So here goes – the RULES of this challenge:
1. Open an MS Word document
2. Set a stop watch or your mobile to 5 minutes or 10 minutes whichever challenge you think you can beat.
3. You topic is at the foot of this post BUT DO NOT SCROLL DOWN TO SEE IT UNTIL YOU ARE READY WITH A TIMER.
4. Fill the word doc with as much words as you want. Once you begin writing do not stop.
5. Do not cheat by going back and correcting spellings and grammar with spell check in MS WORD (it is only meant for you to reflect on your own control of sensible thought flow and for you to reflect on your ability to write the right spelling and stick to grammar rules)
6. You may or may not pay attention to punctuation and capitals. However if you do, it would be best.
7. At the end of your post, write down ‘No. Of words =_____’ so that we would have an idea of how much you can write within the time-frame.
8. Do not forget to copy paste the entire passage on your blog post with a new Topic for your nominees and copy paste these rules with your nominations (at least 5 bloggers).
My topic – Blood
I wandered along the corridor, looking forward to spending time with my new best friend – and realised it had been too long since I’d had a chance to sit and relax with another woman just… talking about things. And laughing. When had been the last time I’d laughed?
Which was when I became aware that something wasn’t quite right. As I rounded the corner, the lights didn’t automatically come on. And my knife – the one I keep in my sleeve – was now released and pressing against my wrist, in readiness for whatever. Maybe that was when I caught the first whiff of that thick, coppery smell. Unmistakeable. I don’t remember hitting the door override button. I don’t recall pressing the Alarm. But I’ll always remember seeing her lying in a crumpled heap. Floating in a scarlet pool. I didn’t bother rushing over and checking for a pulse. No one could have survived that slash at her throat. Though judging by her wide-stretched eyes, it wasn’t an easy death.
I felt sick. I felt sad. And angry. And yet… which shows just how twisted I’d become by all that had gone before – excited. Until I’d caught the scent of her blood and the adrenaline kicked in, I hadn’t been aware of just how truly bored I’d been. How disgusting is that? A monster – that’s what I am…
Which was when the security officer burst through the door, yelling at me to put my hands up and babbling some nonsense about
249 words
Many thanks to BibliomanicEzza for nominating me for this Challenge. As I’m still firmly in Editland, it was fun to actually write something other than book reviews or course notes – and when I started and saw the topic, I knew I was meant to do this. The next book in the Jezel Campo novels I’m currently working on, will be a murder mystery set on a space liner and put her on the path to becoming a PI, starting a series of crime novels featuring her as the main protagonist. And the first one? Bloodless, where a woman she befriends while having a go at gee-free dancing, is brutally murdered and she’s first on the scene. I’m not all that happy at what I’ve written – it’s very rough and there isn’t nearly sufficient description or mood music in there. But I obeyed the rules and didn’t add anything or clean it up!
I’m following Bibliomanic-Ezza’s sensible lead and keeping my nominations to three people, however if you want to have a go, even if I haven’t put you on the spot – why not go for it?
Sara Letourneau
Joanna “Melfka” Maciejewska
Drew @ TheTattooedBookGeek
Your topic – Stars
Brainfluff 
ahhh!!! your story was so good! you’re writing crime novels? i can’t wait to read it since my fav ever genre is crime novels 😀
How kind of you to say so! I winced a bit at the roughness… but I obeyed the rules. I mostly write science fiction and fantasy – but I’m just in the editing stage of my final novel in a trilogy I’m self publishing later this year, featuring Jezel. And I’ve really enjoyed the world and writing them, so have decided to continue using the same character – but make her a PI investigating crime in the future. I’m hoping to have the first draft at least started by the end of the year and publish it next year.
nice! i cant wait… your short story made me want more cause i was all like whaaaattt is going on hahahah 😀
Didn’t we do this challenge last year, too? I sort of remember it… and you had nominated me then, too! Your prompt for me was the solar system.
You did a pretty good job for stream-of-conscious typing for 5 minutes. I like the sense of horror – of the crime as well as of herself – that comes through Jezel’s POV, and that disembodied feel of not remembering everything except what her friend’s dead body. Now, if only that security guard would leave her alone, since she’s not the killer! (She isn’t, right?)
And yes, I accept the challenge again. Will let you when it posts! 😉
Oh yes… I remember! Sorry about that. Then it’s very gracious of you to so kindly accept the challenge – AGAIN:)). It was 10 minutes typing – I should have made that clearer, shouldn’t I? I opted for the longer time. And while I didn’t go back and fix any mistakes, I did correct as I go – as a former secretary, I simply cannot continue typing while leaving a trail of mis-spelt, mis-typed words… Although I don’t make all that many mistakes as I go – I was trained on great big manual machines and we used to have to use rubbers to correct any mistakes and more than 2 mistakes in a letter and we had to re-type it. Sounds like something from ancient history, doesn’t it? And, I didn’t cheat – but this idea has been roaming around in my head for a while. And no… Jezel isn’t the killer, though she’ll have to find out who is in order to fully clear her name – and stop feeling so very bored!
*lol* It’s OK! And being a technical writer / editor for a day job, I have a habit of fixing misspellings and typos along the way, too.
By “great big manual machines,” do you mean something older than typewriters? That’s the oldest “technology” I’ve ever used to type on… and that was probably when I was little.
Yes, they were typewriters, but I actually trained on a very heavy manual that had been made in the 1960s. I worked with a golfball machine with my first secretarial job, but we had to type using carbons to produce the copies – photocopiers as they are now hadn’t come in and the xerox machines were both expensive and very unreliable. If you made a mistake typing with three or four carbon copies, you had to use a carbon rubber which almost always smudged. So you HAD to be accurate, or you had to start over and woe betide you if you fell behind and missed the afternoon post!
This is great. Well done – and you’re a former secretary – that’s me now and you’re right, you can’t not backtrack and correct as you type, it’s just an automatic impulse.
Lynn 😀
It was absolutely dinned into you, wasn’t it? But I’m glad, now!
I think I’ll do this tomorrow. It won’t be to late will it? I love free writing challenges. I made my students do them all the time!
As far as I’m concerned, you can do it any time you like – there was quite a wait before I found the time to do mine:).
Uh oh! I only now see the nomination but I’ll take up the challenge (and expose you to some bad rushed English in the process!). Expect the post soon! 🙂
Thank you for doing so:). I emphasise that I took the 10 minutes option for mine… And while I didn’t go back and edit – I did correct as I went.
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