Thanks for visiting my Day 1 post for @theinkwell's Fast and Furious Festival. Since I'm a mod, I'm not here for prizes. Just to participate and have fun.
Join us! You can pop in and participate anytime. Today is Day 1, and the Festival runs for 20 days, offering fun opportunities to exercise your writing craft and engage in some community building and mutual support. You can read about it in the Fast and Furious launch post.
Day 1 Prompt: Character and Dialog
You can see the prompt for today here.
Image source: Pixabay
Task 1: Characters in a Restaurant
For this task, we are to fill out the characters we imagine when reading this dialog snippet:
A woman in a restaurant whispers to her friend:
"You know who that is over there, don't you?"
The other woman surreptiously glances at the other table:
"No, who?"
"That's just it, she's had so much work done you don't recognise her. That's Betty Grainger."
"No!"
"Yes, she's had her nose done, cheeks lifted, even a hair transplant."
"Whatever for?"
"She's going into politics."
"Seriously, that's really her?"
Here’s the fruit of my imagination after reading this bit of dialog.
Betty Grainger, as one of the two gossips says, is going into politics. She is running for mayor of their mid-sized city in Iowa, but has much bigger dreams, ultimately hoping to run for Governor or a Senate seat. At 52 years of age, she only hopes she hasn’t waited too long. That scoundrel she married was an oppressive bully who kept her under his thumb the entire time they were married. Even their children begged her to leave him! Fortunately, she was able to secure half of his extensive estate, which has fueled her campaign, and she is now the frontrunner ahead of a hayseed who can hardly string two coherent sentences together. With her new wardrobe, awesome new look, and ability to command a crowd, Betty feels confident that she’s got the race in the bag.
Sarah Kendall, the gossip who initiated the conversation in the restaurant, is actually a former friend of Betty’s from their days at Pleasant Valley high school. As cheerleaders for the football team, they were both popular girls who had the run of the school. Back in the day, they shared everything - from clothes and shoes to make-up and mannerisms. “All that and a bag of chips,” they would often say at the exact same time. Unfortunately they both had the hots for the same quarterback, and Betty won the draw, which ultimately ended their friendship. Sarah heard they got married and moved away right after high school, and she hasn’t heard much since - until now, when Betty has returned to Pleasant Valley to run for Mayor. Of course, Sarah is happily married, herself, and none of that high school drama matters anymore. Does she dare ask Betty what she is up to now? And is she still married to that football playing dreamboat, Jared? In that moment, she feels both nervous and excited, and she hopes she looks okay. What if after all these years, she can be friends with Betty again?
Maisey Klickitat was always the sidekick friend back in high school. “Two’s company, three’s a crowd,” she can still hear Betty saying as she took Sarah’s arm and walked away with her. It was only after Betty and Sarah’s friendship fell apart that Sarah paid any real attention to her. At first, Maisey couldn’t believe she got to be friends with this really popular girl. But as they got to know one another and learned how much they had in common, their friendship was cemented forever. Or, at least she thought so until now. Here's Betty, showing up after all these years and looking incredibly gorgeous and put together. There isn’t a wrinkle or a hair out of place! All the old feelings of being second fiddle suddenly come racing back. She thinks of her out-of-work husband and her tiny run-down house on a rather busy road in town, and a terrible dread comes over her about how she will appear in Betty’s eyes. And worse - the idea that Betty and Sarah might strike up again. “Two’s company, three’s a crowd!”
Task 2: A conversation
For this task, we are to write a short snippet of dialog, between 70 and 100 words.
“Tell me the truth, doctor,” Mrs. Caldwell said. “I know there’s more.”
The doctor busied himself with a chart. Then he held a scan up to the light. Nearby, in a hospital bed, lay Mr. Caldwell, unconscious. An IV drip was connected to his arm and a heart monitor made a slow and regular thrum.
“He has a highly rare disorder, Mrs. Caldwell. Only 10 known cases in the medical world.”
“And? What is the prognosis, Doctor?”
“Well that’s just it. Each case manifests differently. But the end is… never pretty. He will need to be institutionalized. Immediately.”
Thanks again for visiting my post. I look forward to reading and commenting on other writers' work from the festival!