March 15th, 2009
Guest Post: 52 Stories by Toni Klym McLellan
Submitters, Visitors and Staff members are always asking for suggestions for writing and photography opportunities. Here is an exciting project combining both photographs and either personal essays or fictional pieces.
I took a couple of weeks off around Christmas of 2008 because things tend to slow down in my business anyway and my three young sons were on winter break. The problem with this idea was, I don’t do so well with time on my hands. During that break, I decided not only to do a year-long daily photography project for 2009, but to create a blog where I’d post a story a week with an accompanying photo. I’d never intended to create a flickr group or to collaborate with anyone; I just sort of . . . did.
Right around January 1st, I created the 52 Stories flickr group, and right now it has over 90 members. Many people dropped out after the first couple of weeks, but about a dozen hardy souls have kept up with it, posting late if necessary (I’m less a stickler for rules and perfection than I am a proponent of putting yourself out there and making something that sparks you).
The second best part about this group is that no one individual is at the center of it, and it’s kind of managing itself. Members are visiting commenting on the stories and cheering each other along, which is great. But the best part about founding 52 Stories is watching people who don’t identify as writers . . . writing. One has a strong voice I can see writing historical fiction someday. Another is chronicling his dating years leading up to when he met his wife, with a different chapter each week.
The photography aspect is fun and challenging too, but it’s really the icing. I enjoy collaborating and encouraging people to put themselves out there and see what happens, and those who are doing just that seem to be having a great time doing so. I encourage anyone interested to join in; I’m considering changing it from 52 Stories to PhotoStories after 2009.
Toni is a writer and dreamer living in Illinois. Visit her Blog.
