(My A to Z Blog Challenge theme this year is Bittersweetness & Light, my new collection of fantasy and sci fi short stories, poems, and art. Also, be sure to check out my fellow A to Z bloggers at the Master List.)
How do you feel about assembling flat-pack furniture? Love it or hate it? Personally, I think it’s kind of fun, and I get a kick out of the mostly-wordless iconographic instructions. I started to wonder what it would be like if you could get instructions like this for the sorts of things that, although at least as important as furniture, can’t simply be put together with a screwdriver. That wondering inspired my graphic short story “Some Assembly Required.” Here are the first two images from that story.
1. Assemble all materials.
2. Place one or more inspirations (A) in base position to provide foundation.
Important: Be sure all inspirations are securely tethered before proceeding with assembly.
Can you guess what these instructions are for building? Okay, I’ll tell you: it’s your very own Castle in the Air. This short story was inspired by the instructions for an IKEA bookshelf, which demonstrates that inspiration can come from anywhere. In fact, inspiration is everywhere, all the time. We just need to train ourselves to see it, recognize it, expect it, and embrace it. Here’s another blog post on that idea: “Where Do You Get Your Ideas?”
This story was first published in the May 2023 issue of Fantasy Magazine, and if you want to see the whole thing, you can find it posted in its entirety on their web site here. I hope you enjoy it!
Marketing Moral: Check out other books by me. If you liked this one, you may well find something else you’ll enjoy. And even if this book doesn’t sound like quite your thing, one of my other books might be more up your alley (or right on the alley of a child in your life, since I have several titles for kids from pre-school through middle grade).
What would you like to be able to buy in a box for easy step-by-step assembly?
[Pictures: LUFTSLOTT Step 1 and Step 2, pen plus digital illustrations by AEGNydam from Bittersweetness & Light, 2025 (See NydamPrints.com).]
12 comments:
Hehe, I love this. I once made a post about what had to be inside an IKEA teabag ;) You can find it here: https://krydderuglen.blogspot.com/2022/09/z-zip-through-autumn-2.html
I'd love to find box with an easy to assemble expanding bookcase - one like a bottomless bag, actually - so that I could have room for all my books and other stuff in a couple of bookcases only.
I'm lucky I've only done it once! Phew....my brain hurt!
Donna: Click for my 2025 A-Z Blog
Very cool diagram and that it was inspired by IKEA. I bought a CD rack there many moons ago, but I think one of my sons put it together for me. I would love to buy a do-it-yourself house kits like Sears used to sell. It's a dream only but wouldn't it be neat to do?
I LOVE this, and I literally laughed out loud with "roofing optional." This is definitely a project I'd undertake and be certain I'd have success with, unlike any furniture assembly I've tried. I celebrated for a week once when I was able to simply screw 4 legs onto a chair base.
I have put together many ikea bookcases. Unfortunately, they don't last like the old ones I didn't put together did. I hope my castle in the air would last forever.
I'm hit or miss with flat pack furniture... after living with it for so many years, I do find pleasure in "real" furniture - though it's tough to move! I mostly have pieces handed down from parents and grandparents so they're sturdy and have stories tied to them.
- Allison
https://lightningflashwriting.blogspot.com/
Your IKEA tea bag is hysterical! Ever-expanding bookcases would be excellent, for sure. But maybe while we're at it, just have an ever-expanding room to put all the bookcases in...
I love looking at the plans for those Sears kit houses. But I think that building one would be too much for me to actually handle myself! (On the other hand, we did have our house built for us from modular units.)
Haha! Congratulations on the chair! I'm sure you would create an absolutely spectacular Castle in the Air.
Kristin, I think castles in the air do need upkeep, because your dreams and inspirations, etc will shift over the years. But I'm confident that as long as you do basic maintenance, it will last forever. =)
I too have some really solid, beautiful family pieces that I treasure. I fact, when we had our house built we literally designed it around the dining room set to make sure it would fit the large antique table and buffet! But there's a place for both the heirlooms and the quick and easy fill-in-the-missing-elements stuff.
I like the title!
Ronel visiting for A-Z Challenge Set: Lord of Chaos and Disorder & My Languishing TBR: S #AtoZChallenge2025 #Books #Bookreview
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