July 10, 2021

Building the writing muscles

I started writing the Vaccine on Jan 1, 2021 with a resolve to keep up a weekly frequency. I’m happy to say that I’ve largely met this goal so far, with hiatuses only for Father’s Day and the Fourth of July. Not bad at all. The plan is to build the muscles to the point where writing becomes second nature and effortless. I’m far from this goal but increasingly confident that I’ll get there.

In addition to the Vaccine, I have set myself a goal of writing a thousand words a day for 365 days. I am just a month into this, and got the idea from a Creative Writing class I’m taking on Coursera. As part of this daily exercise, I write parts of and sometimes full short stories, descriptions of things and places I have seen, about characters and snippets from books I want to write someday and so on. I’m finding that writing a thousand words a day of a reasonable quality is a really really hard thing to do. It may be the hardest thing I’ve done in my life.

Here is an assignment I recently completed as part of the creative writing class.

The assignment was the following:

Choose a book or film that you have recently enjoyed, or select a story from mythology. Identify the core desire, need, or ambition in at least TWO main characters in the book/film/myth. (Cinderella: Need to be loved for who she really is. Prince: Need to be loved for who he really is.) Write one paragraph to familiarize your reader with your chosen characters. Then, create a new, original character and fit that person into your story (A second, compelling woman joins the Prince and Cinderella at the ball.) Let us see all of your characters in a social situation and craft a short scene. (Cinderella, the Prince and The New Woman are all having a drink on the terrace. Cinderella thinks she has found a new friend. The Prince is jealous. The New Woman is a flirt.) Be sure to include telling details. Your scene should not exceed 400 words, and the introductory paragraph does not count towards the word count.

My submission:

I’ve chosen two characters from the film, “Shawshank Redemption,” which was released to critical acclaim in 1994. The film was based on Stephen King’s 1984 novella, “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.”

Middle-aged Portland banker, Andy Dufresne, is convicted of his wife’s murder despite his protestations of innocence and sentenced to two consecutive life terms at the Shawshank State Penitentiary. There he is befriended by Ellis “Red” Redding, also serving a life sentence. Andy is tall with hair unusually unkempt for an accountant. His brooding eyes reveal a deep despair at the justice system, which he believes has failed him. Andy adamantly maintains his innocence to Red, who is indifferent to the truth of the matter. Red is a veteran of the prison system by the time Andy arrives. The older Red takes Andy under his wings and shelters him. Although he acts indifferently to Andy’s protestations of innocence, Red secretly believes and feels sorry for his new friend. Andy is driven by a deep driving desire to escape from the Shawshank. It is the only reason he tries to gamely find a way to survive prison and continue to live. Red becomes gradually aware of Andy’s ambition. While he is troubled by it, he helps Andy with his quirky requests, knowing that they are all somehow part of his friend’s grand plan. No one has escaped the Shawshank before. Red worries that Andy’s hope may some day end in ruins. All Red wants is to complete his term without mishap so he can walk the streets a free man. He wants no part of Andy’s plan or even to know anything about it. We join the two about a year into their friendship at Shawshank.

** Start Scene **

It was a routine the two were familiar with. Slipping out behind the old prison building when the guard’s attention was diverted, a quick hoist up the overhang to the roof, and to the chimney where they’d hidden the smokes. Red was older but he was clearly the nimbler one. Leaning against the chimney, Red allowed himself a satisfied grunt as he blew smoke against the backdrop of a cloudless blue sky. Andy chugged in silence.

“Gentlemen..” The raspy voice startled them. Red leaned forward as a face emerged above the roof line. He looked slightly built but strong enough to pull up his own weight. He had a lean face with a two day stubble. His eyes were narrow slits and some would say too close to each other. Closely cropped hair gave away his status as the latest inmate. The friends watched, irritated at the intrusion. The interloper made his way up the roof and squatted on his haunches.

“Careful there. Don’t go falling and breaking your neck. It’ll be mighty unpleasant explaining to the chief,” Red admonished the newcomer.

“No worry of that, grandpa,” the upstart chuckled.

“What you in for,” Red snuffed out the dying cigarette. Andy lit up a second, staring vacantly into the distance.

“Nothing,” shot back the young man. After a pause, he added, “I bet you hear that all the time. I’m no murderer. Just a plain thief, that’s all I am. But I have seen one. A murder that is.” Andy turned briefly towards the squatter before diverting his glance away.

Red sat nonplussed, waiting for Andy to finish. The lunch siren would go off anytime now.

“Pardon me for asking but did you strangle your wife, sir? The man I saw looked damn right a lot like you.”

Startled, Red turned just in time to see the blood drain from his friend’s face. Andy continued to stare out into the distance. The accusation hung heavily in the light breeze. He took a deep drag, put out the smoke and exhaled in satisfaction. Done, he turned to Red, “Let’s go.”

They got on their feet as did the intruder.

“My mama always told me. Don’t trust a man whose eyes are too close to each other,” quipped Red as he swung himself down from the overhang onto the ground.

** End scene **

That’s all I’ve got for you this week. Hope you enjoyed that snippet. :)

Stay safe and have a great week ahead.