Using a cliche in an unusual way

31 Dec 2012
(prompt from The Write Practice (thewritepractice.com) on using a cliche in an unusual way. I chose the "one shot left" idea that turns up in so many movies, with a twist)

There were two of them, and I had only one shot left. She was about 100 feet away, a little to my left. He was off to my right about the same distance. If either of them spotted me, I could be in trouble. At least they were upwind and facing away from me, less likely to hear me creeping closer. I decided to go after him since he was the bigger challenge. Still had to keep an eye on her, though, in case she doubled back and sounded the alarm after spotting me.

The afternoon was getting late, but there was still enough time to get this done before they could slip away in the dusk. The sun was behind me as I faced east. Easier for me to see them, blinding for them if they looked my way.

They moved up the slope a little further. I walked in a crouch up to the next tree, trying to keep them in view while not stepping on noise makers. They moved up again and she disappeared over the crest of the hill. The shot would soon be ideal, so I sneaked up to the next tree. Wouldn’t get better than this today.

Looking through the lens, I zoomed in and lined up the shot. Just then he was standing on the crest and the light was perfect. Click! That was calendar material. Startled by the shutter, the buck trotted off down the other side of the hill. I retreated back down my side. My editor was sure to be pleased with this photo, which meant some timely cash to pay the bills. I swore to myself that next time I’d take more film, or maybe it was time to think about one of those digital cameras my grandkids kept talking about.

Avoiding being a bipolar writer

1 Jan 2013

(Based on prompt from “14 Prompts” ebook by Joe Bunting. He's also the keeper of a fabulous site called thewritepractice.com; you can get the ebook there. Prompt is based on avoiding being a bipolar writer. I chose tactic of writing by hand for 30 minutes. Original version is typed up below and now legible.)

State finals, Biggest game yet for our team. Largest crowd, too. We’re not used to getting much interest beyond the usual fans and families. It’s been growing, though, especially after we won the first tournament round and it seemed we had a chance to go all the way.

That sectional game, though, we barely squeaked it out. When it went into overtime I just didn’t know if we could keep up the energy. It was strange, though. Once we started playing in OT and kept the score about even, my fatigue dropped away and I could focus on just that part of the game. Seemed the rest of the guys felt the same way, a shared bond that we could win if we kept our heads and kept up the pressure. Also seemed the other team sensed our grit, and the OT period steadily shifted our way. I knew we were staying ahead, but a win wasn’t certain and I couldn’t let up. The final buzzer was more like an alarm clock. The joy of winning was huge.

This is the state finals, though. All eyes are on this game, not just one of several games. I don’t like all that scrutiny. I just want to play hard and well. This feels almost like my first varsity game, with all the nerves and uncertainty. Coach was great then, before the first game. He told me that I had the basic skills or else I wouldn’t be on the team. I’d learn something new each game, so I should just play as well as I could that game, then do the same in the next one with my increased skill. That advice has served me well these last few seasons.

That’s what I’m going to do this time also. It’s just another game. The outcome isn’t life or death. Our team has what it takes to win, or we wouldn’t be here. All I can do about the outcome is just play my best. It’s like that game mid-season where I hit two freethrows to win the game. They were trying so hard to distract and intimidate me, yet somehow I blocked it out for those few seconds and sunk both of them. They were just freethrows in that moment, and I had shot hundreds before.

That’s how it is for this game, too. We know how to do this, and we can’t let the “bigness” of the game be a distraction. If we play hard and lose, life will go on. I’m not expecting that to happen, but it could. Several of us have some rituals we do before each game, a certain order of suiting up, warming up, taking care of those last-minute things. I’m going to do exactly that stuff this time also, no more or less.

I’m not the most vocal guy on the team, not the captain or anything. Some of the others do seem to watch what I do, though. Maybe this time they’ll see my methodical prop as usual and keep their nerves in check. Not that I don’t have a case of the nerves. Far from it. I’ve never played in front of this many people. Yet it’s still only a basketball game, and I’ll only make things worse for the team by getting rattled. Jim was an inspiration to me my first year on the varsity squad. He didn’t say that much but was always squared away. He always got the job done, too, no matter how much pressure. That’s going to be me tonight: a workmanlike player getting it done. If we all are that way and keep unrelenting pressure on the other guys, we might just be state champions tomorrow.