Hey, Readerland. Back for Day 5 of the Ogre/Chuck Challenge! Ain't no stopping this train! Or something.
So, sadly, we had no writer's group meeting yesterday as two people out of four couldn't make it, but we're still going to be editing and whatnot and a couple of us are getting together in a couple of weeks for a 'writer's lunch' to try to hammer out final details. Hopefully by then I won't have a story that doesn't resemble a half-written, half-edited pile of poo.
Enough of the nonsense! On to today's challenge!
#25 Write about the worst mistake a character has ever made -- the kind of mistake that resonates
throughout that character's life. The kind where the snake can never be put back into the can.
Now re-write it like that mistake is the best thing that ever happened to the character.
Let's roll.
Take 1:
"What do you mean, you gave it to the cops?" Mark yelled. "Do you have any idea what we could have done with five thousand dollars?"
"Mark, it wasn't our money." Joyce said. "It just showed up at our store by mistake. A bad address. From what the cops told me, the money was being sent to a drug dealer. I didn't want drug money in our house!"
"But what about the student loans? Or the car payments?" Mark asked. "Or the mortgage? We could have used that money to eliminate some of our debt." He shook his head.
"I know, Mark, but I just couldn't." Joyce said. "If I had taken the money then I wouldn't be the same person you married. I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror anymore."
"We'll manage somehow." Mark said. He hugged her, kissed her forehead and walked into the other room.
Joyce stayed in her chair and curled her legs up to her chest. Taking the money had been one of the biggest temptations she had ever faced. She had hid the money and thought it over during work, but in the end, she wasn't the kind of person who would steal. She hadn't been raised that way.
As she sat on her chair in silence, she could hear Mark groan in the other room in frustration. She hadn't wanted the situation to be this way when she told Mark she thought she was pregnant. That would make things even worse.
Take 2:
"What do you mean, you gave it to the cops?" Mark yelled. "Do you have any idea what we could have done with five thousand dollars?"
"Mark, it wasn't our money." Joyce said. "It just showed up at our store by mistake. A bad address. From what the cops told me, the money was being sent to a drug dealer. I didn't want drug money in our house!"
Mark stood there with one hand on his hip, a beer in the other. "God. You and your stupid hippie mother. 'Don't lie. Don't steal.' Jesus. That money could have gotten us free and clear of a lot of money we owe people, but no, you just had to hand it over to the cops instead of thinking about us!"
"And what if they found us?" Joyce asked. "The drug dealers, I mean. They might have hurt us. Or killed us!"
Mark surged forward and grabbed Joyce by the hair. "Shut up! You think you know everything, don't you? You don't! You should have asked me what to do! I would have handled everything." Mark pushed her head away. "Why do I stay around here anyway?"
Joyce stood up and moved to walk past Mark, but Mark stopped her.
"Where do you think you're going?" Mark asked.
"I'm leaving." Joyce said firmly. "I'm tired of you pushing me around and thinking that you know everything. You don't know anything, Mark." Joyce pushed him back. "I am tired of you forcing yourself on me and hitting me. I am through making trips to the emergency room when you get back drunk from where ever you were and decide that you're in control."
"You can't leave." Mark said. "I won't let you."
With no warning, Joyce punched Mike square in the nose, something he had done to her a time or two. There was a satisfying crack and Mike howled in pain.
As Mike tried to stop the gushing of his nose, Joyce walked back to their cramped bedroom, took a suitcase from the closet and shoved all of her clothes into it, slamming it shut.
"No," Mike whimpered from the kitchen. He had a dish cloth up held up to his face. "Don't go, Joyce. Things will be..."
"Shut up!" Joyce screamed. "You say that every damn time you put me in the hospital. 'It'll be different, Joyce.' I'm leaving, Mike. I'm going to the court house tomorrow and I'm filing for divorce."
Anger rose in Mike's eyes. "Fine! You do that! See how far you get as a single woman with no money! The account is in my name, Joyce!" Mike started laughing, snorting blood into the dish towel. He stopped when Joyce just smiled at him.
"That's where you're wrong, Mike." Joyce said, opening the front door. "You see, there's something I hadn't told you yet."
"Oh, yeah?" Mike asked suspiciously.
"I'm pregnant, Mike. Five weeks along." Joyce rubbed her belly. "That means, once we're divorced, you owe me alimony and child support. I'll see you in court, Mike."
Even if it wasn't the type of freedom Mark had wanted, as she closed the door, Joyce felt like she was finally free.
Well. There you go. Obviously I put a lot more into the second section than the first. I want to go back and add more to the first, now that I'm taking more time to think about it, though.
Okay, so there you have Day 5. What is in store for Day 6, you ask? My lovely assistant has drawn:
24. Create tension by writing a scene where a character you adore does something you hate.
That goes along relatively well with today's exercise. Should be fun!
Remember, if you want to join in the Ogre/Chuck Express, it's easy. Just post your content as a comment and I'll approve it or if you have your own blog/website/corner of the interwebs, leave that as a comment and I'll approve that as well.
That's all I've got for today. Thanks for joining me and I'll see you all tomorrow for Day 6! Until then, take care and be awesome to each other.
#WWWYKI
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