Imaginings

The Exercise:
Write the first sentence of a story about a birth. Now write the first sentence about a death. Try other pairs, such as falling in love and filing for divorce. Try pairs that are not in opposition, such as spring and summer. Then invent your own pairs.

The Objective:
This is a way to sharpen skills by working for a specific kind of clarity. It is about naming essences.

The Assignment:
The Pairs:
Birth & Death
Love & Lust

The Sentences:

Birth:
The cry that came out of his tiny lungs made my eyes fill up with joyful tears.

Death:
It was strange to think that I would never go over to her house anymore just to chat, all because of an accident that could have been prevented.

Love:
The second our eyes met across the room, my palms started to sweat and my heart sped up to an erratic pace; the same effect he’s had on my since we first met.

Lust:
It was only one part of my body that stood at attention when she stood up and addressed the crowd.

The Exercise:
Write five opening lines for five different stories.

The Objective:
To get into the habit of beginning your stories in the middle of things.

The Assignment:

1.    It was never a good time for him, even when he was just watching TV.

2.    To me, it felt like the world around me stopped and then resumed, only with the sun shining brighter down on me.

3.    His face would forever haunt me, this I knew.

4.    Witches aren’t real, is what I kept telling myself.

5.    ”What did you do?” I asked, my eyes fastened on the dirt on James’ usually pristine white shirt.

Ah, yes. It really is.

Today is the day that I put this website online and share my stories with the world once again. Today is also the day that I start writing more again.

I remember a time not that long ago when I could just sit down behind my computer  and write for hours on a story. That hasn’t happened in a while and I miss it. It always made me feel really good after I was done and re-read what I’d written. There was a sense of accomplishment that nothing else brings me.

It might be a good idea to make a priority list and determine which story I want to finish first. Would that help? I hope so. I need to get motivated, need to get back into the swing of writing.

This is a fresh start and by the end of the year, I’ll have written several short stories (if not all that are on the list) and have worked on my original novel Becoming.

I hope to see you again!