us believe in? What emotions do they stir? Let's unlock the imaginative possibilities that lie within the realm of the unsaid with one or more of these AI-influenced suggestions:
Unspoken Word: Choose a secret—real or imagined, big or small—and use it as the seed for a piece of creative writing. Explore the emotions, the atmosphere, and the potential consequences surrounding this secret, without ever explicitly revealing what it is. Focus on the subtle clues and the weight of the unsaid.
Visual Cipher: Translate a secret into symbols, colors, textures, or abstract forms to represent the essence of the secret without directly depicting it. Consider the emotions or ideas associated with the secret and how you can convey them through visual language.
SSSShoundscape: Imagine the auditory landscape of a secret being kept. Or leaked. What sounds might be present? The hushed whisper, the nervous heartbeat, the creaking floorboards of a hidden room? Secret revealed, the GenAI I’ve used was likely trained on Edgar Allen Poe. Create a soundscape using recordings or descriptions that evoke the atmosphere of secrecy.
What Lies Beneath: Create a physical "artifact" that hints at a secret. This could be a modified object, a collection of seemingly unrelated items, or a carefully crafted piece that implies a hidden story. Let the artifact be a tangible clue to an untold narrative.
If I Did It: Devise a short performance piece where you embody someone grappling with a secret they are on the verge of revealing. Focus on the physicality, the vocal tone, and the emotional arc of the moment just before the truth is spoken.
As we conclude our centennial exploration using the realm of secrets, let's carry forward the spirit of curiosity and imaginative daring that has fueled these hundred nudges. Just as every secret holds the potential for revelation, so too does every new week hold the promise of fresh creative discoveries waiting to unfold across Riverside and beyond. Thank you once again for being such engaged and enthusiastic participants in this ongoing experiment, for lending your unique perspectives and bringing these prompts to life in ways I could never have imagined.
Now, as we look toward the next hundred nudges and the countless creative sparks yet to ignite, I want to open the floor to you: What everyday objects, abstract concepts, or sensory experiences would you like to see explored in future nudges? What creative territories are you eager to venture into? How can this space evolve to remain relevant to our place in time?
Share your suggestions, please! Your ideas will help shape the next chapter of our creative journey together, ensuring that we continue to explore, experiment, and discover the boundless artistic potential that surrounds us, week after week.
This column was written with the help of Google’s Gemini Advanced, a powerful generative AI writing tool.
