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Samantha Storey's avatar

This exercise! At first I felt unmoored. Like how is it possible to make a story so fast (45 mins!) with a 50-word vocabulary? But then once I had a problem I liked, something I could play around with, then it felt more like a game, a word puzzle even. I made a table with five columns and ten words per column and having the words displayed like that made it easier to pick what to say. I was surprised by how much I liked the limits — it forced me to think about how to use nouns and verbs creatively. I liked making my characters repeat themselves within these limits. I noticed the repetition ended up being what moved the story forward. I like that the outcome is something whole and farcical, and also sad in parts, too. Anyway here is what I came up with:

“A snake in the room,” Tom says.

Her heart slams off. “No. It’s our honeymoon,” Emma says. She sits, the bedframe complains. She wants a drink.

“It slinked into your duffle.” Tom stands. “Where are my slippers?”

“You dreamt it.” Emma stands, her cheap nightie strap slips off. “Too much wine.”

Tom complains, it’s his honeymoon too. “I will drink what I want.” He had not dreamt it, he says.

Emma wants wine. “In the duffle?” Slippers on. She opens the duffle, her heart complains. No snake. She slips off her nightie. “It’s our honeymoon.” Emma sits, the bedframe opens. She says, “I want you.” She wants wine, too.

“The snake?” His heart slinked off. Her nightie is too cheap. He had not dreamt it. Where are his slippers?

“Tom, too much wine,” she says. “It’s our honeymoon,” Emma complains.

Tom slams the duffle. He had not dreamt it. “Not too much wine,” he says. “Too much Emma,” he opens the wine. “Drink it,” he says.

She drinks it. “Where are your slippers?” she says. His slippers are in the duffle.

“Emma, I dreamt you,” he says. His heart opens.

The snake slinked on the bedframe. It wants a drink.

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George Saunders's avatar

You are all amazing me with this. I have to admit - I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I started Story Club but I am finding your playful courage and energy and generosity to be just mind-blowingly gratifying.

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