March 6, 2012

Trifecta Week Seventeen

This week I decided to succumb to bug that has caught other writers before me (see LucidLotusLife's Who Shot Mr. Burns Part I and Part II). I've attempted to further a story I started in Week Sixteen, Along the Rails. Below is a bit of back story for the eldest of the children who last week were walking along the railroad tracks.

The Trifecta Writing Challenge is to write a story with no less than 33 words and no more than 333. Each story must use Webster dictionary's third definition for a word supplied by the fine editors (or gleaned from writers' Get to Know Me posts).

This week's word is vulgar, which lent itself nicely to my story:

   c : of the usual, typical, or ordinary kind

And yes. It is precisely 333 words. I need more.

 Along the Rails -- Meet Terry

She was used to it, this sitting at the back of the classroom. She knew this teacher thought her vulgar, not deserving of her attention. But she was determined.

Terry was a good student despite her responsibilities at home. If she couldn’t retain the attention of this teacher she would still work. The previous year Mrs. McCracken had given her what others wouldn’t -- encouragement -- and she stored it internally like gold.

Those nuggets grew like crystals within her resolve, rock hard and glistening. One day the sharp edges would be useful but for now this teacher’s distaste stung.

The child had learned to read early, before her mom reluctantly registered her for school. Her influence came in the form of an older girl, Felicity, who summered in the cabin next door, arriving each season with a tote bin packed with books.

At first Felicity would read to her, the two of them nestled in the hammock between strong trees that stood majestically in the well-manicured yard. Eventually Terry could read to herself, the two whiling away hours swinging between strong trunks, buried in books.

Felicity was older than Terry, a shy, quiet “only” child grateful to finally play big sister. Her mother, quiet too, almost never emerged from their darkened cabin. On days she would, it was only to instruct gardeners or grab the local farm’s weekly vegetable box.

Felicity’s father arrived on weekends and she would be gone from sun up to sun down, chasing fish on the lake. On those days Terry was less happy, paging through a few rag-tattered books at her own house, retelling the stories as best she remembered to her own younger siblings. On those days it was much harder to make herself scarce.

But now, some three years later, Felicity was in the city and Terry was at the back of this miserable classroom. Her hair loose and unruly, her clothes tattered, her pen ready to write. This, she thought, was her only chance.

*************

I would love to list the other ongoing stories I've thus far enjoyed parts of and am dying to read in full. I know there are more than the one below (like isn't there one about faeries?) but real life calls so I can't search. Teachers are on strike, I have more than my own children running rampant and demanding lunch, the drywall is done around our windows and the paint is dried so today I must find time to return my sitting room to a place where one may sit. Feel free to post yours in my comments section or email it to me and I will add it here:

The Ballad of Helene Troy by Lance at My Blog Can Beat Up Your Blog*
The Land and Under the Land by Edward Hotspur

*yes probably.

24 comments:

  1. To escape into a book. Some of my favorite places only exist in my books. Nicely done.

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    1. I always say, my most exciting life is lived vicariously in books. Not that I don't take risks in real life, just that there are lots of messes that I don't want to be in that I quite enjoy by reading about them. Right?! Right?! =)

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  2. I don't know who shot Homer, but Maggie shot Mr. Burns. Heh.
    This kicked so much ass. I'm hoping to see further installments in the future. I want to see how her life turns out.

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    1. doh!!!

      I thought I checked and double checked. I shall have to fix this toute de suite.

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  3. I like your story! Nice. Precise. With no... lice? *sigh*

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    1. You are very funny. Unless your kids have lice and it is on your mind (or head). Then? Not so funny. Thanks for the compliment and ... the rhyme?

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  4. Didn'tMaggie shoot Homer too?

    Thank you reading and shouting out Helene. It's a story so close to my heart.

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    1. Doh! Her story is about Mr. Burns. I was getting distracted and foggy and kinda screwed it up. Make sure you check out the second installation of her story! She's, like, the queen of 33.

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  5. Oh, I luike the urgency and intimate danger of your story. Felicity is very relatable. Can't wait to read more.

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    1. Thanks Lance. I really like what I've read of that story and am dying to read more (ball's in my court at this point, but once I'm through that I might get impatient). You've been warned.

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  6. I like the way Terry's character is a product of others' influences who has nonetheless developed her own strong core. The friend who taught her to read deserves a cheer, as does the previous year's teacher. But the real prize is for Terry not falling into uncaring because the teacher refused to give her the connection she craved.

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    1. Ya. I guess my true faith (and disappointment) in humans will come through if I write enough? Hold on to your hats. This could get messy.

      Thanks for such a thought-filled comment. It really gives me more ideas. =)

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  7. I love this because it's the distaff/verbal version of the story we hear so much boys and sports. "Her pen ready to write ... her only chance." Wonderful.

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    1. That's a really interesting take. Funny thing is, we have an extra kid over at our house today and she's talking about cross country racing. I'm so uninterested in athletics (I'm active, but definitely not sporty) that it wouldn't even occur to me to make a character dig out from under using sports.

      Thanks for this pov. It's pretty valuable to me.

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  8. Thanks for linking up to Trifecta this weekend. Here's another continuation: http://edwardhotspur.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/the-land-and-under-the-land-trifecta/

    I love your continuation. I love the idea of longer stuff from you. I feel like your mind is constantly working, while you work on things like drywall and homeschool. It'd be fantastic if that mind could be working on Terry and her pen, and we could catch up with her again and again. (Good lawd, that rhymes.) This is really pretty. Feels like snippets of my own childhood. (But my hair was better. Obviously.) See you back soon.

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    1. Thanks for the link. I've posted it above.

      Ha, second rhyme in this comments section, please don't tell me it is going to be a trend! (Or maybe please tell me it is ...)

      Anyway, thanks, I'm glad this talks to you and your memories. FYI, that grade 2 teacher was real. She deserves recognition and acknowledgement.

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  9. I spent so many many hours immersed in books. And my kids' favorite activity, growing up, was to go to the library and load our totebags full of picture books and come home to sit on the kitchen floor and read. Really love this piece.

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    1. Thanks! I too love to read, and never stop.

      When I was a kid and we went on road trips, I would read everybody's books, then I would read road signs. Out loud. Until they relented and bought me a book to shut me up.

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  10. Completely real.

    The concern and stress of Terry trying to better herself mated with her new found self confidense is truly inspiring.

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    1. Aw, thanks! Terry just kind of revealed herself to me. We'll have to see where she takes me.

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  11. Books are the doorway to imagination and it's good to see someone exercising theirs.

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    1. Thank you Booguloo. I'm grateful to see my children be as passionate about reading and writing as I am at their young ages. It also drives me crazy.

      A good imagination can get a person through just about anything! Right?! Right?!

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  12. Your imagery is stunning. I am in awe of your talent. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Wow. Thanks for the compliment. I'm a bit ... um ... humbled. Thank you.

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