Writing prompt #71: THE CROWD WITHIN

Hi Everyone,

One of the delights of visiting Lisbon was spending an afternoon at Casa Fernando Pessoa, a small museum built on the site of the Portuguese poet’s last apartment, where he lived for fifteen years.

As many of you know, Pessoa was a stunningly original artist (poetry, essays, criticism, fiction) who wrote under many pseudonyms. In fact, he referred to these other voices as “heteronyms”—fully fleshed-out characters/personae/alter-egos with their own careers, literary feuds, writing styles, biographies, even astrological charts!

This got me thinking about our own inner crowds, the voices we’ve internalized from childhood, the ones difficult to suppress, others that serve as defense mechanisms. In short, we don’t have to be a Pessoa to understand that individuality is a complex endeavor.

YOUR PROMPT: Explore the idea of your principal character harboring one or more distinct voices inside them. Choose one inner voice and allow them to speak. What are they obsessing about? How do they talk to your character? Do they ever address the reader directly? What purpose(s) do they serve? Could this voice contribute to a more nuanced interior life for your character? Try 1-2 pages to start.

Good luck!

Abrazos,

Cristina

PS: If you’re not yet familiar with Pessoa’s work, I suggest starting with his luminous The Book of Disquiet, which was published nearly fifty years after his death.