Hello. My name is Nathan Blixt. Lightning Fiction (Story Sparks) is a project that has been marinating since 2011. I think it started when I wanted to write stories. I would get a short burst of an idea and another and another, but never found the time to develop a full story. So, I decided to start writing these down. Currently there are over 1,000 sparks.
I think it wasn't until 2013 that I decided to start doing something with them. Sparks (f/k/a Seeds) version 1 was created. At first, I just Tweeted them out once in a while. I also started a blog (back then I called them "Story Seeds") and invited visitors to create stories with them.
Around 2017 I shifted the project a little and renamed "seeds" to "sparks". At this time I had started writing (I even started a novel), but I found a nice fit with flash fiction. As I learned more about this literary category, I discovered it had many sub-branches. One of the most famous pieces of flash fiction was penned by Ernest Hemingway: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." In just six words, it conjures up very clear thoughts and emotions... and questions.
So, in 2017, the project found new zest and I started pairing my sparks with images. Sparks v.2 was born. I paired them with my artwork, my photos, my wife's photos and stock photography. I embedded some of my Instagram posts below. I deleted most of them, but kept a few that I liked.
After a few years of stagnation, my sparks are getting a new iteration. We can call it version 3. Early in 2022 I heard about Midjourney. Boiled down, it is a service that uses artificial intelligence to render an image from a given prompt. From their about page, they are a "lab exploring new mediums of thought and expanding the imaginative powers of the human species". I fed it a few of my sparks and was impressed by the results.
I added a new dimension with this iteration. It didn't feel like I contributed enough. With Midjourney (and stock/other people's photography), I take more of an art director role. Choosing a photo or directing AI through various renders and variations. Each spark has common meta information: text, spark date and spark number. For a while, I've been enamored with brutalist and anti-design posters. I've never had a need to create them or an application. I saw that these spark elements and their renders lend themselves to this aesthetic. Finally, I felt that I've found a way to bring a few of my creative endeavors and interests together. Even this website is a new approach than my traditional web development process. 😀👨💻
I used an artwork of mine of my wife climbing a sand dune. This was actually a happy moment, but I thought this image paired well with this spark. She's small, hunched over in a black dress. She's walking away and probably struggling.
This was a shot I took out of our living room window one wintery day. I liked the Fargo-feels from this image, so I paired it with a spark that alludes to something might be wrong with the neighbor.
I also think it's interesting that a spark by itself could evoke entirely different thoughts and feelings than when it's rendered or paired with an image. This spark "They tried to keep it hidden." could allude to an affair or pregnancy. But look what happens when paired with glimpses of an angel.
My sparks tend to be open ended. Is this an image of someone literally lost in a forest or is the image a metaphor for this person's situation in life? I used a stock photo here. They're gorgeous, but I like the raw feeling that comes from a personal photo or artwork.