So, here's the deal. I'm challenging everyone to write a sentence in the comments section that feels as complete as a story. This is not a contest, but what I'd love to see is a sentence that really captures where you are in your writing right now, in terms of voice, genre, tone, subject matter, etc. Make this YOUR sentence, something that could be identified as yours in a lineup. You're not trying to beat anyone else, but rather you're displaying your "orange" amid all the other "apples," if that makes sense. We have a lot of new followers lately, and I'd love to see what y'all write.
I'll rotate some of the sentences to the front side of this post throughout the day as (and if) they come in.
And, I'll be posting mine...as soon as I think of it.
Later...
Here's one from Jabez:
Six strong men circled the last tree to guard it, but one by one they fell to the axes of the gathering mob and finally so did the tree, and it was cut and split and the pieces piled high to make a pyre for my little girl, who’d wanted nothing but to live, and when the embers died and the ashes scattered I looked out at the blasted land and cried for the world I destroyed for her sake.
and Imelda:
As she sat there in her office chair the morning sun glowed as social media her led from website to website, her mind and thoughts traveled miles before she realized the sun was gone and now the moon was jeering her loss of a day.
and Justus:
Even the 'Crimson Mountain', looming above all his fellow dragons, stood anxiously in the shadow of Theikuv; only the sky dared look down upon the mountain, and for that indignity it had received a vicious thrust from a jagged peak.
The slap of the rickety screen door, like a starting pistol, signaled the race for life as he left the old farmhouse for the last time.
ReplyDeleteglnroz, Lovely, I'll put it up for awhile!
ReplyDeleteBonnie knows the smell will never go away, not only because she does not expect to be in the home for long, but also because there is no oven in the kitchen with which to bake.
ReplyDeleteShivering in the ecstasy of relief, I watched my scalpel peel aside the fleshy barrier that had kept me from knowing her intimately until now.
ReplyDeleteSix strong men circled the last tree to guard it, but one by one they fell to the axes of the gathering mob and finally so did the tree, and it was cut and split and the pieces piled high to make a pyre for my little girl, who’d wanted nothing but to live, and when the embers died and the ashes scattered I looked out at the blasted land and cried for the world I destroyed for her sake.
ReplyDeleteAs she sat there in her office chair the morning sun glowed as social media her led from website to website, her mind and thoughts traveled miles before she realized the sun was gone and now the moon was jeering her loss of a day.
ReplyDeleteI won't post it - because it's far too long to fit in the comments box - but I had a story published once that was a single sentence 1125 words long. It was for a competition and I decided to be perverse about it.
ReplyDeleteHere's mine!
ReplyDeleteHe slid the sandwich into the pan, anxious to see the burnt pattern on the bread when he finally turned it over.
Really cool sentences everyone! Thank you for putting them up!
ReplyDeleteJim, we like perversion here. But maybe I speak for myself.
Even the 'Crimson Mountain', looming above all his fellow dragons, stood anxiously in the shadow of Theikuv; only the sky dared look down upon the mountain, and for that indignity it had received a vicious thrust from a jagged peak.
ReplyDeleteI may have cheated.
Justus, semicolons are not cheating. Scrub that misconception out of your brain. Thanks for your sentence!
ReplyDeleteThe useless shadow of her pencilled hand danced over blank pages while snippets of Spanish scoured her world.
ReplyDeleteI like that I get to play! I'm really enjoying all of these, everyone! Thanks to Charlie for the idea.
ReplyDeleteHere's mine:
She lifted her eyes to the starry heavens and saw snow there - a canopy of ice and darkness only those with wings could touch.
The genre UNstory sentence:
ReplyDeleteThese days I drive to work because riding the bus always reminds me of Sarah being eaten during the zombie outbreak three summers ago.
And, the literary one:
Last night after the big argument with Louise I was taking the trash out and I looked up at the moon and thought, "How many insignificant human moments has the moon been witness to?"
The first sight of the woman I knew would become the love of my life jerked me like a deep-hooked trout into the street, and the last sound I heard was the sreeching of the BCT Express's airbrakes.
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time, in a kingdom far away, a bored child was stricken by a very interesting curse, which caused many exciting adventures that ended forever when it was time to live happily ever after.
ReplyDeleteThe old bull fell to his knees, his tusks gouging another furrow in the rough stubby grass as he struggled to rise one last time; he trumpted an angry roar but it still didn't help: he could only lie on his side as the sun rose higher and higher until his eyes drifted shut and the dust settled slowly around him.
ReplyDeleteJudy(South Africa)
I love how different all of these sentences are!!!
ReplyDeleteOnce I had almost nothing here, my mother tells me as I peer at her through Banarasi silk sarees and gabardine pants, and, misunderstanding, I remember to thank my father for providing so much.
ReplyDelete"Despite my personal experience with things of an unbelievable nature which I’ve been forced to believe in, I steadfastly draw the line at fairies," Nick said.
ReplyDeleteThey tried to talk him out of jumping but he shook his head and said, "Geronimo!" as he jumped off the roof of the school, happy he wouldn't have to explain why he flunked American History.
ReplyDeleteThe north grin he'd walked with for an hour after matching the winning numbers from his morning newspaper to the ticket in his wallet took a dive down south when about to prove to his wife at her work that the sailboat will now be in their future and discovering the gapping hole in his coat pocket.
ReplyDeleteShe could always count on that little voice in her head, which coincidentally sounded remarkably like her mother, to remind her; "Do it right or not at all."
ReplyDeleteHer new Audi, Monaco vacation, and the case of Le Fite were never meant to be hers, just as the number on her lottery ticket was never meant to be 3 but 8.
ReplyDeleteThank you, everyone!
ReplyDeleteLooking back from the mirror an unfamiliar face with blackened eyes, puffed lips and swollen cheeks spoke silent volumes about the battle and it made her want desperately to smile at her victory.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed reading through these! What a fun exercise!
ReplyDeleteHere's mine:
If she were to somehow emerge from this current mess unscathed, Elena wondered, how many future scandals would she construct all in the name of forgetting those of the past?
Great idea! Here's mine:
ReplyDelete"No, not if you're my dragon now," she whispered, as he took the cup from her hand, set it aside, and in the complete darkness returned, found her face with his hands, her mouth with his.
Biff sold the silver spoon on which he had been choking, gave the money to charity, and wandered the globe in aimless regret until finally, on his deathbed, he found atonement within his own heart.
ReplyDeleteThis was a lot of fun. Although we kind of got to "cheat" by having very long sentences. I think Narrative has a six word story category--for someone like me, that would be an enormous challenge!
ReplyDeleteVic never went on the road without a full trunk of liquor; on this particular occasion, he had a cooler of beer and enough Jagermeister to anesthetize Shaquille O'Neal.
ReplyDelete