'K' is for...?

Yesterday's 'J' word was 'Jealousy.'  Thanks for all your wonderful comments and guesses!

Today, guess which 'K' emotion/feeling/state of mind I've depicted today in the short fictional passage below.  Jessica Bell is using the same prompt word for a passage of her own.  After guessing in the comments here, won't you follow the link and read Jess's entry?


Here's my 'K' offering:

Bradley chased the soccer ball, bouncing toward the far corner of the playground.  As he neared, a soft whimper carried on the noontime breeze.  He slowed, then peeked around the trunk of the huge oak at the fence.  Lydia Vance sat, her back against the rough bark and her hands in her face.

Lydia was the fairest child in Jackson Elementary.  If her eyes had been pink, she’d have been a full-fledged albino.  She stuck out, and kids can be cruel.

“Dude!  Hurry up!” his friends shouted.

Bradley picked up the ball and turned towards them, then looked back at Lydia.  He’d never actually talked to her before.

Lydia’s shoulders heaved.  She looked small, vulnerable, like a scared little bunny rabbit.  The boys yelled again, something about needing the ball before graduation.  Bradley hurled it in their direction, then shoved his hands in his pockets. 

Taking a small step forward, he said, “Um, hey.  Er, are you all right?  I mean, anything I can do?”

*~*~*~*

Any guesses to today's 'K' emotion/feeling/state of mind?  And please pay Jessica a visit HERE.  Thanks!! 

                                    

'J' is for...?

I'm so happy Jessica Bell had the insanely creative idea to use the A-Z Blogfest as an experimental canvas for 'showing' emotions/feelings/states of mind.  And I'm thrilled she asked me to partner up with her!  We're working with the same list of prompt words and using them to inspire our fiction or poetry.

Today, our prompt word begins with 'J'. Based on the poem below, can you guess what emotion/etc. I've depicted?  Looking forward to your guesses in the comments!  Here goes:

A wicked temptress stalks her prey tonight,
With graceful gait, hips sway to generate
Heart’s sweet desires; mine slowly swells with hate,
The fires of lust sparked in the dark ignite.
Across the room the albatross takes flight,
As if on feathered feet she floats; too late
To stop her stealth approach toward my date,
I sense at once she has him in her sight.

A brush of lips, he whispers in my ear,
I turn; my face is mirrored in his eyes,
Words uttered so no one will overhear,
His hands direct me, to the door they steer,
Last glance I see her glare and realize,
Her jealousy's not veiled by silent jeer.



Any idea what emotion inspired this poem? (Hint: I wrote this a couple years ago prompted by the same word, and it appears in this poem :D)


BTW, this is a Petrarchan, or Italian Sonnet.  A Petrarchan Sonnet is a fourteen line poem distinguished by its strict iambic pentameter and rigid rhyme scheme: abba abba cdc cdc (Sicilian sestet). The first eight line stanza, the octave, establishes the theme and developes the poem in a certain direction. The ninth line is the turn which heralds a distinct change in tone from the octave. The second stanza, or the sestet, introduces a new development in a different direction, with the first tercet carrying this new direction to a definite point; and the final tercet bringing the theme to a conclusion.


Be sure to visit Jessica's Blog and read her 'J' entry!  See you over there :))

                                    

'I' is For....?

Saturday's 'H' word was 'Hope.'  Thanks for all your wonderful comments and guesses!


Today, guess which 'I' emotion/feeling/state of mind I've depicted today in the short fictional passage below.  Jessica Bell is using the same prompt word for a passage of her own.  After guessing in the comments here, won't you follow the link and read Jess's entry?




Here's mine:

The writer stared at her computer screen.  The cursor blinked, accusingly, next to the one character she’d managed to type.  ‘I’.  She sighed, her mind wandering to her to-do list, which was short today.  She forced her attention back.  ‘I’.  What a silly prompt.  It’s a letter yet a word all by itself.  Big deal.  She lifted her fingers off the keyboard, examined a bit of polish chipped off one nail, then lay them back into the grooves of ‘a’, ‘s’, ‘d’, ‘f’, ‘j’, ‘k’, ‘l’, and semi-colon.  ‘I’.  What could she say about ‘I’.  She had no opinion, one way or another.  The only thing she cared about what getting something, anything, written down.

Any guesses?  See you over at Jessica's blog!

                                    

'H' is for...?

Yesterday's 'G' word was tough, but a couple people guessed right.  It was 'giddiness'!


Guess which 'H' emotion/feeling/state of mind I've depicted today in the short fictional passage below.  Jessica Bell is using the same prompt word for a passage of her own.  After guessing in the comments here, won't you follow the link and read Jess's entry?


Here goes:

3:00
Marnie pushed the start button on the microwave timer.
2:59…58…57…
She kept her gaze on the changing numbers, forcing her eyes not to drift towards the stick, lying on the table on a single sheet of paper towels.  She’d been waiting fourteen months.  It was a long time to wait.  But nothing felt longer than these last three minutes. 
2:28…27…26…
She and Chad had begun trying on their wedding night.  They kept it no secret, confiding in anyone who would listen.  Friends and family asked every time they saw them.  And it had gotten more and more painful to keep saying, ‘No, nothing yet.’
2:02…2:00…1:58…
Marnie wrung her hands until they nested all by themselves into a prayful clasp.  Please, God…I know it’s wrong to ask.  I know I must accept your will.  But if you let it be, if you just let it be…please let it be…
1:40…39…38…
The morning of their first wedding anniversary, her temperature had peaked and then dropped off.  Conditions were perfect, and they took full advantage.  But being it was their anniversary, they’d forgotten about the thermometer and the ovulation charts on the bedside table and had gotten blissfully lost in their love.  Three weeks later, Marnie got her period.
:57…56…55…
Look, if it isn’t meant to be, it isn’t meant to be.  Think of all the unwanted children born into the world every day.  There is more than one path that leads to parenthood. You’re young.  You have your whole life…
:23…22…21…
The glowing numbers swam, ran together, and Marnie blinked rapidly.  Oh, to feel a baby move inside her, to waddle beneath the weight of a gloriously swollen belly, to face the fear and pain of delivery, all to see born a perfect product of her and Chad’s love.  It was the last chance to see their genes mixed, their blood mingled, for Chad’s legacy to live on.
:11…10…09…
Marnie closed her eyes tight.  She wished Chad were here.  He would have been so supportive.  Tears leaked from squeezed lids, spilled down her cheeks.  “Please,” she whispered.

Beep...Beep...Beep...

So, what emotion/etc. have I depicted here?  I look forward to your comments!  And please shoot over to my writing partner, Jessica's blog, and see what her creative mind came up for our 'H' word!

                                    

'G' is for...?

Welcome to 'G' Day at my blog! Those who have visited during the A-Z Blogfest know that Jessica Bell and I are writing partners.  Before the fest began, we generated a list of 26 words -- nouns the are emotions/feelings/states of mind.  Each day we work from the same prompt word, and write fictional paragraphs with characters who 'show' the emotion/etc.  My 'G' entry is below.  After you read it, guess in the comments what emotion/etc. I've depicted.  Then follow the link to Jessica's blog and read her entry!

(Btw, yesterday's word was 'Frustration.' J)

Without further ado, here is my offering of the day:

Franklin pressed his stubbled cheek against the upstairs front bedroom windowpane, like he used to do when he was a kid and wanted to see farther up the street than normal view allowed.  The sun was right overhead but the mailman was still out of sight.  He skipped to the computer desk where the package routing screen confirmed delivery was today at noon.  He refreshed the page, but the info didn’t change.  A grin cracked his face and his stomach did another airy flip.

He wandered to the mirror.  First, he struck a regal pose; one Mr. Albert Einstein might have struck for a photographer.  Then he hunched his shoulders, bringing his hands in front and curling his fingers like claws.  He snickered like a mad scientist, and the crazed look in his eyes was so convincing he broke out into his normal, jovial laughter.

Down on the street, the shrill sound of brakes sounded.  Franklin brought his watch to his face.  Twelve-oh-two!  He ran out the bedroom door with the vigor of a child, grinning from ear to ear.  If he’d have dared, he’d have ridden the banister to the foyer.  Down the steps he raced, excitement tickling him from the inside out, heart pounding.  He reached for the knob just as the doorbell sounded.

Any guesses?  Looking forward to your comments!  And here's a link to Jessica's 'G' post!

Thanks for reading!!

                                    

'F' is for...??

Yesterday's word was 'Embarrassment' -- thanks for all your guesses and comments!!  Today, Jessica Bell and I have chosen a word that starts with 'F', and we want you to try and guess what it is.  The word is a noun and either an emotion, a feeling, or a state of mind.  We've each written a short, fictional scene where our characters 'show' this emotion/feeling/state of mind.  Here's my passage:

This is ridiculous, she thinks as she hobbles around on one black sling back pump.  Her first professional job interview is in forty minutes, which means she should be in the car right now.  She shoves aside a pile of dirty laundry in the corner near the closet, shoves it back to check behind the other side.  No shoe.   Los Angeles traffic is unpredictable at any hour of the day, and the offices of Chiat/Day/Mojo are two beach cities up the Pacific Coast Highway from her sister’s apartment in Hermosa Beach.  She needs this job so she can afford a place of her own. 

Stomping across discarded magazines and art supplies that litter the floor, she yanks aside the curtains flanking the window.  The shoe isn’t hiding there, but the little, pink teddy bear her ex-boyfriend gave her is.  She punts it with her pump-armored toe.  

Where the hell IS it?  She turns, fingers digging into the waistline of her pencil skirt.  And there, on the second shelf of the bookcase, peeking out from under a fallen over copy of Jane Eyre, is the elusive pump.  She snatches it up and wiggles her foot into it.  A glance at her watch tells her traffic has to be light and she has to hit all green lights in order to (maybe) make it on time.  Then a devastating thought hits her:  Where the hell are my keys?

~*~*~*~

Figured out the emotion/feeling/state of mind?  Leave your guess in the comments!  And please follow this link to Jessica's post and read her take on the 'F' word of the day!

                                    

'E' is For...?

Thanks to everyone for commenting yesterday -- our prompt word of the day was 'Disgust'.  For those who are new to my blog today, Jessica Bell and I are A-Z Blogfest writing partners!  We've chosen a list of words, all nouns, that refer to particular emotions / feelings / states of mind.  Today, based on my fictional paragraph(s) below, try to guess in the comments what 'E' emotion/etc. I've depicted.  Then, follow the link at the bottom to Jessica's post and read her take on our prompt word! 


Here's my 'E' entry:

The upscale store teemed with Saturday afternoon shoppers, business-women in search of the perfect suit and ladies in need of a special occasion outfit.  Amanda had been assisting customers for hours and her feet were beginning to feel snug in her peek-a-boo pumps.  A stout woman approached her.  As she asked where she’d find the blouse dressed on the mannequin in the window, Amanda noted she wore no make-up to mask her motherly glow.

Leading the woman toward the rear of the shop, Amanda asked over her shoulder, “So, when is your baby due?”

The hesitation lasted one stride of Amanda’s pump, but it was enough to send her blood rushing to her cheeks.

“I am not pregnant.”

The urge to dive into a rack of dresses or lock herself in a dressing room had never been stronger.

~~~~

Any guesses?  And don't forget to visit Jessica's blog HERE.  See you there!