“All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know. So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there. It was easy then because there was always one true sentence that I knew or had seen or had heard someone say.”- Ernest Hemingway
*It’s time for Monday’s Finish the Story. If you would like to participate in Monday’s finish the story click on the picture above.
Thanks to Barbara W. Beacham for hosting it.
The prompt beginning sentence is-” They followed the buffaloes and their babies along the trail heading into the woods.” The picture prompt is below. Here is my story.
They followed the buffaloes and their babies along the trail heading into the woods. The writer wrote in the next scene.
“Whoa. I’m not following buffaloes and their babies. I know what happens in stories to people who follow buffalos.” Henry, the writer’s character, said.
“Is that so? What happens?”
“They get attacked by Indians.”
“It’s my story.”
“I lost everything I had in Chapter One. I had a gunshot wound in Chapter Four, and now I’m following buffaloes in Chapter Eight. Let me write the next scene.” Henry said.
“Absolutely not.” The writer said.
“What’s the matter? Scared you’ll get attacked by Indians?”
“Why don’t you just follow the buffaloes like the rest of the characters?”
“Why don’t you just write a scene without buffaloes?” Henry said.
“Very Well.”
They couldn’t follow the buffaloes because their beloved cowboy, Henry, was stricken with Cholera.
“Note to self, never trust a writer.”
*151
Day 9- Today’s challenge is Character Development. I chose a name, a very ecletic name, and I developed her character. I am discovering that my characters have a Southern flair. I don’t know why I am surprised. After all, I am southern. Anyway, by the end of the piece I had developed three characters. I don’t know if I will do anything with them, but it sure was fun to think about.
Sister Bertha Mae Floddlebuster was a 72 year old phone company retiree. Bertha had never married. She had abandoned the idea of every finding her soul mate. That was until she met Henry Calliente at Chartuese’s Diner a month ago. Henry talked of all his travels to Morocco and Fiji while Sister Bertha engaged him with tales of working at the phone company. Her job had been to monitor phone calls and record any suspicious activity that transpired.
What nobody knew about Sister Bertha (except a select few), was that she was hired by the government to provide impertinent information. She was given a list of individuals that the government was monitoring. To date Bertha had help put more than two hundred criminals in jail.
Lately, Bertha suspected that she was being followed. Last month, she installed a high tech security system fresh off the market. Yesterday, she wired money to a non-traceable account. She was taking all necessary precautions.
Henry was a complication.
Not much was known about Henry Calliente around town. He had wheeled into Holly Springs a month ago. He had expensive taste in clothes and he was sweet on Sister Bertha Mae Floddlebuster.
Funny thing was Sheriff Grady had seen Henry outside Sister Bertha’s house when she wasn’t at home. Shortly after he discovered that, Sister Bertha installed a security system. Sheriff Grady asked a FBI friend from Atlanta to check Calliente out. He was waiting to hear back from him at any moment.
Meanwhile, he had a deputy staked out over at Bertha’s. The only thing strange so far was that Bertha had wired money to a bank account in Tahiti.
Holly Springs was becoming a lot more interesting.
Want to read more about Bertha click here
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