Last year I tackled the Freestyle Writing Challenge for the first time. It was a fun way of writing about whatever I wanted (within the topic chosen by the blogger who nominated me, of course) and seeing how many words I could type in a short amount of time. Today, I’m *finally* accepting Sarah J. Higbee’s nomination to take on the Challenge again. Thanks, Sarah!
Here are the rules for the Freestyle Writing Challenge:
- Open an new Microsoft Word document.
- Set a stop watch or timer for 5 or 10 minutes, whichever challenge you think you can beat.
- You topic is at the end of this post, but DO NOT SCROLL DOWN TO SEE IT UNTIL YOU ARE READY WITH A TIMER.
- Fill the Word document with as many words as you can. Once you begin writing, do not stop.
- Do not cheat by going back and correcting spellings and grammar with spell check in Word. This Challenge is only meant for you to reflect on your own control of sensible thought flow, not your ability to write the right spelling and stick to grammar rules.
- You may or may not pay attention to punctuation and capitals. However, if you do, it would be best.
- At the end of your post, write down ‘No. of words =_____’ so that readers have an idea of how much you can write within the timeframe.
- Copy and paste the entire passage on your blog post with a new topic for your nominees, and include these rules with your nominations (at least 5 bloggers).
So, Sarah’s topic for her nominees this time was…
STARS
“Nana, where did the stars come from?”
The old woman looked at her granddaughter and smiled. They were in her backyard, lying on a woven Navajo blanket and staring at the vast night sky. It had become a tradition of sorts for them; whenever the girl came for extended visits, they would spend the first night camping outside, pretending they had traveled to a jungle, the mountains, someplace far away and exciting and dangerous. Or sometimes they would simply would sit outside the tent and talk about… well, anything. Tonight was one of those nights.
The grandmother tickled the girl’s cheek. “They’ve always been there, child. They were there long before I was born, even before your great-grandmother and other ancestors were born. They’re old, very old. As ancient as the spirits in our people’s stories – and some even more so.”
The girl pouted. She shifted to prop her head against her hand, long lack curls falling over her face – curls that were identical to her grandmother’s, except that the grandmother’s had gone moon-white years ago. “But how did they get there, Nana? Who made them? What are they made of?”
The smile on the old woman’s face grew wider, wise and enigmatic. “Magic.”
No. of Words in 10 Minutes: 206
Not too bad, especially for someone who calls herself a slow writer. 🙂
My Nominees for the Freestyle Writing Challenge
As always, it’s up to the nominees whether they’d like to participate in blog tags or writing challenges. But here are the four I’ve picked this time:
- Faith Rivens
- Rebekah L. Hendrian
- Victoria Grace Howell
- YOU – basically, anyone else who’d like to give this Challenge a try! All I ask is that you link back to my post so I can see it when it goes live. 😉
Your topic, should you choose to accept it, is….
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“One door closes, and another one opens”
What did you think of my entry for the Freestyle Writing Challenge? Have you done this blog tag before? If not, do you think you’ll try it?
Original photo credits: Jason Yu (banner)
Sara Letourneau 
This sounds fun! I might try it next week if you don’t mind if I squeeze myself in? 🙂 I haven’t looked at the topic, so I haven’t ruined it 🙂
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Go right ahead! That’s why I left the fourth and final nomination open to all. 😉
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Ooh Sara! This is brilliant! I love your writing style, the flow of your words, the dialogue! It was all so beautiful and stunning! And in just 10 minutes!
I definitely accept this challenge (thanks for tagging me)! I haven’t looked at what the prompt is yet, but I’ve bookmarked this post so I can do it when I have a free moment!
My gosh your prose is enchanting! You have so much talent 🙂 I had to say it again ❤
Thanks for sharing!
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*blushes* Thank you, Faith. I look at it and more or less think about what I could do to improve it – but that’s the perfectionist in me.
You’re welcome! Can’t wait to see what you come up with. 😉
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We’re all like that, aren’t we? Our inner editors never know when to be quiet 😉
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This is cool! Thanks so much for tagging me! I really like the passage you wrote. “moon-white” was such a perfect description. ^ ^
storitorigrace.blogspot.com
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Thanks, Tori! And you’re welcome. I don’t remember seeing you post this challenge before at your blog, so I thought you might like to try something new. 😉
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I haven’t done it. ^ ^
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Brilliant response, Sara! I loved this – you managed to pack a great deal of characterisation and scene setting in your impressive word count:)).
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Thank you, Sarah. 🙂 I’m very happy with it, too. In fact, I think it has the potential to be a short story. Thoughts?
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Yes! I think so, too.
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Wonderful tale you’ve written here, Sara, and in only ten minutes! I’m glad you enjoyed this challenge; it could be the makings of a new story… I really enjoyed doing this last year, writing a humorous piece about Thranduil. 🙂
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Thanks, E.! I kinda like where this story may be going. TKC is still my creative writing priority at the moment, though, so we’ll have to see if anything else comes about with this. 😉
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Nice result of a mere 10 minutes of writing, and I like how you managed to wrap the story up. Of course, it can’t be the end, there could be much more to tell, but the ending doesn’t leave the reader hanging or unsatisfied. Well done! 🙂
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It certainly isn’t the end. 😉 I already have an idea of how to take this further, possibly into a short story. But that’s a “plot bunny” for another time.
Thanks for commenting, Joanna!
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Oh the plot bunnies… Always multiplying, aren’t they?
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Actually, they’ve been well contained for a while (except for a couple new ones). But they all will need to patiently wait their turn. 😉
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