I AM NOT GIVING UP!

Life got the better of me. And once you skip one, it’s so easy to say, “I’ll do it tomorrow. I’ll do three tomorrow. Five…”

And now I’m a week behind. Quality and length may decrease, but I’m determined. I will complete the challenge. Today’s prompt:

From any book or magazine, take 2 lines and 10 other words, all randomly chosen.

Ex. from Persuasion
“Do you mean that she refused him?”
By this time the report of the accident had spread….
unkind
degrading
fearful
days
September
livery
supply
poor
friend
unmodernized
Using this as your raw material, rearranging in any way, what can you write in five minutes?

 

So, as this my O post, I had to pick a book that started with the letter O. Shockingly, I only had one option, making my decision easy — One Day, by David Nicholls (as per usual, the book is better than the movie, by leaps and bounds, if you’re interested). Once again, using my random number generator, I came up with the following lines and words:

Since the cataclysm of his mother’s death last Christmas he has found himself…
“Hang on – I have a reputation?”
granted
earnest
harsh
fondly
today
strain
bantering
journalism
act
crap

 

I set a timer for five minutes, but I might have ignored it to keep going. Also, a couple words were basically wedged in with a crowbar; it was a fight to the bitter end.

Also, does anyone else have problems naming characters? I’m such a fan of the unnamed narrator. Just me?

o

Since the cataclysm of his mother’s death last Christmas he has found himself straining under the weight of acting normal. Try as he might, he could not be normal. Normal was crap.

Every day, he missed her voice, her kindness, the way she ruffled his hair fondly. Even today — especially today. What had started out as bantering with Jessica took a harsh left turn, and he couldn’t take it back.

She was throwing things into her gym bag with force. “I’m staying with Liz for a while. You… you can just figure out how to fix your life by yourself.”

“Jess, wait – I really didn’t mean it.” He didn’t really… not in earnest…

You know, I was told. I was warned about you. About your reputation.” She whirled around, shook her makeup bag in my face, and then chucked it back over her shoulder. “But I met you, and I thought, those people were crazy.”

Elbowing past him, she stormed into the closet and began ripping things off hangers.

“You’re such a sweet guy, a thoughtful person… I should have known. I mean, of course a journalism major would have a way with words – ”

“Hang on – I’ve got a reputation?”

Jess turned slowly, her face scarily calm. “That’s all you have to say?”