He walked in with all the confidence of a dandy, pausing every now and then to savor the applause that only he could hear.
.story
Underlying
A short piece written as a Halloween writing exercise.
It was dark, cold and dank. Water pooled on every step, rough crags on either side. Within each alcove, a shadow, some still, others stirred, rattling their chains. One struggled to speak, but only managed a weak hiss. Through it all his hand urged her onward, past piles of bones, and cavernous teeth.
Biking at the Beach
This is a free writing short that I wrote today at Writer’s Group. We used a nonlyric musical track as the prompt.
The ocean, just the smell was enough to make me smile. I couldn’t see it, but I knew it was there, just over the hill and through the bushes. Alex brushed past me, pedaling as hard as he could. It didn’t take him long to realize I wasn’t following him.
Prowling
A writing short.
Two people search through the dark, long hallways and open rooms, stacks of cardboard boxes and sealed cases full of glistening silverware and plates, photos in frames, covered in dust.
What were they doing here? The boxes were all empty, and the cases were all locked. They didn’t even have a crowbar. Odds were all the good stuff was already gone, but Jason kept looking, prowling like a cat, pawing at every drawer. Gail could hear the rats scurrying in the background, hiding between the walls, waiting for them to leave. A thin line of sunlight peeked in through the boards, inviting her back.
“I found it,” he called. She hurried to his side, and stopped.
On the bed lay a mound, covered only by a hollow sheet. Gail did her best not to see through it. Jason had no eyes for it. All he saw was the safe embedded in the wall.
Use Stories to see other pieces I’ve written.
Establish the Story 101-1
Stories begin with a protagonist, a setting, and a status quo. Then something disrupts the status quo. This is the beginning of the plot. Plot constitutes everything that happens in the story; every event, action, or choice. The foundation of any plot is conflict. Conflict is any time a character has an objective with an uncertain outcome. Every conflict has two steps, the promise and the payoff. The promise is when you build the conflict up. The payoff is when you resolve the conflict.