Gothic Horror Challenge 2010

[delayed_poet]

Comments

[gelsey]

Oh noes. Never get separated.

[delayed_poet]

It always ends badly, doesn't it?

[roseofthewest]

Oh, my... you so calmly describe the violence that I wasn't sure what was happening until it was over. Poor thing.

[delayed_poet]

Why thank you, I'm taking that as a compliment, lol! :)

[roseofthewest]

Oh, it totally is. It takes a lot of skill to do so much with so few words.

[delayed_poet]

Well then, thank you very much! It is very difficult to manage it in only 100 words, and I did try very hard :)

[laceymoibella]

I like how you begin with "I didn't want to go," because you have the sense of foreboding right off. You hook the reader because they want to keep reading to find out what happens. Intuition yet again ignored.

[delayed_poet]

Intuition is not meant to be ignored, the worst things seem to happen when we do. I'm so glad the tone was set in the beginning, as that's what I was trying to do :)

[patricia_writes]

So helpless in this situation! A scene like this would be a great opener to a novel. Really thrown into the conflict right off the bat!

[delayed_poet]

I think if I ever were to actually attempt to write a novel, it would probably open with something like that. Then again, it would probably be filled with angst and torture and either have a horrible, death-filled ending or a semi-happy ending where things actually start to work out for the main char. What can I say, I'm cruel to the characters in my head! :)

Thanks!

[sophierom]

I agree with Trish; this would be a great opening to a novel. It also works really well as a stand-alone drabble. As roseofthewest notes, the low-key description of violence works really well here. The simple, unemotional sentences ("I didn't want it") make the rape all the more terrifying.

[delayed_poet]

Aww, thank you! :) I'm so glad the low-key descriptions work; it's really hard to do with only 100 words.