The stupid doll
Assignment 1 Prompt: Write one to two pages describing an action that takes ten seconds of real time. No interior monologue is allowed. That means we don’t get to hear what your character is thinking, we can only see what he or she is doing.
The fire burnt violently, starting at the tip of the wick and rising to the bottom of the charcoal pot. The pot had been stained black from the years of usage, except the patches of silver that lingered at the handles indicating it’s original hue. Heat traveled throughout the pot generating an array of bubbles that danced on the surface of the water, spilling out to the top of the kerosene stove. Hiss. Hiss. The woman stood up from the stool, shoving the little girl to the side, in a haste to silence the fire. The child had her hair parted in half, with each side braided across the head to meet in the middle. She put down her disheveled barbie doll to free up her right hand and swept it across her head, creating a mental picture of the final look. The woman lowered the pot to the floor, now a sea of synthetic hair, and lifted the pan support for the stove. Reaching for the knob that projected at the truck of the stove, she lowered the threads and blew out what was left of the flame. The girl had resumed playing with her doll, placing it in between her thighs and combing through the blond tangled hair, most of it hanging on to the brush she was using. After transferring the contents of the pot into a nearby bowl, the woman made her way to the stool taking with her a towel lounged on her shoulder. Then placing the bowl behind the distracted girl, she began to submerge the braids with one hand while using the other to support the towel which shielded the child’s clothes from the water. Offering her head up, the little girl titled it backward towards the bowl taking with her the doll whose hair had now become even more difficult to work with. Tugging at the brush, she attempted to unlock the knot which was interrupting her play time. But instead the comb snapped, causing the child to hit head against the bowl. The impact knocked the container of the woman’s hands and sent splashes of scalding hot water across the child’s back. The girl jumped up in painful surprise, flinging the root of her sorrow; the stupid doll.
My thoughts: Writing this took so much time and mental visualization, which is EXHAUSTING. I don’t know how writers write an entire book. Personally, I felt like this was more than 10 seconds of movement so i’ll rate it 7/10. Other than that, I’m glad I could apply myself in this way because I generally shy away from any story line that involves a lot description.
