Today's post for the #100DaysOfWriting project is about discovery writing. I've always found that almost all my writing contains an element of discovery, especially when it comes to characters, so this idea is right up my street. The concept is this - the person behind a project gave a prompt today, and the idea is that you see what character pops out of it. The prompt is: Unfortunately, things never go to plan around here.
Now, that's all well and good, but I like an element of pressure too. So while the post originally called for three paragraphs, I'm going to spend fifteen minutes writing mine. This is something that I got into via fandom writing, and it's kind of fun, but also stressful if you're not in the right mood for it. But today, I've decided that I like a little pressure, so here we go...
Now, that's all well and good, but I like an element of pressure too. So while the post originally called for three paragraphs, I'm going to spend fifteen minutes writing mine. This is something that I got into via fandom writing, and it's kind of fun, but also stressful if you're not in the right mood for it. But today, I've decided that I like a little pressure, so here we go...
C'mon... c'mon... Start. Oh gods, please start. I turn the key in the ignition one more time, helpless not to glance up at the rearview mirror. No sign yet. The engine grinds, turning over and over, my fingers hurting from holding the key so hard against the ignition. Come on.
It's not working. Gods, oh gods, what am I going to do? I check the rearview again, and there's still no sign of the shamblers, so... what are our options? Make a run for it? It has to be, doesn't it. We have to run, and pray, harder than ever that there will be some kind of ... something... to run to. I twist in the seat, forcing a smile. "Honey," I tell her, "Undo your seatbelt now. We need to leave the car quickly. Mommy will come out and open your door. I need you to shuffle to the other side, be ready to be picked up... and please, please, hang on tight."
She looks at me, eyes wide. "Mommy?" she asks, "I'm scared."
"I know baby," I tell her, and swallow. Gods, this world. I draw a deep breath, knowing that time is short, knowing that any moment, there could be that tell-tale howl and they'll be on us. They call them shamblers, but that's not true, those bastards are fast when they smell fresh meat. And that's what we are. Fresh meat. I nod at her.
"I know baby," I repeat. "Just a little while longer, and we'll..." But I can't finish. I can't lie to her. So I blink, and tell her, "Shuffle to the side now. Mommy will be out in a second."
I unbuckle my own seatbelt, checking the rearview and the side mirrors of the car. We're parked across from what used to be a Grab-and-Go Grocery; it was stupid to stop here, any food left has long gone, been picked over by scavengers. But at least that meant that the shamblers have moved on as well - they won't stay anywhere that doesn't present easy pickings for them. I breathe deep, steeling myself, and pick up the rifle from the passenger seat. Go, I tell myself, and I do, slamming the car door open and leaping out, slinging the rifle over my shoulder, looking around fast as I move to her door. I pull at the handle - locked. Child lock! I gasp, already pulling at it again, panic gripping me for one second longer, even as I realise its useless. "Mommy?" she asks from behind the glass, and I hear it, oh gods, no, I hear them, the shamblers, they must have picked up our scent somehow. "Baby!" I shout, hardly knowing whether to leap back into the car and undo the child lock or go back in and wait them out or... or...
Or nothing. Nothing else has gone right today - of course not. But this... this can. I inhale deep, the smell of this old, dead world, and slam the door behind me. I tell the shamblers, "Come and get it."
Ha! That's suuuuuper unedited, but if you want the proof, it's at the bottom of this post*. I think that these characters - nameless, weirdly enough, but blame that on the time-limit and not knowing very much about their surrounding story - could be the result of thinking a lot about Mad Max: Fury Road in the past two days, but also a bit of a tendancy toward writing high-action.
That was pretty fun. I'm gonna do it again sometime soon.
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*If you're wondering why the video stopped with two minutes to go, I had to rescue my children from each other. A room of one's own is nice, but not particularly realistic - writer world problems, I guess.