She. 1.


She crouched inside the wardrobe.

Heart pounding within her chest, she breathed heavily and without control. Whether through nerves or the fact of running up the three flights of stairs she couldn’t find her natural rhythm.

Light poured in through the slight crack between the doors, and, even in this dull light, she could see that her hands were covered. Almost stained.

She desperately rubbed her palms up and down her thighs, in the hope that the floral-printed white cotton of her long summer dress would somehow clean her hands.

She noticed the material of her dress had been caught between the two wardrobe doors, just as she heard the door to the room get thrown open. Heavy footsteps seconds later caused the wardrobe, and possibly the room, to quake.

And she was still desperate to control her breathing.

In the room outside, she heard a snort, then a snigger.

***

Ah, that’s better! I’m back, and all refreshed… although for how long remains to be seen. I may not post every day for starters, but we’ll see how it goes. And the walks around the Grinds were lovely!

I was walking back from the shop when the above part of a story came to me (well, I did ask for inspiration to strike at any time I suppose!), and as I usually tend to write my stories from the beginning and move on to something else, I’m trying a different tack here. This snippet obviously isn’t the beginning, and it’s certainly not the end.

So, who is she? What has happened / is happening / will happen? And who is the other person? What were they doing?

This is my challenge. A writing challenge for those who may, like me, be blogally challenged. In 150 words, write another part to this story… it can be set before, during or after the above snippet. You can either post your snippet on your own blog (What? You don’t have one? Set one up, then… quickly!!! The link to WordPress is at the bottom and it’s so easy to do!) and then link your post to this post – or you can just add your snippet to the comments below (if, say, you have a blog about cats and this story wouldn’t fit in with your theme). Have fun with it, but keep it to 150 words – no more no less. Oh, and it’s just for fun. I still don’t have two ha’pennies to rub together for a prize or anything!

17 responses to “She. 1.”

  1. lameadventures avatar

    She hears him sneeze and says, reflexively, “Gezundheit!” She mutters a curse word now banned in Russia.

    He: Thank you. I’m telling you, Hy, it’s allergies I’m suffering, nothing toxic’s going on. Come out!

    Hyacinth: Thanks to you, Mortimer, my hands are stained purple!

    Mort: They’re not stained! It’s Zap-it invisible ink. It goes on purple, then dries clear.

    Hyacinth: My brother had a Zap-it gun in the 80s. He fired it all over the house. Our dad had to repaint every room. http://youtu.be/1xQLyipZ6P8

    Mort sneezes.

    Mort: I reformulated it Hy with all natural ingredients. When my magic potion hits the market, it’s going to be bigger than Vel-cro.

    Hyacinth: My hands and dress are stained! You can’t stop sneezing! It’s toxic Mort!

    Mort: We’re going to make millions!

    Hyacinth, opens the wardrobe door. She’s completely stained purple. Mort looks aghast — and sneezes.

    Hyacinth: You’re going to get sued.

    Like

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      Fabulous, LA! You tied up all of the loose ends very nicely indeed. Thanks for taking part. I never realised invisible ink had been around for so long…

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      1. lameadventures avatar

        I production managed that commercial “back in the day” Tom. It was shot entirely on an indoor soundstage during a winter snowstorm. Hey, welcome back!

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        1. Tom Merriman avatar

          Thanks, LA. And what a great job to have done!

          Like

  2. Jo Bryant avatar

    Ohhhh…interesting. Will have to put the thinking cap on, but very glad you are back

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    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      Thanks, Jo… it’s just an idea I had.

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  3. prenin avatar

    Not for me I’m afraid, but have fun folks! 🙂

    God Bless!

    Prenin.

    Like

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      No problem, Prenin, it’s not compulsory! 😉
      I just wanted to provide a little writing prompt in the extreme case anyone has blogger’s block (obviously something that I’m never bothered with…!)

      Like

  4. Vanessa-Jane Chapman avatar

    Ooh, not sure I have any inspiration to add anything right now. I will say this though – you say this snippet obviously isn’t the beginning, but why not? I love stories that start right at an exciting part, it totally could be the beginning, and then as you move forward from it, little back details can be filled in.

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    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      You’re right, Vanessa. With my tales, I feel I have to set the scene or explain about the characters or something to get things started ‘properly’ in my mind, this one was different, and I quite liked writing it. It is very open though, with hundreds of loose ends… in fact, it’s almost frayed!

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      1. Vanessa-Jane Chapman avatar

        That was a tip I got from another blogger who is an excellent writer and also teaches creative writing – she said always start the story from the middle of some action and then fill in the detail later. I think it’s a good tip, it draws the reader in right away.

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        1. Tom Merriman avatar

          It does that, and it’s an interesting starting point as well, Vanessa.

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  5. Let's CUT the Crap! avatar

    You’re off to a good start, Tom, and welcome back. Vanessa is right and the addition by LA is a blast. I believe you can handle it from here–if need be. 😀

    Like

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      Thanks for saying so, Tess.

      Like

  6. Sue Dreamwalker avatar

    I think I am about to find out as I move along who She is 🙂

    Like

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      I wonder if we will find out, Sue?

      Like

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