From Rachael Harrie's Campaign - The challenge: to write no more than 200 words including the following vocab:
imago— n an idealized mental image of another person or the self
miasma— n an influence or atmosphere that tends to deplete or corrupt
lacuna — n a gap or missing part
oscitate— v to gape; to yawn
synchronicity — n an apparently meaningful coincidence in time of two or more similar or identical events that are causally unrelated
Imago Fail
It was a perfect synchronicity that her train arrived the same time as mine. I disembarked with the crowd, coal dust and smoke settling in my coat, adding to the miasma of confusion in the station. I held her imago in my mind - wide brown eyes, curling dark hair, lips that sat like strawberries in the oval dish of her face.
Then I saw her through the train car window. She was like a Persian kitten in the midst of a baying hoard, so helpless I ached to protect her. Her head drooped, her flawless lips stretched wide in delightful ocitation as the man beside her shifted his weight.
Those arching brows rushed together, her fruity lips twisted. With both hands, she pushed the lout off her foot, snarling a curse that carried clearly to my ears.
Had she called him imbecile, idiot or beast, I could’ve overlooked the lacuna of her decorum. But the epithet was too common, too familiar in her mouth to please me. She was no kitten but a full grown cat with unsheathed claws. I turned and walked away.
34 comments:
"coal dust and smoke settling in my coat, adding to the miasma of confusion in the station."
Nice!
"sat like strawberries in the oval dish of her face."
Whoa! Your imagery is ... sublime! What an amazing piece of fiction. First glances aren't always what they seem, right? Right!
Great job, Melodie! :)
Pretty damn good! Of course, if an agent saw all those mandated words in the opening page of a manuscript, he or she would likely toss it.
He doesn't like her vocabulary, huh? His loss. LOL Good use of the words.
Fantastic imagery! Really evocative stuff.
Mine is #3.
Imbecile is such a great word. Mine is #29
Lovely imagery.
Gorgeous imagery. So easy to visualize this piece. Loved this one. I kind of like her and dislike him - is that bad?
Great job with the imagery. Very descriptive.
L really loved this. Felt like I was there in the moment. Great job!
I loved this. The ending made me laugh. How often reality fails to match our imagination!
This is fantastic! I love your description, your flow, and your meaty sentences. After using strawberries - you continued to tie in the fruity theme throughout the piece, creating the great flow I mention above. This is one of my favorites! ~ Nadja
Awesome! My favorite line was: lips that sat like strawberries in the oval dish of her face.
Thanks for your too kind comments.
I'll stop by everyone's entries this weekend!
How funny! Your piece is multilayered with nice twists. Its interesting to watch a character fall in love and so quickly lose interest.
Wow, I could see the let-down right away. She really burst his bubble! Nice job! I'm #34:)
Fantastic imagery, Melodie! You did a great job with it. :)
Great writing! I love the strawberry lips in her dish of a face. Excellent.
The imagery with the train station and the strawberries was so delightful.
Loved the imigry! Nicely done
imagery...dang fingers
Some lovely metaphors! and strong character development for so few words. Lovely!
I liked the twist at the end, about how he changes his mind about her after seeing her in a moment of anger. Job well done.
Wow. I enjoyed your descriptions in this piece. Well done.
Wonderful imagery. It flowed well. Good job!
Thanks all for your comments.
And now to return the favor... :)
Very evocative, loved it.
That was wonderful!
Love the strawberries sitting in the dish of her face! And how cool that you live in Alaska!
Hey, I love your lyrical use of words. You create a very interesting mood. I'm over from the campaign, #142 in the lineup, and I'm following you now. I write YA and middle grade fiction. Cheers!
Amazing imagery. Wonderful flow. Great job with the challenge!
Phh. "common." more power to her.
Great scene.
Great imagery. I could feel the coal dust; feel her helplessness; then feel the narrator's disillusionment.
My entry is 128 if you want to have a look.
Well written. A different twist and I enjoyed the read.
Great job.
#188
Original story that reads really smoothly. Great job!
#189
Post a Comment