Vision Share: Illuminations

Dear World – Step 3

Now decorate the opening paragraph of your letter.

Envision the first page of an illuminated manuscript, the kind produced by medieval monks or other scribes. Think of a tablet of Egyptian hieroglyphics or the brushwork of a poem on a Chinese scroll.

For the image based on your letter, include drawings or symbols along with words. The entire letter is probably too long for one page, but you can excerpt a few sentences to get across what you care about most.

Suggested Time for Activity: 20 minutes

Sharing: with a friend or writing group; social media

Illuminate the opening words of your letter with drawings, decorative motifs, or special fonts. You can do this by hand or set up a new file.

Q. My handwriting is bad, and I’m not a medieval monk – can’t I skip this step?

No, don’t skip this “Vision Share” step. As with the other lessons, the illuminated-letter activity is not a test of artistic ability. It’s meant to help you focus the main argument and tone of your letter. In combining words with images and decoration, you’ll “illuminate” why it matters to you.

I’ve included two examples here from the British Library’s “Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts.”^[1] This digital collection contains illuminated pages from many time periods and locations that you can skim through for inspiration.

My strong suggestion: write out the words of your letter excerpt by hand. It doesn’t matter if you can’t do calligraphy (I can’t). By writing them out on a sheet of paper, the words may resonate in a new way. Even if they don’t, you can decorate handwritten words with colors and symbols. Feel free to paste in images of flowers or other elements. Have fun!

If you like fabric work, you can paint or stitch your illuminated letter on cloth. Creating clay tablets with words and symbols is another possibility. Keep in mind that you’ll probably need to photograph or scan a hand-created page to share with others.

For this vision share, it’s also fine to create an illuminated page with an online program like Microsoft Word or Canva.^[2] Just be sure to open a new file rather than adding to the letter draft you’ve already written.

Q. What if I don’t want to share my visual representation?

It’s up to you, but I encourage you to try it with a friend or family member. The ultimate goal of becoming a better storyteller is to communicate with other people. The response of your fellow humans will let you know if you’re on the right track.

The ultimate goal is communicating with other people.

Sharing your illuminated page – in person, via email, on Zoom — is often fun and motivating. People like pictures. It’s also a great warmup for sharing your open letter when you’re ready for that.

A Word About Social Media: Sharing your visual representation on social media is not required. If you enjoy sharing and interacting with more followers, please do. But if not, avoid social media for the “Vision Share” step.