Avoid hackneyed openings.
This is one of the most popular advice you'll hear in the writing world. But what does hackneyed mean? When we say "hackneyed" it means 'made commonplace by frequent use'. Simply put, these are opening sentences or phrases that used to be impressive when they were first used by whoever came up with them but. . . through intense borrowing and copying by other writers, became so commonplace that they lost their distinct flavor and appeal to readers. When writing stories, hackneyed openings must be avoided like the proverbial bubonic plague.
However, I got to thinking. Instead of being a liability in our writing, can we turn it into a valuable tool or asset? Would it be possible to use hackneyed openings to spice up our stories a little bit?
For writers, the imagination's the limit so. . . why not chokwanut.
Now here's the challenge. Write an opening for a story using this hackneyed opening: "IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT."
It can be just an opening paragraph or you can choose to write a complete story out of it if you want. There is no word limit. This writing exercise is worth (1) one point for LITERATI members and 15 rep points for non-Literatis/Tropang Magnum and this is good for the whole month of February.
The Executioner's Kingdom
It was a Dark and Stormy Night. A normal scenario in a place somewhere tropical. Perhaps near the Pacific.
As the thunders roar with great passion for what they do best, I remain here stuck in an itchy sh*t filled cave with the year unknown together with little creepy crawling insectivores. Been living here for some months now (I think...) and there wasn't even a single normal thing I see that could bring me hope.
I went outside to take a glimpse of the storm's beauty while imagining the life I left in the city and as I reminisce the moments given to me by my hard work, dedication and perspiration I remembered the girl I loved. The main reason why I still breath and strive to the best of what I can.
Damn, I wish she's doing fine. I wish she misses me too. I wish I was able to tell her that I love her just before I went to that business meeting turns me to the castaway I am today. The night was almost over, the storm slowly went calm and I thought I hear something... Something very familiar, something that reminds me of the city.
Alas! It was chopper who flew way lower than normal. Perhaps it's going to land anywhere near the island. My dream! My prayers! They're all coming true to this very day. I went running. Grab a torch I made from all the survival lessons I learned way back and head to the direction of the chopper.
I run as fast as I can. I run with all hope in my hands. I can nearly see where they landed! There's no room for breathing now. I must go and tell them what happened and hope for the best.
I went near then...
BANG!
A gun sounded making all the animals near the area run as if there was no tomorrow. They killed a man nearly in his 40. They saw me. With surprise they try to negotiate as one of them went to the laptop they carry. As the one in-charge and I were having a chat, his subordinate went near his ear and whispered something. I didn't hear what they were talking but I figured out what he said.
... "He was Lt. White's assignment. Executed about four months ago" ...
As I turn to the one in-charge, he grabs for a gun and I went running. Confused and exhausted...
-------
"At last!"
"Why? Something happened?"
"Yeah, the intro for this game I bought went so long I almost got bored."
"Well you should've read the feedback first before you bought it. Live and learn."
~End~
0 comments:
Post a Comment