Tonight’s prompt from Take Ten for Writers:
#62- page 133 – ReaderShip
Keeping your readership in mind, they will determine your choice of things like vocabulary, length, and tone.
Start with a boat prompt. (I chose “The boat…”) And #3 gave me my audience: teenage girls.
This is not my favorite type of lit nor audience. However, it was fun to write! We wrote for 30 minutes.
Toots by Lexanne Leonard
The boat rocked back and forth with the waves. The stars were beginning to pop out in the early evening sky and the wind caressed Cloe’s face gently as she stood barefoot in the sand. She had taken off her sandals as she rushed down the steps from the parking area to the beach, dropping each one as she pulled it off her foot. She ran as fast as the deep sand would allow her feet to move, pulling them deeper into its soft grip as if it was taunting her, reminding her that she may have waited just a bit too long to reply to Sam’s text.
She did.
There she was, alone, dressed in the perfect tee and shorts with just the right amount of blush and gloss, and a touch of the rose perfume Sam said reminded him of the most beautiful flower in the world, her. Chloe tried to convince herself, remind herself it was because of his stupid actions that she didn’t return his text.
Wasn’t it he who decided to take Julie to lunch instead of meeting her for coffee? Wasn’t it he who attempted to explain that he needed to tell Julie, for the final time, that they were through? Wasn’t it he who she saw kissing Julie goodbye at Julie’s car behind the coffee shop and then tried to explain that it was the last kiss and he just had to do it?
So why was she here? She wasn’t about to accept all of his lies, again. Hadn’t she had learned her lesson?
As she watched the boat bob up and down in a calming rhythmic pattern, Chloe realized that this was a boat she had never seen before. The name “Toots” was painted on the side, but faded from the sun and salt water. The paddles were painted a deep green. The bottom of the boat was a bright yellow but heavily scratched and the wooden planks that passed for seats were a crackling, peeling pastel pink.
“Wow, Toots has some work to do on this thing,” she whispered to herself.
“I agree,” replied a deep, velvety voice from behind her.
Chloe wasn’t usually jumpy, but this whole thing with Sam was so annoying, it pulled her off her guard.
“Oh,” she squeaked and turned with a jump landing on the edge of her foot and falling, not so gracefully, into the sand.
“Here, let me help you up,” he continued with two gentle hands. Long slender fingers with perfectly filed nails reached towards her.
As she looked up trying to be nonchalant and in control, she felt herself melting further back into the sand. Her mouth hanging open, Chloe was unable to speak. In front of her was Mark, the lead singer of the band at last night’s party. He was just as gorgeous here as he was on stage with the lights and the sweat with the top three buttons of his shirt open. His eyes were sparkling in the moon’s light and Chloe could just make out that they were a deep green. She almost laughed as she compared his eye color to the paddles in the boat, but stopped herself as he lifted her up with both hands.
“I sorry to have startled you. Do you like Toots?” Mark’s slight but charming laugh opened his smile to a perfect row of white teeth.
“Uh,” was all Chloe could muster.
Should she respond to his apology? Or to the boat’s silly name? Or to the fact that he was tall and beautiful and incredibly hot?
It didn’t matter. All that she could force out of her mouth was another raspy, “Uh.”
Tonight’s prompt from Take Ten for Writers:
#62- page 133 – ReaderShip
Keeping your readership in mind, they will determine your choice of things like vocabulary, length, and tone.
Start with a boat prompt. (I chose “The boat…”) And #3 gave me my audience: teenage girls.
This is not my favorite type of lit nor audience. However, it was fun to write! We wrote for 30 minutes.
Toots by Lexanne Leonard
The boat rocked back and forth with the waves. The stars were beginning to pop out in the early evening sky and the wind caressed Cloe’s face gently as she stood barefoot in the sand. She had taken off her sandals as she rushed down the steps from the parking area to the beach, dropping each one as she pulled it off her foot. She ran as fast as the deep sand would allow her feet to move, pulling them deeper into its soft grip as if it was taunting her, reminding her that she may have waited just a bit too long to reply to Sam’s text.
She did.
There she was, alone, dressed in the perfect tee and shorts with just the right amount of blush and gloss, and a touch of the rose perfume Sam said reminded him of the most beautiful flower in the world, her. Chloe tried to convince herself, remind herself it was because of his stupid actions that she didn’t return his text.
Wasn’t it he who decided to take Julie to lunch instead of meeting her for coffee? Wasn’t it he who attempted to explain that he needed to tell Julie, for the final time, that they were through? Wasn’t it he who she saw kissing Julie goodbye at Julie’s car behind the coffee shop and then tried to explain that it was the last kiss and he just had to do it?
So why was she here? She wasn’t about to accept all of his lies, again. Hadn’t she had learned her lesson?
As she watched the boat bob up and down in a calming rhythmic pattern, Chloe realized that this was a boat she had never seen before. The name “Toots” was painted on the side, but faded from the sun and salt water. The paddles were painted a deep green. The bottom of the boat was a bright yellow but heavily scratched and the wooden planks that passed for seats were a crackling, peeling pastel pink.
“Wow, Toots has some work to do on this thing,” she whispered to herself.
“I agree,” replied a deep, velvety voice from behind her.
Chloe wasn’t usually jumpy, but this whole thing with Sam was so annoying, it pulled her off her guard.
“Oh,” she squeaked and turned with a jump landing on the edge of her foot and falling, not so gracefully, into the sand.
“Here, let me help you up,” he continued with two gentle hands. Long slender fingers with perfectly filed nails reached towards her.
As she looked up trying to be nonchalant and in control, she felt herself melting further back into the sand. Her mouth hanging open, Chloe was unable to speak. In front of her was Mark, the lead singer of the band at last night’s party. He was just as gorgeous here as he was on stage with the lights and the sweat with the top three buttons of his shirt open. His eyes were sparkling in the moon’s light and Chloe could just make out that they were a deep green. She almost laughed as she compared his eye color to the paddles in the boat, but stopped herself as he lifted her up with both hands.
“I sorry to have startled you. Do you like Toots?” Mark’s slight but charming laugh opened his smile to a perfect row of white teeth.
“Uh,” was all Chloe could muster.
Should she respond to his apology? Or to the boat’s silly name? Or to the fact that he was tall and beautiful and incredibly hot?
It didn’t matter. All that she could force out of her mouth was another raspy, “Uh.”
To Create... 