Imagine two different venues for writing – one that seems most suited to you, and one that you would find bizarre or too difficult. Write a paragraph describing two writers at work, one in each of the venues.
The low murmur of voices and telephones blur to nothingness in his mind, as he stares at the blinking cursor on the screen. He shuns fancy word-processing programs in favour of the simple elegance of Notepad. A colleague wanders over, some work related question poised on their lips, unaware of the vibrant lands and alien vistas they are about to pull him away from. With weary patience he deals with their problem and returns to the blinking cursor. An idea is slowly blooming. From where he isn't sure, but something about sitting in the office seems to provide a fertile quagmire for his imagination to sow. Long fingers caress the keyboard and the first words grace the screen. An email alert pops up. 5 minutes until a conference call. Snooze. More words appear. Time's up, for now. Press save, alt tab, and come back later.
~
I'd found it at the bottom of some bargain bin. It was love at first sight and I'd shelled out the required £20 without thought or regret. Once I got it home I shifted out my laptop, notepads and other paraphernalia so it could take pride of place on my desk. An Underwood. It looked glorious. Its faded powder blue paint brought forth images of summer walks and lazy meadows. I gently stroked the home-row keys, letting my eyes close, and in that instant of darkness I caught the faintest scent of old ink and dreams. Childhood memories of my grandpa's desk floated through my mind and with barely a thought I fed in a crisp white piece of paper and reverently sat down. The very first clunk sent a shiver of joy down my spine. Mechanical wizardry whirred into action and a story was born.
~
Part 2.5 of the course has us discussing and reviewing each other's writing space paragraphs. I'll see you there for my thoughts on this exercise as well as looking at some examples.
A colleague wanders over, some work related question poised on their lips, unaware of the vibrant lands and alien vistas they are about to pull him away from.
ReplyDeleteI find this sentence a bit awkward. Would the vibrant lands and alien vistas not be better as a separate thought: He was dragged away from his/the vibrant lands and alien vistas… ?
Weary, patient, he deals with their problem and returns to the blinking cursor. ?
It seems punchier to me.
An idea slowly blooms from an unknown source. Something about sitting…
Like one of your commenters on FL I was unsure which venue was your ideal and which your nightmare scenario! The above vibrant lands and alien vistas make it sound too enticing. Perhaps they should become/flower into rubble and desolation due to the interruptions? ;-)
As I replied to that commenter - the first is my ideal. The typewriter would be horrible to me, although as a self-inflicted additional to the writing challenge I tried to make both sound pleasant.
DeleteI agree the sentence is a bit run on. I shall have a think about a good split for it.
Thanks again.