Yup! And it kept coming for a while yet D: They're calling it the polar vortex and I really need Canada to tell the polar bears to stay up North. I'm glad you're not feeling the freeze though
I'm so glad someone can relate, even if it's kind of petty to want others to get this feeling lol. I've found that walks, rest, some good relaxation and medicine cocktails really do the trick for me. It's similar to how I feel when I get stressed about a really big paper or spend all night editing one of my short stories, but on a much larger scale. That and now I feel so pressured to make my writing at least decent seeing as all the people that have helped me out so far deserve better than me at my best, you know?
You know it's pretty hilarious and weird that we have exactly the same method of getting over writers block/fatigue!! Everything you've mentioned is exactly what I do, even down to the process of how I do it, when trying to get back into the swing of things 0o0 I have a little AtPF dump where I just plot the over all story. Sometimes I write bits and pieces and even one shot AUs for it there when I get stuck or am trying to figure a character/scene/major plot point out. I've found it extremely helpful.
No, it's fine, I'm always random lol It was insightful and just the boost I needed when I read it when you first posted it, and now. Thanks for commenting
Woah, we have the same technique?! Didn't know that! When I first posted that, I realized after that I might be accidentally spamming you(since it didn't have much to do with the topic...), but it looks like I didn't, so that's good.
I think that's interesting, about how you believe people deserve more than you at your best. Personally, I think people would be fine with you at your best as long as your best has a good writing style. That's what I think, anyway. Just try not too push yourself too hard- then, people might not get you at your anything!
I actually saw the drabble a little after you posted it, too, but I realized "It's late at night. I can make a better comment in the morning"...and then I didn't get the chance to comment at all the next day. XD Sorry about that!
Oh, and just because I didn't get any snow doesn't mean it wasn't freezing cold! Seriously, it was 0-20 degrees for about a week! Good thing I have a hat. It has dog ears on it, too. Aww...
Ok, on to the drabble!
First, little nitpicks/typos:
Didn't really like the cursing bits, since I don't like cursing in the first place and I try to avoid it when I can as a general rule.
I meant there as in in the present, what steps had lead me to sitting in my final semester of high school English with nothing to say on our final paper.
You might want to italicize "there"; make it stand out a little more. Italicizing "there" in the second sentence(of the whole drabble, not just this bit) might be a good idea, too. Also, "present" doesn't seem like quite the right word here, but I'm not quite sure what word would be better. Hmmm...
So after a whole semester of focusing in on short stories, allegory
"Allegory" should be plural since "short stories" is plural("...of focusing on short stories,
allegories...")
You see my teacher was one of those non-conventional English types that took great glee in tormenting her students by giving them unusual and, quite frankly, ridiculous prompts. So after a whole semester of focusing in on short stories, allegory, all that garbage really... she decided it was a good idea to make our final exam completely unrelated.
Although you mention the essay a little later, I think you should mention it here. When you bring it up later, it seems to come out of nowhere, and it takes a minute to connect the essay to the final. You might want to consider something like "...our final exam completely unrelated-
an essay with one of her telltale ridiculous prompts" or "...students by giving them
essays with unusual and, quite frankly, ridiculous prompts." I understand though- you only have a limited number of words, if I recall. Also, comma after "see"("You see, my teacher...")
I couldn't help but be floored at how quickly my buddies in class...
"Buddies in class" is slightly redundant. I would say either just "buddies" or change it to "classmates"
But, for me at least, I thought myself ahead of the curve. Play hard, no work, ladies begging to be with me.
I would add a comma after "me" and take out the one after "but"("But for me, at least...") since that flows a little better. Also, you might want to say "as for me" instead of just "for me".
Perfect!
Since all the other "one word paragraphs"(so to speak) are all sarcastic, I don't recommend having one that's not. The reader(i.e me) expects a sarcastic undertone, but the protag seems to be serious here. So, you should probably make this part a little longer; something like "Sounded like the perfect life for me!", "Seemed like a great career choice!", etc. would fit better. I know you have a word limit, though, so it makes since why it's only 1 word.
When I hit middle school though,
Should be a comma after "school"("When I hit middle school, though,..."). Once again, flow.
All my friends had it figured out then and I was left day dreaming with me, myself and I.
I think you should be a little more specific. The friends had figured out what? Deductive reasoning says they figured out what they wanted to do with their lives, but I think you should say that directly in the sentence. Something like "All my friends had figured out
their passion by then..."(note: I took out the "it" after "had") or something similar would be a little better.
By the way, I love that "I was left day dreaming with me, myself, and I." line.
Why was it that the almighty me, who had everything mapped out, suddenly found themselves wrapped up...
"Themselves" should be "myself" since "me" is singular here. Or, if you want to have "me" as a separate entity(
hey look that rhymes), you can use "itself".
wrapped up with that daunting question of...
"Ten minutes left." Mrs. Wormwood's harpy pitch voice had cut into my thoughts like a dagger.
Since she's interrupting the protag's thoughts, a dash would probably be better than a "...". I usually copy and paste one from Microsoft word for the best result. Example:"that daunting question of—
"Ten minutes left.""
The dash copied from Microsoft is slightly longer than the one you get by just pressing once on the keyboard(- vs —) which is why I recommend it for sentences like this. You probably already know, but you get the longer dash by putting 2 little dashes, putting a word in front of them, and pressing the spacebar. The 2 little dashes turn into 1 bigger dash.
I could feel the zeitgeist of the hour signalling my doom.
I looked up "zeitgeist", and it seems to be what defines a certain age or time, such as what makes the Renaissance the Renaissance. It doesn't seem to fit here, but it's a very interesting word! I'd never heard of it before! XD
and my Mama always said a try is better than a failure.
Assuming that his mother isn't dead, she isn't going to stop saying that. "Said" should be in present tense("...Mama always
says a try is better than a failure")
the homeless man you're always telling us about, that asks for spare change outside of McDonalds.
You don't need the comma here. If you want to keep it, though, you should probably reword the sentence("...you're always telling us about,
the one that asks for spare change outside of McDonalds.")
Ok, I think that's it for the negative stuff. Now, on to the positive things.
Oh my goodness. This line
In short, I'll become a hippy.
made me laugh so hard. I actually(somehow) saw it before finishing the story, and I was like "What? Really?" and I burst out laughing. Still, even when I got to my part, I started laughing again.
The "I got an A" line is a nice touch. Makes me wonder what the teacher thought about the essays that said "I want to be this" or "I want to be that" after reading the protag's "letter".
The part about being a prince is interesting, too. It's true- it's mostly girls that want to be royalty when they grow up. Kinda makes me wonder about the protag, though. What kind of guy is he? Has he had a lot of girlfriends, or something? I mean, he does say "Play hard, no work, ladies begging to be with me.", so...?
Gotta say- the prompt turned out way different than I imagined. For some reason, I pictured a girl when I first thought of it, but I decided to put "he/she" in my post for creative liberty's sake. I'm really happy with the direction you took with it. Nice job!
Augh, looking at the post preview; so much negativity(
I'm such a nitpicker). How about you give me a prompt, and when I finish it(probably after the New Beginnings Jam), I can send it to you in a PM? Then, you can rip apart my writing too! So exciting! XD
Seriously though, I feel a little bad...