Day 106 Ruminating And Writing

Careen

The sea rocked alongside the boat, careening it with every stormy wave. That was the temper of the sea and the storm. It was her duty to navigate it. She watched as the boat-sized wave swirled toward her ship. She kept the rudder steady and the course through the wave. Every part of her wanted to close her eyes before the wave hit, not to witness it drowning her and her men, but she kept her eyes open and watched the wave roar against the boat. She moved her hands along the rudder and navigated her through the sweeper down to the sea that still stormed around her. A few more clicks and they could shore up their position.

This was what she was made for. The sea.

Eavesdrop

He pressed his ear against the living room door, listening to the quiet murmurs of his parents. They had given each other the signal that they needed to discuss something. He was sure it was about him. They were always whispering to each other this and that, not letting him know what was really going on. Why was he not allowed to go out? Why was he so hungry all the time that nothing seemed to satisfy him?

He glanced at his pale face in the hallway mirror. None of the children from his books looked like him. They had color. They didn’t have dark circles under their eyes. They didn’t have shark teeth. They didn’t smell the world like he did. He was sure he had once been a real boy. That there was somewhere a past where he had been allowed to play out and run his kite like a normal boy would.

The murmurs quieted down, and there were steps towards the door. He dashed upstairs, gliding the steps up without making a sound.

Prince

He was sick and tired of being the hero. His whole life was made so he would become the knight in shining armor. He was taught to fence, to swirl and dance, to have morals, to rescue princesses, to know all about the art of war and good kingdom keeping, but he didn’t want any of that. He sought his wars and kingdoms, but his desire was for terror and fear, not awe. He wanted the world to burn.

The Prompts are from the book A Year of Creative Writing Prompts.

Today’s prompts were tough. I was sure I couldn’t write any of them, but I surprised myself that I was able to get some words down. I was disappointed with the Prince story. I could have taken a humorous approach, but I didn’t push myself. I went the easy route. Maybe next time. I haven’t been writing my satirical fantasy series for a long time, and I sometimes fear that I have lost the tone I had with my first and second books. I worry that I have become too serious and that my observational humor has been lost or has started to repeat itself. I keep pushing that fear away and not facing it or doing anything about it. It is silly. I keep telling myself that once I get my sci-fi novel out, then I will tackle the issue, but time ticks, and it has been months since I have touched my fifth Glorious Mishap book. It feels odd to start writing the book now, as I’m in the middle of editing, but maybe I should write it every now and then. I wish there were a manual for all these things. I believe this is the right way to do X, but my education and practical knowledge have taught me that there is no one right way. We humans are too nuanced for that. Fuck that. I still think evolution or some supreme being is messing with us, and there is some cosmic joke being played on us.

Thank you for reading ❤ I hope you have a supreme day!