A thing

DESCRIPTION OF EXERCISE: Write the paragraph that would appear in a piece of fiction just before the discovery of a body. You might perhaps describe the character's approach to the body he will find, or the location, or both. The purpose of the exercise is to develop the technique of at once attracting the reader toward the paragraph to follow, making him want to skip ahead, and holding him on this paragraph by virtue of its interest.Without the ability to write such foreplay paragraphs, one can never achieve real suspense.

The feeling was returning to her body, and God, she wished it wasn't. Every inch of her ached. Slowly, head throbbing, she inched her hands under her torso and shoved. Her arms wobbled, but held. She managed to wrestle her uncooperative body into a sitting position. Nothing felt broken. How could you tell? She'd never broken anything before. Blinking, she panicked. She couldn't see! Had they blinded her? Oh, God, was she blind? She scrambled frantically about her, feeling for a wall, a switch, anything--and found cold, sticky metal. Carefully she traced her hands upwards and found a stubbled plastic roof. She braced herself and pushed. It gave. Dim light filled her eyes and fresh air rushed into her nose. Oh, God, she was in the dumpster outside their apartment. They had thrown her out the window. For a shitty jewelry box they had thrown her out the window. Where was Allen? What had they done with her husband? She pushed herself up on the dumpster's edge, looking up at their window, four floors up. Shuddering, she dropped her eyes to the floor of the alley. A lumpy shape came into view as her eyes adjusted to the low light.

Two 55ers

DESCRIPTION OF EXERCISE: "A fifty-fiver set in form is a close relative of poetry, while retaining the elements of fiction that make a good story. The form is outlined in the fifty-five word explanation I've written below: Make sure that your fifty-five word fiction adheres to form. Fifty-five words must form the ten sentences in order. The first sentence is exactly ten words long. Each following sentence is one word shorter. The last will contain one word. This could seem quite difficult. In fact, it isn't. It demands efficiency. It's simple. Right?"

1. I've crawled in too far, I realize much too late. I push backwards frantically, but I'm stuck too fast. Sharp stones jab into my side, my stomach. It's quieter than any night down here. Something cold trickles down my leg. Cave walls pinch my arms. Press into my legs. It's so dark. I scream. Trapped.

2. The soft scratching, scraping sound was coming from the kitchen. I stood in the entryway, staring at the refrigerator. I'm just paranoid, I thought, it's not moving. The sound continued as the fridge trembled. It's nothing, nothing, I'm imagining things. I inhaled slowly, steadying myself. Reached for the door. Gripped the handle. Opened it. Spiders.