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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Introduction

When I flicked on the light, I groaned at the mess that was illuminated. It appeared that every item I had ever owned had come back to haunt me by hurling itself on the fuzzy carpet floor, which was no longer visible. I just knew it was under there somewhere. Clothes - green, blue, jeans, soft cotton, furry sweaters - were strewn haphazardly. Brightly colored school books and lined notebook papers rested wrinkled and hidden. Smooth sequined pillows and a penguin patterned quilt posed mockingly next to the twin bed in the corner. An open chip bag billowed sour cream and onionyness towards me. Stepping lightly so I wouldn't break anything, I crossed the scene. I pressed play and turned the cheering sounds up loud enough to cover my mother's berating from the next room. The melody and vocals integrated to form music that produced a smile even as I undertook this daunting task.
I spun in a circle, not sure where to start exactly. Usually, I began by making piles of things I was keeping and those I was giving away. But this time there wasn't one clean surface to begin a pile on... I was a relatively clean person and this disastrous personality of my room always shocked me. It was as if elves destroyed the place when I was not in it. Just when that thought arose, there was a shimmer in the air in front of me that was nearly three feet tall and one foot wide. A dwarf with a black beard and a rumpled face materialized. I stumbled back and tripped over who knows what. "Are you the one who's been doing this?" I questioned him angrily. I was amazed too though. He nodded.

The prompt for this snippet is as follows:
"Think about something you know well. What are the little details of the situation you chose? What do you notice with your five senses? Make up a character and put that character into a similar setting. Add convincing details as you write about it."

In this blog, I will be writing the exercises from the book Seize the Story by Victoria Hanley. It's a writing handbook for teens. Each time I blog I will be post the prompt and my finished (well as finished as anything a writer writes can ever be...) product and it's your job to tell me what you think! I want to know the good, the bad, and the ugly. But don't be mean ugly about it. So have you got this? I'll break it down.
1. Read my writing and the prompt.
2. See if I followed the prompt's directions.
3. Review the scene I wrote in a general sense.

Thank you!! I appreciate all commentary because everything helps. My goal is to become a published writer and you're going to assist me in getting there!

Sincerely,
Me

6 comments:

  1. The description of the messy room is fantastic, but you lose the details when you describe your encounter with the dwarf. For example, "tripped over who knows what" tell us what you tripped over. Did you stand up when you questioned him or did you do it while you are still on the ground? Did you yell when you questioned him or growl your question at him? You comment about being amazed needs to be more descriptive too, why were you amazed, were you amazed despite your anger, were you in shock? I love that you are doing this and hope that my comments are helpful! Good Luck and keep up the good work.

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  2. You inspired me! I love your writing style, dude! It was really descriptive and gave a really good visual. Check out mine?

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  3. Elise - Thanks so much for the feedback! :) Should I edit it and repost? I'm not exactly sure what the format of my blog should be yet.

    Courtney - Awe! Thank you!! Sure, I will!

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  4. "An open chip bag billowed sour cream and onionyness towards me." Hahahah!! I love that sentence! :) I can even hear just how you would say it!

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  5. Alissa I would revise it, but not overlay the original so you can see how it evolves.

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  6. Ellen - Lol! Why thank you.

    Elise - Okay great! :)

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