Inspired by @owasco, I tried to actually write this in 5 minutes. Like for real. But once the stopwatch started careening toward the five-minute mark, and my fingers (two pointers and occasionally a thumb) hit the keys running, I remembered that I can't type. I never learned, and my hunt-and-peck typing is terrible, and, as I discovered almost immediately, apparently much worse when I'm timing myself trying to type stream-of-consciousness. It seemed like every time I got two or three words down I had to go back and fix at least one of them, if not all. So I decided to give myself an extra five minutes, ten minutes total. Which, as it turned out, was also ambitious. It took me fifteen +, and then I spent a little while on editing. Still, waaaaay better time than my usual time. I'm going to keep trying!
"Wauk Wauk Wauk Wauk" Magpie chattered, wagging his tail feathers jauntily. He was thrilled. This was a terrific find. She was going to love it. It had everything. It was bright. It was shiny. It sparkled prettily in the morning sun. What female wouldn't?
He leaped into the sky, the pretty thing clasped firmly in his beak. He could see the roof of her house in the distance, through the tops of the trees. He imagined the joyful sounds she would make at seeing his gift. He couldn't wait.
She was outside, in the front of the house, planting strawberries in the cold spring ground, but felt him coming and turned, looking up in the sky to see him. She cooed happily, excited at his arrival, calling after him with the pet name that she always used. "Prince Charming". He didn't waste any time. He landed directly in front of her and dropped the trinket at her feet.
She looked down at it, surprised, and then delighted. Delighted by this beautiful, sparkling, magical thing that could never be as surprisingly beautiful as she was. "You've brought me another gift!" she exclaimed happily.
Yes! Yes he had! He was so excited by her words that he didn't stop to wonder why, or how, he could suddenly understand every word of her speech...
She picked up his gift and turned it over in her fingers. "It's a ring!" she exclaimed softly. "It's so beautiful..."
He watched, pleased, and fascinated (and, although he refused to admit it, even to himself, head-over-heels in love), as she slipped the sparkling trinket onto one of her fingers. Then her eyes rose to meet his eyes with a look he had never seen before, on her face, or any other. His stomach lurched, as if he'd abruptly lost the power of flight midway through clouds and wind and sunshine. And then...
She was gone.
In her place stood a magpie, the most beautiful magpie he'd ever seen, her eyes sparkling, clasping his gift in her gorgeous beak.
Written in response to the following prompt: https://peakd.com/hive-161155/@mariannewest/single-prompt-option-the-weekend-freewrite-242023
Sweet sweet story!
I set my timer for 4:30, type away like mad, then go back and fix the many many typos. I often go overtime a bit, but I try not to change the content at all, just proofread really. If I can get in the groove and really let the stories write themselves, without thinking much at all, those are the best stories. If I've had to think about them, they are stilted and don't flow easily. But I did learn to type on a qwerty keyboard back there in high school when kids were taught useful skills.
Try the most dangerous writing app if you haven't ever used that. It will erase everything you have already typed if you stop typing. I can see giving yourself a handicap as you did, that seem perfectly fair to me. Maybe write for six minutes, then go back and proofread as long as you need to to clean it up. I think we all have our methods. @felt.buzz is probably the closest to a true 5 minute freewrite, and he has got it DOWN.
Hi @owasco! My computer crashed. Finally made time to set up my phone, so can comment and post again now, but likely not to post again until one or another of my computers is back from the shop. This is good feedback thank you!
I was wondering where you had dashed off to! Bummer - I hope you get it all straightened out without too much trouble.
Thanks! Working on it...
This is a delightful story! I type all my posts on a phone, not on a computer. That said, I use my left and right thumbs to write. The dangerous writing app doesn't work for me in this realm. Most of us do clean up the text before positing and there's nothing wrong with that imho.
What is awesome is that ideas from the prompt trigger thought trails for me I wouldn't have traveled down without it.
!ALIVE
@bennettitalia! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @wandrnrose7. (1/10)
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Thanks Janelle! Well my computer crashed, so that means two computers in the shop, and now I'm writing on my phone too 😆 But I probably won't write any actual posts, just comments, until I get one or another computer back. You're right tho, I'm much faster with my thumbs...something to think about!
I gotta get me one-a-dem rings! Use it when I'm old and immobile and done with this body.
Sweet story. Great freewrite!
Thanks @corvidae! Yes, gotta have magpie eyes to spot those I think...
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