Do a Fabulous Story

"Lie to me by the moonlight. Do a fabulous story." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Truth may be stranger than fiction, but let's face it: fiction is fun. Reality can be alternately too boring, too depressing, too complicated or just a drag. Instead, do us a favor: Spin a yarn. Tell a tale. Catch a big fish, and make it sing.

This quotation comes from Fitzgerald's 1920 short story The Offshore Pirate. It's a fascinating tale about a suitor feigning to be a romantic and dangerous figure to woo the heroine, Ardita. Geeks that we are, we especially love the way it can be interpreted as Fitzgerald himself spinning a narrative to woo the reader. And like Ardita, we're enraptured and applaud his beautiful illusion.

In our illustration, a moon shines down on a ship and reflects across the waves. Because the story is, in the end, just a fiction. The objects are all made of text from Fitzgerald's stories.