A Winter’s Tale: NYC Author Carves Short Story in Snow

We've all heard odd stories of famous authors who've used less conventional instruments for writing tales, from J.K. Rowling scribbling Harry Potter on coffee shop napkins to "Lolita" author, Vladimir Nabokov's love of index cards. However New York City author, Shelley Jackson, has found a new writing medium: snow. That's right, the frosty, white stuff that has blanketed the majority of the United States for the last few months has now become a popular medium for writing Jackson's appropriately named project, "SNOW".

This story is currently being written out word-by-word and documented on Instagram for both loyal fans and curious readers. Jackson, who uses fingers, pencils and sticks to write out each snowy word, describes this project as, "a story in progress, weather permitting." This project follows on the heels of Jackson's 2003 novella, "SKIN", where volunteers had words or phrases tattooed on their bodies to create a story. Based on these projects, it seems Jackson has a knack for finding unique mediums.

So it comes as no surprise that the snow is the perfect canvas for her story, as Jackson wishes to produce a black on white aesthetic that harkens back to the "history of the printed book."

So, how does she choose the perfect spot to mark her words? "I think about things like whether it is more interesting to link the meaning of the word to its appearance (trace the word 'red' on something red) or to make them clash (put it on something green). Sometimes I go one way, sometimes the other," Jackson shares with Slate Magazine. The story is currently unfolding in her East Coast home of Broolyn.

When the project was still in fruition, she had hoped to keep it quiet until it was complete. However, once in the throes of her wintry story, she realized that it would take years to finish. Once she came to this realization, inspiration struck. Just like her medium, she would let the words flow slowly, offering up only a few words or a sentence at a time.

With more snow forecasted to hit the New York area, we may soon get the ending to our unfinished story. Follow Shelley Jackson's triumphant snowy tale on Instagram and find out more about the girl who cried snowflakes.