Welcome to the Fifteen Minute Novel. Each morning I spend fifteen minutes writing on a singular story line. Each morning starts with the last line of the previous day. The goal is to get a (very) rough draft out of the simple story idea and to avoid letting the story idea languish in limbo forever, actually writing it out. This is the third year I have done this writing experiment and each year I learn just a little bit about myself and the way I write as well as creating a framework for the story. But without further ado…
Day 78: “So let’s brainstorm,” George said.
“So let’s brainstorm,” George said. “We’ll make a list. No item is to insignificant, no item to large.”
Gwen couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm as he slipped out a small notebook from his bag. It was the size of his palm and had a spiral at the top with a golf pencil tucked into it. The notebook reminded her of the ones she used to write down assignments in school. He flipped to a clean page. At the top of the page he wrote Gwen in block letters and then underlined it.
“See it is even in pencil,” he told her. He held up the golf pencil and waved it in the air. “We are not even using permanent ink.”
He looked at her and Gwen nodded. “Okay,” she said. “I like math and I like running,” she began. George nodded and dutifully wrote down math and running. Gwen paused and frowned.
“When I was little I wanted to be an astronaut,” he told her. “Even though I know those days have passed me by I still occasionally think about going to one of those space camps or if they didn’t think I could keep up with the kids, at least taking an astronomy course or maybe spending time at the giant telescope observation tower to study the night sky.”
Gwen nodded. She tried to remember silly things but could come up with nothing that she wanted as a child that still interested her. “I liked to color when I was a kid and I thought painting might be fun,” she began.
George nodded and wrote down art and then painting. She thought of things she wanted to do. “I’d like to be able to make more foods for myself other than the few I know,” Gwen said. She knew she never wanted to work in a restaurant. The few shows she had seen on television made them seem like places that were too chaotic for her taste. She liked going to restaurants and trying new things, but she didn’t fantasize about being a chef the way she knew others sometimes did. She realized she didn’t fanaticize about many jobs
“I think I thought I knew what I was going to do so I didn’t speculate about what I wanted,” Gwen said.
“Understandable,” George said. “I often do that. Once I have set my mind on a plan I don’t bother making alternative ones.” He tapped the list. “But this is a good start. You spend some time in the accounts department and decided this sort of corporate accounts didn’t suit you, so you at least learned that. We can look up math based careers, maybe look at an art class or two. Maybe even a cooking class. You see even with these small options we can find something for you to try out.”
“So I’m not a hopeless case?” Gwen asked with a smile.
Ten til Midnight 