4 - Style - week 2

 Objective

In other parts of the Specialization, exercises focus more narrowly on one or another aspect of the story as a form. Meantime, this short assignment should help dispel any notions you may have that the ability to compose a piece of fiction is some kind of mystic gift. Of course, we can hope to improve them, but just getting one on the page does not require an advanced degree. We all tell stories all the time. Just write one. It will be fun, and it will be agony.

Assignment

Write a short story, complete with beginning, middle, end, characters, setting, plot, the whole shebang—in approximately 600 words. For reasons I’ll explain later, it’s important to keep it very close to 600 words, not much more, or much less.

Focus on writing with nouns and verbs—with people and things and what they do. Remember that a story at its basis is an imitation of action. Convey that action on the page with nouns and verbs.

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The kid was sobbing; the tears ran down to his cheeks. The cheeks were red and hot. He could feel the cold tears evaporating themselves at the touch of his cheeks. The grandma hugged her only grandchild and spin he to her. The brothers and sisters were carrying the first coffin. The mother, also known as the witch who healed all, had a body visible enough to see her face. The kid was unable to see his mother with a scar above her head. It was small but etched strongly in the boy's mind. The father was unrecognizable, the tall and strong man, the wizard of many politicians and businessmen, the master of reality. The grandpa cast a spell to change the form of his son-in-law. His grandson did not deserve to bear the image of his father, even in death.

After the funeral and back home, the family and friends wanted to have a reunion. The grandpa let them be and do something in the house of their daughter and son-in-law. However, Mister Maciel and Grandma Lala took their grandson back to their own home. Grandma was furious, a master in clairvoyance, unable to see the future, unable to provide for her daughter. The grandchild went to their grandparents' bed and fell asleep.

The grandpa sat at the kitchen table, and Grandma walked from the dorm with her hands on her chest.

— We can still bring them back. I can ask for bodies. We can explain to Hodas. He will surely accept and provide some blood. You and I can provide the rest of the blood. A call from past and future. I can acquire a body. The assistant of the president told me…

— NO, WOMAN! NO. I won’t make my own daughter a zombie, and that man had become a son of my own. He was a dumb boy who loved our daughter like no one else. We don’t kill, and we do not bargain with death. You know these family rules. It is our command...

— IT IS MY DAUGHTER! I do not even need you; I can easily send for her soul and find a recipe. It is mine. It is his mother. Our stupid commands. What good do they have? I can summon angels and demons. They will bring my daughter back.

The grandpa took his hand to his chest and started crying. The grandmother was furious and raised her hand to the air. She had a solution. He was destroyed. She was too but did not accept.

— Lala. Please. Please. All our family legacy will be it. My mother and father stopped being the guardians of this family after the death of Jazz. You and I are too weak, and if we lose the rest of time or power in trying to bring them back, we are not going to provide for him. He needs us.

The grandma was about to cry. She went from the kitchen into the living room and threw herself onto the brown couch. The woman knew that this was all. She now needs to become a mother to a little boy. The role of grandma just disappeared next to her daughter.

— Maciel. We need to train him. Normally, parents teach magic to their sons.

— We need to be there for him, even if he decides to stop our traditions.The kid was sobbing; the tears ran down to his cheeks. The cheeks were red and hot. He could feel the cold tears evaporating themselves at the touch of his cheeks. The grandma hugged her only grandchild and spun him around. The brothers and sisters were carrying the first coffin. The mother, also known as the witch who healed all, had a body visible enough to see her face. The kid was unable to see his mother with a scar above her head. It was small but etched strongly in the boy's mind. The father was unrecognizable, the tall and strong man, the wizard of many politicians and businessmen, the master of reality. The grandpa cast a spell to change the form of his son-in-law. His grandson did not deserve to bear the image of his father, even in death. After the funeral and back home, the family and friends wanted to have a reunion. The grandpa let them be and do something in the house of their daughter and son-in-law. However, Mister Maciel and Grandma Lala took their grandson back to their own home. Grandma was furious, a master in clairvoyance, unable to see the future, unable to provide for her daughter. The grandchild went to their grandparents' bed and fell asleep. The grandpa sat at the kitchen table, and Grandma walked from the dorm with her hands on her chest. — We can still bring them back. I can ask for bodies. We can explain to Hodas. He will surely accept and provide some blood. You and I can provide the rest of the blood. A call from past and future. I can acquire a body. The assistant of the president told me… — NO, WOMAN! NO. I won’t make my own daughter a zombie, and that man had become a son of my own. He was a dumb boy who loved our daughter like no one else. We don’t kill, and we do not bargain with death. You know these family rules. It is our command... — IT IS MY DAUGHTER! I do not even need you; I can easily send for her soul and find a recipe. It is mine. It is his mother. Our stupid commands. What good do they have? I can summon angels and demons. They will bring my daughter back. The grandpa took his hand to his chest and started crying. The grandmother was furious and raised her hand to the air. She had a solution. He was destroyed. She was too but did not accept. — Lala. Please. Please. All our family legacy will be it. My mother and father stopped being the guardians of this family after the death of Jazz. You and I are too weak, and if we lose the rest of time or power in trying to bring them back, we are not going to provide for him. He needs us. The grandma was about to cry. She went from the kitchen into the living room and threw herself onto the brown couch. The woman knew that this was all. She now needs to become a mother to a little boy. The role of grandma just disappeared next to her daughter. — Maciel. We need to train him. Normally, parents teach magic to their sons. — We need to be there for him, even if he decides to stop our traditions.