Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Fiction Ideas

1. I stood, sweating in the fitting room, looking from the dress I was holding to my purse, and back to the dress. I hadn't stolen anything before, well - except for that pair of butterfly earrings when I was four that Mom made me take back with a letter of apology (my ears weren't even pierced). I looked at myself in the dirtied mirror, disgusted by my own desperation. How did I get here?



2. The only thing that was ever hard for me growing up was trying to get into trouble. I can't remember a time I didn't have a girl by my side, I've never had to have a resume or study for a test, and I've never had to worry about anything or anyone but me and football. But things sure change quickly, and now - things are hard for me, but I can't imagine how much harder they are for him. If only he'd kept his head up in that tackle... everybody knows that.



3. "Here, give your arm a rest Rach - I'll pull and you hold the throttle," Riley said as he switched me places on our pull-start four-wheeler. Ten miles or more out of camp, the sun was setting behind the mountains a canyon over, and goose bumps were rising on our arms. Exhausted after 20 pulls, he glared at me, "Why the heck did you let it die?" I just looked away thinking, We'll try again when it's not flooded, and if that doesn't work, somebody'll come lookin’ when they notice two 7-year-old kids and a 660 four-wheeler are missing.



4. With business conferences held monthly in different states, and attended by some of the most intelligent, affluent, and beautiful people in the world, I was proud of myself for staying faithful to my wife of twelve years. I was proud of the three wonderful children we raised together, the lovely home we built, and the traditions we established. I was proud when Stuart let me off early that Thursday night to take my family on a pre-paid bonus vacation. But all that pride died as soon as I saw the grief in her eyes as she held the man I had just shot, the dead man who was with her in my bed.

2 comments:

  1. Ali,
    I think the four-wheeler idea is good. The idea of two young kids, pretty much in the middle of no where, having to figure out what to do in that situation. I would say either that story or the contemplation of stealing, I think either of those would be good.

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  2. Hi Ali,
    thanks for the good ideas. I like the first best. Confessions of a shoplifter. Could be interesting from the first person point of view. dw

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