The Fifteen Minute Novel is an attempt to take a single prompt and use the last sentence written each day as a start for the next day. This year I had several prompts circling around a similar story, so I have combined them. However, the story starts the same way each day, with the last line from the day before and a timer set for fifteen minutes. The hope is to end up with a complete, if very rough draft by the end of the year. Some stories are better than others, but I always learn a whole lot about my own writing when I do this so for me it is not only a nice way to work out a story, but it is a tool for helping my writing get better. And so, we continue this story for 2024 with…
Day 124: She knew what material she wanted.
She knew what material she wanted. However, Sophie had yet to decide on colors or patterns. She wet to the section where they type of fabric she wanted was kept and wandered, letting her eyes scan over the assorted offerings. She let the designs flow through her mind and mentally tested all of the colors and patterns available against her designs.
Even though it was waring up outside, Sophie thought of the items she was working on as more autumnal. The pale spring and bright summery shades didn’t seem to match the lines of the garments. She found herself drawn to the deeper, fall shades. There was a deep forest green that appealed as well as an amber. There were in fact several shades of amber she felt drawn towards. She looked them over and picked up a russet and a chocolaty brown.
The wheels turned in her head and Sophie smiled, making her selections. Knowing she hadn’t yet made concrete patterns for he designs, when Sophie wheeled a cart filled with bolts of material to be cut, she over estimated each of the materials she chose. ‘I can always make the same item in different colors,’ she told herself. ‘It’s not a waste.’
She was so used to estimating what she would need for a specific project, that it felt decadent to order in larger amounts. ‘It will all get used,’ she told her thriftier side. ‘And if it doesn’t sell I will at least have a new fall wardrobe.’
Sohie took her purchases home. As she spent the bulk of the evenings working on the contracted pieces, she gave herself the weekend to spend working solely on the new designs. The weekend slipped past quickly. By the time she once again needed to prepared for the work week, Sophie had managed to settle on most of the specifics she wanted for her pieces.
She knew she still had to break each piece into parts to create patterns and that once she had the patterns, she would use practice material before using the more expensive materials she purchased. She knew that once she saw a garment take shape in the real worked there were always tweaks to be made. Even though a part of her itched to reach for the fabulous new fabrics she purchased, she knew that it was better to wait until the designs were finalized.
Patience,’ she reminded herself as the work week began. It was something she had to remind hersef often as the week progressed. Her workdays slipped by in a forgettable blur. She did her job with no drama and then left at the end of the day. Lunch time gossip generally revolved around people she didn’t know. Once the news broke about Ryan’s pending divorce and Kristen’s ire about being mentioned, they slipped from the gossip radar and Sophie was able to forget any of them existed. She concentrated on the contracted pieces, but was thrilled when she could give more time to her other designs. By Friday, she felt she was ready to take the first of her patterns to the practice material.
Ten til Midnight 