Writing Prompt: 05/31/10

"Your phone rings. When you answer it, you make a startling discovery: the person on the other end is dead. What does he/she say and why are they calling you?"

Write for 15-30 minutes. My response will be posted 6/02/10.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Author’s Comments: Awakening (Prompt 3/15)

As I post the writing prompts each week I'm hoping to give people ideas for scene settings and character development, but they say that the teacher learns more than the student. (It would be extremely difficult to learn any less than my students, that's for sure.)

One of the reasons this blog exists is for me to work on developing my own fiction. After twelve years writing more or less continuous non-fiction, returning to the storytelling framework is a hard and ignoble path to travel.

So, when I post weekly writing prompts to my twitter account, (http://twitter.com/ChrisRivan or use the link to the right.) one of my writing goals is to complete the assignments right along side you.

Awakening is my first attempt to respond to my own prompt. I once had a bizarre night of nightmares, vivid, lifelike, and terrifying. I'm not one to usually have nightmares of the "monster" variety. Usually my most terrifying dreams are somewhat asstasstic, like being chased through a mall by a giant Super Mario or waking to discover that Barack Obama won the presidency.

These dreams were different. They were horrifying in the sense of the genre. I must have leapt awake six or seven times that night, sweating, panting, heart in my throat. Once I started so violently that I literally almost threw myself out of bed.

The little dream I've recounted here was the second to last. I woke up from this one and said, "Screw this noise." I got up early, about 4:15am, and took a shower... where I discovered to my horror that I was not awake and taking a shower at oh-dark-stupid, but actually still asleep and in the middle of another goddamn lifelike nightmare.

I may write the last dream down (they are the only two I remember) at a later date. It sort of crossed from freaky-deaky scary to "ZOMFG that's disgusting!" I'm not sure if shock fiction is the way I want to go, since I'm obviously not John Watterhouse. (For one thing, I can grow a better mustache.)

Write on!

*****
Christopher Rivan

Virgins Slain, Dragons Rescued.
Reasonable rates for all budgets!

http://chrisrivan.blogspot.com/

Chris.Rivan@Yahoo.com


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