Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
It is hosted by Denise.
It has few rules: prompt word involvement and six sentences are all there can be in your story.
This is a ‘Whitechapel Interlude‘ week, so the Six bellow is the next installment in the serial story.
This week’s prompt word is: HORIZON
“Are you alright?” I sat opposite Sarah at the table farthest from the door; serving as dining hall and class room, depending on the time of day, we were alone.
Dabbing the mutton and gravy in the wooden bowl with her spoon, despite smiling a non-committal response, the lack of consensus from the rest of her face triggered a feeling in my stomach I associated with my father, when on a hunting trips and our quarry was most desperate, he would say it was, ‘going to earth’.
“While I am most pleased to see the two of you back to normal, I must ask you to lower the bowls and look beyond the stew horizon long enough to indulge your old teacher for a moment.”
Brother Abbott filled the doorway, his voice commanding attention, “To eat with such hearty appetites is the nature of youth and the wistful dream of the elderly, I regret I must spoil your meal”; he threw a packet of newsprint across the room with such control and precision that it came to rest at the end of our table, the front page clear and impossible to ignore.
Tragedy in Whitechapel
——♦——
A Woman stabbed in 39 PlacesA perplexing feature in connection with the out-rage is the number of injuries on the young woman’s body… the wound over the heart was alone sufficient to kill, and death must have occurred as soon as that was inflicted. Unless the perpetrator was a madman, or suffering to an unusual extent from drink delirium, no tangible explanation can be given of the reason for inflicting the other 38 injuries some of which almost seem as if they were due to thrusts and cuts from a penknife.
About clarkscottroger
I like this phrase to break one’s attention from eating: “look beyond the stew horizon”
I couldn’t resist… we can blame Ms. Avery for encouraging me.
You had me at bad moon rising . Happy Holidays
Same to you and the family unit.
Oh gosh, Clark–this is SO GOOD!! Alas, I’m filled with memories of my friend, the school girl who was viciously murdered in like manner–on the band room stage at our school (and by a classmate). Innocence is precious–she was a talented musician, at the school early that morning to give a free lesson to the boy who took her life (1964-ish).
Sorry if I rained on your parade six…it’s that time of year, emotional. And your talent, and apparent character as a man, dare I say (surely you’re akin to Finn), bring me back here weekly. I’ve not figured out how you can manage 2 serial stories–blows my mind! I’m so glad to know you, if from a distance–have the BEST Christmas, and sail blithely into the new and better year, 2021. Bedelia & Co. send their love <3
Thanks, J. What a terrible thing to happen.
Truth be told (about doing two serials) I have no idea. I am totally embracing the seat-of-the-pants approach to writing. Each week I trust that one of the characters or a song or something give me a sense of direction for the story. But then again, this effort is as much practice to learn as it is to tell a story…
I love that– “seat of the pants” writing :) It’s pretty much what I’m doing too–I sit down and watch what falls out onto the page. Hope you had a Merry Christmas–and if not before, see you in the New Year!
Wish I’d come up with the term (seat-of-the-pants writing, ‘pantser’ as opposed to an outliner)
Looking forward to wherever the story(s) are heading next.
I noticed the term “pantser” surfaced in Nat’l Novel Writing Month too :) “Winging it” would also be applicable–just let the imagination fly! :) It’s truly how my dialog portions happen–I just wait to see what Bedelia & Co will say :)
Just when they thought things were back to normal, right? Well done!
Thanks, M
I’m guessing Brother Abbott will be granting our 2 young novitiates full blown membership status now!
Cool rendition of the song. Apropos.
yeah, really
…course there’s the little matter of one of them possibly being possessed and the other equally compromised, but thats just part of the mix.
I like the use of adding ‘live’ documents into narration, like print and signage etc, and also the way Brother Abbot delivered** this news to our two diners. The way it must have landed page-up on the table was surely impressive.
**easy to visualise this in, say, an episode of the Six if it were on TV – spinning newspaper headlines, newspaper slammed onto a desk, CU of headline.
The old illustration of the Bobby with his flashlight is grim indeed, and sets the tone well.
*”Christmas cheer? Humbug to you, my good sir. We’ll have none of that. Not when there’s a murderer to be caught!”*
Thanks, V.
…and the truck speeding down a city street, slowing only to throw a bundle of papers out on the sidewalk (coming to rest, headlines-side up…of course!)
This (turn of the plot) is to get me to refocus on whatever the hell the plot is… near as I can see it now, Frank Hubney’s Time Traveller* is back to solve the mystery of the identify of Jack the Ripper… the guy’s obsessed and in true time travel twist, he might be instrumental in the very murder spree
Hey! Speaking of time travel, I will recommend the movie ‘Predestination’ (with Ethan Hawke) This movie, taken from a Robert Heinlein story** is the best time travel movie I have ever seen.
That’s all I’ll say.
…except (lol). the fricken thing is so good that you will realize things about it for days afterward.
good flick
* yep, all started doing a ‘walk on’ for another Six
** a master of the time travel story
An impressive piece of writing! Somehow the headlines of the past and the present seem strangely the same. There still remains a mystery to be solved, but I am pretty sure you will do just that through a great chain of events.
Thank you, Pat.
It will be interesting, if nothing else.
Murder, he wrote! I shall look forward to the continuing intrigue and mystery.
Oh my! Twisted ending!
yes!