Thanks to Canva for sponsoring the illusionist. In the 10 years since Canva began, it has

grown to offer services in over 100 languages. And Canva is freemium, so there is plenty available

for zero pounds, including free libraries of video, audio, graphics, and their amazing

tools, magic write, and magic design, which use AI to help you with your first drafts,

get you through the creative block, whew, because it's easier to start from something than

from a blank page. I put in a few writing prompts and, well, if Canva learns to speak, I think

I can just hand over hosting this show to it entirely. Also, if you and your colleagues

are working together, your human colleagues, that is, you can design and collaborate with

Canva for teams. Right now, you can get a free 45 day extended trial when you go to Canva.me-illusionist.

This is the illusionist, in which I, Helen Zoltzman, am left hanging by language.

And last episode we heard about adding complications to the writing process. And in this episode, there's

a story that really went for it with the complications. Every single word required effort, physical

pain, a lifelong commitment, and a responsibility waiver form. On with the show.

On with the show.

13 or so years ago, I met a friend at a pub, and she had someone with her who had a tattoo

on her elbow of the word cuticles. An unusual word to see as a tattoo, unlikely to be the

name of a loved one, or birthplace, or something like that. And also, it wasn't just the word

cuticles. It was cuticles followed by a comma. With the piece of punctuation attached, you can

really tell that it must be part of something else. She was part of something else, the Skin Project,

a story, 2,095 words long, each word tattooed on a different person. I got the title. Skin.

Skin. There it is on my wrist. The people who got a Skin Project tattoo are known as words,

and this particular word is the creator of the Skin Project, Shelley Jackson.

...