Writing Exercise #6

I'm posting a day early because tomorrow is my folks 38th wedding anniversary and I expect to be otherwise occupied. 💕

This weeks writing exercise actually had two parts. Life happens and we get busy, so we decided to just do the first half - write a story inspired by an answer to one of the Calendar Questions.

Part 1

Neil created the following questions for a Blackberry promo, which led him to write A

Calendar of Tales (2013).

• Why is January so dangerous?

• What’s the strangest thing that ever happened to you in February?

• What historical figure does March remind you of?

• What’s your happiest memory of April?

• What’s the weirdest gift you’ve ever been given in May?

• Where would you spend a perfect June?

• What’s the most unusual thing you have ever seen in July?

• If August could speak, what would it say?

• Tell me something you lost in September that meant a lot to you.

• What mythical creature would you like to meet in October? And why?

• What would you burn in November, if you could? The bones of my enemies...or fallen leaves, tossed into a bonfire. 🔥

• Who would you like to see again in December?

 

WRITING EXERCISE

On a page in your journal, answer one of Neil’s questions from A Calendar of Tales. Now write a story from this answer. This can be as long or short as you like.

Part 2 

When you’re done with your story, fill out the worksheet at the end of the chapter for your protagonist.This information will sketch out your story’s through-line. (For more about unconscious desires, refer back to Chapter 6: Story Case Study: The Graveyard Book.)

Neil warns against being too nice to your characters, so don’t be afraid to hit them with the very worst forces of antagonism you can muster.

Rewrite the story above with the most powerful forces of conflict you’ve devised from the worksheet.

WORKSHEET: YOUR PROTAGONIST

Character name and brief description.

What is their main desire?

What is their unconscious desire? (This may be the inverse, or related to the main desire.)

What is the worst thing that can happen to this character?

What is something even worst that can happen to this character?

What people, institutions, or forces can bring this about? Include a description of how they do that.

-----

November 

Logs crackled in the fireplace, emitting that most autumn of smells. The wind whistled outside, swirling through the trees and down the mountain, carrying the last of November’s fallen leaves with it. Surrounded by nature, the cabin was an oasis of solitude, the closest dwelling over two miles away and the most frequent visitor a curious squirrel or wandering fawn. 

At a large table in the main living area sat a man, a swath of papers scattered in a semi-circle around his laptop.  These were broken up at intervals by a room temperature cup of coffee, half eaten apple and a box of Kleenex that was accompanied by an ever growing pile of used tissues beside it. 

Thomas was wrapped up in a blanket, cursing his head cold and tendency to procrastinate. He’d promised to send his editor the first five chapters of his new book by tomorrow and he’d barely started writing the third. Requesting yet another extension was out of the question, since he’s already received three. 

What was originally meant to be a trilogy had been strung out for the sake of increasing revenue. The first book had been successful and the second more so, making the NY Times best seller list for over a month. These accomplishments swelled his ego and made him open to his publisher’s suggestion to turn the scifi adventure into a series instead. 

With each new installment, Thomas felt the universe he’d created was spinning further out of control. Deadend storylines and characters of no significance were the unfortunate consequence of writing for fame and fortune over substance. While he was immensely proud of the first two books in the series, he’d become increasingly disgusted with his own performance and ability to create something worth reading. At least this was to be the finale, though even that was little consolation, due to making several major concessions to wrap things up. Focus groups had enthusiastically insisted that his two main characters live happily-ever-after, while his original intent was to kill them off heroically in an epic last battle, providing a tragic yet satisfying ending. He’d fought with his editor and publishers, with them finally convincing him it was best to follow the court of public opinion. 

As he sat blowing his nose for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning, his mind wandered to the verdant plains of Zithrandu, the tall grass stained red with blood and weighed down by the bodies of the dead and dying. He could vividly picture Sicarius and Badumna fighting their way into the heart of the enemy stronghold, Sicarius beating back the ever growing horde while Badumna planted charges around the room. With the only way out blocked by the reptilian Gilmanders, Badumna took Sicarius’ hand as she pushed the detonator, the explosion decimating not only command central, but the entire stone fortress. The pair forfeited their lives to save the Arachians from the oppressive reign of the genocidal Gilmanders. This was the way he envisioned concluding their quest, not watching from a hilltop like some apathetic commanders, allowing others to make the ultimate sacrifice so they could ride unscathed into the sunset. 

The more Thomas considered departing from the “true ending” to the narrative, the more distraught he became. He carried the tepid coffee and apple into the kitchen. He rinsed out his mug and, as he watched the partially devoured fruit tumble into the trash, he came to a momentous decision. 

Gathering up the printouts of the first two chapters of his book, Thomas walked over to the smoldering blaze and, with a dramatic sweep of his arm, tossed the pages into the fire. He watched them catch and slowly begin to burn, the sight reigniting his passion and creativity. Thomas returned to his seat, deleting what he’d already written and, newly invigorated by the warmth generated from the destruction of his mediocre work, began anew. 

-----

Anyone else looking forward to fall? 🍂🍁

~ Katie Q. 🐧

I took another cooking class Wednesday night from Luca Manfé. Last time we made risotto (I posted about it here); this time we made gnocchi. It turned out...ok. Somehow the potato mix was too moist, so I had to add a lot more flour to the dough than I would have liked. But everything else tasted really good and it paired nicely with Chloe Pinot Grigio. 

I call this one "choose your weapons."

Sliced shallots and garlic

Fresh Rosemary and Baby Bellas.

We made a bit of a mess. 😐

Sauce for the gnocchi was made with mushrooms, asparagus, shallots, garlic, beef broth, butter, olive oil, bacon and parmesean.
I'm a recent convert to cooking with shallots. 🍽 

Our Zoom cooking class!