Sense & Sensibility: the Wonderful World of Writing Assignments

As some of you know, I joined a writing course at the Writers Academy (Schrijversacademie) last January. So far, it’s been lots of fun and very inspiring. I just love experimenting with different perspectives, flashbacks, characters, etc. From spying on people at the train station, to making up entire lives for classmates I haven’t seen since I left primary school; every week we’re getting different tasks to challenge ourselves.

Sometimes I wonder how I can keep coming up with something original every time, but in the end, the assignments are set up in such a way, I generally end up at a part of my brain which spits out something useful. 😉

Anyhow, I decided to start sharing some (translations) of my writings, beginning with the first module “Develop your own style”. During this module, we practiced how landscapes/decors and objects can contribute to your character’s story, how you get totally different scenes when you change the tell tone, and how to use associations based on your senses.

Sense & Sensibility

Sharpen your senses – table scene, sensory details – 300 words

Emily turned over in her bed. The pillow got stuck to her neck and the blanket pressed against her restless body. She sighed, rose and threw her legs over the edge.
It had been two hours, but she hadn’t had any sleep yet. She quietly slipped across the hallway and down the stairs. The steps squeaked slightly, but no reaction came from Lisa’s or Jesse’s bedroom.

Hopeful she opened the fridge, looking for something to eat. The light blinded her and she closed the door quickly. Suddenly she heard the floor crack behind her. Her heart missed a beat and she turned around. She recognised Lucas’ silhouette immediately.
‘Sorry,’ he whispered, ‘I didn’t mean to scare you.’ He took a few steps towards her and she smelled the familiar blend of his sweet body scent and aftershave.

At the same speed with which he had appeared, Emily’s body had woken up. Her heart pounded in her throat and her palms were sweating. She wanted to run away, but even more, she wanted to disappear into his arms.

Somewhat dazed, she sat down at the table. Fortunately, he couldn’t see how red her cheeks were in the dark. She heard how he opened the fridge behind her and how he busied himself with some food. When he finally sat next to her, he put a cheese sandwich in front of her. The bread was cut into eight perfectly symmetrical, cut-out cubes.

The tension fell off her and Emily shook her head, smiling. The everydayness of his gesture… as if he was used to doing it for her on a regular basis. She looked at him and saw the sparkle in his eyes she had missed so much.