On Saturday, I met with the local Writer’s Group. One of the topics discussed was dialog tags. Words like said or asked, which are used to help clue your reader into who is talking and to help guide the reader’s imagination. We had a short free-writing session and the prompt word to get us started was just one word, SAID. I’ve cleaned it up some, but essentially here’s what I came up with:
It was a small cul-de-sac. The type of place where children grow up and barbeques happen. But this cul-de-sac, had one problem: Little Margaret. Margaret might have only been in the second grade, but everyone said if you ran into her, you might never escape.
Margaret wasn’t rude, or mean, but she had a way with words. She couldn’t stop. She would begin with hello then, tip her toe to the ground and ask to pet your dog. It was all so innocent, until you began to get hungry and realized this little girl was taking up more of your time than an afternoon of watching Dr. Phil.
It was only five steps from my car to the front door, and although I couldn’t see her, I knew Margaret was lurking. The day was bright, the sky was cloudless, and the grass was green. She was hiding, already watching me. Waiting to pounce and steal away moments of my life. Maybe if I ran. No, she’d think it was a game. Worse yet what if she thought I was trying to avoid her. It was true, but I didn’t want her to know that. I’d feel like a troll if I made Margaret cry.
I took off my seat belt, grabbed the deli sandwich and soda off the passenger seat, then checked my mirrors. Nope, there was no Margaret. Wait, did Margaret even cast a reflection? She was like a time-vampire, and vampire’s don’t have reflections. I pulled the keys from the ignition and ran, throwing open the door and bolting from my car like it was on fire.
I felt the solid thud of my car door, before I heard the sound. Dear god, pray it isn’t so. I looked down and saw little Margaret lying unconscious, on the grass beside my driveway. My first thought was I’d just killed her. I said, “Oh crap!” Then quickly scanned the cul-de-sac for witnesses to this brutal clubbing of a six year old.
Great! It’s always neat to see when fellow writing group members post the results of their story/writing prompt. Look forward to seeing you next weekend.
Too funny. I missed your first group session, but have enjoyed having you among our number. You have a lot of interesting concepts for writing, and give thoughtful feedback. I’m looking forward to reading more of your stuff.
………dhole