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Writing Group / Re: Writing Prompts!
« on: December 18, 2010, 11:41:09 PM »
Prompt: The Dialogue exercise
Thanks for the chance to join in.
Title: Not sure yet
“… out of here! Right now!”
“What? Huh? What’s that?”
“Hang on, I’m almost out.”
“Who’s there? I demand that you release me from this, this … whatever it is this instant.”
“Ok friend, let me see what I can do.”
“I’m not sure we’re communicating, I didn’t ask you to ‘see what you can do’, I’m telling you that you had better get me out of this thing or else.”
“Calm down mate, I’m working on it.”
“I wish you would work a little faster.”
“What’s that?”
“That’s my shoulder.”
“How did you get in there?”
“That’s real funny pal, now can we get on with this and get me the heck out of here.”
“Suit yourself, I’m just trying to be polite. Besides I don’t have anything other than this piece of drift wood. I was hoping you could help me out, I’d hate to accidentally hurt you or something.”
“Are you threatening me? I don’t think you know who I am, my father is …”
“You’re absolutely right, I have no idea who you are. I’m just trying to help out mate. If we could just work together this might go a lot easier.”
“Ok, what do you want me to do?”
“First of all it might help if I knew your name.”
“You really don’t know who I am?”
“Nope, I don’t.”
“My name is Kenneth Ronald Messman Jr., my father is …”
“That’s enough for now Ken. Move your hands so I can tell exactly where they are.”
“Alright I see them, now spread your arms apart.”
“That’s good, hold them right there. Now Ken I’m going to try and poke a hole in this pod with a piece of drift wood I have here. So you have to hold your arms still. Can you see this?”
“Kind of, I can feel it in my arms.”
“That’s where I’m going to try and punch a hole, ok?”
“Alright, but be careful.”
“Hey, don’t pound that thing into my chest.”
“That’s what I was afraid of, we’re going to have to try something different. How far can you push your arms away from your body?”
“That’s it ay? That’s some kind of strong material, I wonder what it is?”
“I have no idea, but I’m more interested in getting out of here than analyzing the freakishly strong wrapper I’m trapped in.”
“Ok, push your arms out again.”
“That’s good. Ready? Here I go.”
“Ow! Are you trying to kill me? I think I’m bleeding.”
“Sorry about that mate. That was a bit unexpected. But it worked. Now that there’s a little hole I can make it bigger. You’ll be out in just a minute.”
“There we go, can you stand up?”
“Are you alright? I don’t see much blood, is that where I nicked you?”
“It felt a lot worse than it looks. I’ll be fine, but remind me never to trust you again.”
“Any idea how we got here?”
“I was about to ask you the same question.”
“I’m guessing from your accent you’re from Australia.”
“Actually I’m from England. You from the states?”
“Boston, Massachusetts. How old are you?”
“I’m fifteen, how about you?”
“I’m sixteen. So, you really don’t know why we’re here or what we’re supposed do? If you’re pranking me…”
“Not the foggiest. But this fabric we were in is intriguing. Did you notice water never came inside?”
“Of course I noticed that.”
“Whoever put us in these pods and threw us in the water didn’t intend to kill us. It looks like this material was designed to keep us alive. In addition to keeping the water out it had to allow air to flow in – otherwise we would have suffocated. And take a look at this, there are no seams. I wonder how we were sealed inside?”
“And one more thing, take a look right here. Almost the entire pod is flexible, except for this one spot. It’s very brittle, like an egg shell. See how easily it breaks?”
“I see. What does it mean?”
“Hey, look over there what’s that?”
“What? Where are you going? You didn’t answer my question, what does it mean?”
“I’m not sure. Come see this. It’s the fabric of another pod, same exact thing as the ones you and I were in – only this one’s empty. We’re not the only ones here.”
“I don’t see anyone around here, where did he go?”
“There are tracks leading up the beach into the jungle. I don’t see any other signs. Except! Look back past where we were, way over there. I think I see… 1… 2… 3… 4… there’s 5 more pods washed up in the surf over there. And they don’t look empty. We have to go see if we can help.”
…
“Does that look like the head to you?”
“I don’t know, maybe.”
“I have an idea. Let’s get all the pods up out of the water. Help me pick this one up, grab it down there.”
“Why? What’s that going to do?”
“I’m not sure but I have a hunch. You want to lend me a hand?”
“Hang tight in there mate, we’re going to get the others out of the water. We’ll be back to help you get out in a few minutes.”
“Come on, let’s go get the next one.”
…
“What are you doing to me? Where are you taking me? What is going on?”
“Umm, we’re trying to help you. We’re moving you out of the water. There are three others we need to get out of the water, then we’ll be back to help get you out of the pod.”
“Come on Ken, let’s keep moving. Pod number three is over there.”
“Did that sound like a girl to you?”
“Yeah, it did.”
…
“I’m waiting till that big wave passes.”
“Ok, let’s go.”
“Who’s there? Are you friend or foe?”
“We’re trying to help you. We think if we move you out of the water it’ll be easier to get you out of there.”
“I suppose I have no other choice than to trust you.”
“We’ll be back in a few minutes, after we get the other pods out of the water.”
…
“This is pod number four.”
“Hello, anybody home?”
“I think you scared him, or her, speechless.”
“Very funny. Let’s move on.”
…
“Last one. Now that’s done let’s sit down for a second.”
“So, why did we need to move all the pods out of the water? It’s hot out here, wouldn’t it be cooler for them in the water?”
“Yeah you’re right, that black fabric is going to heat up quickly – I’m counting on that; but I didn’t think about how hot it would be on the inside. We’d better hurry back to the first one and help him get out of the pod. Let’s go.”
“Why not start with this one, while we’re here?”
“You remember how hard the pod fabric was on your shoulder? When I tapped on it it made a loud, hollow sound, like it was made of thick plastic?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Well, that was the highest part of your pod out of the water. I think as the pod dries in the sun the fabric hardens, and therefore will be easier to break open. If we go back to the first one we’ll see if my theory is correct. In the meantime this one will have time to harden. Let’s go back to the first pod and see.”
Thanks for the chance to join in.
Title: Not sure yet
“… out of here! Right now!”
“What? Huh? What’s that?”
“Hang on, I’m almost out.”
“Who’s there? I demand that you release me from this, this … whatever it is this instant.”
“Ok friend, let me see what I can do.”
“I’m not sure we’re communicating, I didn’t ask you to ‘see what you can do’, I’m telling you that you had better get me out of this thing or else.”
“Calm down mate, I’m working on it.”
“I wish you would work a little faster.”
“What’s that?”
“That’s my shoulder.”
“How did you get in there?”
“That’s real funny pal, now can we get on with this and get me the heck out of here.”
“Suit yourself, I’m just trying to be polite. Besides I don’t have anything other than this piece of drift wood. I was hoping you could help me out, I’d hate to accidentally hurt you or something.”
“Are you threatening me? I don’t think you know who I am, my father is …”
“You’re absolutely right, I have no idea who you are. I’m just trying to help out mate. If we could just work together this might go a lot easier.”
“Ok, what do you want me to do?”
“First of all it might help if I knew your name.”
“You really don’t know who I am?”
“Nope, I don’t.”
“My name is Kenneth Ronald Messman Jr., my father is …”
“That’s enough for now Ken. Move your hands so I can tell exactly where they are.”
“Alright I see them, now spread your arms apart.”
“That’s good, hold them right there. Now Ken I’m going to try and poke a hole in this pod with a piece of drift wood I have here. So you have to hold your arms still. Can you see this?”
“Kind of, I can feel it in my arms.”
“That’s where I’m going to try and punch a hole, ok?”
“Alright, but be careful.”
“Hey, don’t pound that thing into my chest.”
“That’s what I was afraid of, we’re going to have to try something different. How far can you push your arms away from your body?”
“That’s it ay? That’s some kind of strong material, I wonder what it is?”
“I have no idea, but I’m more interested in getting out of here than analyzing the freakishly strong wrapper I’m trapped in.”
“Ok, push your arms out again.”
“That’s good. Ready? Here I go.”
“Ow! Are you trying to kill me? I think I’m bleeding.”
“Sorry about that mate. That was a bit unexpected. But it worked. Now that there’s a little hole I can make it bigger. You’ll be out in just a minute.”
“There we go, can you stand up?”
“Are you alright? I don’t see much blood, is that where I nicked you?”
“It felt a lot worse than it looks. I’ll be fine, but remind me never to trust you again.”
“Any idea how we got here?”
“I was about to ask you the same question.”
“I’m guessing from your accent you’re from Australia.”
“Actually I’m from England. You from the states?”
“Boston, Massachusetts. How old are you?”
“I’m fifteen, how about you?”
“I’m sixteen. So, you really don’t know why we’re here or what we’re supposed do? If you’re pranking me…”
“Not the foggiest. But this fabric we were in is intriguing. Did you notice water never came inside?”
“Of course I noticed that.”
“Whoever put us in these pods and threw us in the water didn’t intend to kill us. It looks like this material was designed to keep us alive. In addition to keeping the water out it had to allow air to flow in – otherwise we would have suffocated. And take a look at this, there are no seams. I wonder how we were sealed inside?”
“And one more thing, take a look right here. Almost the entire pod is flexible, except for this one spot. It’s very brittle, like an egg shell. See how easily it breaks?”
“I see. What does it mean?”
“Hey, look over there what’s that?”
“What? Where are you going? You didn’t answer my question, what does it mean?”
“I’m not sure. Come see this. It’s the fabric of another pod, same exact thing as the ones you and I were in – only this one’s empty. We’re not the only ones here.”
“I don’t see anyone around here, where did he go?”
“There are tracks leading up the beach into the jungle. I don’t see any other signs. Except! Look back past where we were, way over there. I think I see… 1… 2… 3… 4… there’s 5 more pods washed up in the surf over there. And they don’t look empty. We have to go see if we can help.”
…
“Does that look like the head to you?”
“I don’t know, maybe.”
“I have an idea. Let’s get all the pods up out of the water. Help me pick this one up, grab it down there.”
“Why? What’s that going to do?”
“I’m not sure but I have a hunch. You want to lend me a hand?”
“Hang tight in there mate, we’re going to get the others out of the water. We’ll be back to help you get out in a few minutes.”
“Come on, let’s go get the next one.”
…
“What are you doing to me? Where are you taking me? What is going on?”
“Umm, we’re trying to help you. We’re moving you out of the water. There are three others we need to get out of the water, then we’ll be back to help get you out of the pod.”
“Come on Ken, let’s keep moving. Pod number three is over there.”
“Did that sound like a girl to you?”
“Yeah, it did.”
…
“I’m waiting till that big wave passes.”
“Ok, let’s go.”
“Who’s there? Are you friend or foe?”
“We’re trying to help you. We think if we move you out of the water it’ll be easier to get you out of there.”
“I suppose I have no other choice than to trust you.”
“We’ll be back in a few minutes, after we get the other pods out of the water.”
…
“This is pod number four.”
“Hello, anybody home?”
“I think you scared him, or her, speechless.”
“Very funny. Let’s move on.”
…
“Last one. Now that’s done let’s sit down for a second.”
“So, why did we need to move all the pods out of the water? It’s hot out here, wouldn’t it be cooler for them in the water?”
“Yeah you’re right, that black fabric is going to heat up quickly – I’m counting on that; but I didn’t think about how hot it would be on the inside. We’d better hurry back to the first one and help him get out of the pod. Let’s go.”
“Why not start with this one, while we’re here?”
“You remember how hard the pod fabric was on your shoulder? When I tapped on it it made a loud, hollow sound, like it was made of thick plastic?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Well, that was the highest part of your pod out of the water. I think as the pod dries in the sun the fabric hardens, and therefore will be easier to break open. If we go back to the first one we’ll see if my theory is correct. In the meantime this one will have time to harden. Let’s go back to the first pod and see.”