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Decided to try my hand at a drabble for the first time; I've never actually done it before, although I wrote a 150-word original fiction for a magazine contest once, which was arguably harder since I had to set up plot and characters from scratch! I ended up spending an endless amount of time counting and recounting words manually, since I really don't trust computer word counts for precise accuracy. ("Really don't" apparently counts as three words here...)
Amusingly, I managed to retain my usual procedure of launching into the sitation first and only working out where the plot was going to go afterwards -- very much not recommended in the case of a hundred-word limit, I imagine, but fortunately the very first 'image' that occurred was Raoul's thoughts about this joint task marking the real start of their marriage, which provided me with a theme for the story beyond the mere grave-digging scenario ;-p
Not the most original scene in the world -- 'Christine comes back to bury Erik', with or without Raoul, is a fan favourite -- although this one is a little more Raoul-centric than most. And a little less Erik-friendly than the original concept, since I needed to tie the end back to the theme and couldn't spare room for Raoul's perception that the dead man was blessing their future together...
I still need some kind of title and summary before I can post it to fanfiction.net. "Their future together began beside a grave"?
It would have to be a shallow grave. Raoul brought the pickaxe down wearily yet again, and when Christine laid small hands to the shovel he had not the strength to stop her.
This, then, was the true start of their marriage; this shared selfless labour, and not the quick patter of the priest. The bride would not gain a ring, but return one.
Erik was some days dead, he thought, but the sunken features were no more ghastly than in life, and he had closed the eyes before they could trouble Christine. And with that death, life could begin.
Amusingly, I managed to retain my usual procedure of launching into the sitation first and only working out where the plot was going to go afterwards -- very much not recommended in the case of a hundred-word limit, I imagine, but fortunately the very first 'image' that occurred was Raoul's thoughts about this joint task marking the real start of their marriage, which provided me with a theme for the story beyond the mere grave-digging scenario ;-p
Not the most original scene in the world -- 'Christine comes back to bury Erik', with or without Raoul, is a fan favourite -- although this one is a little more Raoul-centric than most. And a little less Erik-friendly than the original concept, since I needed to tie the end back to the theme and couldn't spare room for Raoul's perception that the dead man was blessing their future together...
I still need some kind of title and summary before I can post it to fanfiction.net. "Their future together began beside a grave"?
It would have to be a shallow grave. Raoul brought the pickaxe down wearily yet again, and when Christine laid small hands to the shovel he had not the strength to stop her.
This, then, was the true start of their marriage; this shared selfless labour, and not the quick patter of the priest. The bride would not gain a ring, but return one.
Erik was some days dead, he thought, but the sunken features were no more ghastly than in life, and he had closed the eyes before they could trouble Christine. And with that death, life could begin.
