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 155: She showered and dressed and then wheeled her rack of clothing into the living room.
She showered and dressed and then wheeled her rack of clothing into the living room. Seeing all of the garments in one place, competed and ready for viewing made Sophie smile. Despite the work drama she had finished her first collection. On the rack they were all bunched together so Sophie took them off the rack and spread them out so she could get a good look at them.
Sophie knew they would never take the fashion runways by storm. Models in New York, Paris or Milan would never stop down the runway wearing them, but she was proud of them. The collection was varied but had a unified feel to them. Then lines and drapery mimicked each other and it was clear they were associated. As she looked them over she waited for the feeling that she needed to edit or change. She studied each garment in fact and waited for the desire to make alterations.
There was none.
She was pleased with the collection. Sophie hung the garments back on the rack. Janine would be coming by at lunch time to have a look at them and Sophie wanted them in pristine shape for their first viewing.
‘And possibly only one,’ she thought as she hung the last of them up and went into the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. There was the possibility that Janine would like them and possibly feature one or two of them for sale on her website. It was more likely Sophie would end up incorporating a couple into her own wardrobe. Soon they would no longer be a collection and would be scattered garments, each standing on their own merits.
‘But I enjoyed making the collection,’ she decided. ‘So I am sure I would enjoy creating a new one.’ Despite the summer heat outside, she knew that her collection was more an autumnal one. ‘So maybe I pick a set of designs and work on a winer collection,’ she thought as she slipped the bread into the toaster and pressed the button.
While the bread toasted, she took out the butter and marmalade and added a butter knife for spreading and a plate to put it all on. Sophie nodded to herself as she thought about it. Working on the collection had been exciting and it meant that when she came home she was eager to set to work on a set task. it wasn’t simply creating the multitude of sleep set for the website. She knew she would have to create those too, but this was something different.
The sleep sets let her use her skills and pay for her hobby while putting away a little extra. It was however routine. Until she started working on the designs she didn’t realize she was craving something a little bit more than routine.
‘And if things settle down at work then I will get routine there and with the sleep sets. There is variation with the dressing gowns but not enough.’
The toast popped up and Sophie set to work with butter and marmalade, putting the doctored toast on the plate and walking to her kitchen table. She liked the routine of her work and the sleep set creations ass it created stability. She needed stability. Sophie thought over her month and realized that when work became unstable she was not really able to work on her designs. With that stability in place, she was happy to opt out of her regular life and let her imagination take flight in her designs.
With Kristen, Ryan and Evers all gone now, I might get that stability back,” Sophie though. She took a bite of her toast and chewed.
Ten til Midnight 