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 204: After the museum and lunch, Sophie decided to indulge in a bit more retail.
After the museum and lunch, Sophie decided to indulge in a bit more retail. Sophie made her way down the street and added a scarf, some earrings and a couple of small gifts she thought she could give to Janine when she returned. She picked up a couple of postcards as well, but wasn’t sure who she would send them to. She just couldn’t resist them.
Before her path took her to the hotel, Sophie stopped into a little store and found a sketchbook She purchased it, realizing that her small purse sized one was going to be inadequate for the trip. She took the new sketch pad as well as her other purchases back to the hotel.
She set her collected purchases down on the bed, please that she left plenty of space in the suitcase. Thinking she might like to pick up a few colored pencils to use as she had found colors she wanted to mimic in her own designs at some point, Sophie went downstairs and had a brief conversation with the concierge. She was pleased that she was able to hold the conversation in Italian and understand the somewhat rapid-fire directions he gave her.
‘And all without my accent causing amusement,’ she thought as she headed out for her second adventure of the day. She had visions of popping out to pick up a few things and then dropping the back off at the hotel before heading out again, but when she reached the small art supply store she was told about, Sophie couldn’t help but wander slowly. Instead of a simple set of colored pencils, she came out with a bag of pastels and a travel set of water colors. She had to talk herself out of a set of colored inks and thought that she might end up coming back before she headed to the airport.
Once stocked, Sophie returned to the hotel and found she was hungry for dinner. She checked her list of places near by and after leaving her art supplies she once again ventured out of the hotel. It was early for dinner but Sophie found she was still hungry.
‘And I am on vacation time,’ she told herself. She found a place for dinner that didn’t require she change clothes or have a reservation and she went inside. She took her time choosing from the menu and when her choices arrived she delighted in taking her time with each item. When she was sated, she left and slowly ambled back to the hotel.
As she walked, Sophie realized that this was one of the things that was always so seductive about vacations. The time to do anything you wanted in a place that had many things you hadn’t tried. As she walked she could easily see herself slipping into a day dram where this was her life.
‘But a life of shopping, eating out and staying in hotels has to be paid for somehow,’ her practical side reminded her. Still it was a nice fantasy. She reached the hotel as the light began to change. It was soft, but the air was chilly and she pulled her coat closer. Sophie walked into the hotel and found the hotel bar and restaurant were both packed. She recognized several people from the airport shuttle and realized the tour group had more or less taken over.
She decided to leave them to it and went up to her room instead. Once there, Sophie changed into her pajamas and spent the evening sketching out some of the things she didn’t want to forget while they were fresh in her mind.
Ten til Midnight 