First, it's the first time I finished a story before the timer went off. Back then, I was very focused on learning structure, and I really wanted all of my writing exercises to have a beginning, middle, and end. It was easy for me to ramble stream-of-consciousness for ten minutes. It wasn't easy for me to craft a story. But when I got to the last line and realized the timer hadn't gone off, it didn't matter. The story had a beginning, middle, and end, and I did not let myself go back and edit it.
I did, however, let myself give it a title. That's definitely allowed.
The other thing I like about it is its structure. I relied on repetition at the start, because once again I didn't know what to write. But then my brain latched onto repetition as a style, and I deliberately used it throughout. I really like the result.
Again, I never, ever, ever would've written something like this if I hadn't had a ten-minute time restriction. I would've over-planned and over-analyzed and, eventually, given up and turned on the TV.Don't turn on the TV. Turn on the timer and go write for ten minutes!
.....after you read this:
Love,
Lisa
The Perfect Shoes
It was too cold for sandals.
She kicked them off and put on the stilettos. Too slutty.
Boots and a simple skirt? Too
boring. Casual slip-ons? Maybe slip them off and get a foot rub? No, too personal too quickly.
She had to play it cool with this guy. He had info and she had to get it. It was a delicate situation. Every nerve in her body was on high alert,
but she had to appear cool and calm. She
thought things like this only happen in film noir and detective stories. Not in real life. In real life people use the bathroom and gets
stains on their clothes and have bad perms and all that other stuff you never
ever see in movies or books. That stuff
is escapism. This is life.
Yes, this is life.
This is her life. And she wanted
out. She wanted the info he had. Technically, they could both be arrested for
insider trading. But she made it a casual
conversation. He was an almost-nobody in
his company. No one would ever expect
him of leaking confidential information before the stock went public. And she hadn’t known him that long. No one would ever suspect that she’d been
tipped off as to what and where and when.
And let’s face it. The amount of
money she had to spend wasn’t going to attract anyone’s attention. The feds look at the super rich and the super
easy to attack. She was neither. She was stuck in the middle, invisible when
she wanted to be, and it had served her well.
She cultivated her invisibility very carefully. She worked hard not to be noticed. It was really very easy.
So she decided on the office casual look. It was one of those generic pulled-together
looks that took on the style of whomever she was with. If she went to a club, she could look trendy
but not gaudy. If she went to a corporate
affair, she could look professional but with a bit of fun. If she went to a bar, she looked like someone
with money who used to have none and still felt at home in a bar.
In fact, she was the biggest chameleon of them all. She could take on the manners, habits, attitudes
and philosophies of anyone around her.
And that’s what she used. She’d
befriend people in medium places. She
never set her sights high, because the higher you aim the farther you have to
fall. She stayed squarely in the middle
and it served her well.
These shoes served her well.
Doug served her well.
She grabbed her coat and headed out the door. Even her car was generic. She always had to look for the lights and
listen for the beepbeep when she pushed her keychain remote door opener,
because her car looked like a dozen others.
She got there first, which she liked. He strolled in, surprised to see her, which
she liked. They chatted about nothing
much. She expertly guided the
conversation around to work. He mentioned
deals he was working on. She was very
interested, but not too interested. He
was happy to brag.
And then he let it slip.
Going public in a month. Pharmaceutical
company. New patents. The whole thing. Her bear trap of a mind remembered everything
as her pretty little face (but not too pretty) revealed nothing.
She let him buy the drinks.
She let him give her a little kiss as they walked to their cars. She let him drive into the night. She let him call her a few times. She let him think that he was the one not interested
in pursuing the relationship further.
She got what she wanted.
She made a nice little sum. She went
on a nice little vacation (but not TOO nice) and bought herself a new pair of
shoes…. For next time.
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