Another Writing Challenge? Why Error, why?!
Well...
The biggest reason is that the exercises I've been doing from Writing Excuses are implemented in my novel that I'm working on, and I'm still too shy to share it. Many of the exercises are turning a scene into another, changing perspective and genre etc. It's fun, but I'm too conscious of it to put parts of the stories on the internet when I'm not even done revising half of it.
Regarding Inspirations from Reddit, I haven't visited the subreddit /Writingprompts for a long time, the regularity from before has gone due to work and other events. I occasionally visit to read some fun stories, but I haven't posted there at all for over two months. Hmm...
So what have I been doing? Writing Challenges, the first draft of my novel and some part-time jobs in the writing industry. I hope that the lack of my other texts doesn't upset you readers too much.
Alright, time for some background on this challenge. It's a prequel to last weeks post, a story from the days Joseph was a child. Instead of writing the "incident" that made him into a superhero, I wanted to write a normal day in his childhood life, before life switched up a gear. Happy reading!
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Captain J - Childhood days
The city took a slow breath as it awakened to the sun peeking out of the horizon. The citizens, like automated machinery, rose up for a purpose and priorities. Some reaching for that morning coffee, some to take that ice cold shower, and others…
“Joseph! Wake up, you’re late for school!”
...to wake up their kids.
Joseph gave out a slow groan of discomfort as he was pulled away from his sweet dreams of delight, much like the blanket that his mother threw on the ground. The little kid curled up into a ball, seeking warmth and hoping that he could meet Mister Sandman again.
“Honey, must we do this every time?” sighed the mother. She crawled onto the bed and gave Joseph a kiss on the cheek before attacking him with tickles. Little Joseph squirmed for as long as he could but laughter was an undefeatable enemy and he had to succumb to its mighty force. He said a bubbly “Good morning, mom,” and kissed her on the cheek before waddling to the bathroom to prepare himself. He finished up quickly and continued to the kitchen where he was met with a plate of fruits, a sandwich and a tall glass of milk which he gladly devoured.
“Honey, you’ve been to school now for a week. You should soon be able to wake up by yourself,” said his mother while rubbing his head lovingly. “The other kids might think you’re strange showing up late to school.”
“Naa,” said Joseph in between his mouthfuls. “That’s not what kids think of at all. I’m a kid and I know what they think of.”
The mother gave a kiss to Joseph’s forehead and asked curiously: “And what do kids think of, could you tell your mother?”
Joseph gave a beaming smile and said: “We think of sleeping!”. He finished up his plate of food and grabbed his backpack to leave home.
“Be careful on your way to school, honey!” said his mother from the kitchen as she washed the dishes.
“I know mom,” said Joseph as he struggled with his shoes. “I’m going now. See you! Love you!”
The city was not a morning riser, but when it finally woke - life was bustling. Joseph and his mother were new in the city, but instead of feeling scared of the unknown Joseph preferred to be excited. Smiling wide, looking at everything around him and being swept away by the sounds and colors of the city was intoxicating.
“Joseph, where are you going?”
It was the mailman that had shouted with an alarmed voice after the boy.
“Hi Mister Lewinsky!” said Joseph and waved eagerly. “I’m going to school!”
The energetic boy put a small smile on the mailman’s face. “You’re going the wrong way Joseph, your school is to the left.”
“Right you are. Have a nice day!” continued Joseph and turned left.
The school itself was a small building with even smaller groups, maybe ten to twelve students in each class. But that made it easier to befriend each other, and Joseph knew everyone in his class, even the teacher’s full name.
“Good morning everyone!” said Joseph as he opened the door with full force, interrupting everything in class.
“Good morning Joseph. You’re late so please don’t scream so loudly,” said the teacher while correcting his glasses. “Go to your seat silently.”
Joseph covered his mouth with both of his hands and tiptoed dramatically to his seat. This gave a few sniggers and laughter before the teacher grabbed everyone’s attention again with a smack on the chalkboard. Joseph sat in one of the corners of the room, away from the teacher but close to his friends and daydreams. As the teacher’s voice got less and less interesting his attention drifted off elsewhere. First to the window to look at the scenery, then to the classmates in front of him, and ended finally with him doodling in the textbook.
The class was soon over and as the teacher left, some friends gathered around Joseph to see what he had been doodling during class.
“Is that a fireman?” asked one of the classmates and pointed at the figure.
“Nope, it’s Superman!” said Joseph proudly and showed it to everyone. “Look at the ‘S’, and the cape!”
“Batman is much cooler,” insisted another classmate. This shocked Joseph to the core. How could someone not appreciate Superman?
“Superman can fly!” argued Joseph.
“Batman has lots of cool stuff like a car, a plane a…”
“Superman is strong!”
“Batman is rich!”
The arguments continued for a while until the teacher returned and once again grabbed everyone’s attention by smacking on the board. Just before everyone returned to their seats Joseph managed to get the last word in the argument. “Well, I’m going to be Superman in the future!” He then returned proudly back to his seat.
Many children have claimed to become something in the future. From becoming a doctor to a star, rich or happy. There were many things to strive for. There were, of course, many that dreamed of being a crime-fighter or a superhero. But the last one is usually the naivety of youth that spoke. The innocence before reality struck. Little did everyone in town know that this little kid named Joseph would in the future make that dream to reality.
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