Observations
Life's observations can make wonderful short works. Recently, there was a workshop challenge for a snapshot of an observation. The only requirement was that it could be no more than eight lines. There were to be no concrete nouns either, I think. Now, this was a challenge. For once, you didn't need to convey a whole story. You only wanted to convey an image. I chose a memory of my observing my honey walking away unaware that he was being watched. I remember it like it was yesterday.
A friend of mine was recently at home during the week when some medical treatment disagreed with her. She sought the sunshine and fresh air. Unfortunately, as she sat down, she sat on a bee and got stung. Now, all she needed at that moment was to experience more discomfort, but after the fact, the story was a bit amusing even to her. She felt as if she had sat on a lit cigarette. Only, at the time, she didn't have any cigarettes with her!
While I'm on the subject of bee stings, another friend of mine was in search of tomatoes. The back yard was freshly watered and she was barefoot. She stepped on a bee and got it right between the toes! What a horrible place to be stung!
So, little observations can make great stories. Try it sometime.
A friend of mine was recently at home during the week when some medical treatment disagreed with her. She sought the sunshine and fresh air. Unfortunately, as she sat down, she sat on a bee and got stung. Now, all she needed at that moment was to experience more discomfort, but after the fact, the story was a bit amusing even to her. She felt as if she had sat on a lit cigarette. Only, at the time, she didn't have any cigarettes with her!
While I'm on the subject of bee stings, another friend of mine was in search of tomatoes. The back yard was freshly watered and she was barefoot. She stepped on a bee and got it right between the toes! What a horrible place to be stung!
So, little observations can make great stories. Try it sometime.
posted by Vickie at 4:45 PM
5 Comments:
When I was a kid, I was running spastically in the backyard, as kids will and I ran right into a huge black and yellow bumble bee. I have heard stories that they don't sting, but I can tell you from experience, they do. Got stung right between the eyes. I am somewhat allergic too, so that swelling was really pretty, let me tell you!
lol I guess we all have a bee sting story eh?
I once yard sat for some garden-crazy neighbors - they had a peach tree, complete with rotten peaches all over the ground around it, which call bees. I stepped on one, got stung between the toes, and swelled up so badly - and so quickly - that I could barely make it across the street and into my house.
That shit HURT! And I couldn't walk right for a week.
I haven't been stung in years and fear that any new sting might result in an allergic reaction just because of the way I am.
I'll say the same thing to you that I said to E2, Holy Shit!
I wouldn't want to experience either of those.
Now, at one time, I had a hornet fly into my ear. He had a doozy of a time trying to back his way out of there. And there I was, standing so still.
And, I've had bees become tangled in my hair...
Vickie,
I think that most of my writing usually stems from one significant snapshot or another. Sometimes they are things I actually see, other times simply snapshot images extracted from my over-active mind. In these cases, telling the whole story can bear less of an impact than just giving the observation and letting the reader form the rest of the story.
Of course, I'm no good at knowing where my natural end is, and I tend to tell more than necessary. :)
Funny about the hornet in the ear. That happened to a friend of mine once while we were out on a smoke break at work. She hit the floor in what looked like a grand-mal seizure. Very scary for the moment, but after the paramedics extracted the little bugger it was very funny, indeed!
Brave of you to stand still with something buzzing around in your ear canal. Yikes!
Angie,
I think you actually do better than you think when it comes to your snapshots. I suppose we all need to refine priorities in order to know where the snapshot ends and what is considered extraneous.
I don't even want to think about what that hornet could have done. It usually does seem more humorous after the fact. If it were funny during, can you imagine how many stings some of would have?
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