Writing Exercise #3: 100 Words
Write a story in exactly 100 words -- no more, no less.
Your story must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. It must have two characters: a protagonist and an antagonist. It must have conflict. And in some way, the protagonist's ground situation must be changed by the end of the story.
Due date: Monday, March 19, 2007, 8:00 a.m.
Your story must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. It must have two characters: a protagonist and an antagonist. It must have conflict. And in some way, the protagonist's ground situation must be changed by the end of the story.
Due date: Monday, March 19, 2007, 8:00 a.m.
posted by Lane at 12:30 AM
3 Comments:
There once was a young fairy tale named Cindy who thought she would become a classic, but as the fable Chuck gained in popularity, she had trouble getting told. Chuck and Cindy were similar tales, both revolving self-discovery and loss, but where Chuck flowed coincidence, Cindy burned acceptance.
As Cindy’s protagonist’s uncle repeated “it’s living that’s hard,” through her pages, she rustled and enjoyed the telling, until at last she was forgotten. Chuck evolved through collection, edition, audience, and family, but he forgot his protagonist’s memories, until at last he had forgotten why it is stories struggle to be told.
She called on his way to the airport: not exactly auspicious timing. With 4 anemic words, she caused his entire personal paradigm to collapse. The immediate, supposedly romantic, rendezvous was obviously ridiculous; the future plans to move back in with her were now grotesque; and the memory of the past 15 years suddenly throttled his heart. While she spewed her crocodile tears erratically, he calmly hung up the phone on her mid-sniffle, pulled the car abruptly to the shoulder, and with the consistent click of the car’s hazard lights, he chewed mindlessly on his thumbnail and felt his soul shudder.
She no longer feels like smiling after fourteen years, but her mouth is stuck in this position. He clenches her hands, and she cannot disengage them.
He was so handsome, so gallant. It was the happiest day of her life. How could she know what the future held?
She tries to turn her head toward him but cannot move. She cannot see his smile, cannot know it is directed at the handsome photographer who has forever locked them in this pose.
Fourteen years. She is not so foolish any more. She wants to stop smiling, but no tears will come.
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