This week’s goal was 100 words a day, so 700 words total.

January 22: 203
January 23: 110
January 24: 117
January 25: 129
January 26: 126
January 27: 104
January 28: 98
Total: 887 words

Reading total: 10 pages (pathetic)

Weekly Writing Goal:

887 / 700 words. 127% done!

Yearly Writing Goal:

2451 / 250000 words. 1% done!

Reading goal:

124 / 4500 pages. 3% done!

Follow up:

Week 4 Writings - I’m too lazy to ever edit these things unless they’re worthwhile.

January 22:
The rain hadn’t stopped for days; the streets flooding with small tributaries of rushing water. The whimpering was barely audible over the onslaught of droplets. A pathetic, whining sound emitted from a sagging bush, its thick leaves heavy from the abundance of water. A small furry body was barely distinguishable against the muddy backdrop. The fur was matted and thick with dirt, and the animal was so small that had it not been making sound, weak though it was, it would not have brought any attention to it. A man draped in a raincoat paused his slow stroll to bend down next to the bush. He murmured softly, and the animal turned its face suspiciously toward the man. The puppy continued to whimper, though unsure whether to trust this stranger. He held his hand out patiently, the cold water deflecting off his sodden skin while he offered his scent. It took several moments before the puppy slowly crawled to the man’s hand, but one touch of its cold nose against the man’s warmer hand was enough to entice the tiny creature from its shelter and into his arms. The man carefully tucked the puppy into his chest and continued on his route homeward.

January 23:
It was a momentous day; the day they both have been waiting for: the arrival of the couch. It may not seem like a magnification day; it is just a piece of furniture after all. But then, the couple had been sitting on each other’s lap for over a year. As much as sharing a lap is quite cute, it was rather uncomfortable and full of inconveniences. Now, the two could sit next to each other, cuddling together in comfortable positions that the old seating didn’t allow. As if to show the new comfort, he fell asleep that night while cuddled up next to her as she played video games.

January 24:
Snow came down steadily all day. Sometimes it would come in large, fat snowflakes, while at other times it would be so soft and light, you could barely tell it was snowing. The girl stayed inside her cozy apartment all day long, warm and dry and drinking hot chocolate with large marshmallows as she gazed out the window at the landscape that slowly became monochrome. Though she liked the snow, she was reminded of how blessed she was to have a home with heat and a cozy couch to sit on when the world outside was cold and dreary. It was something many people took for granted, and she did not want to take it for granted.

January 25:
It wasn’t even her heart that was heavy - it was her mind. Exhausted with worry, insecurity, judgment. Fatigued by unfair expectations that she wasn’t putting on herself, but felt as though her parents were projecting onto her. Were they though? Everything felt so built up in her mind that she was beginning to wonder what was real and what wasn’t. Feelings that were formed from phantom hands that threatened to drown her while lying in an empty bathtub. She was lost in her own bed. All she had to do was open her eyes to emerge from the invisible darkness that shrouded her. But how do you get a person in such a state to stop drowning on air and see that the sun shined even on stormy days?

January 26:
She woke up excited for this day. It had been a long wait, and finally the day had come. Usually she used the bathroom first, but she couldn’t wait to see how many messages she was bound to receive. Hopping onto her computer, the woman bounced in her seat with happy excitement. Opened the browser, checked her email. Zero messages. She stared at the screen, refreshing it several times. Nothing. Well, maybe there was an email delay. She hopped onto the social network site. No new posts. Not even one? Oh, yes, there was a few! … One spam. And one happy birthday message from an internet stranger. … Great… Maybe she should call in sick that day. Obviously she wasn’t even on the mind of her friends.

January 27:
A small pink bag with a brown drawstring sat on the desk, its mouth open like the lip of a volcano. Inside it held dangerous items that sparked horrid imagery in the minds of the weak. Yet small, the many-sided objects had the ability to unleashed a hailstorm of damage so monumental that it could end the lives of many. All one had to do was reach a steady hand inside the enticing opening, use nimble fingers to find just the right piece before cupping it into the palm. A quick retraction from the bag, a skillful shake, and BAM! The party was dead.

January 28:
A rectangular block of water was suspended on the ceiling, held by an unseen force. A white and orange koi with scale and feathered wings swam and flew in and out of the water, causing droplets to pummel the floor like a hard rain. The winged fish would sometimes settle on the bottom of the water - the top of the ceiling - and look around awkwardly. Then with a sudden burst of energy, it would spread its wings and push quickly out of the water, its body suddenly flipping over as if it were doing flips in the air.

I’m going to be working on a short story this weekend - one that I started over a month ago. I’m submitting it to my university’s yearly creative publication, so hopefully it’ll be good enough to publish. I’ll post it here as a friend’s only until I hear word on whether it gets in.