Welcome to Ink and Inspiration, a new Bolt column dedicated to the power and beauty of creative writing. Follow our journey to explore genres undiscovered, find passion in works of writing, and discover the emotional strength of the simple word. We’ll display student works, introduce up-and-coming authors, and learn about literary geniuses. Sit somewhere cozy, grab a hot chocolate, and enter into the world of Ink and Inspiration. All you have to do is open the page!
More is More
A literary style, maximalism uses elaborate detail and rich description to create long, complex sentences. Authors choose to use end punctuation scarcely in this style; instead, they focus on increasing the length of a sentence with unique diction and interesting plot.
In the book “The Golden Porch,” author Tatyana Tolstaya writes the maximalist phrase “lone fruits slept in the corners under a glassy gel” to describe a fruit cake. She demonstrates maximalism by creating extravagant descriptions for simple nouns and using specific vocabulary. A technique used by authors to portray the power in excess, maximalism questions the notion of a typical sentence. Writing a sentence may seem simple, but there are hundreds of ways to go about it. Maximalism adds detail and vitality to a plot.
Maximalism in a Student’s Words
Under magenta silk scarves that wave onto a deep blue sky and the puff of clouds across a yellow moon- one the size of the wheel of cheese selling three booths down- reflects a shining market in vibrant spices- cardamom cookies in the air, turmeric powder the color of the sand below, turquoise fish with rainbow scales hanging off a yard of white twine- all under the sound of sellers with loud, worried, and pleasant voices that carry across circus colored tents and untamed, wind-flattened grass into a sky bartering for sunshine. Sizzled venison on barbecues that are burned with flakes of meat left from years of cooking scent the air in wisps, leaving the sound of intricate bead weaving- beads large and small, seed and glass beads, jagged and circular- and hammer hitting copper into shapes of the buyers’ dreams- a trojan horse, a piano with three legs, and the subtle outline of a balloon- to the vision of the market. The market sits busy, tiny yet at every corner lies a new adventure- a fountain in the shape of a pegasus, impressionist art hanging off a wall, a maze shrouded by a square of grass- simple yet complex in every hidden edge and all of its colored possibilities.
