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Kinetic Writing
I have run across Kinetic Art again recently and it made me wonder about the possibility of kinetics being applied to the written art form. In the visual arts it is not so much about a "moving" picture or words like in film media, but about the illusion generated by the movement of the viewer around a static artwork. Could this be done with poetry or prose? Enter an attempt if you like :)
Ended May 5, 2025 • 10 Entries • Created by Last
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Kinetic Writing
I have run across Kinetic Art again recently and it made me wonder about the possibility of kinetics being applied to the written art form. In the visual arts it is not so much about a "moving" picture or words like in film media, but about the illusion generated by the movement of the viewer around a static artwork. Could this be done with poetry or prose? Enter an attempt if you like :)
Profile avatar image for pizzamind
pizzamind in Words
42 reads

First, After

She checked the time.

Checked her phone.

Checked the door.

Checked her reflection.

He’s not late.

He’s not late.

He’s not—

coming?

Stop.

That’s not fair.

Be fair.

You said you'd try.

He wanted sushi.

You picked Italian.

Like the rehearsal night—

the last thing he ate.

It’s not a test.

It’s not betrayal.

It’s just dinner.

Just—

She touched the napkin.

Her ring finger twitched.

Don’t think of rings.

Don’t think of ash.

He said we could wait.

He said stay home.

He said not today.

She said

Hawaii.

No weather warnings.

No second thoughts.

No life vests.

No—

wedding.

The wine list blurred.

Waves on white paper.

She didn’t drink anymore.

She did.

After.

What if he’s kind?

What if he’s dull?

What if he dies too—

and it’s her fault

again?

She practiced hello.

Practiced her laugh.

Practiced surviving.

Didn’t

practice this.

She almost left.

She almost stayed.

She almost

believed.

He’s late.

He’s not late.

He’s not—

Hi.

Sorry—traffic.

She blinked.

Breathed.

Smiled.

It’s okay.

I just got here.

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Challenge
Kinetic Writing
I have run across Kinetic Art again recently and it made me wonder about the possibility of kinetics being applied to the written art form. In the visual arts it is not so much about a "moving" picture or words like in film media, but about the illusion generated by the movement of the viewer around a static artwork. Could this be done with poetry or prose? Enter an attempt if you like :)
Profile avatar image for Stori
Stori in Words
54 reads

Optical

Topical

Illusions

Reiterate

The

Impression

of

Movements.

It's

The

Expression

Of

A

Moment

Frozen

For

All

Time

As

If

Paused

And

Placed

Aesthetically

On

Display.

Kinetic

Art

Like

A

Heart's

Beat

At

Play

It

Keeps

Moving

Tread

Carving

Grooves

Cutting

Lines

To

Prove

It

Is

Doing

what

it

Is.

Its

Thumbprint

Ensuing

From

It's

Path

Via

Our

Brains

Gray

Cellular

Synapse

When

Viewing

The

Rifts

Delicate

Decay.

To

Make

Legitimate

It's

Moment

Of

Movement

Into

Actuality

Realized.

Reality

Actualized

Longevity

Forming

When

One

Day

Art

Formed

An

Artform

Initially,

And

In

A

Way

At

It's

Forefront

Art

was

A

Movement

Authentically.

Where

Since

Then

It

Has

Been

The

Start

Of

A

Community

Communing

through

The

Time

We

Took

Taking

The

Opportunity

To

Introduce

A

New

Look

To

See

A

Concept

To

Shape

A

Form

Who's

Conception

Is

Purely

Formed

Through

The

Expressive

Elements

Uptake

Only

Finalized

When

Received.

This

Guided

Intent

Gilding

Raw

Outcomes

Of

Active

Passions

Reactive

Outputs

Into

Our

Sinew

An

Income

Stomping

Stamps

Of

Dancing

Dances

Tapped

Deeply

Freely

Upon

Our

Cellular

Center

Stage.

In

These

We’ll

Find

Our

Future.

By

These

kinetic

Firings

Sparking

Thoughts

We

Pray.

We

March

Forward

Tracing

Woven

Ways

And

The

Neural

Wiring

Is

Decided.

Mapping

The

Mental

Potential

Pathways

Of

Our

Thoughts

To

Be

Guided

To

Come,

In

Coming

Days.

Future

Causes

Inspiring

Effects

As

a

basis

From

Which

Is

Sprung

Creation

Enriching

Ways

For

Us

To

Further

Enumerated

Epithets

Fodder

And

Accoutrements

If

The

Expressive

Testament

Is

kept

Wholly

To

The

Moves

These

Meanings.

Make

A

Kind

Of

An

Etiquette

To

The

Kind

Kinetic

workings

Of

Time

That

Is

Spent

And

That

We

Take.

True

Progression

Of

The

Mind.

Art

Moves

And

Art

Makes.

Cyclically

Perpetuating

Mundane

Progeny

The

Day

By

Day

Yet

When

Looked

At

Close

Its

Pulchritudinously

Ornate.

Where

Art

Is,

There

Exists

Expression

Expanding

Through

time

In

space

Where

Direction

Was

A

Decision

A

Choice.

Within

That

Moment

Where

We

Find

That

Voice

Grace

Is

That

That

Speaks

Silently,

Though

Inarguably

Perceived.

The

Narrative

Of

What's

Paced

Gets

Received

Art

The

Culmination

Of

What

Was

Used

To

Be

Part

Forming

Part

Of

The

Input

To

Calculate

The

Data

Computed

Art

Is

This

Sum

SSTThe e

Some

Thing

to

equate

To

The

Impression

We're

Left

With

That

Part

Left

Is

What

Matters

It's

Art

What

Art

Uses

To

Move

Us

Moved

By

What

It

Meant.

Made

To

The

True

Us

The

Symbiotic

Nature

of

Kinetic

Art

Contextualized

In

Text

An

Art

Formed

By

Phrases

Scrawled

In

Lengths

I

Write

If

In

These

Pages

I'm

Right

Read

Me

Through

The

Ages

Give

Me

The

Life

It's

Musings.

The

Moving

Parts

Are

Part

Of

Us

Bright

Is

Our

Collective

Kinetic

Spark

What a sight.

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5
Challenge
Kinetic Writing
I have run across Kinetic Art again recently and it made me wonder about the possibility of kinetics being applied to the written art form. In the visual arts it is not so much about a "moving" picture or words like in film media, but about the illusion generated by the movement of the viewer around a static artwork. Could this be done with poetry or prose? Enter an attempt if you like :)
Profile avatar image for kpsplaha
kpsplaha in Words
33 reads

Moving life

Come.

Come here.

Come closer.

Come. Again.

Come again?

Go.

Go on.

Go for it.

Just go.

Just let go.

See.

See. Saw.

See the light.

See the truth.

See?

10
3
2
Challenge
Kinetic Writing
I have run across Kinetic Art again recently and it made me wonder about the possibility of kinetics being applied to the written art form. In the visual arts it is not so much about a "moving" picture or words like in film media, but about the illusion generated by the movement of the viewer around a static artwork. Could this be done with poetry or prose? Enter an attempt if you like :)
Profile avatar image for thWanderer
thWanderer in Words
35 reads

Ideas

K, so this post got me thinking. I'm not planning to attempt this challenge. I'll just throw out ideas in a stream of consciousness, so here goes random ideas for hiding codes and illusions in writing.

First, ambigrams (the words that say something different when looked at upside down) would be a good example of this. Sadly, that would be hard to do on prose but they should be incorperated into books more. They could be used on the covers, spines or for chapter titles.

Secondly, you could make papers that when laid on top of each other, and held up to the light, fill in each other's blanks and create entirely new sentences. That or a code embedded in a story through the chapter headings explaining the end. Or, if writing with an unreliable narrator, the first letter of each chapter, put next to each other in order, could spell out "this book is a lie," or something along those lines. Also, I have always loved that thing some books do where the first letter of each chapter looks like something from in the book. We should bring that back. Or, you could punch holes in a book mark and use it like a black out poem. The bottom of the bookmark could have the book title, edition and page number written on it. When you put the book mark over the right page it would spell out a message. Only thing with that is that it would have to be the size of the page or have a way to indicate how it should be lined up.

The other way I see to interpret this prompt is to think about it as a challenge to describe kinetic art, to give the reader the feeling they they are staring at something both still and moving at the same time.

Yet, I think you could also move the subject of your writing to a unconventional extent and full fill the prompt just as well. For example, contradicting yourself, making your reader second guess every turn in plot. having an unreliable narrator, making the reader feel as if they have to go back to the page where the room was first described so that they can double check that it started out as fantasy and not sci-fi. Be so subtle in your writing, as to have your reader believe that the explanation of the murder is accurate when there is something in the first chapter that makes your conclusion fall apart. The detective is the murderer, but he could never admit it, so the reader has to solve it for him. The less auspiscious readers might just feel a bit confused and discontented, but those who truly invest in the story will have a tale they remember for years to come.

This last idea is my favorite. Anyhow, tag me if any of y'all try any of these out. I'd love to see what happens.

8
3
2
Challenge
Kinetic Writing
I have run across Kinetic Art again recently and it made me wonder about the possibility of kinetics being applied to the written art form. In the visual arts it is not so much about a "moving" picture or words like in film media, but about the illusion generated by the movement of the viewer around a static artwork. Could this be done with poetry or prose? Enter an attempt if you like :)
Profile avatar image for Sandlot
Sandlot in Words
34 reads

Stop!

When I write “stop,”

all four letters are uniform,

a nondescript word on a page.

Nothing to tell the reader

to halt, much less pause

while perusing the sentence

that holds my verb.

But when she writes “stop,”

her letters jump off the page.

They pulsate and stretch

and scream at the reader

to put on the brakes

and ponder the context

of the surrounding words.

Her “stop” is laden with trauma:

perhaps from her own life,

or an empathy beyond words.

I only wish that my “stop”

had an ounce or two

of her vibrant writing

that makes words alive.

7
3
3
Challenge
Kinetic Writing
I have run across Kinetic Art again recently and it made me wonder about the possibility of kinetics being applied to the written art form. In the visual arts it is not so much about a "moving" picture or words like in film media, but about the illusion generated by the movement of the viewer around a static artwork. Could this be done with poetry or prose? Enter an attempt if you like :)
Profile avatar image for kNoTeS
kNoTeS in Words
19 reads

Untitled

In a Poem

It's easy to get

Going

I'll get back

to the Title

in a Moment

A poem is Short

Unless it's the Iliad,

The odyssey is short

Like when I

got a car, crashed

and Totaled it

For an Instant

In hand, Bill,

I had... a Title

6
3
2
Challenge
Kinetic Writing
I have run across Kinetic Art again recently and it made me wonder about the possibility of kinetics being applied to the written art form. In the visual arts it is not so much about a "moving" picture or words like in film media, but about the illusion generated by the movement of the viewer around a static artwork. Could this be done with poetry or prose? Enter an attempt if you like :)
Profile avatar image for Wilmer
Wilmer in Words
24 reads

Dreamy Escape

Cold calls i await 

Text messages make mundane 

Days                    brisk. 

Assassin tongue

Hurling curling shurikens,

Light cuts swell blood blue, 

Slight lashes trail you…

Starlit eyes flashing 

Glassy gloom, 

        Barks         In

Walls        d i m

     Hips  

               slim,

Twirling, guiding her,

Contemplating each step. 

Silk lies, dress sways, 

Mind plays

Forgotten reticence 

Pacing truth

Luring your 

elements.

5
4
5
Challenge
Kinetic Writing
I have run across Kinetic Art again recently and it made me wonder about the possibility of kinetics being applied to the written art form. In the visual arts it is not so much about a "moving" picture or words like in film media, but about the illusion generated by the movement of the viewer around a static artwork. Could this be done with poetry or prose? Enter an attempt if you like :)
Profile avatar image for DuST72
DuST72 in Words
39 reads

Adoptive premonition.

Staring at the painting.

Fascinated by the bird in flight.

Soaring over the vacant building.

Suddenly theres a flash of light from the window.

I rush over and look out the window,I’m in awe there’s a large bird in near distance it flying over an an abandoned building.

I move on to another painting close to another window.

I see in the art a one armed man playing a harmonica.

Its titled Mono Blues.

I go to the window,I look out the window towards the street.

And there’s a one armed man playing.

I decide to go to another window and take a look,and then go back to another painting and compare.

I take a look out the window,and I cant believe my eyes.

I see the abandoned building there’s the bird soaring but the one armed harmonica player is riding on the back of the bird.

I hurry back to the painting.

I take a look at it it’s all white and fuzzy titled Imagination.

Hey,What’s going on here?!

What do you mean?

I explain what’s happening to the security guard.

He says sir,it’s all in your mind!

Then his walkie talkie screams.Emergency in the basement and he runs off.

I decide to leave the gallery,and get some air.

As Im walking by another painting I notice a man on the ground with a weapon held to his head.

Its titled Sir it’s all in your mind.

I glance at another painting,now there’s two men on the ground wrestling.

And its titled Help Me!

The basement!!

I run down the stairs.

I hear screaming.

I follow the voices into a dark room.

I turn on the lights.

Theres no one in here.

The room is filled with paintings,and there’s a tape playing.

I turn of the tape player and the screaming stops.

Theres five paintings I recognize.

The rest are blank.

I run back up the stairs,tripping,hitting my head.

I get up dazed and confused.

My memory of everything that just happened in the gallery is gone.

I go home to my family.

As I’m resting in my chair.

I hear my wife and seven year old adoptive daughter come in the house.

Daddy Daddy!

She holds out a drawing!

Do you like it Daddy?

Its a picture of you!

See Daddy,You’re lying down on the ground!

Why am I on the ground sweetie?

Cause you fell Daddy!

Are you okay Daddy?

Daddy?!!

Yeah,Daddy had a weird dream.

What’s it called sweetie.

Daddy FELL.She starts to laughFOR IT!!!

4
2
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Challenge
Kinetic Writing
I have run across Kinetic Art again recently and it made me wonder about the possibility of kinetics being applied to the written art form. In the visual arts it is not so much about a "moving" picture or words like in film media, but about the illusion generated by the movement of the viewer around a static artwork. Could this be done with poetry or prose? Enter an attempt if you like :)
Profile avatar image for Melpomene
Melpomene in Words
14 reads

move with the waves

the water grabs my hands

and pulls me underneath it's large body

my lungs fill with salt and copper

it anchors around me

yanks me further in

is it falling if i am surrounded?

is it dying if i am held?

i must be simply floating down

until the waves spat me onto

the sand

i am no longer swaying in the sea. it no longer yearns for me

4
1
1
Challenge
Kinetic Writing
I have run across Kinetic Art again recently and it made me wonder about the possibility of kinetics being applied to the written art form. In the visual arts it is not so much about a "moving" picture or words like in film media, but about the illusion generated by the movement of the viewer around a static artwork. Could this be done with poetry or prose? Enter an attempt if you like :)
Profile avatar image for SharondaBriggs
SharondaBriggs in Words
21 reads

Diamond

Round and round

As the diamond slows down

From a complete spin in the air

Hovering above a minted box

For all of the world to stare

Slowly lowered downward

To a silk cushioned spot

Glistening like a fireplace

Cold obsession not hot

Holding on to a necklace that sparkles on it's own

Lying behind a crystal glass

Is the only way to be shown

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