Speak Out 3/20: Show NOT Tell
Posted by Mr. Reed on March 19, 2008
The art of creative writing is actually the art of painting with words. Select from one of the description prompts from this week to write an incredibly detailed description or scene. Let the details pull us in to your “world.”
March 22nd, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Blood Dynasty
She could hear the waves crashing into the lower surface walls of the castle as if in a thunderous mood with an unstable urge to break through the walls of the magnificent structure. The wind was howling as if warning the residents inside the castle to be on the look out for the blood-curdling king, King Raidon. The king showed no mercy, not even to his most loyal and devoted subjects. He has only ever showed compassion to one, the one who is responsible for his exile from the kingdom of Goor, the majestic princess Akina. The young princess heard a loud scream. No doubt that it was from her little brother, prince Kiyoshi. She ran in the direction of the scream. A voice kept warning her to turn back now, but she refused to listen. When she finally arrived at the room the scream came from, her worst fears were realized. The young prince Kiyoshi was dead, drenched in his own blood, Akina slowly reached for younger brother and started to curl him in her arms. Then all of a sudden, the windows burst open with a giant wave of wind drowning her we she stood. She began to fell long sharp nails taking hold of her hand. A cold and evil voice called to her, “My dearest princess, I have come back to you.” And with that, he grabbed her arm and dragged her into a dark, shadowy vertex. “No, please stop, I beg of you,” the princess cried, “Please, somebody help me. Mother, father, brother, anybody, please I don’t want to fight alone.”
“Please honorable princess. I beg you to wake up, please.” Begged a familiar voice. Princess Akina slowly opened her eyes to find her most loyal servant standing beside her bed. It was young Kichi. Her rose colored hair was pulled back into a bun, highlighting her bright lime green eyes and a bright green choker around her neck. The heartless and cruel king Raidon, allowed one if his troops to destroy and steel whatever they could from the villages and cities in the Southern Valley, one of them including the grand city of Ammon, Kichi’s birth place. The soldiers were ruthless and destroyed everything in their path. Kichi was the only known survivor. At the age of seven, she had lost her parents and older brother and sister. Everything she knew and loved was gone. That was when she had met princess Akina, who was eight at the time. Since Kichi told the most outstanding stories and sang the most beautiful songs that would always place a smile on the princess face, she was chosen out of three hundred girls to serve the young princess. The two girls had been close friends ever since.
“Hey, what time is it?” Akina asked. “Twelve thirty-five,” Kichi replied, “You slept through your breakfast get-together with princess Takara, again.” “Oh that’s all. Well good riddance to princess Takara. I hate her and she hates me! Why can’t anybody ever accept that and leave me alone?” The princess moaned. “Because if Lord Jiro, your uncle, gets his way, you’ll have no choice but to marry princess Takara older brother, prince Yukio.” Kichi lectured her princess. “Then I would just have to make sure Jiro doesn’t get his way.” The princess began to giggle. “And just what is so funny?” “It’s just that after seven years of being the servant to princess Akina, you still don’t see beyond what you can’t see just by listening to the main point in an argument. You have to listen very carefully to each detail of every word the person speaks to know where the person is coming from, what it is they truly want, and how much power they have to make their wish into a reality.” Akina explained, “or perhaps I’m just trying to sound smarter than I really am and I simply haven’t got a clue about what the counsel is saying and I truly don’t care. Either way, I’m in the mood for cake right now.” “You’re something else,” Kichi said sorta shocked but not surprised with the princess statement, “Alright, get dress and we can go and grab us a treet.
While princess Akina began to brush her hair, she took a good look at herself in the mirror. Her white snowflake hair stretched down her back, covering up the scar she had gotten while fighting off one of King Raidon warriors. The man, scared for his life, shot an arrow at Akina, despite the orders from Raidon that he was not to harm her. She had left the arrow in for too long, leaving that scar on her back as a reminder that the war is real and not just a nightmare. She noticed how bright her crystal blue eyes were, along with the star on her stomach. She had the star since she was born. She didn’t know why, but she remembered that her mother had a crescent moon in that same spot. Akina was the spitting image of her mother, Queen Hoshi, meaning a star. She was given that name because she to was born with hair as bright as a star. Her mother died only a couple months after prince Kiyoshi was born. She died from poison planted in her wine by her sister, lady Leiko. After it was discovered that Leiko was the one was responsible for the Goor Queen’s death, many demanded her own death. The plans for her execution were made, but the night before her designated hanging, she escaped with the help of Raidon. She was never found. Akina was only five at the time. Ten years had pass and she never learned why her aunt turned on her only sister in such a cruel way. “Are you ready princess Akina?” Kichi asked. “I sure am. Yet me just strap my sword on and we can get some cake,” she replied putting a smile on for her dear friend.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:56 am
3 Short Stories
1) The steady drumming of the rain on the tin roof resonated through the one-roomed cottage. The deluge outside was relentless. Pots and pans littering the floor caught water. Except for the occasional tap, tap, tap of water falling from the ceiling, everything was quiet as a graveyard.
The damp wood, out of which the house was made of, smelled of musty fungus and mold. The house slumped under the weight of the water, threatening to collapse. It was a scanty shelter from the torrent outside.
A sleeping man tossed and turned about in his make-shift bed on the floor. His wrinkled face was transfixed in a nasty scowl. He was evidently dreaming. Words were muttered unintelligibly in his garbled speech. Finally, he woke with a start and groped around in the blinding new morning light for his glasses. With a groan, he set about packing his things for the day’s journey.
2) A festive music filled the air, inviting all of those listening to dance. The fantastic melody continued on and never stopped. It amused the ears and entertained the soul while a performer danced around, amazing the audience.
All around the stage, an event is in full swing. Fire eaters, sword swallowers, and jugglers draw wonder and fear from their audiences. Booths line the streets with merchants calling out to the crowds. Stuffed prizes line these displays, tempting all of the guests to participate in games. There were also clowns creating balloon creatures. Their hands are a blur as they twist and shape their creations along with the imaginations of young children.
Cotton candy, popcorn, and other appetizing foods are sold along these streets. Happy children dance around with their parents and everyone is lighthearted. The carnival is a wonderful place to be!
3) It was still dark when I woke from my shallow sleep. I had woken up many times before. I stared intensely at the alarm clock on my bedside table. It read three o’clock. Anger and disappointment simmered inside of me. Why did time move so slowly when you were anticipating a great school field trip?
I had not thought of anything else but the day for the last few weeks. My stomach had butterflies and I grew increasingly restless after each passing moment. It was probably an impossibility to go back to sleep. Nevertheless, I still tried.
After several failed attempts to go back to sleep, I grudgingly got out of bed. In the darkness of my room, I felt for my lamp. The switch clicked and warm light filled the room. Wondering how I was going to spend the remaining time, I got out of my bed thinking about the day’s adventure.