Dreamweavers' Guildmistress
15 years ago
Dreamweavers' Guildmistress
Dreamscape Artist
Challenge one (6/11/08)
DESCRIPTIONS
Part 1: Describe your lounge room (or something else as simple and well known to any person) in half a page.
Part 2: Introduce a person to the lounge room, but aim for a mood that is opposite to the one you created in the first part.
I enter the lounge room, or more accurately now, the computer room. The room is rather drab, with a dark and peeling beige paint on the walls, some patches just plain gyprock waiting to be painted, from over five years ago. The cream curtains, rather plain looking are slightly dusty, the lace curtain getting dirtier as time goes on. There’s no real place to sit down at the moment, as the two lounges are covered in drop sheets, from when I went away, and they did the room a little. The lounges are old too- one of them was the bed/lounge from my bunk bed a few years back, and the other we’ve had for as long as I can remember. It’s grey with little yellow and pink decorative lines on it. It looks like it could have come from the eighties or nineties. The ironing board takes up the corner right beside this computer, jutting out slightly in the doorway. The TV cabinet stands in the corner behind the chair I’m sitting in, and is also grey- the top part of it, and the bottom cupboard, are filled with a lot of stuff from over the years. Beside the old Samsung TV my brother has his playstation two. There us an old brown bean bag sitting in the middle of the room, doing absolutely nothing but get in the way and be a rather soft and flexible table This room was once used frequently- we’d all sit in here and watch TV, but now it belongs to my brother and me. About three years ago we built the extension to the house, when we renovated and built the second-storey. To make a new lounge room, we knocked down the wall between my room and my brother’s.
My brother’s just entered the room. Three guesses what he’s going to do. And sure enough he takes his seat in front of the television, and starts up his game. The room had been peaceful, and almost antique, but now it happens to be a room filled with noise, conflicting with my peaceful music. He completely ignores me, of course unless he wants me to get him something, or to check for a cheat online. But he also can be kind- he’s gone and brought me chocolate before when he’s gone to get some himself. I guess he has his moments of being selfish like the rest of us, but even with he’s game he gets rather bored- he quite often can be found either bribing or blackmailing me into playing the game with him. And still his silence continues to ring out, the only sound I can hear being my typing, the lullaby playing and the game’s sound effects…
My lounge room is very bright and airy. It is seemingly quite small, but very spacious if you use the room well. It contains a large bay window that allows me to spy on the neighbours when I’m sitting on the lounge. Not much goes on in the lounge room; it is quite inferior to the dining room. I don’t spend much time in the lounge room, nor does anyone else, so it has an air of neglect about it. Though that doesn’t necessary mean it’s disused.
My lounge room has soft wool carpet that rubs against your skin when you lay on it. It is new carpet, and so it smells a little like plastic. Although an accumulation of dirt has began to appear in the corner where my cat usually resides, it is still relatively clean, though homely.
There is a brown wooden coffee table in front of the blue and yellow lounge which is usually covered with magazines of elastic bands. Beside the table are two large blue beanbags which are not regularly used. They are usually squashed in the corner next to the old wooden chess table that is covered in old sticky residue of something best forgotten.
Adjacent from the coffee table is a large dark brown cupboard. It is full of DVD’s and Videos which are not regularly used. The cupboard is quite dusty and smells like wet wood, as it is an antique.
In the corner of the room is a large stained brown cupboard with a plasma TV sitting on top of it. The television is fairly new and looks out of place in the room. Underneath there is another shelf, which contains the Xbox and video player. They sit quite comfortably in the space provided for it.
My sister has now entered the lounge room and has closed the blinds. She has pulled out the Xbox from the shelf and has unwound the controller. She has begun playing “Jade Empireâ€, which has taken her interest for the past two weeks. She has almost finished. After killing an assassin she leaps up off the lounge. This brings life into the room, a rare occurrence. My sister is a naturally loud person, so whenever she enters the derelict room she brightens its spirit, enlivens it.
I sigh and walk out and down the hallway.
Wanderer Ward
15 years ago
Wanderer Ward
Dreamscape Artist
Part 1: Describe your lounge room (or something else as simple and well known to any person) in half a page.
I chose to describe a bedroom.
The room had a sunny atmosphere that had nothing to do with the beaming streams of light cascading through the open window. A slight breeze ruffled the edges of the many posters and photographs displayed lovingly on the happy yellow walls. A whirring sound hummed around the room, creating soft undercurrents to the playful birdsong that drifted in from outside. It did not contradict the sounds of nature, but rather complimented them – the fish’s way of communicating with the outside world.
On the desk beside the tank laid a pile of books, shielding the fish from the warming light of the sun. Physics, chemistry, engineering and biology – the room was clearly that of an academic. The books were pristine, stacked proudly and neatly, as shiny as the day they were first presented to the occupant of the room. A worn journal lay open on the desk, the pages filled with writing from a tidy hand. A stray ant wandered across the page, crawled up the side of a small pot, and disappeared amongst the multiple stems of a green succulent plant which was dutifully drinking in the tending sunlight.
A silver music stand stood against one wall, the thick, light blue music book revealed the piece “Reverie (for flute)†composed by Claude Debussy. The black notes of the piece floated across the page and seemed to connect mysteriously to the flute, set up and sitting patiently on the cream carpet, waiting for its owner to return to her practice.
Opposite the floor where the flute quietly lay, was a bookshelf. It did not seem to fit in with the rest of the room, so ordered and clean. The bookshelf overflowed. Ornaments once carefully spread out and arranged for exhibition were standing cramped together, their living quarters stolen by the books that had been gradually yet inevitably taking over. Kate Forsyth, Robin Hobb, Sara Douglass, David Eddings – the names of many fantasy authors jumped out loudly, jostling for attention.
An enormous stack of CDs created a pillar-like music library, leaning tentatively against the bookshelf. The genres were broad – classical, metal, pop, alternative – but no country. The owner of the CDs put her foot down at that. At the top of the mountain of CDs, a lone photo frame perched precariously – the smiling girl and the laughing dog it featured were unaware of their dangerous location. They grinned at the room, oblivious to the possibility of a devastating fall.
In the corner of the room was a queen-sized bed. A thin purple blanket was spread upon it, bearing not a single crease. A stuffed toy sat between the two pillows arranged symmetrically at the head of the bed. An owl, soft downy fluff covered its little rounded body. It appeared to be the overseer of this room of learning. Its gaze resided over everything, yet if it had any opinion; it kept it wordlessly inside its stuffed head.
Part 2: Introduce a person to the lounge room, but aim for a mood that is opposite to the one you created in the first part.
A scruffy looking boy entered the room and looked around with disinterest - the same kind of indifference he displayed in his appearance. His lips formed a snide and malevolent smile as he noted the toy owl, revealing crooked yellowing teeth. Unhealthy teeth – despite his young age. His fair hair was greasy and hung in clumps over his cruel ice blue eyes. Tanned skin covered his wiry frame, occasional smudges of dirt indicated that he spent much of his time outside. His feet were bare and where he trod, stains of brown marked the pale carpet. There would be anger about that later.
The boy wore a loose grey flannelette shirt and navy shorts. The dark colours of his clothing contradicted the previously happy brightness of the room in which he stood. His presence changed the room. Books once proud of their prominent position seemed afraid, wishing only to be left unnoticed by this invader. They withered, like a dying plant, carelessly abandoned to the whims of the elements. The CDs changed from being a lovingly created extensive collection, to uniform nothingness. The creativity and learning that was the ambiance of the room was lost on the boy.
He crossed over to the desk in the corner of the room. The fish continued swimming in their tank, trapped. The boy watched them for a moment before turning on his heel, grinding dirt deeper into the carpet. He flopped onto the bed with all the grace of a thrashing fish on land. The blanket crumpled around his weight. The boys gaze was directed at the opposite wall, the wardrobe. A collage of photos and other images covered the three sliding doors. The boy knew it had taken his sister days to create this patchwork of memories. He thought it had been a complete waste of time. Sneering he rose. There was nothing here of interest to him.
At the door, he met his sister. She looked up at him, but did not speak. He knew she had given up speaking to him long ago. She stepped aside, a pained expression knitting her fine eyebrows together. The boy ignored her and continued through the door, questing once more for some entertainment. He paused at the end of the hall, listening. He heard the door of his sister’s room close, and shortly after, the voice of a warbling flute could be heard. A waste of time...
---------------------------------------------------------------------
I found part two a lot harder than part one. I think I need to work on my character descriptions. Thanks for coming up with this writing challenge, Lioness. Now I know one of the areas I need to work on.
You're welcome, Kaede :) i hope these help everyone, inlcuding myself lol.
---------------------------
Challlenge 1:
Lounge Room description:
The living room: organized chaos. Clothes hang on coat hangers along the bookshelf and by the TV cabinet. The out-of-tune piano is half-buried under accumulated junk and refuse. The lounge itself is tired and sagging, barely holding itself together, covered with a faded sheet. The bright pillows fail to bring colour to the room, instead looking tacky and out of place. The mat covering the tiles is the only modern addition to the room, plush and soft, a deep blue only partially hidden by empty washing baskets, toys and muddy footprints.
Introducing a persona…
She flew into the room in a twirl of skirts and bloom of colour and light, full of joy and freedom. The room felt more alive with her there, a sentient thing that embraced the glorious vision in its centre with the gentleness of a dew drop on a rose petal. Her laughter rang with abandon, infectious and beautiful to behold. It was music that resonated within the deepest well of your soul, striking a responding tune that was irresistible. Pure delight.
Mystic Guilden
15 years ago
Mystic Guilden
Mage
Challenge one (6/11/08)
DESCRIPTIONS
The lounge room, though cold, was open and inviting. Light filled every corner as the sun set behind the hills. Peach coloured beams, amplified by the many windows, played across the cream walls, bringing the sunset indoors. The wooden dining setting was reminiscent of a farm house, while the couch and recliners were more modern in their black leather covers. Equally black frames held intricate pictures of native plants, similar to the ones growing outside the wide panelled windows. It would seem that this collection of items would clash if put together in a space, but instead, they all contributed to the homely feel of the room. A place for everything, and everything in its place, including the odd pile of mess here and there. It was a family room, a lived in room.
There was a cough behind me, and I was embarrassed to realise I had drifted off again. I turned to the woman behind me, her blonde hair sleeked back to near perfection. Brown eyes studied me with cold calculation over designer glasses. Her presence seemed to suck the colour from the room, making it as bleak and grey as her suit. No doubt it too was designer, or tailor made, whichever the higher income earners were choosing these days. I couldn’t imagine such a cold lonely soul inhabiting the rooms I had grown up in. It seemed that, given time, the house would grow cold around her; that the sun would set and refuse to rise again. She was the end of my world, and yet, I was the one signing it over to her.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
This was a fun task. I struggled with parts of it, as i tend to over 'describe' one moment and under describe the next. :P
Dreamweavers' Guildmistress
15 years ago
Dreamweavers' Guildmistress
Dreamscape Artist
Challenge Two:
“Merrina! What are you doing?†Harinnia asked impatiently.
“What does it look like Harinnia?†she retorted sharply. “I’m doing my homework, unlike some people,†she said emphasizing her point by glaring at Harinnia.
Harinnia shifted uncomfortably where she sat. “I don’t have time to do it right now. I’m waiting for Cedric to get in…â€
“Why are you waiting for him? You know he’s going out with Lilly!†Merrina cried exasperated. “You don’t stand a chance right now! If you don’t leave him alone, he’s going to think you’re stalking him, and then you’ll have no chance whatsoever. Just leave him alone, and if you’re meant to be with him, it’ll happen.â€
Harinnia sat glumly thinking of a response to what her friend had said, knowing full well everything she had spoken was true. “I know, but I can’t help it. I feel as if he won’t notice me if I don’t make him. And maybe if I don’t help him to notice me, we won’t end up together if we’re meant to,†she sighed. “Why is love so tough?â€
“I don’t know Harinnia, but maybe I’ll find out the hard way at some point.â€
“Yeah, right. You know that Daniel’s completely in love with you, and always has been. You don’t have to wait for love, or look for it: all you’ve got to wait for is a proposal…†Harinnia pointed out.
“Which won’t be any time soon!†Merrina snapped at her.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I was you- this is our last year at school after all, and he seems to be getting really nervous lately…â€
“Of course he’s getting nervous- our exams are coming up! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to bed!†she said, getting out of her seat and taking her books with her in a huff.
“Fine, I’ll be up in a minute…â€
Dreamweavers' Guildmistress
15 years ago
Dreamweavers' Guildmistress
Dreamscape Artist
Challenge Three:
Two Elements
Your piece must have an ant involved in the middle. A character is disoriented throughout most of the plot/writing.
Jenna ran through the trees blindly, not pausing for breath. She was running, she knew that: the lack of breath in her lungs, the spend things were passing by told her that. But why, she wasn’t entirely sure. She’d been having a great time at her graduation party, when everything went black. Usually you’d think people would scream in sudden darkness right after having such a merry time. She’d felt someone lying on the ground, but she couldn’t tell who it was, what had happened or if they were alive. She had fled through the front door when she’d heard someone nearby, their breath jagged, menacing. The forest had seemed the logical place to go at the time, and so now that she was fairly deep inside, she paused in the forest, sitting on a log to catch her breath. A wave of peace settled over her, as she watched a single ant go about searching for food on the rock at her feet. Just watching the ant gave her energy, and so when she finally stood she was renewed and ready to run some more, away from whatever it was that caused the darkness. Leaving the ant behind to continue it’s work, Jenna set off at a steady pace, aiming towards the middle of the forest to where she knew she would be able to find someone who knew most things. Maybe there she’d be able to find the answers she was looking for, maybe even find more strength to continue and go back and face the darkness for the sake of her friends.
Dreamweavers' Guildmistress
15 years ago
Dreamweavers' Guildmistress
Dreamscape Artist
Challenge Four
I couldn't think of very many words, but here it is:
Glittering
Shimmering
Glistening
Sparkling
Twinkling
Shining
Dappled
Dazzling
15 years ago
Fri Jan 09 2009, 03:16pm
Challenge Five (8/1/09)
A-Z
****
Another beautiful cockatoo delighted everyone for gold. His incredibly Jewish keeper loved money. Now other people queued round side-streets. This unfortunately vexed Warren's xanthippe young zookeeper.
****
Wow, that's hard! And yes, "xanthippe" is a word... look it up.
Mystic Guilden
15 years ago
Mystic Guilden
Mage
Well done, and it actually makes sense :D
Thank you for providing me with ten of the most frustrating minutes of my life. :P
Dreamweavers' Guildmistress
15 years ago
Dreamweavers' Guildmistress
Dreamscape Artist
Writing Response Challenge Five
A-Z
A brown cat dived elegantly from Gemma’s highly inviting Jacuzzi, kept labourlessly metres, nearly obstructing people queued round shiny trinkets underneath velvet waist-height xylophones’ (of yew) zodiac.
This one was really hard to do. Some bits don’t quite make sense. It’s a bit random to read. I had trouble finding a j-word, followed by a k-word, which made some sense. But then again, it’s crazy and random like me.
15 years ago
Thu Jan 15 2009, 11:35am
Here's my attempt:
After being called, Dana entered Felicia's green-house. "I just know loving Michael's not optional, pet." quibbled racist Samantha.
"That's untrue!" vexed Wilma "Xenophobe, you're zany."
Wanderer Ward
15 years ago
Wanderer Ward
Dreamscape Artist
I've been a bit slack with these!
Challenge Three (5/12/08) Early because I wont be home Sunday- Supplied by Anon
Two Elements
Your piece must have an ant involved in the middle. A character is disoriented throughout most of the plot/writing.
Remember a new task will be up again in two weeks, but you can still go back and try out an old task if you missed it.
Bonus Fortuna!
The gum leaves swished and waved,
Their secrets known by none,
A small boy pondered and craved,
For the knowledge so hard won.
The little boy sighed and frowned,
As a magpie chortled overhead,
His black and white head was crowned,
With sunlight tinged with red.
The boy didn’t have an epiphany,
His head was muddled and confused,
A nearby ant called testimony,
The boy’s brain was rarely used.
The gum tree leaves continued to sway,
The brown bark curled up the trunk,
The boy knew there would be no way,
With the tree’s secrets would he ever bunk.
He yawned and stretched his leg,
Through his confusion he was able to find,
An inner peace for which many beg,
He allowed his thoughts to unwind.
That's a really bad poem I wrote when I was half asleep! ~:|
Wanderer Ward
15 years ago
Wanderer Ward
Rebel
Challenge Four (17/12/08) Supplied by Lioness
WORD BANK
Choose a word (adjectives are easiest, Eg.'walk'). Then write down as many words as possible that you can think of that could be used in place of that word.
distant.
far-away/remote/far-flung/isolated/secluded/far/removed/beyond range/yonder/outlying
Challenge Five (8/1/09) - Supplied by Anon.
A-Z
Create a piece/story. The rule, however, is that your first word must begin with A, the second with B and so on through the alphabet, attempting to get through all 26 letters in order.
A Bad Cat Didn't Eat Fish. Gerald Hated Ingesting Jellyfish, Koi, Lamprey... Maybe Nancy Observed Preferences Quite Rightly. She Tried Unsucessfully Vying With Xanthic Yearling Zorro.
Its a story about one woman and her very fussy cats. Xanthic means yellowish btw.
Challenge Six (17/2/09) - Supplied by Arwen.
Create your own tongue twister.
Ok- this is my best attempt at a tongue twister... Lully is a place in Switzerland btw ;)
Molly said sorry for the lorry for in her folly Molly lost her lorry in Lully.
Dreamweavers' Guildmistress
15 years ago
Dreamweavers' Guildmistress
Dreamscape Artist
Challenge Six (17/2/09)
Okay, I've done a couple, but they're not very good.
Julie just jumped dutifully and joyfully with Juliet to Jambaroo.
Sarry and Harry said no to Barry, when he offered to parry with Larry, before Harry tarried and asked Sarry for marriage.
Dreamweavers' Guildmistress
14 years ago
Dreamweavers' Guildmistress
Dreamscape Artist
Challenge seven (30-04-09)
I have a white box. It is 5cm square. It is light and rattles just a little when you pick it up. It holds something precious to me though others might not see it as such.
The challenge is to write about what is in the box.
Picking up the little white box sitting on the dressing table beside me, I wonder what’s inside, what’s so precious that it would be kept in such a box, very much like a jewellery box, with a top that lifts off and a glossy sheen painted over the white. I pick it up gently, speculating when it rattles slightly. What could it be? Perhaps… I open it gently to find out. And yes, it must be. From the rattling I knew it couldn’t be a lock of hair by itself, but with something else that people find precious, it could have been. And it was. In the box, resting on a piece of cream velvet is a bronze lock of hair. I don’t touch it because it would have to be old and the only one left from then, but I can tell from its texture it was soft. Beside it is a little tooth, pearly white, perfect, without a notch. A baby tooth. Perhaps from one of her children. To others it would have no value, but its value is sentimental, priceless. It can’t be replaced, but it can be preserved, at least for a time. I understand the feeling, to an extent, of joy one would feel in preserving something to prove that there was a time when their child was little.
This one was a really interesting one to try and do: thanks Deb :D
Mystic Ward
14 years ago
Mystic Ward
Twentyfamilies Gypsy
Nice response too Arwen. Thats so sweet.
14 years ago
Sat May 16 2009, 10:18pm
Challenge seven (30-04-09)
I have a white box. It is 5cm square. It is light and rattles just a little when you pick it up. It holds something precious to me though others might not see it as such.
The challenge is to write about what is in the box.
[ligne][/ligne]
There it sits. On my table, glimmering in the sunlight. Almost blinding me. My little white box.
Reminding me of when he left. No, not left, died.
A tear rolls down my cheek, it was forbidden, but I am just a farmer’s brat. It should not have mattered. But it did. My father refused. Why did he want me to be so high up? To be married to a Lord?
My father is walking down the corridor. I can hear him. Clomp, clomp, clomp. The lone tear suddenly is not so lonely anymore.
When my father enters the room he is blurry, as if I am looking through the rain, or tears.
‘Evanna!’ he calls grumpily, ‘Stop!’ He snatches at my box. I grasp wildly, trying to get my box.
‘Evanna, listen to me.’
‘Yes, father.’ I reply meekly, scared he is going to take my box away.
‘Lord in waiting, Arth is coming.’ Great! Another suitor, you would think I was a princess the way he goes on.
‘You need to get ready.’ He looks at me in disgust. My torn and grubby clothes not pleasing him.
‘Yes father.’ He drops my box and storms out my room. Shutting the door.
But I am not going to get ready; I am going to stay in my rags. My grass stained clothing, men’s clothing. I do not like ‘Lord in waiting’ Arth so I shall not do anything. Even if I did like him I would not change. If he loves me he shall love me the way I am. He did.
Gently I pick up my box and shake it. It rattles, something inside banging on the edges. I fiddle with the latch; it springs open at my touch. I pick up the slightly scratchy cord and place it around my neck. I fiddle with it until it sits in place.
Carefully I pick up the ‘pendent’ on my cord. It is round and dented. A tiny shard of quartz is implanted on the top. I notice alittle bit of rust. Not a possession anyone else would want. It only has meaning to me. A handmade ring.
I clasp it in my hands tightly remembering the day he had asked me to marry him.
Father would never have allowed it. But it seemed perfect, a farmer’s brat and an outlaw.
I kiss the ring gently, for a moment I believe he is here kissing me back. But he is gone. Dead.
Quickly I climb out the window, with my most important possession. My ring.
[ligne][/ligne]
mmmmm, i hope you like it.
Mystic Ward
14 years ago
Mystic Ward
Twentyfamilies Gypsy
Not bad at all Shad, needs a little editing but a really good effort. I should post up my story for this one soon.
14 years ago
Tue May 26 2009, 01:28pm
Challenge seven (30-04-09)
I have a white box. It is 5cm square. It is light and rattles just a little when you pick it up. It holds something precious to me though others might not see it as such.
The challenge is to write about what is in the box.
[ligne][/ligne]
Tiny, white and scuffed. I could have thrown it out but that faded case is as bound to what it holds as is memory. I attempt to get the lid off through some clumsy pulling - cardboard seems ill fitted but strong. The lid pops off and therein lies a deviously transparent, small, lego 'glass' - factually plastic - cup.
Its quite the prize. My little town's people shared it around themselves 3 times a year in between disastrous floods created by the worldly forces of my own cup of water. Sometimes the expectant rivers would be dyed orange or mimic in taste and sight - milk. Much to the disgust of the greater giants that guided and often ruled the great cup holder. Needless to say the chalice provided a small relief for the ordinary saviours of pokemon. These large and powerful beasts otherwise abounded happily.
The little glass cup is just another reminder of those small scale - mishaps of a story.
Mystic Ward
14 years ago
Mystic Ward
Twentyfamilies Gypsy
nice Paperwings. I like that, very lyrical
aww, thats very cute - hmmm |:| you dont mind me saying that do you?
i like it, so much simpler than mine.