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 156: She took a bite of her toast and chewed.
She took a bite of her toast and chewed. Even if nothing came of her collection, she expected she would continue creating them now that she realized how much she liked the challenge of it. She still wanted to see what Janine thought of them. Creating things for herself was fine but she didn’t like creating in a vacuum. She liked sharing what she made with others and getting their feedback. Sometimes she didn’t agree with it, as much about clothing was about personal taste. Even when she disagreed with the comments of others she found it shifted her thinking, looking at the things she made in a different light.
She knew the criticism good or bad would be useful. Sophie smiled to herself. Since Janine had been so encouraging with the first few pieces she was eagerly anticipating showing her the completed selection.
“But she will not even be awake yet,” Sophie reminded herself as she finished breakfast. ‘But I have household chores to do anyway.’
She cleaned up from breakfast and began the weekend chore of setting her apartment to rights for the week to come. Laundry was put into the machine and items that were left out over the course of the week were put away. The sheets on the bed were changed and all the little scraps of material left over from her week of sewing were put away. Threads went back with the unused spools. Needles went back in their cases and pins in the pin cushion. Everything was cleaned and ready for a new project.
Sophie smiled and made a note that she needed to pick up a new sketch pad. The drawings she made a she brought this collection from concept to reality had used up the remaining pages in the sketchbook she was using. Once she added the sketch pad to the list, she decided she might as well see what else was needed. She made a list of missing materials that would need to be replenished as well as various notions. She had enough to do the contract pieces she would work on that week and the additional materials she would need for her next designs would wait until she had created those designs.
‘So maybe a shopping trip next weekend,’ she told herself. ‘Still need groceries.’
She turned a page in the small notebook she used for making lists and went to the kitchen. When she was finished with her lists, it was still too early to expect to deal with Janine so Sophie decided on a Saturday morning shopping trip. She left and stocked on her non-food items from local stores and then headed off to the grocery. By the time she returned home and put things away. She felt confident that Janine would be up and about and not opposed to answering the phone.
Sophie dialed the number and waited. “Let me guess,” Janine answered. “You just put the last stitch in?”
“I did not,” Sophie said.
“Oh so you are calling to tell me not to come over and see the complete collection. Did you need another week?”
“No it is finished, I just finished yesterday, not today.”
Janine laughed. “I see. I’ll be right over,” Janine hung up and Sophie put her phone down. A moment later there was a knock on the door.
“I knew you said you were close to finishing, I just hadn’t expected it would be so soon,” Janine said as she came inside. As they discussed Janine looking things over when Sophie was done, she had been expecting the call to come, just not when.
Ten til Midnight 