For those of you who don't know, this is a blog about writing
exercises. These exercises I've found around the web and may possibly
come up with on the spot. This is just for fun and to get me into the
habit of writing frequently. I hope you will join me on this journey of
writing. I will be posting every Tuesday and Friday as long as I have
steam to do so.
Exercise 11
Take a passage of something you
are writing that you are having trouble with, and lay it aside. Now write it
again, without looking, from memory, changing
how the story is told. That is, you might change point of view:
have the main character's enemy give his or her view of what happened. Or, if
it's first person, instead of telling it as it is happening, have the main
character tell it as if it happened ten years ago.
Who was I?
I was
Geneva Isaacs, a sweet girl in a dead end secretary desk job. I remember being
so innocent, as if nothing in the world could change. I thought that I would always be alone in
this world, now I know that I am. In a strange way I felt
safe. I was seriously naïve.
Of
course I wasn’t so much alone then. I had my two best
friends by my side supporting me in everything I’d ever done. That was until I screwed up.
The way I treated Scarlette was
uncalled for. I regret it every day of
my waking life. I was so blinded by this
hatred that built up inside of me. I didn't hate her, I hated him. It was his fault that all of this happened. It was his fault that I
couldn’t see that I was hurting her. I
can never forgive myself for lashing out the way I did. It cost me her friendship.
At the time I felt so numb that I
didn’t even feel the pain I should have felt at losing my best friend. What was I thinking? I don’t think I was thinking much of anything in
those days. I was just doing. I had no respect for myself, and no respect
for the people around me.
I was lucky that lashing out on
Scarlette the way I did, didn’t lose me Violet too. Vi has always been a lot more understanding
of the harsh realities of the world though.
I think in a way she’s always understood me on a deeper level than
Scarlette ever could. It’s not for
Scarlette’s lack of trying though.
At one time, Scarlette did understand me. She understood me up until the traumatic moment in my life that caused me to latch on to someone who wasn't afraid of adventure: Violet. I steered clear of Scarlette's mothering.
Scarlette was always so sweet to me
before everything spiraled into oblivion.
When my life took a landslide down a sharp path, our friendship disintegrated
like a flame burning a rope. I miss her
gentle warmth. She’ll never forgive me. I would never ask her to. I'm not much on telling people the way I feel these days.
Violet is the same old Violet she’s
always been. Ready for adventure, and
ready to have a good time. She’s a party
animal! I’m lucky to still have her in
my life. The evolving me can always
appreciate that wild side of her, now.
Before that terrible incident, I could never understand her desire to get out there
and do such crazy things. In a strange
way, that fucked up shit brought us together.
Scarlette and I use to be so close. In high school we’d braid each others hair and sing silly songs about
romance. At times we even wrote poetry
together. We were the best of
friends. Sleep overs with forts full of
teddy bears are something I will never forget.
Nor will I ever forget the stars upon her ceiling that we use to try to
count, but always ended up falling asleep before we’d counted them all.
Who I am now is nothing of who I
use to be. I use to be kind, gentle, and
sweet. But now, I hardly feel
remorse. Back then, I thought I wouldn’t
ever become a strong woman. Now I
practically annihilate my victims. Not
only are my words to them terrifying, but the pain I inflict upon them is
unforgettable.
Who am I? I’m Geneva Incinerator.
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Author's Notes:
These are characters of a book I've been working on for some time. I have yet to actually come to the point in it where Scarlette and Geneva part ways. It's just something I seem to feel is coming in the story. People change, and so do friendships.
I don't even honestly know how I want that to play out yet. It could be that they don't part ways, but just become distant. I will let the characters decide when I get there. For now, I hope you enjoy the limited spoiler. Haha.
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