Posted by Ronda Levine on Saturday, February 6, 2010,
In :
Fiction
I haven't participated in the Fiction Fridays at Write Anything for a while (I've been working on my short story collection, Santa's Cheezborgers) but I thought I would give a go at this week's Fiction Friday exercise. This week's challenge: Pick a book of fiction you’d never read (e.g., if you read
sci-fi, pick a romance). Open to a random page and read the last couple
paragraphs of the page. DO NOT TURN THE PAGE. Now continue writing the
story. Feel free to change the genre as you write. Continue reading ...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Friday, February 5, 2010,
In :
Creativity
A story arc is another word for "story structure," but this term goes back to Aristotle's conception of what makes an aesthetically pleasing story in Poetics. A classical story demonstrating dramatic structure generally has three parts: - The Inciting Incident - This part of the story sets things up, piques our interest and gives us a taste of what's to come. The best stories begin "in media res," in the middle of things.
- The second act - This part of the story builds through rising action unti...
Continue reading ...
I've been reading lots of things lately. Most notably is Stephen King's latest novel, Under the Dome. I'm not too far into the book as I haven't had too much time to read for fun, but so far It's very hard to put down the book. So far, the dome has just kind of popped up in place and the residents of the small town are trying to figure out what's going on. A plane crashed, a truck crashed, lots of gore (what you would expect from the master of horror), and distinct characters. I recommend... Continue reading ...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Saturday, September 26, 2009,
In :
Fiction
Here's this week's Fiction Friday exercise from the blog at Write Anything. This week's topic was to imagine the curtain was raised and "you're on." I decided to try my hand at a play. Here is what I have so far. Chicago Nights
Act One
Scene One
CHICAGO IN JANUARY, 2004, ALONG NORTH DEARBORN (HOUSE OF BLUES, TALL
APARTMENTS, RESTAURANTS SEARS TOWER IN BACKGROUND.) THE STREETS ARE COVERED IN SNOW AND ICE.
STAGE IS SET UP TO LOOK LIKE A BUSY STREET. THE NIGHT CLUB, EXCALIBUR IS... Continue reading ...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Wednesday, September 23, 2009,
In :
Fiction
This is based on Fiction Friday exercise number 121 at the Write Anything blog.
Leslie's Deal
Leslie sat, her hands in her lap, trembling. The offer had been made – it was on the
table- or whatever the guy had said. She
leaned her head back against the headrest of the seat. She let out her breath. Leslie thought about her two kids – Harry and
Samantha. They needed her to do
this. Harry especially. His treatments were expensive – staggeringly expensive. If she could just go throu... Continue reading ...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Friday, September 18, 2009,
In :
Fiction
Hello everyone! It's fiction friday again. I took a couple weeks off to catch up on some personal projects. This week is based upon Van Gogh's painting, Starry Night. Enjoy! Not Van Gogh
Lopez swept his arm around rapidly, frantically trying to
salvage his art class assignment: To create a piece inspired by Van Gogh’s. Were they really that far gone on inspiration
– art teachers – to where they would choose this work by Van Gogh? Not that Van Gogh isn’t a great artist or
anything, ...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Saturday, September 12, 2009,
In :
Fiction
Here's part II of Indier Gray. I haven't written the next part yet. Enjoy! INDIER GRAY Part II
Sasha
looked at the other children. She whispered,
“Who is Indier Gray? Where are we?” Blake made another shushing motion with his
finger.
Simon whispered back, “He’s
scary.” Jessica nodded. Timothy began to wail. The harder he cried, the louder the humming
sound got.
“You guys have to be quiet!” Blake said, “We don’t want him to come
back. We don’... Continue reading ...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Monday, August 31, 2009,
In :
Fiction
Here's another writing exercise from the folks at Write Anything. The idea is to look at the picture given and write 500 words, then post it. 
I moved out here to give my daughter a better life. There are fireflies. They dance around her. There are mice that live in the grass. It will snow in the winter. I’ll start graduate school in a few
weeks. She laughs as the mouse moves
around in her hand. These are the
moments she’ll remember for the rest of her life. The limo ride to our...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Saturday, August 29, 2009,
In :
Fiction
Hello, it's Friday night, and I'm putting this up a little later than usual. This is inspired by this week's [Fiction] Friday exercise over at Write Anything. I enjoyed this exercise, so this is the possible start of a (much) longer work. Enjoy!
SECTOR
46
Saul sat on the edge of
the curb, his blackberry in front of him.
There was still so much to do.
The cells needed to be furnished.
The library needed to be scrubbed down.
The laundry facility was going to be equipped with lab equipmen... Continue reading ...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Friday, August 21, 2009,
In :
Fiction
It's that time of the week again - Fiction Friday! This week, I decided to try a different genre. It's going to be part 1 of another series. Enjoy! Indier Gray
Sasha ducked behind the trash bin and held her breath. Why was she holding her breath? She let it out. She heard Blake calling for the other players
moments later. Time went by. She heard a scream and a scuffle. It sounded close by. Was that – was that a man’s voice? Sasha cowered down. If the bin had been higher on... Continue reading ...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Friday, August 14, 2009,
In :
Fiction
Okay folks, here's my Fiction Friday exercise from the folks over at Write Anything. I struggled a bit with this one, but this is what I turned out:
Welcome Home
Julie and Cameron sat, side by side, and waited for the
bus. Their heads bopped almost in
synchronization to the individual beats on their iPods. Cameron tapped his fingers to the beat on his
knee. Julie held her backpack in her
arms, the ear buds for her music machine extended from a special pocket. The ground was slick from the...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Monday, August 10, 2009,
In :
Fiction
Here is the 3rd part of the story, "Marguerite and Me."
I come down hard and my head slams into a step. Everything goes black and the action
stops. I feel a wave of stars come over
me.
The next thing I know, some guy in a dark blue jumpsuit is
standing over me shining a flashlight in my eyes. Someone put a towel underneath my head. It’s silent.
Margie sits over me. As the
curtains open, I realize I’m moving. The
next thing I’m able to focus upon is the medical gear. I try to t... Continue reading ...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Saturday, August 8, 2009,
In :
Fiction
This is the second part of "Marguerite and Me", inspired by Write Anything's [Fiction] Friday. "Marguerite and Me" Continued Though I want to run away, something keeps me glued there,
in front of her, with her breath baking hard at me. I’ve never really figured out why it is that
I stick around to see the next train wreck in these situations. We are almost at the front of the line. Margie smiles at me and plays with my suit
coat as if nothing happened a few moments ago.
I’m about to a... Continue reading ...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Friday, August 7, 2009,
In :
Fiction
So it's Friday again, and I'm participating once again in the [Fiction] Friday meme over at Write Anything.Here's what I came up with:
The woman is next to me.
Her hair is up, jet-black, slick.
I wonder how many hair product bottles she used to keep every strand
where she wants it. Maybe she’s a
control freak. I don’t know. Her red dress reveals half of her back. It’s a nice back. I can tell she’s spent a lot of time working
on it. She probably has a trainer.... Continue reading ...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Wednesday, August 5, 2009,
In :
Fiction
For all of those who have been anxiously waiting to find out the answer to the question, "Why is Santa in Chicago on July 31?", here is the conclusion:
Santa
takes a deep breath and laughs, shaking his head. I feel like a moron. He says, “I’ll answer your question when you
answer mine. ‘What’s your story?’”
Dejected,
deflated, and discontent, I take a bite of my burger and move some chips around
in their basket. For whatever reason, I decide
to stay at the table when I reall... Continue reading ...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Monday, August 3, 2009,
In :
Fiction
This is the next to last installment of the story. Enjoy!
“I want to
know who Maggie Cornando is, not some hot aired response. Give me the grit,” Santa bit into his burger.
“I’m um,
well, how the hell do you know my name?”
“I know
everyone’s name.”
“But how
do you know my name? I don’t even do Christmas.”
“It was
given to me.” I attempt to eat a chip
and feel as though I’m going to choke on the dry saltiness of it. I chug down some beer. “I can’t ex... Continue reading ...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Saturday, August 1, 2009,
In :
Fiction
I had so much fun with the [Fiction] Friday prompt at Write Anything yesterday, that I thought I would continue it to find out what happens with our character and that "fat harbinger of joy." Enjoy!
We sit,
sipping our house beers, staring at each other.
I’m bad at knowing what to say when I don’t know someone as it is, but
some fat guy in a red velvet and fur suit with a beard that puts even Grizzly
Adams to shame? Forget it! Before I know it, my pilsner glass is empty
except for t... Continue reading ...
Posted by Ronda Levine on Friday, July 31, 2009,
In :
Fiction
Over at Write Anything, a topic is posted on Thursday for a freewrite to be posted on Friday. It seems like a fun idea, so I've decided to go ahead and participate. This week's theme is: It’s July 31st. What is Santa doing in downtown Chicago? (Or Sydney, or Manchester, etc…)Here's my story:
Santa’s Cheezborgers
There he
is again, that fat harbinger of joy. He’s
walking up Michigan Avenue at a snail’s pace two or three steps ahead of
me. I want to kick his shins. Every July 31, ... Continue reading ...
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