The Emotions of Objects

Writing with objective correlatives on Day 16 of the November Write-Along!

Adriaen Coorte’s Stilleven met een bosje asperges

Hi writing buddies,

Today we will write. Fifty words, two pages, a scene, an image, an object study—whatever it takes to get us to the page.

I woke up this morning with an anxious mind trying to solve everything. Eventually, I redirected: you do not have to solve every problem today. Choose one thing to address. I took myself on a run, tidied up a bit, had meetings, and now am writing this to you before a quick writing session, then onward to readying our home for a family dinner tomorrow.

The Power of Objects

Today I’m thinking about objects. How they can operate within a story or essay in a variety of ways—to carry emotion, to convey opinion, or to cool down the story for a minute.

Do you know the term, objective correlative? In literature, an objective correlative can be thought of as an object that carries significant emotional weight. The object of study becomes a way of exploring what is going on below the surface of the story, essay, or poem. That sounds a bit vague, so let’s look at three examples from literature and a writing prompt you can try.

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