Right arrow/space/click right side of the screen to go forward; left arrow/click left side of the screen to go backward. ~ Forum version: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/post/9317134/ Author’s note: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/post/9320059/ ~ Paris, 1920. A piano. An understanding. And, perhaps, a beginning. ~ I hesitate to call this purely historical fiction because, as a historian, I also believe historical fiction should strive to be as accurate as possible. I’m fully aware I haven’t researched this nearly as much as I ought to, nor have I entirely stayed true to the history of the time, so please take everything I say with a grain of salt. I’ve listed some inaccuracies I know of in this piece in the author’s note (linked above), but there are likely others. For a more complete understanding, I’d recommend researching on your own. Most closely related to this piece are the Paris Gun and its use during the Good Friday service in 1918 at the Saint-Gervais-Saint-Provais Church in Paris, but I also looked into the air raids on Paris (1914) and the fake city the French began building, which were quite interesting as well. ~ I think I’ve always wanted to write a pianist. Having played for so many years myself, I’m honestly surprised that I haven’t (at least, that I remember) written a pianist who was a major character. Perhaps in “Every Little Broken Thing,” but only for a short part of the story, more for illustrative purposes than anything else. It was nice to have the chance to explore Sophie’s character through the lens of a fellow pianist, even if our lived experiences are otherwise so different. We were more similar initially, but she diverged as I got to know her. ~ I still hate the title, and I still wish I'd played and/or composed something for this piece, but alas, no. I had time to change neither. ~ Word count: 1,999 words ~ Credits: Thank you so much to… • Juliet (@imstillbreathing), Toko (@TokoWrites), and Sapphire (@CreatorA6) for critiquing this piece, especially on such short notice! • The four different piano teachers I’ve had over the years who’ve helped me grow to love it, even though I hated it for the first eight or nine years • The history teacher I had that taught me to love the subject after I disliked social studies for years • The many sources of inspiration I had for this piece: "Le Pianiste des Gares" by Maëlle (song), The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong, How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox, the pianists of WWI, and so many others • You for reading <3
