2-21-11
Or not. I think I'm going to try my hand at that fiction-y stuff that everyone else seems to be doing. ("Oh, so you're doing it because everyone else is? Would you jump off a cement ship if everyone else was?" "Actually, I did that, so I guess the answer's yes." "*exaggeratedsigh*")
Here goes:
She didn't know what to do. Never had, actually. Since she'd never seen it properly exampled, how the heck was she supposed to know what to do? Not to mention that any time she'd been vulnerable before, she'd been shut down, whether by pernicious classmates looking for a laugh at her expense, by her family teasing her (supposedly in an encouraging manner, but she doubted that) until the tips of her ears turned red, or by the negative response to her brave-for-her declaration to that guy during sophomore year of high school.
She wanted to speak, to act, to ask if he were single (since he hadn't put that on Facebook), but the words wouldn't form themselves. So, instead she chatted about the weather, about his computer, his classes, his major. It was so easy to talk to him, unlike the other times she'd had the audacity to silently like someone and mull over what ifs that had tied her usually talkative tongue. Sure, she was building a friendship, but could it possibly become more? In time?
But he was probably just friendly. At least, that's what she told herself.
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Well, there you go. Probably more wordy than it needs to be, and probably more self-revealing than it needs to be as well.
Hmm. I like this. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for the difficult parts that correspond to your life experience.
I like the ears. Ears are good. Tips of ears, moreso.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I've definitely been in this situation before...kind of fun and exciting but also kind of frustrating. It's OK to be self-revealing to your friends sometimes, especially ones who also occasionally write self-revealing fiction. (I agree with Robby about the ears!)
ReplyDelete@Janelle: Well, I'm to the point now that I think I'm a better person for it. Going through it? Not so much.
ReplyDelete@Robby: Yeah, I like those small characterizing details. I don't like it when it happens because my family thinks it's hilariously funny.
@Ali: Oh, yeah. It's self-revealing without being too revealing. But Brooke and Robby were in the car when I talked vaguely about this. :D
Haha, WELL I suppose writing is the way that we all process things that are happening to us. So . . . that's why this happens.
ReplyDeleteYes, I suppose so, and I think it's a good thing, this whole processing-through-honest-fiction stuff.
ReplyDeleteProcessing is fun?
ReplyDeleteI think?
It's okay though.
I really need to stop it and move on to creative fiction instead of creative nonfiction.
I think one can look back on processing and said it's fun. Most likely, it's not during the process.
ReplyDeleteI think both creative fiction and creative nonfiction have their places. I'm currently working on getting the third draft of a story critiqued (post by post) on the critique forums at WritersDigest.com. It's the most I've ever posted of anything, and I'm definitely learning some new stuff.