This week we were allowed to choose one prompt that had already been done, and I chose the Two Fat Ladies exercise because it seemed entertaining and very fun. I went to one of many bookshelves and pulled out the 8th book, which was Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.
Write On Wednesdays Exercise 4: Two Fat Ladies (88!): I am sticking with the timed theme. It is much easier to find a spare 5 minutes than a big chunk of time to write. Grab the 8th book from your bookshelf. Open it to page 8. Scroll down to the 8th sentence. Write this sentence at the top of your page. Set your timer for 5 minutes and write the first words that come into your head after your writing prompt. Stop when the buzzer rings! Do this exercise over and over if you wish. It will be interesting to see where all our different prompts take us.
On that bleak hill-top the earth was hard with a black frost, and the air made me shiver through every limb...
I could feel their presence even if I was yet to hear their voices, the baying of the hounds on the trail, the mad barking that accompanied them over the hills and through the valleys as their quarry grew near. My breath came in short gasps as I climbed hill after hill, seeking to put as much distance as possible between me and my pursuers. Between me and my family. I shuddered, trying not to think of the trail they were following. The drops of dried blood spattered on bushes and the coarse grasses of the moor. What had I done? I looked down at my ruby hands. How many times had I scrubbed at them and cursed, wishing I was someone else. The trees were etched into the mist, casting eerie shadows in the foggy afternoon. I turned back at the top of the hill, staring in the direction I had come. I could hear the voices calling, begging me to return, yet none of them knew what I had done. The hounds yelped somewhere in the distance and I continued on my way. What had I done?
Oh god, what HAD you done??? I really want to know now!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant line as an opener and I love where you took this. Some really great descriptive lines as well. I particularly likes ' The trees were etched into the mist, casting eerie shadows in the foggy afternoon'
The imagerary here is captivating! I was caught up in the scene and anxiety; could almost feel the speakers heart racing. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteThis certainly drags you in. What had she done? Her repetition of this makes me think she doesn't even know what she did. Great start to a story, the yelping hounds and the trees gives a strong sense of a hunt.
ReplyDeletekate
Elements of Great Expectations and Macbeth in there. You set the scene well. Your descriptions were great. Only one very minor thing to pick up on. 'Hear' not 'here'.
ReplyDeleteIt feels like Cathy fleeing across the moor. Really evocative piece, well done.
ReplyDeleteOh my, I need to know what happened!
ReplyDeleteYou tied your writing to the sentence very smoothly and kept the tone. On top of that you captured the reader's interest. Well done!
ReplyDeleteGreat job at grabbing our attention. :D
ReplyDeleteWell done, I enjoyed reading it. What HAD you done? Like Adam, I got the elements of Macbeth. Great building of suspense. You captured our attention and I would love to read more of this story. Very visual.
ReplyDeleteI am sure someone did Wuthering Heights when we did this exercise last time? If I can remember who it would be interesting to see how the two pieces vary.
Great work!
Gill x
Such an poignant and suspenseful piece. I'm really interested to find out what happens next!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant line for a prompt, this piece sounds like the kind of books I crave to read, it makes me greedy and wish for more. Kudos.
ReplyDeleteLove it! So suspenseful . . . especially the part "between me and my family". Just gives it such a sense of magnitude. What had you done? I wish I could read more!
ReplyDeleteAre your hands ruby because of blood, or some other reason - I want to know! This has a great feel to it, very comprehensive and tightly writing. I enjoyed it!
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