Sunday, April 19, 2009
Now what?
I will post another exercise tomorrow, as well as comment on both stories. But for now, I will forget that I have anything to do with this reality!!
Exercise 1
I only clocked in at 250 words, and admittedly only spent about 30 min. It's been a very busy week, but here it is!
Marla stood her ground. She knew her daughter, and was wise to the tumult that came with the surging hormones of a pre-teen.
“You're too young.”
“Becky's mom lets her wear makeup.”
Becky's mom also comes to PTA meetings smelling like martinis, she thought. Probably not the best judge of character for this situation.
“I said no, now go wash your face. You're pretty as it is, you don't need makeup.”
“So you don't think you're pretty?”
“Why would you say that?”
“I didn't, you did.”
Marla didn't remember saying anything of the sort, but her mind wasn't as sharp as it was when she was younger. Nevertheless, she pressed on.
“Aspen, you're getting yourself confused. I said nothing of the sort. And just to clarify, no matter what you say the answer is still going to be no.”
“Then why do you wear makeup, mom?”
“To make myself look prettier.”
And it hit her. She had said it earlier, she just hadn't realized.
Marla stood speechless in the kitchen, looking at her little girl. It was one of those “do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do” moments, but she couldn't muster up the fortitude to stammer out that lie. Marla was caught in a memory of the first time she put on lipstick and meant it, while Aspen's big green eyes gazed at her, waiting for an answer.
“Just don't let your father see you.”
Aspen exclaimed a drawn out “yes,” and skipped out of the room.
Marla stood her ground. She knew her daughter, and was wise to the tumult that came with the surging hormones of a pre-teen.
“You're too young.”
“Becky's mom lets her wear makeup.”
Becky's mom also comes to PTA meetings smelling like martinis, she thought. Probably not the best judge of character for this situation.
“I said no, now go wash your face. You're pretty as it is, you don't need makeup.”
“So you don't think you're pretty?”
“Why would you say that?”
“I didn't, you did.”
Marla didn't remember saying anything of the sort, but her mind wasn't as sharp as it was when she was younger. Nevertheless, she pressed on.
“Aspen, you're getting yourself confused. I said nothing of the sort. And just to clarify, no matter what you say the answer is still going to be no.”
“Then why do you wear makeup, mom?”
“To make myself look prettier.”
And it hit her. She had said it earlier, she just hadn't realized.
Marla stood speechless in the kitchen, looking at her little girl. It was one of those “do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do” moments, but she couldn't muster up the fortitude to stammer out that lie. Marla was caught in a memory of the first time she put on lipstick and meant it, while Aspen's big green eyes gazed at her, waiting for an answer.
“Just don't let your father see you.”
Aspen exclaimed a drawn out “yes,” and skipped out of the room.
Friday, April 17, 2009
making you desirable!
Her badge read:
MS. LARA F.
MAKING YOU DESIRABLE
BEAUTICIAN
Perfunctorily, she smiled. Fissures cracked around her mouth and eyelids; a make-up mask caked with desperate thickness betrayed her appearance of natural beauty. Mrs Hampson did not judge, for she knew she was far older and far uglier. She noticed Ms Lara F's lipstick perfectly matched the stain's shade.
'Good morning, miss. How may I help you?' chirped Ms Lara F.
'I want to look young,' admitted Mrs Hampson.
'Gosh, maybe we can knock off a year or two. How does fifteen sound?' Ms Lara F laughed a facetious laugh.
Mrs Hampson refrained. 'Your lipstick. What kind is it?'
Ms Lara F shuffled for the applicator, 'Furtive Flirt. Here, try.'
Mrs Hampson painted sloppy and sensuous colors around her lips. 'What do you think? How does it work on husbands?'
'Well, I've never been married. One day!' She knocked on wood with an naive eagerness that irritated Mrs Hampson. It reminded her of herself before marrying Arthur. 'You look beautiful!'
Mrs Hampson inspected herself in the mirror. She pouted her lips, imaging staining her husband's dress shirt with a pigment of her own.
Ms Lara F regurgitated the slogan, 'Making you desirable!'
Mrs Hampson paid with her husband's credit card. She left, her echoing heels incising through the hollows of the cosmetics department, her lips garishly pink under the fluorescent lighting, a new woman.
MS. LARA F.
MAKING YOU DESIRABLE
BEAUTICIAN
Perfunctorily, she smiled. Fissures cracked around her mouth and eyelids; a make-up mask caked with desperate thickness betrayed her appearance of natural beauty. Mrs Hampson did not judge, for she knew she was far older and far uglier. She noticed Ms Lara F's lipstick perfectly matched the stain's shade.
'Good morning, miss. How may I help you?' chirped Ms Lara F.
'I want to look young,' admitted Mrs Hampson.
'Gosh, maybe we can knock off a year or two. How does fifteen sound?' Ms Lara F laughed a facetious laugh.
Mrs Hampson refrained. 'Your lipstick. What kind is it?'
Ms Lara F shuffled for the applicator, 'Furtive Flirt. Here, try.'
Mrs Hampson painted sloppy and sensuous colors around her lips. 'What do you think? How does it work on husbands?'
'Well, I've never been married. One day!' She knocked on wood with an naive eagerness that irritated Mrs Hampson. It reminded her of herself before marrying Arthur. 'You look beautiful!'
Mrs Hampson inspected herself in the mirror. She pouted her lips, imaging staining her husband's dress shirt with a pigment of her own.
Ms Lara F regurgitated the slogan, 'Making you desirable!'
Mrs Hampson paid with her husband's credit card. She left, her echoing heels incising through the hollows of the cosmetics department, her lips garishly pink under the fluorescent lighting, a new woman.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Uno.
Exercise:
In a language that is straight forward and simple, describe intensely and exhaustively an exchange of true feeling between two characters. Explore an obvious and fairly uncomplicated emotion and expose it for all to see. Give a secret to this character you are showing us the moment of true feeling through, but don't reveal the secret to us or the other character.
Twist:
Include an emotional attachment to a cosmetic product.
500 words.
In a language that is straight forward and simple, describe intensely and exhaustively an exchange of true feeling between two characters. Explore an obvious and fairly uncomplicated emotion and expose it for all to see. Give a secret to this character you are showing us the moment of true feeling through, but don't reveal the secret to us or the other character.
Twist:
Include an emotional attachment to a cosmetic product.
500 words.
Your feet have stopped, but your mind still wanders.
Here we are at the start of this. What "this" is is most certainly up for speculation. For now it's a place to write, an experiment, a way for two friends who don't live in the same city to connect and spend time together.
The plan, initially, is to have an assignment, topic, constraint, etc., and 1 week to write. The topics could come from anywhere or nowhere, but many will probably come from the book "The 3 A.M. Epiphany- Uncommon Writing Exercises That Transform Your Fiction" by Brian Kiteley. Each Sunday we'll post the results along with a new topic. Heartbreak and hilarity will ensue.
Welcome.
The plan, initially, is to have an assignment, topic, constraint, etc., and 1 week to write. The topics could come from anywhere or nowhere, but many will probably come from the book "The 3 A.M. Epiphany- Uncommon Writing Exercises That Transform Your Fiction" by Brian Kiteley. Each Sunday we'll post the results along with a new topic. Heartbreak and hilarity will ensue.
Welcome.
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