Friday, January 31, 2014

Out of the Garden, part one

We've been talking about writing a story together all week here and here. And now, it's showtime.

Below is part one of what will be our story--yours and ours. We hope the opening lines ignite your creativity and you decide to join us in telling the story. We'll give details for your participation after the all-important beginning.


I’d seen her before hovering around the gladiolas. One can ignore what one does not believe exists. Sometimes, after a sighting, I’d lie awake and worry. Did she fly with the devil’s minions, or heaven’s angels? I could sleep only after convincing myself I hadn’t seen her at all. Aging eyes, frequent headaches, trick of light.
            And then my cat carried her into the house one Tuesday, dropped her at my feet like a prize catch. She was only slightly larger than a mouse. Not dead despite the cat, one wing bent out like a wind-turned umbrella, and blood swelled where it melded to her back. I scolded the cat. 
           She looked tiny lying inside the shoebox I’d found and lined with cotton balls and a clean hanky. Her eyes never left my face. There were people coming, I tried to explain to her as I slid the shoebox under the bed. 


Your turn!

Sign up at novelmatters@gmail.com to contribute up to 300 beautifully polished words to the story. We suggest that you revisit the posts from Monday and Wednesday for pointers.

The newest installment of the story will run each Friday. We'll let you know your assigned Friday via email. We ask that you submit your installment as a Word document to our email address on the Wednesday previous to your assigned Friday. That gives us pokey folks time to get your words posted.

We'll continue the story until it comes to a satisfying resolution.

Not to worry, previous installments will be available through a link. 

That's it. Any questions? 

This is going to be fun.




6 comments:

Susie Finkbeiner said...

This is going to be SO FUN!

Yes, Bonnie, I just yelled that. It's because I'm excited. :)

Patti Hill said...

Excitement is definitely allowed on your birthday, Miss Susie. Have a happy, wonderful, love-filled day!

Bonnie Grove said...

*cue Animal from The Muppets in my head*

Henrietta Frankensee said...

Fairies! Fairies! How did you know they have been buzzing in my head? I was raised with fairies everywhere. Wounded? How my heart aches! We'll patch her up, not to worry.
Thank you! This is a gift, a treasure, a hoard of fairy gold.
You might know that I am a follower of Christian Speculative Fiction. Magical realism is hotly debated and most Christian authors of such feel they are on the fringe of society. That you should dare to enter that world is affirming and encouraging and inspiring. I'm going to hop on over to Speculative Faith and invite them, if you don't have any objections. Send me an email if you do! I'll check later in the day before I issue the invitation.

Patti Hill said...

Henrietta: Your response is music to our ears. First, because you're a dear friend who's excited about our idea. Second, we love being on the fringe! Yes, invite your friends to join us. We have openings through April. The trick for each writer will be to add to the story arc without hurrying to a resolution. Let's have a go.

Henrietta Frankensee said...

Great! I shall issue the challenge in cyberspecland! At Speculative Faith they are used to collaboration. And fairies!