Wednesday, April 11, 2007

random ramblings

For a writing exercise, I like to write random paragraphs, poems, and scenes from possible stories. Below are a examples of such. Tell me what you think, please.

Confined

The glass was warm to her touch. With her face against it, she gazed through the window and out into the world. It was a world of which she wished to be a part. If only there was a way. Her heart yearned to run as far as her strength permitted, far from her containment. She knew of nothing else but what lay within the walls of the shelter and what she was able to see through the window. And though it be dirty and covered in dust, she looked out to see as much as she could whenever she had a spare a moment.

Her life hadn’t been bad. She had been provided for, taught to read, write, do arithmetic, and all of the skills that she might need to take care of herself. After her father died, though, that is just what she did; she took care of herself. She was now the only survivor in her family and, for the first time, she felt angry about it. This realization hit and a feeling like fire welled up inside. Emotions engulfed her body, and she couldn’t control them. Tears flowed down her suddenly flushed cheeks. People passed by and she wanted to hide from their pitying eyes. None of them stopped to comfort her and that was just fine. The cause of her pain was loneliness and yet all she wanted, at that moment, was to be left alone.

Little Big Boy

To the average eye Donnelly appeared to be the average child. People couldn’t help but fall in love with his brown curly hair, dark brown eyes, and sandy complexion. Surprisingly, Donnelly was very different from what people thought. The average eye couldn’t think his thoughts, feel his feelings, or experience his experiences. He was more than just an average little boy....

Get off My Lawn

Dream >> girl waken by pebbles on window… when.. CRASH! One breaks the window.

Rubbing her eyes, Ally ran to see who had thrown the rocks and broken her window. She looked outside and saw that a boy stood below. At this, she pushed open the door and ran angrily out onto the balcony.

“What are you doing? It is like midnight!”

This was not at all how he pictured the evening, when he had played it out in his head. “I…I…I…Uh, I love you, “ he squeaked, following through with the original plan.

“What? You just broke my window! What do you want me to say to that! Oh thanks, darling, I love you too.. No! Get off my lawn, I don’t even know who you are! Ugg!”

Growing Up


Blooming
Self-knowledge, self help, self control
Better wisdom which makes good men
Forget and forgive
Under his rough exterior lay some of the manly virtues which we most admire and love
Air of resolution
I’ll stand by you
Good for him
Continue to believe in it, to work for it, and to prove its possibility
You really care to learn something and that is half the battle
It seems hard at first, and you will feel discouraged, but plod away, and things will get easier as you go on
We all need these little helps; so you will try
Splendidest
Work, encouragement, and hope
Passion of love, of shame, and patience
The memory of a wise and tender father, the legacy of an honest name
.
*Words and phrases taken form Little Men by Louisa M. Alcott. “Growing Up” arranged by Brooke Lott.

Saving Scander

Arrows whizzed passed her uncovered body, as she closed her eyes in anguish. She had no chance of escaping. Was this the end? Thoughts of her life flooded her mind. She wasn’t ready to die! Scander’s hurt face crowded her worries and regret overcame her. She loved him! She had been so stubborn and confused. Now she was to die alone, and he would never know of her true feelings. Suddenly in the midst of her worries silence fell upon her. The war had paused. She slowly opened her eyes to look about her. Wincing at the nastiness of her surroundings she bravely picked herself off the ground and began running. She tripped over the carnage and destruction of the battle, her mind was in a daze. What was going on? Was everybody dead?

Chances

The wind pressed against her cheeks, drying her tears as they fell from her swollen eyes. What had she done? Her opportunity was so obvious and she had blown it! She believed in second chances but what happens after that?

Evening Falls

The sky was darkening, explosions of a colorful sunset beginning to fade, and one star twinkled on the horizon.

Stupid Poem


Tossed back and forth with emotion
My heart is heavy, torn in two
I can’t quite decide if you’ve won
I want to leave but can’t seem to start anew.
Your thoughts are unclear
And your feelings unknown
My truth is open, even through my fear
Timid eyes have ceased, and I have grown.
What would my life be like without you?
What if we never met?
Would I be happy, seeing through
An empty doorway to something that is not yet.

Tallmond
.
His eyes were pale and fading, his face wet with sweat. She couldn’t take it all in. This couldn’t be happening, Not here! Not now! He couldn’t leave her alone when she needed him the most. Anger boiled up against the enemy. It steamed inside with the fear of losing her beloved Tallmond. ....WAR!!!!
.
The Unfinished
.
It was a house without clocks or calendars. Time was not kept, no appointments were made, there was no schedule to follow and nothing of importance seemed to happen. Life continued to roll on but there was no reason for anything that anyone did. Actions were random and nothing was ever accomplished completely. Unfinished Quilts lay scattered upon the furniture that wasn’t fully refurnished. The walls were spattered with paint. One side of a room would be mostly white and the other would be partially covered in old, moldy, wall paper.
.
...........................All right. That is enough. I've more in my stash, but I am tired and the above is very lengthy.......................... what think ye?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did they eat any food? They had to survive in order to keep the "timeless" and "Reasonless" situation. If they did eat - they had a reason. Seems like in this type of house they there starving,being hungry, depressed.
Well, anyway, I like the "freedom" house. I think we need a little chaos so we start value the order.
We need get messed up in that house. Why? so we get hungry for the ...(what do you think it is?)

Brooke Lott Huntsman said...

M. Anonymous, of course they ate food. Without doing so, it would be humanly impossible to reach a mature enough age to own/rent a house. Since my characters were obviously living and in a house, I figured that their eating habits would be assumed. Plus what individual, in a starving state, would have the energy to start random projects like my characters obviously had. Even if the characters of my excerpt snarfed tater tots, when they felt like it, this doesn't mean that they had reason to their lives. Who's to say (excluding Dr. Phil) that a person needs to have a reason to eat? Why do you think that there are so many obese people, in the world, these days?

The main point of my paragraph was to show a house where nothing ever was completed and actions were random. I probably shouldn't have used the words "without reason", though, because I am sure that they started each unfinished task with reason. The reason, though, was evidently lost in the lack of dedication.

I never said that it was a timeless home. Though it went on, tick by tick, the people of this story simply did not care enough to keep track of its passing.

You may be correct in saying that the people of the described dwelling could very well be depressed. I've only explored one paragraph of their strange existence and a lot is still unknown about the residents living in the "unfinished" home. Stay tuned to future blogs and you might get more of their story (their past, specific circumstances, relationships, and etc.).

"I think we need a little chaos so we start value the order.
We need get messed up in that house. Why? so we get hungry for the ...(what do you think it is?)" ~M. Anonymous(A.K.A. you)

What do I think it is? How about order. When my house is a mess, I can hardly stand to live in it (without going insane). Hooray for huge cleaning sessions that calm my frazzled nerves. Order is definately nice. And, yes, that is my final answer.

Thanks for leaving a comment! It was fun to read and reply to. I love hearing what people have to say about my writing, especially when such provides me with a different perspective and new ideas. Your comment sparked a lot of thought and I've decided (becasue of said thoughts) that I am going to add on to this particular blurb. "The Unfinished" might just be novel material... :)

Anonymous said...

the poem....
I like it. The doorway thing is awesome!
I am serious. I had a pink short on the Mothers Day.

Brooke Lott Huntsman said...

To the second M. Anonymous:
Thanks! I really do need to write more poetry. Perhaps, with the freedoms of summer, I'll be able to pick up a better habit. :). What is this talk about a pink short mother's day? Expound, please.

Anonymous said...

it is from the real man story...

hm...freedom and habit... doesn't work together. In your "Spooky House" story the good habits less likely to appear. Accountability
will create the good habits. So, I want some more writing please. Learn not to be depended on the mood.

Anonymous said...

Nice new picture. I hope that bag is not too heavy. What is the deal with the white dress? Do you always have it on? hm..

Brooke Lott Huntsman said...

More comments...."yippee!"

It may sound very contradictory, but (in my world) freedom and habit go along like popcorn and butter. A habit is something to be formed with one's own agency and having good habits can and does make life easier/more free. If I am in the habit of practicing the piano, in the morning, then I am free to do anything, the rest of the day. Where as, if I hadn't practiced and had put it off until the evening, I would be stuck plowing away at a piece of music rather than enjoying the evening with my friends and family (not that practicing is pure torture... perfecting a piece is actually quite enjoyable).

The picture with me in a white dress (which is really light pink) was taken a couple of years ago. I wore it to prom and (excluding a few random dress up parties) I haven't put it on, since. So... no, I don't always have it on.

Thanks complimenting my new photo. The strap doesn't connect to a heavy bag, thank heavens, but helps hold my trousers on. I'm actually wearing overalls. With all the big bags I've carried around campus, you'd think it would be a bag.. haha. My "luggage days" are a thing of the past (at least until school starts up, again... sigh).