Following the super comments on a recent post, I’m still musing on the process of creating a story; not so much the nuts and bolts of tension, plot and character, but the medley of ideas that drives us to construct a tale. The weekly prompts I’m following, or choosing not to, for flash fiction and bite-sized memoir are bringing this into sharper focus. Normally, I don’t have to dig for ideas and it’s more a matter of waiting for the urge to grab me; now, the set topic gives these unconscious processes a less dominant role. Sometimes the constraint is an aid to creativity, sometimes not, but Wednesday’s challenge on the theme of surprise sparked my interest straightaway. While it was still a struggle to shoehorn my idea into those 99 words – and I’d very much welcome your feedback on how I’ve done it, especially as I’m considering extending it into a longer flash – I had no hesitation in choosing my subject. See what you think, and then I’ll tell you about the background influences of which I’m aware.
Tyres crunching on gravel snapped Mum out of her doze. “Oh, my!”
The grand house loomed ahead. “Do you recognise it?” said my sister.
I parked by the porticoed entrance. Beyond banks of rhododendrons, the lake shimmered. My sister hopped out and opened Mum’s door. “Bet you’re itching to explore.”
Mum stayed put.
“How about tea first?”
Mum didn’t budge.
My sister took her wrinkled hand. “It’s where you were evacuated, remember?” Mum’s tales of wartime escapades were embedded in our childhoods. “It’s a hotel now.” This mini-break, the perfect birthday treat.
Mum was almost retching. “No, please, no.”
Tyres crunching on gravel snapped Mum out of her doze. “Oh, my!”
The grand house loomed ahead. “Do you recognise it?” said my sister.
I parked by the porticoed entrance. Beyond banks of rhododendrons, the lake shimmered. My sister hopped out and opened Mum’s door. “Bet you’re itching to explore.”
Mum stayed put.
“How about tea first?”
Mum didn’t budge.
My sister took her wrinkled hand. “It’s where you were evacuated, remember?” Mum’s tales of wartime escapades were embedded in our childhoods. “It’s a hotel now.” This mini-break, the perfect birthday treat.
Mum was almost retching. “No, please, no.”
I love the way Charli’s prompts are integrated into essays about her writing life, and I’ve built on her quote from a respected manager that “surprises are for birthdays” in a tale about a birthday and the downside of surprise. I can also trace the impact of the various blog discussions about memory and memoir and the speculation that Mum’s tales of her childhood jinks might have had some elements edited out. If you’re following this blog, I’m sure you’ll already have identified the continuation of country house theme, but I’d imagine I’m the only one who can see the link to Paula Daly’s novel, (possibly) set in the Lake District hotel which was part of our family mythology. Another recent blog post connection is, of course, in the stories of war that can’t easily be told but I detect a stronger shadow from the chapter in The Examined Life in which Stephen Grosz takes his father, for his eightieth birthday, to visit the landmarks of his childhood, when the old man continually insists they’ve come to the wrong place.
Mega thanks to all the lovely people who support this blog, whether by reading, commenting and/or retweeting. This post clearly shows how much we rely on those interactions. I’m not sure if I’m at risk of disappearing up my own navel in attempting to address it this way, but perhaps I've got something out of my system and I can just get on with writing. If you can connect with any of this, please let me know via the comments.
Mega thanks to all the lovely people who support this blog, whether by reading, commenting and/or retweeting. This post clearly shows how much we rely on those interactions. I’m not sure if I’m at risk of disappearing up my own navel in attempting to address it this way, but perhaps I've got something out of my system and I can just get on with writing. If you can connect with any of this, please let me know via the comments.
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