30 Sentences: 2016
Photo by Jon Ritner
Back in 2013, a conversation with a friend inspired me to write a sentence a day for a month at a time. Whether or not I had a starting game plan, each sentence led to the next so that I ended up with a cohesive story approximately 30 sentences-long each time. Most of them are embarrassing but if I omit or delete things that are embarrassing, I won’t have much to show for myself. Anyway, after a few of these sentence-a-day months, I opened up the experience to others, and the result was beautiful. Regardless of things like talent or skill that people get anxious about, when they’re invested they create something truly enriching and wonderful. And when they share their creations in a space that is safe and loving, the experience is sacred. I do not feel that I am overstating when I say this.
I’ve learned a thing or two since 2013 about bringing an eclectic mix of people together, and I’ve also stepped up my organizing and mobilizing skills. It’s tricky to get people on board a project not associated with the concrete “necessities” of life that drive calendars and to-do lists, especially when they have to stick with it for a whole month. I’ve found that success mostly comes down to planning, setting clear expectations and lots of reminders. The last one takes energy and tenacity but, hey, nobody said it’s easy being Mama Bear.
Eight people participated in the original 30 Sentences in 2013. This time, I sent an invitation to about 50 people—friends, acquaintances, strangers, some writers and some not—hoping for about a dozen participants. I got 23. Experience told me that the number would drop, though, and, sure enough, when we gathered after 30 days for the reading and potluck, we were down to 17. That amounted to a total of 510 sentences, 2 hours of reading and cheering and clapping and a whole lot of liquid courage. It was a time saturated with vulnerability, audacity, wit, beauty and creativity. If a night like that doesn’t make you fall in love with humanity, nothing will. Even so, I definitely needed a lie-down afterwards. Phew!
There were no instructions for the project, other than a strong encouragement to write a sentence everyday. Most people, including myself, did not write everyday. Everyone came up with their own parameters and rules which, along with the sentences themselves, provided an interesting insight into personalities and perspectives. No two set of sentences were alike. As with the 2013 version, many of us are continuing on with part two of the project. During the night of the reading, we drew names out of a bowl and now have another 30 days to create something, written or otherwise, inspired by that person’s 30 sentences. I can’t wait to see the results in a few weeks’ time. I’ll probably need another lie-down.
Some of the participants gave me permission to share their 30 sentences here:
