My writing group and I have been meeting, I just haven’t been posting (naughty me). So this was exercise two from Steering the Craft: “I am Garcia Marquez.” The exercises are accompanied by a small lesson and examples. I don’t include them here, only the writing prompt.
Write a paragraph to a page (150-350 words) of narrative with no punctuation (and no paragraphs or other breaking devices).
Here is my completed exercise:
They arose bleary eyed from the pavement having traveled from near and far the line extending beyond visibility one by one they steeled themselves to rush the doors clutching whistles organized in teams of only their most trusted compatriots who were prepared to take down anyone that happened to get in the way of the perfect find with elbows and fist fight resulting in black eyes no this was not for the faint of heart the weak of spirit not the feeble of mind or body this was war and sneakered feet rustled in anticipation with cards at the ready for swiping and hands at the ready for grabbing because there would be no prisoners as the grappling brides wrestled over the dress of their dreams at the annual Filene’s basement sale.
I had trouble with this exercise. It was very difficult for me to think of ways to write a continuous, non-breaking sentence that seemed natural. I have read Garcia Marquez (100 Years of Solitude) and found that I often had to re-read passages due to his writing style. I can’t say that this a device I will employ often, if ever, but I suppose it was a good thought exercise.