So this week I’m declaring NaNo planning over. Most planning is done just not written down but I think if I try to write it all down now I might just fall out of love with my idea which isn’t good. So instead I’m doing a few writing exercises found here. I’m trying to expand on these dramatic situations in approximately 100 words (+/- 10%). It’s interesting to realise how much I’m having to condense them or miss things out. Here’s a couple of the finished ones:
A Small Girl Is Lost On The High Street: (103 Words)
Monica wasn’t entirely sure how she got there. She’d been following her mother along holding onto her coat-tails in the hustle and bustle of the street and then suddenly she’d looked up and her mother wasn’t there. She was now being tossed around amidst the waves of people whilst trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall. She passed by a bench and grabbed hold, pulling herself free of the crowds. She clambered on to see if she could spot her mother but found she was still to small to see anything. She crumpled down onto the bench as the sobs began.
I originally wanted a happier ending here. Eventually I think I may expand it and turn it into a short story but for now Monica is going to have to sit on that bench alone and cry, unfortunately.
He Tried To Open The Window But It Was Jammed Shut: (107 words)
He stumbled as he dashed down the stairs. Why had he come in here? It was a stupid dare and he was stupider for accepting it. Approaching the door he saw the locks. Too many deadbolts and no keys for the remaining locks. Frantically he gazed around, seeking another way to exit the building. A window. Grimy and barely visible in the gloomy house but that was definitely a window. He sprinted over to it, attempting to push it open. But it wouldn’t. It was jammed. Or locked. And it was too late. He could feel the breath on his neck. The last thing he felt before the axe.
This one did not want to be short enough. I’ve had to continually rework it, hacking out sentences and shortening others and its still barely in the limits. It is rare that I write something more like horror so this one was nice to try. Its something I’ve noticed with all these situations it’s broadening me as a writer. Which is always good.
You Wake Up To Find Yourself In A New Universe: (103 words)
I gently rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I sat up and sleepily gazed around my familiar room noting everything in it. The shelves crammed with science-fiction novels, The desk covered in homework both finished and unfinished, the octopus at the foot of my bed wearing a top-hat. I jumped now fully awake. The Octopus used his (or her) tentacles to manoeuvre itself up the bed towards me before making the bizarre noise I’d ever heard. After a moment of silence it spoke.
“I asked what you were doing in my daughters bed.”
That’s all I heard before passing back out.
I kind of wanted this one to be lighter. I feel like a talking, top hat toting octopus is the right thing for that. It’s another one I may expand into a short story but I might try to make it into more of a comedy although that’s quite a bit outside of my writing comfort zone.
I also wrote an open motivational letter yesterday but I think I might rework it a little. It tries to cover anything that might make me give up halfway through NaNo so I can read it and keep going. I think I also might post it up here in case anyone else would find it helpful. But that’ll be tomorrow when I’ve finished with it. Probably.
Until then happy reading 🙂
Dazzy x
Storyteller's Block 