Thursday, December 1, 2011

Writing Exercise (A short story)

I was digging through some of my old files, and I came across one from when I took a creative writing course a while back. I wanted to share the first assignment with you because I think it really shows how far I've come in my writing abilities.

The point of the exercise was to select three numbers from a list (I chose 3, 8, and 3 - my favorite numbers). Each number represented a random word that you didn't discover until AFTER you had selected your numbers. Then - after you found out what your words were (I got lucky with my words - you'll see why), you had to write a short story using those words as key points/objects. The point of a free-writing exercise is to just write. You don't correct any mistakes - spelling errors, bad grammar, poor sentences -- nothing. You just write and see where your creativity takes you. This is what I came up with. (I also posted the comment people left about it, because I think they are really sweet.)



3-8-3 (A bride, a wedding ring, and a hotel room)

by: Cortney 

 2/2/2010 1:13:12 PM

3-8-3 (A bride, a wedding ring, and a hotel room)


A new bride sits in a hotel room waiting for her groom to return from the nearby restaurant where he has gone to fetch something to eat. The woman is sitting on the bed and admiring the view from the window. The sun reflecting off of a nearby car as it drives by reminds her of her shiny diamond ring which now encompasses her finger. She looks at her hand to examine the ring. It's beautiful. She takes it off of her finger to examine it more thoroughly. She holds it between her thumb and forefinger and gently rolls it around just inches from her face – squinting one eye so as to see it better. She accidentally squeezes her fingers too tightly together and the ring shoots out of her hand. She scrambles to catch it, falling off of the bed and landing with her legs over her head. She is still in her wedding dress which is now up around her neck. She scrambles to get upright and smooth the dress back down into its place and begins her search for her wedding ring. Oh no, she thinks as she searches the nearby floor, unsuccessfully. Oh, shoot! She lifts up the bed skirt and peers under the bed, with no success. She is frantic to find the ring before her husband comes back and discovers she has lost it. While she is crawling around on her hands and knees, her dress still around her waist revealing the frilly slip underneath, her husband walks back into the room. He asks her what she is doing. She stutters for a bit before letting out a sigh, and finally admitting that she has dropped her ring. Her husband laughs at how silly she appears and tells her he will help her find the ring, but that she should get up and out of the expensive wedding dress first. She stands and he helps her unhook the dress. As she is disrobing, her husband begins to chuckle again. She asks what is so funny and he points at her chest. There, inside her bra, lodged between her bosoms was her missing wedding ring, where it must have been all along. She, too, chuckles, retrieves the ring and places it safely back on her finger.


Replies:






by: Max

 Love your story ... I am still laughing. I think the reason I am laughing is because misplacing the ring on her own body is something that can really happen. I find myself laughing the most about what is real.

2/2/2010 1:21:01 PM

by: KristasDoodles
 I was laughing so hard. I could see her on her hands and knees with the expensive dress up around her waist. Imagine her husband walking in at that moment. Very good way to keep us on the edge of our seats.
2/2/2010 1:23:41 PM





by: CC
 Your story kept my interest, was funny and visual. I wanted to find that ring too! Loved it!
2/2/2010 2:34:24 PM






by: Lo
 You allowed me to feel the bride's panic. And it was easy to visualize her searching for the ring. I enjoyed your writing!
2/2/2010 3:40:10 PM






by: Renee
 This had me laughing so hard! What a great visual of her on the floor frantically looking for that ring!
2/2/2010 5:03:02 PM





by: Pat
 Your story really made me laugh; the descriptions were priceless and I loved the ending. Great job :)
2/2/2010 5:48:19 PM






by: April
 I loved it. At first when she was playing with the ring I thought she was contemplating the marriage, but then it took a humorous spin. It was quite entertaining thanks for sharing it with us.


April
2/2/2010 7:31:51 PM






by: Your Instructor-Ann
 Delightful and sweet, Cortney! I think this couple might make it. A good sense of humor goes a long way. The high level detail and good action makes this an entertaining piece. Fine work pulling these three elements together!

2/2/2010 10:00:20 PM






by: Delight
 Great story! I never expected the ring to be in her bra!! Love it!
2/2/2010 10:48:07 PM






by: Cora
 Okay that was funny :-)

2/3/2010 1:11:37 PM






by: Jennifer
This was funny! I could see her falling off the bed.
2/3/2010 3:41:39 PM






by: lexis
 good visuals and descriptive action.

2/3/2010 3:47:17 PM






By: Jordan



Excellent! I think this was an amazing job for a first lesson/free-writing assignment. Very well written considering it was your first time through. It was truly entertaining from the moment I started reading until the moment there were no more words to read. You’re raw talent is obvious. I’ll enjoy watching it develop as we take this journey together. Welcome aboard!
2/3/2010  4:47:15 PM
 

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