How Do Your Writing Exercises Work? Essentially, I go to a “Single Word Prompt Generator” and have it throw a random word at me. Then I go to Unsplash.com and use that word to search their database of images, and scroll through for something that catches my attention. This may be something where I simply want to describe what’s in the image, or maybe it sparks a small story nugget in my brain. Regardless, I then take the picture and post it here, with credit, and proceed to write for 15 minutes. Whatever I produce, I share with you lovely people. Unedited. Typos are to be expected. This time, however, my prompt was provided by a friend, Queen-Kass-The-Writer over on Tumblr. Word Prompt: Regret I actually wrote some backstory for Reilly Mosswolf this time, one of the main characters from my novel, Stolen, so potential backstory spoilers beneath the cut. Content & Trigger Warnings
He should have met her at the docks. Reilly had a lot of regrets in his life. Most were for things beyond his control. The death of his parents came most easily to mind. But this. This one, he could have stopped. He should have met her at the docks. Or gone to Pad-Cedae to bring her home himself. Hands shaking Reilly took a single step closer to the bed in the healers' hall, black eyes unable to move away from the body of his sister. He could feel that he was shaking. Could hear Dara crying. Could smell the tang of old blood and rotting flesh that told him he shouldn't approach Eryn's body, but he stumbled forward anyway. "Reilly-" Healer Illieth called his name, his voice quiet and broken. Pain-filled, but it was nothing compared to the ache in Reilly's chest. It had been weeks since Eryn arrived in Antillune, and vanished between the boat she'd sailed in on and the front doors of the guild, and Reilly hadn't stopped searching. In the rare hours he'd been forced to sleep and rest, there had been teams of thieves scouring the city for her, but they'd found nothing. Eryn Mosswolf had vanished into thin air. Until now. His long fingers grasped the sheet, and he took a shuddering breath in before gently pulling it back from her face. Bile rose in his throat, and Reilly choked, eyes slamming closed and sending the tears that had been building there sliding down his face. She was unrecognisable. Beaten, tortured. Torn apart. Mutilated. It was a message, and a warning. "Are you sure..." he forced out, but the heavy weight of a hand on his shoulder silenced him, and Tanar's grip tightened in gentle support. "Myris checked. We're sure." Reilly released the breath he'd been holding, along with a sob he could no longer contain. His hands tightened on the sheet and he felt his knees hit the floor beside Eryn's bed as his world imploded with regret. Could have beens, should have beens, and wishes for choices made differently. Reilly had a lot of regrets in his life. Big ones, small ones, and insignificant things he sometimes idly wished that he could change, but this one would haunt him. He felt a scream of grief rising in his throat, rapidly replacing the nausea, and fury at Vine filled his veins. He should have met her at the docks. #Writing #Original #Writing Exercise #Ari Writes #Arista Writes #CW Death #CW Angst #CW Implied Torture
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Arista Holmes
I'm a writer in her thirties, who is based in the South East of England. Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|