Working Conversations
Pseudo-fiction and automatic writing series | May 2025
This is an ongoing writing series where I play with the medium of dialogue/conversation to depict characters I am particularly interested in (such as dinosaur models, trains, diagrams, magicians, taxidermy animals, butterflies etc). I’ve found great intrigue in the gaps between what is said and what is not; and have enjoyed the imagery and small world-building from suggesting these fictional scenarios/mannerisms. They are mainly written in an automatic fashion, pulled straight from the subconscious. I also want to start incorporating scenes I remember from my dreams.
-A CONVERSATION BETWEEN TWO DINOSAUR MODELS-
D1: HEY, SO- DO YOU REMEMBER ANYTHING FROM YESTERDAY?
D2: YESTERDAY? YOU MEAN WHEN..
D1: YES-YUP, YESTERDAY.
D2: HUH. NOT REALLY. NOTHING I CAN RECALL IN THE PRESENT MOMENT.
D1: HOW FUNNY. ME NEITHER. BUT HEY. I LIKE YOUR SCALES.
D2: OH MY. THANK YOU. I DON’T KNOW, I JUST- HAVE THEM.
D1: DID YOU GROW THEM YOURSELF? *LAUGHS*
D2: *LAUGHS* I WISH- OR I WISH I COULD REMEMBER IF I DID.
D1: I LIKE HOW THEY ARE SCINTILLATING IN THE SUN!
D2: THE SUN?
D1: YEAH! THAT LIGHT UP THERE.
D2: LIGHT?
D1: YEAH! DON’T TELL ME I HAVE TO EXPLAIN THE CONCEPT OF ‘LIGHT’ TO YOU. *LAUGHS*
D2: YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT LIGHT UP THERE IS THE SUN?
D1: YES. WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE?
D2: I DON’T KNOW. SOMETHING FEELS WRONG. I CAN’T QUITE PLACE IT.
D1: WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
D2: I MEAN, I DON’T FEEL ANYTHING, YET SOMETHING FEELS VERY WRONG. BAD, EVEN. DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?
D1: I WISH- I WISH I COULD REMEMBER IF I DID. KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN, I MEAN.
D2: YEAH, ME TOO. I WISH YOU CAN FEEL MY NON-FEELING.
D1: HEY- I WISH YOU COULD NON-FEEL MY FEELING.
D2: *LAUGHS* THAT’S FUNNY. *LAUGHS* WAIT, I DIDN’T KNOW I COULD LAUGH LIKE THIS.
D1: WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO. DON’T YOU REMEMBER?
D2: AGAIN, I WISH I DID. DOES THAT MEAN YOU REMEMBER EVERYTHING?
D1: YES-WELL- SORRY, THAT WAS A LIE. UM, GLIMPSES, MAYBE. BUT I CAN’T TELL IF THEY ARE MEMORIES OF MY DREAMS OR DREAMS OF MY MEMORIES. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO IS CRUCIAL_. EARTH-SHATTERING, EVEN.
D2: EARTH-SHATTERING…
D1: EARTH-*NODS*-SHATTERING…
D2: *SIGHS* WELL. IS IT TIME FOR LIGHTS-OUT?
D1: AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY.
D2: AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY.
—LIGHTS OUT—
—A CONVERSATION BETWEEN A DIAGRAM AND A MAGICIAN IN THE CITY— ‘DIAGRAM-DEALS’
M: HEY, DID YOU JUST HEAR THAT?
D: *TAKES EARPHONES OUT* WHAT-NO, I DIDN’T.
M: I THOUGHT I HEARD SOMETHING SINISTER.
D: SINISTER HOW?
M: SINISTER LIKE ANOTHER SCHEME BEING PUT INTO MOTION.
D: YOU’RE A MAGICIAN, AREN’T YOU?
M: HOW DID YOU KNOW? I AM RATHER PROUD OF MY DISGUISE TODAY.
D: I AM A DIAGRAM. I KNOW HOW THINGS WORK. I EXIST TO REVEAL TRUTHS. YOU KNOW THAT. YOU’VE USED ME BEFORE. TO CONCOCT YOUR SINCERE SCHEMES.
M: OH MY. APOLOGIES, I DID NOT RECOGNISE YOU. I SEE YOU HAVE PUT ON YOUR BEST DISGUISE FOR THE DAY. MY GOD, HOW ARE YOU? IT’S BEEN A WHILE!
D: OH, YOU KNOW. UP AND DOWN. THROUGH AND THROUGH.
M: YEAH, I FEEL YOU.
D: DO YOU?
M: NO, I WAS JUST SAYING THAT. SORRY. THAT WAS A SINCERE SCHEME TO GET OUR CONVERSATION GOING.
D: YEAH, I THOUGHT AS MUCH. YOU CAN PUT ON A DISGUISE BUT YOU WILL ALWAYS MOVE HOW YOU ALWAYS HAVE. ONE CANNOT STAY IN CHARACTER IF ONE IS TRULY SINCERE.
M: AH.. THAT HURTS MY BRAIN BUT I THINK I DISAGREE.
D: WE CAN AGREE TO DISAGREE. HURT-BRAINS.
M: DEAL.
D: I DO NOT DEAL, I AM A DIAGRAM.