Nonsense Here are just a few ideas and scenes I thought up. They're kinda similar to Anna's lovely Nonsense Poems, only these are mostly prose. I plan on doing this regularly. Feel free to use most of them, if you like (just not word-for-word, of course), except for either of the Hard Truths and Pirate Ships. Hope everyone enjoys, and if anyone thinks they would be a good story idea, let me know (even though I am a tad overloaded ;-) 1-The Game “The bark was rough on Anna’s feet and hands. It rubbed the sores on her heels and toes and made them burn like fire, but she clenched her teeth and ignored it. She grasped the thin branch above her head and, using all her strength, pulled herself onto her feet. Panting heavily, Anna glanced at her surroundings and listened for any noises. Nothing but the wind swayed the branches while she stood high in her tree. Anna sighed and smiled. He hadn’t found her yet.” 2-The Hard Truth “The words that had been spoken hung in the air so clearly that I could have traced them with a paint brush. I would have used bold, black ink.” 3-Pirate Ships “‘Ye see that ship, Antonio?’ I bent over to whisper in his ear, pointing ahead past the ever rolling waves of the gulf. Antonio nodded vigorously, his large black eyes wide, staring in wonder at the ship. I smiled. ‘It be a pirate ship. Have ye heard the story?’ I asked, straightening up again. Antonio tore his eyes away from the boat and looked at me, his brown skin slightly flushed, and shook his head. I patted his ebony hair and sat down in the damp sand, calmly letting the last of the tide wash up under me, beckoning for him to sit in my lap. He did so, his chubby bronze hands clutching my worn, tired fingers. Once he had settled in my lap, I asked quietly, ‘Would ye like to hear it?’ Antonio blinked his long black eyelashes and nodded, stuffing his fingers in his mouth. ‘All right,’ I said. I looked straight ahead at the wooden ship, and delved myself in my own memories. ‘Let’s begin.’” 4-Beginning “The bird fell from an endless sky and landed with a soft thud at her feet. Rihanna scooped the creature up. It blinked its blue eyelids twice, looked up at her face, then fell limp in her hand. It was a mocking bird, with a paper tied in red ribbon around its leg, and an arrow sticking out of its breast, causing blood to spread around its pale belly. Silently pitying the bird, she untied the note from around its leg and read it. Her eyes widened and she looked up at the sky. It had begun.” 5-Woman’s War “The air around me smelled like sweat and fear. I held my sword at the ready and knelt down behind the tangled brush at the edge of the forest, prepared to strike. ‘You all right, Koby?’ asked Andrew, who was beside me. I could hardly see his face behind the cover. I bit my mouth closed and nodded. He persisted. ‘Really! You look like you’ve seen a--’ he never got to finish the sentence. Cries of battle took over the field right outside of where we hid, and Andrew and I both looked ahead. And we charged.” 6-The Girl’s Pony “His mane was spun of gold, his hooves made of iron, and his neigh of a lion’s roar. His shoulders rippled like a golden sea, and his eyes were blue like fine crystal. His trot was that of a dancer’s finest dance, and his tack crafted of a King’s silver. ‘Buuuccckkkyyyy!!!’ cried a small girl. The horse’s head rose up, speckled with gray, and he whinnied.” 7-Ghost Girl “A girl floated above the water. She didn’t look around her; in fact, the only thing that moved was her fingers. Carefully, she sewed a gown, a long gown, a gown that never ended and that never touched the water. She was tinted blue and silver, as was the lake around her. Her cheeks were plump and babyish, and her fingers small and pudgy. Long hair spilled in ringlets to the middle of her back. Upon looking at her, one would guess she was about five or six. But she was older. Far older.” 8-Reading “Have you ever sat down with a book And seen the ink move? Have you ever sat down with a book And seen battles and swordfights? Have you ever sat down with a book And cried for those you had lost? Have you ever sat down with a book And seen the world in a whole different light? I have.” 9-Eagles “I was flying. Flying high. Wings, giant wings, slowly and strongly flapped at each side of me. They were dark, chocolaty brown. The wind numbing my face, I held huge white feathers in front of me as hard as I could. The sky was dark around me, and the stars felt closer than they ever had. The moon was so close I could almost touch it. The eagle called out to its friends. I smiled, even though I was terrified. I could now be a bird rider. Always a bird rider. Or would I tell anyone?” 10-Doors “There was a path of doors, a long one, which was down a very dark hall. Each and every one was locked, but each and every one led somewhere. Led where? Anyone who knew was never seen again.” 11-Julia the Princess “Julia…She had soft brown eyes, fair blond hair and a big smile. Julia…she gave many hugs, never hated, and always loved. Julia…was the most beautiful girl in the world. She lived in Mrs. Reynolds’s Home for the Mentally Challenged.” 12-The Hard Truth 2 “Words licked against my skin and burned, just like the fire that was raging inside my head.” 13-A Bluebird “‘Annemarie,’ my name was called. I heard the voice echo in my head. Was it true? ‘Annemarie,’ it was spoken again. It couldn’t be who I thought it was. ‘Annemarie,’ he came out from the darkness. A smile spread across my lips, and it did his too. His face was worn and wrinkled, and his hair white. His eyes twinkled blue and were filled with wise words that I knew he was waiting to tell. ‘Grandfather,’ I whispered my voice breathless with joy. I ran to him and threw my arms around his neck. He grunted and hugged me hard back. ‘I thought I would die in this accursed forest, Grandfather,’ I said into his jacket. It smelled of cigar smoke and tree bark. ‘I, too,’ he said, his voice seeming stuck. He pulled himself away from me, and we walked out into the moonlit clearing where I had been standing a moment before. He pulled out of his jacket pocket a precious something. He drew his hand out slowly, just to make me wait. I was eager to see. And what was there was a beautiful bluebird. It wasn’t dead, just asleep. I gasped and held my hands out, and he handed it to me. ‘It’s beautiful,’ I whispered, gently stroking the feathers. Grandfather smiled sadly. ‘Something you can remember me by,’ he said. I looked up, alarmed. ‘Wha-what do you mean?’ I asked urgently. ‘My time here is done, Annemarie. I’m an old man now, and my adventures are over. Goodbye, Granddaughter,’ he said. He patted my braided hair and then was gone. The bird woke up, and I soon found myself awake.” 14-Chaos and Death “The sky was red that day, blood red, and the clouds were like black smoke. A woman walked amongst all the bodies that had been wounded or killed, touching the hand of each with a look of sorrow. Some of the men that had sacrificed themselves still lay there, twitching and groaning. The woman knelt beside them and let her fair hair spill around their faces. Carefully, she extracted a small glass bottle of liquid from a pouch on the front of her dress. She slowly let a drop fall into the wound, then held her breath and waited. The men would then breathe normally and rise, thanking the woman and then leaving to their families, or their chests would stop rising and their hands would go cold. In Death. The woman would stand, tears in her eyes, touch their hand, and go to the next body. Chaos was all that was about. These warriors had no armor, only the clothes on their backs and daggers and perhaps a sword, if they were lucky. Chaos and horror.” 15-The Writer’s Weapon “Her pen was swift as she wrote. Her letters were scribbles, so that no one but herself could read them. ‘Now now, Madelyn,’ she often told herself, ‘No one should steal your work.’ She was deep in concentration, her eyes never moving from the page, deep in her own world of fairies, elves and giants, dragons and maidens and knights. While her knight used swords, she used a pen, her best weapon.”
Comments
Thank you!! Do ahead and use
Thank you!! Do ahead and use the Doors ;) I like Beginning too. It actually was inspired when a mocking bird fell from the sky and died only a couple of feet away from me, when we were building a chicken coop in my back yard.
"You were not meant to fit into a shallow box built by someone else." -J. Raymond
9 is my favorite. Oh, and 1.
9 is my favorite. Oh, and 1. :) The end of ten is probably meant to be ominous, but it wouldn't serve as a warning to me; I'd only protest that the worlds beyond were probably so wonderful no one WANTED to return!
I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right. --The Book Thief
I'm glad you like them
I'm glad you like them :)
Maybe they did, maybe they didn't.....Of course, no one knows.....hahaha.
"You were not meant to fit into a shallow box built by someone else." -J. Raymond
7-10 and 15 are my favorites,
7-10 and 15 are my favorites, especially the one about flying. As my username implies, I have a flight fixation
Formerly Kestrel
My favorites were 2, 8, 10,
My favorites were 2, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 15. I love how you set up a story--then bring all our preconcieved ideas crashing down (ie Julia the Princess). The hard truths ones were amazing, espcially number 1!! I have a story idea that's similar to Doors...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
And now our hearts will beat in time/You say I am yours and you are mine...
Michelle Tumes, "There Goes My Love"
Kestrel: I love flying too :)
Kestrel: I love flying too :) I'm glad you like it.
Heather: Thanks so much! I'm so happy with the Hard Truths. I just thought of the first one while reading Inkspell in a tree, and I was practically jumping up and down. :D not a good thing to do in a tree. And I love stories where you have an idea and then it winds up being something completely different.
"You were not meant to fit into a shallow box built by someone else." -J. Raymond
I think my favourites are 7,
I think my favourites are 7, 9 and 10. I especially like ten because I've always toyed a bit with the idea of worlds hidden behind doors. And I agree with Anna, the end may be meant to be cautionary, but I'd still like to try every one of those doors. :)
love, love, love them!
These are all fantastic! My faves are 2, 4, 10, 11, and 12. :-) Beginning is so intruiging (and sad...poor bird!), I think you should definitely make something out of it. I look forward to see what may come of some of these.
Katie:-)
"Are all humans like this? So much bigger on the inside?"
-Idris/TARDIS
nifty
I liked almost every single one of these, I have to say... Reading them all in order was like rapid-fire inspiration!! I think my favorites were some of the shorter ones, like Doors, the Hard Truths, and Beginning. I liked how all of these were pretty open-ended, leaving my imagination spinning with what might come after.
Tamerah: I've always thought
Tamerah: I've always thought about that sort of thing too :) Thanks!
KatieSara: Thanks! I'm planning on making something out of Beginning or Pirate Ships (and at least the first Hard Truth will be a line in my bestselling novel ;-)
Hannah: Thanks so much! Those are my favorites too, along with Pirate Ships (I have a pirate obsession....) I love open-ended endings. I'm glad you were inspired!
"You were not meant to fit into a shallow box built by someone else." -J. Raymond
...
I LOVE both of the Hard Truths, and Chaos and Death. And um... would it be all right if, some time in the future, I used the Doors idea? Obviously, this is your thing so don't feel obligated. And (not to overload you) the Beginning one could be a good story, I bet.
"I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth. Then I ask myself the same question." - Harun Yahya