Monday, July 2, 2018

Writing in Italy: A Story Through Screenshots

Was I finding time to write in Italy? my friend, Flash, asked me. I got her text just over the halfway point in my two-week trip, which I split between participating in a group writing retreat and exploring on my own.

I befriended Flash a year ago over coffee and rock climbing, two of my favorite things. She often asks thoughtful questions, to which I try responding in equally thoughtful fashion. Sometimes, her written messages also contain the best emojis.

I counted the number of times that past week I'd typed away at a story for a dedicated one to three hours. Zero. So I texted back that I wasn't really finding time to write—that I had journaled a bit and scribbled notes in my pocket notebook I call Ben Rubenstein's Sucky Words, but that was all.

Turns out I lied; I didn't consider the moments I'd dedicated myself to writing texts and emails to friends and family and posting my thoughts online.

I'm sharing some of those here. Maybe collectively they will tell of something meaningful. Even if they don't, this could be fun. So, here's the story of my travels in Italy, told in chronological order strictly through one text message and screenshots of various online posts I selected after reviewing every word I wrote while in Italy (click on the screenshots to visit the original posts). Caio!








My text message to Flash, after she asked if I was having an amazing time and before she asked if I was finding time to write:











2 comments:

Dad said...

Thank you for taking your readers on what must have been a memorable journey of Italy through your entries and pictures.

Benjamin Rubenstein said...

Thanks, Dad. My adventures in Italy certainly were memorable.