Tag Archives: Red Writing Hood

Yesterday

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This week I want you to take me to your version of 8:00 -AM or PM, fiction or creative nonfiction- in 200 words or less.

Write On Edge: Red-Writing-Hood
It was 8am and I hadn’t heard anything yet. Maybe she had slept in from the exhaustion of the emotional roller coaster that she was on yesterday. I called the house phone and there was no answer, so I tried my step moms cell and finally an answer. They were still at the hospital waiting is what she told me.

I tried to remain calm and understanding about the situation but with emotions running high it was difficult . How could they forget? Were they busy with an emergency, was it the change of shifts, or were they just plain forgetful? You simply don’t forget to write something on a chart. Regardless, no answer from the hospital would suffice.

I willed the tears to not fall again. Deep breath in and out slowly until I felt better.

After several days of worry yesterday was to be the day we’d get better answers. Healing would begin. But it is held off another day.

Today I will visit my dad in a different hospital and today there will be answers.

Yesterday is over and tomorrow will be a better day.

A pair for every mood

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Jeans. They can evoke so much emotion in us: the hot jeans we wear on a date, the skinny jeans we can finally fit into, mom jeans we vow never to wear, the comfy jeans we’ll never throw out.

The assignment this week is to write a piece – fiction or creative non-fiction – in which jeans play a prominent role. You can even write an ode if you’re so inclined.

I own a lot of jeans… probably more than I really need. Dark ones. Light one. Straight leg. Skinny jeans. Flare. The list goes on and on really and I love them all.

But the thing is that each pair is just different enough that they each fit a different day and a different mood.

My new favorites are the super dark wash jeans with the straight legs from the Gap. The hug my curves gently and paired with heels they make my legs look long & lean. They’re a great pair of jeans for dressing up for work or an evening out on the town.We’ll call them the sexy jeans.

Closeup of a copper rivet on blue jeans.

Image via Wikipedia

I have the frumpy jeans. The fat jeans. The comfortable jeans. I think that we all have them, don’t we? These are the jeans that I wear on the weekends when I’m not going anywhere other than maybe a quick trip to the grocery store. They’re not the most attractive jeans and they don’t make me or anyone look good in them. But I love them. I can curl up on the couch in them comfortably and read a book. I can throw on a sweatshirt and tennis shoes and go outside and play with the kids without worrying if I’m going to ruin them.

Trouser jeans are another favorite. They have such a classic, dressed up look & feel to them but still lend a casual tone when paired with a simple shirt & flats.

My old stand-by’s are the casual every day jeans that aren’t to low and aren’t to high and just slightly flare. Dressed up with heels and a silky shirt they’re ready for dinner with the husband. Worn more casually with a cute t shirt, scarf, and flats I’m ready to head out for a day of shopping with my kids or friends.

With fall coming I’ve been pulling out all of my jeans, heels, boots, and sweaters. I’m excited to start pairing up new outfits and shopping for new pieces to add to my collection!

Now, there is a type of jean that I never wear. Ever. Mom jeans. They’re terrible on anyone…. no matter who you are you simply can’t make these jeans look good. I should tell you that my middle daughter likes them…. she’s odd… but she has her own unique fashion sense and seeks them out at resale shops & Goodwill. She pairs them with the most hideous sweaters she can find too… I usually don’t take her out in public with me when she dresses like that. I draw enough attention to myself with the loud toddler!

It’s interesting how certain pieces of clothing can evoke certain feelings and moods and even more so specific pieces when paired in different combinations. Whether it’s sexy, comfortable, intelligent, bad ass, or confidence jeans are the one article of clothing that can be worn just about anywhere.

What are your favorite pair of jeans?

Pictures

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This week’s prompt is based on the picture below. It’s one that when I saw it I wasn’t going to take part because it didn’t fit the story lines that I had already started. But I decided to push myself since it wasn’t a very good reason to not write.

I don’t want to say I struggled with what I wrote but it’s more that I feel like something is missing and I don’t know what it is. So please read and give me your feedback. Good, bad, or otherwise!

 

cameraShe had to get out from behind the camera, she knew that but it was more difficult that one would think.

Her life was her cameras, film, and her dark room. They brought her comfort like nothing else in the world could. With her camera she was part of everything that she took a picture of without having to actually interact with people.

Introvert. That was one way to put it. Shy, reserved, or wallflower were a few more but whatever you called it what it came down to was that she wasn’t comfortable with people.

She’d always been this way, for as long as she could remember. Playing the park as a little girl she’d always find the swing that was furthest from all the other kids or go sit under a tree and read a book.

It wasn’t until her parents bought her a camera for her 14th birthday that she started to get out more. Still alone and still not mingling too much with others, but they were happy that it was a start.

Pictures became her life. She took her camera everywhere and took pictures of virtually everything and everyone. Most people didn’t realize that they were her subjects as she captured their smiles, their laughter, their games, families, and picnics in the park.

She captured the little things in life that she was missing out on and lived through her photos.

She’d sort through her best pictures, lay them out on the table, and just look at them. Why couldn’t she be the girl in the picture having a picnic with her boyfriend? Why couldn’t she be the young mother pushing the carriage through the park? Why couldn’t she be the one eating lunch with friends and laughing?

She surrounded herself with pictures, instead of people, wanting to be part of it all. She wanted to step outside herself and be a different person.

She wanted to change. But how?

For now she had her cameras and the world was her canvas. The world through pictures was her only friend.

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Pictures – The Rewrite

Based on some great feedback and the fact that this post just bothered me I decided to rewrite it but put it with the original so you could compare the two.

Looking down at the glossy photo as her tears started to slowly dissolve the image she became more angry. Why! The paper crumpled easily in her hands as the edges of the thick paper poked her palm as she crushed it. Pictures were supposed to evoke feelings from remembering a beautiful moment in life… not pain from the paper.

She had to get out from behind the camera, she knew that but it was more difficult than anyone imagined.

This was her life and she’d always been this way, for as long as she could remember.

Pictures became her life. With her camera slung over her shoulder or around her neck it everywhere with her and she took pictures of virtually everything and everyone. People didn’t realize that they were her subjects as she captured their smiles, their laughter, their games, families, and picnics in the park.

With every click of the shutter she captured the little things in life that she was missing out on and lived through her photos.

She sorted through her best pictures; laid them out on the table, and just looked at them. Why couldn’t she be the girl in the picture having a picnic with her boyfriend? Why couldn’t she be the young mother pushing the carriage through the park? Why couldn’t she be the one eating lunch with friends and laughing?

Playing in the park as a little girl she’d always find the swing that was furthest from all the other kids wishing that she wasn’t so afraid to talk to the other kids. Fear kept her from living life.

She surrounded herself with pictures, instead of people, wanting to be part of it all. She wanted to step outside herself and be a different person.

Change. Change is really what she wanted in her life. But how?

But for now she had her cameras and the world was her canvas. The world through pictures was her only friend.

Amazed

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Your assignment this week is based on rhythm, which you can use to help entertain and engage your readers.

Let’s make it more literal.

Write about a time that rhythm, or a lack thereof, played a role in your life. And don’t use the word “rhythm.”

Maybe it’s a time that you danced to a special song. Maybe it’s a period of your life during which the days were marked by a distinct pattern. Or maybe it’s a time that you couldn’t catch your breath because life just kept coming at your randomly.

It’s up to you

It was May 2007 on a sunny Saturday afternoon when we said I do. I walked down the aisle with my dress swishing back and forth with each step I took. Slow and steady to the sound of classical music drifting through the sanctuary.

Smiles on our faces as we looked at one another. Swish, step, swish, step until we were arm in arm.

Every time our eyes meet
This feeling inside me
Is almost more than I can take

Words were spoken to one another.

Verses were read by the pastor.

Vows were made in front of our family and friends.

Rings were exchanged. A special ring…. one my grandmother wore.

Baby, when you touch me
I can feel how much you love me
And it just blows me away

A kiss and a smile between us.

Applause and smile from family.

I’ve never been this close to anyone or anything
I can hear your thoughts, I can see your dreams

Our lives changed and all for the better.

More smiles, hugs, and kisses but from everyone.

Two families merged into one.

I don’t know how you do what you do
I’m so in love with you
It just keeps getting better

Pictures! Lots and lots of pictures.

The poses, the smiles, the click of the camera over and over.

Finally, the perfect pictures were taken.

I wanna spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever

We breathed a sigh of relief as we stepped away from the crowd.

A brief moment alone.

Every little thing that you do
Baby, I’m amazed by you

Again my dress swished back and forth as I walked down the hallway to the office.

Documents signed as the pen moved across the paper again and again.

It was official.

The smell of your skin
The taste of your kiss
The way you whisper in the dark

A final moment before we left the building.

Your hair all around me
Baby, you surround me
You touch every place in my heart

More smiles and laughter.

Balloons floating in the air as we released them together.

Oh, it feels like the first time every time
I wanna spend the whole night in your eyes

The camera clicking as it captured the moment in time.

I don’t know how you do what you do
I’m so in love with you
It just keeps getting better

Finally, a moment alone. In the car.

We reflect on day thus far…

Moment by moment with hands entwined.

I wanna spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever

Lined up.

Two by two.

Waiting for our cue to enter.

Every little thing that you do
Baby, I’m amazed by you

Glasses clink.

A kiss.

People cheer.

Every little thing that you do
I’m so in love with you
It just keeps getting better

It’s our song. The one we chose or was chosen for us by fate.

The song he played for me time and again.

I wanna spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever

Together as husband and wife we floated across the floor.

My dress swishing back and forth again with each dance step.

Every little thing that you do
Oh, every little thing that you do
Baby, I’m amazed by you

Life as a family begins.

Wedding Pic... on the bridge

The tables turned

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Physical beauty.

It can open doors – and can also shut them.

Write a scene in which a physically beautiful character is somehow impacted by that trait. If you are doing non-fiction, you can write about yourself or someone you know.

She was beautiful. She knew it and she used to get ahead in life no matter whom she stepped on along the way. Hers was the kind of beauty that caused people from all walks of life to stop and look… classic, elegant, and timeless all at once.

She was ugly. On the inside she was manipulative, conniving, cold, and calculating. It was the kind of ugliness that was well hidden or masked by the fake laughter & smiles that she handed out like it was nothing at all. But every thing done was well thought out.

She was two sides of the same coin. Good and bad. Night and day. Ying and Yang.

She was able to get any man that she wanted and of course she used her looks to that advantage. She had set her sights on a specific man and wasn’t going to let him slip through her clutches. Her sights were set much higher than she’d ever had them before, but this time it was for life… or until she got bored with being married.

She had her work cut out for him since he had just recently broken up with a long time girlfriend and didn’t want to be a rebound girlfriend or a one-night stand. To her that would be the ultimate insult after all the work she was planning. Yes, she had done her homework and she’d done it well. She knew exactly what to do and how to get it done.

She joined various groups in the city and went to charity functions that his mother & sister attended. She made friends with the right people (the ones he knew of course) and his family. It wasn’t all that difficult for her given beauty and charm.

Eventually, his mother introduced her to him in an official manner. She was sweet, charming, and more than beautiful and he was enamored with her.

Time passed quickly and she was able to wrap him around her finger without any trouble at all and almost in the same amount of time she was able to piss off his sister and show her true colors.
She became jealous. Worried. Because like her he was an incredibly good-looking man and was able to garner the attention of many women and he used his looks in many of the same ways she did.

It didn’t take long for her to realize that his feelings for her were just as shallow as hers once were, but it was to late because she was truly in love with him.

The tables had turned. She found herself in a position that she was unprepared for and it was a position that she usually left her boyfriend of the moment in. She had to create a new plan, one that would cement her place in life by his side. Something more than just a pretty girl on his arm.

The situation pissed her off and more than that his attitude towards her in recent weeks. He’d started acting aloof, distant, and often flirting back with the women who caught his attention.

The day finally came when he dumped her and she felt her world crash down around her in a million pieces. This is what they felt like… this is what she did… this is when she knew that she had to change.