I've noticed that on many creative writing blogs writers share their work. What a revelation! I've been spending most of my time writing about blogging and craft (which have their place, of course), when my peers are doing what they do best--writing creatively.
During a discussion on knowing your characters in a
Writing Workshop Weekend over at
The Naked Hero, Misa Ramirez gave a prompt adapted from
The Pocket Muse: "In your character's voice, describe a holiday without resorting to cliches or familiar imagery."
In response, I submitted the first paragraph of my short story.
Thanksgiving Behind Bars.
A pall hung over the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center on Thanksgiving Day. Although the sun shone brightly, its rays could not penetrate the walls of the prison or the hearts of the people inside. Officer Matt Bruno's jaw ached with empathic rage as he watched the inmates file past the Trustee distributing Thanksgiving dinners from a metal heating cart: turkey with all the fixing, pre-cooked and covered in plastic. Missing was the aroma of poultry and stuffing, hot out of the oven, and of candied yams and green beans with lemon zest and parsley. Butt and feet, that's what the place smelled like, a weird oily smell that clung to the clothes, and got into the pores and the hair. But that wasn't the worst of it. The worst was the heaviness in the air.
If you'd like to read the rest of this short story, click the STORY SAMPLES tab above.
Thanks Misa for giving me the incentive to share my short story.
(Photo credit: Passe-Muraille, by fanfan2145)
