Member Society of Children's Books Writers & illustrators (SCBW&I)

I am line.

I started as a mark, a dot or a point, but I stretched myself in one direction and became a line (which is actually just a concept). I am threadlike, thin, and continuous. Sometimes I’m thinner, sometimes I’m thicker, and sometimes I’m both, as I vary how I look. In the above apple, I use the same line width throughout my journey. Occasionally, I take detours and have extensions. Sometimes I surround things and give them borders or I enclose space. I am free as I want to be. I cross over other lines or run alongside them. I can now move in any direction.

I can be hesitant, curly, scratchy, or just repeat my original dot or mark– endlessly (then they might refer to me as a dotted or dashed line). I can stop at some point or run in continuous loops, or just go on forever. I can make symmetrical or asymmetrical forms. I am also called an outline, because I can follow the contours of things. I can be so simple, yet mysteriously complex. I am not reality, but I can impersonate it. I am like an actor in that I can take on many personalities and express emotions. Line is a way to describe things.